The SEE Project

Times does fly when you are well tuned into whatever you are doing. We fly out tomorrow. Entering a classroom in Fiji almost 25 years later has been a unique experience. The last three weeks have been most rewarding – both professionally and personally. Two things standout – the respect that children have for their teachers and secondly the value they place on education.

We arrived here with lots of uncertainties – not sure on how our initiatives and ideas would pan out. We feel that at Naidovi most of the teachers were able see the value our initiatives would add to their exiting classroom pedagogies. The library cataloguing that we setup was working and it made sense to the teachers. Some staff members had gained sufficient knowledge to continue with this process (including updating of the catalogue spreadsheet) as more books were to their collection.

With the laptops, while there was still an issue of getting reasonable internet access, the software that we had uploaded to the laptops was sufficient to get the teachers to design suitable activities for their students. The professional learning of the teachers had to be continued – one of the ways in which this could be done was through emails and Skype.

From what we had seen and heard from education officers, head teachers, principals, and teachers – the need for teachers’ professional development was evident. It is only through such professional learning that books, laptops and robotic kits can be used to their full potential in classrooms. Such initiatives can also justify the efforts of the many donors  – (not just those who donate resources to schools in Fiji).  There is also a need to develop a culture of self-reliance – while it is good to donate resources to set schools up, it also important that they do not become over reliant on them. The critical question is what happens when these resources when they reach their use by date. How will they be replaced? Relying too much on donations can create uncertainty and disruptions to school work. Teachers and students both need access to quality resources. A possible way to make such initiatives sustainable is by imposing a small resources levy on students each year. For a school of 400 students, a $10 a year levy can generate $12,000 over three years. Such a policy can generate sufficient funds for schools to renew their print and digital resources periodically.

This has been one of the most rewarding professional and personal learning experiences for us. We have seen not only the other side of the digital divide, but there is also evidence of a print divide. What we have taken here is a baby step towards addressing the bigger challenge of how such issues can be tackled in countries like Fiji. There is clear evidence of teachers who want to teach and students who want to learn. Such a project is most definitely worth doing!

Library with print and digital resources

Earlier in the week we travelled to Suva (the capital of Fiji) and met some officials from the Ministry of Education. The meeting gave me some ideas on where their ICT agenda was heading.  Today, we got a chance to visit some schools in the area – thanks to the efforts of Mr Wise. We visited schools that had libraries and computers. In libraries – we saw books that were published the 1960’s. There was a definite need for some cataloguing – the challenge for users would be finding something that they would like to read. While two of the schools we visited had recently acquired secondhand computers – I could not quite out how they would be integrated in the school curriculum. They were not turned on so I could not work out if operating systems and software were installed on them. At another school, there was a computer lab which was setup through the support of a business. However, some of these computers were operating on Windows 3.1 – and once again I could not work out how they were integrated in the curriculum. Sooner or later these machines would need to be disposed, the school did not seem to have a strategy for how this could be done. What I saw in these schools echoed some of the feedback that I received from the Head Teachers and Principals last week. It also justified why they felt that professional development of teachers in these areas was one of their high priorities.

There is another significant benefit of working in these schools. Coconuts are plentiful. As some of us know – “naiyar ke paani” or water from the coconut is like a health tonic from the heavens. While we had lots of these during our stay here – it was not enough. The ones that we get in Brisbane are imported from South East Asia – by the time they get to the supermarkets shelves (a few months later)  – it ain’t “nariyar ke panni” any more.

Airfare $x, accommodation $y, other $z...water from a coconut...PRICELESS

This is one way to get coconuts - we call it the laggi

The library is almost setup. Given that there are only about 400 books on the shelves for borrowing, one week on – one week off strategy can work. So children can borrow books every second week. For our “one book per child” vision to come true – the library needs at least another 300 books. We hope to reach this target early in the new year.

Our ICT initiatives are working. The year 1’s and 2’s have done some fantastic drawing of their presentations of a local festival. This was in response to their achievement indicator for Social Studies. We took digital images of these sketches – the big idea was to do a class presentation using Photo Point (using Libre Office – open source software) and view it through a data projector. Through such presentations, every students’ work – irrespective how big or small the paper for their drawings were gets recognised. They also get to explain their drawings and possibly get some feedback from their peers. It was interesting to see how they all saw different things of interest at the festivals. Thus every sketch seemed to focus on different aspects – 100 points for creativity!

A year 1 students' sketch

Another very creative sketch

The year 3 and 4’s work in Social Studies was also continuing well. Their achievement indicator was about the life in a rural settlement. Most students were able to select the photos they wanted to tell their stories. They were able to go to the respective folders and import up to 10 photos for their Photo Stories.

The year 5 and 6’s were able to think of an appropriate theme for their Health Science Achievement Indicator which focussed on sharing responsibilities.  It was amazing that their teachers were able to get them to brainstorm their idea, write, and act out a script for the camera in a relatively short time. There was hardly any need for retakes – they all seem to exactly know their roles and what they had to say. More importantly there was a very clear evidence that they enjoyed the experience. Our idea of using a web cam did not work – we need at least one video camera for such activities.

These experiences here suggest that when learning activities are interesting, children will enjoy it provided they are scaffolded appropriately. A moderate degree of challenge is also needed – if the activity is too easy they get bored, if its is too hard they give up. Sometimes pitching an activity at the right level is a challenge – but this what teachers do all the time.

Wednesday morning about 7 AM. I am reflecting on my thoughts in the bure house at the resort. Yesterday was a good day. We took the children around to Voua village and took lots of photos.  The children were very well behaved. Lepani took us around and I also got a chance to meet a number of villagers – some I hadn’t seen for a long time. For almost 25 years to be exact. It is amazing how time changes and how people age. The memories that you have some of them and seeing them 25 years later is sometimes difficult to comprehend. I bumped into Siti, Semesa –the last time I saw them they were much younger– time does fly. It was also very interesting to see how the village has evolved over time.

My friend Siti

One thing that struck me was the design and construction the houses. Bure houses seem to have long gone. These houses have been replaced by houses made of brick, timber, and corrugated iron. It makes sense to make houses this way given that cyclones are very frequent in this part of the world. While on the one hand it was pleasing to see the changes that have occurred, on the other hand it would have also been good to capture some of the images and videos of the village as it changed over time. But this could not have been done because cameras were very much a technology that were in the hands of the rich and the professionals. But now increasing affordability and capability of these technologies means that everyone can participate in telling a story of the changing times. This visit has prompted me to think about how digital stories can capture the evolution of the world and its people over time. Most of us can participate in this journey.  Engaging students in the craft of digital storytelling at the school level is probably the starting point. Such an opportunity can also extend and enhance the school curriculum in unseen and remarkable ways.

The church in Voua village

One of the senior education officers from the Education Office in Sigatoka – Mr Albert Wise visited us. He was interested in our work. He told us that at the beginning of each term the head teachers and school principals in his district meet. The idea of this meeting is to inform these leaders about the key issues that need to be dealt with each term. This meeting was scheduled to be held at another location. However, after seeing the work that we had started at Naidovi, he decided to shift the meeting to the school. He invited us to address us  the principals and head teachers. He also wanted us to showcase some of our work that we had started in the areas of library management, ICT integration, and robotics. We were very pleased to see his level of interest and the fact that he rescheduled this meeting meant that the work that we were doing was of some value to education in Fiji.

Lunchtime yesterday was special. Students in the robotics club who had spent time building the robots got the opportunity the programme and run them. To my knowledge, LEGO robots were probably run for the first time in a primary school in Fiji. If I have made this assertion incorrectly, then the claim that I would like to make is that it happened for the first time in a primary school in Fiji. The excitement in the children’s eyes was evident. One thing that I learnt from this was that no matter where the children are – if you design interesting learning activities they will engage. Digital divide for once did not seem to exist in the learning environment that these children were working in. Thanks to my good friend Eugene and Semia in China for the donation of these robotics kits. Without their support these children probably would have never had the opportunity to put their hands on one of these robots. The world probably needs more individuals like Eugene who dig deep to make these things possible.

Teachers – Mrs Talyor and Mrs Naceva working with one of the students

After lunch visited we the Indian community behind the school. We took lots of photos the students thoroughly enjoyed the outing. Even though they probably didn’t go any more than 500 m from the school, the fact that they went as a class seems to have made the experience enjoyable. Some of them probably walk on the same path and road to get to school, walking with classmates and pointing out areas of interest for the photos made all the difference. Teachers also said that such opportunities we rare -they also saw the value in this experience. Here too, I bumped into people who had changed so much since I saw them the last time.

An outdoor stove

The day was very busy. As soon as I got back, I headed with the year three students to  Hanahana village. This village is directly across the school. The last time when I lived here, this village did not exist. It used to be Sakiusa’s sugarcane farm. Most of the people who live here have come from other parts of the country. The people who live here are mostly hotel workers. Lepani was once again our guide here. He got back to the school with us with his guitar and sang some songs. I admire his talent. Almost all people who live in the village and have musical talents have gained this through their own efforts. They have developed these skills by either observing an elder (cognitive apprenticeship) or by trying and trying and trying…until they mastered the skill. I also wrote a press release because the ministry wanted one – however I later learnt that is did not get anywhere.

An outdoor stove

After school was over I did the usual short professional development session with the teachers. In the evening I went back to the school because some teachers were quite interested in knowing a bit more about what technologies were out there. To my surprise some of the members of the community also came. I felt a bit sorry for some of them because I had a conversation in English and probably talked about something that didn’t quite matter. Maybe next time when I go I will do a special session on how we found our ancestors in India. But this time I will ensure that I speak Hindi. We had a nice dinner with Mr Sashi and Mrs Lalita Kumar – the head teacher and his wife.

Kamal and I used to be at school together

In the last few days that I have been here I am quite amazed at how the school has evolved in terms of how the community is welcome here all the time. During the day there is a constant stream of parents and villagers. In the afternoon the school grounds are used for soccer training. Back in my time it was quite different. There was a very distinct boundary between the school and the community. The school headmaster makes a very big difference in terms of how the parents and community engage with the school. The Head Teacher, Mr Kumar seems to welcome everybody with open arms. Perhaps one of his greatest assets is that he is very fluent in the native Fijian language apart from Hindi and English. He also seems to have a very charming personality and that seems to ripple throughout the school. Maybe one day all schools will function this way!

Jone – a parent and a friend

Today is Saturday and we have come to unwind at a resort in Nadi. We will be here for the next 2 nights. It is 10.30 in the morning. There are people going past me on this footpath – some tourists look surprised – they must be thinking who is this idiot on a “holiday” talking to himself.  The library is taking shape. However, it needs more books. One part of our strategy is to ensure that every child has a book to borrow and read each week. Hence our “one book per child” idea can only succeed if we can provide this library with more books. At present we have given them 400 books. They need another 300 or so. This should be our challenge in the early New Year.

A model of a dream house

The laptops are ready to roll out next week. In a project like this there are lessons to be learnt. Lesson 1 upload all the software before you come. For the library to be more user-friendly, they need to install power points on the ceilings. Yesterday I went into the year six classrooms. These students were given a project for the two-week school holidays. Yes they had to do homework over the holidays. For art and craft (some aspects overlap with design technology here) – the boys had to build a model house with paddle pop sticks while the girls had to design and make an apron. Both groups also had to make a greeting card. The parents had to provide them with the materials that they needed to complete the projects. There was no shortage of evidence of creativity. However, what intrigued me the most was that they were not forthcoming with what they had learnt from this activity. A rich task like this can open doors for so many learning opportunities. One of the things that crossed my mind – which I will share with the teachers is using a reflection framework using the de Bono’s six hats. I think for primary school students this strategy can be quite effective.

A greeting card made from local materials

The robotics club also seems to be taking shape. Students are very interested and for the half an hour that they could spare at lunchtime, they seem to have achieved a lot. The reason for this is they are so focused and more importantly it’s also something which is very new to them. In terms of the hardware I hope the web cams will work next week when we start recording their role plays.  So all in all a good first week.

Talking robotics!

Today is a nice day. I can see the blue skies. The blue waters are almost under my nose with lots of coconut trees around me. In the distance I see small islands. It is almost an idyllic setting.

What more can I say?

We arrived at the school at 9 AM and got stuck into the work. Our main focus was to identify usable books from the existing stock that they had at school. We had some year six students come and help us. Understandably they were quite excited – it was obvious in their eyes. They very friendly and well behaved. They really wanted to get stuck into the computers. The Head Teacher made special lunch arrangements for us. We had lunch at his home. Teachers popped in and out during the day. For most of them there was an opportunity to do something different and we are looking forward to working with them.

Mr Sashi Kumar (Head Master), Mr Ashok Sewak (School Manager) and excited students

At the end of the school day we came back to the motel. In the evening we headed back to the school. After a long time I joined a bunch of people in Cuvu for a kava session. These sessions create greater opportunities to share the knowledge and information at the grassroots level. Some of the challenges that the villagers were facing was very obvious. From memory I think there are also a few mosquitoes around the place. But who cares about the mosquitoes it was a great opportunity anyway to mix with some of the people. The school also had organised a watchman for the evening. Security at the library wasn’t the best so having a watchman was quite important – at until the security grills went up.

Work in progress

5/9/11

We arrived in Fiji last night on an Air Pacific flight from Brisbane. After a 45 min taxi driver from Nadi International airport, we got to our hotel it was almost 9 PM. This morning we had to the school. It was the first day of term 3. There was a staff meeting in progress when we got there. Shashi- the headteacher and his staff warmly welcomed us. This meeting was in the new library block which was built through the support of the people of Japan. To my knowledge this was probably the first time the school had received aid of this sort from a foreign government.

We explained to the teachers why we were there–our main objective was to see if we could help them design and implement their classroom activities using computers. We also indicated that we would like to set up their school library with a simple cataloguing system so that children could borrow and read books on a weekly basis. I was given the opportunity to talk to the teachers in small groups. So I had groups meetings with teachers in year 1&2, 3&4, and 5&6. The approach that I adopted was to look at the work that they were going to do that week or the week after. The program in Fiji across all the year levels is quite well-defined. Achievement indicators are clearly listed for each of the activities. Classroom based assessments (CBA) are a very important part of the school curriculum – it is a shift from term exams – an assessment practice which had long dominated the school landscape. So we settled on one activity for each of the three groups.  Purposely I chose not to create any extra work for the teachers. Everywhere in the world – there is too much for teachers to do – if new ideas can be blended with existing frameworks then it more likely to succeed in classrooms.  The teachers seemed to be very motivated and eager to engage.

Our understanding prior to our arrival was that the school did not have any library resources. But to our surprise most of the shelves in the library appeared reasonably  filled. However, the problem was many of these books were old textbooks and class sets. I was amazed to see class set of three books – Fiji the land and its people, Stories of Famous People and World History. I used these books when I was a student at Naidovi in Year 5 and 7. When I was in Year 7 the World History became obsolete because in 1971 we became one of the trial schools for Social Studies – so history was no longer taught. While these books may still have had some aspects of the content which was still relevant, these books were showing signs of aging. Many had gone past their use by date.

On the whole today was a relief – after months of agonising on how we would be received by the teachers – the signs were around were very positive. After almost 25 years – we had re-entered a school in Fiji – we were pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome.