Last week, we successfully completed the first cycle of our free course. We surveyed participants to better understand their needs and challenges, and the results were incredibly valuable. 📊
We received important feedback, such as the demand for more printed material for activities (as many of our students do not have access to computers or printers and need to study instead on their cell phones). We also identified that some of our participants faced technical and connection difficulties.
Another aspect to highlight here is the fact that some students had no previous experience in studying via online courses. This may have led them to face challenges in learning the necessary tools and in managing their time to study outside of classes.
Overall, this information is crucial to improving our approach and ensuring a more effective learning experience for everyone involved.
We thank everyone who shared their experiences and suggestions! 📝
Now, we want to share the next steps for Top International Project:
📚 Organization of the Second Cycle:
We are preparing for an exciting second stage of the course, planning for which will take place in October. We are committed to enhancing the learning experience for our participants. Here are some of the ideas and activities we have been organizing:
📱 WhatsApp group:
After registration, we will provide access to a WhatsApp group to keep everyone informed and facilitate the selection process. We will hold an initial interest meeting, where people hoping to participate in the second cycle will be able to share ideas and clarify doubts. This will ensure everyone is aligned with our course and up to date with other important project updates.
🗣️ Conversation groups:
We will organize conversation groups for the community, with the final aim being to launch the second course in February. This decision was made with consideration to the fact that our courses normally run over four months each semester. It takes a few weeks to publish the courses, and we are just a few months away from Christmas already. Based on our experience, we know that people tend to lose focus a little in December and January. Therefore, we think that holding relaxed conversation groups during these months could be beneficial for students, helping them to maintain momentum before the next course launches. Furthermore, this initiative represents an excellent opportunity to attract new community members to participate with us.
Aside from this, there are several courses in the Brizolão area here in Morro do Cantagalo, offered by Faetec and MUF, however, they only serve adults. We have heard that people want more opportunities to practice speaking, and many of them are looking forward to the chance to practice, especially with native teachers.
✍️ Workshops:
We are considering the idea of holding monthly workshops to provide new opportunities for learning and content offerings with important and relevant topics for community members, in a more concise and accessible way. Workshops can help spark the interest of both beginners and those who have already progressed to more advanced levels; as such, participants, regardless of their level of proficiency, can take advantage of these opportunities in a welcoming and inclusive way.
The duration of the workshops will vary, ranging from 1 to 2-hour sessions to programs lasting 2 to 3 consecutive days.
🏢 In-Person Activities:
We are considering the possibility of using a space within the Morro do Cantagalo community to hold conversation groups, workshops and, in the future, the course in person. This is especially important as many of the first cycle participants, including children, faced challenges when accessing the online course. This initiative will allow us to meet these needs and reach an even broader audience.
If we have the opportunity to use the space, we will continue to offer activities online; in addition, we can also carry out live streams with one of our teachers while participants are studying in person.
In-person educational activities can offer a more focused learning environment and a break from the routine. Leaving home, disconnecting from the digital world, and having the opportunity to interact and connect in person are highly valued experiences these days. In fact, during our previous in-person classes, some of our participants even brought something delicious to share, and everyone enjoyed these moments a great deal! 🍪
After completing these activities, we plan to send out additional surveys to gauge people's interest in participating in the full course.
📚 Paid Options:
Currently, our capacity for the free group classes is limited to just 3 groups and one weekly conversation class/meeting due to the lack of financial support and resources to sustain our initiative. This is because we use the funds from our private classes to maintain the project.
Some students reported in the questionnaire, and during the first cycle, that a personal investment often makes dedication to learning stronger. Even if this is a low value, it makes the person commit to participating in the classes. After all, nobody wants to lose money, right? So, we are also exploring the possibility of allowing voluntary contributions from participants, which would go towards creating digital materials and exercise booklets, especially useful for our young learners. 📚
However, we want to emphasize that the free course will continue to be available. Additionally, if we can obtain the necessary space inside the Community Center in Morro do Cantagalo, all of our classes for the residents of the favela/community will remain free (both in-person and online). The donation would be optional, and as we mentioned before, the free classes are offered on a limited basis (they will continue to be once a week). But we are also planning to offer paid groups for those who wish to further their studies with additional and complementary classes. The money received from the donations and additional group classes, in turn, will allow us to put money back into the project to pay for materials and the other expenses we have to keep it running.
We are committed to creating a positive and professional learning environment that meets everyone's needs and expectations. As such, we will continue working to improve our teaching methods and the materials we use. At the moment, we are organizing a plan to create a volunteer campaign, so that we can do even more to help out the community.
Thank you so much for being part of our journey with this educational project!
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