Low-cost devices in educational systems : The use of the “ XO-Laptop ” in the Ethiopian Educational System

On the assumption that some preconditions are in place (as listed in chapter 5), a pilot use (of up to 50.000 XO-laptops based on an Italian donation) can be recommended. This pilot-project, when planned with a thorough evaluation can deliver the necessary information for a decision about further activities to be taken by the government. During the initial phase of implementation, it is desirable to focus on the introduction of interactive Ethiopian textbooks and related material. Aspects of computer, internet and media literacy and material related to learning theories like constructivism and new teaching methods such as “learning to learn” can be postponed to a second phase. This concentration on interactive learning material in the first stage will have the effect of meeting the teachers on common ground. Even a limited investment in time and training should have an immediate positive effect on their daily teaching practice. At the same time an increase in the quality of their teaching can be expected. A teacher training programme aimed at imparting deeper understanding of computer and media literacy, learning how to make use of the Internet for better learning, or gaining security in applying more flexible teaching methods could be developed, accompanied by formative evaluation measures, and could be implemented later within a reasonable time period. For the pilot project it is advisable that at least for two or three specific areas saturation is reached, which means that every child will have access to an XO-laptop. Only under such conditions, the promised benefit in respect to out-of-school activities can be tested. To satisfy the demand of the Ethiopian government that all 10 regions in Ethiopia have to be involved in the pilot phase it may be acceptable that in some regions the distribution of XOlaptops is limited to grade 5 to 8. It may also be of interest to include some teachers of secondary schools (grade 9 and 10), which are equipped with plasma screens, into the pilot phase. The XO-laptops can be connected to these plasma screens and allow the teachers to mix the actual tele-teaching programs with lessons on computer and media literacy. As mentioned in the appendix, the tele-teaching program based on plasma screens could also profit from new technological developments, which would transform the actual noninteractive program to an interactive format, where the teachers regain full classroom control. A rather promising application is seen in an extension of out-of-school activity (e.g. Melepo application). In addition to school books, an agrarian and/or a medical information system could be set up and brought to local farmers through the laptops of their children when at home. Low-cost devices in educational systems: The use of the “XO-Laptop” in the Ethiopian Educational System 2008 Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) 2 1. Laptops as a medium for learning in developed countries It has sometimes been argued that the fact that computers have not taken root in formal education at a large scale in developed countries implies that any attempts to introduce them in developing countries, where conditions are much worse, are bound for failure. However, this argument is flawed. In Germany, laptop classes in primary schools are unknown; they are also unusual in lower secondary schools. The reasons may be manifold. The normally available laptops are rather expensive, rather heavy for smaller children, rather sensitive and rather complicated. Computer laboratories are available in most schools; however, they are most of the time occupied by students of higher grades or by science and mathematics classes. Teachers with their younger students seldom go there because the teachers themselves have not much experience with these complex machines and their children risk to “get lost” within this complex environment. The same holds for those schools which have been equipped with laptops instead or in addition to computer laboratories with normal PCs. Again the unresolved technical problems as for instance in respect to weight and complexity are blocking any regular use. A well documented and rather successful exceptional example of laptop classes, beginning at grade 7, was instituted at the Evangelisch Stiftisches Gymnasium in Gütersloh in 1999 and still continues today. This project was possible due to additional external support in respect to hardand software. Experience in this project, documented in an evaluation report by the Bertelsmann Foundation, has been rather positive. By comparison with control groups, the results achieved in computer and media literacy as well as in general learning objectives have been shown to be superior in many respects. Laptops are not introduced before grade 7 in Gütersloh and this may well be because the existing laptops are too large and complicated for younger students. Since now smaller and simpler laptops are available, it needs to be discussed if laptops in addition to the existing environment with books, toys and other concrete learning materials would not result in an added value, especially in respect to the necessity to satisfy the different needs in quite diverse classes. In developing countries, where often there is a shortcut of books or other concrete learning material, it is easier to argue in favour of introducing laptops even at quite early grades. With a laptop like the XO all technical problems are avoided and positive results like in Gütersloh can be expected. Lately some counter-arguments were known from some of the more technically advanced schools in the USA which have returned to laptop-free classrooms. The director of that school argued that they had flooded the classrooms with technology and did not think enough about what is meaningful. Now they want to concentrate more on academics and content than on technology. Such experiences demonstrate that technology alone cannot guarantee success. A well developed didactical context, well trained teachers and a process of innovation which is driven by pedagogy, not technology, are all required. 5 http://www.ev-stift-gymn.guetersloh.de/index.php Low-cost devices in educational systems: The use of the “XO-Laptop” in the Ethiopian Educational System 2008 Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) 3 Furthermore the experiences and problems encountered in a highly developed country like the USA can hardly be compared with the situation in developing countries. 2. The Ethiopian Educational System In recent years the Ethiopian Ministry of Education has placed a high priority on raising the enrolment in primary schools and reducing the student drop-out rate. Combined with an annual population increase of about 2.5% this has led to serious overcrowding of existing schools and classrooms, a lack of qualified teachers, and inadequate provision of school books. School books are often delayed for months, or even a full school year, and because of their limited numbers up to five students may have to share a book. The average number of students per class is 60 to 65. In a secondary school at Wollisso, 90 10th grade students were observed being taught in a room designed to accommodate 40 students. The Ministry of Education has also tried to enhance the quality of education practice in the light of the high percentage of non-academically qualified teachers. As a solution, a larger tele-teaching project has been put in place for secondary schools, in which many classrooms are equipped with large plasma screens that can be used to present video-taped lectures given by highly qualified lecturers. In this setting, the role of the classroom teacher is more that of an assistant following the advice of the expert on the screen. According to the director of the secondary school inspected during this visit, all teaching was carried out by this method, apart from a few specific topics like geography and local language. There are differing views about how successful this project is. Certainly no video teacher can outperform a lively and competent teacher in the classroom, so student opinion is often negative. On the other hand, with no better alternative available, the director of the school tended towards a more positive view. As will be described in the appendix, an improvement of this situation is possible with a modest investment per school, where through modern technology the existing tele-programs can be transformed to an interactive format. The following sections explain why the proposed OLPC pilot-project stands in clear contrast to this approach. OLPC is an educational project in which the teacher can play an essential role; this role will grow in professional quality parallel with the integration of ICT InformationCommunication-Technology into the normal curriculum. Low-cost devices in educational systems: The use of the “XO-Laptop” in the Ethiopian Educational System 2008 Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) 4 3. First classroom experiences with the XO-laptop at primary schools 3.1. Previous activities Some weeks before the period of observation, a pre-launch was carried out with one class of 8th grade students and a teacher with good university level qualifications; XOmachines of version beta 2 were used. These rather slow machines showed some instability and lacked the ability to build an automatic network (mesh-net). The objective of this pre-launch was mainly to test some basic technical functionality under classroom conditions, while the students under the guidance of the teacher mainly worked with e-toys. This e-toy application is focused on programming methods and related knowledge. The progress made by students in this programming environment was judged to be encouraging. However, no normal curriculum-based teaching/learning activities, supported by computers, were covered during this pre-launch. 3.2. Activities during a first observation phase When signing the terms of reference (TOR) for