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!