skoolmedia-blog - Tumblr blog

[skoolmedia-blog]

Memoirs from Art Tech Akure and A Telephone Booth

During the Art Tech selection process which took place recently at the Federal Government Girls College, Akure, we came across this ancient telephone booth and we were awe-struck. It was such a nostalgic sight to behold and it reminded us a lot about how times are changing. The telephone booth which was once a ground breaking invention has now been replaced with smartphones that can do so much more than just make a phone call. 

Development is happening so fast everyday all around us at the rate of lightning speed. It’s so amazing how the newest technology last month can be obsolete today.

The educational sector in Nigeria seems to be slow in catching this tornado-like wind of change. Even though some technological improvements are being made in this sector, like the UTME which is now computer based, we still have a lot of work to do. 

This is why at Skool Media, we are working tirelessly to ensure that education in Nigeria is at par with global standard. We would not relent until every Nigerian child has access to a digitized system of learning.

“At Skool Media, we are going to use the power of innovation to change the world” – Moses Imayi.

[skoolmedia-blog]

How Technology Aids Learning

.

Students of Federal Government Girls’ College, Shagamu enter a classroom that looks like any other, except that a projection system and video screen have been installed. Their Biology teacher announces that today they will be talking about the kidney and its functions. Rather than leave the students to their imagination of what a kidney looks like, the teacher projects a HD quality image of a kidney from his Skool Media tablet to the video screen. The students are marveled at what they can do with technology and even more eager to learn. This is just a few of the realities of how technology is revamping the learning space in Nigeria. The use of technology in education results in a lot of positive changes in teaching methods and learning experience.

 Let’s talk about some other benefits of incorporating technology in our educational system.

Enjoyable learning experience

Engaging students and grabbing their attention can prove a herculean task for teachers due to the static manner of traditional teaching methods. This can be solved by equipping schools with technological devices like projectors, audio-visual presentation, wide screen television, educational tablets, internet connectivity and so much more. With these innovations, instruction delivery from teacher to student is less tedious. Also, technology-centered activities can be introduced to our learning space in a bid to make learning less boring. Some of such activities is the Skool Media initiative tagged “Art Tech”, an art competition and workshop that encourages secondary school students to express technology using their artistic skills. 

See pictures of some young artists from the Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba hard at work during the competition. You can also read more on that here, here and here.

Learning on the go

Traditional teaching methods are static and rigid. Technology helps students learn from anywhere in the world.  Learning is no longer restricted to the four walls of a classroom as books, lecture notes and videos can easily be accessed online. Assignments and exams can also be done via internet.

Eco-friendly

Trees are very important in the environment as they help protect the ozone layer by keeping the atmosphere cool. The number of trees that have to be cut down for the production of papers for all kinds of books is outrageous. This problem can be averted with the use of technology as all hard copy books can be converted to eBooks and stored in an e-library.

Problem Solving

Using technology to express and convey knowledge all entail different kinds of problems solving. Learning with technology requires that students make myriad decisions while constructing their representations. Deciding what information to include and exclude, how to structure the information, and what form it should take are all complex decision-making processes. Students also engage in a lot of design problem solving while constructing their interpretations. They also must solve rule-using problems in how to use software. When learners are solving problems, they are thinking deeply and are engaged in meaningful learning. What they learn while doing so will be so much better understood and remembered than continuously preparing to answer multiple-choice test questions.

 Cheaper means of learning

Distant learning, which depends a lot of technology, is less expensive means of education as compared to the traditional method. Scholars can study for different courses from any part of the world without going through the rigours and expenses of traveling.

 So there you have it. Technology is really amazing and it’s here to stay. We either get on the train as a nation or we will surely be left behind.

[skoolmedia-blog]

Art Tech 2016: Art Meets Tech at Queen’s College 

So, art met tech at Queen’s College, Yaba on December 1-3 2016 during Art Tech2016. It was exciting to see the students’ ideas of technology come alive on the canvas.

Art Tech is an opportunity for students to use art to tell stories about technology.  Students came together and participated in art workshops with our resident artists. 

“It is aimed at showing the beauty of creativity possible when art collides with technology,” says Moses Imayi, Project Director, Skool Media. 

It was really beautiful to see students come up with creative representations of technology. Paintings met illustrations and shook hands with cartoons.  

Voting is now open for the 20 submissions. You can vote by selecting your best artwork here. 

After the Queen’s College experience, other workshops are scheduled to take place at other colleges as follows: 

Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba: 5th, 6th and 7th December 2016 Federal Government College, Ijanikin: 8th, 9th and 10th December 2016 Federal Government Girls College, Sagamu:12th, 13th&14th December 2016.

After these workshops, twenty best entries will also be subjected to voting in each of the school. After which the best three entries will be selected by a jury made up of renowned artists. T

Prizes to be won at the grand event:

Best overall winner – N100,000 scholarship,a tablet and an artist kit box 2nd place winner- N50,000 and an artist kit box 3rd place winner – N30,000 and an artist kit box

Follow us here for more updates. Right now, you can vote for the artworks from Queen’s College. 

[skoolmedia-blog]

Opportunity: Yale Young African Scholars 2017

Are you an high achieving SS2 student? Do you have leadership potentials? Are you interested in pursuing an undergraduate degree in the United States? 

Then, read on!

The Yale Young African Scholars Program is a selective program for high achieving African students entering their penultimate (second to last) year of secondary school. 

Required application components include:

Completed application form - The application can be found online and must be filled out by the applicant.

One teacher recommendation letter - The recommendation letter must be written and submitted by a teacher through a link that will be provided via email. Alternatively, the teacher may email the letter to african.scholars@yale.edu 

Applicant’s official transcript - The student may upload their own transcript (or for Zimbabwe, their O-level exam results) to their application. A student transcript is an official document provided by the school and includes the applicant’s list of courses and grades received.

More info here. 

Go on. Apply. All the best!

[skoolmedia-blog]

Skool Media invites young students in Nigerian secondary schools to create a visual stories using art.

Tagged, “Art Tech 2016” , renowned studio artists will conduct a drawing and painting workshop for students in the Skool Media Project schools. 

Students in JSS 1 -SSS 3 classes are eligible to participate. Interested students are to signify interest in the art exhibition/workshop. Students can signify interest by sending the following information to arttech2016@skoolmedia.org:

(1) Full name (2) Age (3) Class (4) School Name (5) location

Find more information here

[skoolmedia-blog]

Yay! It’s December.

The last month of the year but certainly not the least. You have one more chance to fulfil your goals for the year.

Go on!

The Skoolmedia team

[skoolmedia-blog]

OPPORTUNITY: WISE Awards

Each year, the WISE Awards recognize and promote six successful innovative projects addressing global educational challenges. These projects show the dynamic nature of the education space in a fast changing world. Many of them, groundbreaking collaborations transforming education as we know it. 

Winners receive a prize of $20,000; global visibility and are honored at the global biennial WISE summit.

Submission ends on January 17, 2017

What are you waiting for? Apply today.

[skoolmedia-blog]

What do you think about this? Yay or nay?

[skoolmedia-blog]

Phones: To Stay In or Out of Classrooms?’

Once upon a time, phones in the hands of students were merely toys. You know, for games--tetris, snake--and nothing more. This is changing. Many times, students, like many other people go to Professor Google for answers to their questions. 

Many have advocated for phones to stay in classrooms, like other tech gadgets. With smart phones, anyone anywhere can learn. What is there not to love? They are portable. They can carry a wealth of information without being burdens. This wealth of information can be useful to both students and teachers. Think about the potentials of information sharing...

The downsides: they can be distracting. How many teachers have lost focus just because a phone rang in class? How many students have ended up playing games rather than researching for their assignments? Imagine how frustrating it would be to see students bent over phones rather than listening to their teachers? Can they increase cyber bullying or cheating?

In Nigeria, there are also still challenges with power to charge the phones and accessible content in local languages for instance. 

Many students already use it outside the classrooms. And they use it well. In Nigeria, phones remain largely proscribed in classrooms. They stay outside classrooms. 

And with organisations like Phonelabs making educational content for phones; with “eduphones” making a in-road into the country, one should ask again: Should phones be accepted in classrooms?

Only time will tell whether phones will remain outside the classrooms. However it is largely a policy and regulation issue. 

What do you think? Phoneducation, anyone?

[skoolmedia-blog]

Welcome to Skool Media. 

So, if you are to come by at our office in Ikoyi, this is what you will see. Well, something close, only that our staff is camera shy...

Let us take you on a virtual tour. Well, of some sort. 

Boardroom. This is where the meetings that transform the education sector happen...you know that space where heads come together to create ideas that spark revolutions...What you may not see in this picture are the ACs that keep the head cool even when the “sparks” happen. 

Kitchen. This is where matters of the stomach are attended to. A Yoruba saying translates “hunger does not enter the stomach and another matter goes in too.” So yes, we value our staff so it is important that they feed well even as they bring top notch tech to education

Training room. Magic happens here. Right in this space, learning happens. And learning sharpens even the dullest of minds. Learning opens up new doors. How else will you describe magic? While the magic happens, cool breeze blows from the air conditioner.

And just because we do not want to keep this amazing space to ourselves, we have opened up our space for use.

But first, asides this colourful space, what else does this promise? 

Access to tech gadgets, high speed internet and uninterrupted power supply. 

In need of space for a training or conference? Call us: 08023212427; 08074102448

[skoolmedia-blog]

3 Lessons from the UNITeS Outstanding Performance Award

In September, our sister organisation, UNITeS, celebrated its high-performing instructors and we gleaned these three lessons from the exciting experience. The lessons may help you too.

Commitment pays, eventually. When you are (un)committed to your work, you do no one a (dis)favour but yourself. Look at the Nigerian Navy School Ojo team. They graduated more than 500 students  over the period of 2 years in the Cisco Networking Academy. This feat ushered them into the Cisco NetAcad 500 Club Awards. Navy Lt Owolabi received the award on behalf of the Commandant. The school instructors also received cash awards.

Take Initiative. Instructions are good but they are only roadmaps, initiative is the guide that will take you to the destination. Initiative recognises “land marks” and makes the best use of them. 

That is what Mr Anthony of FGC, Wukari does. The IT instructor, took initiative and trained bursary staff on the use of remittal platform transaction. He also kickstarted a the networking academy at a new location FGC, Biliri Gombe State.

That is what Mr Ebiem Chukwunonso of FSTC, Uromi does. He initiated computer system repairs for the school community. Also, for the first time in his location, SS3 students participated in the 2015/2016 IT Essential Exam and were successfully certified.

They both won awards for their efforts.

Reward Excellence: Have you seen anyone doing anything remarkable, no matter how small it is, in your community? Just something different, against the usual grind, then you can do something to make them feel valued. You can never know, how far an act of “rewarding excellence” can go. 

It is just mid-week, you can take these lessons and use them to “fire up” the remaining days of your week. 

[skoolmedia-blog]

Have a great week everyone!

[skoolmedia-blog]

5 Ways Skool Media is Changing Education in Nigeria

In a world where millions of young Nigerians are out of school despite several government interventions to keep them in classrooms, Skool Media, an ICT based initiative, is on a mission to redefine education. 

Below are five ways Skool Media is changing education in Nigeria: 

1. Bringing technology to students: In partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education, Skool Media has provided technology in the form of tablets and ICT centres to various Unity schools across the federation. This capital intensive feat involves levels of partnerships with school administrators and Parent Teacher Associations.

Read more on Happenings Magazine

[skoolmedia-blog]

Kelvin Odum on Close Flow with Fola Martins

Project Support Officer, Skool Media, Kelvin Odum was on NTA 2, yesterday. He was on the show, Close Flow with Fola Martins. 

There, he spoke about Skool Media, technology and its impact on education, among other issues.

Listen for a repeat broadcast today 16th August, 2016, at 3pm.

Have a lovely Tuesday!

[skoolmedia-blog]

OPPORTUNITY FOR EDUCATORS

Are you an educator inspiring learners and innovators? Do you use creative ways to solve problems in your classroom, school or community? Are you passionate about sharing TED-Ed tools with your community of students and teachers? 

Then you might be one of the next TED-Ed Innovative Educators. Apply here.

We believe there are many Nigerian educators out there doing amazing things in their communities; so, it would be great to see a Nigerian teacher in the next class of TED-educators. 

Deadline is August 19, 2016. So hurry!

[skoolmedia-blog]

Happy International Youth Day

Today, Friday August 12, 2016 is the United Nations International Youth Day.

The theme of the 2016 International Youth Day is “The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production”. It focuses on the significant role of youths in ensuring poverty eradication and achieving sustainable development through sustainable consumption and production. 

These are interesting times to be a young person. To be young means to be strong. Strength to withstand challenges. Strength to live your dreams despite opposition. Dreams that can change the world. 

Skool Media is a testimony to how young people live their dreams despite challenges. Everyday, through our technology in education project, we try to make education better for young people in Nigeria. With access to quality education through technology, these students have higher chances of escaping poverty as adults. 

Happy International Youth Day to every young person out there living their dreams, despite all oppositions. 

From all of us at Skool Media

[skoolmedia-blog]

Opportunity: Django Girls II

Female? Interested in programming? Then, this is for you. 

At Django Girls, you will like to learn how to build websites from scratch. No, you do not need any IT training whatsoever. Just come with your laptop and an open mind.  

Guess what? It is also free!

More information here