Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Partnership with Hassan Maajar Trust at Shimbwe

Teacher Training

Powering Potential is partnering with the Hassan Maajar Trust to provide a computer lab and training to the Shimbwe Secondary School near Moshi, Tanzania. The Hassan Maajar Trust was founded by Ambassador Mwanaidi Sinare Maajar who is the former Tanzanian Ambassador to the U.S. and a Senior Partner at Rex Attorneys in Dar es Salaam.

From June 15-26, Powering Potential installed the RACHEL server and computer network, and provided training for school leaders. Those being trained included the Headmaster, Second Master, two teachers and the school secretary. All school representatives were enthusiastic about the training and took to the technology very well. Powering Potential trainer, Elibariki Magnus, led the sessions.

RACHEL Pi server and router

Hassan Maajar Trust provided 10 laptops, as well as the tables and chairs for the computer lab. Powering Potential is providing technology consulting services. At Shimbwe, Elibariki installed a RACHEL server with offline educational content. RACHEL (Remote Access Community Hotspots for Education and Learning) is produced by World Possible and includes Khan Academy educational videos, selected Wikipedia articles, medical reference books, ebooks of world literature from Project Gutenberg, and other materials.

Elibariki then provided training on the server content and Raspberry Pi system over a two week period. He was able to work with the faculty and staff at Shimbwe, who were all excited to have the new computer system.

Students using RACHEL

Everyone was very happy with the training, stating that it was "well conducted" and "the education program will be useful to students and teachers." The teachers and students will use this system to access educational program content, teaching assistance, and reference materials. At the end of the training, the Headmaster remarked "I hope this new program to our school will motivate and encourage students' learning."  We hope so too!

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