Blackboard ICT teacher thankful to woman who linked him to Microsoft

Richard Akoto Appiah, the ICT teacher who became a social media sensation after pictures of him drawing a diagram of Microsoft Word for his pupils went viral has expressed gratitude to the entrepreneur who urged Microsoft Africa on Twitter to provide him with ICT devices.

The ICT teacher took to his Facebook page to express gratitude Technology Entrepreneur, Rebecca Enonchong for linking him to Microsoft Africa.

He posted: "Hi guys help me thank this beautiful woman #RebeccaEnonchong , she is the woman who linked the picture to #MicrosoftAfrica. Becky , I thank you so much and God richly bless you abundantly".

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In response, Madam Enonchong said the selfless act by the ICT teacher (Appiah) had restored her faith in humanity, describing him as an inspiration.

She wrote: "Sometimes the world seems so upside down and then something happens and restores our faith in humanity. @OHottish you touched so many hearts and you are such an inspiration. Stay blessed my brother. Thanks too to @MicrosoftAfrica for coming through". 🙏🏽🙏🏽

Appiah's initial post was shared severally by thousands but Madam Enonchong tweet made the most impact after she tagged Microsoft.

"Surely you can get him some proper resources," she suggested.

Ultimately, her tweet landed the ICT teacher (Appiah) a trip to Singapore to attend the Microsoft Education Exchange 2018 where he received a standing ovation from his peers from around the world.

He also received some devices and software support for his students at the Betenase Municipal Assembly Junior High School in the town of Sekyedomase in rural Ghana.

He was also given access to the Microsoft Certified Educator Program (MCE) for professional development, to nurture his passion for teaching and build rich, custom learning experiences for his students.

“My students have some knowledge about computers, but they don’t know how to actually operate one,” he said in an interview today at the Educators Exchange conference – on what was his very first trip outside of his country.

But showing his class of 47 teenagers how to use a PC posed a fundamental problem for Richard as the school’s only computer and his own personal laptop were both broken.

“I wanted to teach them how to launch Microsoft Word. But I had no computer to show them. I had to do my best. So, I decided to draw what the screen looks like on the blackboard with chalk,” he said. “I drew the features and labelled them correctly so that they would know what-was-what. Then I drew what you would see on your computer screen after launching Word.

“I have been doing this every time the lesson I’m teaching demands it. I’ve drawn monitors, system units, keyboards, a mouse, a formatting toolbar, a drawing toolbar, and so on.

“The students were okay with that. They are used to me doing everything on the board for them. When I did this, it was nothing new or strange for them.”