Openmind Projects Model and Plan
1. THE PROJECT
2
2. OUR THREE PILLARS
3
2.1 TRAINING CENTER
3
2.1.1 TRAINEES
3
2.1.2 VOLUNTEERS AND INTERNS
5
2.2 LEARNING CAMPS
5
2.2.3 LEARNING CAMP PROJECTS
7
2.3 FIELD PROJECTS
12
2.3.1 IMPACT IN FIELD PROJECTS
12
Mission Statement We at Open Mind Projects strive to allow disadvantaged young people in Southeast Asia to see all the possibilities in the world. We work with existing schools, governments and NGOs to introduce new skills and new career opportunities for our project participants. We accomplish this in a sustainable manner through collobarative learning, embracing the needs of our community of learning and promoting a volunteer and service ethos.
1. The Project Creating Lifelong Learners! Openmind Projects is a non-profit NGO founded in 2001 operating in Southeast Asia. We apply task-based learning to help young and disadvantaged people to better learning opportunities. We believe in the opportunities, that affordable technology and the internet bring to bridge the gap between poor and rich. By empowering local people and encouraging sustainable living our team and volunteers make a lasting impact. What in 2002 started as an IT learning experiment in Isan, the poor Northeast Thailand has developed into a learning mission for young but poor in Southeast Asia, achieved through our three main pillars: Our Training Center, Learning Camps and field projects. We have achieved this through our own means, many volunteers and a few sponsors. When our trainees and campers learn to learn, they are empowered to help themselves and become change agents and role models, to inspire their friends. That is what we
have been working toward, and now we are looking for more funding and contributions to help and inspire more young people.
2. Our three Pillars
2.1 Training Center Activities at our Center focus on training our trainees, campers and overseas volunteers. It also serves as our administrative center and where we, volunteers and interns work on continuous improvement.
2.1.1 Trainees Long and short-term trainees from Southeast Asia stay at our Center. Our ambition is to provide them with essential 21st-century skills, using IT and English as tools for future working and learning. We practice task- and activity-based, team and peer-to-peer learning. With task-based learning (English and IT, online searching) trainees are given weekly tasks. Activity-based learning means based on tasks, which trainees
look for, find, share and finally are able to present the information about their given topic. They often learn in teams. Trainees learn together with staff, fellow and senior trainees, and volunteers. They learn several skills and knowledge in one task. The training includes leadership and teaching, train-the-trainer training. With this ‘learning by doing’ approach, trainees are better equipped to go on to study or work and take charge of their own future learning. Openmind Projects needs support to train more trainers for our camps! We want to reach more campers, run more camps! Sponsors can support trainees staying at our Center to become camp leaders or to go back to teach in villages and schools! Who are the Trainees? Openmind Projects trainees mostly come from the field projects and schools we support. Some come on recommendations by friends, previous campers, schools.
Where do the Trainees come from? Our trainees mostly come from Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Some are ethnic Karen, stateless, migrants and some were refugees. How many Trainees do you have at the Training Center? It varies, we have 5 - 15 trainees at the same time. How long do the Trainees stay? Our trainees can stay as long as they wish. However, most stay for a few months to over a year.
How old are the Trainees? Our trainees are 16 – 25 years old. Our Trainees Learn and Improve the Following Skills: • motivation and enthusiasm to learn • confidence to learn and express •
opinions, and to speak English critical thinking ability
•
teamwork, team learning skills English skills IT and online searching skills presentation skills planning skills
• • •
• sustainable living and health • IT opportunities for learning • technology influence on jobs • environmental problems and climate change, pollution Local Role Model and Leader Development: Trainees become Learning Camp leaders running and leading learning activities and are involved in peer-to-peer learning at our Training Center and in Learning Camps.
2.1.2 Volunteers and Interns Volunteers Overseas and local volunteers join our projects, our Training Center and Learning Camps. Volunteers come from overseas, from many countries and all ages groups. They help to teach English, teach IT, develop communities and more. Interns Interns join our local team at our Training Center. Usually, they help with social media, fundraising, website, developing learning methods and more. Culture and Language Training Week Openmind Projects volunteers get a free volunteer week with a 3-day workshop before they start! You will learn basic Thai and Laos, important cultural knowledge and train their teaching skills, so you are best prepared for the project awaiting them.
2.2 Learning Camps We run Learning Camps at our Training Center in Nong Khai and in the ThaiMyanmar Mountains that we call Mobile Mountain Camps. Campers learn in teams supported by Openmind Projects staff and volunteers.
We practice task- and activity-based, team and peer-to-peer learning. Learning is based on tasks to find, share and discuss information about given camp themes. Common themes are technology and its effects on education and jobs, climate change and its effects on nature and people, food and drinks and their effects on health. Learning in teams to complete the given task, learning through dialogue, discussion, displaying and reporting what they learned in posters, videos and camp debates. Campers are encouraged and trained to use and share their smartphones when they solve camp tasks, to appreciate their smartphones and the internet as powerful learning tools! Campers return home more aware of important camp themes (global awareness) and more confident to express their opinions while they have improved their English and IT skills.
Who are the campers? Openmind Projects Campers mostly come from our field projects and the schools we support. Some come on recommendations by teachers, friends or previous campers. Our Campers set up a ‘We love Openmind Projects’ Facebook group on their own and apply and join camps from there. Openmind Projects Campers mostly come from our field projects and the schools we support. Some come on recommendations by teachers, friends or previous campers. Our Campers set up a ‘We love Openmind Projects’ Facebook group on their own and apply and joincamps from there. Where do the Campers come from? Campers come from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Some are ethnic Karen, stateless, migrants and refugees. How many Campers are there per camp? Normally around 30-35. How old are the Campers? Our campers are 13 -18 years old. How long is a Learning Camp? Usually about one week. Where do you run Learning Camps? We run camps at our Training Center in Nong Khai and in the Thai-Myanmar Mountains for those who do not have the opportunity to come to our Training Center.
2.2.3 Learning Camp Projects Project Name: Our river, our life Description: Create a campaign to clean the river and educate people about the implications of water pollution. About the project: The team will have a meeting with the headman so he can help them with a villagers meeting. They will explain the problem, the impact that the usage of plastic and chemicals have in the river, the animals and their own lives. A collection team will be created, it will include students and villagers to create commitment and awareness about the problem. Signs will be put near the river preventing people to throw garbage near the river. Challenges: - Resistance to change (from villagers) - Follow up and create awareness (people do it once and then keep putting garbage into the river) Next steps: 1. Meeting with the headman and the villagers 2. Create a team to clean the river (plastic bags and gloves will be needed) 3. Build the signs 4. Establish regular meetings with villagers and headman to see results Follow up: 1. From the school: monthly meetings with villagers. Check how much garbage do they collect. 2. From OMP: monthly meetings with the school director so check on project advances. The criteria for the follow up must be measurables, with pics. Amount of garbage and assistance to the meetings.
Project name: Improve education Description: Prepare a meeting with the director and the teachers to explain the necessity of free wifi to all the students
About the project: The team will meet the director and the teachers to talk about the internet connection. In advance, the kids prepared a “before and after� video, that shows the positive impacts internet access would have on the students education. Research about the best wifi provider has been made (budget needed) and the kids understood the difference between using phones for educational pr privat reasons. Challenges: - Rejection to buy better wifi (from director and teachers) - Get enough money to provide the wifi budget - other students might not only use their phones for education Next steps: 1. Meeting with the director and teachers 2. Get the necessary money for the wifi 3. Talk to the other students to educate them on how to use their smartphones Follow up: 1. From the school: From OMP: monthly meetings with the school director so check on project advances. The criterias for the follow up must be measurables. Motivation and skills of students increased? Playing games on their phones during the lessons decreased?.
Project name: Education & Technology / our mobile phone Description: Create a promotional campaign based on a video to be shared in medias, to have people donate second-hand phones, donations, or sponsorships for the students of the school to all have a mobile phone to be able to study by themselves. About the project: The team will meet the director and the teachers to talk about the organisation of this project. It will be necessary to define a storyline, define the important messages as well as emotional images to push people to donate, to film the various sequences, assemble and package the final product. Challenges: - Team not available due to other more urgent tasks ( director, teachers, students) - Find nice ideas and messages - Create a high quality video - Find the good distribution channels Next steps: 1. Meeting with the director and teachers 2. Define tasks and associated planning 3. Organise project teams and responsibilities 4. Start filming Follow up: 1. From the school: check milestones and progress as per agreed planning 2. From OMP: monthly meetings with the school director or main teacher to check on project advances. The criterias for the follow up must be measurables. Motivation of students increased? Acting getting easier? Planning milestones respected?
Project Topic: Environment/plastic Project name: Improve recycling (in the village) Team: Ton, Jai, Jeromine (1st camp)
Description: The students have to realize how polluting plastic is, and how much they use and throw away in their everyday life. Then, when they can explain why is plastic useful, and on the other hand why it is a problem to the environment, they come up with alternatives and solutions. About the project: First, the children are asked to search on the internet what is plastic how it is made, what from, why it is used everyday… Then, they have to search about the problems - no recycling, water pollution, air pollution... And in the end they come up with a project as a solution to plastic pollution or an alternative to plastic use. Here, the project is to BUILD BAMBOO TRASH-BINS for the village, that will promote recycling and make villagers aware of plastic pollution. Signs about recycling are to be put on the trash-bins. Challenges: - Villagers throw plastic trashes in the river • Villagers throw trashes on the ground • All the trashes are burnt together in the village (even if people separate trashes) Next steps: 1. Meeting with the headman of the village. 2. Make drawing and ‘DIY kit’ for the trash-bins (need bamboo, rope, nails, knives, hammer). 3. The project leading team explains to other students of the school how to make the bins. 4. Put trash-bins where needed in the village. 5. Work with ‘Clean our river’ team to collect and recycle trashes together. Follow up: From the school: help the children to get needed tools, material and time to build the bins and make the signs. Have some meetings with the villagers to be sure they are aware and positive about the project. From OMP: monthly meetings with the school director or main teacher to check on project advances.
Project Name: IMPROVE FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES Description: With social media, people who do not have a chance can find an alternative way to develop themselves. They can use social media to achieve professional careers in the future. About the project: Kids have learnt that there is more than one way of using social media, as we realised they only use them for playing. They have seen examples of how people have got a job by using the Internet and now they know some tools they can put into practice (as tutorials, online courses…) They have also learnt that the social media they usually use, such as Facebook and Instagram, are much more than just entertainment. We discussed about the things they loved, their skills and what they were good at. Some of them already knew but others don’t. Now we have future nurses, teachers, dancers, travel bloggers, singers, chefs, psychologists… Thanks to this project, they can show their abilities to others and others can also learn from them. They will participate in this circular way of learning. We made a planning with the skills they all want to show. Every two weeks, they will change the subject so that everyone can develop their own passions. We also made a planning with
the roles they will assume for the team work. The idea is that every two weeks they also change their responsibilities (writing the script for the video, being the cameraman/camerawoman, acting in front of the camera, editing, posting on social media) Challenges: -Getting to know what I am good at, what I want to be in the future -Use social media also for professional issues -Realise about the lack of opportunities if we stay in the village -Benefits of professional studies -Difficulty to communicate in public. Lack of confidence Next steps: -Explain to school why it is important to keep working on this -Keep motivational work -Keep increasing self confidence -Be responsible and keep developing new videos. Follow the schedule Follow up: -Implement the project at school. Having time at school to work on this -Having teachers’ support -Openmind Projects commitment with the kids. Check if they need help or advice. Check if the are following up the plan Project Name: Thanks to the Internet Description: LEARN MORE THANKS TO THE INTERNET This project goal is to explain to the campers that internet is not only an entertainment tool,
but if it is used the right way it can be an infinite source of learning About the project:
The kids have created a facebook group called « WE LOVE INTERNET » in this group they have to add all the students, the teachers and openmind project volunteers / trainee / administration. On this group the team made a video to explain to everyone how to use internet « properly ». Showing example such as : • reading news on social media • learning on youtube • learning english on duolinguo and so on... they have also made a planning, so each week a student from the school can make a video about any topic they want, and post it on the group. Challenges:
The main challenge is to have a proper follow up by the school administration, if not, the kids will never post a video once a week. The second challenge, is to find different and interesting topic every week Next steps: • Explaining the project to the school
• •
Be sure that they will support it 100%, in the best case they may include the video on the grade of the student (as a bonus point for example) Check online every week that a vidéo is well posted.
Follow up: • • •
From the school From the other kids in the facebook group From everyone in openmind.
Project Name: Clean Power Team Description: Raise the villagers’ awareness regarding the river pollution and come up with a strategy to clean the river, set up compost bins in the village and create signs. About the project: The project requires the headman's support, who should help motivate the villagers, implement the solutions and oversee the community’s commitment. Trash collection teams must be formed to clean the river and reduce as efficiently as possible the water pollution. Once the river is clean, the prompt set up of Maxime and Golf’s project would be essential to provide the villagers with good habits and a decent alternative to wild waste dumping. The compost bins will encourage the villagers to dispose of their trash in a responsible and a useful way. The signs are meant to prevent the villagers from dumping their garbage in the wild and remind them the benefits they can gain from waste sorting. Challenges: The main challenge relies in Openmind's and the school’s support to the students who need to convince the headman and the villagers. Despite their evidences and detailed information about the problem, the students still need the help of a reliable authority to start implementing the project. Furthermore, Maxime and Golf’s project would help provide the villagers with a responsible mindset too. Next steps: First, get the support and involvement of the school to support their project. Then, meet the village headman to discuss the possible implementation of the solutions. Finally, the implementation itself. Follow up: As the implementation of the project requires time and effort from everybody, a nearly-constant follow-up from OPM and the school in the first weeks is essential to make sure that the students’ message was heard by their community. Once it's done, the two organisations mentioned must verify the good implementation of the solutions (river cleaning, compost, signs) on a weekly basis. Then, the follow-ups can be more scattered as it would “only” consists in making sure that the bins are used and the river is not being trashed. Project Name:Reduce the trash at the school Description: collect the trashs(paper,plastic bottle and milk box) and make useful items by using the trashes and sell them. About the project: The team collects the trashs at the school and make something(eg. paper flower, plants in bottles, bag). Then they post the pics of that in facebook and sell them. Challenges: 1:Making items once a week 2:Making people know about this work and want to buy the items 3:Need lots of people to complement the work
Next steps: 1:create a group on facebook 2:find more members who want to join the group 3:come up with more idea for the items 4:make the box for collecting the trashs Follow up: 1:From the school:help separate and collect the trashs. 2:From OMP: monthly meetings with the school director to check on the project. (How many items did they make? How many trashes did you reduce?)
2.3 Field Projects Openmind Projects has worked with communities, schools and, on demand, national parks, and eco-projects since its inception. Our main contribution is educating local people with the help of volunteers whom we train at our Training Center and creating information about their communities, needs, and activities. We invite young people from the communities to take part in our free Learning Camps and to our Training Center as free trainees.
2.3.1 Impact in Field Projects Impact at schools: •
over a thousand Openmind Projects volunteers are helping to teach English and computer skills to school children we are reaching out to more than 4,000 children in remote villages in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Nepal and provide them with free education and supportover a thousand Openmind Projects volunteers are helping to teach English and computer skills to school children • we are reaching out to more than 4,000 children in remote villages in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Nepal and provide them with free education and support
Impact on communities: • • • •
Knowledge an awareness about sustainable living etc. IT opportunities for learning Technology influence on jobs environment and climate change, risks and opportunities to prevent
Impact on Eco-Projects:
• •
donations to a marine center created eco-projects in Thailand and Laos
3. 21st Century Learning skills P21's Framework for 21st Century Learning was developed with input from teachers, education experts, and business leaders to define and illustrate the skills and knowledge students need to succeed in work, life and citizenship, as well as the support systems necessary for 21st century learning outcomes. It has been used by thousands of educators and hundreds of schools in the U.S. and abroad to put 21st century skills at the center of learning.
The elements described in this section as “21st century student outcomes� (represented by the rainbow) are the skills, knowledge and expertise students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21st century.