USAID/Morocco :: Programs :: Related stories:Integrating ICT in the middle school classroom

USAID education program develops and implements teaching methods which simplify the approach to becoming literate in modern standard Arabic.

USAID Morocco
10 Avenue Mehdi Ben Barka Souissi, Rabat, Morocco

Tel:(212)537-63-20-01
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Last Updated on: March 06, 2009

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Integrating ICT in the middle school classroom


	Eight USAID/ALEF Project multimedia laboratories officially opened in Morocco in 2005. They are a pilot project to support the Government of Morocco’s nationwide initiative – the “GENIE Project”

The installation of multimedia laboratories by the ALEF Project of USAID in eight Moroccan middle schools in 2005 is starting to bear fruit. Here are three examples of schools’ successfully incorporating ICT in classroom instruction, addressing their specific needs.

Bouarfa after hours
The middle school in Bouarfa (College Al Fath) is operating its multimedia lab after school hours from 6pm and 8pm daily and during the weekend. Teachers are volunteering their time to help students use the lab for independent research, to complete assignments and for extra computer instruction. Extending lab working hours is one example of ways teachers and administrators have addressed the challenge of a large number (and demand) of students and teachers relative to the capacity of the computer lab.

Community financing of computers in Settat
In Settat (College Moulay Abdellah), the Parent-Teacher’s Association bought two additional computers for their lab and plans to purchase an additional two computers in the upcoming months. According to the school director, many teachers (including himself) have purchased their own computers since ALEF installed the computer lab. This experience shows that a relatively small project investment in infrastructure accompanied by a strong and participatory human resource development program can motivate teachers and administrators to find private resources to address infrastructure and other education challenges.

Online forum in Khouribga

The College El Massira in Khouribga has been a leader in organizing teacher training, classroom lessons and a school blog in its lab. One example of an innovative use of the lab is a lesson organized by an English language inspector and two young teachers with third year students at the school. During the lesson, students wrote short portraits of themselves in English to which they attached a digital photograph. The whole class shared their portraits via an online forum provided by the US-based NGO IEARN, “My School, Your school.” The teachers remarked that student enthusiasm and participation in the lesson were enormous, due to the use of ICT. To see the school’s blog, go to: <http://massirakhga.skyblog.com/5.html>.