Aware Yet?
Observation Report
I have visited CM Vellem, and consequently used the
Awarenet software on 4 separate occasions. The class is of roughly 20 students
aged 14 to 15 years old. While there are
a number of issues that face these children in their community, computer
literacy and English language skills are the most significant in the context of
the involvement of the Awarenet software and Village Scribe association.
My role in the Awarenet classes run by Terri Penney
of the Village Scribe association was chiefly concerned with assisting the
children in the general use of the software and on occasion conducting a lesson
for the class along with my group members.
The lesson was based on the problems we had identified in our previous
lesson with the class. It had been noted that they tended to struggle
particularly with tense and more complicated vocabulary, which while
challenging is of a level they should be able to match at age 15.
The Awarenet software gives the students an
opportunity to practice their English in a fun and interactive way, while
gaining valuable computer literacy skills. However, while the lessons often
exercise the English skills of the learner, I feel it would be very challenging
for the teacher (in this case Terri Penney) to address all the spelling and
grammatical errors for every student in every lesson. Obviously the presence of
my group and I helped play a pivotal role in addressing these issues, which in
turn suggests that a student volunteer program would be significantly valuable,
particularly if instituted on a large scale, so as to reach all the schools.
Unfortunately a large majority of the schools which
host these lessons on the Awarenet software do not have access to the internet
and will therefore only have access to the resources on Awarenet when in the
actual lesson. This is only possible through the setup of a network via the
machine the teacher will bring into the classroom. This means that the limited
time available (both due to the schedule of the students as well as the
teacher) is used for them to complete the project given to them for that
lesson, and as such limits the time they are able to explore the various
material on the Awarenet network. As Awarenet was designed to create a safe
environment where student communities at schools across the globe can interact
and share resources, the above renders its purpose almost redundant.
In conclusion, I believe that the core issues
surrounding the digital divide and Awarenet’s role in bridging it in
association with Village Scribe are numerous. Simply put, the English exercises
are incredibly useful for these children but the scale of the help they receive
needs to be increased. In addition there are other problems with
teacher/volunteer resources and the time that the children have to make use of
the software. However, the biggest issue of all for the children involved is
that they have the potential access to all these resources through Awarenet but
this is enormously hindered by the fact that there is no access to the internet
in their schools. In a world where some countries have made high speed internet
a human right as per their constitution, these schools are more than deserving
of serious attention, in order to allow for cohesion among all the other
projects created for their aid.
By Amber Leigh Davies
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Posted: October 16th 2013 03:48
