How social media helped a Ghanaian teacher get a deal with Microsoft

Some people minimize the use of social media to get attention to social problems, some even share them as a joke and before they know it everyone is sharing their posts and it gets to those who could help them.

There’s a teacher in Ghana who educates his students on computer technology, without computers.

The man from Kumasi used his blackboard to meticulously draw a diagram of the popular Microsoft Word program, and it drew a lot of attention.

Many people even shared his pictures on social media platforms such as twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp as a joke.

“Teaching of ICT in Ghana’s school is very funny,” he said in a Facebook post alongside the photos.

After the images were shared thousands of times online, Microsoft promised to send him new computer equipment.

In his Facebook message, Owura Kwadwo – a nickname for the man Quartz Africa identified as Richard Appiah Akoto – wrote: “I love my students so have to do what will make them understand what I am teaching.”

Quartz said Mr Akoto’s school had not had any computers since 2011, despite the requirement for teenagers to pass an information and communications technology (ICT) exam as part of their progression to high school.

“I like posting pictures on Facebook so I just felt like sharing it. I didn’t know it would get the attention of people like that,” he said.

One of the tweets that got him this deal, came from, entrepreneur Rebecca Enonchong, on Sunday.

In her first tweet she did not know who he is and needed help to find him.

This picture has been circulating on web. Does anyone know what country? This teacher is my hero. I want to find him. #TeachingIsAVocation pic.twitter.com/k7d0ysKrDj

— Rebecca Enonchong (@africatechie) February 25, 2018

After she discovered who he was and where he was teaching, she tweeted to Microsoft Africa, highlighting that he was teaching the use of their product without actually having access to it.

Hey @MicrosoftAfrica, he’s teaching MS Word on a blackboard. Surely you can get him some proper resources. https://t.co/u8N3eXguXS

— Rebecca Enonchong (@africatechie) February 25, 2018

On Tuesday, the software giant pledged to send Mr Akoto a computer and give him access to its education material.

Supporting teachers to enable digital transformation in education is at the core of what we do. We will equip Owura Kwadwo with a device from one of our partners, and access to our MCE program & free professional development resources on https://t.co/dJ6loRUOdg

— Microsoft Africa (@MicrosoftAfrica) February 27, 2018