By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

EDGARD – Up until fairly recently, when students in the River Parishes learned about Africa, they had to make due with pictures and words in a textbook. Modern technology has changed all of that however, and students at West St. John High School recently got a chance to interact with students in Ghana via video conference.

The exchange was set up by teacher Wendi Tierney, who regularly chats with her friend in Africa using Skype.

“Emmanuel is a good friend of mine from college,” she said. “I talk to him once or twice a week, but this is the first time with the kids.”

Indeed, it was a first in many ways because although schools in St. John the Baptist Parish have used the technology to interact with other students in the U.S., this is the most ambitious use of the technology to date.

“This is just a start. We’re going to be doing a lot of professional development this summer on doing collaborations,” said Coordinator of Educational Technology Bonnie Dinvaut-Irving. “I think it’s a great lesson. It brings it to life.”

Unfortunately, it was also a lesson in the limitations of technology as bad weather in Ghana interfered with the transmission and students had to wait for a while when the power went out in the African nation. Once the technical difficulties were worked out, however, students were able to gain an insight into what life is really like in that distant country in a way never before possible.

Simple questions about food and entertainment led to deeper discussions about the cultures and politics of the two seemingly disparate worlds. As the students on both sides of the Atlantic blushed and laughed nervously while asking questions, the similarities among people everywhere became evident.

Tierney said leading up to the exercise each student in her class researched an African nation. She said one of the goals of the day was to open up the students’ young minds to the wonders of a wider world.

“Here, it’s so secluded,” she said, adding, “They’ve been waiting for this since the beginning of the semester.”

At least one aspect of culture in Ghana, the fact that in some places people get married as young as 12, took the students at West St. John by surprise, but overall the students seemed to enjoy learning about life in the still-developing nation.

It’s fun to communicate with somebody on the other side of the world,” said student Kevin Pierce.

Dajanee Bethancourt, who shared with the African students her interests and plans to become an OB/GYN, added, “I think it was very fun and interesting. I learned about how young kids are treated in Africa.”

And beyond learning about each other’s lives and cultures, some may have found friends from overseas — again with the aid of modern technology. The class decided to set up a Facebook group so the students can continue to interact, and many said they would follow each other on Twitter.

Said Bethancourt, “I definitely will try and keep up with them.”