STEM at the Border

Today I had the privilege of visiting 40 Access students and their teachers in Birgunj, a Nepali town on the Indian border. It was my first, and sadly my last, visit. They greeted me with flowers, applause, cards, signs, and smiles. It’s always an honor–and an adventure–to be with the Access students.

I met these students in Pokhara as part of their week-long Winter Leadership Camp in January. I encouraged them to use technology to make a difference in their world. They were part of 140 students gathered in a large room. Today there were 40 students and I was able interact with them more.

I began with a poll. How many had Facebook accounts? (75%) How many had email accounts? (only one boy raised his hand). How many go to the local cyber to get online at least once a week? (Only 1 or 2). How many use mobile phones to go online? (about one-third). Then I asked how many have never sat down at a computer, either at the local cyber or anywhere else: one-third of the students raised their hand. That’s about 13 students. Have you met 13 teenagers that could say the same?

Where to start?

I had planned to show them how to use email, create and share a basic Google document, use Skype, and so forth. It turns out that even though I had packed my transformer and projector in my luggage, I forgot the one HDMI cord that would connect them. Just like that, I was without a projector in front of a classroom of students staring at me. I had a backup pico-projector that projects my iPad, but only on certain apps and the lighting was too bright for it. So, instantly I had to switch gears. I resorted to a tried-and-true technology: the whiteboard and marker.

We discussed five basic vocabulary words about the Internet. These are students who are learning English, after all. Interestingly, the most confusing vocabulary term was “search engine.” They had never searched for information before. They struggled to even come up with an example question that we could look up. I asked them, “What’s the capital of the USA?” They all shouted out, “Washington, D.C.!” Then one boy asked, “What does the D.C. stand for?” Ah ha -- we had our question and immediately found the answer. I lost them when I said when I was younger, I had to go to the library and use encyclopedias to find information. Library? Encyclopedias? I asked why a person might need email and they struggled coming up with an answer. To send a message?

Then I introduced them to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education and said we would be doing a little bit of each one, not just technology. We divided into stations. Some students took pictures with the two cameras I brought. Some filmed with the Flip. Some built bridges or DNA using K’nex I had brought (yes, my luggage was heavy). Some built Archimedean solids using various snap-together shapes. I wanted them to just explore different tools they normally don’t get to. When the time came to switch groups, no one wanted to. They were happy doing what they were doing, so I left it at that. Students took all the photos, by the way. I had given away every device I brought, so I relied on them completely to document the experience. They didn’t disappoint.

I’m a big believer in manipulatives, hands-on tools that allow exploration of abstract concepts. My 9th grade science fair project was on using geometry manipulatives to explain the ideas of a plane, point, and line. That was well before we had incredible iPad apps and software. All these years later, I truly believe I would have continued in my original major of Chemistry had I had the technology tools we have today. I need help to wrap my mind around such abstract concepts. These students built bridges, DNA, and many other creative structures: and were thrilled to show off their work while their classmates took photos.

My station had my 3G-equipped laptop. I had a long line of students wanting to set up email accounts. Many of them succeeded. With each one, as we took their profile camera with my built-in MacBook camera, and they saw their new Gmail address and photo on the screen, I said, “Congratulations, you have an email address!” It was thrilling. I showed them briefly how to compose an email and we sent a sample email to me. 

I could have directed the kids on the iPad to specific apps, and I did show them a couple, but I mostly wanted to see what they would do. Not one person had ever used an iPad before and they were thrilled to try, though one iPad was nowhere near enough. Mostly they chose a drawing app. They immediately figured out how to swipe, open/close apps, and switch through the screens. A few ended up on Temple Run by the end, but I was happy to have them explore something new in their hands and feel its interactivity.

I spent a couple of hours with their four amazing, dedicated teachers. I introduced them to Google Drive and demonstrated real-time collaboration within a document. I showed them how to edit the main Access blog on Weebly, and they made two sample posts here and here (they chose the topics -- I didn’t pay them to be so nice :). I am confident they will be able to contribute now what their students are doing and working on.

I’m sad that in the flurry of activity and busy-ness, no one reminded me that they had prepared a dance to perform. I really wanted to see it and get it on film. Sorry, guys. You’ll have to film it and post it to the blog now.

It’s always an adventure and a pleasure to introduce some tech tools where few have gone before. These are such a great kids and I have no doubt in their abilities to navigate their futures to make a difference in their local communities. They are off to a great start, and I thank them and their teachers for their time and kindness towards me.