I went to Moses Van Der Byl Primary School, located in the Namibian capital city Windhoek. I stayed in my sister’s class (she is a science teacher at the school), where students rotated each class period. The aim was to see if reactions to the iPad at an urban school would differ from the schools I went to in the village.

I used the same steps/questions as I used in other class visits:

• Step 1 – Familiarisation/Creative Exercise (Ask the students to come up with a list of features that they want their ideal phone to have)
• Step 2 –  “What do you like/dislike about the iPhone (Positives/Negatives of the iPhone)?”
• Step 3 –  “If you could take the iPad home, what would you use it for?”
• Step 4 –  “What do you like or dislike about the iPad (Positives/Negatives of the iPad)?”

 

Question 1.If you had an 500 million dollars and you could create your ideal phone, what would it be like, what would it have or be able to do?
•    Should have a TV
•    Should have a Internet
•    Should have MP3
•    Should have a Camera
•    Should have a DSTV
•    Should have a Facebook
•    Should have a MMS
•    Should have a Dictionary
•    Should have a Alarm
•    Should have a Calculator
•    Should have a Computer
•    Should have a News
•    Should have a Playstation
•    Should be waterproof
•    Should have a dictionary
•    Should be a flashlight
•    Should be a hospital
•    Should have a world map and a world clockQuestion 2. What do you like about the iPhone
•    It has everything
•    It’s colourful
•    It has Google
•    Has a touch screen
•    Games are nice
•    Plays musicQuestion 3. If you could take the iPad home, what would you use it for?
•    I would use it to watch TV
•    I would use it to play games and read booksQuestion 4. What do you like or dislike about the iPad (Positives/Negatives of the iPad)
•    It is amazing
•    Transitions are cool
•    Games are super interesting and are similar to Playstation
•    I would put it in the dustbin (due to lack of internet access)
•    Very fun

Question 1.If you had an 500 million dollars and you could create your ideal phone, what would it be like, what would it have or be able to do?
•    Should have always be updating
•    Should have a lot of storage space
•    Should have Music
•    Should have a Camera
•    Should have Internet
•    Should have a Facebook and other social networking sites
•    Should have a MMS
•    Should be touchscreen
•    Should make video phone calls
•    Should have games
•    Should be able to send SMS
•    Should have a tracking device so that I can see where people are
•    Should have an alarm for when someone is trying to steal it
•    Should have a GPS for directions
•    Should have a voice activated password
•    Should have loud speakers
•    Should have two SIM cards
•    Should come with unlimited phone credit
•    Should be bulletproofQuestion 2. What do you like about the iPhone
•    It has a lot of program
•    It has a touch screen
•    It can play musicQuestion 3. If you could take the iPad home, what would you use it for?
•    I would use it to watch TV
•    I would use it to play games and read booksQuestion 4. What do you like or dislike about the iPad (Positives/Negatives of the iPad)
•    It is amazing
•    Transitions are cool
•    Games are super interesting and are similar to Playstation
•    It does not take up space
•    I like the way the pages turn
•    It has everything

Question 1.If you had an 500 million dollars and you could create your ideal phone, what would it be like, what would it have or be able to do?
•    Should have bluetooth
•    Should have a Photo and Video Camera
•    Should have a MMS
•    Should have a radio
•    Should make voice recordings
•    Should have games
•    Should be able to send call requests to other phones to call back
•    Should have internet
•    Should be a television
•    Should have a DVD player
•    Should have DSTV
•    Should have a computer
•    Should be able to talk to you like a robot

One of the main reasons for choosing a school in Windhoek was to observe whether or not the student in the capital city, would have different reactions to the iPad than their counterparts in the village.My conclusion, as evidenced by the lists above, is that there was no difference in student reactions. Whether a student is in the capital city, where they have more exposure to technologies, or in the village where electricity is a novelty, the reaction was fairly the same:  amazement.  The students are excited by and about the device and would like to use it for just about everything and anything.There was however one student who was brave enough to verbalise a concern that many people seem to push aside amidst all the excitement. In one of the classes when I asked what the students would do with the iPad should they have one to take home, a boy’s hand went up shyly while others were shouting over each other. I called on him and he responded with “I would throw it in the dustbin.” The student explained that because the device is so heavily reliant on internet connectivity for full functionality, he would not have much use for it because he has no internet in his house or at school. Interestingly, this is the place where I find myself. How does one make use of the excitement that students in countries like Namibia exhibit towards technologies like the iPad that offer a lot of learning potential, when issues of internet access have not been resolved?