Ronny Weinberger from Intel went to Africa to create a computer lab and train teachers, but ended up learning much more than he taught.
- Jump to 1:02 to start by understanding why that child is sleeping alone on the floor.
- Then at 1:51, Ronny puts tech jargon in its place and changes “User Centric Design” into something much more powerful – “Understand, Connect, Deliver”.
- At 2:57, he wonders, how do you connect with a teacher who doesn’t believe in her own abilities, and worries that a computer will take her job?
- By 4:02, all the teachers are using computers and laughing.
- At 4:56 and the end of the first day of teacher training, the headmaster pleads to have the first computer lab next week, even though his school has no electricity.
- At 5:42, Ronny demonstrates the magic that 1 to 1 connections can have.
- At 6:43, we hear why it is so important to see and be seen… “before I see you, you do not exist, and when I see you, I bring you into life.”
- At 7:23, we all discover why it is so important to find a “local Jane” and why we need to learn her secret.
- At 8:29, we hear how “How fast they learn, how joyfully they do that” when children have computers “not instead of a teacher but in addition to a teacher.”
- At 10:02, Ronny explains how after 14 years with Intel, this was first time he really “saw the Intel vision happening, actually experienced it, felt it”…and he felt proud.
Ronny’s experience shows just how uplifting and inspiring service learning can be. Every high tech company should have a Team4Tech to change the world and help staff feel their mission and experience how their technology is changing lives around the world.