Although the ‘digital divide’ between the North and South has been reduced through portable technology and the Internet, the challenges remain huge. In Cambodia, schools often lack basic utilities such as electricity. Digital resources are mostly in English; a language few Cambodian teachers and pupils understand. That is why having access to resources and technologies that fit the local context, is so important.
The VVOB programme in Cambodia supports the development of multimedia educational resources for teacher trainers; in particular videos, animations and simulations. Some videos contain short fragments of learner-centred lessons filmed in Cambodian classrooms. Teacher trainers show these videos to their students at the teacher training centres. It leads to lively discussions and student teachers learn to reflect critically on teaching methodologies. Other videos show the setup and concepts behind science experiments. These help teacher trainers to prepare lessons before conducting the experiments with students. Also animations and simulations are developed. They provide interactive learning tools, for example to explore the human body or to build an electrical circuit. These digital media stimulate learners to construct knowledge rather than to reproduce.
Teacher trainers often look at technology as complex and difficult to adopt. To help them overcome such barriers we introduce simple and easy-to-use media. As the content of the digital resources is in line with the official curriculum, they also feel it meets their needs. During training sessions and try-outs we strengthen their capacity and incorporate feedback. The final package includes supporting materials such as activity sheets and sample lesson plans. We feel that this approach works in the Cambodian context where teachers are underpaid and have few resources. Providing opportunities to develop local capacity and solutions; is that not what technical assistance is all about?
David Dionys
SEAL Programme coordinator ICT in Education, Cambodia
Jan Geusens
Programme Manager, Cambodia
