As with all trips to Haïti, adventures abounded during my recent 10-day visit. My mission this trip was to teach internet searching techniques to secondary teachers who are participating in the Certification Program in Pedagogy. An eight-foot high fence barring entrance to the residence where I was staying each evening, a checked suitcase which did not arrive in Jérémie until the day before I was to return home and a lost, and fortunately, later returned, credit card were not so challenging as to render my teaching – and learning – experience unpleasant.

The goal of the internet course was for the teachers to learn how to search for information on the internet which could be used to prepare lesson plans. The teachers participated in five, two-hour courses. The courses were held at the local law school and a local internet café. Coming into the course, the teachers had little experience with the internet and Internet Explorer (IE). During the course, the teachers learned the basic toolbar functions of IE, how search engines find information, simple and advanced searches, how to identify where internet information originates, how to determine the accuracy of internet information and copying and copying and pasting internet-based information into MS Word. At the end of the course, all of the teachers were able to search the internet, to locate information relevant to their lesson plans and to copy and paste that information into a MS Word document to use as a reference for lesson plan development.

Although the trip was difficult for me, I took solace in knowing that the teachers benefited from learning how to use the internet. More than once I observed the teachers become wide-eyed upon realizing the power and vastness of the internet. My hope is that the teachers will continue to practice with the internet as well as use it to bring information and teaching techniques from around to world in order to enhance their classrooms and their students’ learning.

Mason Robbins