Friday, September 4, 2009

Lead & Get Others Involved

Educational technology has made the attainment of education possible for diverse groups including those in remote areas of developing countries. The obvious question that comes to mind is: how is it possible to spread this form of education in remote areas without electricity and telephone lines? The vision to provide educational technology in such areas might seem an impossible task. However, the following story demonstrates the will of a “changemaker”, who achieved the impossible by introducing educational technology in a country where government-run schools are inadequately funded and in the remote Nepalese villages, which are isolated from urban cities and other villages due to rough terrain.

Mahabir Pun, a Nepalese teacher, due to absence of high-school education, was forced to leave mountainous village (Nangi) in western Nepal. After high school, he attended the University of Nebraska in United States. When he returned to his village, he realized his village’s need to sustainable educational institutions. From his experiences in United States, he had seen the significant contribution that information technology could make to the improving education system. This single idea motivated him to improve the quality of education in Nepal’s remote mountainous regions.

Mahabir began to work on his vision i.e. using technology to overcome the remoteness of these mountainous villages, by educating himself about computer through computer classes.

His plan is to link teachers by computers and Internet, thereby preventing teacher burnout and improving the quality of instruction. His vision allows teacher hours-walking distance away to communicate with each other, share resources, and ideas. Moreover, since qualified teachers are rare in these mountainous districts, distance-learning classes allow three or more villages to share skilled teachers.

Mahabir first steps in making his vision a possibility included connecting Nangi School with villages eight-hours-walking distance away with the help of a small handmade dish antennae. He collected computer parts from the U.S. and assembled them in wooden boxes, thereby building 14 computer for his village. In 2008, Mahabir’s dream became a full-fledged reality with wireless technology connecting 42 remote villages in Nepal.

Mahabir’s solution to geographic isolation and derisory education is compelling, but it is also applicable to numerous countries with similar geographic character and equally to those in pursuit of a sustainable education system.

If you have lead others to get involved in making an impact on the issue of educational technology or any other global issue, let the rest of the TakingITGlobal (TIG) community know by writing your own TIG member's story and inspire others to create change just like you!



source: issues.tigweb.org

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