Journal 10

“ Technology in Ethiopian Schools”
By: Judit Szente

This article discusses the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and their effort in 2002 to bring technology to a village in Ethiopia. Years before, students that had no idea, or concept of the outside world had brought them machines with “mystical” power and their world was turned upside down. Both government schools (those run by the government-60:1 student-teacher ratio, the poorest) and public schools (parent funded and controlled-50:1 student-teacher ratio, better off that the government schools) were given 32 computers, printers, camcorders, scanners, digital cameras, and projectors. Also, each school was given Internet access. Educators from back in the US gave tutorials to the teachers in Ethiopia on how to use Microsoft Office and introduced them to the Internet and e-mail. After the initial training, teachers started to work with students and continued to learn about the integration of technology in their teaching. The computer was no longer intimidating. It became more of an educational tool to help change the angle in which the teachers taught. It was not just some toy. Szente goes on to say that in the 2004-2005 school year, the students were making projects that reflected their life and traditions and cultures. They used digital photography and power point to portray their family life. They shared their life stories via email with another classroom in Buffalo, NY. The students in Buffalo did like their
Ethiopian counterparts did and they shared their life experiences with each other.

1. Q: Do I see this activity as something I would like to happen in my high school history class?
A: This kind of activity might not be a daily occurrence for my students, but it might be a nice middle of the school year project to culminate a unit on ancient Rome. We could converse with a group of high school students in Rome on their views of their lives and how the Roman Empire has influenced their daily lives. T6his could be done through their individual power points displayed through email or some sort of online hosting service.
2. Q: Should this kind of technology spread to other countries and cultures? Even with those countries and cultures that we don’t politically agree with?
A: Absolutely. If we are able to share and learn about each other, the real story, not what the mass media thinks that we want to hear, then some real dialogue can begin between the nations of the world.