As part of the NmInTheSouthPacific, a look at Pedagogy, Usability and New Media in Solomons.

Meeting with Stanley Houma

10 July, 2003. Notes from a meeting with Stanley Houma on traditional learning in the Solomon Islands, and how these methods can be incorporated into educational multimedia

ED 153

• school and society
• follows impact of schooling on the Pacific, positive asnd negative
• looks for relevant focus of education
  • learning styles
  • cultural context

Learning in Solomons

• learning is part of living, not separated
• learning is not time nor place-bound
• storytelling, imitation
• social-learning, through interactions
• context-based learning (learn by do)
• learning through counseling, advice
• often, learning becomes a rite of passage (fishing to become a man)
• learning from ancestors through dreams (panpipes)

Institutional Education vs. Solomon learning

• "by the time a Solomon Islander is studying at USP, they are learning in the third or fourth language"(even more severe in Vanuatu)
• oral learning makes reading volumes difficult
• time: human relations more important than deadlines
• dominant role of teachers: education as an 8-1, in the classroom exercise

Story-telling

• during death ceremonies, told and sung as comfort
• also more formal learning (medicinal plants)
• Can connect reading to oral tradition
  • project in Solomons that translates stories to several languages used in Institutions, then written down

3 types of learning in Solomon

3 kinds of knowledge

• Head : "Pau'u"
• Hand : " Kiki'i"
• Internal, Heart: "Sae"

Knowledge is different than wisdom

Recommendations

"Must narrow gap between culture of country and of Insititution"

• Peer-learning
  • encourage learning from fellow students, culture-mates
  • discussion in own language, output in english
  • learn by doing together
• learning throuhg imitation
• Quality educational circles
  • to encourage learning in insitution as learning in life
  • village-learning groups
  • 60-70% don't do homework, because it is forgotten outside of classroom context

Where Multimedia can overlap Solomon learning-styles

Sound + Image + Hand

• observation + listening of many media is closer to traditional styles than reading
• situated in actual application context
• learn by do "actually do things by hand"
• action-learning

Coral-reef translation

• "more useful than reading because students can see the affects"

Chapter in Educational Ideas from Oceania

from Lima, Ronna L. Chapter 13: Educational Ideas of the Noole (Solomon Islands). From Educational ideas from Oceania : selected readings / edited by Konai Helu Thaman. (Suva, Fiji) : Institute of Education in association with the UNESCO Chair of Teacher Education and Culture, The University of the South Pacific , (2003)

"Although modern knowledge, skills and values are not taught, traditional knowledge is still regarded as important for survival in Noole society."(p. 120)

Aversion to Question Authority

• "Children are not allowed to talk during the teaching process. Doing so is deemed disrespectful" (p. 120)
• Bonie is intelligent, wise, knowledgeable and humble

Active/ Communal Learning

• "A person learns mainly by listening, observing, imitating, participating and continual practice"(p. 120)
  • Tawele: learning through experience

Place and Learning

• "Teaching and learning take place anywhere and at any time - in the home, in the garden or out at sea, wherever it is appropriate. However, some types of learnign take place in the namue, which is a special house for organised public meetings and solving disputes."(p. 121)

Rote to Perceptual

• Nakie-e-Neoglae: to analyse, disntinguish, divide, separate things
• Yongu-e-Neoglae: combining, grouping and putting together pieces of information
• Wotipulee: rote practice
• Noloto: examine, judge and evaluate

Types of learning

• Lavuomoti: learning by accident
• Lawiti: "worthwhile" knowledge (social/ survival skills)
• Nepie: to tell, inform (transmission)
• Tawele: learning through experience

Mark Dennis, phone interview

4 August, 2003

Equipment

• 8 computers in lab, for over 1000 students
• 1 computer in library for internet access
• windows 98 or 95, most have sound cards
• microsoft office, norton antinvirus, etc, c++ for CS courses
• computers in lab can only access USP website during business hours
• were running lab bookings for 1 hour intervals, but stopped because of problems with attendance of supervisors, wil restart system
• only CS students need high eprformance computers ("even a pentium one or two would do")
• many are Pentium 1 "Ancient"
• check email and type assignments
• css 122 and use Webct

Access to centre

• many students never have access to computers because 2 or 3 days to get to Honiara
• "for Honiara students, bus service is quite well linked up"
• always students waiting to use computers
• constant power outages

Aversion to Q Auth

• "students here are very shy, thisa is one of the biuggest problems, because there is a crowd and they are too shy to ask questions. Quite often they come and see me after the clas to ask questions"
• "only 1 hour per week of contact with tutor, so I have to ask questions for them"
• audio tutorials are available, "students can listen in on what is being asked"
• "some students from provinces ask questions with email" - wireless email system in most rural centres with peoplefirst PSnet Kevin Mitala chief engineer

Language

• everything taught in english, but open to local pidgin
• outputs are all english
• discussion in pidgin

Group learning

• quite often double or triple up when working on a group project
• only 15 tables in library, so if they do have discussion groups they are probably somewhere else
• big lecture theatre: 60 people
• 3 classrooms: 25 students each
• "quite hard to say if they have discussion groups or not"

Training

• basic computer skills: "most students have not touched a computer until they have come to the centre and enrolled, because no ICT taught in schools"
• they do run courses, but not all students take them, "so constantl;y have to reformat hard drives"
• "whenm ic an I do some presentations"

Best time to visit

• open day in October is best time to visit!!!!

Other people to speak to

• Scriven Pabulu, Administrative Officer: deals with students

Emily Moala

notes from a meeting with Emily Moala about the different USp Centres, on 18 August, 2003

• 2nd largest enrollments after Fiji
• centre is too small for students
• "highest pass rates because the local tutors are consistent, with the same tutors for 3 or 4 years"
• "this (the centre) is really the only hopeful thing in the country due to the crisis"

Cultural learning in Solomon Islands

based on Notes taken by Alim from Ninnes, Peter Martin. Culture and Learning in Western Province, Solomon Islands

Authority and Education

• Knowledge circulated by broadcasting is not necessarily used or valued
• Knowledge sanctioned by powerful individuals is most highly valued (eg. teachers, cheifs, mps, etc)
  • authority is developed by developing personal relationship with members of community
• Questioning is discouraged.
• teachers may be doubted when it comes to trad learning

Ad-hoc vs. Rote

summary: both the institutional and traditional learning styles favor a rote, rather than an adhoc approach to learning (tranmission rather than construction)

• "Reproductive learning approaches which are characteristic of conserving or closed knowledge systems are assumed to be incapable of generating solutions to previously unencountered problems."
• "The rote learning prevalent in many Melanesian classrooms does not equip students to solve the problems associated with the incursion of western technological society into Melanesian culture."

summary: western approaches to problem-solving are thought to be more creative, but local solutions must be found

• "Therefore the solution is to teach children western problem-solving techniques and assist them in adjusting their learning behaviors to a more analytical and speculative approach"
• "The assumption that only western knowledge systems can generate novel solutions to novel problems is used to justify the continued use and attempts to compund the use of western learning behaviors in the classrooms."

Indigenous Solutions

• Christian Fellowship Church and the Masina Rule developed to represent original indigenous solutions to problems arising from contact with outside forces.
• Another learning problem is that they require students to think with a westernized mind.
• The use of vernacular in schools can provide a link between home and school setting.

Learning Strategies

• In Solomon Islands contextual learning is a key strategy for learning a diverse range of skills and information
• Listening is also a major strategy for learning
• Questioning is discouraged.
• Active imitation

Traditional vs Institutional Learning

summary: there is a mismatch between institutional teachings for the modern job market and the needs of villages

• The students already bring pedagogical viewpoint from home, so may doubt western viewpoint
• When a primary Solomon islander is not selected to go on to secondary they no longer had the necessary qualification to enter job market, which was dominated by colonial govt. (1973)
• Students coming out of the Provincial Secondary Schools courses considered by their families as too immature to be in control of village development projects.
• It was concluded that the PSS were not likely to remain as they were because their curriculum was mismatched with the development tasks of youth.
• Government views education as a measure of employment and cash income
• School knowledge is exclusive since conveyed to selected groups removed from the public domain.

Site Visit, Solomon Islands

notes from visit to the Solomon Islands USP Centre, 16 to 23 October

Mark Dennis

notes from a conversation with Mark Dennis, USPNEToperator, Solomon Islands, 17 October

Background

• Uspent operator, auido/ verio/ data/ dish
• computer labs
• teaches
  • foundation math: local tutor, 60 students
  • Foundation Tech: local tutor, 15 students

Satelite

• fortnightly
• but power cuts many off (electricity on from 8-9, 11-3pm)
• rebroadcast video lectures on weekends when requested

Centre Usage

• 1 or 2 students live too far away, but is really good for around Honiara
• provinces - don't have tutors, take tests at sub-centres, often use the telecom centre, and then send by mail
• computer lab always packed

Aversion to Q

• too shy to ask for help until they knew me, so he approaches the,
• does this work better in a group or singly? : "I think in a group, b/c they feel more confident when they have their friends behind them"

Theoretical vs. Hands-on

• "the labs definitely help them to understand, but a lot of write up is involved"
• Theory first, then labs, then highlight based on theory: "I like them to think about it first"
• in past, Solomon Islands education was fact based, "when students are in DFL mode they have to fill in gaps"

Solomon Islands ICT Workshop

• "trying to get ICT into Natl education, but people at top don't see benefits because they don't know it"

NMwants

• "Multimedia many would be interested in"
  • Musicians
  • "people are very creative here"
• Guided access to internet so they can have recent info (organised links)
  • "books they need are not at library" and texts are outdated
• animations, so they can see how it works on their own time
• Maths: worked-out examples
• Graphing- interactive: "what happends when i put a minus sign in front of it"

Computers

• 100 to 1 student to omputer ratio
• open 8am-6pm, but mo electricity 9-11 and 3-5
• have access to USPnet during the day, but WWW only starts at 6
• 8 computers in the lab: all have internet, only 1 has CD drive "because they would last for a week" (same problem in kiribati, but neither airconditioned centre - Nauru, Marshalls- had these issues with Pcs)
• a virtual cd-drive on network server would solve this issue
• used to use students to monitor labs but "when they're busy they just don't show up"
• new WHO lab has 11pcs for health workers use

Power

• generator coming next month, but for now only electricity from 8-9am and 11-3pm

Studying

• "generally speaking its not easy to study at home" b/c no quiet area, extended family, because no quiet area, extended family"
• during study periods, the centre is open 24-7 for 3 weeks

Rote to Conceptual

• secondary school, students are spoonfed, and do worse in DFL where independence is integral

Students

notes from a conversation with 3 Solomon Islands students, 17 October, 2003

Satelite Tutorial

• say they always got to tutorials (?- noone else has?) but that there are often powercuts

Questions

• email b/c sat is short
• but email is not sufficient b/c
  • computer illiterate- can't ask questions
  • not enough computers

Computer Usage

• "I like computers, don't use them"
• one just types assignments, the other doesn't know how to use computers and uses someone else to do his email, and the last one says he uses computers

"a little bit"

• none use the web
• say computer courses are too expensive ($300)
• one said when he actually gets access to a computer, he doesn't know what to do

Studying

• in groups to discuss
• prefer studying at the centre, rather than at home "at home, there are too many people in the house, and they make too much noise"

Centre Usage

• no local tutorials, but comes in everyday to study
• sometimes walks, sometimes bus, depends on money

E. Guadalcanal Student

Centre Usage

• 7 hours by boat from home, only there during holidays
• 3 hours by walking from where he lives with friends during the semestre
• comes in once a week for Satelite Tutorials + assignments

Questions

• saves up his questions during tutorials
• "but its quite different in melanesian lifestyle so we're embarassed to ask questions"
• do you ask questions? "Yes of course, that's what i am here for"

Computer Use

• not very much
• writes assignments by hand
• no access at home
• took Intro to Microsoft course in town ($184 for each class)
• only 8 computers at centre, so too crowded

Foundation Students

17 October 2003

Centre Usage

• comes in twice a week, 30 minutes walk + bus, grew up in Honiara
• comes in fro Sat and Local tutorials, though many of the sat tutorials get power cut off

Questions

• asks questions to tutor, not really shy

Computer Use

• once per week, if he sees space and power is on
• "not enough space, often powercuts so we have to take turns"

Context

• "when topics they are talking about are not to my interest I fall asleep"
• "if they give us exercises to do, it brings our interest"

Makira Students

Transport

• 1 hour by plane or overnight boat (7-8hrs)
• return home once a semestre
• in Honiara, one lives with a Pastor, the other with a Wantok

Centre Usage

• tutorials 1hr/wk
• comes in every day to study and see friends

Studying

• at home alone, in mother tongue
• at school in groups in pidgin

Nathaniel Tuiseke

lecturer, 17 Oct, 2003

Questions

• "students aren't into asking questions; they want to be told everything... it's always been a one-sided situation"
• Outside Tutors: only part-time, hard to track down for questions
• "if notes could be on computer, it would be easier to students"
• give students resources outsides of classroom time
• students don't get exams they've done until too late, so email assignments
• but this leaves out province-students
• ''"some students are afraid if they are too agressive (asking questions of coordinator), they will be singled out when it comes to exam time, so they are more comfortable with me"
• DFl student have no choice, the book is their tutor, it helps to have face to face

NMwants

• powerpoint so he doesn't have to write on board, to save time during tutorials as only 1hr/ wk

Computer Literacy

• "there are computer labs but there are still students who have a 'don't touch it' feel about the computer"
• "if there are materials on the computer, that could teach them to use the computer"

Language

• "it has to be a mixture (of pidgin and english)... english should be the dominating language"

Culture

• text is Australian, all OZ examples
• study guide is USP-made
• "I think that is an area where it is sometimes difficult because they cannot relate to Australian examples"
• "try to use a local example"
• study groups divide by culture

Group Learning

• alot of students work on their own
• men and women separate
• we have to encourage working together

Studying Wontak extended family makes it impossible to study at home, and there is nowhere else to go... students asked for Centre to be open 24x7 till exams are over

Students

• 20-30 students in his AFF02, basic accounting foundation course: Full time students so they always came
• 5 students in his AF102 (Degree Level), most are working students
• 3 students in his AF203 course, all working students. They rarely come in. They all work at accounting departments, so likely have computers at work

Program Assistant, John Peter

20 October, 2003, jpeniop@hotmail.com

Local Tutors

• many are high school teachers
• hired for courses 10 and above, and for all computer classes

Computers

• most schools don't have computers for students, so most students starting at USP have no computer experience
• RAMSI arrival has greatly congested internet in the Solomons
• feels that when internet runs at normal speeds, the Internet Cafes price is affordable

Augmented Stream

• 4hrs/ week, class taught face to face, as opposed to the usual 1 hr/week tutorial to answer questions

Questions

• 1 hour/ week tutorial for questions
• audio satelite and email are other ways
• both shy and not shy students exist
• "shy students ask one on one after class"
• "others have problems but don't make effort to ask questions"

Student Background and Learning

• sciences: only honiara students because of lab component
• non-formal students have advantage when it comes to survival
• formal-students are not as strong in survivial skills
• formal students tend to stay around town
• some who are good at both (those from village who come to study and return)

Formal/ Nonformal

• "things with practical component give hands-on application of theories, but many theoretical courses give no opportunities of hands-on learning, learning by repeating"
• "i think knowledge of non-formal is an advantage, but on the other hand somebody might see it is as role and have trouble relating one experience to another experience" (?)

Rote/ Conceptual/ Non-Formal / Formal

• encourage students to understand concepts, "to answer concept-based questions rather than problem-based questions"
• "most of the time we end up focusing on problem-based questions because of time. With limited (1hr/ wk) time we just focus on answering questions, it becomes exam-based"
• "up to foundation-level what most students are concerned about is passing" "once they reach degree programs, they start to specialise, and I see the focus switch from passing to understanding"
• problem-based approach is traditionally the focus in schools
• "doing a particular problem does not necessarily mean they understand the concept"
• "to teach a concept, a person has to understand. With difficult concepts, rote learning just fails"
• "in non-formal, the concept is tied with knowing how to do it. I think this is the ideal situation, and in some cases we have that case, students who understand it and know how to do it"
• rote is useful for practical activies, like fishermen know by practice what tide, the size of the moon, etc, but don't have to know biology of fish, etc.
• for the purpose of passing exams, students are more comfoirtable with rote learning, but those with careers know it requires more understanding based in theory than rote learning
• many good High School students quit in Uni because they are not used to theory

Rote/ Conceptual

• "a problem has to be there, they solve it, and move on from there"
• "teaching understanding takes more time, more effort"
• make new kinds of questions, assess through concept
• "tutorials sometimes are more problem-oriented than concept-oriented and this is a setback" particularly an issue with sciences

NMwants

• teaching theory: "activities must be designed so that, without understanding the concepot they cannot do the activity"
• authentic problems rather than questions very similar to past questions
• for sciences, students miss "hands-on experience" because of inadequate labs
• cdroms come with course materials, and have to be "audio-visual"
  • ex: gold-refining, aluminium smelting- to watch industrial work, see how ti is done, video tapes are inadequate (don't cover all labs, moldy and not working)
• so their minds are not stuck in course book, but is in "real world" with visuals, "the application of it"
  • simulated activity, video, actual applying of the concept practically

Conceptual Examples

• "regional examples bring it closer"
  • in some cases regional examples are better but in other cases, external examples are best, or the only possible (aluminum smelting, blast furnace)
• local drinks are regional chemistry examples
  • toddy (mostly polynesians)
  • kava
  • betelnut: used to teach acids, bases, chemical reactions (Calcium Oxide, Lime and H20, Saliva), stimulants, addiction
  • 45 Homebrew: chemical reactions, fermentation, alcohol
  • Mushroom Drink
• Arts: woodcarving, stone carving, traditional dyess, tapa
• Traditional Political Systems: organizational management, chiefly systems
• Sustainability/ Economics: agriculture-fallow periods, resting fisheries, traditional practices for sustainability of resources, avoiding over-harvesting
• Oral Kastom Stories
• "it would be good to go through the courses to see where a regional example can be used, for each course, and truly go outside when we cannot find a regional example"
• "some of the course writers only use examples from the countries they know. If you look at copursebooks, most use examples from Fiji and Samoa"

Language

• teach in English, but at times explain in Pidgin
• there are some concepts/ ideas better exaplined in pidgin than in english
  • Electromagnetism: magnetic fields, direction in which forces act: these are concepts better explained in pidgin
  • Heat: better explained in English
• "the expression of science sometimes limits the use of pidgin"
• "sometimes I use pidgin when i sense the students don't understand the english exaplanation"
• "sometimes I have the feeling 'these are Solomon Islanders, I am from Solomon Islands, why should we speak english?'"
• "students understand pidgin better than english, so why should not the medium of instruction be pidgin... a japense speaking english to a japanese is..."

Shane Tutuwa

notes from a conversation 20 October 2003, Science Lab

Labs

• often have to leave off labs because they lack the proper materials and chemicals
• a simulation for Molecular Bio - genes labwork - would be helpful, as they cannot do this sort of work in their lab

s Language

• "it is hard to speak to them in English when they speak to me in Pidgin"
• "they are not comfortable asking questions in English"

Group-Learning

• LABS: usually two per group, but it depends on number of equipments "if groups get bigger people tend to spectate"

Studying

• most of the time students study alone
• alot come here to do their work because they cannot do work at home... lots of relatives at home
• "I have student who sleeps outside on the veranda because there are so many people in his house, so he works here, but has to go home before dark. Only some kids have the privelege of a quiet home."
• not many students have jobs, but mosr are fulltime students

NMwants

• electron-transport system simulation (biochemistry) production of ATP
• "because you actually see how these enzyme systems work" like a video on computer
• chemical structures, 3d chemical models in-class aids

Culture and Context

• biochem is universal, so local context doesn't help
• pidgin necessary, they know english
• "we prefer being instructed, told what to do, then reading instructions and following them"
• being told is better than "read the manual" because "its a cultural thing, oral culture"
• demonstrating rather than writing/reading about

Computer Access

• 10 computer for more than 500 students (about 100 use the lab each day)
• almost none have pcs at home
• students would appreciate CDroms if they had reasonable access
• "if we had a lot more computers I think CDs would be useful"
• we need a lab with at least 30 computers

2 Students

20 October, 2003

• one is taking HPP02 (Preliminary of Politics) says it is "all about Japanese... it should be about Solomon Islands History"
• the other is taking BIF03 (foundation Biology), would like to identify Solomon animals

Books

• "we need more tutors to reinforce", "sometimes reading a book alone can make you isolated"

Questions

• I read the book again and again until I understand. If I don't understand after that, then I talk to tutor

Studying

• most of us live with relatives, so we have chores to do, need study space here
• ''"sometimes they (parents, family) don't understand; they want you to participate in household duties"

Formal vs. Informal Learning

• Secondary School
  • went to Boarding School King George VI, when asked to compare boarding secondary school with USP:
  • had own room in secondary school, no disturbance, had to follow program
  • now he has has to make his own rules, no personal space, can only study at centre
• Non-formal
  • "father taught me numbers 'one, two, three' but not writing down numbers"
  • "in society, boys garden, fish, firewood, girls dishes"
  • "elder people showed how, we stay and watch them before doing the work, and sometimes they laughed because it was our first time"
• Hands-on
  • prefer practical to theory learning
  • to experience and see what the theory talks about
  • "it proves what's in your head"
• "we need someone to come and help us, tell us what to do"

Centre Usage/ Computer Usage

• depends on number of courses, now he comes every day (M-F)
• "computers are new to me"
• "computer lab is very small"
• "computers are very interesting"
• "what we see, is if we knew computers, we wouldn't eat lunch, we would forget b/c it is very interesting"
• Email
  • emails suva for results and for news from campus
  • never tried emailing lecturers with questions
  • "when you go for emailing, it will be always full"

Accounting Student

20 Ctober, 2003

Computer Usage

• not often because no chance

Questions

• asks the local tutor duing lunchtime

Mark Dennis

21 October, 2003

Tek

• a search engine he really likes, Time Equals Knowledge

PFNET

• chopizo province with USP,
• 9 base stations around country
• $S 2.00 per email
• each station has one laptop
• won the Stockholm challenge

Pacific Linux Users Group

CS in Provinces?

• CDrom? only 1 laptop so need group thing, like video of lectures on cdrom

Law Student

21 October 2003

Background

• studied history of politics in Fiji
• studying law in Vanuatu
• a Solomon Islander

Language

• teaching English (says teachers are mostly expats)
• says Bislama/ Pidgin is discouraged

Cultural

• Vanuatu and Solomons are a little bit different, but not as different as Polynesia
• in Laucala, we came together only in class, so less segregated, in Vanuatu, they see action more often, and clique more

Approach to Learning

• presentations
  • Fijians, Samoans : write out and read word for word
  • Vanuatu, Solomons : "rather than reading they would try to talk"

Cultural Diffs

• feels S.I. schools are more competitive, "but then there are students from SI who fail forms 5, 6 & come to the centre for Foundation"
• "but there are bright students from every country"
• Fijians are more liek Samoans than SI: "Fijians think they are most developed country in the USP region. Polynesians think they are more developed"
• Samoans don't go together, they fight in nightclubs; had a reconciliation ceremony at Laucala last year

Computer usage and Culture

• Solomon Islanders not much exposed to computers. yes Word Excel but not familiar with internet; "we'd rather do library research than google"
• Polynesian/ Fijian students are more exposed to computers
• if all had the same access, he feels approach to computers "would be just the same"

Making PCs easier

• "practicing"
• "increase number of computers, make them more accesible to students, so we can sit down at the screen, rather than formally learning"
• introduce computer classes in high school
• doesn't feel approach to pc for USP region is any different than that of USA, just access differences

Vanuatu Computer Labs

• 2 labs: 15-20 pcs
• email + vanuatu law school site access only (not general web)
• Library: 7pcs with internet connection
• they were going to introduce internet in Halls/ Dorms but the people involved left
• "sometimes labs are empty sometimes packed up"
• when assignments are due they are packed

Laucala Computer Labs

• labs should have internet access, as students are always fighting over library computers fro internet access

Favorite Way to Learn

• doesn't like reading alone, but learns more from reading than from lectures
• "at lectures sometimes I don't concentrate"
• "students are distracting if I sit at front the students don't disturb me"

NMwants

• "getting students to know how to do research"
• step by step tutorials
• "information is always available, but how do you find it? That is the problem"

Alice, Counselling Ed. Dept

22 October 2003

Short Courses

• 8 weeks, 2x a week, 2 hrs per session
• Maths, English, Science, Computing (mouse, menus, windows, files, folders, theory, word, typing skills)
• 8 students bc 8 computers

Admin Officer

22 October, 2003

Outer Province Students

• face to face and mail to province
• 1 month to mail to some provinces
• approximately 10% in provinces
• a few come in rarely, when they can't communicate other ways
• 1 or 2 have email

Radio

• through telecoms
• many use his 2 way radio at home
• less expensive than telephone
• works with battery
• a set at USP would help enormously, b/c many churches, clinics, and some schools have them in the provinces
• $S 15000 for a USP radio set, you can connect internet to it (like in Choizo), cuts down assignment time

Aversion to Q

• shy at first, with both radio and audio, but once they get used to it, they come out of their shells
• Audio: "quite alot of students don't always come to audio, when others are sitting there they are too shy to talk, but the senior ones make alot of use, request extra time to talk to course coordinator. They would be less shy when they are there by themselves"
• he encourages them to come even if they don't take, so they can hear others questions
• just as shy to ask each other questions, until they know each other

Group Learning

• some like to set up small groups
• "some like to do things on their own, some like to do it in groups" accounting, economics, because more practical

Comparing SI to Kiribati

• Kiribati (taught 2 yrs in Kiribati): less shy, "they can talk", but language issues: they speak I-Kiribati, so when they are confused in English, I have to learn Kiribati
• "Bobotikka" - shy person - they tease each other if shy
• Solomon Island's english level is higher

NMwants

• they really like animation
• prefer step by step, "students grasp it better, when I do it step by step than when i just give them homework"

Language

• written English is better than Spoken
• urban kids speak good english
• understand English better reading than hearing

Aversion to Q

• break them into smaller groups and they won't be as shy

Solomon Islands Icons/ Metaphors

• Pidgin Slang: "head soa"
• Ngzugzu : god, carving on canoe, for headhunting, pearl shells on back, from western province but now used as a National Carrier, was on Solomon Airlines, not anymore.

Foundation Student

• knew diff between intranet and internet (lyrics and research)
• uses lab every day
• to get use in crowded lab, asks friends at lab to use their computer

Jerry, Computer Teacher

22 October, 2003, pakivai_j@yahoo.com.au

Basic Computing

• how computer works, mouse, keyboard, OS, etc
• msot start from zero, very interested
• some don't know how to hold mouse
  • "when they lose their way, they just stop"
  • "apprehensive to make mistakes"

Likes/ Dislikes

• surfing the internet, playing games excites students
• long scrolling text bores them

Open Learning

• "western schools are blowing the traditional classroom apart, and I see alot of courses offered online, and funding is what prevents our students from using this"

Nmwants

• if info can be given in a catchy way, with activities (you click here), cuts monotony instead of big scrolls
• break it up
• give summaries, mix it up
• ASSEMBLY
  • give ability to copy-paste all text, enable them to make their own notes with the parts they consider relevant from the whole
  • notebook
  • scrapbook
  • drag/drop/edit
  • create their own presentation from materials
  • file structure makes it so they can access parts both from within program and from folder structure (outside of program)
• "when it speaks, that is advantage of CD-rom"
• 'Excel- animation that shows what everything is, as it points to, better than a person talking (audio only) about the cell
• using the computer as a teaching tool rather than just storing info
• wants to explore MM for education, btu doesn't know enough, wants me to come and train.

Group/ Aversion to Q

• peole are afraid to make mistakes in front of others
• in groups, either
  • 1 or 2 are dominant, & the rest are spectators
  • 1 or 2 hold everyone back "you're too slow"
• "working in groups, in a way, can stifle some people's progress; in another way the dominant ones can do the work and the others can learn"

Group on Computer

• if more than 1 person, only 1 will dominate, and the teacher must step in to allow (or even force) the other student to get hands-on practice

Getting Answers from Students

• quizzes
• "me and computer and nobody else takes away the shy feeling"
• "when you are with the computer then there aren't any others"

Anonymity

• "student might feel 'the question I am asking is only for me and nobody else. others might say it is a waste of time"
• "but often they all have the same questions to ask; as a tutor we try to answer the questions before they ask"

Audio Conference

• people can be shy because they'll be heard by... so many

Usability Solomon Islands

Usability Overview

• deliberate, read alot (including, in some cases, the copyright!)
• sometimes repetitive in mistakes
• beginners cannot be expected to differentiate
  • bw Operating System and application (so go FULLSCREEN but make minimize and quit obvious)
  • bw left and right click (so remap both to left click)
• Long contemplative periods: much longer than i was used to. Often I would think they weren't answering because of the long gap, but they did answer
• No Freezers: I never encountered any freezers except when watched by peers (this may have to do with my instructions to 'play around')

TEP02 Usability

21 October

• read everything, then clicked START ANIMS
• read text
• tried to use the tool
• clicked DROPDOWN
• read choices to himself
• long time looking through every choice
• chose one, then paused, it didn't change so he chose another
• "Oh, I have to click Next Step before I go to another one"
• once chosen, he clicked next step once, then went back to DROP DOWN
• selected another, then hit SHOW ENTIRE DRAWING
• "when I saw the questions (steps), I though I might use this (the campus icon) to draw"

TEP02 Usability

21 October

• tried to click NEXT
• then hit START ANIMS
• went immediately to SHOW ENTIRE DRAWING
• at finish hit, SHOW ENTIRE again
• then played with PREVIOUS STEP and NEXT STEP
• tried to use the compass icon
• hit PLAY
• hit pulldown
• read through pull downs
• chose one, hit PLAY
• hit NEXT STEP

Tep02 Usability

21 October

A beginner, very careful, read everything (BE CAREFUL OF UNNECESSARY STUFF), tried to click everywhere

• "I don't know how to use that (computer)"
• played with Microsoft, icons at bottom, rolling over and then clicking clock
• clicked randomly in white space
• tried to click "next" on splash
• read the copyright, the entire copyright
• after I told him "these are both buttons" he clicked instructions
• read instructions without moving mouse
• then hit START ANIMS
• on animation screen, just waited and read

TEP02 Usability

21 October

• hit NEXT after rolling over INSTRUCTIONS
• that did nothing so hit INSTRUCTIONS
• clicked blue text link to start
• hit pulldown, scrolled, read through each option
• chose and hit SHOW ENTIRE DRAWING
• rolled over all buttons and hit SHOW ENTIRE again

TEP02 Usability

21 October

• "what if we don't know how to use PC"
• hit NEXT
• right-clicked, stuck, right-clicked again, even after I showed her the left button
• hit NEXT, NEXT (this is all on the splash page)
• Hit INSTRUCTIONS
• tried to hit PLAY on instructions page
• hit LINK, surprised that it worked
• read animation page text
• hit play

TEP02 Usability

21 October

• tried to hit NEXT, then START ANIMS
• hit PLAY, PLAY, PLAY
• hit NEXT STEP
• hit SHOW ENTIRE DRAWING
• hit AUDIO

TEP02 Usability

21 October

2 students working together

• they talk quietly before touching the mouse
• "do I" and pointed to the mouse
• tried to click NEXT on splash page
• hit INSTRUCTIONS
• rolled over blue links
• rolled over all 4 instructions, in order, while reading, then up to the blue link, and waited there until his friend told him to click it
• hit PLAY
• hit NEXT STEP after checking with friend
• hit NEXT STEP
• hit PULLLDOWN, made a selection
• hit PLAY, then NEXT STEP, NEXT STEP, each time checking with friend

TEP02 Usability

21 October

• rolled over START ANIMATIONS, & instructions, then hit INSTRUCTIONS
• on instructions, tried to hit pulldown, "this one no work?"
• read, rolled over all instructions in order, then hit START ANIMATIONS
• tried to use compass "this thing no do anything?"
• hit "play"
• NEXT STEP, NEXT STEP
• read text
• hit SHOW ENTIRE DRAWING
• hit PULLDOWN, selected another option after scrolling down

Tep02 Usability

22 October

• hit INSTRUCTIONS
• read INSTRUCTIONS, rolling over each
• tried to click the buttons
• hit START ANIMS
• hit PULLDOWNMENUS
• read the step
• hit SHOW ENTIRE DRAWING