Vision
Technology has become part of everyday life of individuals who aspire to succeed in the demands of the 21st century that is filled with technological advancements in businesses that operate to provide the basic needs of livelihood while at the same time improving on their profit margins. Governments employ technology to serve their citizens and therefore expect the citizens to have the basic skills required to cooperate and to contribute in building their nations. Both the governments and the businesses expect individuals to stay productive, hence the demand for basic knowledge in productivity tools. The vision is to help promote the development of skills that go beyond being able to stay productive while working for the businesses and governments, to those that help the individual in achieving personal goals, such as the ability to identify and finding solutions to personal problems that range from health, communication, and education. The use of technology in Ghanaian schools is currently geared towards making teachers stay productive in the preparation of lesson plans and making presentation, and students becoming familiar with word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software applications.
The students should be able to use technology to collaborate with one another in finding solutions to problems, gain access to contents and courses that are not available in their schools, and conduct personal research to find solutions to problems such as health and community needs.
My role as a technology coach in realizing this vision would be to offer mentorship opportunities for teachers on my staff and for those who have personal contact with me. I will also seize the opportunity to offer professional development programs on technology facilitation in schools. It is hoped that the teachers would go on to train other teachers on how to use technology to engage students in the classrooms. There are a limited number of high schools in the country, and as such most students do not get the opportunity to attend high schools or have access to the programs they really want to offer. Christensen (2008) confirms that public education in developing countries, just as in Ghana, is not universal, and as such it is expected to have disruptive innovations occurring in the classrooms of these countries (p. 91). Technology is not being disruptively employed in Ghanaian classrooms to provide an alternative for those who do not have access to quality education. My experience in online learning and teaching should give me the ability to start an online high school that currently does not exit in the country.
This vision and the planned strategies for achieving it would not come with challenges. Currently, not all part of the country has access to high speed Internet; majority of Ghanaians have access to Internet only through the 3G network; electricity supply is also not stable; and the majority of the students do not have personal devices that would help participate in online learning activities. The conviction is that the nation should not wait for access to broadband Internet and stable electricity in every part of country before teachers learn how to integrate technology to engage students.
If technology facility in schools starts now, the telecommunication companies would broad their coverage; there would be an increased employment for people in the telecommunication sector; certified but unemployed teachers would find jobs in online teaching; and most importantly, there would be an improved student performance and literacy rate.
Reference
Christensen, C., Johnson, C. W., & Horn, M. B. (2008). Disrupting class: How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns. New York: McGraw-Hill.
The students should be able to use technology to collaborate with one another in finding solutions to problems, gain access to contents and courses that are not available in their schools, and conduct personal research to find solutions to problems such as health and community needs.
My role as a technology coach in realizing this vision would be to offer mentorship opportunities for teachers on my staff and for those who have personal contact with me. I will also seize the opportunity to offer professional development programs on technology facilitation in schools. It is hoped that the teachers would go on to train other teachers on how to use technology to engage students in the classrooms. There are a limited number of high schools in the country, and as such most students do not get the opportunity to attend high schools or have access to the programs they really want to offer. Christensen (2008) confirms that public education in developing countries, just as in Ghana, is not universal, and as such it is expected to have disruptive innovations occurring in the classrooms of these countries (p. 91). Technology is not being disruptively employed in Ghanaian classrooms to provide an alternative for those who do not have access to quality education. My experience in online learning and teaching should give me the ability to start an online high school that currently does not exit in the country.
This vision and the planned strategies for achieving it would not come with challenges. Currently, not all part of the country has access to high speed Internet; majority of Ghanaians have access to Internet only through the 3G network; electricity supply is also not stable; and the majority of the students do not have personal devices that would help participate in online learning activities. The conviction is that the nation should not wait for access to broadband Internet and stable electricity in every part of country before teachers learn how to integrate technology to engage students.
If technology facility in schools starts now, the telecommunication companies would broad their coverage; there would be an increased employment for people in the telecommunication sector; certified but unemployed teachers would find jobs in online teaching; and most importantly, there would be an improved student performance and literacy rate.
Reference
Christensen, C., Johnson, C. W., & Horn, M. B. (2008). Disrupting class: How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns. New York: McGraw-Hill.