WEEK 2.MY CLASS AS IT IS NOW
Hi there. I received a lot from other posts about education facilities and digital literacy of students my classmates teach. I would like to follow Juliet’s template of the description of her school and class. I consider it gives full picture of both environment and conditions you teach.
1. Overview
There are 5 higher education establishments in Andijan, the city where I live. We do not have private Universities. Our Andijan State University consists of 8 faculties, where study about 7000 students. This year is the last one we have our students study correspondently, government recognized these study ineffective and stopped it. University has about 300 teachers and lecturer that disseminated into 35 Departments . I work at a Foreign Language Department (Chair), with my 20 colleagues-teachers of English, French, and German.
Official language in Uzbekistan is Uzbek, Russian is the second language and English along with German, French, (in some schools Hindi and Urdu) is taught as a foreign language. We do not have Distance Education in either of 5 higher institutions of our city. Since our Republic became independent in 1991 government planned step by step restoration of all levels of education in it Education Decree: 1. Kindergartens and secondary schools renovation (1997-2003), 2. Establishing 12 year of secondary and high school education and therefore building lyceums which prepare students to enter institutes: and colleges that provide students with skills to begin working. Consequently, both colleges and lyceums are equipping with PCs and other technology (2003-2009). 3. Beginning with 2009 the reconstruction of higher educational establishments has begun and right now our university is under the full reconstruction. Moreover this year our University hosts “Universiada”- sport competitions among 63 Universities all over Uzbekistan, and probably, the university will become one of the first among tertiary education who is equipped with latest technology and sport facilities. Right now we have 4 computer labs, two of them are in a main building, and two others are in two other remote buildings. There is no Internet connection there.
My students. This academic year I teach in 18 groups, three of them are correspondence (part-time) group students. These 3 groups come just three times a year and study on campus 70 days an academic year. With other 15 groups we meet once a week, each class lasts 80 minutes. Depending on the faculty and a year of study students have either 40 or 36 hours of English per semester, 80 or 72 hours per academic year. They study English 3 years at University. The age of students varies from 17 to 25. One group consists of 24-25 students and is divided into 2 subgroups during foreign language class: one subgroup is English, another is either French or German.
3. My classroom
As I mostly teach students of Psychology Department I have the classroom in its building that lodges up to 24 students. There are 2 big windows It has no air conditioning or TV or white screen.
4. Levels of IT skills
Most of the students on Psychology faculty are females and come from remote districts and even they have IT classes at University but these classes without practice do not give much effect and most of them do not have e-mail accounts and cannot do Internet search. If I prepare PPT presentation or want them to test on a computer I usually bring CDs with my lap top. When they have to prepare something using Internet resource I give them simple explanations how to use browser and find Google and look for information there. But most of them rely on the help of Internet café administrators who help find information for them. I tried to use e-mail for writing assignments but just 5 of my 12 students in one group were able to submit it via e-mail.
Frankly say even most of the lecturers do not have IT skills and are not eager to learn them.
5. Technology
Our Department of Foreign Languages has 1 PC and 1 printer for 20 teachers and this equipment mostly used by the Head of the Chair and his secretary. But 4 months ago Korean foundation KOICA opened PC lab with latest models of 15 PCs and both students and faculty staff can use them.
1. Overview
There are 5 higher education establishments in Andijan, the city where I live. We do not have private Universities. Our Andijan State University consists of 8 faculties, where study about 7000 students. This year is the last one we have our students study correspondently, government recognized these study ineffective and stopped it. University has about 300 teachers and lecturer that disseminated into 35 Departments . I work at a Foreign Language Department (Chair), with my 20 colleagues-teachers of English, French, and German.
Official language in Uzbekistan is Uzbek, Russian is the second language and English along with German, French, (in some schools Hindi and Urdu) is taught as a foreign language. We do not have Distance Education in either of 5 higher institutions of our city. Since our Republic became independent in 1991 government planned step by step restoration of all levels of education in it Education Decree: 1. Kindergartens and secondary schools renovation (1997-2003), 2. Establishing 12 year of secondary and high school education and therefore building lyceums which prepare students to enter institutes: and colleges that provide students with skills to begin working. Consequently, both colleges and lyceums are equipping with PCs and other technology (2003-2009). 3. Beginning with 2009 the reconstruction of higher educational establishments has begun and right now our university is under the full reconstruction. Moreover this year our University hosts “Universiada”- sport competitions among 63 Universities all over Uzbekistan, and probably, the university will become one of the first among tertiary education who is equipped with latest technology and sport facilities. Right now we have 4 computer labs, two of them are in a main building, and two others are in two other remote buildings. There is no Internet connection there.
My students. This academic year I teach in 18 groups, three of them are correspondence (part-time) group students. These 3 groups come just three times a year and study on campus 70 days an academic year. With other 15 groups we meet once a week, each class lasts 80 minutes. Depending on the faculty and a year of study students have either 40 or 36 hours of English per semester, 80 or 72 hours per academic year. They study English 3 years at University. The age of students varies from 17 to 25. One group consists of 24-25 students and is divided into 2 subgroups during foreign language class: one subgroup is English, another is either French or German.
3. My classroom
As I mostly teach students of Psychology Department I have the classroom in its building that lodges up to 24 students. There are 2 big windows It has no air conditioning or TV or white screen.
4. Levels of IT skills
Most of the students on Psychology faculty are females and come from remote districts and even they have IT classes at University but these classes without practice do not give much effect and most of them do not have e-mail accounts and cannot do Internet search. If I prepare PPT presentation or want them to test on a computer I usually bring CDs with my lap top. When they have to prepare something using Internet resource I give them simple explanations how to use browser and find Google and look for information there. But most of them rely on the help of Internet café administrators who help find information for them. I tried to use e-mail for writing assignments but just 5 of my 12 students in one group were able to submit it via e-mail.
Frankly say even most of the lecturers do not have IT skills and are not eager to learn them.
5. Technology
Our Department of Foreign Languages has 1 PC and 1 printer for 20 teachers and this equipment mostly used by the Head of the Chair and his secretary. But 4 months ago Korean foundation KOICA opened PC lab with latest models of 15 PCs and both students and faculty staff can use them.
Hello , Nilufar!
ReplyDeleteReading your post I realise that we were really one big countries about twenty years ago. We have so much in common!!!
And all your story about the system of education and life in the university is so well-known for me, especially part about other lecturers.
Best wishes from Ukraine