MCI Releases School2School Connectivity Project: Final Report

The “School2School Connectivity Project: Final Report” summarizes the results of a three-year, public-private partnership between MCI, Columbia Teachers College, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), the Kumasi Metropolitan Education Directorate (KMED), global communications giants Ericsson and Airtel-Ghana and selected New York City public and private schools. The School2School Connectivity Project was designed to assist junior high school teachers in Kumasi, Ghana, in the uses of the computer and Internet in teaching both the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and to connect those teachers with their peers in New York City schools.

Despite a myriad of challenges associated with setting up and maintaining their computer labs, including the costs associated with Internet and electricity use; high susceptibility to viruses; systematic hacking of the schools’ Internet plans; and the high risk of theft, the program experienced many successes, including a very high percentage of teachers using the Internet to plan lessons by the conclusion of the project, and more than 70 sharing lessons between partner schools that related to common math and science curricula and the Millennium Development Goals. Kumasi teachers also developed learning communities – not a common practice in the Kumasi schools – and were motivated to try new practices; many even purchased their own computers.

Click here to access the “School2School Connectivity Project: Final Report,” prepared by former MCI School2School Connectivity Project Manager Elizabeth Kubis.

MCI would like to thank the following contributors to the project: Dr. Ellen Meier, Co-Director of the Center for Technology and School Change, Columbia Teachers College and Co-Principal Investigator; Ms. Abenaa Akuamoa-Boateng, MCI Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa; Mr. Wilfred Acquah, Project Coordinator, School2School Connectivity Project, Kumasi Metropolitan Education Directorate; GlaxoSmithKline PULSE Project Volunteers Michelle Staben-Wobker and Stacie Calad-Thomson; and participating New York City Schools: The School at Columbia, Simon Bruch Middle School, Westside Collaborative (MS 250), Global Technology Preparatory (MS 406) and New Heights Academy.

We also invite you to view an infographic featuring key highlights from the “School2School Connectivity Project: Final Report.”