Welcome to my blog
I am Frank Mtemang’ombe, was born on 6th of December 1980 and come from Malawi - a beautiful small country in South East Africa. I graduated from the University of Malawi in 2002 with a BSc degree in Technical Education and taught at a technical and vocational college before joining the University of Malawi (Chancellor College) in 2005 as a Staff Associate in Instructional Media and Technology in the Faculty of Education.
As part of my work I am highly motivated by the intrinsic value of teaching, and the desire to make a social contribution and help shape the future of my country through teaching and working with people. I particularly enjoy debating on educational trends and practically the application of different theories in designing and development of teaching and learning environments.
Currently, I am studying for a Masters degree in Digital Technologies Communication and Education, with particular interest in the design, production and evaluation of technologies for communication and education. My research interest include ICT use for Teacher Education; ICT integration in Curriculum Design; and Role of ICT in education for learners with impairments or learning difficulties.
I am Frank Mtemang’ombe, was born on 6th of December 1980 and come from Malawi - a beautiful small country in South East Africa. I graduated from the University of Malawi in 2002 with a BSc degree in Technical Education and taught at a technical and vocational college before joining the University of Malawi (Chancellor College) in 2005 as a Staff Associate in Instructional Media and Technology in the Faculty of Education.
As part of my work I am highly motivated by the intrinsic value of teaching, and the desire to make a social contribution and help shape the future of my country through teaching and working with people. I particularly enjoy debating on educational trends and practically the application of different theories in designing and development of teaching and learning environments.
Currently, I am studying for a Masters degree in Digital Technologies Communication and Education, with particular interest in the design, production and evaluation of technologies for communication and education. My research interest include ICT use for Teacher Education; ICT integration in Curriculum Design; and Role of ICT in education for learners with impairments or learning difficulties.
We can't wait to learn from your experiences Frank!
ReplyDeleteAs usual you are as logical as I am a dreamer not a politician.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you'll have a lot of interesting experiences to share, Frank. Where did your interest in the use of ICT for users with learning difficulties stem from? I used to develop software for the SEMERC brand in the UK which is products for inclusion and users with additional needs. I always found it a very rewarding area to work in.
ReplyDeleteHi Frank!
ReplyDeleteHave you only ever taught adults or have you looked at working with children?
Do you intend to return to Malawi or will you look to travel further afield?
Hi Frank, its good to get back in touch again!
ReplyDeleteI find what you say about contributing to your country very important. I also hope to have a similar role in my country (Egypt). The government education system there is facing a lot of challenges, and I really dream about using the experience I will gain in this degree to make a positive change.
We just need to be optimistic and VERY energetic. Good luck!
Hi Frank – your ICT skills will prove to be really powerful in future when working with users with learning difficulties I’m sure. SEMERC is still going strong as a business http://www.semerc.com/ and they develop and sell specialist hardware as well as software, and offer advice and consultancy to all those working with students with additional needs.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most interesting projects I worked on was called ‘Out and About’ and it was a CD ROM for adults with learning difficulties to teach them basic life skills and appropriate behaviour, and allow them to practice those skills in a safe environment. We used to get feedback from customers continuously speaking of their frustration with having to use ‘children’s’ software with their adult SEN users, because they were at the appropriate learning level, but they looked so child like. So this CD ROM we did was very much designed with adults in mind, using real photographs throughout and a more grown up design. We had activities such as:
- Watching videos in familiar locations such as shopping in a supermarket, or eating in a restaurant. We got the actors to deliberately behave inappropriately in the video and the idea was that the users of our software would have to identify which behaviours were inappropriate and why, by clicking on the video when they spotted something, which took a screen grab of a still frame from the video for them to then discuss.
- We had an activity where the user was inside their own ‘house’ and could look outside the window to see what the weather was like that day (we had it randomly animating rain, wind, sun etc). They then had to go to their wardrobe and choose appropriate clothing to wear that day.
The disc was developed some years ago now, but at the time was seen as very innovative. We won a number of awards for it and it was also officially launched by HRH Princess Anne (who I got to meet!) which was a real honour. We got so many positive responses from customers saying that it was just what they needed, and when I used to go to the SEN department of colleges to watch it being used after we had published it, I truly felt that we’d developed something that was making a real difference.
I was involved in many other projects too for a wide range and age of children, and all of the products we developed were also switch accessible ensuring children with physical disabilities could also use them. This was always a challenge from a technical point of view, but hugely important to ensure true inclusion for all users.
Sorry for such a long posting!
Thanks Jenny, do not mind the length of the post. I have learnt alot from it
ReplyDeleteHi Frank. Glad we're on the same course again!
ReplyDeleteHi Frank, I'm glad you're thinking of the development of your country. I hope you're always treasured by the people whose lives you touch.
ReplyDelete