S2S Connectivity

Our signature S2S Connectivity Project, supported by Ericsson, Airtel Ghana, Columbia Teachers College and the City of Kumasi, Ghana, trained junior high school teachers to use computers and the Internet in the teaching of science, math and technology. The teachers, and their students, were also grouped with counterparts in New York City schools, so that the classes and the educators themselves could share information and collaborate on devising applications of their ICT training that will both energize students about excelling in the STEM subjects and advance understanding of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The first year of the S2S Connectivity program involved assisting 15 Kumasi junior high schools in building and maintaining computer labs and providing computer and Internet training to each school’s math, science and ICT teachers and principal. The second year focused on connecting the teachers in Kumasi to teachers in New York City and encouraging them to share lessons and teaching methods and to design applications that relate to the MDGs. More than 40 lessons were shared across seven transatlantic groups of teachers, including 20 addressing specific MDGs. In the third and final year, students developed their own MDG-related math and science applications and exercises, and shared their understanding and experiences in learning about the MDGs. In addition, instructors ensured that the Kumasi schools were prepared to maintain the technological environments they created, as well as the relationships they developed with the schools in New York City. The success of the program created excitement both among the participating schools and in the Kumasi Metropolitan Education Department, so much so that in September 2011, the KMED Director expanded the program to include 12 more Kumasi schools, training 36 additional math, science and IT teachers.

Read the final report, “School2School Connectivity Project,” and access an infographic with key findings from the project.