ISCTAC REMOTE LEARNING
How we helped nearly three thousand medical students in Mozambique return to classes in the midst of the pandemic, using Design Thinking tools and Google for Education.
THE CHALLENGE
How we helped ISCTAC higher education teachers in the City of Beira, Mozambique to teach remote classes during a pandemics.
Teachers around the world have been inserted into the remote teaching universe in the blink of an eye due to the pandemics with some, or most of the time, with no specific training.
In many places, this barrier, whether technological or structural, has caused education to collapse. Students from low-income families in developing countries and teachers found themselves unable to carry out their previous routine functions.
In Mozambique, the ISCTAC - Higher Institute of Science and Technology Alberto Chipande was one of the educational institutions struggling to keep classes in the remote model.
As a result of a partnership between IMEPAC, ISCTAC and Conexão Africa, I was invited to design a solution that would help teachers develop the necessary skills to teach remote classes with an accessible, fast and interactive solution.
TIMELINE
A remote workshop of 10 meetings was developed.
THE TEAM
IMEPAC coordinators and teachers, ISCTAC coordinators and designers.
PURPOSE
Create an action plan for the immediate resumption of online classes, stopped on some courses.
FOCUS GROUP
Initially, we conducted a meeting/interview with the teacher responsible for the pedagogical part of ISCTAC
After an initial session of Structured Brainstorming with IMEPAC and Conexão Africa coordinators, we decided to schedule a Focus Group with Prof. André, pedagogical coordinator of the medical course at ISCTAC to better understand the pains, goals and challenges that teachers faced with the application and management of remote teaching.
Some solutions were initially used by ISCTAC, such as classes via Whatsapp or even dividing students into rooms with 10 people, which made the teacher repeat the same content several times a day. Both solutions proved to be ineffective in solving the problem.
FOCUS GROUP IMEPAC | ISCTAC
DEBRIEF AND TASK PRIORITIZATION
With the notes and observations from the previous phase, we moved into the problem prioritization phase
Then the team took notes and observations on the video of the meeting, collecting information that was extremely relevant to understand the problem and so we prioritized it using an effort and impact matrix, a tool for prioritizing tasks.
Based on the notes, we initially defined the strategy in relation to the observed problem, dividing the solution in three actions.
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Three-step action strategy
STRATEGY TASK 1
With the guidelines from the previous phase, we developed and applied a Survey to be sent to all teachers, in order to understand their pains, frustrations and digital literacy
It was created a Survey to recognize information and understand individually how teachers felt about the impact of remote classes as the only alternative.
This form also sought to understand and helped answer other questions, such as skill level and knowledge of digital tools related to teachers´ knowledge.
A total of 57 teachers responded to the form and based on the study of responses and insights received, we gathered material to structure the next stage of the action plan.
STRATEGY TASK 2
An action was created among IMEPAC professors who took over the classes in certain courses that were stopped until then
The IMEPAC teachers of medicine and dentistry courses needed to take over some classes on an emergency action, which were without classes because their professors resigned or were unable to teach remote classes.
COURSE STRUCTURING DYNAMICS
Based on the information we collected in the previous steps, we started to design a Training Course in Remote Learning and Free Digital Tools
We needed to set up a course structure with tools that had a user-friendly interface, low cost, where teachers and students could interact in an effective and fun way, understanding technological limitations.
A meeting between a team made up of the three institutions was suggested, where once again, we applied a Structured Brainstorming, where we looked for creative tools, mobile friendly and preferably with free access.
Using the wall board, we researched tools and best practices, we suggested tutorials and support materials. At the end, we voted on the options we believed to be the most appropriate at that time, given the previous observation process.
BOARD DYNAMICS TOOL
TESTING IN PRACTICE
After the dynamics of collective reflection, the schedule of the Training Course in Remote Teaching and Digital Tools was set up
We decided on a structure of 10 workshops lasting an hour and a half, twice a week. Leveraging my Google for Education certification, I was able to help guide the team in deciding on the tool, and the sequence of topics covered led to a better understanding on the part of the teachers.
Since time was not on our side in this project, we used the first video conferencing tools workshop as our test, meeting with the team after the first meeting for a feedback session where we defined the priority level of the topics to be addressed, such as:
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Google for Education and G Suite for educators
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Google Classroom and the challenges of education in the 21st century.
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Complementary apps (Kahoot, Canva, Giphy)
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Mural & Miro remote collaboration tools
COMMUNICATION PLAN
Which tools we used for disclosing and enrolling in the course that could already dialogue with the content to be addressed during the workshops
Choosing tools for awereness that could be used by ISCTAC to target Professors, our main audience, providing an immersion in the tools that would be addressed during the course was a very important and significant choice.
The choice of platform tools Google for Education and GSuite for educators came up with what we were looking for: they were free tools, which could be accessed from cell phones and that the interface was not completely new for most of them, Gmail users.
A Google Site was created, where professors could find information about course content, schedule and link to enroll. In addition, they could enter information about their motivations and goals within the remote teaching journey also on Google forms.
LESSONS LEARNED
Understanding cultural and resource differences is key to delving into the context of the problem we are solving.
It is important to go beyond what is written in your audience's responses, it is necessary to understand the cultural context and the environment where they live.
During the discovery phase, we learned that Mozambique had many problems with electricity supply and internet.
So in order for the teachers to have access to all the workshops without causing dropouts in case of any supply problems, we used the YouTube Live tool, which, at the same time that we were streamimg the workshop, it was recorded on the Youtube platform, allowing teachers to consult the classes later, increasing engagement.
As a result, we trained 30 teachers in remote teaching and we made it possible for more than 3,000 students to return to classes.
Our Numbers
+98%
of teachers felt more confident
+ 3000
students returned to classes
30
trained teachers
+ 120 hours
of actions
" This training opened doors to a new world, a new way of teaching. Besides transmitting knowledge and introducing new platforms, it taught the trainees (myself and my colleagues) a new language, a new way of communicating where distance doesn't matter. After all, we live in a global village, and I feel blessed to finally be able to be part of the whole. Something so simple can bring me closer to my students, to be in constant contact. In difficult times, during a pandemic, life doesn't stop. We are far away and yet so close! Living, learning, evolving, without barriers. We are a young country with a long way to go… Thank you Rejane, Flávia, and Danilo for dedicating your time to us, for your affection and patience. Your 'presence' changed lives. Well done!" The author is not identified in the evaluation form.
A PARTNERSHIP
