Stephen Asunka

Issue Entrepreneurship Project

Developing a Learning Community of Science Teachers on the Internet

There is no doubt that the ever-pervasive "digital divide" is a reality and several initiatives and interventions have been (and are still being) put in place to address this issue both within and between countries. Apart from merely increasing accessibility to technology, effectively integrating ICTs in all levels of education is one such intervention that, it is hoped, will help ensure effective and productive ICT use, and eventually assist in bridging the divide. To this end, training programs have been embarked upon to get teachers predisposed to using technology in their classrooms.

However, as someone who has been involved in science teaching both at the secondary and higher education levels in a third world country, I am fully aware that most science teachers (especially those in less endowed communities), identify a lack of knowledge about the internet as one reason why they have not used it more often as a teaching tool. Questions they often ask include: what types of educational resources are on the internet and how do I find the useful ones? How do I adapt these resources to suit my particular situation? Some of the websites I used to visit have been taken off, where do I go next? etc. All these questions would not have come up if there were to be cooperation and collaboration within the science teacher community throughout the world. With most educational institutions now getting internet access, it should be possible for science teachers to cooperate and share their knowledge and skills online. This will help spread the use of technology in science teaching across borders and cultures, especially as scientific facts and principles are the same everywhere.

As a starting point in this direction, I am proposing the establishment of a weblog that will serve as an interactive medium that can connect high school science teachers across institutions and continents. This blog will contain pre-screened resource listings and instructional pieces that will help the teachers find and use websites and educational software, and also a discussion board for interactivity between teachers. Users can also blog-post their questions and concerns and get appropriate responses from credible personalities as well as from other users. Science teachers from third world countries will be targeted and encouraged to join in (I don't know how I will do that for now).

Whilst moderating the blog I will research the internet for potential resource persons whom I hope to encourage to join in providing useful content for other users. It is hoped that as this online community grows, a lot more science teachers, especially those who are still hesitant to integrate technology into their classroom activities, will gain the necessary technical knowledge and ideas from their more experienced and resourceful counterparts. Those teachers who are really committed to using the technology that is available to them in their classroom activities should therefore be able to do so eventually.

posted by Steve @ 6:03 PM