Training in ICT equips teachers, engages students

	Training in ICT equips teachers, engages students

Moulay Ismail middle school, located in Settat, the capital of Morocco’s Chaouia-Ourdigha region (57 km from Casablanca), has achieved an exam success rate of over 70% for the 2006-2007 school year – by far the highest rate in the region compared to the average success rate of less than 50% for other middle schools. Moulay Ismail is one of the 110 middle schools assisted by USAID/Morocco.

Through USAID training programs on how to incorporate Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the classroom, 60 teachers at Moulay Ismail middle school learned exciting new ways of engaging their students. With the new ICT tools, teachers have provided their students with hands-on learning activities and technical skills that contributed to improving their performance. Najib El Bahlaoui, Moulay Ismail director said that the multimedia lab provided by USAID has stimulated student interest. “Today, with team work, students do not receive knowledge anymore, but start to build it,” explains El Bahlaoui.

“The project also gave us an opportunity to change our opinion about our students’ capacities.  Personally, I was surprised to see that students are capable of creating extraordinary projects,” added the school director.  In addition to improved academic performance, the ICT-based lesson plans have offered Moulay Ismail students alternative means of self-expression. Sarah El Malki, a 16-year old student, used her new ICT skills to create a website exploring the history of terrorism and incongruity to Islam’s values of peace and tolerance.

Using her website to present her research on terrorism and to express her own insights, Sarah advises terrorists to “stop using religion to express ideologies or messages” and instead to express themselves peacefully, for “what they do does not help them, nor does it help their countries develop.”  Other students have chosen to create websites, blogs and podcasts on topics of their interest and concern, such as drug trafficking and addiction, environmental protection, and poetry.  

For both students and teachers, ICT has diversified teaching methods, increased educational resources, enhanced communication skills, and the overall relationship between the students and the teachers.  “The project helps include students that are left behind – those that are shy and have social difficulties.  It is a true relief when you can see that these students are responsive in the classroom. Even our behavior changed towards them. It is no longer a relationship of teacher-student, but we are one team,” said Ms. Ktaoui, French teacher at Moulay Ismail.