SchoolWeb targets 40 institutions

Dec 02, 2003

Kashozi Primary School in Ishaka, Bushenyi district, will never be the same again. Last weekend, the rural government school had its 30 computers connected to the Internet, propelling it into the information age

SURFING WITH
VINCENT MUGABA
www.newvision.co.ug

By Vincent Mugaba

Kashozi Primary School in Ishaka, Bushenyi district, will never be the same again.

Last weekend, the rural government school had its 30 computers connected to the Internet, propelling it into the information age. It becomes the first of 40 schools countrywide to get fast Internet access on the pilot SchoolWeb project run by Ugandan NGO Uconnect (www.uconnect.org).

The project is a collaborative effort by Uconnect, the Ministry of Education and Sports, MTN and One2Net, and international partners Hewlett Packard, Advanced Interactive and Sun Microsystems. Advanced Interactive of Canada designed the SchoolWeb system for Canadian schools and modified it for Uganda.

SchoolWeb is a new innovative Internet access system designed specifically for primary and secondary schools. It gives schools fast and cost-effective Internet access to education materials on the web.

The SchoolWeb exploits wireless technology like the mobile telephony, VSAT (very small aperture terminal) and microwave to bring schools in places like Ishaka or Moroto onto the Internet.

Kashozi Primary School is connecting to the Internet through the new Ericsson FCT (Fixed Cellular Terminal) provided by MTN on loan basis. Uconnect, based at the Ministry of Education headquarters, provides the computers at a subsidised cost.

The SchoolWeb solution is designed to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing the capacities and skills of students and teachers in education.

Lorna Ongejje, the Uconnect coordinator, says Uconnect provides training so that the teachers and students can install and manage their SchoolWeb server and network by themselves. Uconnect provides the server. Training ensures that the project is transferable, sustainable and affordable.

Once installed and running, SchoolWeb becomes a fast and interactive learning resource centre. The SchoolWeb server comes with:

  • Open source software OpenOffice, programmes for website design, graphics, video streaming, a dictionary and database programmes.

  • A list of websites with teaching materials

  • A mail server that provides e-mails to all students, teachers and the community involved

  • The librarian, a dedicated and efficient search engine that makes finding the desired information from the Internet easy.

  • Content filters to protect users from objectionable materials on the Internet.

  • A firewall to prevent unauthorised external access to the network.

    Teachers can use SchoolWeb as a teaching aid by researching from the Internet and then providing the material on the school server where students can access it any time. Students and teachers can also host and maintain their own website projects, which can be shared with other schools on the SchoolWeb network.

    This effectively spreads knowledge and improves learning through interaction. For example, pupils of Kashozi PS can now share school notes with pupils from other schools in Uganda, Kenya, Canada, and other SchoolWeb networked schools in the world.

    In Bushenyi, Kashozi PS can share their SchoolWeb server with neighbouring schools and the community. This not only shares out the cost of maintenance, but also brings ICT services to the community and other schools. Sharing a SchoolWeb server is a cheaper way for schools to gain Internet access.

    And with a SchoolWeb network, a school can also serve as a telecenter in the community, providing communication and computer services like Internet, email and printing. Ongejje says this would help raise revenue to maintain the SchoolWeb server.

    The server can efficiently handle 650 computers, she said. To create a network between schools in a local area, the computers can be connected through wireless devices readily available on the local market.

    Although ICTs are not a panacea for addressing all our social and economic ills, projects like SchoolWeb can help cultivate and nurture the untapped human potential in underserved communities.

    The 40-school pilot is only preparing ground for the implementation of a large-scale programme for the adoption of ICTs in enhancing learning. But there is no limit to how many schools can get on the SchoolWeb. Any schoolteacher can walk to the Uconnect offices at the Ministry of Education headquarters in Kampala and get to know how to get onto SchoolWeb.
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