Mr. Mark Matunga- MESA Education and Citizenship Manager gives certificates to a ToT

The Innovative Women Teachers Program (IWTP) started in earnest with the Trainer of trainees (ToT) course at the Kenya Institute of Education on 11th August 2008. The five year program that aims at realization of the potential of the girl- child through ICT, targets to train 150,000 women teachers’ from primary and secondary schools in Kenya.

The programme is a partnership between Microsoft- through the its Partners in Learning Program, and the Ministry of Education – Kenya and the African Centre for Women in ICT (ACWICT) to transform education through the use of ICT in Education.

The TOT training launch was graced with a visit by Mr. Mark Matunga, the Microsoft Education and Citizenship Manager (MESA) who highlighted the expectations of Microsoft especially in the light of Microsoft Partners in Learning.

Participants were taken through an orientation of the project by Ms Constantine Obuya, the Executive Director of the African Centre for Women, Information and Communications Technology (ACWICT). She in particular highlighted the specific objectives of the program as;

1. Providing an avenue for adoption and implementation of the ICT policy in the context of its integration to address real challenges to education in Kenya.
2. Undertaking basic hands-on ICT skills audit and training using the self-instruction Digital Literacy Curriculum CD-ROM so improve current teaching practices amongst teachers against the emerging pedagogies.
3. Providing opportunities of ICT integration so as to improve learning outcomes by helping teachers to identify opportunities for innovative practice in school environment.
4. To examine the Social, cultural and health issues around the girl child and determine how ICTs can help access, disseminate and communicate information and steer change around these issues.

Hitherto, ACWICT engaged Ms Betty Ogange an ICT education guru, as a consultant and Mr. Dan Otedo hitherto a teacher and trainer in ACWICT’s Reaching the Unreached Program , to customize the Digital Literacy Curriculum www.microsoft.com/digitalliteracy, by enriching it with content capturing subject matter on the girl child in education. The IWTP curriculum was cross checked by Mr. Brian Weke, a Program Officer at The Cradle, (The Children’s Foundation).

Through and through, the process is being coordinated by Mr. Edwin Oloo, the e- learning coordinator, Ministry of Education - Kenya, who espoused the Government policy on ICT especially the guiding principles, noting that the Innovative Women teachers Program falls within the government Policy and strategy to promote gender balance in access to ICT education and training.

He reiterated that the IWT programme being the first and only of its kind in Kenya would help in conducting a situational analysis of ICT in Kenyan schools with the view of documenting the status of girls and women in ICT towards the development of future programmes and implementation of findings.

The training was delivered by specialists with industry recognition in ICT in education, Children’s rights and Adolescent Reproductive Health. The Kenya Institute of Education was handy in this process, more specifically ensuring high standards in the tutoring of the Trainers of trainers. Towards this, the senior Assistant director, Mr .Reuben Thamburi was the lead Master trainer.
The master trainers were:

1. Susan Kurgat                          E-learning consortium North Rift
2. Dr.Koki Muli                             Program Manager Afri-Afya.
3. Brian Weke                              Program Officer, Cradle,-The Children’s Foundation.

The training involved a skills audit of the trainees by testing their hands on experience and entry behavior of the trainees. Spotlight was primarily given to group tasks to promote supportive engagement in the training. This raised the motivation and attitude of the TOT’s, encouraged free flow of ideas, increased desire for research and quest for mastery of the customized Digital Literacy Curriculum. However, the students had a one-to-one experience that provided each student with more hands-on time to build their skills and confidence

The tutoring focused on building their confidence and hands on proficiency, to mould them as 21st century teachers. This was whilst bearing in mind the differentiated entry levels and concrete acquaintance with ICT’s, and the need to harmonize these on a customized Microsoft Digital Literacy platform. Hence there was an eclectic mix of theory, individualized and group practical assignments to edify the trainees.

A graded test based on the course work was administered in each topic in the customized digital literacy curriculum .Tasks on usage of ICT in the apprehension of the girl-child potential and the integration of ICT into the classroom environment was done.

The concluding ceremony was graced by the Director, Kenya institute of Education, Lydia Nzomo. www.kie.ac.ke, The Director pledged the continued support of Kenya institute of Education to the Program. Key in her address was the need to use this opportunity to invite the trained ToT’s for another training session to equip them with the necessary skills to train teachers in the integration of the digital content in the primary and secondary schools curriculum.

Present during the closing ceremony were Mr. James Kiburi, the Senior Assistant director, ministry of Education and Mr. John Kimotho, the KIE senior deputy director, Media and Extension services who underscored the importance of ICT’s in education, especially for remote regions of the country, notwithstanding the need for teachers to continuously be abreast with technological changes in the 21st century, which would make them better workers. Primary to this would be the need to equip teachers with necessary technological gadgets like computers uploaded with digital subject content to enable them be innovative in classroom setup.

The ToT’s showcased some of the projects that they developed, most of which was on the use of ICT in a school situation, especially in a classroom environment especially in helping in the realization of the potential of the Girl child in Kenya.
Mr Mark Matunga ,the Education and Community Affairs Manager Microsoft East and Southern Africa, observed that the training as part of Microsoft’s Partners in Learning initiative brings together governments and non- government organizations to offer schools and administrators a spectrum of education resources, programs, and practices, that empower students and teachers to realize their full potential .

He stressed capacity building the female teachers in ICT, as key in empowering the girl child and offering unlock the otherwise unexplored potential in them. Hence using ICT to provide innovative in and out of classroom learning activities, would enhance their academic achievement as well as well as have them make informed choices.

Mr. Matunga also noted that the program other than promote individual innovative practices, would also be geared toward country wide innovation by engendering activities that would promote teacher professional development and establishment of a network of innovative teachers who would not only rely on serendipitous learning, but who would design interdisciplinary activities that cross artificial boundaries created by the various content areas.