Day 1 - Back in Dominica

Five of the ten teachers ~half of the group.

Well here I am again in Dominica. This is a much different experience from last March. It is not completely different; it is still quite hot - sweating is a full time activity - and the luscious vegetation is still amazing, I have with me three wonderful women and many more participants in my class. Well, that I have a class makes this go-round a new experience.

We arrived here late Saturday evening. Sunday was spent resting and walking around the city. One of my colleagues was here in July last year, but the other two are new to Dominica. We are enjoying sharing stories of the island and its people. Giving impromptu tours has been the order of the first couple of days.

Those that know me, know that I will chat anyone up. There is no better way to learn about any place you may be. On the plane from Barbados to Dominica I sat beside a Dominican man who has lived in Alberta for the last 24 years! His perspective is that the island does not do enough to develop industries that would improve the economy. When asked why he lived in cold Canada instead of Dominica, he said he liked having seasons. It is only ever summertime here! I have found out that there are around 70 thousand people on the island, but another 20 thousand live off the island. 'Overseas' they say - that could be anywhere from the United States or Canada to Africa. So about a quarter of their people live elsewhere. Strange.

But the reason I am here is to help teachers with integrating technology into education. The day started somewhat uncertainly and late. Once we knew which teachers were going with which instructor, and which school we were heading to, we only had to figure out which computers would work for us. The school my group went to has internet access and enough working computers for the group. However, the material I had prepared was directed toward secondary teachers teaching information technology and there is only one participant who meets this description. Even so, they all worked away at the sample project I had for them to do.

I will be introducing them to project-based learning materials in the coming days. What I hope they learn is that the project I started them off on is not very engaging, nor does it foster authentic learning the way it should. Soon enough, we will all be experts at building collaborative projects using technology and curricular content. I will keep you posted about the process :)