Last month, Ana from MEA-I gave a master training course in Kiev. I asked her to summarise her impressions. Happy reading, Daniela
A joint HP GET-IT and MAP Master Training was held in Kiev, Ukraine, between June 21-25. As the Master Trainer teaching the course, I was extremely impressed with the level and dedication of the MAP and GET-IT trainers who attended. It’s great to know that the MAP and GET-IT networks are growing in Russia and the Ukraine and that both these countries will now have a group of such excellent Master Trainers of their own!
Nine trainers participated in total; three from the Ukraine, five from Russia, and one from Serbia. They each had to give a presentation on a theoretical aspect of the MAP/GET-IT methodology and to present one topic from the curriculum to the rest of the group. They did lots of role-playing activities and provided feedback to each other on their presentations – all at a really impressive level.
The training was held at the HP GET-IT Center in Kiev which was opened in collaboration with ORT Russia at the ORT Technology Lyceum. We had the chance to visit the whole complex and talk with some of the teachers. The Lyceum seems to be an extremely reputable school in Kiev, and we were all amazed at the level of the content taught to the students, the pace, the amount of work they are expected to do, and at the results too!
In the end, it wasn’t just the work aspect that was so great, what was also wonderful was the location of the training – Kiev. We had the opportunity to visit the city on the Wednesday and Friday afternoons, going on a guided tour of the main sites, and taking a boat ride on the broad and breathtaking Dniepr River.
After the training, I had the opportunity to visit the other two HP GET-IT centers in the Ukraine – in Lvov and Slavutich.
Slavutich is a small town located 50km from Chernobyl and it's where all the 3,000 people who still work at the Chernobyl station (that will still take 30 years to shut down!) live. The people we met at the center were talking a lot about the growth of small businesses in their town and how that's all changing at the moment. This is why they thought the HP GET-IT Program was particularly relevant to their community. The people there were extremely professional and the center just beautiful!
The center in Lvov was also extremely active, and the people I met were full of enthusiasm for the program. That center is based at the Jewish community center in Lvov. Many different cultural and educational activities are held there and the whole place seemed really alive somehow! There I also had the chance to meet three students (about 20 yrs old) who'd followed the GET-IT course. This was a true delight. One of them didn't know how to use a computer at all before she attended the course, another one is a computer science student but said he didn't know how to do simple, practical things such as Googlegroups and Microsoft Outlook, even though he knows how to program (he'd also already registered his own business and showed us the company certificate he'd got!), and another also said the course was really useful for him – he had dreams of a starting a design company one day.
I’d like to thank ORT Russia for their excellent organization of the course, and all the participants – many of whom have now already become GET-IT and MAP Master Trainers! – for their hard work, enthusiasm, and friendship. It’s weeks like these that make this program what it is!
Ana Barfield, Master Trainer, MEA-I
I have invited Jelena Godjevac, CEO of the Microenterprise Acceleration Programme (which HP is a gold-sponsor of), to share the latest news on the programme with you I have to say, congratulations Jelena and team - HP is very proud of you!
The NMC Summer Conference, held this year at the University of Southern California, is an event dedicated to exploring and promoting innovative applications of technology for teaching, learning, and creative inquiry.
Every year, since 1993, the Conference has been held at different US universities. They have been the meeting place for members of university faculty specialising in new media, management personnel, and technology specialists working at higher education institutions.
This year's Conference is focusing on four particular tracks, namely Emerging Technologies, New Media and Learning, New Media and Leadership, and Tools and Techniques.
MEA-I, HP’s partner for the deployment of the HP LIFE programme, was showcasing its activities in the sphere of new media and learning within its Interactives and Posters sessions. MEA-I presented its new developments including its new LIFE Curriculum, which is currently under development, its new LIFE Blended Training of Trainers platform, and its IT-for-entrepreneurship serious games.
A panel of anonymous judges examined 15 projects and decided to award MEA-I with the Judges’ choice. The criteria for this award included:
MEA-I showed its puzzle for the enterpreneurship education: LIFE curriculum, Serious games, Online Training of Trainers and Smart Tools – a training management system. The picture was completed by a vision to create a LIFE portal for the community of trainers and students. MEA-I received compliments for its incredible vision.
Cheers, Jelena
