I have never worked with a more eager or persistent group of educators. During our 18 days we encountered the following challenges:
- Poor internet connections
- Power outage due to plugging in 100+ devices.
- An earthquake (no joke)
- Extreme heat (95+ everyday) with limited air conditioning.
- Scheduled power outage for the entire region (brought in generators)
- Small classrooms with 30+ teachers and computers
Despite these challenges the teachers showed up each day with enthusiasm and a hunger to learn more. We front-loaded our instruction, giving the attendees a ton of new things to try. Remarkably, many of the tools that I take for granted were brand new to this group: Google Drive, Twitter, Jing, Google Image search, Edmodo, Prezi and more. For most of the teachers, this was their first exposure to web-based tools.
The main purpose for the KCI Pang program (as we call it) was to transform these teachers into local leaders and EdTech advocates who will work with others to begin a movement within the nation to create dynamic classrooms. This is an exciting time in the Philippines which recently added grades K, 11, and 12 (previously only 1-10), made K-12 education compulsory, and adopted Google Apps for Education across the entire country.
As part of this 2 week program, each teacher created two videos and one classroom lesson (here are a few). For a considerable number of the participants, these were the first videos they had ever created. They were excited to learn that they had the opportunity to have a global voice through the power of web-based tools.
It was refreshing to work with a group of educators who are passionate and hungry to learn new things. If I ever get an opportunity to come back, I will take it!
The main purpose for the KCI Pang program (as we call it) was to transform these teachers into local leaders and EdTech advocates who will work with others to begin a movement within the nation to create dynamic classrooms. This is an exciting time in the Philippines which recently added grades K, 11, and 12 (previously only 1-10), made K-12 education compulsory, and adopted Google Apps for Education across the entire country.
As part of this 2 week program, each teacher created two videos and one classroom lesson (here are a few). For a considerable number of the participants, these were the first videos they had ever created. They were excited to learn that they had the opportunity to have a global voice through the power of web-based tools.
It was refreshing to work with a group of educators who are passionate and hungry to learn new things. If I ever get an opportunity to come back, I will take it!
The smile of their faces while training is priceless. :)
ReplyDeleteA great team with a great mission! Thanks for sharing your ideas and time... this has lead me to a new height in teaching. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a great experience working with the KCIPang Team. It really transformed me to become a better invidual, fully equipped with the new knowledge imparted to us...Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeletewe were given priceless knowledge to impart with our learners who will become our leaders in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt's an amazing experience to learn a lot from the Foothill-KCI Instructional Team. Rest assured that the skills we've learned will be shared to our fellow workers and most importantly to our students. Thanks a lot Foothil-KCI Team, thanks a lot sir John Sowash!
ReplyDeleteGreat team...thanks God for sending this wonderful people here in the Philippines, especially here in Pangasinan...so much fun and learning. Our trainors we're all nice and humble. Thanks guys and God bless always.
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