Friday, July 19th: The last day ...

The day was very relaxed. We only had from 8:30 to 10:15, so there was little point in starting anything new. Instead we took the time to reflect. Our teachers shared one thing they felt was the most meaningful, one thing that was the most frustrating and one thing they wish for. They were lovely and concise and touching. I have been honoured to work with them. Despite the real situations of limited access, they are determined to learn these skills every year. One lovely lady shared how initially she intended to only come every second day, so she could have her break as well, but instead came faithfully each day once she knew what she could learn. Although she expressed happiness that the course is now over and she can begin sleeping in, she is also sad that our time is up. I know exactly what she means! It has been another rewarding experience.

Presentations were made at the Grammar School, and they ran a little long as usual. It is hard to take that last step out the door. The participating teachers received certificates and then presented us with thank you gifts. 

As an added bonus, the teachers Darlene and I worked with wrote a poem and presented it to us. They are so creative and appreciative. Here it is for you to enjoy:

When it came time to decide, 

it was to Moodle and Make Changes!

Thanks to Shelly and Darlene our bellies are full and our b ... brain is glad!

Ensconced in our small but adequate room,

Ideas were exchanged as we all became 'tutors' in our own way.

Lending our expertise where needed.

Guided and supervised by tutors who allowed a

go-at-your-pace

and 

share-if-you-will ideal.

The more we learned the greater the need to keep up;

And that's where symbaloo my dear you came in.

We dare to dream that someday soon our symbaloo will resemble our dear Moodleista's!

On the other end of the way

you heard the excitement in the voices as they grew.

Making changes seemed to be encouraging just that .....

change and discovery!

At times I think we future moodleistas wanted to know what was so exciting.

Times of silence would pass by and then you knew-----the focus was on especially during lesson 

planning.

Often times the room was a buzz as each one would sing out,

"Shelly or Miss Shelly'.

And of course...she would magically appear!

A world of teacher tools was opened to us

there in that oh short course!

Tagxedo, Edmodo, Superteachertools...

If you want to know them all just sync with us on symbaloo.

Darlene and Shelly how awesome you are,

thoughtful to give your time and effort,

generous and charitable for all the tokens....

our sweet tooth sated and our purses absolved some valuable teaching aids.

Blessed for being patient and understanding for allowing us to teach each other and even you.

Your efforts may just have rekindled a fire that died

Or

Set ablaze one that's slowly dying.....

THANKS.

These are great people, who despite several limitations in internet reliability and computer access are ready to make great leaps in educating their youth when the conditions come up to meet their abilities. Darlene sagely noted that in Alberta, there is plentiful technology and access and too many teachers unprepared or unwilling to use it. Maybe in time the conditions of Dominica and Alberta will get to the point where student learning is optimized. 

We have a dream.

Thursday, July 18: Google Hangout!

Today our joint classes participated in a Google Hangout with Rocky Wilson, a Technology Integration Specialist back in Lethbridge. He talked to the teachers about the differences between Dominica and Alberta in terms of size. You can see in the map to the right that Dominica (the purple coloured area) is very small, but this does not take into account the actual land mass, as the island is mountainous. The picture of Rocky below reminds me of Ghandi; what do you think?

This overlay was created using http://overlapmaps.com

Not a great image, but here is Rocky!

Rocky discussed how Palliser is moving to Google Education and Chrome Books and many other technological changes his Albertan school district is experiencing. He brought up QR codes and Aurasma, which I gave a quick overview of when we signed off. We wrapped up with self-directed investigation of various tools.

Again, the teachers were sharing and helping; they have a taste for collaboration and they are loving the smorgasbord!

We ended the day discussing the similarities and differences of teaching in Alberta and Dominica. It is amazing to me that teachers in Dominica have to create and produce lessons plans for every class they teach! These are not simple ones either, as they include fourteen steps to making them - some are four pages long! But wait, they are then evaluated by their authorities and given a GRADE! They were saying to one another "I get 4s or 5s". I was shocked and still am. 

Wednesday, July 17th: The Countdown Has Already Begun

Only one and a half days left!?!? It seems as if we have just started, but we really only have Thursday to complete work, since Friday will be spent wrapping up with the closing ceremonies. These two weeks have flown by! I am sure some of the fault lies with Chantal; her expected presence, her actual presence and her aftermath created sporadic attendance those opening three days.

The teachers took the morning to finish up questions, quizzes and lessons. We investigated forums after break. There are four types of forums in Moodle, but we did not get past the simple discussion example, the second one I introduced, because a few of them got caught up in the discussion about a change they would like to see in their classrooms. Every post included a wish for computer/internet access or increased parental involvement. Not so different than Alberta, really.

So tomorrow is the last chance for anything new. The teachers requested a demonstration of a couple web-based tools, so we are starting with a couple of those, then we are trying a Google Hangout with a colleague from the Lethbridge area who has traveled to Dominica in the past as a participant in this project. We will end the day with everyone sharing their choice of best thing, most frustrating thing and a wish for the future. And then we are pretty much done here. As always, it is bittersweet. I love the people, the scenery and the unpretentious atmosphere of this island, but I am ready to return to my family. 

Tuesday, July 16: Dominica Diligence!

  Today most of the teachers were well on their way to make lessons, the room was quiet with brains churning and fingers typing. One student from last year remembered that I insisted they give credit for images they use, and showed others how to do it. This was great to see! I spent the day being called from one teacher to another, while trying to get to my computer to make someone a teacher in a course or find the answer to some question. They are really working hard and the collaboration demonstrated continually impresses me. They are really trying to find answers without relying on me as the source of information. One or two have not been there every day and so are a little lost at times, so I have tried to guide them to the resources they need to start and catch up. This is not easily done when those who have been there for every session are asking for help. Such is the life of a facilitator!

If you have created a Moodle lesson, you are aware they are tricky and require quite a bit of forethought, yet unless you are a master at storyboards, the forethought never seems to be enough. I admit I am not good at that planning; I like to get in and get messy, frustrated and truly learn. However, I did my best to encourage the teachers to create a plan of their lesson and some did create sketched outlines on scratch paper. Some of my warnings fell on deaf ears, as they had no experience of this type of course development and therefore had no prior knowledge to draw from. We all speak English, but technology is another language without worrying about accents.

So we are preparing to wrap up. I can't believe it is time already! Tomorrow we will have to do a check and see what can be accomplished and what can be done once we are done. I really hope this camaraderie continues long after they forget my name. But they will never forget my smile and laugh!

By the way, the other group had a colour theme. Endira and I were not informed -_-

Days Two Through Five of the 2013 IT for Dominica Project (overview to catch up!)

So I realize I have been in Dominica for ten days [TEN DAYS!!] and in that time have only managed one post. Shameful. However, it has been eventful!

Without boring you with too many details, here is the overview:

Drain spout keeping up with the rain.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 was the day of Tropical Storm Chantal. The morning was calm, so we thought the storm had passed us by in the night with little effect and off we went to our courses. Turns out we were wrong!
Around 10 am, Mr Lavinier from the ministry came by to ask us to end the sessions early as the storm was to hit early afternoon. The teachers who braved the weather seemed unperturbed and we took their cue and continued working. With wind occasionally howling, I looked out the window to see sheets of rain slashing down. Our attendees were still unshaken and assured me it was alright. When in Rome ...
When the wind blew down the screen in the other room (creating a very loud crashing sound), one teacher yelped. That was it for me! If a Dominican is nervous, I am calling it a day. We packed up and waited for the bus to pick us up.
Back at the hotel, we gathered some food at the Pizza Hut and hunkered down. Hotel staff were fighting the winds to put up shutters and the town was closing down. We waited to see how it would compare to a blizzard, our main frame of reference. I would take a blizzard over a tropical storm, thank you, as long as I am safe in my house!

There were times a gust would actually change the air pressure in my room and it would hurt my ears. Although it looked like something would break, everything held. By late afternoon the whole show was over and in Roseau there was very little damage. Some houses in the south part of the island lost roofs, but I have not heard of any major injury or fatalities. *whew* 

It was worse than this looks. -_-

Wednesday, July 10 saw the first day of regular classes. Darlene and I are sharing the computer lab at Goodwill Elementary. Building on the exercises in reflection of what learning looks like, we had discussions about assessment of learning, for learning and as learning, which led to reflections about how we can create questions and quizzes in Moodle for these purposes. Many of the teachers already used tests to direct their instruction, so the idea of using them while new knowledge was still forming was easy to consider. Teachers worked a bit in different forum types. They are really working hard!

Thursday, July 11 we started working on building questions for quizzes in Moodle and storing bookmarks in Symbaloo webmixes. The teachers in the course are incredible. One who attended the workshop last year searched out a online classroom so she could implement some of the features we went over last year as her students do not have accounts in Moodle as yet. Edmodo is a great and simple tool! They are all helping each other to carefully word questions and provide helpful feedback while they craft their questions. A variety of question types were investigated, which led to many side conversations about what makes one question better than another. When is multiple choice better than matching? What is the best use of short answer or cloze questions? Would an essay question serve the use better, even though it means manually marking it? The camaraderie and collaborative nature is heartwarming, although I feel they do not need me at times. That is a good thing, right? It means my course in Moodle is sufficiently resourceful, right? 

Can you see the intensity? :)

Friday July 12 finishing question construction, and on to quizzes! All the while we are building our webmixes. Testing the questions, correcting mistakes and setting quiz preferences made the day simply fly by. The diligence demonstrated by these teachers is inspirational. They have this wonderful habit of reading every screen that comes up. While I impatiently close or click 'okay', they patiently read the script and make their choices with consideration. Where I click randomly around to find what I am looking for, they methodically and confidently peruse menus to find their way. Lesson learned: slow down, Shelley. What is the hurry anyway?

**There was an unfortunate confusion about snacks in there somewhere. As with so many mistakes that are made, it created tension and mirth. One good thing arising from the incident was that Travis, a member of the IT staff I worked with last year, was assigned to be with us. It is good to see people I know while getting to know new people. 

The weekend was spent caring and worrying about ill colleagues and touring. Friday evening was spent in a

Fort Shirley outside of Portsmouth

wonderful setting in the home of one of the project's founders. An authentic Dominican meal started with a tour of the varied garden of beauty and nutrients, which included appetizers of coconut water and coconut jelly, and continued with codfish and breadfruit. There was no way to ingest everything on the amply-filled plate, but I did my best! Saturday took us to Portsmouth and Fort Shirley; Sunday had us traversing the island's twisty and bumpy roads to experience things off the beaten path. We saw incredible sights and met beautiful people. We also learned that Sunday is the day to bathe, which is mostly done outdoors! We surprised a couple of people along the way.

Monday, July 15 saw the finishing of quizzes and the start of lessons. The teachers are all sharing one Moodle course page, which they are all teachers in. So, when they took each other's quizzes, nothing was recorded since they were not students. *sigh* Why do I forget these details?! A bump in the road. Never mind, we are ready to start making lessons. After a video, an article and a few examples were explored, off they went. The room was silent for much of the day, except when troubleshooting was needed. Have I mentioned what a great group of teachers I have the pleasure of working with? So willing to try everything and work hard. And it is hard work. I only hope it all pays off for them!

Working hard!

Monday, July 8 - The Coming of Tropical Storm Chantal

A new experience for me! A tropical storm is heading to the island. I am more excited than worried, but I am a little concerned. Today, a full 24 hours before the storm is set to arrive, there was plenty of rain. All day there were only a few minutes of actually sun with times that the rain poured down. This made the first day of course sessions poorly populated. At the start of the day there was about a quarter of the expected turnout and by the end of the day only half had made there way to the Grammar School. "There's a tropical storm coming, miss".  It is likely even less will be present tomorrow.

Darlene made a video of the photos she took today and posted it on the IT for Dominica Facebook page.

The rains in Dominica have been fairly steady since January and the earth is saturated. This storm is bringing more rain; causing mud slides in the hills. This will impede people from traveling, either blocking their way here or causing them to worry about a blockage that will stop them from returning home. Who can blame them for wanting to stay safe and sound?

Predicted path of Tropical Storm Chantal with Dominica coloured red.

Tropical Storm Chantal is predicted to hit here sometime after 8 am Tuesday and be on her way to the Dominican Republic by early afternoon. Just in case there is a power-outage, the hotel has given us matches and candles. THAT makes me worry. Being prepared just doesn't seem very Dominican to me.

Today, due to the poor attendance, we separated into two groups and used a team-teaching approach for those who came. We touched on our separate course syllabuses and many had them thinking about what learning is and looks like as well as some ways that education will need to change in order to meet the demands of a connected world. If only a few show up tomorrow, we will do the same thing. If even less show up, we may send them home. If the power really does go out, we likely will batten down the hatches and ride it out in the hotel. 

Tune in tomorrow to find out how a Caribbean tropical storm compares to a good ol' northern Alberta blizzard. I hope I don't have to shovel anything!

Back on the Island

I am fortunate enough to be able to participate in the IT for Dominica Project again this summer. It means that my summer vacation will not start until after July 21st, but that I will be spending two weeks in the heat and graciousness of Dominica. If you have never been to the Isle of Beauty, I suggest you make an attempt to visit. It is not your usual Caribbean setting. Beaches are rare and all-inclusive resorts are completely missing. It is delightful!

Alison, Rachelle and Darlene

These are the ladies I will be spending the next two weeks with. Sorry for the poorly lit picture! Part of the journey is learning from the other teachers who volunteer to host sessions. I anticipate learning a lot from each of them. Alison has been an online teacher for longer than I have and has recently taken a position as an administrator of a new not-yet-established online school. She has extensive experience in international collaborations, through her work with Canadian Federation of Teachers and otherwise. Her online teaching is much more varied than mine; it is great having someone with so much knowledge to learn from!

Rachelle is an administrator as well and also has done an incredible amount of traveling! There is so much about Google that I hope to learn from her. Having another socially-minded, outgoing person to share this experience with will make this time in Dominica different than my past two visits. Right now we are listening to a mix she like on her Songza. Later we will listen to one of my favourites on 8Tracks. We are trying new things together, including attending church this morning. Now we are sipping Ginger Wine and getting our separate courses organized. There is talk of having our separate classes share a Google Doc to really demonstrate the power of collaboration, especially with Google. So much to learn from this young lady!

Darlene is one of the ladies I was with last summer. She is quiet and steady and so driven by a desire to teach and learn. From a position of technology leader to teaching at a Hutterite Colony, she brings an abundance of varied experiences, all tied together with meeting the needs of students. Her knowledge of the education system in Alberta mixed with her wisdom of students and learning leaves me in awe.

There is a lady from Dominica who is also helping us. Corazon is a lovely young lady who will be helping those teachers who need support in basic computer competencies. Some of her day will be spent teaching right and left click. She has been studying in Barabados and Trinidad. Her knowledge of the island has been a great resource even if she finds it so strange that we want to know all of this stuff. I hope we get to spend a lot of time with her this year.

Yesterday we completed a self tour of the town. During the walk we came to this locked gate. There is something about the keys hanging on the gate itself that simply speaks to Dominica. I love it here.

Today, Sunday, has been spent in a lackadaisical manner. Alison and I are getting our courses in order. Darlene and Alison came to the island more prepared and are spending time reading or napping. After spending Saturday walking around the town (and badly burning my arms!), we are taking it easy today, although it sounds like Alison and Rachelle may go snorkeling later. If I get to course work, I might be able to join them. We'll see.