I just finished a great meeting with Rob (BlackBerry) and Jhonel (Ontario Ministry of Education). Rob leaves tomorrow to start the process of heading back to Canada so we wanted to debrief the week we have spent together engaged in BlackBerry and educational leadership training in Haiti.
It is clear that the three of us are committed to this partnership. Now that we're getting BlackBerry devices in people's hands, and providing training around their use, we have to start doing some research on how people are using the devices. I have some preliminary data on the first handful of people who engaged in the Digital Mentoring Project and have an article just about ready to go out to be reviewed for a journal on that project. However, we need to go beyond this early data and really look at their use and effectiveness in supporting leadership capacity-building.
After this morning's training, we now have people in four regions of Haiti who have completed the training and who have a BlackBerry. We also have a database of who these people are. In the coming months I will be following up with them to see how the training and devices are being used.
Rob and BlackBerry have been incredibly generous in their time and in the donation of BlackBerry phones. This project would not have been nearly as successful without the company and Rob's personal involvement. BlackBerry has gotten a lot of negative attention recently but this trip has impacted dozens of principals in Haiti in very positive ways. Rob has provided them with a new tool which can significantly impact their communication, organization, and accessing of resources. Everyone he has interacted with has been delighted with his help and with the capability of the smartphone.
I'm thrilled that CBC KW contacted me today and I suggested that they needed to talk with Rob about his passion for Haiti and for how he is making a difference here through BlackBerry. So stay tuned and I will provide the details for when his interview will air!
About Me
- Steve Sider
- I have been an elementary and secondary school teacher and administrator. Currently, I am a faculty member in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My M.Ed. and Ph.D. had a focus on the educational and linguistic experiences of children who moved from other countries to Canada.
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