Openmind Projects Abroad Learn and Volunteer Philosophy
Our Learning Goal. To stimulate, motivate, and help the underprivileged to learn for a better future.
Our Learning Philosophy: learning by doing. People learn when they do something of real interest to themselves and when they use what they learnt immediately after learning it.
People learn when they interact with others, engage in joint efforts and tasks and take responsibility for their own learning. When they are part of an environment with coaches who facilitate their learning rather than teachers who tell them what to learn by memorization, where they are free to discuss their ideas, where they are allowed to keep an open and critical mind toward facts and other opinions.
We believe in self-paced learning and we believe modern learning methods should not be reserved for the privileged but should be offered to all.
Our learning approach is independent of classrooms. Learning groups and simple learning centers can stimulate underprivileged students to start their own learning processes.
Learning is cheaper than teaching
Information and communications technology, ICT, is constantly improving and becoming cheaper. So we can help children by helping them use computers to learn! Underprivileged children in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Nepal don’t have the same education opportunities and resources as you. They lack money and teachers. One of our dreams is to develop teacher-less and cost effective learning solutions, based on how children learn: by playing, by trying and by helping each other.
DED: Demonstration, Exploration & Discovery for IT learning
Demonstrate a computer application and then encourage children to explore and discover what they can do by themselves. This approach requires much less teaching than traditional classroom education and is much more fun for learners!
Our Volunteering Overseas Philosophy
We want to create cross cultural understanding and acceptance: a bridge to a better future! When you teach overseas, teach English as a foreign language, help underprivileged teenagers to learn to use computers, help villagers to develop local eco tourism you the volunteer gain personal development! When you volunteer overseas you not only improve your cross-cultural understanding, you learn to take initiative, to listen to new ideas and other opinions, and to handle the unexpected! You learn to be flexible and open minded! You can grow a year in a month!
Your volunteer overseas opportunity is their learning opportunity
Why join our affordable international volunteer program
- You are at least 18 years old and want to take a gap year abroad, travel and volunteer overseas before you continue your studies. You want to learn about cross cultural interaction by doing, living, traveling and volunteering for a change.
- You want to help underprivileged children to a better future, to teach English in Thailand and Laos to help villagers develop local home stay programs and eco tourism and to introduce the world of computers and the internet to teenagers.
- You want to travel overseas to gain cross cultural understanding, learn more about the world and yourself as well while making international, Thai, Cambodian, Lao, Nepali friends.
- You want a career break, to take a sabbatical, gain new perspectives, cross cultural understanding, or to improve your teaching, cross-cultural, social or management skills.
- You are between jobs and want to find out about new opportunities, get new, fresh ideas and experiences.
- You are retired and want to volunteer overseas, to help others, for cross cultural understanding and to share your skills and life experiences.
- You are just used to computers and internet and speak English.
- You like to work with people from other countries and cultures.
- You are patient and flexible, independent, and willing to take initiatives.
- You don’t need a four-star accommodation but gladly accept simple living.
What the international volunteer overseas in Thailand and Laos gets
An amazing international and cross cultural experience! An opportunity to teach English as a foreign Language, to teach English in Thailand and Laos, to support village eco tourism, or to train children to use the internet and computers.
The international volunteer overseas can choose to live with a local family or with other international volunteers! You get an emotional as well as a learning experience, the gratifying feeling of helping people, and the gratitude of those you help.
You will discover more about yourself! This is a unique and very positive entry on your resume or CV. Openmind Projects arranges the volunteer overseas placement for you!
Questions and Definitions about our Learning Philosophy
Digital Divide/Gap: the gap between those who know and those who don't know. In our case the gap between those who have and those who don't have basic computer skills because the latter have neither access to technology nor to anyone helping them to knowledge due to poverty.
Self Paced Learning: a learning style whereby the learner sets his or her own learning targets as well as their plans to achieve them.
Team Learning: a learning method whereby a group of learners agree on a learning objective and how to achieve this objective by cooperating.
Coach/Guide: the facilitator of learning. Inspiring and helping learners. Also in charge of checking day to day work and progress.
Demonstration: our way to show what can be done with a computer. Demonstrating applications and end products of applications. A way to stimulate and inspire learners to explore. Our coach guides the learners into the jungle for the first time!
Exploration: a learning style whereby the learner is exploring the computer and internet by him/herself thereby discovering their opportunities while simultaneously learning how to use them. After the guided tour, the explorer ventures into the jungle on his own or together with friends.
Discovering: while exploring, they will discover. While discovering, they will learn, the discovery being the reward for the exploration. Learners learn to learn, a critical skill for continued lifelong advancement!
Problem Based Learning: a pedagogical method developed in North America but introduced globally in Sweden by the Linkoping University with its pioneering Health University. The method emphasizes the presentation of problems to be solved by learners themselves, but with a coach or guide as speaking partner and also to assist when necessary. Knowledge may be acquired in any way that is efficient: literature, the internet, lectures, etc. But the initiative of the knowledge acquisition lies with the learner.
Learning by Doing: a learning method whereby you set up a task not only to learn, but to do something actively, to create something real. In our case, for instance, maybe to make a website using what they've learned about computers and about using English.
Learning Friendly Environment (LFE): a social and technical environment conducive to efficient learning. In our case, an environment that facilitates self paced team learning.
Learning Center: the actual site where the LFE is set up. A place where learners can find support and resources.
IT Learning: learning about the opportunities of modern information and communications technology, what you can do with it and what you can learn by using it. How to use computers and accessories as well as programs and software for themselves as well as tools for learning. Also, to a limited extent, how to actually develop hardware and software.
Underprivileged: children whose educational opportunities and resources do not equal the standards of the privileged.
