The Shifting Educational Landscape: Chelsey Roebuck at TEDxColumbiaEngineering
The speaker argues that the future of education requires revolutionizing traditional methods by utilizing local materials and technological adoption in developing communities. She details the work of 'Emerging Leaders in Technology and Engineering,' which teaches engineering and science using readily available junk and concepts like building a drip irrigation system. The ultimate goal is to build a flexible mobile platform that delivers customized curricula based on local resources found by students. ## Speakers & Context - Speaker: Founder of the nonprofit "Emerging Leaders in Technology and Engineering." - Context: Discussing the need to revolutionize education beyond traditional systems, drawing parallels between the *Silicon Savannah* status of Nairobi, Kenya, and the innovative potential in developing regions. - Work Focus: Delivering a flexible and free educational platform in Africa, particularly through cell phone usage and locally sourced materials. ## Theses & Positions - Traditional educational systems are not catered to creative thinkers who prefer unconventional learning. - Education must adapt by *flipping the work*, taking classroom lectures/materials home and bringing practical problem-solving into the classroom. - The goal is to create an educational platform that uses locally sourced materials or junk to teach students engineering and science concepts. - Changing education requires addressing three avenues: increasing access, building community, and affecting internal student motivation. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Flipping the classroom:** A model where traditionally classroom-based instruction is done at home (via videos), and in-class time is used for individualized attention or group problem-solving. - **Silicon Savannah:** Nickname given by *The Economist* to Nairobi, Kenya, due to the high volume of people using technology. - **Drip irrigation system:** A model built for a school community in Ghana using locally found materials (hoses and pipes) to solve the scarcity of water and the need to grow crops. - **Low Tech vertical axis turbine:** A proposed low-tech energy solution that can be built using local junk, addressing the issue of energy/transportation. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Curriculum Model:** Building curriculum "on the fly" based on locally sourced materials and needs, such as designing a drip irrigation system to teach principles of pressure and flow rate. - **Learning via Technology (Logme.in):** Students in Ghana were taught software engineering via the internet through a platform that allowed instructors in Virginia to share a computer screen. - **Skill Development Pathway:** A student (Foster Dorker) learned software engineering in Ghana, continued studying at an internet cafe, and is now preparing to take the AP Computer Science exam in Ghana. - **Program Implementation Cycle:** Starting with a $10,000 grant to buy equipment, traveling to Ghana, setting up a 4-week camp for 60 students, and adapting the curriculum around visible local issues (e.g., water scarcity). - **Proposed Digital Platform:** Students send a text message detailing found materials (e.g., bicycle wheel and fork), and the platform returns a list of possible projects and step-by-step construction instructions. ## Timeline & Sequence - **Origin:** The project was spun out of an undergraduate project created with a classmate named Clayton Dolman. - **Funding Event:** Awarded a $10,000 Grant as part of the Catherine Waserman Davis projects for peace. - **First Field Trip:** Traveled to Ghana, having never left the country before. - **First Camp:** Set up a 4-week engineering and science summer camp for 60 students in Ghana. - **Expansion:** Have run programs in Ghana, Jamaica, and Tanzania over the past three years. - **Future Plans:** Upcoming program scheduled for July 2013 in FBLA Mexico at the Ana Research Center. ## Named Entities - **Clayton Dolman:** Classmate who co-created the initial project. - **Ana Research Center:** Location in FBLA Mexico where an upcoming program is scheduled. - **University of Cape Coast:** University partnering in Ghana. - **All Nations University:** University partnering in Ghana. - **oedon:** A small satellite Village in Ghana where the speaker lived during the first year. - **Ibraham Anusa Ibraham:** Student in Ghana who developed a strong interest in Computer Engineering. - **Patrick A. O.:** Founder of AESI University and "one of Ghana's greatest thinkers." ## Numbers & Data - Grant amount: **$10,000**. - Size of initial student cohort: **60 students**. - Duration of initial camp: **4 weeks**. - Student age in Ghana: **12 or 13 years old**. - Student attendance for classes: Some students walked up to **2 hours** to attend. - Current status: Three years of programming across Ghana, Jamaica, and Tanzania. - Upcoming program date: **July 2013**. - AP Exam availability: The AP Computer Science exam will be offered in Ghana in **May**. - Student household size: Ibraham lives with about **13 or 14 people**. ## Examples & Cases - **Ghana Camp Example:** Finding hoses and pipes and using them to build a drip irrigation system because water was scarce and crops needed growing. - **Software Engineering Learning:** Teaching a student in Ghana (Foster Dorker) to software engineering using an internet cafe and instructors from Virginia via the *logme.in* platform. - **Radio Parts Project:** A 12 or 13-year-old boy in oedon found old radio parts and built his own speaker box while designing a radio. - **Water Purification System:** Students learned to build systems using recycled soda bottles, water bottles, and pots/pans, ranging from basic filters to a distillation tank. - **Solar Radio:** Figuring out which wires to connect from an old, broken radio and connecting it to a solar panel for listening. - **Bicycle Infrastructure Idea:** The mobile platform suggesting instructions for building a bamboo bicycle if the materials found were a wheel and fork. - **Energy Infrastructure Idea:** The mobile platform suggesting instructions for building a low-tech vertical axis turbine if the issue was energy. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **logme.in:** A platform used to share a computer screen for remote instruction. - **Arduino microprocessor:** Used in a robotics class to teach software engineering and electronics. - **Mobile Platform (Concept):** A proposed digital interface that receives text messages detailing found junk materials and returns curated build instructions and projects. ## References Cited - **The Economist:** Source that dubbed Nairobi, Kenya, the *Silicon Savannah*. - **College Board:** Entity that the group petitioned to offer the AP Computer Science exam in Ghana. - **jaica:** Described as the Japanese version of the peace corps. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Traditional Education:** (The problem) Not catered to creative thinkers. - **Flipping the Classroom:** (Alternative model) Moving content delivery. - **Physical/Local Materials:** (Primary resource) Utilizing junk/recycled items (tires, inner tubes, bottles) over manufactured goods. - **Digital Platform:** (Future alternative) Building a mobile, text-message-driven curriculum database. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - *The inability to articulate* the importance of storytelling/passion before realizing its educational value. - The initial process required an external grant and significant travel/logistics. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The final goal is to find a whole new generation of engineers from developing communities everywhere. - Final Recommendation: Building a flexible, curriculum-based mobile platform that capitalizes on increased cell phone usage in Africa. ## Implications & Consequences - Successful implementation of the mobile platform could change the educational landscape by providing scalable, localized learning resources. - The ability to create, as highlighted by Patrick A. O., is the most powerful tool for individual change. ## Verbatim Moments - *"traditional Educational Systems were not catered to students like myself creative thinkers who like to be outside of the box"* - *"The Economist recently dubbed Nairobi Kenya the Silicon Savannah for a sheer volume of people who are using technology"* - *"there's plenty of resources that can be used to hack build and create things like tires and inner tubes or LCDs or CRT monitors"* - *"This student here Foster dorker is a student who through one of our summer programs in Ghana learned to was introduced to software engineering"* - *"it will be the first time that the AP exam for computer science will be offered in Ghana"* - *"by building our curriculum basically on the fly around the locally sourced materials that we found"* - *"The ability to create is one of the most powerful things that we can do for an individual"* - *"we can make water purification systems so everything from particular filters to what's down below is a little tank that boils the water and distills it"* - *"a student could send a text message to say I found a bicycle wheel and a bicycle fork"* - *"our idea is to build curriculum out of local junk and figure out a way to inspire students to work with it to build and create"*