CDD Class Report Uhuru 9-18-09

WEEKLY CLASS REPORT
House of Uhuru/9-18-10


Opening Comments:
Hunter and I had an excellent time working with the students on Saturday. We explained to the students that because of the issues that occurred in the last class, the groups would be split into male and female separate by the front and back of the classroom. We are not sure if this change is what resulted in an excellent class or if the students just brought a new attitude with them; every single student was well behaved and everyone seemed very eager to learn. Hunter and I had a great time working with the students and teaching them today.

Attendance:
13 students attended the class. One student was sick and could not attend.


INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:
Hunter and I introduced ourselves by telling them about our work experience and also explaining why we were volunteering with CDD. We made it a point to tell the students that without computer knowledge, they would have a very hard time finding a good job and that these skills would definitely help them in the future. I think the students appreciated our different perspectives of how we used computers in our work. We also went around the room and had each student introduce themselves and why they were taking the class. The students had a variety of answers and many of them had very specific goals in mind after they completed the class.

1ST TOPIC COVERED:
We reviewed the first six Discovery Terms by playing a matching game on the board and having the students come up and match the words with their definition. We also mentioned that they should copy down the words and definitions because there would be a quiz in a couple of weeks.

2ND TOPIC COVERED:
Hunter reviewed the first half of Module 1, which focused computer basics and understanding the desktop. Everyone was taking notes throughout the class and many students had questions about the material being covered that Hunter was able to answer very thoroughly.

LAB TIME:
During lab time, many of the students played with the computer to visually experience what they had just learned. Many of the students also started working on their outlines for their paper. Hunter and I walked around the class room to help students organize their thoughts and write them down in an outline format. Some of the more advanced students typed up their outlines, but most wrote them by hand.

The middle computer in the last row did not work and the first computer in the second row did not have a mouse, which made it extremely hard for that student to follow the class. We showed him some shortcuts so he could follow along, but I think it is extremely important for that computer to have a mouse so the student can follow along better in the next class.

FINAL NOTES:

Before class started, an old student stopped by to say hello, and I believe this was the student that gave the speech at the last session’s graduation. She mentioned how giving that speech really helped her increase her confidence.
The students in the class today were really great. Everyone was very open when they had questions or didn’t understand the material. In the beginning some students were chatty, but immediately stopped when we told them to pay attention to us. Although there were a couple of students who were more advanced than others, they did not disrupt the class and worked independently on their outlines. During lab time we both had a great chance to speak with many of the students and learn more about their goals after they graduated from class and got out of their program. Overall it was a very productive class and the students seemed to get a lot of it.