Learning Journey

You have reached one of the final, and perhaps most meaningful, parts of your ICT Club project preparation: reflecting on and sharing your Learning Journey.

This isn’t just about your final app; it’s about the entire process you’ve gone through together as a team since you started. The judges want to hear your story – the challenges you faced, the skills you learned, how your ideas changed, and how you grew. It’s your chance to showcase the incredible journey you’ve been on!

Lesson Topic: Learning Journey

Section 1: Why Share Your Journey?

The Learning Journey is a special part of your submission. Its purpose is to give the judges insight into:

• Your Learning: What new things did you learn along the way? This includes technical skills (like coding in Thunkable/App Inventor, using AI tools, video editing) AND important life skills (like teamwork, problem-solving, communication, research, public speaking).
• Your Problem-Solving: What obstacles did you encounter? Maybe a difficult coding bug, trouble finding users for testing here in Jinja, disagreements within the team, challenges with internet access, or realizing your initial idea needed to change. How did you overcome these hurdles?
• Your Adaptability: How did your project evolve from the very first idea? Did user feedback, competitor research, or technical limitations cause you to pivot or change direction? Showing you adapted based on learning is a sign of strength!
• Your Teamwork: How did you work together? How did you handle challenges as a group? How have you improved as collaborators?
• Your Passion & Persistence: Why does this project matter to you? What kept you motivated through the difficulties?

It adds a personal, human story to your technical project. You need to tell this story concisely: within a 200-word limit and illustrated with 2 to 6 meaningful pictures.

Section 2: Looking Back Together (Team Reflection)

Before you start writing, take some time as a team to talk and reflect. Use these questions from the lesson to guide your discussion:

• Think back to your initial app idea. How did it change after you did user research (interviews, surveys) or tested your prototypes? What specific feedback led to a change?
• What did you learn when you researched competitors? Did that make you adjust your features or focus?
• What new technical skills did each team member learn this season? (Be specific: “Learned how to use cloud variables,” “Figured out the Map component,” “Learned to edit videos,” “Trained our first AI model”).
• How has your team grown? Do you communicate better? Are you better at sharing tasks? Did you learn how to resolve disagreements respectfully?
• What was the biggest challenge you faced together? (e.g., A persistent bug? Difficulty getting data? A tight deadline? Limited access to computers or internet?) How did you work as a team to overcome it?

Suggestion: Have someone take notes during this discussion, capturing key moments, skills learned, challenges overcome, and changes made.

Section 3: Telling Your Story (Writing the 200-Word Journey)

Now, synthesize your reflections into a short narrative. Remember the 200-word limit – every word counts!

Tips for Writing:

• Be Authentic: Write in your team’s genuine voice. Share your real experiences.
• Be Concise: Get straight to the point. Use simple, clear language.
• Show, Don’t Just Tell: Instead of saying “We learned teamwork,” maybe say “We learned to solve coding bugs together by sharing ideas during late-night sessions.”
• Focus on Key Moments: You can’t include everything. Choose 1-2 significant learning experiences, challenges, or pivots to highlight.
• Structure Idea:
  • Beginning: Briefly state your initial goal or starting point (e.g., “Our team started ICT Club passionate about improving agricultural knowledge for farmers in Jinja…”).
  • Middle: Describe a key part of the process, highlighting a challenge and/or a significant learning/change. (e.g., “…Initially, we planned a complex app, but user feedback showed farmers preferred something simpler. We learned the importance of listening and pivoted to focus on an SMS-based price alert feature, teaching ourselves how to integrate with online data via APIs…” OR “…Learning to debug our Thunkable code was challenging, especially with intermittent internet, but by working together and using online forums, we overcame complex bugs…”)
  • End: Briefly mention a key outcome or team growth. (e.g., “…Through this journey, we not only developed [App Name] but also grew significantly in our coding, problem-solving, and teamwork skills.”).
• Collaborate: Write it together as a team, or have each member write a draft focusing on different aspects, then combine and edit ruthlessly to get under 200 words. Read it aloud to check the flow.

Look at the Examples: Review the examples from Bionic Girls and Future Forces in the lesson to see how they structured their stories and what they highlighted.

Section 4: A Picture is Worth… (Selecting Your 2-6 Images)

The images should visually support and enhance your written story. Choose 2 to 6 photos that illustrate key moments in your journey. Good options include:

• Photos of early sketches or paper prototypes.
• Screenshots showing a significant change or feature in your app (maybe before/after feedback).
• Pictures of your team working together (coding sessions, brainstorming, meetings).
• Photos of your team conducting user research or testing prototypes in the community (with permission!).
• A picture from a presentation or event where you shared your project.
• A screenshot of a particularly challenging piece of code you overcame or an AI model training interface.

Choose images that are clear, meaningful, and genuinely reflect your team’s unique experience. Add captions if needed when you submit them.

Section 5: Let’s Reflect & Write! (Activity – Learning Journey)

Your Mission: Craft your team’s Learning Journey reflection (text and images) for submission.

Time: The lesson suggests 20 minutes, but realistically, thoughtful reflection and writing might take longer. Use this time to start the discussion and drafting.

Task:

1. Reflect: Use the guiding questions in Section 2 to discuss your team’s journey. Take notes!
2. Draft the Text: Collaboratively write (or combine individual drafts) your 200-word narrative. Focus on key learnings, challenges, and growth. Edit carefully for clarity and conciseness. Check the word count!
3. Select Images: Choose 2-6 photos that best illustrate the story you told in your text. Make sure they are relevant and meaningful.

Section 6: Almost There! (Final Thoughts)

Writing your Learning Journey is a wonderful way to look back and appreciate everything you’ve accomplished – the skills learned, the problems solved, the teamwork, the persistence. It’s often a favourite part of the submission for teams to create. Give yourselves a big pat on the back! You’re almost ready for the final submission!

Section 7: Quick Review (Key Concepts)

• Learning Journey: A required submission component (200 words, 2-6 images) reflecting on your team’s ICT Club experience, focusing on learning, challenges, project evolution, and teamwork.
• Reflection: The process of thinking critically about past experiences to understand what was learned and how growth occurred.

Conclusion

Mwebale okutuuka wano! (Thank you for reaching this point / Well done getting here!) Your Learning Journey is your unique story. Tell it honestly and proudly. Highlight the challenges you overcame here in Jinja, the skills you gained, and how you worked together. This reflection, paired with meaningful photos, provides powerful context for your entire submission. Finish this piece, and get ready for the final step – submitting your amazing project! Mukama Mulungi! (God is Good!)