UNIVERSITÉ DE YAOUNDÉ I

THE UNIVERSITY OF YAOUNDE I

ÉCOLE NORMALE SUPERIEURE DE YAOUNDÈ

HIGHER TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE OF YAOUNDE

*****

DEPARTEMENT D’INFORMATIQUE ET DES TECHNOLOGIES EDUCATIVES

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTING SCIENCE AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY

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AN PROFESSIONAL INTERNSHIP REPORT CARRIED OUT AT

GOVERNMENT BILINGUAL HIGH

SCHOOL ETOUG-EBE YAOUNDE

FROM FEBRUARY 18th

to APRIL 28th

2009

PRESENTED

By:

EBEN ELIZABETH NDIPESONG

B.Sc (Sociology And Anthropology)

MAGHO EYAN KOMETA

B.Sc (Microbiology)

TASHIT ADIDOU NDIFUNDOH

B.A (Philosophy)

Supervised by

Mr. JOSEPH PENDA

Mr. MICHEL WANDALA

Mr. MOSES KOME

Année académique 2008-2009

2008-2009 Academic year

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ABSTRACT “Practice makes perfect” is a common saying which if properly applied in the domain of

teaching, then the period reserved for student teachers to carry out internship would be valid.

This internship report gives an overview of the extent to which Information And Communication

Technology (ICT) has been integrated in Government Bilingual High School Etoug-Ebe

(G.B.H.S) Yaounde, Cameroon. The report therefore gives a description of the exiting situation

as well as possible proposals on the integration of ICT in the GBHS Etoug-Ebe.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We wish to express appreciation to the Head of Department, Dr. Marcel FOUDA NDJODO

for taking time to give and supervise constructive instructions.

Sincere gratitude goes to the principal of GBHS Etoug-Ebe Mr. John NGONGKU and his

collaborators for giving us the opportunity to carry out this field placement in the school. To all

the teachers of the computer Science department of the school, we say thank you for your

patience and coordination through out this period. We would not forget to recognize the role of

Anglophone students during this period which gave us the opportunity to learn how to deal with

students at different ages and classes.

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TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................... i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................ ii

TABLE OF CONTENT ............................................................................................................................... iii

I. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................... 1

I.1. Content of document .......................................................................................................................... 1

II. EXISTING SITUATION OF THE INTEGRATION OF ICT IN GBHS ETOUG-EBE ............................................... 2

II.1 Description of the school .................................................................................................................... 2

III. THE APPEARANCE OF ICT IN THE SCHOOL ................................................................................. 6

III.1.Domain where ICT is used................................................................................................................ 6

III .2. The management of ICT tools ........................................................................................................ 7

III.3. Opportunities .................................................................................................................................. 11

III.4. Limits ............................................................................................................................................... 12

IV. RECOMMENDATION ........................................................................................................................ 14

IV.1 Possible Strategies .......................................................................................................................... 14

v. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 17

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 18

iv

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I. INTRODUCTION

I.1. Content of document

This paper is a report on an internship carried out in Government Bilingual High School

(GBHS) Etoug-Ebe in Yaounde from February 18th to April 28th 2009. GBHS Etoug- Ebe is one

of the three government bilingual high schools in Yaounde. Though it is bilingual, this report is

based on the Anglophone section of the school where the internship was done. The report is

based on computer science both as a discipline and as a pedagogic tool in this institution. It will

present the position of Computer science in the school program and how it is carried out. Part

one of the document will consist of the introduction which situates the institution. Part two will

treat the existing situation of ICT in the school, part three will identify the appearance of ICT in

the school , part four will make possible recommendations to ameliorate the situation of ICT in

the school and at the end of the document, there is a conclusion.

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II. EXISTING SITUATION OF THE INTEGRATION OF ICT IN GBHS

ETOUG-EBE

II.1 Description of the school

Government Bilingual High School (G.B.H.S) Etoug-Ebe Yaounde is one of those

renowned government schools in Cameroon designed to train Cameroonians of tomorrow.

According to a Computer Science teacher, Valentine Beasso, this school was created in 1998. It

does not exist in a vacuum; its motto is “Discipline, Work and Success.’’ This school trains both

English speaking and French speaking students.

II.1.1 Location

This school is situated in the Center region of Cameroon, division of Mfoundi and

subdivision of Yaounde VI. The school is found less than 500meters from the Etoug-Ebe

handicap center. The image below situates the quarter in Yaounde where the school is found.

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Figure 1: An image to situate Etoug-Ebe

From the figure above, one can deduce that Etoug- Ebe is just a quarter in Yaounde where

G.B.H.S is found.

II.1.2 Number of students

Consulting the different class registers, it was deduced that there are 3700students in the

school. Focusing on the English speaking students, the table below illustrates how these students

are partitioned in the various classes.

Etoug-ebe

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Class Number of students

Form 1 338

Form 2 336

Form 3 225

Form 4 228

Form 5 200

Lower sixth 167

Upper sixth 181

TOTAL 1675

Table 1: Table showing the number of students per class.

The table above shows that, in most cases, the higher the classes the fewer the number of

students. The differences of the number of students in form one and those in upper sixth is

157.Whereas that of form one and two is 2.However,the difference between lower and upper

sixth is that, there are more students in upper sixth than lower sixth though upper sixth is a more

superior.

II .1.3 Number of classes

The entire school is made up of 49classrooms; French speaking students occupy 28 of these

classrooms while English speaking students occupy 21 of them. The table below gives a

description of how these 21classrooms are organised among English speaking students.

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CLASS N° OF SUB-CLASSES

Form One 4 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D)

Form Two 4 (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D)

Form Three 3 (3A,3B,3C)

Form Four 3 (4A, 4B, 4C)

Form Five 3 (5A, 5B, 5C)

Lower sixth 2 (Arts, Science)

Upper sixth 2 ( Arts, Science)

Total 21

Table 2: Table showing number of classrooms.

From the table above, forms one and two are exceptional cases with four classes each

whereas lower and upper sixth have two classes each.However,forms three ,four and five are

classes with similar number of classes(2). This still boils down to the fact that, there are more

classes at the preliminary stage as compared to the terminal stage in this secondary school.

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III. THE APPEARANCE OF ICT IN THE SCHOOL

Information and Communication Technology was introduced into the Cameroonian

educational system in 2001. This resulted to GBHS experiencing the teaching of Computer

Science in the year 2007/2008.

There is a computer laboratory used by both teachers and students on a planned schedule.

This laboratory has forty computers with only twenty-four of them functioning. These computers

belong to Metronet; a service provider. These computers are not interconnected; there is no

network. All the twenty-four functioning computers have Microsoft Office installed in them.

According to the General Manger of Metronet, Charles Enada, this service provider has

signed an agreement with the Ministry of Secondary Education to equipe the school with ICT

tools as well as employs teachers who will train students on computing. As such, each student of

the school is obliged to pay 5000francs each academic year and benefit from the teaching of

Computer science. However, teachers who are willing to be computer literate also pay

5000francs each and benefit from this training every Wednesday from midday. According to the

head of department of Computer science, a fraction of this money goes to Metronet while the other

portion goes to the school.

At the administrative level, it is only the principal of the school who is entitled to a

computer, printer and a photocopy machine which are controlled by his secretary.

III.1.Domain where ICT is used

III.1.1 For Teaching

Computers are used for teaching only in the Computer Science department. This is done in

the computer laboratory where practical lessons are given on what have already been taught in

the classroom. This is for a purpose of practical demonstrations. Since these computers are

limited and are not interconnected to each other, they are used only to illustrate concepts or

procedures that have previously been taught to students during theory sessions. This is to give

them the opportunity to practice and get a firmer grasp of these concepts or procedures.

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Apart from the Computer science department which makes use of computers in teaching,

other subjects are not taught using computers. This means that they are taught through the

traditional classroom method only.

Teachers of other subjects are also taught by Computer science teachers on the use of

computer software like MS Word and MS Excel once a week (Wednesdays). This enables these

teachers of other subjects to be computer literate.

III.1.2. The situation of computer science teachers

There are two vice principals for Computer science; for the French and English sections

respectively. Ironically, these vice principals do not have a mastery of the basics of the computer.

They are teachers in other subjects who have just been appointed to this position and they

undergo training like any other teacher on how to manipulate the computer.

Out of the 200teachers in the whole school (102anglophones and 98francophones) eight

teachers of them are Computer science teachers. Seven of these Computer science teachers are

temporal and one of them as a permanent teacher. None of these teachers have been trained on

pedagogy but they have been trained on Computer sciences either as degree or diploma holders.

III .2. The management of ICT tools

In G.B.H.S. Etoug-Ebe, ICT is more of a subject than of a tool. Both students and

teachers study computer sciences as a subject.

III.2.1. The degree of computerization

The level of computerization is very low. The offices of Vice principals and other

administrators do not have a single computer but for the principal’s office. The printing of

examination papers is sometimes done by the principal’s secretary meanwhile in other cases,

they are printed out of the school. Most teachers in other subjects who want their test or

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examination papers typed often give it to any of the computer science teachers to type and hand

the typed copies to the teacher concerned.

Dealing with Computer science as the case study, test papers are sometimes typed at the

principal’s office, Metronet or in any documentation service in town.Ironically, there are

situations where Computer science tests were either spelt out on the blackboard or dictated for

students to copy and answer questions. This shows that, Computer science which should be an

exemplary subject as far as the integration of ICT is concerned is not different from the other

subjects.

The flow of information in this school is not computerised. Teachers still fill in students’

report booklets with pens, notices are still written in ink and on pieces of paper and pasted on the

notice board. Infact, record keeping and communication is done manually.

However, the almost complete absence of ICT tools in this does not mean there is no

communication among the actors of the school. The school is headed by a principal who works

in collaboration with other staff members. The Vice principal receives orders directly from the

principal. This Vice principal has at his disposal Heads of Departments (HOD) for all the

subjects in the curriculum. These HODs have class masters managing the affairs of the classes.

Each class master manages a particular class. In fact he is the scribe of that class. Still at disposal

of the HOD, there are teachers in charge of the various subjects in the curriculum. The figure

below gives a vivid description of the flow of information in this school.

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Figure 2: The information system of GBHS Etoug-Ebe

Even though the figure above illustrates the information system in this school, it should

be noted that it is not computerized. Also, it should be noted that, though the arrows on figure 2

seem to be a two way traffic, in reality, actors situated below receive orders from those above

and see to it that they are executed and feedback given to them. These arrows just give a better

view of the fact that there is some level of communication between the actors.

III.2.2. The mastery of ICT by teachers

A mastery of ICT among GBHS teachers tend to be limited to computer science

teachers. Most of the teachers of other subjects seem to be novices in computer sciences.

Assisting at some of their Wednesday classes, it was deduced that some teachers are scared of

touching the keyboard without specific instructions from the Computer science teachers. To most

of them, they would not want to touch and spoil the computers which they consider very

expensive and delicate. Whereas to others, the whole issue of computing remains a miracle to

them.

Principal

Bursar

Discipline

master Vice Principal

Head of

Teachers

Class master

students

Auxillary

staff

Parents

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III .2.3. The awareness of students in ICT

Most students are very enthusiastic about practical lessons and tend to be excited

whenever they have to go over to the laboratory though the number of computers in the

laboratory is so limited(24 for over 1000 students). However, this enthusiasm is somehow

dimmed when their classes are in the form of theory because some of the notions are so abstract

and hence boring to these students. Most of the students from Forms One to Four are very much

aware of the importance of ICT in Education whereas the other classes are so reluctant about

computing. According to some of the students, Computer science is only coefficient two and

besides it is not included in public examinations like the General Certificate of Education

(G.C.E). Some students even express their views that, even if Computer science is included in

public exams it will not be a compulsory subject.

In a nutshell, the awareness of students in ICT can generally be characterized as low. The

few who get excited about it are just fascinated by the fact that they have to touch computers.

They do not actually know the importance of having a mastery of manipulating these computers.

III.2.4. The extent to which the official program is applied

The school works with the official computer science program from the Ministry of

Secondary Education but with changes made to it so as to be inline with the level of the students.

According to the Head of Department for Computer Sciences, it will not be logical to strictly

follow the official program meanwhile the level of the students in computing is still very low.

As such, changes are made in the official program depending to what extent the levels of the

students have been evaluated and estimated.

Talking to some Computer Science teachers, the official program is too advanced for

students who barely have an idea on computing. During the internship, it was deduced that most

students are not versed on the basics of computer science and find it difficult in mastering the

techniques in Computer Science. It is therefore important for efforts to be made for students to

better understand those elementary aspects in Computer Science which serve as the base of the

subject.

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III.3. Opportunities

The presence of ICT is new in the school under study as in most secondary schools in

Cameroon.However, there are some existing aspects in the school which can be exploited and

improve on the situation of the school.

The principal as an overall controller of all personnel (leader) gives room for order to

reign in the institution. The principal as a leader can initiate the use of computers and other

ICT tools in the teaching of other subjects. He is in a position to provide teachers with other

ICT tools and ensure that they use them diligently instead of limiting ICT tools to computers

and Computer Science as a subject. The principal as a leader ready for a computer literacy

can request for more training programs on the use of ICT tools in other subjects and by other

personnel.

The existence of some ICT tools like computers is an opportunity for both teachers and

students to be computer literate. The existing computers can be integrated for a start into

other subjects to make studies more interactive and constructive.

The existence of a computer laboratory is an opportunity for students to have practical

classes as in other subjects like Chemistry. Such practical tend to make learning more

realistic.

The interaction between internal and external actors lays grounds for financial and

material aid to come from the external body to assist the school in equipping the school with

more computers and other ICT tools. The external body can also offer free training programs

on the use of ICT tools in teaching.

Eventhough some positive existing factors have been identified in the school, the school

is not exempted from facing some difficulties. Except these difficulties are known, it will be

impossible to know where and how to make amendments.

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III.4. Limits

The present situation of the school is confronting some difficulties which also posed

challenges to the intern during their internship.

III.4. 1.Limitations of the school

There is no network service which could interconnect computers and enable online

research and even studies. This limits learning to what the teacher gives to students and what

students read from text books.

Computer teachers master computing and lack a good mastery of pedagogy. This is in the

case where some of the Computer Science teachers teach without a prepared lesson plan and

even a progressive scheme of work.

There is limited time to teach Computer Science as a subject which consists of theory

and practical. Through out the internship period, it was difficult to manage a class of over

seventy students in the laboratory in fifty minutes. Students often delayed leaving from the

classroom to the laboratory and as such practical lessons often tend to last for less than fifty

minutes.

The laboratory is too small for a single class to have practical lessons. In some situations

students remain standing while lessons go on whereas in other cases, the teacher divides the class

into two groups so that lessons can be effective.

The number of computers is too limited to serve the whole student population and even

teachers. How over 1000students share 24computers or over 100teachers share 24computers

would or better still, how both teachers and students would share the same 24computers?

With the situation of the school, the interns were also faced with some difficulties during

the internship period.

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III.4.2. Difficulties encountered during the internship period

It was not easy to manage the huge population of students in a computer laboratory of

only 24functioning computers.

It was difficult to adapt to situations where a teacher would ask an intern not to give

lessons on what he or she had prepared to teach.

It was not easy for an intern to completely convince students on the need for them to have

an interest and a mastery of Computer science.

In situations where test papers had to be printed out of school, it was not an easy task for an

intern to go about running in town to print and later return to school to continue wit the normal

school program.

Identifying and witnessing some of the difficulties of the school, possible recommendations

have been listed.

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IV. RECOMMENDATION The difficulties identified above do not give room for one to conclude that it will be

impossible for GBHS Etouge- Ebe to take measures and break through these difficulties.

However, a few proposals listed below would only serve as an attempt to handle the existing

situation of the school and not a means of completely ousting these problems.

IV.1 Possible Strategies

Continuous training of personnel on how to use ICT tools will ease the integration of

ICT in the school. This is because personnel like the administrative staff is better placed to

computerize the inflow and outflow of information in the school system. Whereas teachers who

deal directly and constantly with students in all subjects are better placed to teach students how

to use ICT tools in other subjects.

The training of Computer teachers on pedagogy especially through seminars would

ameliorate the teaching of Computer Science. Emphasis should be laid on the need for teachers

to prepare a scheme of work and lesson plan for each class. Other pedagogical approaches should

be recommended for teachers to apply while giving lessons. This is relevant because Computer

science like any other subject taught is obliged to respect the norms of pedagogy.

Integrating the use of ICT in teaching other subjects would enhance the integration of

ICT in the whole system of education. During the training of teachers on the use of ICT in their

teaching, they should be taught on how to design ICT didactic tools that will make teaching and

learning more realistic and relaxed.

The computerization of the flow of information in the school could ensure an effective

functioning of the whole school system. The figure below gives a proposed skeleton of how the

school can ensure the flow of information.

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Figure 3: A Proposed Computerized Information System

This proposed computerized information system is different from the non computerized existing

one in that at the primary stage, each group of actors of the school is represented.In this case,

GBHS ETOUG-EBE

TEACHER NON TEACHING

STAFF

STUDENTS PRINCIPAL PTA

DISCIPLINE

MASTER/MISTRES

S

BURSAR VICE PRINCIPAL

CLEANERS DRIVER NURSE

COUNSELLOR TEACHING

DEPARTMENT

SECURITY

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decision making is not centered or limited to a few although the principal remains the overall

boss and decision maker.

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v. CONCLUSION In a nutshell, the aim of this paper was to come out with a report on the picture of the

integration of ICT in GBHS Etoug-Ebe Yaounde as observed during the internship period. In the

course of the internship, a number of difficulties were encountered but despite this hardship, the

internship was carried successfully with the full support of the actors (administration, teachers

and students) in the school. However, if an attempt is made to put into effect some of the

proposed recommendations above, the school will atleast improve on and benefit from the

integration of ICT in its system.

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Bibliography

Primary source

BEASSO Valentine, A Computer science teacher

ENADA Charles, General Manager of Metronet

NGONGKU John, Principal of GBHS Etoug-Ebe

PENDA Joseph, Head of Computer science department