In March this year, the DigiSchool programme was officially
launched. With the disbursement of more than 500,000 laptops and tablets to
selected schools across counties, the first phase of digitized learning in
schools is already in place.
During the second phase, it is expected that another batch
of tablets and other devices will be distributed. By April 2017, more than one
million devices will have been distributed to schools across the country.
It is expected that by August 2017, the DigiSchool programme
will be running in all public schools in Kenya.
As expected, teachers have been apprehensive about this
programme. Some have openly resisted its implementation. Their excuses include:
Why roll it out before training teachers? How will teachers facilitate the
programme without the requisite skills?
Teachers are not sure whether they will meet the
expectations of the DigiSchool programme. Their concerns are valid but
misguided.
Of course, some handicaps are expected but teachers need not
worry. Kenyans will not crucify them if they experience some hiccups while
navigating the virtual school for the first time. We will be tolerant. And the
reason for our leniency is this that in the DigiSchool space, teacher-student
roles will be reversed.
Here’s how - in DigiSchool, there are two types of
residents, namely the ‘digital natives’ and the ‘digital immigrants’. Students
are the natives and teachers are the immigrants.
As digital natives, children are fluent speakers of the
‘digital language’. Having been born in the digital age, they have learnt to
multi-task. Indeed, experts say that these ‘netizens’ are even able to do their
homework as they watch TV.
In contrast, most teachers, just like most parents and
guardians, belong to the generation of digital immigrants. Modern technology
found us here and we have had to learn to interact with digital media late in
life.
VIRTUAL SPACE
Sadly, some of the teachers expected to operate in the
virtual space of DigiSchool have resisted working with technology. As the
natives would put it, these teachers have chosen not to do digital.
As immigrants, teachers have the arduous task of learning
this new language. As is always the case in learning a new language, there is
the expected challenge of adopting an accent.
In this endeavor, teachers will have to work hard to shed
the ‘accent’ of the pre-digital age.
We must come to terms with the fact that our children, the
digital natives, are different from us. As one expert observes, this generation
has grown up with bits and bytes. Their neurons are wired differently. They
found technology here and so their ability to interact with technology is at a
higher level than ours.
They are naturally wired to explore all the features of
mobile devices, search the web, listen to music as they study and watch
television as they do homework.
They can also create websites, update their social media
pages, set their devices to receive instant updates on the status of their
friends’ timelines on social media platforms, and attend web events among
managing other ‘digi-things’.
In forging new and effective relationships in the DigiSchool
programme, teachers must factor in all these demands in their mode of education
delivery. The approaches to teaching and learning will have to accommodate
these expectations to suit the needs of the digital natives.
For effective delivery of digital learning, teachers must,
therefore, come to terms with the reversed roles in the teacher-student
relationship. In DigiSchool, the natives will certainly play the coaches,
mentors, and experts.
Teachers will have no option but to humbly take their place
as part-time students of this digital age in order to achieve a win-win
situation.
