The impact of e-learning on women and children: Taking the Digital Mentoring Project to the next level

I have been developing the Digital Mentoring Project (DMP) in Haiti in a fairly casual, organic way. We have about 30 school leaders there now supplied with BlackBerry smartphones. Getting a "tool" in these principals' hands has been the first step, as well as giving them the opportunity to dialogue with each other and myself.

We now need to take the DMP to another level. There is a real need to move from a "professional network" to also providing on-line resources that the principals can access from their smartphones. These resources should include short videos (featuring Haitian principals), web-links, pdf documents, and interactive forums. To do this is going to require some significant financial support and I have begun this conversation with our development office at Laurier.

In conjunction with this, we need to add to the research which has been happening regarding the impact of digital technology on learning, particularly for those who have typically been marginalized. Here is an interesting article from the Gates Foundation which speaks to this issue (in health):

Mobile Phones for Women's Empowerment

I am not aware of anything like the DMP occurring in any developing world context so I think we're onto something very important. Now we have to figure out how to make this happen.

Laurier Haiti 2013 Service-Learning Trip Final Thoughts

As we debriefed with the group and as I've reflected on the past 10 days, here are my top 10 key take-aways:

1. An amazing experience for everyone involved. We learned more in 10 days than many of us have learned in a year or more of formal education.

2. The group agreed that the opportunity to travel by van to Cap, and to spend a few days in Pignon, gave them a better perspective on the wide range of schools, communities, and geography of Haiti.

3. The workshops in Pignon were well-received and we could take a group to this community to provide more training for teachers and principals. English lessons at College de la Grace or working at Caleb's camp could also be valuable aspects of a future trip.

4. Tours of a variety of schools, from Assumption College to Dutty Boukman to The Key, provided insight into the wide range of public and private schools in Cap-Haitien.

5. Our afternoon English language program was very appreciated by the participating students. The high school students we worked with were really hungry for conversational English language opportunities. They were an amazing group to work with and individual relationships were established. We discussed the possibility of future groups spending the morning working with an English-language teacher in a school such as Assumption College and then spending afternoons with students pooled from a variety of schools (according to level/ability).

6. Although the university (UPNCH) was not able to accommodate us for an English language program this time, there are some potential areas of partnership in the future. We discussed opportunities for an English language lab, supporting on-line course development, and involvement in a Masters of Education program.

7. We were constantly amazed at the incredible hospitality we experienced in Haiti. The epitome of this was the hosting of Justin Metelus, the Director of the Ministry of National Education in the north. Justin is a very well-known man in the community and responsible for directing education in the north, yet he took most of his days last week to spend with the group. He toured us through different schools, hosted us every day for lunch, and spent many hours discussing with us the challenges, and his vision, of education in the north. On a number of occasions we asked ourselves, would any leader in a similar position be as hospitable and generous with time in Canada? Would we?

8. Likewise, we were struck by the passion people have to support development, through education, in Haiti. Symbolic of this was Thelus Wilson. Similarly to Justin, Thelus spent almost every day with us in Cap. He has started a new school, about 20 minutes outside of Cap which is meeting the needs of children who cannot afford to go to school. Although this is the first year of the school operating, Thelus has a great vision for building a larger school where more children can attend. It is hard to describe Thelus but three words come to mind: Humble, committed, and servant-leader.

9. We saw that education is not just about formal schooling but also about the overall development of the child and his/her family unit. The Sacred Heart Centre, and the leadership of Andre there, represented this best for me. The nutrition program and early learning centre are providing amazing programs to support those who are impoverished and marginalized in Cap. Although the challenges are immense, piti piti (little by little) these types of programs are making a difference.

10. Contrasts. Haiti is full of them. From the awe-inspiring beaches of Labadee to the over-populated classrooms of Dutty Boukman, there are so many contrasts in/to Haiti. What a wonderful country.

Thanks Betty Ann, Jesslyn, Blake, Sarah, Heather, Jenni, Amy, Karley, and Jhonel for an amazing trip! Piti piti zwazo fe niche!

Typically-unusual last day in Haiti: Haiti isn't the only country to experience power failures

On Sunday, May 19 we traveled home. For me, it was a day of mixed emotions. I was certainly anxious to get home to family and to work responsibilities. At the same time, I felt that some of the inertia we built up over the 10 days was about to end. It's difficult to foster program development, whether mentoring or English language or otherwise, from 2000+ kms away.

Traveling on Sunday was book-ended with two "typically-unusual" (a new phrase for me that pretty accurately describes working in Haiti) events. The first occurred @ 6:45 am as we sat down for breakfast at the Stella Maris in Cap-Haitien. Andre ran into the room and informed us that our flight had been changed from 8:30 to 7:45 am. We called Justin and rushed to eat and complete our packing. Justin arrived in 30 minutes and we were off. We pulled into the small Cap airport at about 7:35 and checked in. You have to understand that the Cap airport is small and we were the only flight leaving. And our flight involved 19 people. In typically-unusual Haitian style, we then waited until after 8 to start boarding. We departed at 8:15. So much for leaving at 7:45. One of the nuns at the Stella Maris said that sometimes the airline will pull this type of manouver in the hope of selling the person's ticket when he/she does not arrive on time.

The flight from Cap, included a "fly-over" of the Citadelle; what a gorgeous view.

After a 30 minute flight to Port au Prince (quite the contrast to the 6+ hours of driving we did earlier in the week to get from PAP to Cap), the group spent the morning touring the city. Jimmy, Jhonel's brother who owns a number of private schools in Haiti, coordinated this time and was a great host. The tour included seeing where the national palace used to stand. It has recently been razed due to the damage it suffered in the earthquake.

The pictures of the crumbled palace were symbolic of the state of affairs in Haiti after the earthquake. The group also got to see the new5-star Occidental hotel in PAP. A key word which we had used regularly to describe Haiti was "contrasts" and the hotel certainly represented this.

Karley had not been feeling well so she and I hung out at a restaurant while the group toured some of the city. In typically-unusual style, Karley slept with her head on a table for about 1.5 hours! At the end of that time, Chris and Kelly Lieb, friends from previous trips to Haiti walked into the restaurant. What a coincidence! Chris and I spent time discussing getting phones to him to distribute to some of his contacts. This will be where many of the donated BlackBerries will go since they will be distributed across the country to some of the more remote communities. This will give a good opportunity to test the Digital Mentoring Project in marginalized areas.

Our flights to Miami and then to Toronto were on-time but our last book-end typically-unusual event occurred when we pulled into the gate in Toronto: The power on the plane went out. We were on time but we had to wait 10 minutes for the doors to be opened and we exited with the aid of emergency lighting and flashlights. I guess the power doesn't go off just in Haiti!

Well, we've come full-circle. We started with a ride to TO thanks to Scott and Red Car Service and here we are getting ready to go home!

Climbing to Citadel, Haiti

Karley Writing:
Today is our last day in Haiti, so we decided to visit the Citadel, a huge mountaintop fortress in Milot. We took the Blanc-Mobile (our name for our trusty pick-up truck) up half-way, and then walked up the steep road of the mountain. We took numerous stops on our way up because the roads sometimes were too steep, and we were all sweating by the time we made it to the top. We had the option to take a donkey up all the way, but we were convinced that we could walk it.

The Citdal is an absolutely beautiful and old building, with an awesome history. It was built by 20,000 workers designed to keep Haiti safe from the French. It's built upon a 3,000 ft mountain, and you can see all the other mountains and valleys around it. We saw all the cannons and cannon balls that were never used as well. Henri Christophe, the general in the Haitian army, started the building of the fortress in 1805. The Citadel rises 130 feet, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Haiti. When Christophe died in 1820, the building construction was stopped, therefore it was never finished. It was also never used, as the French never attacked them.

On our way back, it was all downhill which got us places much faster. We stopped a quarter of the way down to have a coconut and mango break, since it was already a good 4 hours since we had eaten breakfast. We shared our food with our tourist guides and looked down at the awesome view below us. We saw some locals as well and by the time we got to the bottom, everyone was tuckered out. What an awesome experience!

Workshops with teachers and school principals in Cap-Haitien

Yesterday we were able to lead a two hour workshop for teachers and principals on using manipulatives in math and on school leadership. Jhonel Movan and Amy Lin from the Ontario Ministry of Education led a nearly 2 hour workshop on using manipulatives. They both did an amazing job and it was very well received. Thanks to Amy's work, we were able to leave over $1,000 in manipulatives for the Faculty of Education at Regio Assumption College and for the new school that Thelus Wilson, one of our hosts for the week, has started (in the photo below, are Thelus, Amy, Jhonel, and a math teacher from Regio Assumption College). I concluded with a challenge to the group regarding school leadership which seemed to give a good conclusion to the afternoon.

Break time in Belly Beach, Labadie

Karley writing:

I am currently typing this blog while sitting on Belly Beach, a beautiful and private beach that the whole group is enjoying after a long week of working. It's been a great week of teaching English classes, but now we get to enjoy the scenic and relaxing part of Haiti! We took a long car ride around the mountain, and stopped at  some small ferry boats. From there we took one ferry boat for about a 5 minute ride, all the way to Belly Beach. We've ordered a lobster and some drinks, and are passing the time by swimming in the gorgeous Caribbean Sea waters. You can see the mountains in the background and I've even gotten some practice in for a triathlon that I'm going to compete in when I get home. All the girls have been tanning on the beach, while the boys are enjoying the snacks (typical). We will be going to more workshops this afternoon, but for now everyone is enjoying the sun and water! Sarah was given a whole bag of mangos yesterday as a gift from one of her students, and we're opening them up at the moment! It's been nice to sit down and relax for the first time in a while!

Pictures will be posted later!

University Agreements

Today, we had our second meeting with the president of the Public University of the North at Cap-Haitien as well as his senior administrative team. We have been discussing ways we can develop some programs as a result of the partnership agreement we signed last year. Some of the areas we are discussing are:

1. English Language Lab (centre) - for students, faculty, and local professionals to develop their conversational English language skills.
2. Supporting the development of on-line courses.
3. Scholarship opportunity for a student to attend Laurier for a semester.
4. Developing a Master of Education in conjunction with other Haitian universities.

These are all very exciting opportunities but each has some significant challenges. We are planning on meeting again in October, with a team of other Canadians representing different groups such as BlackBerry and University of Ottawa, to see what we can accomplish together.

In a separate meeting, we met with the dean of the Faculty of Education at Regio Assumption College in Cap-Haitien and started discussions about developing a Memorandum of Understanding with that school. It is an excellent school in the heart of Cap which may provide a suitable alternative location for some of the same areas.

We are still having very slow Internet connections so we'll try and get some pictures posted tomorrow!