Student views on the 'How 2b AIDS Aware' CD ROM

Follow-up to Promoting AIDS Awareness Through New Media from Sarah's blog

During the pilot of the CD ROM 'How 2b AIDS Aware' in Durban and in Soshanguve I interviewed as many participating students as possible to get their views on the CD ROM, HIV and AIDS and the promotion of AIDS awareness through multi–media. Here are some comments:

"To most people things become more real if they see it. They tend to relate more to people that they see. If you see a person like yourself talking about something then you will feel more comfortable yourself talking about it, so I think it’s a good idea to use animation." Male Student, Durban

"I would like to use this CD ROM again. My younger sister would like it – we could watch it together and chat about it." Female student, Durban

"Learning about HIV and AIDS on a computer is much better than being taught by a person, you can understand it better. Because it isn’t a person standing in front of you where you’d have to disturb this person every time you wanted to ask questions, and you might forget the question if you wait until he’s finished talking. On a computer it’s easy." Female student, Durban

"I'd like to see less animation and more real life, based on real characters, people, maybe actors or something like a film." Female student aged 20, Durban

"The CD is very nice, especially because it has diversity of people and it makes you think about HIV and AIDS in a different way." Male student aged 21, Durban

"The CD ROM could help me help my community. We might start some projects teaching people and we could even go to rural areas to teach people how to prevent themselves from getting HIV." Male student aged 22, Durban

"The most impressive thing about this CD is the fact that it is educational, it’s user-friendly and it’s younger and older generation. It can be marketed at schools. It’s not too graphic, it’s better than bringing out condoms – I heard that condoms were going to be brought out in secondary schools. I don’t think that is a good idea because you’re telling people, you know what? Go out and do it. With this CD children can become educated. That’s why I’m a peer educator for HIV/AIDS, because I want to help and because they’re the next generation." Male student aged 21, Durban

"I'm a peer educator and we teach students about HIV and AIDS, how to prevent HIV and teach people about gender equalities. Many people don’t know about HIV and AIDS. Even some of them, they know but they don’t care about HIV, they don’t know how it can affect us. They think it is far away from them, they don’t care about AIDS." Female student, Durban

"I think the CD ROM is very good because one of the problems that we come across as peer educators is the material we use all the time. It’s pamphlets and books and most people don’t like reading. So when they see this they’re going to be very impressed because it talks, it’s a cartoon and people like cartoons – I personally love cartoons. So I think it’s a very good idea and people are going to like it and it’s going to make our work easier than before." Female student, aged 22, Soshanguve

"Learning about HIV and AIDS through a computer? Actually it’s a good thing because we use computers a lot and it’s easy when you’re on a computer, you’re learning at the same time. You’re part of it, it’s like you’re participating. So its really good. You know, sometimes it’s not easy to just take a book and read it but when you see the cartoons it’s much more interesting." Female student aged 25, Soshanguve

"This CD ROM is something that is so simple, so small that you can use it any time you want to use it. You can use it on your own if you want." Male student aged 22, Soshanguve

: 05 Aug 2006 10:52 |  Tags: New Media South Africa |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem