A Lesotho teacher's global award last year in Brazil has inspired the country's teachers to action. This year, 67 teachers attended workshops on how best to use technology innovatively to engage learners in the classroom, leading to a drastic increase in entries into the 2010 Lesotho Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum (ITF) awards.
The top 10 projects that demonstrate how technology can transform teaching and learning in Lesotho's schools are being adjudicated in Maseru over the next two days, with winners being announced at an awards ceremony in the city on Friday afternoon.
Inspirational community-based projects among the finalists include a nation-building Basotho culture fact-finding and demonstration project, a drug and substance abuse community campaign, and ecological campaigns around better understanding water harvesting and deforestation.
The awards, which are being hosted in partnership with the Lesotho Ministry of Education & Training and the School Technology Innovation Centre (STIC) at the Lesotho College of Education, honour outstanding teachers who use technology creatively in their classrooms to prepare students for the 21st century.
The three national winners will get to compete against the best of their region in the Pan African ITF awards taking place from 24-27 August in Mombasa, Kenya - further exposing these teachers to ideas that they could then pass on to their colleagues. Local Lesotho partners SHA-Computers and Denvertech have supported the Innovative Teacher Forum by contributing towards the cost of two of the winners' air tickets to Mombasa. Lesotho Motor Clinic and Techware are also providing prizes for the winning teachers.
“Often, teachers are hesitant to adopt technology into their curriculum until they get a chance to experience firsthand the benefits and possibilities for their students,” said Zongezile Dlangamandla, eSchools Co-ordinator at the Lesotho Ministry of Education and Training.
“The award is fantastic, but even more meaningful is the chance for teachers to discuss with their peers how technology is able to transform their students' learning environments.”
“The intention of having this forum in Lesotho is to celebrate the strides that many teachers have made in adopting and using ICT to enhance their teaching practices,” says Dr Kasongo. “The forum is also a worthwhile opportunity for teachers from Lesotho to share their ideas and to network with one another - thus creating a community of practitioners who can collaborate on further projects.”
Angela Schaerer, who heads up the Partners in Learning programme at Microsoft South Africa, believes the Forum provides a unique opportunity for teachers from all over the world to improve their teaching methods through collaboration.
“Technology goes a long way to giving especially remote communities access to a world of information, and has made it much easier for teachers to prepare and present lessons in the classroom,” she says.
The ITF is part of Microsoft's Partners in Learning programme, a global initiative designed to help increase technology access for schools, foster innovative approaches to education, and provide educators with the tools to manage and implement change.
Note to editors:
Addendum A provides brief profiles of the finalist schools and their projects entered into the competition.
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