Tablet technology in the hands of primary school teachers is working.
Chief Media Resource Officer, Walter Harper, stressed this today as the Media Resource Department (MRD) presented iPads to another group of teachers in Phase Two of its Tablet Pilot Project, at the Elsie Payne Complex.
Mr. Harper stated: ???It appears so far from what we have seen, that the use of tablet technology, a spin-off of the one-computer classroom approach, where you have a computer, a projector and a screen, is a most economic and effective solution for teacher presentation.??
And, it is enhanced by the mobile technology on demand, that is, a tablet cart solution rather than a tablet per child.???
Noting that the Tablet Pilot Project represented a continuation of the objectives of Education Sector Enhancement Programme (EDUTECH), the Head of the MRD said: ???The Ministry is constantly examining and experimenting to find not only the best teaching tools but also cost effective solutions to further enhance teaching and learning. We now know the tablet technology is influencing the world and our daily lives.???
As he provided the rationale for the project, which was launched in December 2013, Mr. Harper said: ???We want to examine how best this technology can be integrated into our existing system; we want to ascertain if it is cost effective; if it is a worthwhile alternative to the desktop laptop solution.
“We want to use this technology as a mobile technology throughout the school, and we want to provide lessons, video clips, pictures for upload to education websites.??The provision of support by teachers to our website is the major reason for this project. The MRD is seeking to build on its existing website and we cannot do it alone. We need you to share with us some of your creative skills.???
Stating that teachers would be trained this term, he told the recipients: ???You will become proficient and very comfortable with it and you will be able to add to our storehouse of knowledge and information at our website www.mrd.gov.bb and share with teachers your work as we seek to create a forum for online collaboration, discussions and pooling of ideas and sharing of resources.???
Assessing the first phase of the programme, Mr. Harper said teachers had already accepted the technology and come BMEX 2015, the MRD hoped to have some of the productions on display.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Senator Harry Husbands, noted that there was ???tremendous??? work being undertaken by that department.??He said he would encourage parents to view it on the MRD???s website and principals and teachers should also do likewise in order to enrich the teacher-learning situation.
The primary schools which received tablets during Phase Two of the Tablet Pilot Project were Vauxhall, Workman and A. Dacosta Edwards Primary Schools; Thelma Berry Nursery; and St. Lawrence, Holy Innocents, St. Mary???s and Good Shepherd Primary Schools.
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb