Karn and Patrick are students volunteers who have recently returned from Uganda. In May and June they were teaching the computer course to a class of 45
students. The students were bright and highly motivated!
Patrick Duke volunteered for three weeks of teaching computer skills to the ICMI students. Here are some of his comments on the experience:
'Ugandans in general really enjoy life and are some of the friendliest people I have ever encountered. I was a bit unsure of how to begin my Excel lectures when I set out, but thankfully the Excel lectures used the year prior were on file and I was able to use them as a guideline for preparing my own.'
'Karn and I had a total of forty-five students, which we divided into three lectures of fifteen, so everyone could have a working computer. The teaching method was fairly simple but direct and the students gave us very positive feedback. Using a projector we would have slides on a particular concept, for example, copy and paste. We would then do an example of this, still using the projector, before moving around the classroom helping anyone who had trouble.'
'It very quickly became apparent that no skill could be taken for granted, as many of the students had hardly ever used a computer before.'
'Our second week of teaching was also the first time we evaluated the students; they were given an assignment to work on and a theoretical mid-term at the end of the week.
'The results were pleasing as the class showed that they had a good grasp of the knowledge.'
'Volunteering with the ICMI in Uganda was a fantastic experience and I am extremely grateful I was given the opportunity.'