Bringing computer literacy to the community, one click at a time

A Newspaper Article by Grocotts Mail

She's well known for her athletic ability. In fact, some think she's a full-time athlete. But Terri-Lynn Penney is an ordinary Grahamstown resident with a full-time job, fitting in her sport when she can. Terri-Lynn is a community coordinator and recently became a trustee for the Village Scribe Association.

As a community coordinator, Terri-Lynn teaches computer literacy at disadvantaged schools in Grahamstown. The programme is centred around awareNet - a social network, similar to Facebook, but which is available only to the pupils explicity linked to it.

“It's like YouTube and Twitter in one, but it's just designed for scholars and teachers,” Penney says. Penney speaks Xhosa fluently: a huge advantage when she applied for the job at the NGO.

When it's time for the awareNet sessions at the different schools, Terri-Lynn works around community projects with the pupils. These have ranged from a running programme and various public lectures on health and wellness, to museum visits.

The awareNet pupils are then encouraged to write a blog about the projects they were involved in, with the coordinator posting questions to prompt them. Penney helps them log on to awareNet, and then reads the projects, helping correct spelling mistakes before posting them on to awareNet, where other awareNet users can view them.

She also uploads her own blogs about each project on to awareNet, together with photographs of the pupils involved.

In total, Penney works with nine schools through awareNet, including CM Vellem Public Primary School, Khutliso Daniels Secondary School, Mary Waters Secondary School, Nathaniel Nyaluza Secondary School, Nombulelo Secondary School, Ntaba Maria Primary School, Ntsika Secondary School and Victoria Girls' High School.

Terri-Lynn works mainly with Grade 8 and 9 pupils. The biggest group this year is the Grade 9 class from Ntsika, with 136 pupils in total. “My passion for teaching computer literacy in the disadvantaged schools has grown since I started with VSA in 2011,” said Penney.

She said she enjoyed seeing the improvement in the pupils' computer skills as they worked with awareNet. Many Grahamstown schools have computer rooms with fully equipped computers. The impact awareNet has made has been in sourcing internet access for many of the schools, and bringing in coordinators like Penney.

“Some of them (pupils) did not even have the knowledge to switch on a computer or click a mouse,” Penney said. “The teacher/ learner relationship between myself and the learners has also become a special bond. To the learners I'm known as 'Terri'”. Penney has also built strong relationships with the teachers and principals, who are always happy to have her at their schools.

Two of the major projects Penney has focused on during the past year were a health and fitness project, combining health and exercise, and a health-promotion project. In the health and fitness project, pupils from five different schools participated.

Training was done once a week and computer literacy was also held once a week. At these sessions, pupils put their thoughts about the project on to awareNet. The project ended with a fun run at Ntsika, in which more than 250 pupils from various schools participated.

The past two terms saw eight schools participating in the health-promotion project, which was also part of their life-orientation school subject.

The pupils received instruction on topics including HIV/Aids to tuberculosis, cancer and depression and attended a sex and sexuality talk given by Famsa. In preparation for the second project, Penney attended a number of self-help workshops in Grahamstown.

One was entitled Depression and Anxiety - a topic she then engaged the pupils on. Each wrote a relevant blog. Three awareNet pupils also had the opportunity to accompany Penney to the Rhodes Aids Day event, where they listened to a talk by South African Constitutional Court Justice, Edwin Cameron.

She spoilt the children with a small lunch, before they attended a dance performance by Ubom! theatre company. “The year has been very successful and pupils, teachers and principals have given positive feedback," said Penney.

"I'm hoping that teaching computer literacy in 2013 will go from strength to strength and that more learners will benefit from this awesome project.”

Through her social media posts and interaction with businesses and residents, Penney has received a number of sponsored items, including computers, shoes, T-shirts and other items for the schools and pupils she works with. She is currently looking at acquiring sponsored 2013 diaries for some of her classes.

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Posted: December 5th 2012 03:09