Abstract
Introducing the GPS technology to School Children in Nigeria
Track: Lightning Talk - Teaching
Authors: Omowumi Alabi, Joseph Akinyede, Ezekiel Eguaroje
This pilot study employed a "catch-them-young" approach by training teachers to attract school children to space technology. In a national workshop held in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 103 primary and secondary school teachers were introduced to the hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) unit. At the end of the dual-phase course which included lecture and practical session, each teacher was supplied with a CD containing the lecture notes and other literature on GPS.
A follow-up survey, conducted one year after the workshop, revealed that 74% of the participants successfully applied the materials from the workshop in their classrooms. In spite of a major limitation - unavailability of GPS units in schools for practical demonstrations, teachers imbibed this innovative technology in the routine syllabus, or related it, in general discussions, to current happenings in the country. Others introduced their students to the GPS through existing or newly created science clubs in their schools.