TechBridgeWorld   

Phase I

Goals

The pilot phase of Project Kané was implemented over a three-week period in the summer of 2005.  The goals of the pilot study were to answer questions related to the feasibility of the project, and to identify issues that may affect the main study.  These included technical issues relating to the LISTEN Reading Tutor, and logistical issues regarding working with schools, parents and internet cafés.

 
Student participant working with the LISTEN Reading Tutor at CyberCity internet café in Accra.
Student participant group from the Abbossey Okai Anglican 'A' Primary School in Accra.
 Student participants working with the LISTEN Reading Tutor at CyberCity internet café in Accra.

 

Participants

Eighteen children in grades two through four participated in the pilot phase of the study.  Twelve of the children were from the the Abossey Okai Anglican ‘A’ Primary School, an under-resourced public school in Accra.  These children used the Reading Tutor for 20-30 minutes each day at a nearby internet café, CyberCity.  The other six children used the Reading Tutor in a home setting, about two or three times a week.  The participants were all new to computers, and they all had a language other than English as their primary language.

 
Student participants in Accra.
Ayorkor with student participants working on the LISTEN Reading Tutor in a home environment.
 Student participants working with the LISTEN Reading Tutor in a home environment.

 

Findings

The pilot study revealed a very strong enthusiasm on the part of the children, as well as their teachers and parents.  We found that the proposed methodology is indeed feasible, and that having no prior experience with computers was not a big impediment to the children.  We also identified minor changes to be made to the LISTEN Reading Tutor to make it more suitable for use with Ghanaian children. 

 

Project Kane