Sri Lanka Education Development Program
Objectives of the Project
The main objective of this program is to help mould the next generation of Sri Lankan innovators and entrepreneurs through schools. Educational materials are selected to improve short term, medium term and long term educational, economic and life objectives for students. Most of the educational material are from world renowned organizations such as Cornell, MIT, Toyota, Ford, ABB, and more.
The programís strategy is to use underutilized time in schools for continuing education, productive work, team building, technological transfer and development of a more broad-minded student to face the world.
This program uses available underutilized time with studentsí participation. When a teacher is absent, or after school, students use a multimedia projector to watch the educational material and to learn in the classroom. This program encourages the development of a better future for students, society, the economy, and the country.
This program does not employ any paid individuals and all functions are completely controlled and managed by volunteers.
Description of the program
Usually a free period for student is fun time for them. This program introduces another option, something more fun than a regular class room lecture but that will still be helpful in coming years. Students may willingly use the new option to fill the gap and use their time for self-improvement.
A pilot program has been done successfully in Mahinda Collage in Galle and it is being in progressed with very good student participation and results. The feedback from the school was very positive and the multimedia projector was helpful as a teaching tool for the teachers also. After the pilot project, the decision was taken to open this program to any other school if donors and volunteers are available to manage the program.
The schools who are participating in this project will receive one multimedia projector and two memory sticks (total 32 GB) with pre-downloaded materials. These materials focus on various categories;
- Academic Subjects (English, Calculus, Accounting etc.)
- Study Skills (How to study efficiently, study methods etc.)
- Autobiographies of important people
- Manufacturing Technology
- Economic Development
- How to develop skills for future employment
- Medicine
- Industrial Automation and Robotics Technology
- Cooking
- Sports
This list will grow with students and teachers feedback. Teachers also have a flexibility to use these tools if needed for regular class activities.
Some of the other objectives of the Education Development Project are as shown below:
- Learn new skills in Education, Economics, Technology etc.
- Learn best practices from other countries
- Strengthen confidence in succeeding in Education
- Learn about future employment opportunities and institutions in Sri Lanka and abroad
- Learn about future Educational opportunities
- Improve the quality of Education by learning study skills
- Learn how to organize study time
- Learn to improve listening skills
- Learn how to take better lecture notes
- Learn how to prepare efficiently for tests
- Learn test taking skills
- Learn how to remember information for tests
- Learn memory tricks
- Learn how to improve household economy by studying better agricultural practices
- Improve motivation and vision by learning autobiographies of achievers in the world and Sri Lanka
- Learn sports and safety skills to be a healthy citizen in the future
- Learn 5S system to develop student skills to organize, order and clean homes, neighborhoods, and environment
- Learn new Technology skills for future employment
- Learn best health practices to be a healthy student
The multimedia projector we donate to the schools does not need a computer to project videos. It has its own player inside to play all main file types. This makes the projector very simple to use and it has a long life due to its LED bulb.
Presently Mr. Gamini Jayawardana, Principal of Mahinda Collage Galle is managing the project in Sri Lanka and a team of volunteers from Canada, UK and USA are managing the development and fundraising for the project.
How to support this Program
This program needs support from volunteers in Sri Lanka and living abroad. Volunteers in Sri Lanka could be teachers working in respective schools or intellectuals who are willing to make a voluntary presentation to the schools.
Mainly this program can be supported in two ways:
- Support to implement the program in Sri Lanka. Volunteer teachers are needed in each school to implement and monitor. Currently Mahinda Collage has assigned one volunteer teacher to manage the project in their school.
- Financial Support to purchase the projectors and other necessary logistics. We ask for the Sri Lankans living abroad to donate in order to support his or her alma mater.
If anyone is willing to support his/her alma mater school, please contact any of the team member.
"Projector for MySchool" - Progress
- Currently Projector for MySchoolî project is functioning in two schools in Galle district successfully.
- Currently 6 more projectors have been delivered to Sri Lanka to implement future projects.
- We have 14 more projectors in hand (Canada),
About us
We are a group of volunteers living in Sri Lanka, USA, UK and Canada working toward a one goal, to help our motherland by supporting the education of our fellow students specially who are studying in secondary schools. We believe that we make our living now either staying in motherland or abroad, as a result of free primary and secondary education received. Please, join us it is time to give back something useful to our own, people, society and country as token of appreciation. This project will improve life of thousands of studentsí future in Sri Lanka.
Volunteer group is also growing in Sri Lanka and other countries to fulfill this Education Development Project objective. With your help and team work we will able to expand this project to more schools in Sri Lanka.
Join us, we have a place for you.....
Please see the contact page for detail contact information.