USAID project changes the way Macedonian teachers view the world

Even though her classes are finished, Nevena Pecijarava, a Chemistry teacher at a local high school is still at work. She’s in the computer lab preparing for tomorrow’s class.

“I love being able to sit at a computer and create a presentation that can help my students understand the complexity of sulfuric acid. Power Point, Microsoft Publisher and Front Page are now part of my everyday life” says Nevena.

It wasn’t always like this—just 5 years ago, Nevena didn’t have access to a computer.  She couldn’t afford one on her modest income, the school didn’t have a single computer either, and access to high speed broadband internet was unthinkably expensive at close to $150 a month.  

But the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through a series of different projects, all of this has changed for the better.  The e-School computer lab was established in 2004 and high speed wireless internet access was hooked up soon after.  Best of all, Nevena is one of roughly 2000 secondary school teachers trained to use information and communication technology (ICT) in the educational process.

Was the training beneficial?

What once was a painstaking task is now done with just few clicks of a mouse.

“Not long ago I had to draw the diagrams on the blackboard, sometimes four or five times a day. It was tiring and a huge waste of time. With the new skills I learned, I can do the same work a lot faster and I get extra time during the class to focus on the students and their needs,” says Nevena.

Despite Nevena’s current enthusiasm, she was not an easy convert. When first invited to join the training, she was skeptical and scared.

“I really didn’t think that I could improve the way I teach my classes. This whole technology thing was new to me and I was a bit unconvinced”, she says. “Thankfully, after the first three classes I realized that the new skills would make my job a lot easier and more enjoyable.”

The training was a part of USAID’s e-Schools Project which installed 5,300 computers donated by the Government of the People's Republic of China, in cooperation with Macedonia’s Ministry of Education and Science, and introduced the new concept of ICT in education.

The project has created 460 computer labs—one in every primary and secondary school across the country. The objective of this project is to improve the quality and relevance of teaching, using ICT applications that facilitate communication, networking and interaction among the teachers and the students.

A series of training programs has been conducted for 180 secondary school teachers, focusing on use of ICT through project-based learning strategies and networking. These teachers are in the process of disseminating the training to 2,500 high school teachers.  An additional 1,900 teachers have had basic ICT training.  The project will begin training 120 primary school teachers who will then train 5,200 additional teachers.

The project is also in a process of developing an education portal that will link the teachers and the students in a virtual working environment. The education portal will provide on-line resources for school directors, teachers and students and will enable them to easily share their experiences and practices. The education portal is expected to bring teaching in Macedonia closer to modern education trends and practices in the world.

Preparing lessons is not the only benefit of the training.

“Now I can communicate with my son who lives in America. With email and chat programs we exchange news daily. ICT has made my life a lot easier,” says Nevena as she shuts off the lights in the computer lab and heads home.

Once again, USAID is making a big difference in Nevena’s life. There may come a time when Nevena will be able to work from home.

Internet connectivity in schools is made possible through another USAID project called Macedonia Connects.  A local commercial company was selected through a competitive process to partner with USAID in setting up a new country-wide wireless network, ostensibly to provide high speed wireless internet access to every school in Macedonia.