Some odds and ends of information about the technology I brought to Burkina Faso and how I used it

Technology I brought from home:

For several months before leaving the U.S. for Burkina Faso, I researched what kinds of technology to bring. I didn't know if I would have electricity (many volunteers here do not), but I hoped I would have access to power either at home or at school so that I could charge batteries. My goal was to travel light, but loaded with as much power as I could afford. As an older volunteer with a few resources at home, I was able to do this, but I also recognized the need to be discreet and not overwhelm my colleagues, students and friends with unattainable technological marvels.

I wanted to be able to use my computer for teaching small groups of colleagues or students about computers, as well as for my own day-to-day work. I had found that the national telephone company, ONATEL, provides Internet service, and I hoped I might be able to get at least occasional access, since communication with friends and family was important to me. 

I was fortunate to have access to a telephone and electricity in my house, and to have FASONET work often (usually a lesson in patience). Below is a list of the technological tools and software that shaped my Peace Corps experience, for better or worse, and made my website possible while I was in Burkina Faso:

Technology adventures at school:

My school is a large school (2000 students) with a few more resources than the smaller schools around the country. I think this may be one of the reasons I was placed there, with my interest in helping promote the use of technology in education. I had to find an appropriate balance between being perceived as a rich (?) American loaded with glitzy goodies and being a useful resource to facilitate the use of technology at the school.

At the beginning of the 1999-2000 school year (my first year of Peace Corps service), the Lycée Yamwaya had just received a donation of two used computers from a school in France. They consisted of a 386 with 4 MB of RAM and a 486 with 4 MB of RAM (both somewhat working), as well as a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet printer with no cartridge. My Proviseur (principal) asked if I knew anything about computers and could I help his secretary enter the 31 class lists (of 70 or so students each) on one of the computers. Actually, he asked me to do the typing, but I shifted his request to something a little more sustainable. I thus fell into my first small success--I taught Madame Kindo how to use Microsoft Excel to enter and sort class lists and related information. Madame Kindo has become an expert on Excel. She is terrific! (See her photo on the page of School Life.)

Meanwhile, I asked if I could convene a group of teachers to identify needs and to plan some very basic technology training. I was told by many folks that teachers here are stretched so thin with heavy teaching loads (including second and third jobs at private schools) that they might not be able to give much time. Au contraire. Wow! My colleagues were like a fire waiting to be ignited. We had to limit participation on the planning committee to 8 very eager teachers, and everyone (of the 48 teachers) wanted training.

I had also been told that there were a few old computers at the school, all with many viruses and other problems, none of which had been used recently. Tackling the concrete challenges within three days of our committee's first meeting, the group conducted a giant housecleaning day (even though I was unable to attend) where they emptied, cleaned and organized a room once planned for a couple of very old Apple 2 computers and more recently housing the handful of non-functional PCs. The Proviseur supported the effort by finding some tables and chairs to get the old computers off the floor. The next day, my colleague Sylla, a very knowledgeable and newly motivated mathematics teacher, started working to revive the four dead computers of the era of pre-286 to 386, all with many viruses, dead internal batteries, limited memory, slow speed, and defective keyboards. Sylla was incredible and ended up with two of these computers sort of working, for a total of four computers between the office and the computer lab. The computers were running operating systems ranging from partly functional MS-DOS to Windows 3.1 to Madame Kindo's 486 running Windows 95. We used 3 different versions of Word and Excel, requiring at least 10 minutes to print a page of anything. But the momentum was there !

Meanwhile, by a happy accident, I came across about six to eight surplus computers (depending on how you count partly working and non-working computers) from the American Embassy that they were unable to sell. We finally agreed on the last details to have them donated to the school. Some of them were 486s, one of which had 8 MB of RAM. My colleagues were quite excited. I was able to cajole a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, Dave Thomas (a computer engineer teaching middle school math in rural eastern Burkina Faso), to take the cross-country trip and spend a week working with and training Sylla, who was quickly becoming a computer wizard. Between them, they worked miracles! They worked together to repair, upgrade, cannibalize and otherwise refurbish several computers. (See the photo on the Colleagues page.)

Also, thanks to Bert Waits and friends at The Ohio State University, we received some books on various versions of DOS, Windows, and MS Office--in French! My colleagues continue to pursue training and professional development, as well as avenues for obtaining more (newer perhaps) computers.

The graphing calculators donated by friends finally made it through the various bureaucracies to arrive at the end of the first year. I chose not to push for them to arrive earlier, since I did not want to be perceived as simply a supplier of technology, but rather to be respected first as a teacher. Very late during the first school year, while teachers were on strike, we were able to do some Saturday sessions on advanced algebra and pre-calculus topics using the TI-82 and TI-83 graphing calculators. It was no surprise that students immediately took to their use. I left a classroom set with a colleague on the condition that students get to use them. I think he may have quite a time keeping them for that use, since many of our other colleagues, even mathematics and science teachers, don't have such tools. I hope I can find some more calculators to donate for them. I have also made a promise that I will give a graphing calculator to any of my students who eventually pass the BAC test. So if anyone has TI-82 or TI-83 calculators, or other graphing calculators with manuals (in English or preferably French), please email me and I will find a way to get them to Burkina Faso.

How I used technology in my life and work in Africa

Before leaving for Burkina Faso, I thought a lot about whether I should try to live without technology during my Peace Corps service or whether I should use it as a tool in my work. Actually, the decision was fairly simple for me, since I have come to view technology as a powerful tool for educational access that can open all kinds of doors, especially if we can find ways to make it available to people who would not otherwise have access to it. So I chose to bring along a lean, mean set of tools and do as much as I could to open those doors. After one or two potential problem scares (like freeze-ups and shut-downs), I came to realize how much I really used these things in Burkina Faso. I don't know if that's good or bad, but here are a few of the ways I used my technology (don't forget I had those several weeks of strikes during which I could play with my technology a bit).

Ten ways I know I'm finding a good balance between American hi-tech and Burkina Faso's level of development (written spring 2000):

Want to contribute to the technology infrastructure in a developing nation?

There are always many needs for help with technology in Burkina Faso, in my town of Ouahigouya, and at my Lycée Yamwaya. Many things are always appreciated, such as extra (working) mice, track pads, cables (especially parallel and serial cables), clean blank disks, ink cartridges/ribbons, good installable copies of Windows 3.1, Windows 95 (maybe Windows 98 eventually), and Microsoft Office (for running on 286-486 computers; preferably in French), manuals/guides/tutorials on the same software (preferably in French), computer magazines and books, on-line maintenance availability, AAA batteries for calculators, etc. If you have something you would like to donate or if you want to know current needs, email me and we will definitely work out the details. And thanks in advance for your contribution. As time goes on, needs may change, so email me if you have other suggestions or offerings.