Journal Entry #8

Technology in Ethiopian Schools:  Connecting Children from Various Cultures

By Judit Szente

      This article describes the integration of technology as a vehicle to improve education in Ethiopia.   The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated the project with the leadership of Dr. James L. Hoot from the University at Buffalo in 2000.

     The project enables students to be trained on and use computers to enhance their educational experience.   Other than the multitude of benefits that can be had with the use of technology, the project had two other main objectives.  The first objective was to provide students with access to the business world through technology.  The other objective was using some hands on applications to participate with businesses in the production of things such as; business cards, brochures and wedding invitations.

     In an otherwise extremely disadvantaged area of the world students are being taught and trained on the invaluable tools of technology.  With this new areas of the world and society are being introduced to the students.

 How were cross-cultural collaborations initiated with this project?

     Students were invited to document their lives, cultures and customs using multimedia projects.  They used PowerPoint demonstrations, digital video and photography.  As the project continued the presentations were presented at the King Center Charter School and the students at the school in the United States too created similar presentations to share with students in Ethiopia.  This created a cross-cultural learning experience for students from both countries while teaching the marvels of technology.

 What are the future plans for this project in Ethiopia?

     Plans are in the works for students to share their projects on the Web, which would enable the public to have access to the projects.  Also project heads would like to include the sharing of academic learning’s; such as math, social studies and geography.