Disclaimer

The content of this blog does not reflect the positions of the Peace Corps and is solely the responsibility of the author.

In Which I Do Not have my Time Wasted

Today I was summoned to a meeting I did not know was happening.  Actually, I didn't even know it was a meeting, I was just told that the deputy principal was calling for me and I should get there haraka sana, or with great haste.  Being an American, I actually haraked sana.  It turned out to be a meeting with some NGO types who had stopped by to see if the university would be interested in getting a bunch of donated Raspberry Pis and some workshops on using them and using them to teach.  I was called in to give my professional opinion, which was essentially boundless enthusiasm mixed with undying love and regret that this will happen after I leave.  Seriously, the raspberry Pi is just an adorable little piece of electronics, and the NGO people had the foresight to bring HDMI to VGA adapters because they assumed correctly we wouldn't have any monitors with HDMI connections.

People who offer tiny affordable computers running Linux with flash memory only (No viruses!  No dirty power issues!) and have a clear idea of the technological situation in Tanzania?  Be still my black and twisted heart!  Oh, they also addressed a class of first year computer engineering students in order to gauge probable student involvement by how many questions they got and if any students were willing to approach them afterwards.  Because they want to do research to ensure that what they do for development is useful before they actually do it!  Their research does not involve just asking yes/no questions!*  I had no awareness of Tutaweza, this NGO, before today, but based on this couple I might be able to wholeheartedly recommend them.  Except for they told me I should be using vi instead of emacs. Infidels.  

Whatever, I forgive all vi-ness completely because of their speech about the goodness of teaching Python in a university.  (Also, because respect for people who got computer engineering degrees in the 70's).   I tried to teach Python to the official programming class, and got into a disagreement with the department head at high volume which ended with her ordering me to never even mention Python again.  She was sitting right next to me in this meeting hearing that instruction in Python is good for teaching and necessary to keep up with technological progress globally.  I may have indulged in a smirk.  If I were a better volunteer I would have been able to make her my ally in Python and all would have been well, but I'm not and I'm shallow enough to relish professional vindication.  Aside from my shallowness, I was also pleased to note that the Pis have pdfs for Python instruction.  They also have Scratch preinstalled.  I considered teaching Scratch to my multimedia students for their animation work, and while it is a much better program than Pencil, I rejected it on the grounds that there is no easy way to convert Scratch files into a format readable by non-Scratch programs.  If, however, the university had a community of Raspberry Pi users familiar with Scratch, I wouldn't have had that objection. 

I really hope I get a replacement when I leave who can help the university capitalize on their coming Raspberry Pis.  This is such a good thing.  

*A frustrating aspect of culture here is that the answer to yes or no questions will almost always be yes, because people will usually tell you what they think you want to hear.  This especially drives me crazy at restaurants, where it would be so much easier if the servers would tell you right when you ordered that they were out of that food or drink.  But they don't.  You find out when everyone else gets what they ordered and you have nothing. 

No comments:

Post a Comment