Afghan eQuality Alliances

 

In May 2007, Judy Wick, a nurse researcher at Kaiser Foundation in Portland, Oregon, decided to spend her annual leave teaching lecturers at KMU how to use the Internet for teaching and learning.  She provided one-on-one tutorial lessons to Dr. Obaid, the Chancellor of KMU.  Judy writes:  "Dr. Obaid, Chancellor of Kabul Medical University was a quick learner during our fast paced individual tutoring sessions. One of his interests involved locating statistics and relevant information about prevalence of specific illnesses in Afghanistan. Within a short time we located information to support him during his communications with the media, international agencies, and humanitarian aid programs.  Together we also sought material to supplement his medical school lectures. One morning he said he would be lecturing on Leishmaniasis in the afternoon and asked if we could find information to include in his Power Point presentation. Using the internet he was quickly able to locate not only symptoms and treatment options but also inserted graphic photos about the condition to illustrate his lecture points. Another goal of Dr. Obaid was to learn to type quickly. On Google we discovered a free keyboarding tutorial which Dr. Obaid likened to his previous experience playing the piano. With this web based instruction, soon he will outpace the program and not only be an accomplished pianist but also an accomplished keyboardist! "

During her time in Kabul, Judy also provided instruction to nine lecturers on how to use e-mail, do internet searches, complete a Skills for Health unit, and create courses on ANGeL).  About  4 medical students followed her around begging for similar classes. She finally relented and worked with them on using e-mail and doing internet searches and made herself available for English language practice. 

Judy is ready to come back next year for more extreme adventure in Kabul!