How to teach computers without computers

I have worked as a graphic designer, designed my own websites, and have created graphs for scientific experiments, but this was all before I had ever taken a computer class. I have even taught a computer class having never taken a computer class. The only time I have taken a computer class was a little more than a year ago during my Master's, and that was taught without using any computers.

So I sympathized with the kids today when we started the computer class with no electricity.

Kids mesmerized by computer. Eh... just learning Word.

I realized how difficult it is to really teach computers in a place that has irregular power outages. Without a computer how would you explain the difference between "Save" and "Save As"? Teachers from Banaras, however, are used to this.

Sanjay, the regular teacher, lets his words do the teaching. He gives great elaborate Banarasi-type analogies, which have dubious relevance to the subject at hand, but puts the kids in stitches. For instance, he was explaining the difference between portrait and landscape, and how you don't put paper landscape into a printer. As he explained, it's like trying to ride a bicycle in a narrow gully and then suddenly another cycle comes rushing the opposite direction. Then, what happens? You both get stuck. You can't fit two cycles in such a narrow gully! That's like portrait and landscape.

Uh... kind of. The kids may not get the point, but they had a good time laughing.

It was like when my biodiversity professor tried to explain how ecological niches are like seats in a rickshaw. You can sit more than three people, but eventually some may pop out. My classmates laughed hysterically as he explained it half in Bhojpuri. Anything half in Bhojpuri is hysterical, especially when trying to explain science.

So I in a sense I took my own Indian university experience to heart and taught computers without using computers on the fly, as there was no electricity. Today's topic? HTML.

I was drawing the icons for Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox, creating hyperlinks and images... all on a blackboard with a crumbly piece of chalk.

At the end, one of the students looked up at me and said, "You are a very good teacher."

The electricity finally did come back and we did eventually hit the computers (see above). We do have plans at the school to upgrade the computer classroom with a new battery backup and some new computers, so we can actually teach on computers when there is no electricity. I was thinking that solar hook ups may not be a bad idea, but that maybe a little over the top.

I was also thinking about what the child said to me--"You are a very good teacher"--not because it reflects my educational prowess, but because it shows to me that these kids want to go to school to learn something.

I've seen this multiple times these past few days. I explain something to a child, and out of self-realization they smile. When they learn something, really learn something, they are happy. In a world of energy depravity and growing up in marginalized communities, education is seen as a means to a practical end--a good job and a good marriage.

It's nice to be there when learning is suddenly not those things, and for a moment they're just happy to know.