Kirsty Longworth

Personal Learning Networks allow teachers to:

• Share resources and ideas,

• Collaborate with other teaches

• Find support, motivation and inspiration

• Learn about new trends

• Make international connections, and

• “Flatten your classroom walls” (Duckworth, 2016)

 

In modern educational settings being part of Personal Learning Network is common practice for innovative and effective teachers. This arrangement could easily be replicated, in a simplified manner (without the internet) for use within refugee communities, while maintaining many of the mutual advantages.

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A PLN nurtures "symbiotic relationships" (Catapano, n.d.) that personal and professional development comes to depend on. 

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                 "An educator is not merely absorbing information from others: they

                  are sharing. They are not gaining what they need from some distant,

                  impersonal source: they are building relationships with others" 

                  (Catapano, n.d.).

 

                      PLN Stage One – Face-To-Face PLN Meetings

The educators identified in the Rohingya refugee camps will greatly benefit from participating in an arranged learning network that allows them to connect with other educators to share ideas and support each other. 

 

One of UNICEF's first tasks is to identify appropriate educators to work and teach refugee children.  A vast majority of the people identified will not have any formal tertiary experience, let alone a teaching qualification.  UNICEF provides initial and ongoing training, and support for these educators, which is very important.  However the UNICEF training may lack personal context or cultural nuances. For this reason it is imperative that knowledge is shared and ideas are generated as a supportive and collaborative, Rohingya lead group.  It is important the the group begins to become independent from the aid organisations for their own self esteem and long term autonomy.

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The PLN group should also include a social worker who would be able to advise educators on helping children cope with the trauma they have experienced.  It would also be useful to have a representative from UNICEF also attend PLN meetings to provide updates on aid, new educational initiatives, and important refugee information.  They would also be able to provide support for logistical issues that are likely to arise.  Schools become a focal point of a community and a place where people gather and share news and information.

   

Bangladesh classifies the refugee camps at Cox's Bazar, as temporary settlements, and is therefore not willing to implement any infrastructure that supports long term Rohingya settlement.  For this reason the PLN would be a face to face weekly meeting, rotating to different CFS's within a designated area of the camp settlement.  It may be necessary for UNICEF to assist with the implementation of "cluster areas" as they have information relating to locations and staff within the different areas of the camps.

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Rotating the location of the meetings gives participants the opportunity to see how other CFS have been set up and how resources are utilised.  Sharing ideas, strategies and resources, discussing successful interventions for children who are suffering and traumatised, and updating each other on other relevant community news and activities, is vital to expediting a safe and protective space to support refugee children and the people working with them. 

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It is important to empower the people involved, give them the strategies to nurture the children who use their spaces.

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                                      PLN - Stage 2 – Radio Rohingya

Ultimately, my goal is to set up a radio program based on one developed in Nigeria with the assistance of Teachers Without Borders.

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The Nigerian weekly radio program is called Voice Of Teachers and offers professional development, educational news and resources to teachers and the community who listen and then offer feedback via SMS messages.

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The success of this initiative relies on regular access to Bangladeshi broadcasting facilities and access to solar powered radio transmitters within the refugee camps.  Given the attitude towards the Rohingya people and the opposition to any long-term settlement solution in their country, this access could be difficult to establish and costly to implement. However there are other options that may offer a solution to this problem. 

 

The free mobile phone application "WhatsApp" is being used by Rohingya refugees to share pre-recorded news from home amongst "broadcast groups".  This application could be used to disseminate information around educational groups, and while it is not exactly "interactive" it could still assist with the professional development of educators.   One possibility would be to listen to a broadcast at a PLN meeting and then discuss its application to your own CFS.