computer lessons

Last autumn, I volunteered to become computer ouder ("computer parent") together with our neighbor, Tessa, at OBS 't Palet. We're following the curriculum of "Bas gaat digitaal" for teaching language and spelling, and "Bas telt mee" for teaching numbers and counting, by Uitgeverij Groen. There is also a "Leerling Volg Systeem" that keeps track of the children's progress.

The programs proved amazingly difficult to install and set up, certainly considering that they are intended to be used by pre-school teachers. Some of the exercises were quite frustrating for the children. A real shame, as the intention is to learn through play and enjoyment. Still plenty of work for ux designers here!!!

In the short term, we tried to solve the issue with that common remedy of time-deprived projects: we compiled a manual with tips & tricks to avoid the worst pitfalls.

Once a week one of us takes 3-4 children for about twenty minutes each to work our way through 3-4 exercises. At first I was pretty nervous and found the thought of having to work with all these young children rather daunting. Quite a different kettle of fish than dealing with professionals and corporate executives, and a big strain on my (still less than perfect) Dutch language skills. But what a treat awaited me at the first session: A bunch of adorable, exited 4-6 year olds enthusiastically awaiting their turn. Just getting my undivided attention proved enough to make them very forgiving of any insecurity or language problems on my part. It is amazing to see how well these children get on with computers, while telling me no end of stories, from wobbly teeth to weekend trips :-)

Today will be my turn again. Lately I missed a couple of times, during the past few busy weeks, but I'm looking forward to pick it up again! Amazing how satisfying not earning money can be :-D