Burkinabe Teacher Becomes ICT Expert

It all started with a basic ICT training a couple of years ago, and now Hien uses ICT on a daily basis. “I now maintain the computer labs in my school and support other teachers if they need help in using a computer,” says Hien.

Solving the school's computer problems

His computer knowledge also saves the school valuable money. “Recently at my school, the printers were malfunctioning. School management immediately asked for a computer expert. This provided no solution so the next day when I arrived, I was called upon to solve the problem and did it quite easily.” For Bogodogo College this meant that no expert needed to be hired anymore.

Easier to prepare classes

Although the school does not pay Hien for his computer advice, he sees great advantages to using his knowledge in the classroom. “Because of my commitment to ICT I can now direct my students to online educational resources. I also discovered that preparing my own classes is an easier task, now that I discovered online resources. I don’t have to use library books all of the time.”

Partnership with a French school

Another accomplishment Hien is proud of is the revitalisation of the schools’ computer room. “Our computer room is now connected to the internet and every teacher uses the room.” The teacher also played a big part in the set up of a school blog. “With this blog, a partnership was established with a school in France. Through this partnership, our school has received seventeen computers, which are now the main equipment in our school.”

Christophe Hien participated in the IICD supported TICE project. This project targets 12 secondary schools throughout Burkina Faso. Principals and teachers learn how to better integrate ICT in their education cycle. After being trained, Christophe Hien co-created the national Burkinabe ICT for education network TIC-Educ.