the Star Friday, December 17, 2010 starlife 25
It is something of an irony that a
gathering of world experts on education
dominated by Western representatives
should find their greatest inspiration
in Third World countries, especially in
Africa.
The World Innovation Summit for
Education (WISE) 2010 – an initiative of
the Qatar Foundation, is characteristic of
this country which has just bid successfully
for the 2022 World Cup. They are also
bidding to be a major centre of excellence
in e-learning since they are aware that even
vast reserves of oil and LNG can have their
ups and downs.
To that end, the QF brought together
over 1200 leaders to put their heads
together and come up with solutions for
the most pressing problems in a world
where change is moving ahead at the
fastest pace in history.
If Africa is to achieve the much-touted
MDGs by 2015, mobile technology will
need to become a key player.
Why Africa? It provides a huge challenge
in that in the next decade the continent will
be the largest user of mobile technology.
It has leapfrogged the necessity to have a
first world standard infrastructure, and
by-passing landlines, has produced some
of the most innovative developments in the
field , notably Safaricom’s M-Pesa in 2007.
Four years later there are 11.8 million
users.
Among the most impressive contributors
to the discussion was Kenyan Jessica
Colaco who at the tender age of 26 is
already a TED (Technology Entertainment
and Design) fellow and has created an
impressive presence on the world stage.
Her passion for learning by using mobile
phones is infectious: at the conference,
the four grey-suited elderly men who sat
next to her on the stage were completely
bedazzled.
She showed early promise at Strathmore
University where, as a student, she
found herself being consulted on ways
of managing mobile technolgy. She soon
became manager of Nairobi’s iHub which
began in March of this year.
Several times a year she runs boot camps
at which young people can come and have
crash courses in a learning method which
brushes aside stuffy school textbooks and
classrooms, and gives the learner a chance
to be creative and self -motivated.
In a world where there are not enough
teachers, particularly forward-looking
ones, the graduates of the mobile camps
can teach others according to the timehonoured
principle of Each One Teach
One. After all there’s nothing like teaching
to enhance your own learning skills, is
there?
“We train the trainers,” she says. “We
tap into the community.” They share ideas
and brainstorm in groups. Education is
intended to be a communal activity, which
gives learners the power to direct their own
growth.
The iHub develops mobile applications
and is open to everyone. There are
already 1,800 registered users. A threetier
membership model gives members
the access to resources, books events and
assistance.
It has uses in crises that no other
medium has dreamt of: information about
Haiti’s disastrous earthquake earlier this
year, for instance, was relayed to people
by mobile phones who were then able to
provide help on the ground where it was
most needed. “Thirty percent of Kenyans
have mobile phones,” Jessica argues. “How
can we tap into this?”
This is a whole new model of learning
which sees as its goal constant evolution
and the ability to put into practice lifelong
learning. It is a universe away from
classrooms and textbooks.
Words are often replaced by games,
images, colour coding and mathematics. It
has already been used in innovative ways
in areas such as Kisumu where fishermen
can call market sellers at the lakeside to
check on the prices for the day.
In a country where distance and
inaccessibility can destroy the incentive to
create business, the mobile phone is king.
It doesn’t have to deal with potholes or
police. It gets straight to the point.
It isn’t the only example of Kenyan
ingenuity: Evans Wadongo’s solar lantern
was highly commended for its ability to
create power in resource poor areas in
an environmentally friendly and readily
imitable manner.
But language skills certain haven’t
been left out: IVR (Individual Voice
Recognition) allows learners to choose
from a menu options which enable them to
have short bursts of instruction at frequent
intervals – the best way of learning,
especially with languages which require
constant reinforcement.
As part of her presentation Jessica
showed an advertisement where a shy
woman has to answer her husband’s
phone in English; he is in the shower
and she has to respond which does,
charmingly. “He will get back to you as
soon as he can,” she replies, smiling.
The confidence such knowledge can
bring is a great motivator for learning.
And it puts into practice that maxim so
often talked about but rarely used in the
classroom: don’t talk about it. Do it.
Milk farmers have been able to access
information about the storage of milk
and to learn about prices through using
SMSes. Their profits have soared, they can
feed their families and send children to
school.
Aley Nyika Pamoja is an event
management company which enables
customers to pay online, assuring the
business that it has funds to proceed. No
banks, no hidden charges. No defaulting
on promises.
How young should learners be? “As
young as you want,” replies our mentor.
In Indonesia a 10-year-old girl translated
invented a game in which she translated
from Indonesian to English by using
colourful images.“It must become part of
the school curriculum, Jessica concludes.
In Gandhi’s words, “We need to be the
change we want to see.”
betty.caplan1@gmail.com
HSTAR Life a meeting
of minds
at literary
festival
pages 26 -27
Strong Kenyan Presence At
Qatar Education summit
letter from
Doha
By Betty Caplan
in search of excellence: Participants at WISE 2010. Inset, Kenya’s Jessica Colaco
In a world where
there are not enough
teachers, particularly
forward-looking ones,
the graduates of the
mobile camps can
teach others according
to the principle of Each
One Teach One
MWAZINDIKA NAIROBI
Dance in a trance
Monday, February 28, 2011
FELA! Musical from New York about the unique Fela Kuti
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/International+Broadway+superstars+come+tief+Fela/-/434746/1114078/-/ttakkoz/-/index.html
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Young Kenyan with a Passion for Mobile Learning
http://www.nation.co.ke/Tech/Young%20Kenyan%20with%20a%20passion%20for%20mobile%20phone%20learning%20%20/-/1017288/1088624/-/4x7p9dz/-/index.html
Monday, December 13, 2010
mwazemba got it wrong
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/-/434746/1064372/-/121max1z/-/index.html
Thursday, November 11, 2010
AFRICAN STUDENTS WARM TO MELBOURNE
the Star Tuesday, November 2, 2010 starlife 21
H STAR Life SINGER ADNAN
SAMI WOWS
NAIROBI
See Page 24
AFRICAN STUDENTS
WARM TO MELBOURNE
African students at Victoria
University have started holding
“harambees” to strengthen
their relationships and provide a
regular platform for discussion
with members of staff.
These are not your ordinary
20-something Aussies with few obstacles
to higher education: they are older, mostly
with families, and from conflict areas like
Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. They are
enormously grateful for the chance to study
and the campus at Footscray is designed
for people like them, with plenty of extracurricular
help in the way of mentoring,
study support labs, English tuition and
pastoral care.
Of course there was excellent food,
music and dancing to create the right
atmosphere.
Most of them would be envious of
Kenyans and their grasp of English since
they have not been taught in the medium
before.
Incidentally, this has often struck me as
a missed opportunity: Kenya could attract
thousands of students from neighbouring
countries and offer similar money-spinning
courses if it seriously decided to become the
English-speaking hub of East Africa.
Kenya does not lack good teachers
and could capitalise on the substantial
collection of African writing in English
as a plus. Look at how many Kenyans
are leaving the country to study in South
Africa. Nobody wants to go far away
unless they really have to.
You can’t help admiring the
resourcefulness of the Africans in
Melbourne: though the facilities are good,
they are nevertheless stretched to the
limits, and so students have to fend for
themselves. They look for ways of getting
support within their own community and
form strong bonds with each other.
Mohammed who is 41 now has a
Bachelor of Engineering and can advise
and guide the younger ones. He came up
the hard way; having dropped out of school
in Sudan for 10 years, he went to Cairo to
teach English. Like many of his fellows,
he felt lost in Australia. When he saw the
name “Victoria University” he decided it
must be good because it was named after
the state. Now he is in love with it. “If
I was to marry a university, it would be
Victoria,” he says. But he had to conquer
feelings of inferiority at being so much
older, since in his society age-mates are
expected to be able to do the same things.
Mary, also from Sudan, has a Diploma
of Community Welfare and is doing a
Bachelor in Social Work. She overcame
her feelings of discomfort and nervousness
after coming to VU. Now working for
the International Red Cross, she is still
“climbing the mountain.”
She tends to speak in metaphors.
Because it is hard for these students to
be critical since they come from cultures
where politeness to elders and teachers is
instinctive, she gets round the problem by
comparing lecturers to driving instructors.
“If you push the car too hard it will crash,”
she says. A gentle push is what’s needed.
Encouragement and an appreciation of
how hard it is for these students are likely
to bring about success.
The Africans at VU have come up with
the idea of creating an American-style
“buddy” system where each new student
is assigned an older, more experienced
one to help them settle in. Mary has been
back to Sudan and found that she didn’t
feel at home any more. “Am I at home
anywhere?” she asked herself. “Where
I live now is home”, and that’s that.
“We can encourage friendship between
our countries and Australia and act as
ambassadors,” she said.
The education of foreign students has
been a big money-earner for Victoria in
particular, though there has been some
controversy about sub-standard colleges
and discrimination against Indian
students, which received bad press. As
a result, numbers may drop in future
which might be a good thing for existing
students who will perhaps get more
attention. Despite the negative publicity,
students get a good deal from the
government.
AMES (Australian Migrants Education
Service) assists with excellent free courses
in English and directs young women like
Bethlehem from Ethiopia to preparatory
courses like Gateway to Nursing so that
she now has a full Bachelor’s degree in the
subject. But Hakim felt there was a need
for yet more English teachers.
As parents, they are aware that their
children find things difficult; discipline is
far more lax in western countries and the
youth, caught between their parents’ world
and their new one are confused and lacking
in focus. They haven’t had to make the
sacrifices their parents made.
Mohammed pointed out that the
community had crucial role to pay here:
graduates should propagate the idea of
education amongst the younger ones and
help them find clear goals. They also want
them to retain a sense of who they are
and the cultural values of “home.” The
temptation to drop out, and get into bad
habits is always present.
Footscray is not one of Melbourne’s leafy
suburbs. It even feels like a bit of Africa
with its markets and African restaurants.
On a Friday night at the Lalibella, the
owner not only serves tables but also sings
and dances. Videos of Ethiopians in their
crisp white costumes dancing in front of
green hills make you want to be there.
Drop-out rates are a general problem
causing the state to look carefully at its
educational provision.
Together they can commit to getting
a quality education. “Everything is
available,” Hakim says. “It’s a good
environment.” And the staff are anxious to
get their feedback to make it even better.
betty.caplan1@gmail.com
LEGAL EAGLES WHO MAKE A MARK - Pages 22-23
forum: Victoria University students panel comprising older students, mostly
with families, and from conflict areas like Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Inset, the
administration block at the university.
letter from OZ
By Betty Caplan
H STAR Life SINGER ADNAN
SAMI WOWS
NAIROBI
See Page 24
AFRICAN STUDENTS
WARM TO MELBOURNE
African students at Victoria
University have started holding
“harambees” to strengthen
their relationships and provide a
regular platform for discussion
with members of staff.
These are not your ordinary
20-something Aussies with few obstacles
to higher education: they are older, mostly
with families, and from conflict areas like
Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. They are
enormously grateful for the chance to study
and the campus at Footscray is designed
for people like them, with plenty of extracurricular
help in the way of mentoring,
study support labs, English tuition and
pastoral care.
Of course there was excellent food,
music and dancing to create the right
atmosphere.
Most of them would be envious of
Kenyans and their grasp of English since
they have not been taught in the medium
before.
Incidentally, this has often struck me as
a missed opportunity: Kenya could attract
thousands of students from neighbouring
countries and offer similar money-spinning
courses if it seriously decided to become the
English-speaking hub of East Africa.
Kenya does not lack good teachers
and could capitalise on the substantial
collection of African writing in English
as a plus. Look at how many Kenyans
are leaving the country to study in South
Africa. Nobody wants to go far away
unless they really have to.
You can’t help admiring the
resourcefulness of the Africans in
Melbourne: though the facilities are good,
they are nevertheless stretched to the
limits, and so students have to fend for
themselves. They look for ways of getting
support within their own community and
form strong bonds with each other.
Mohammed who is 41 now has a
Bachelor of Engineering and can advise
and guide the younger ones. He came up
the hard way; having dropped out of school
in Sudan for 10 years, he went to Cairo to
teach English. Like many of his fellows,
he felt lost in Australia. When he saw the
name “Victoria University” he decided it
must be good because it was named after
the state. Now he is in love with it. “If
I was to marry a university, it would be
Victoria,” he says. But he had to conquer
feelings of inferiority at being so much
older, since in his society age-mates are
expected to be able to do the same things.
Mary, also from Sudan, has a Diploma
of Community Welfare and is doing a
Bachelor in Social Work. She overcame
her feelings of discomfort and nervousness
after coming to VU. Now working for
the International Red Cross, she is still
“climbing the mountain.”
She tends to speak in metaphors.
Because it is hard for these students to
be critical since they come from cultures
where politeness to elders and teachers is
instinctive, she gets round the problem by
comparing lecturers to driving instructors.
“If you push the car too hard it will crash,”
she says. A gentle push is what’s needed.
Encouragement and an appreciation of
how hard it is for these students are likely
to bring about success.
The Africans at VU have come up with
the idea of creating an American-style
“buddy” system where each new student
is assigned an older, more experienced
one to help them settle in. Mary has been
back to Sudan and found that she didn’t
feel at home any more. “Am I at home
anywhere?” she asked herself. “Where
I live now is home”, and that’s that.
“We can encourage friendship between
our countries and Australia and act as
ambassadors,” she said.
The education of foreign students has
been a big money-earner for Victoria in
particular, though there has been some
controversy about sub-standard colleges
and discrimination against Indian
students, which received bad press. As
a result, numbers may drop in future
which might be a good thing for existing
students who will perhaps get more
attention. Despite the negative publicity,
students get a good deal from the
government.
AMES (Australian Migrants Education
Service) assists with excellent free courses
in English and directs young women like
Bethlehem from Ethiopia to preparatory
courses like Gateway to Nursing so that
she now has a full Bachelor’s degree in the
subject. But Hakim felt there was a need
for yet more English teachers.
As parents, they are aware that their
children find things difficult; discipline is
far more lax in western countries and the
youth, caught between their parents’ world
and their new one are confused and lacking
in focus. They haven’t had to make the
sacrifices their parents made.
Mohammed pointed out that the
community had crucial role to pay here:
graduates should propagate the idea of
education amongst the younger ones and
help them find clear goals. They also want
them to retain a sense of who they are
and the cultural values of “home.” The
temptation to drop out, and get into bad
habits is always present.
Footscray is not one of Melbourne’s leafy
suburbs. It even feels like a bit of Africa
with its markets and African restaurants.
On a Friday night at the Lalibella, the
owner not only serves tables but also sings
and dances. Videos of Ethiopians in their
crisp white costumes dancing in front of
green hills make you want to be there.
Drop-out rates are a general problem
causing the state to look carefully at its
educational provision.
Together they can commit to getting
a quality education. “Everything is
available,” Hakim says. “It’s a good
environment.” And the staff are anxious to
get their feedback to make it even better.
betty.caplan1@gmail.com
LEGAL EAGLES WHO MAKE A MARK - Pages 22-23
forum: Victoria University students panel comprising older students, mostly
with families, and from conflict areas like Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Inset, the
administration block at the university.
letter from OZ
By Betty Caplan
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Joan Root Biography by Mark SeaL
One woman's bid to save LAKE NAIVASHA
Rating
Wildlife researchers Joan and Alan Root in Naivasha. The two had a sense that the haven they inhabited after they married in 1961 was doomed, thus there was a terrible urgency about their attempts to immortalise it for posterity.
By Betty Caplan (email the author)
Your Email
Message
Send Cancel
Posted Monday, October 25 2010 at 20:53
Mark Seal’s biography of the woman who lost her life in a futile bid to save Lake Naivasha is welcome, though deeply depressing.
Seal originally wrote the story for Vanity Fair and later decided to make it into a book. It is story of someone whose life was so bound up with a love of Kenya and its magnificent wildlife — a love which in the end ensnared her in the complicated web of corruption and conflicting interests that have come to characterise any enterprise that has money-making potential in this country.
Having been herself actually conceived on the shores of the lake in 1926, its survival formed the lynchpin of her existence.
When she met Alan Root, who had arrived in Kenya at the age of 10, she found her soulmate, a man whose mission was to “capture the essence of Africa on film.”
The two had a sense that the haven they inhabited after they married in 1961 was doomed, thus there was a terrible urgency about their attempts to immortalise it for posterity.
Those who have seen the masterpieces they produced together will know that these were the greatest of the wildlife filmmakers; others have followed, but they were the first.
Because they inhabited the territory without making any human mark on it, they were able to capture, for instance, the life of the termite in Castles of Clay, the abiding mystery of how these tiny creatures make such large and well-designed structures, all at the behest of the queen who lays 30,000 eggs a day.
“Four inches long and as thick as a man’s thumb, this grotesque creature looms over the workers that attend her. Beside their queen, the workers look like a ground crew handling a half-inflated airship.”
This small extract underlines what was so special about their films — not just the photography, but the poetic script, which always helped to illuminate the images.
The film about the seasons covers just one small area of land and shows in minute detail how it changes as the rains come and go, and how the wildlife adapts.
Alan was mostly credited for the success their work achieved, but he always maintained that he couldn’t have done it without Joan, that she was his right hand.
The book is full of those marvellous brushes with death that are so common in Kenya — escaping puff adder bites (which cost Alan a finger nevertheless), stray hippos or falling out of hot air balloons.
Theirs was a true “marriage of minds” though, eventually, Joan’s health and eventually her life were sacrificed.
They survived their early years through sheer determination and dedication to their mission, but slowly things began to unravel.
Because of the punishment she had dealt her body, she developed myasthenia and, at the age of 36, suffered an early menopause.
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ng and dance in Malindi, protests in Jakarta and Tibet, remembering musician Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole and World Cup 2010
President Obama in Ohio, Riots in France, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki in Iran, Gymnastics World Championship in Rotterdam and Fashion week in Tokyo
Chinese hospital ship in Kenya, Middle East first ladies in Lebanon, Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Mike Tyson in LA, Rescue in Chile and Forest fire in Reunion
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Rating
Wildlife researchers Joan and Alan Root in Naivasha. The two had a sense that the haven they inhabited after they married in 1961 was doomed, thus there was a terrible urgency about their attempts to immortalise it for posterity.
By Betty Caplan (email the author)
Your Email
Message
Send Cancel
Posted Monday, October 25 2010 at 20:53
Mark Seal’s biography of the woman who lost her life in a futile bid to save Lake Naivasha is welcome, though deeply depressing.
Seal originally wrote the story for Vanity Fair and later decided to make it into a book. It is story of someone whose life was so bound up with a love of Kenya and its magnificent wildlife — a love which in the end ensnared her in the complicated web of corruption and conflicting interests that have come to characterise any enterprise that has money-making potential in this country.
Having been herself actually conceived on the shores of the lake in 1926, its survival formed the lynchpin of her existence.
When she met Alan Root, who had arrived in Kenya at the age of 10, she found her soulmate, a man whose mission was to “capture the essence of Africa on film.”
The two had a sense that the haven they inhabited after they married in 1961 was doomed, thus there was a terrible urgency about their attempts to immortalise it for posterity.
Those who have seen the masterpieces they produced together will know that these were the greatest of the wildlife filmmakers; others have followed, but they were the first.
Because they inhabited the territory without making any human mark on it, they were able to capture, for instance, the life of the termite in Castles of Clay, the abiding mystery of how these tiny creatures make such large and well-designed structures, all at the behest of the queen who lays 30,000 eggs a day.
“Four inches long and as thick as a man’s thumb, this grotesque creature looms over the workers that attend her. Beside their queen, the workers look like a ground crew handling a half-inflated airship.”
This small extract underlines what was so special about their films — not just the photography, but the poetic script, which always helped to illuminate the images.
The film about the seasons covers just one small area of land and shows in minute detail how it changes as the rains come and go, and how the wildlife adapts.
Alan was mostly credited for the success their work achieved, but he always maintained that he couldn’t have done it without Joan, that she was his right hand.
The book is full of those marvellous brushes with death that are so common in Kenya — escaping puff adder bites (which cost Alan a finger nevertheless), stray hippos or falling out of hot air balloons.
Theirs was a true “marriage of minds” though, eventually, Joan’s health and eventually her life were sacrificed.
They survived their early years through sheer determination and dedication to their mission, but slowly things began to unravel.
Because of the punishment she had dealt her body, she developed myasthenia and, at the age of 36, suffered an early menopause.
flashad
1 | 2 | 3 Next Page »
Add a comment (0 comments so far)
ng and dance in Malindi, protests in Jakarta and Tibet, remembering musician Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole and World Cup 2010
President Obama in Ohio, Riots in France, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki in Iran, Gymnastics World Championship in Rotterdam and Fashion week in Tokyo
Chinese hospital ship in Kenya, Middle East first ladies in Lebanon, Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Mike Tyson in LA, Rescue in Chile and Forest fire in Reunion
TermsPrivacy PolicyMobileNewsfeedsHelpContact usAbout us RSS
Joan Root Biography
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/-/434746/1039064/-/item/2/-/vfa5qsz/-/index.html
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