Beyond The Net Covid-19 Programme

The COVID-19 Beyond The Net Programme

6th April 2020

The COVID--19 Global Pandemic has prematurely closed schools in Sierra Leone and postponed all national exams. Citizens have been told to avoid large crowds and stay at home. This will certainly affect the education of millions of Sierra Leone’s children and young adults. To mitigate the effects on education, Educational institutions in Advanced Countries have put in place Home Learning programmes that are delivered online to children. This has been made possible in these countries by the availability of adequate connectivity to most homes. Unfortunately, the majority of children in Sierra Leone do not have access to computing devices and/or the Internet.

As an organisation that promotes the significant benefits of the Internet, especially in the area of education, ISOC-SL has decided to implement a pilot programme that has an aim of assisting school students to get on to the Internet and access educational material. The Internet is full of excellent educational resources for students of all levels; our aim therefore, is to reach those children who fall into the category of those we term as being Beyond The Net. This term refers to individuals and communities that do not have access to the Internet.

The COVID-19 Beyond The Net Programme

ISOC-SL will initially be implementing the COVID-19 Beyond The Net Programme on a pilot basis. The Pilot program will target 20 school children in a rural setting who do not have access to the Internet. We will be providing 10 laptops to five boys and five girls for two weeks at a time.  These students will be from government funded senior secondary schools and will be the top performing students in their respective classes. The programme will be in partnership with the school principals and the parents/guardians of the selected children.

Programme Implementation: Each Child will receive the following: A Laptop

Web Cam

Headphones

Mi-Fi Modem

USB Stick

Power Extension pack

Disinfectant Wipes

ISOC COVID--19 Programme Guide

Software Programmes and Files:

How to use a laptop - Video

How to access the internet – Video

ISOC COVID- 19 Programme Introduction - Video

Other Educational Websites on eLearning Feedback Forms

ISOC–SL - STUDENT–SCHOOL–PARENT/GUARDIAN PARTNERSHIP

The success of this programme hinges on the above partnership. ISOC-SL will provide the Internet access devices. The school principal will select competent students who have been doing well in their schoolwork. Once chosen, a letter will be sent to the student and their parents informing them of the programme and requesting their approval and acceptance of the programme’s rules. The programme guide and the videos on the laptop computers will provide the needed introductory tutorials for beginners. The programme guide will also include computing and Internet based tasks for the students to complete.

Pre and Post ISOC-SL COVID- 19 Pilot Programme

The ultimate aim of this programme is to provide computing and Internet access to as many students as possible in Sierra Leonean. We shall be reaching out to members and sponsors to solicit support and suggestions for the success of this programme.

At the end of the planned pilot programme, the feedback forms from the various sets of 20 students, their parents/guardians and school heads will hopefully assist us in planning and implementing an extended programme in the future.

Further information can be obtained via email: isocsl2020@gmail.com

Mobile/WhatsApp: +232 77 788 303

Prepared By

Salieu Kanu Mansaray

President

Internet Society – Sierra Leone Chapter

+232 79330001  +232 30177492