VisiCalc: On the bleeding edge of technologyAfter my time at the university in Nanga, I thought I was probably done with the college scene here in Cameroon. Not quite. A member of my NGO's board of directors is an economics professor at the University of Buea (located here in ... Buea). A few weeks ago he invited Bill and I to give presentations on business and technology at a seminar for his students. So, last Wednesday we went before an audience of several hundred UB students (mostly economics, business, and accounting and finance majors) in a packed lecture hall.
Fortunately, we had technology on our side. The school had loaned us a projector, so we were able to set up a laptop and use PowerPoint for our presentations. I even got to include the cool VisiCalc screen shot above.
There were presentations by our host on the stock market (interesting) and by another Cameroonian professor on risk management (booooring). Bill gave a talk with lots of cool illustrations and animations and some video on how credit card transactions and online retail work (credit cards and online retail are not common here in Cameroon - the economy usually works on a strictly cash basis). I followed him with presentation introducing the use of information technology in corporate accounting and reporting. I gave a bit of history, then talked about spreadsheets as an essential accounting and reporting tool. After demonstrating how a spreadsheet works using Excel, I then moved on to a discussion of different types of accounting software packages from Quicken to SAP and some of the advantages and challenges of using them. I capped off the presentation with a demonstration of QuickBooks as an example of a simple accounting program.
The students seemed interested and we took some good questions at the end. All in all I thought it was a successful evening. It felt good to be back in the classroom.
Fortunately, we had technology on our side. The school had loaned us a projector, so we were able to set up a laptop and use PowerPoint for our presentations. I even got to include the cool VisiCalc screen shot above.
There were presentations by our host on the stock market (interesting) and by another Cameroonian professor on risk management (booooring). Bill gave a talk with lots of cool illustrations and animations and some video on how credit card transactions and online retail work (credit cards and online retail are not common here in Cameroon - the economy usually works on a strictly cash basis). I followed him with presentation introducing the use of information technology in corporate accounting and reporting. I gave a bit of history, then talked about spreadsheets as an essential accounting and reporting tool. After demonstrating how a spreadsheet works using Excel, I then moved on to a discussion of different types of accounting software packages from Quicken to SAP and some of the advantages and challenges of using them. I capped off the presentation with a demonstration of QuickBooks as an example of a simple accounting program.
The students seemed interested and we took some good questions at the end. All in all I thought it was a successful evening. It felt good to be back in the classroom.
3 comments:
Could you say a few words about how your presentation fits with the Cameroonian context? Was your collective lecture meant to explain the global market to students and Cameroon's place in this market? Or just the big role technology plays in this market system? I have roughly ZERO background in economics and even less in technology, so I am just curious. What I am wondering is, how is the information you shared with students relevant to their lives or to the employment world (sector) in Cameroon, if such a thing even exists? (I have been told that there are no jobs for most university graduates in Cameroon, but perhaps for economics students there is a strong employment market. Is this so?)
I am very interested in university education in Cameroon. So I do have some questions about it.
Thanks!
lol very interesting how you just bashed the presentation on risk management! haha reminds me of being in a class with an obnoxious professor! nothing wrong with the management of risky ventures! lol but im quite impressed with the whole idea behind the presentation, hopefully it will shed more light and inspire Cameroons young generation of business professionals into action! A great many of them have so much potential and in the not so distant future, I hope I have the opportunity of working hand in hand with them. well good job to all you guys sticking it out.
P.S: I worked with Churchill on his AfroVisioN Group presentation.
Hello there! You've just been tagged by Bamenda Babe! :)
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