SMS3.2

We had our second of eight classes for the Darfuri Womens group between 12.30 and 2.30 at SydWest Multicultural Services Inc. today. This is a truly engaging group and I'm constantly stretching myself so that I can help them progress faster. I tried a different format of class today since a big part of teaching this group is to encourage them to stay focussed on their activity.

I have done a number of different things in our first two classes. During the first class I had emphasised the importance of reading, writing, listening and speaking as paths to learning. I have also structured the class so that each student is expected to do at least some of each. I also write on the whiteboard in order to slow down the tempo and to emphasize certain key words.

Today I explained a concept or idea and then asked them to execute a small activity to back it up. For e.g, we discussed point and click and then clicked the start button to open the Start Menu. We discussed menus and then went back and used the start Menu to open the all programs menu. We discussed program windows and then they were asked to open a program. I did something else that I had not done with earlier classes which was to ask them to open multiple windows and getting them to use the minimize, resize and close buttons. I think we built a good foundation by doing these mini activities and I repeatedly used these words so that by the end, if I said minimize your window - they were quite happy to do so - which was remarkable and heartening.


Once again, Alice stayed around and helped with the class - she is proving to be very competent and capable. Hopefully, she will be helping out with next Thursdays class as well.

Class Hours: 2.0
Instructors: 2
Participants: 9 ( Amal, Aisha, Almarina, Safia, Gamalat, Finda, Fatma, Nagwa, Gemeila )
Course Handouts: 4 pp
Computers Used: 7