Global is very local: A reminder

This past Saturday I met two former students, both by coincidence and within minutes of each other. One teaches in an inner-city Hamilton school - in a community that is considered the most impoverished in Canada. The other teaches 30 minutes from this community in the Six Nations of the Grand River.

As I talked with each of the two former students, I was reminded of the challenges which we sometimes assume are "out there" in other country contexts but which exist in our own communities. For example, the teacher in inner-city Hamilton talked about some of the impoverishment his students experience: limited meals, threat of removal from apartments, etc.

What caught my attention though was that both of these teachers didn't focus on the challenges they face. In fact, the vast majority of each conversation was focused on the joys of their jobs. The teacher who works on the Six Nations reserve loves her students. I ran into her in a library where she was getting children's books. She is actively engaged in professional development so she can be the best teacher she can be in working with First Nations children.

Yes, as teachers we experience lots of globally-linked challenges. Just like students in countries such as Haiti and India may experience poverty and poor nutrition, students in Canada can face similar daunting challenges. Of course there are support systems in place in Canada which limit the pervasiveness of these challenges, but they still exist. At the same time, caring and committed teachers, whether in Canada, Haiti, or India, can make a world of a difference for children. We may not be able to eliminate poverty, malnutrition, and challenging home situations, but we can strive to demonstrate and teach children what it means to be caring glocal citizens. A good reminder for why I do what I do.

$20 tablet computers

I've posted a number of articles dealing with the "one laptop per child" phenomenon. Here is a recent one on the new $20 tablets developed for children in India (but with ramifications for children everywhere):

India's $20 tablets

Peru's massive and expensive experiment with laptops for children was a failure in many regards, primarily because of the lack of training and support which went along with the project (see this article: Forbes - Peru's failed laptop project). Certainly, children will explore and utilize these user-friendly devices with or without teacher support (see this article: Technology Review - Ethiopian children use tablets without teacher support). However, to really be used effectively to access and build knowledge and skills within school systems, teachers need to receive training so they can use the devices to their maximum potential.

The early results from the pilot project I have run in Haiti (Digital Mentoring Project) has indicated the same: portable devices facilitate knowledge-sharing and the creation of professional learning communities, but they are not used to their full potential when the training for, and "buy in" from, those using them is limited.

e-Twinning

This article describes a school in Britain and how it is using mobile technology to twin students in its school with schools elsewhere. Very similar ideas to what we are doing in Haiti and Canada with school principals:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2012/nov/06/technology-global-learning-teaching

Updates on Educational Leadership Projects in Haiti

It's been a while since I updated my blog on some of the work we are doing (or hoping to do) in Haiti.

1. School leadership study - we have put a grant application into the Cdn government to support a comparative study of six schools in two different regions of Haiti. The schools would represent urban/rural, private/public, and elementary/secondary. We hope to examine the student and administrator experiences and look at how their perceptions of school life may be similar or different. This will be a descriptive study, filling a gap in the academic literature on student and principal experiences in schools.

2.  Educational leadership conference - another grant application has been submitted seeking financial support to host a leadership conference in Cap-Haitien in May, 2013. In partnership with the Ministry of Education, we anticipate inviting approximately 50 school leaders from across the North Haiti to the conference. Presentations would be provided on issues identified by the Director of the Ministry of Education for the north. Working groups would follow-up on the various identified issues.

3. A third grant has been submitted to support the delivery of a teacher training resource that will help teachers with engaging students and supporting literacy through an activity-based curriculum. The Canadian Intramural and Recreation Association (CIRA) has donated approximately $6,000 of materials (in French) which would serve as the curriculum for the training. Our target is to train lead teachers in 50% of the schools in the north.

4.  Leadership book. I have had 10 Haitian school leaders respond to my call for chapters for a new leadership book. I will edit the book and add sections providing context and an examination at how research can inform improved educational practice in Haiti. The author chapters will complete their chapters this fall and we anticipate launching the book at a large literary fair which occurs in Port au Prince each June.

There are other projects in the wings (e.g. a potential ESL camp, technology support for the public university in the north) and we continue to write about the various projects (e.g. a chapter was just accepted for publication last week, an article for a journal is under review). Momentum is building!

Redefining international education for the digital age

This is a good article in yesterday's University Affairs magazine. It is written by the director of Canadian Virtual University, a consortium of 12 Canadian universities. The reference to the project in Haiti is particularly intriguing.

Redefining international education for the digital age

Cap Haitien Educational Research Network Trip Outcomes

The final day in Haiti started with Save the Children, one of the largest NGOs in the world with a focus on the rights of children. They are very active in Haiti and have been the co-lead with UNICEF in rebuilding the educator sector. We discussed ways we may be able to work together in the future.

The trip home has largely been uneventful with most of my time taken in writing up reports on the trip for various departments at WLU (e.g. research, education, global engagement). I also started the application process for the different government grants we will be applying for. 

As this trip wraps up, here are key highlights and next steps.

Highlights/Outcomes:

• partnership agreements with the North Department Ministry of Education and the Public University of the North
• visiting multiple schools in Cap-Haitien
• exploring various logistical aspects (accommodations, health facilities, banking)
• meeting people "on the ground" who are engaged in good work
• meetings with the Cdn embassy staff and Dr. Berg Hyacinthe from the Haiti Prime Minister’s office 
• through all these, sensing the interest and commitment to educational improvement in the North Department

Key Next Steps:

• grant applications completed (Cdn Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade)
• concept papers developed around multiple project possibilities
• strengthening the partnerships and engaging in training and research starting already in the next 6 months

Meetings at Canadian embassy in Port au Prince and with the government

This morning, we flew from Cap-Haitien to Port au Prince for a day of meetings... and what a day it was!

The early morning highlight was going to the Cap airport with Justin and watching him "work the crowd!" The guy is a master. Everywhere we went in Cap, he seemed to know people. At the airport he was hugging people, shaking hands, kissing babies (OK, maybe not babies). He is a key guy in our future work in Cap.

After arriving in PAP, a former M.Ed. student of mine (Odeus Georges Odney) picked us up and took us to our meetings. We started at the Canadian Embassy, meeting with three people responsible for higher education, governance, and CIDA's work in Haiti. We had an excellent meeting with them discussing various aspects of education in Haiti. They were very appreciative of the work I have done in Haiti (I had sent them a brief before leaving Canada) and highly encouraged us to continue with the partnership-building and research networks.

From the embassy, we traveled to the Haitian Prime Minister's office where his advisor (Dr. Berg Hyacinthe) met us. I had been connected with Dr. Berg by a colleague I have worked with in the U.S. This gentleman would put Justin to shame with his schedule! He has a Ph.D. in cyber terrorism and informatics from  Florida State U. He was a prof in France before returning to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. He is now the key advisor to the government on issues such as education. He also is head of research at the state university of Haiti. Oh yes, he's also a lawyer. I would guess he is no older than 40. Wow.

We spent two hours with Dr. Berg and received lots of input and encouragement regarding the work we are planning in the north. He also gave us great counsel regarding the new state university that has been built in Haiti and encouraged us to pursue a partnership with it.

We returned to our hotel around 5 and I spent the next hour with Odney who is hoping to apply for a PhD at University of Ottawa. We enjoyed a celebratory dinner at the Visa Lodge for an excellent 3rd day of networking and partnership-formation!

We have one more meeting tomorrow morning with Save the Children before we fly back to Toronto.