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Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

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Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#151

Post by eeZah7Ux »

mirimir wrote: post #61
sova wrote: post #54

He could be teaching them philosophy or maths or literature or ethics. He's drawing a UI on a chalkboard by hand! What a world.

Aren't computer skills a prerequisite for office work everywhere now? So maybe that familiarity with computer UI will help students later.

> Aren't computer skills a prerequisite for office work everywhere now?

Not at all, especially in places where paperwork is done on paper.

> So maybe that familiarity with computer UI will help students later.

90% of the students will not have need or opportunity to use that word processor before the UI will change completely.

Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#152

Post by aero-002 »

mlevental wrote: post #37
breakyerself wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're confusing helping out this class with helping solving all of Africas problems.

no i'm not. i'm just responding to the guy that thinks power isn't a problem and if it is then solving it is easy-peasy.

why are you so triggered. stop attacking the guy

Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#153

Post by sandGorgon »

okaram wrote: post #135
kw71 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That won't help them learn office though. Just today I was talking to an Anti-Windows who is trying to participate in the business world. He couldn't find a usable invoice template for whatever wannabe-office he thought would work. Back before linux was a thing I had a product for legit unix that produced documents by writing text over pcl or postscript forms. That was worth the effort for high-production but every u…

Actually, there is Microsoft Office for android now, and it is free (as in beer)

The interface is optimized for the mobile (as it should be).

However, the purpose of this school is to teach desktop Word to students who can use it to get jobs.

Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#154

Post by emondi »

shakna wrote: post #83
Hydraulix989 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most laptops and tablets run off of battery.

This is actually a good point. A friend of mine is from Ghana, and wanted to be a programmer. He had to build a battery bank to power his laptop, so he could do his exams without issue. I helped him design the bank, and another little tool we found helpful. Because power is such an issue, we used a couple Arduinos to build something reminiscent of the TRS-80, 200 [0]. Instead of BASIC though, we inbuilt a C-repl, bas…

You don't need batteries, you just learn to save your files often. I live in the third world too and can say that even with crappy power supplies computers resist quite well blackouts and brownouts.

Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#155

Post by soheil »

contingencies wrote: post #10

I live in Shenzhen. Hardware is cheap here. Why not spec out a cheap system and we can send them a few together from HN? Taobao parts... Screen @ 248RMB (USD$40) https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.42.21a554932... Raspberry Pi 3B + case + heatsink + power supply @ 250RMB (USD$40) https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.16.79304af9s... (set 3) Keyboard/mouse @ 20RMB (USD$3) https://item.taobao.com/…

Fastest/safest way to give them the hardware they need? Cash! Why try to reinvent the wheel solve many hard problems that people have already been working on for years ie. corrupt customs, transportation, language barriers... When you can just give cash and let them buy whatever computer they need or buy food if that happens to be why those former problems exist in the first place, but not sexy enough for npr to cover.

Bring on the downvotes.

Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#156

Post by [deleted] »

grecy wrote: post #93
factsaresacred wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I tried to show them the loop button but they did not want it. Ah, the African way. Imagine that 'this is fine' meme as a cultural trait. Or Japan's 'Shikata ga nai' without the corresponding work ethic. West Africa could be so much more prosperous if only they would will their way towards it. There's so much low hanging fruit. This being one example. 30 minutes drawing this everyday, yikes. But that's Africa. Too…

> West Africa could be so much more prosperous if only they would will their way towards it. I have just spent a year and a half driving through 20 countries in West Africa. [1] At times I would have agreed with your comments, though lately I have been taking another tact. The developed world has stress, heart disease, cancer and hundreds of millions of people going to jobs every day they hate with a passion. People…

[deleted]

Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#157

Post by hackerman12345 »

emondi wrote: post #154
shakna wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is actually a good point. A friend of mine is from Ghana, and wanted to be a programmer. He had to build a battery bank to power his laptop, so he could do his exams without issue. I helped him design the bank, and another little tool we found helpful. Because power is such an issue, we used a couple Arduinos to build something reminiscent of the TRS-80, 200 [0]. Instead of BASIC though, we inbuilt a C-repl, bas…

You don't need batteries, you just learn to save your files often. I live in the third world too and can say that even with crappy power supplies computers resist quite well blackouts and brownouts.

Probably good for linux, but with Windows you have to be careful during update time or you can easily soft-brick your machine with a power outage.

Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#158

Post by hordeallergy »

girvo wrote: post #127
hordeallergy wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why was buying a computer problematic? SA has computer shops, has had for decades. I bought a zx81 there. Am I missing something?

Buying a computer in SA to SA from Australia is difficult, yeah.

I'm afraid this just isn't reality, voting down won't change that. SA is backward but it's not that backward. It has e-commerce, you can buy things online. It's had the web since the mid 90s. Eg first search attempt, incredible.co.za . It just isn't difficult. SA has poverty, as extreme as poverty can be, it's horrible, it's heartbreaking, but it's not all like that. This is a bugbear, ABC, BBC, crap media outlet of choice more interested in creating a story than accurate representation. I wouldn't trust them with my coffee.

Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#159

Post by michaelmrose »

jacobmoe wrote: post #131
ggg9990 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are different ways to be a developed country. Canada and the US are similarly developed but Canada has a vastly higher quality of life.

I have lived and been all over both countries. This is wrong - the quality of life is very similar. Of course, the US has famously higher levels of certain social ills than you'd expect for a country of its wealth, but that's not saying the same thing. Really curious about where your perception of it comes from. Do you live in Canada?

People far enough up the income ladder have a decent quality of life in North Korea

Re: Teacher in Ghana has no computers so he draws Microsoft Word on the blackboard

#160

Post by erAck »

atonse wrote: post #144
erAck wrote: post #124

He should teach LibreOffice Writer instead so when actually some laptops arrive at the school they wouldn't have to waste money on MS product licenses.

Or they can just ask MS to donate licenses. Better to teach these kids practical skills instead if software nobody uses.

So you prefer to throw them into the MS mono culture pit.
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