SUCCESS STORIES
From students to teachers to community members — we are making an impact.
1. Meet Peter Banda, a grade 7 student
When I first got into this school, I had no ICT skills. My first contact with a tablet was in this school. Having been given this opportunity, I can now attest that I am able to operate and use the technology with very minimal supervision.
In the earlier days before eLearning was introduced, I used to find it difficult to remember what was taught because some lessons were hard for me to remember without anything to look at. I enjoy the lessons when they are projected on the wall and I pay more attention. At times it feels like am watching a cartoon which helps me to learn the material faster because it is interesting and brings something real in a classroom.
eLearning has enhanced my ability to learn and remember things that I see. The lessons on the tablets are awesome because it gets us engaged as a class. I love group work. We all interact and work as a group whereas before the teacher would do an exercise on the board and each student would hide their answer whether it is right or wrong.
One statement our teacher uses is “if you see it, you can’t forget it and if you do something, you are likely to remember always how that particular thing is done”. Truly, I have seen this in my learning ability as well as when it comes to remember what I learned. When I compare my performance before and now, I can truly attest to the fact that my grades have improved, and I am more zealous and positive minded than I was before. Visual learning is so much easier and fun. Now our classes are on time because we do not take so much time to understand what the teacher is teaching and the number of absenteeism has dropped.
I am a better more focused and committed pupil now than I was some time back before visual learning and other learning aids where introduced. I look forward to so much more that I will learn with regards to ICT skill acquisition.
*Name has been changed to protect identity of student.
2. Meet Katherine Mwale, a parent from one of our schools
I am Katherine Mwale. I have nine children, among my children one is an Impact student and another one is an Impact teacher.
Before Impact Network was established I had no interest in educating my children but my husband did. In our village there were no schools but there was a community school nearby where my husband took our children. The community recommended a male teacher and we agreed that will be taking portions of our crops to pay the teacher. This worked well the first 2 years, but afterwards the children would come home and tell us the teacher was not there. At times the teacher would travel without letting anyone know. He was very stubborn. When the head man approached him on these issues, he started to resent the children. Whenever I went by the school the children were usually outside playing. We as parents never saw any benefit for children to go to school and play all day long when there were so many chores to be done at home and in the field. I remember that year there were a lot of dropouts and the school closed for a period of time.
Years later a non-profit organization came to our community to educate us on the importance of education and invited children to come back to the school, free of charge. My daughter, who now works for Impact Network, was among the children who were sponsored.
Now that my daughter is a teacher, I have seen the importance of education. Our lives have changed. The way my girl does things, the way she understands things, the way she explains things to me, the way she encourages her younger sibling to go to school amazes me. I can see the difference in the schools my oldest children attended to the Impact Network School my youngest goes to. When he is home from school, all he talks about is learning on tablets. He tells me what he learns from them and doesn’t want to miss school.
At school, the students now pay attention to each and every detail and are finally getting a quality education. The classrooms are perfect and the teachers always get paid. The salary helps motivate the teachers a lot because people expect to be paid a fair wage after their hard work, and without it, you cannot attract or retain employees. The prospect of receiving money in the near future is a strong enough motivator to change behavior. Maybe this is what the earlier teachers lacked. It is not just me and my kids that are benefiting but the community as a whole.
The quality of education our children are receiving are that of a 5 star hotel.
*Name has been changed to protect identity of parent.
“It is not just me and my kids that are benefiting but the community as a whole.”
— Katherine Mwale
3. Meet Solomon Phiri, one of our teachers
Learning is a process, and it is part of our daily lives.
I remember when I was growing up, Community School Teachers were never paid, not motivated and did not pay attention to student’s abilities. Because of this there was a negative social culture tag attached to school as people perceived it to be a waste of time. Students going to community schools were labeled as orphans and destitute, which demotivated both students and teachers. Therefore, students lacked quality education and motivation to continue with school while teachers did not have the right skills to teach and were not interested in it. This is why you find a lot of our elders in the community are not educated.
Before I joined Impact Network, I had little interest in my teaching career. Impact Network Teacher Training has made me gain interest and every time I attend the training, my interest is rekindled. I have learned a lot and have moved from being a mere teacher to a teacher with a vision for my country. I never knew how to deal with learners especially the ones that are struggling or are difficult in the classroom. Learning about positive discipline and the steps to take when talking to our students has opened my eyes. Teacher Training is doing wonders for me. If each and every school would have these teacher trainings then we will flourish as a country, because education plays a central role in all aspects of development and teachers are agents of education.
Teacher Training also brings about balanced professional development, as we learn from our peers how to use effective strategies when delivering lessons. There are a lot of skills gained such as learning how to use group activities in a lesson, adapting the textbook to match the class and how to use the time table. I now use classroom aides and resources that help my learners remember the lessons. Another positive impact is that we have learned how to be economical, creative and always look for ways to make use of available local resources when delivering a lesson.
There is more that I could say about the benefits of the training that we receive. We are taught about children’s rights and responsibilities. We practice better techniques to give learners feedback on performance as well as how to deliver lessons on a tablet.
Modern technology has made it simple for students to learn more effectively, conveniently and support individual learning which also gives students a chance to learn on their own. It has improved learners retention. As the saying goes “tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.” eLearning is really helping both the teachers and the students.
“I have moved from being a mere teacher to a teacher with a vision for my country.”
— Solomon Phiri
