IPods Improve Education in Rural Zambia

Abstract

About 12.69 percent of the Zambian population have no access to formal education due to a number of factors such as poverty ,limited learning space etc.It is therefore imperative that government devises methods of education delivery that accerarates the provision of education services t the unreached population. As a result the ministry has taken advantage of the its educational broadcasting services in the communication sector through the delivery of educational programs using a variety of technology on the national, regional and international market. // In Zambia, teachers are using iPods to enhance teaching and learning in mathematics, science, and English especially for the interactive radio instruction (IRI) the IPods’ are loaded with the lessons as well as with audio and video training materials designed to support teachers in their presentation of complex topics. // The iPods bring teachers enriched professional content right in their hands and classrooms, when they need it. This is highly relevant professional support. The iPods also help the IRI team in Zambia address another challenge: how to convey concepts that are more easily explained visually. You can teach people about a square with radio, for instance, but you can’t show them how to cut and fold a cube. So a video of an educator demonstrating cutting and folding a cube to accompany the lesson on three-dimensional shapes. Now teachers can see it being done and practice it before asking students to do it. // Using the iPods in combination with a solar-powered generator and a set of speakers, the teachers can also broadcast the lessons without being tied to the radio schedule if they are to follow the regular live broadcast programmes. The iPod affords teachers more autonomy than the radio broadcasts. Teachers can decide when to teach the lesson; they can choose to repeat the lesson, to stop and rewind the lesson, or to review a part of the lesson. // The initiative isn’t expensive. At $250 per iPod and another $250 for the generator, the cost presents a significant hurdle. But as technology costs decrease and access to electricity spreads in Zambia, the technology will quickly become more affordable.