Digital Youth Dialogue_newsletter_march 2011
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Transcript of Digital Youth Dialogue_newsletter_march 2011
Digital Youth Dialogue (DYD) is a program of the United States Embassy in Kyrgyzstan.
>> Digital Youth Dialogue
March News & Winter Camp Debrief
DYD Helps Bring New Training
Sessions to Kyrgyzstan’s
Schools
Students Use IT Skills to
Research for Cultural Event
Teachers Learn New Presen-
tation Approaches Using
High-Tech Tools
DYD Libraries Provide New
Knowledge, Opportunities for
Community Members
Jalal-Abad Educator Uses
Internet at Local Library to
Enrich Lessons
Librarians Using New IT Skills
to Inform Patrons of Library
Services
Students from Across
Kyrgyzstan Travel to Bishkek
to Develop Skills, Start
Citizen Journalism Clubs in
Their Communities
Day Two: From Students to
Journalists, Photographers,
Leaders, and Peacemakers
After Hard Days’ Work,
Campers Meet with
Television Leaders in Kyr-
gyzstan, See Bishkek’s Media
Outlets with Their Own Eyes
Returning to Their Homes,
DYD Winter Camp Partici-
pants Begin Their Next Steps
to Apply Their Skills in Their
Communities
DYD Students Discuss Tough
Issues During International
Women’s Day
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>> In this Issue
Following his return from the Digital Youth Dia-
logue (DYD) Training of Trainers in Bishkek on
January 8, 2011, Gulcho village’s Abdyshev school
IT teacher Omurzak Kasymov has begun conduct-
ing a series of training sessions for teachers and
students on basic computing skills and how to in-
tegrate technology into the classroom.
During the training, Kasymov is teaching educa-
tors at Abdyshev School how to properly use the
Microsoft Office Suite, in addition to giving them
their first experience with the internet in a pro-
fessional context. Kasymov pointed the teachers
to the Educational Portal Bilimkeni.kg, where the
teachers registered for accounts and began to
post on the teachers’ discussion forums. Mean-
while, Kasymov taught students how to access in-
formation on the internet and use Microsoft’s
Windows Movie Maker program to produce video
content; the students have begun editing their
own videos to capture life at their school and
their own personal successes.
DYD Helps Bring New Training
Sessions to Kyrgyzstan’s Schools
Since Kasymov began his lessons for faculty and
students, enthusiasm has only grown for technol-
ogy. Aiturgan Kamal kyzy, a student at Abdyshev
School, shared that ―I got valuable information
from the internet, thanks to the DYD program.”
Abdyshev’s administration is just as enthusiastic
about the new technology training program; “I
was pleasantly surprised by his initiative to con-
duct this training,” shared Adbyshev School direc-
tor Altyn Moldokulova. ―I would encourage all our
teachers to [take advantage] of these opportuni-
ties at work.”
Meanwhile, in Jalal-Abad, students at School-
Lyceum No. 14 are using the internet to research
information to complete their school assignments.
Students used to have to rely on obsolete text-
books for their English lessons, but now that Digi-
tal Youth Dialogue has helped connect their
schools to the internet, they are able to find con-
temporary information online to supplement their
schoolbooks. Students are now learning how to
properly search and discern useful educational
tools and materials from search engine results
online. English teacher Aliya Ganzina is very ex-
cited about the new developments at her school,
sharing that “These new materials are good for
developing [my students’] speaking and reading
skills.” Ajara, a student in the 11th grade at
School-Lyceum No. 14, wholeheartedly agrees: “It
was very captivating to find these new things on
the internet. After [my teacher’s] lessons, we
managed to find resources online ourselves, and
we are learning a lot from them.”
On February 9, 2011, at Aitmatov School in Kara-
Suu, seven students used their new knowledge in
searching for cultural and educational resources
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IT Training at Schools
IT trainings for students at Abdyshev School
Students Use IT Skills to Research
for Cultural Event
online to find materials to host an event com-
memorating the birthday of Uzbek poet Alisher
Navoi, including recitals of his poetry, and a play
about the life of Navoi.
The students, ranging from the fifth to the elev-
enth grades, worked with their teachers to pre-
pare for the poet’s birthday event. After receiving
training on how to effectively use search engines,
they used the Kyrgyz-language version of Google
Image Search to download images of Navoi and
decorate the school with them to promote the
event. In preparation for the play, the students
used Google.kg to research the life of the poet –
tasks which were much more complicated in the
past, before DYD helped bring internet to Aitma-
tov School, previously using obscure textbooks
and old magazines as their only sources. Today,
they were able to conduct their research and
preparation in a fraction of the time.
Aitmatov teacher Mahmuda Sheralieva com-
mented on the students’ work in preparing for
Alisher Navoi’s birthday event: “The students did
a good job. They were even able to find a lot of
new information from the internet that we
teachers never even knew. We were amazed by
their creativity.”
In January 2011, DYD IT teacher Odina Kosimova
at Aitmatov School in Kara-Suu trained teachers
on how to conduct more effective presentations in
their careers using visual aids and tools like Micro-
soft PowerPoint to capture their audience’s atten-
tion.
On January 27th, two of her teacher trainees con-
ducted a training session on curriculum planning
and student evaluation for 20 of their colleagues,
during which they practiced their new skills in
creating engaging, high-tech presentation materi-
als. In the past, teachers attending training ses-
sions practically attended their own equivalent of
a low-tech classroom, and trainers were forced to
rely on old blackboards as a visual aid and spend-
ing large amounts of time and energy re-creating
materials for the trainees by hand. Today, pre-
senters and trainers are learning how to captivate
their audiences with helpful visualizations and
diagrams, and are helping keep their audiences
engaged and receptive to new information.
It definitely helped Barno Ergashboeva as she held
her training: she reflected, “Thanks to the DYD
program I learned what PowerPoint is; I had no
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Students at Aitmatov School used internet research to plan an event on
poet Alisher Navoi
Teachers using new resources in
their meetings at school
Teachers Learn New Presentation
Approaches Using High-Tech Tools
idea before. I will definitely keep using [and
making] presentations for my class.”
Since being equipped with internet by the Digital
Youth Dialogue program, the Kyzyl-Kiya Library
has helped over a hundred students and teachers
better integrate technology into their lives to
benefit learning.
Many of the more than 90 students who have be-
gun visiting the library regularly are now learning
for the first time how to use productivity applica-
tions for school; rather than writing everything by
hand, students are now learning how to create
professional documents using word processing ap-
plications. Perizat Zyadinova, a student at Kyzyl
Kiya’s School No. 6, is very enthusiastic about the
new opportunities for her at Kyzyl-Kiya’s newly
modernized library: “Now that we have internet,
I spend all my free time here,” she said.
The Jalal-Abad Oblast Library is becoming a com-
munity gathering center where teachers, stu-
dents, and youth looking for employment opportu-
nities can assemble and learn how to use IT to
benefit their lives.
One excellent example of the library’s new bene-
ficiaries is Aigul Djaratova, a teacher at the Chil-
dren’s Education Center in Jalal-Abad, does not
have internet access where she works, nor does
she have the personal finances to afford paying
for the use of internet-connected computers at
local internet cafes. At the library, however, she
was able to access the internet for free, and she
uses this resource to develop better lessons for
her students. Having recently designed a lesson
for her class on the topic of peace and friendship,
she was able to conduct her own research for the
lesson plan, and enriched its content with power-
ful imagery found online. In making use of educa-
tional online resources and materials, she would-
n’t have known where to start, had it not been for
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Students practice their IT skills while
working on school assignments at the
Kyzyl-Kiya library
Teacher Aigul Djaratova uses the internet to
improve her lessons
DYD Libraries Provide New Knowledge, Opportunities for
DYD in Kyrgyzstan’s Libraries Jalal-Abad Educator Uses Internet at Local Library to Enrich Lessons
internet training she attended at the library, held
by DYD IT trainers. Djaratova took a moment to
express her gratitude for these new resources at
her disposal: “Thanks to the DYD program, we
have access to the internet and IT training, which
are really important tools in achieving great re-
sults in our activities.”
In December 2010, librarians at the Jalal-Abad
Oblast Library received two weeks of IT training,
thanks to the DYD program, including intensive
lessons on document creation using the Microsoft
Office Suite. Now, four of them are putting their
new skills to good use, creating posters for the
library, explaining the library’s new services for
patrons and librarians’ new training experience
since joining the DYD program.
The library has always sought to inform visitors of
what they can do, and what new events are taking
place using posters and visual materials – but now,
they are able to produce more professional items
in a fraction of the time using their new skills in
PowerPoint.
―We often make posters and book exhibitions;
using photos makes them look more visual and
transfers the mood and content of the material,”
explained Svetlana Krasovskaya, a Jalal-Abad li-
brarian. “Using photos starts a [more] creative
dialogue with people, and working with new tech-
nologies helps us to develop professionally.”
From January 24 to 30, 2011, the 22 most tal-
ented and promising students were chosen from a
pool of 153 applicants from southern Kyrgyzstan
to participate in the Journalism, Technology and
Leadership Winter Camp. Young motivated and
enthusiastic students from Osh, Batken and Jalal-
Abad oblasts developed their technical and pro-
fessional skills through IT training, journalism
seminars, conflict mitigation classes, and leader-
ship workshops in a week-long camp in Bishkek.
Each training participant of the camp developed
their own ―IT toolkit,‖ in order to better facilitate
the implementation of their journalism clubs at
schools. One of the participants, Minura Be-
gishbekova from Osh oblast commented: “Before I
never thought that IT knowledge might bring so
many different opportunities. I knew how to send
emails and search for information, however what
we learned during the IT day was truly amazing.”
Using the knowledge she gained during the camp’s
IT toolkit training, one participant created a video
about her experience in Bishkek: http://
goo.gl/16Nkk
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Librarians Using New IT Skills to Inform Patrons of Library Services
Jalal-Abad librarians used PowerPoint and Publisher
to create posters informing patrons of new DYD
activities in their library
Students from Across Kyrgyzstan Travel to Bishkek to Develop Skills, Start Citizen Journalism Clubs in Their Communities
DYD Winter Journalism Camp
In the evenings, Winter Camp participants had
informal sessions on teambuilding and networking.
IREX involved ECA alumni to mentor evening ac-
tivities. UGRAD alumni Bermet Mambetshaeva and
Dastan Kasmamytov led ice-breaking games,
teambuilding activities, and showed journalism
movies.
Starting from the second day of the camp, stu-
dents took part in an intensive course on journal-
ism and had sessions on leadership, conflict miti-
gation, and photography. The journalism seminars
were conducted by Mamasadyk Bagyshev, FLEX
alum and a Director of Smart Media Group. Win-
ter camp participants learned about news and its
structure, types of reports, journalism club or-
ganization, how to set a news agenda, how to cre-
ate a layout for a school newspaper, basics of in-
terviewing, and types of numbers that add to
good reporting.
The students broke out into four groups, repre-
senting television, radio, print, and online jour-
nalism. Each group worked to develop its own
news reports using the skills they developed dur-
ing prior sessions. A recording of the television
journalism group’s reports is available for viewing
at http://goo.gl/2GPbE, while podcasts of the
radio journalism group’s reports are available at
http://goo.gl/S2Ylw.
Participant Jamilya Tashtanova shared that “This
camp has been great! Thanks to all its organizers,
I gained knowledge which will help me to achieve
my goals.” Tech Age Girl Janara Asizova added,
“The topics of the sessions were really interest-
ing, not only for DYD winter camp participants,
but for us TAG alumni too.”
Every day, after their intensive training sessions,
the camp participants had opportunities to be ex-
posed to the ―real world‖ of journalism, meeting
with important personalities from Kyrgyzstan’s
various news and entertainment media, and tour-
ing several of Bishkek’s media outlets.
Guest speakers throughout the week included rep-
resentatives from the radio, television, and online
journalism and media sectors in Kyrgyzstan. By
many accounts, however, the most exciting guest
event during the week included a mock press con-
ference with Kyrgyzstan’s famous musician,
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TAG alumni helped Winter Camp partici-pants open their own email accounts
Day Two: From Students to new Journalists, Photographers, Leaders, and Peacemakers
Trainer Mamasadyk Bagyshev explains journalistic principles and practices to
participants
Kanykey, during which camp participants served
as the journalists.
The speakers took time to answer questions from
the Winter Camp group, and many shared a com-
mon belief that in pursuing their futures as jour-
nalists or leaders in their communities, persever-
ance will be key.
“I really liked how open [the media representa-
tives] were; After talking to them I really want
to become a good journalist,” reflected partici-
pant Aisulu Abdubalit kyzy.
After returning from the DYD Winter Camp for
journalism, Minura Begishbek kyzy and Aisulu Ab-
dubaly kyzy shared their impressions on their
week in Bishkek with fellow students at the Alay
Library. In all, approximately 20 students from
the 8th, 9th, and 10th grades of the nearby
Otunchiev School came to hear them speak on
their experience. The two participants enthusias-
tically explained to their peers about the value of
citizen journalism for a community, and rallied
the group to work with them to form their
school’s first ever journalism club.
Salamat, a student in attendance, shared her
thoughts on the talk: “I learned a lot of things
that I never knew before. This program really
gives great opportunities to both teachers and
students and I will definitely join the journalism
club.” The camp alumni are working to form the
club now, which will set out to create a school
newspaper and publish it on their school website.
Meanwhile, Upon returning to Jalal-Abad, two
DYD Winter Camp participants have begun putting
their new IT skills to practice. Adilet Azimkanov
and Jamila Tashtanova of School No. 14 created a
short video about their school using Windows
Movie Maker, a skill they learned for the first time
at the camp in Bishkek. The video has been
posted to Kyrgyzstan’s Educational Portal (link:
http://goo.gl/fwZ2I) and also on the school’s
website. The students are now working to train
their peers in the same skills that they learned, to
share the knowledge with the entire youth com-
munity.
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Enthusiastic students at the DYD Winter Journalism Camp serve as journalists at a press conference with famous Kyrgyzstan
musician Kanykey
Returning to Their Homes, DYD Winter Camp Participants Begin Their Next Steps to Apply Their Skills in Their Communities
Campers Take Action at Home
DYD winter camp participants train a
peer in video editing skills back home,
During the week of International Women’s Day
(March 8, 2011), more than 150 students and their
teachers from 22 schools in Kyrgyzstan took part
in discussions on women’s rights and gender issues
with Rozetta Aitmatova, president of the
Women’s Help Center, and a published author on
the topic of bride kidnapping, a common problem
in some areas of Kyrgyzstan.
Before meeting with her online, the participating
students read a number of articles written by Ait-
matova for the national periodical We, on the
topic of bride kidnapping. The students then
logged on to Kyrgyzstan’s Educational Portal and
posted their opinions on what they read. The dis-
cussion was a unique opportunity for youth across
the country to sound off on a controversial issue
that directly impacts many families’ lives. Tok-
togul student Asel Biyalieva shared her view on
the topic, stating that “bride kidnapping is a
crime. In most cases, the girl will be unhappy
throughout her life, with her rights being ig-
nored. Boys should not commit a crime – rather,
they should try to find mutual love.”
Joining the discussion, Aitmatova explained in
greater detail the legality and cultural position of
bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan; while officially
illegal, Aitmatova suggested that the solution to
the matter lies not in prosecution of the crimes
alone, but also in shedding light on how boys are
encouraged to commit these acts, often being de-
picted as ―heroes.‖
The discussion with Aitmatova also served as an
opportunity to debate whether bride kidnapping
should be considered a tradition in the cultural
context of Kyrgyzstan, a sensitive issue for youth
and adults in the country. All agreed, however,
that taking a girl away to be married against her
will—tradition or not—is a violent act against her
rights. Aitmatova concurred, adding that “Many
people consider that bride kidnapping is bad only
for the girl, but a man who kidnaps a girl to
marry her is forcing himself as well to live in an
unhappy marriage.”
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DYD Students Discuss Tough Issues
International Women’s Day 2011
In preparing for a discussion with Rozetta Aitmatova,
DYD students read articles about bride kidnapping