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Oracle helps more than 1,000 Dutch primary schools become 'mouse wise'
Funding and free tools from Oracle Netherlands has helped the MuisWijs! organization to train primary school children in ergonomic computer use techniques. With Oracle's help, children across the country are learning to use computers safely and avoid repetitive strain injury.
Computer literacy is one of the core skills that many of today’s children learn from a very young age. While working and playing with computers provides young children with a solid foundation for future success, it does not come without risks. One of those risks is repetitive strain injury (RSI), a muscle condition that can arise from poor posture and long hours spent using a computer mouse or keyboard.
To help schoolchildren avoid RSI, Aps-it Diensten, one of the Netherlands’ largest not-for-profit organizations focusing on information and communications technologies (ICT) in the Education sector, has developed a project called MuisWijs! (mousewise). The aim is to educate pupils on the correct use of computer hardware in order to prevent RSI.
Aware of Oracle’s global commitment to fostering educational development, Aps-it Diensten approached Oracle Nerherlands to ascertain whether Oracle’s Think.com initiative would be able to provide and host the online tools needed to create an online communications platform for MuisWijs! Oracle was delighted to accept, and joined the project in December 2006, alongside other project participants Oracle partner Ordina and Achmea Health.
During the preparation phase, it became clear that the project would need financial aid as well as online tools and hosting. The Oracle Education Initiative representative approached all of the Business Unit directors in Oracle Netherlands, resulting in a collective financial donation of more than €20,000. This donation shows Oracle’s readiness to support valuable educational initiatives with funding as well as by dedicating knowledge, time and resources.
Together, the participants in the MuisWijs project have created a toolkit of resources, including a website with webgames at
www.muiswijs.nl, and a teachers’ resource kit containing lesson plans, a muscle tension meter and information on how to use Think.com in the project. MuisWijs also plans to create a downloadable desktop ‘widget’ that reminds computer users to take a break at scheduled intervals.
To capture children’s imagination, the MuisWijs project starts with the idea that a ‘mad mouse disease’ has been discovered in Japan. Users find that their computer mouse does not respond to controls and starts doing awkward things, like going to the left when the user tries to make it go to the right. To regain control, children must learn to use the mouse with both hands. The games on the website let children find out how ambidextrous they are, and teach them to operate the mouse equally well with either hand. When a pupil has completed all the assignments and games, he or she receives a certificate of ambidextrousness.
The MuisWijs project was launched nationally in December 2006. Prior to the launch, 75 ICT co-ordinators, with collective responsibility for over 1,000 primary schools received training from the MuisWijs! organization. They were trained in the content of the teachers’ resource kit, which they all received, and in the correct setup of a child’s computer workstation. The co-ordinators also learned how to apply for a Think.com account and thus benefit from the free tools and hosting supplied by Oracle .
MuisWijs has been set up as a partner organization in Think.com. In addition to working with Oracle, it collaborates with
www.gavoorgezond.nl ; a national campaign aimed at increasing schools’ awareness of health issues. The campaign focuses on exercise, nutrition, emotional development, and on the proper use of computers.
In November, MuisWijs was featured in one of the most popular Dutch children’s television programs; Jetix. It is also expecting to be covered in the Jeugd Journaal, a news bulletin for children up to age 14.
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