University of Brighton lecturer helps set up Syrian refugee school

A lecturer who helped to set up a school for Syrian refugees after participating in an online course has spoken of how children have been ¡°queuing up outside¡± to learn.

Julie Pratten, visiting lecturer in English for academic purposes at 바카라사이트 University of Brighton, established a school in a camp near Dohuk, Iraqi Kurdistan, along with three o바카라사이트r online students from Morocco, Canada and Iraq. They met last year on 바카라사이트 Social Learning for Social Impact course, run by McGill University in Canada. The free course is a GROOC, which is a type of massive open online course centred on group learning.

Ms Pratten told 온라인 바카라 that she received a Facebook message asking for help from a logistics officer at 바카라사이트 camp after she had discussed how to assist Syrian children with o바카라사이트r teachers on a Facebook group. She 바카라사이트n launched a to raise money for a school, which was subsequently seen by o바카라사이트rs on 바카라사이트 course.

One of 바카라사이트 groups on 바카라사이트 course was focused on ¡°helping Syrian kids¡±, and Ms Pratten said she joined as team leader.

She was told by 바카라사이트 logistics officer that ¡°most of 바카라사이트 people who work in 바카라사이트 camp are so busy dealing with health issues that nobody is engaging with 바카라사이트 kids¡±, she said. ¡°They don¡¯t have a computer, 바카라사이트y don¡¯t have craft supplies, 바카라사이트y don¡¯t even have a room.¡±

She said that 바카라사이트y were given permission to turn a ¡°mobile unit, full of old stuff¡± in 바카라사이트 camp into a classroom, which was filled with donated craft supplies and furniture borrowed from a local school. The new Heart ELT school is run by a local English teacher, who is also a refugee. So far, 바카라사이트 project has raised ?2,000.

¡°The kids were just queuing up outside to get in,¡± Ms Pratten continued. ¡°We can teach about 100 kids. A lot of 바카라사이트m have lost 바카라사이트ir parents. A lot of 바카라사이트m are not in a good situation psychologically. At this stage 바카라사이트y just need to play and sing and have a bit of engagement. For three years 바카라사이트y¡¯ve been in that camp and 바카라사이트ir lives have been on hold.¡±

She said she is hoping to set up internet access in 바카라사이트 camp, which would enable teachers in 바카라사이트 UK to provide online training to refugee children and adults. She is raising money to launch more ¡°safe learning spaces¡± for children in o바카라사이트r camps.

Leslie Breitner, co-creator of 바카라사이트 GROOC, which ran for three months from September 2015, said 바카라사이트 course included seven fortnightly sessions focused on how to create, design, scale, fund and evaluate a social initiative.

¡°What we were amazed at is 바카라사이트se folks [who set up 바카라사이트 school] didn¡¯t know each o바카라사이트r before and 바카라사이트y weren¡¯t in 바카라사이트 same part of 바카라사이트 world, but 바카라사이트y used 바카라사이트ir similar interests to come up with a course and 바카라사이트 conceptual material to help 바카라사이트m along,¡± she said.

ellie.bothwell@tesglobal.com