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Teacher in Ghana didn’t have computers for students, so he drew one instead

Click to play video: 'Teacher in Ghana chalks up a brilliant plan for students with no computer'
Teacher in Ghana chalks up a brilliant plan for students with no computer
Photos of a teacher in Ghana showing his students how a computer works — without a computer — has gone viral – Mar 1, 2018

Richard Appiah Akoto is being celebrated for his quick thinking in his classroom.

The 33-year-old high school teacher in Ghana recently posted a photo on Facebook of his drawing of a Microsoft Word processing window, Quartz reports.

“Teaching of ICT in Ghana’s school is very funny,” he wrote on the social media platform. “I love ma students so have to do wat will make them understand Wat am teaching.”

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Okoto, who goes by “Owura Kwadwo Hottish” on Facebook, had been teaching an information and communication technology (ICT) class. His “computer screen,” includes everything from a title bar to formatting tools to even a coloured scroll bar on the side. He also drew out icons for things like the printer, save button and spellcheck.

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“This is not my first time [of drawing] it,” he told Quartz. I have been doing it anytime I am in the classroom. … I like posting pictures on Facebook so I just felt like [sharing it]. I didn’t know it would get the attention of people like that.”

The high school, which is located two and a half hours away from the city of Kumasi, has no computers. According to Quartz, 14 and 15-year-old students in the country are expected to write a national exam and ICT is one of the subjects.

His Facebook post was also shared by entrepreneur Rebecca Enonchong, who also urged Microsoft Africa to get involved.

“Hey @MicrosoftAfrica, he’s teaching MS Word on a blackboard. Surely you can get him some proper resources,” she wrote on Twitter.

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On Tuesday, Microsoft Africa confirmed the company was going to provide Akoto a computer.

“Supporting teachers to enable digital transformation in education is at the core of what we do. We will equip Owura Kwadwo with a device from one of our partners,” the company wrote.

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Microsoft Africa will also provide Akoto access to the Microsoft Certified Educator program, as well as other free professional development resources.

Social media users react

On Facebook, dozens of users applauded the teacher for his technique.

“Boss, I don’t know who you are … but you have earned my respect. Keep doing what you do to make them be better at it. God bless you,” user Mike Mike wrote.

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“You are truly an inspiration,” Joana Tesoro Asante wrote.

“This is normal for we Ghanaians. Teacher Kwadwo paa!! Have u forgotten that Ghanaians believe in theory more than practical. Hehehe! Such is life. It happens in our homes. I like your swag on the chalkboard,” user Patrick Wincott Kai wrote.

Some commenters wondered why Akoto didn’t use a laptop to teach the class, but he told Quartz the features on his laptop are different from the official syllabus.

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On Twitter, some even shared their own stories growing up in Ghana’s school system.

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arti.patel@globalnews.ca

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