Digitizing Classrooms, a partnership with TheirWorld

A challenge in Lebanon is that there is not a common awareness and usage of digital tools among youth, especially in schools. DOT Lebanon is working to change this.

In partnership with TheirWorld and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Lebanon, the TeachUp! program was established to fill this digital-academic gap while helping to develop digital skills, build awareness of the opportunities technology can create, and change the way Lebanese youth are educated. So far, TeachUp! has supported 1,935 educators across 25 schools in Lebanon to integrate technology into their classroom.

The TeachUp! program is designed to support school teachers to use digital tools and integrate them into their classrooms and lesson plans. This includes incorporating devices like the Rumie tablets and Tabshoura by LAL technology, which can be used online and offline in classrooms.

The Taalabaya Public School in the Bekaa region is one of many schools in Lebanon that didn’t previously offer technology-focused education, and was one of the first schools to participate in TeachUp!. The school received Rumie tablets to support learners. Initially, the teachers had encountered a few challenges integrating tablets into their classrooms but soon began to see the benefits. When asked about incorporating technology like tablets into the school’s teaching methods, Arabic teacher Mr. Malak only had only two words to say: “Hello technology!”

“Integrating ICT in class enhanced interactivity and communication between my students and me,” says Ms. Wahiba, an Arabic and geography teacher at Taalabaya.

“I have a wide number of lessons and diversified methods that I can now apply in class. Education has become more interesting and students are enjoying it.” – Ms. Wahiba, Arabic and geography teacher at Taalabaya Public School.

TeachUp! equips teachers with digital skills and enhances the way prepare their lessons in order to make them more interactive and digital, which in turn improves students’ learning. Thirteen teachers participating in the TeachUp! program at Taalabaya school reported both a 100% improvement in digital skills and a complete increase in confidence in preparing digitally-enhanced lessons.

Mrs. Itidal, a math teacher, observed that the way she is teaching in her classroom has become more efficient.

“The class methodology shifted from passive listening to more interactive dynamic.” – Mrs. Itidal, math teacher at Taalabaya Public School.

Another teacher, Ms.Tahani, noticed that students are enjoying the additional imagery and animation involved in the digital learning programs and that this more successfully grabs and holds their attention during lessons. She shares that it has also been helping her students retain information that they learn in class.

Through the partnership with TheirWorld and Lebanese Alternative Learning, the TeachUp! program has led to a positive impact on schools, teachers, and students in Bekaa. Thanks to the tremendous success of the program thus far, Theirworld has extended their commitment of partnership and collaboration with DOT through 2019.

DOT’s TeachUp! program is delivered in Bekaa, Lebanon in partnership with TheirWorld, Lebanese Alternative Learning and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.