Academic concepts related to my community learning experience.

Very few people in our community and life in general do what they love doing for a living. Imagine how disappointing is it to get stuck in an activity you’re not passionate about for the rest of your lie, even when you're paid for. Some stay so long in such activities without pausing to think of what would have happened if they switch to doing what they love. They are far from knowing that the satisfaction you get from doing what you really love outweighs the paycheck you get weekly. This is what I experience in my community service with SERY. Being able to get amazing people through the “ABC”s of computer science and IT has literally turned into a hobby for me. As I said in my previous post, I work with individuals who aren’t tech friendly and my challenge is to make them become so. When you deal with people who have always thought of IT as complex and far-reaching, then you have as challenge to change this mindset before you can transmit any knowledge. Before the technical and academic concepts come not play, making my students or trainees love IT is really a priority. Once they have been emotionally hooked, then you can now go ahead to transmit skills and knowledge. As far as academic concepts are concerned, the ones that actually relate to this experience are those I got from two courses. Both of which are; Initiation à l’informatique and Gestion d’un poste de travail. The two courses are similar, but I took them from two different schools, two different countries and two different continents. It is obvious they’re not taught the same way, neither did I get exactly the same knowledge and skills. The first one really takes you through the basics of computer science and IT with more emphasis on the theory and concepts, while the second one assumes you know certain basics and lay more emphasis on its practical side. Nevertheless, both complement each other because how can you be useful if you know things that you can’t apply? How can you be efficient and transmit knowledge if you apply things you don’t understand? I teach my students computer architecture, putting on and off a computer logically, replacing damaged parts in a computer,

If a kid can do it, then You Can Do It! Come On!

navigating through windows explorer, configuring a web browser to brows efficiently, logging in and out of various accounts (email for instance), synchronising mobile devices with desktops and many more. The list is non-exhaustive. Most of these skills are gotten from the courses named earlier even though some things I teach come up intuitively. My main strategy as far as skill application is concerned is to listen attentively to the student in order to identify his/her specific needs. Once that is done, then my challenge is reduced to finding the easiest possible way to meet that need. It takes more time with some, but in general within the first few minutes after the start of the lesson, their specific needs are met. Surely, that’s my most preferred part during the lesson, because I can see expressions of surprise, smile and satisfaction on my students’ faces. And I usually tell them on that spot that if the class had to end there, then no one amongst us will be disappointed.

Similarities and Differences

It is obvious that though there may be similarities between the way we receive and transmit knowledge, there are mostly differences in the nutshell. The main similarity is the fact that the teacher is the person who keeps talking, and so do I. Nevertheless, with such a context in which I find myself, I can’t really apply that model for an indefinite period. The lesson has to be more interactive for knowledge to be transmitted more efficiently. The main differences show up in the speed of knowledge transmission and voice tone. In a context in which there are too many students, but the teacher has limited time, he has no other choice than to move speedily. But in my context where one or two students come with specific needs, my speed should considerably be reduced. Of what use will it be to strive teaching more in less time if at the end, the student retains nothing? Another difference dives in when background knowledge is considered in academic milieus, since the teacher assumes that you must have taken certain required courses prior to his. In my case I really have to start from scratch since my students have various backgrounds, some of which are in no way related to IT.

Community Learning Experience Reinforces Knowledge

The flow of knowledge is directly proportional to the product of Attention and Time!

Idriss Aberkane, the famous French scholar usually says, “when knowledge is shared, it duplicates”. For most of us who are used to transmitting knowledge, we must have noticed this in our lives. The more you explain something that seems complex to others, the more you understand it yourself. The more I share knowledge, the more my own knowledge is consolidated and the more my self-confidence is reinforced. On few occasions, we may have to revise what we shall teach others, if not we may find ourselves in undesirable situations. As we all know, information is the most perishable commodity. You learnt something, you don’t apply it, you forget it in the next few days. That’s it, that’s all! So, revision is part of the game. At the professional level, for a person to teach IT full time, then it is obvious that he/she needs to have made his proofs. But a person who just requires sharing IT basics with others only needs to have gone through a one- or two-year training in Computer science. Anyone with good grades in courses like Gestion d’un poste de Travail, Initiation à l’infomatique, System exploitation can do the job.