Teacher PD & Potou Beach & Gardens

This country is beautiful—and it has so much to teach me.

Today, I attended a professional development session for tech teachers focused on Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. I learned so much—not just about the tools themselves, but about what teaching with technology looks like in Senegal.

One of the biggest takeaways? Teachers here have to buy their own equipment. Most classrooms don’t have laptops, and only some of the larger or better-funded schools have access to any tech at all. There’s no guarantee that teachers will ever receive equipment to teach with—it’s entirely dependent on the school’s resources.

And yet, the teachers were so creative and resourceful.

One tip I picked up that I’m definitely bringing back to my own classroom: In coding, we number every line to help find bugs more easily. In Senegal, teachers apply that same idea to reading—by numbering the lines of a Word document passage so students can easily refer to specific parts while discussing. Genius.

Next time I do a reading activity, I’m using that trick for sure!