Board meeting [2016-11-26]
The Reneal IEO Board of Directors met last Saturday to review 2016 accomplishments and challenges and to discuss 2017 plans. We also welcomed Katherine Yen as a new member of the Board. Katherine has been an active Reneal supporter for several months now, helping us reach an all-time high in equipment shipped to the Philippines. We are so fortunate to have this committed group of individuals helping to set the organizational direction!
Much of the Board meeting discussion revolved around my and Neal’s observation of low computer usage in the Philippines this school year to date. While there are schools that are exceeding our wildest expectations for usage, many are not fully using the system and its capabilities. There are many potential factors, including introduction of the new Grade 11 in the Senior High School and the absence of IT instruction in the general high school curriculum. Teachers are overburdened with training, new paperwork requirements, and extra teaching loads. Teachers, classrooms, and slots in the schedule are in short supply as schools try to accommodate Grade 11. Further complicating the picture for Reneal is mass deployment of the National Department of Education DCP (DepEd Computerization Program) package, a set of 50 thin clients and servers being provided to many public high schools. While we are very excited about schools receiving these vital new hardware resources, there is little software that comes with the DCP system.
With these uncertainties, the Board has decided on limited expansion for the time being in the Philippines. We will install just two new computer labs in 2017 in Cebu, one at Jugan National High School in Consolacion and one at Arcelo Memorial Senior High School in Liloan. Reneal will continue maintenance at actively used computer labs and will do selective upgrades to the new 16.04 operating system at the most active schools. Additional expansion will be considered once the picture becomes clearer regarding DCP success and overall computer usage in the schools. Neal will also explore the possibility of porting Open Source Software resources (RACHEL, Khan Academy videos, and various applications) to the DCP system. This could greatly improve the usefulness of the DCP systems. One other idea that arose is exploring underserved schools in the US for opportunities for computerization. We will be researching this idea and reaching out to different contacts to explore this possibility.
We face similar issues in Tanzania, with many competing priorities and time limitations affecting student computer usage. We continue to work with Reneal School Liaison David Nyangaka to understand and address these challenges. Tanzania plans will take shape in early 2017 as we get more information.