The Pan-African Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum (ITF) was held (24-26) August in Mombasa Kenya. The Pan-African competition brought together innovative teachers from across Africa to showcase their innovative projects. All the teachers’ costs of Air travel, accommodation and meals are taken care of by Microsoft Partners In Learning.
The teachers’ projects are judged to demonstrate how technology can transform teaching and learning in schools and benefit broader communities at the same time.
The projects are judged under four categories:

1. Innovation in collaboration
2. Innovation in content 
3. Innovation in community
4.  Peer review category

Uganda was represented by three teachers at the Pan-African Innovative Teachers competition 2010:

1.  Asea Solomon, a geography teacher at Gayaza High School with his project “Tackling Climate Change” – A project to sensitize the community about climate change as a global environmental challenge and to provide opportunity for learners to contribute positively towards the adaptation to climate change and mitigation of the associated effects. 
2.  Elizabeth Rwabu, a geography and Computer studies teacher at Iganga SS , with her project “ Enabling the Blind enjoy School using Computers” – A project involving blind students using computers for communication and compiling digital content for use by other blind students across the country in improve learning in the classroom.
3.  Jonathan Serunkuma, a Fine Art teacher, at Transform Educational Centre, Kasangati, with his project “Art for a Better Environment” – A project to help learners use the acquired knowledge and skills from the classroom to clean the environment of waste and use the waste in a beneficial way to create money generating ventures for themselves and their communities hence building a healthy environment for the community. The students collect drinking straws and bottle tops from the environment. They produce art pieces like handbags and sitting mats from the drinking straws and produce earrings and bangles from the bottle tops and sell them to the community. The students use the money they get to buy basic school needs since most of them as orphans.

Jonathan Serunkuma , become the 3rd best in the community category at the Pan-African Innovative teachers competition 2010 held in Mombasa Kenya making him one of the finalists to represent Africa at the World-Wide Microsoft Innovative Teachers competitions to be held in October 2010 , in South Africa.
Jonathan Serunkuma will now battle it out for the number-one spot of the at the much stiffer World-Wide Microsoft Innovative Teacher’s competition which will be held in October in Cape Town, South Africa where innovative teachers from across the globe will be competing..
 Microsoft Partners In Learning will take care of all Jonathan’s cost of air travel, accommodation and meals.

We at SchoolNet Uganda would like to congratulate all the three teachers; Solomon, Elizabeth and Jonathan who represented Uganda at the Pan-African event for keeping the Uganda flag flying.

 
We would like to thank the trainers and mentors; Ronald Ddungu (Maths teacher at Gayaza High School), Milton Chebet (Biology teacher at Gayaza High School) and Kakinda Daniel (training Director, SchoolNet Uganda) for the devotion and job well-done in putting up the Uganda team.

Thanks go to the  Head teachers who attended the ICT4E administrators training which was held (16-20) August 2010 at Gayaza High School for the constructive comments and advice they gave to the Uganda team.
To Jonathan Serunkuma, we are very proud of you. Uganda Innovative Teachers Forum is very proud of you. Uganda is very proud of you. Africa is very proud of you.  You will be holding the African flag at the world competition. Use this time to better the project.

Written by:
Kakinda Daniel
Training Director, SchoolNet Uganda