The Education Ministry, in partnership with the Commonwealth Of Learning (COL) and Microsoft Corporation, is focusing on implementing plans to develop the capacity of local teachers to use technology more effectively in the classroom.
Last year, the Commonwealth Secretariat developed a roadmap to implement UNESCO’s information and communication technology (ICT) competence framework for teachers.
According to a release from the Education Ministry, this internationally- recognised framework provides clear pathways for teachers to develop their ability to use computers effectively to support teaching and learning.
Last week, the ministry hosted two consultants from the Commonwealth Secretariat — Anthony Ming and Neil Butcher — to advance this important project. The consultants are working closely with Information Technology Coordinator Marcia Thomas and Head of the Management Information System (MIS) Unit, Yoganand Indarsingh, (both of the Education Ministry) to develop a six-month plan to strengthen local strategies to build the capacity of teachers in this area.
Education Minister Shaik Baksh
Education Minister Shaik Baksh, who met the consultants last Thursday, said that ICT is a major plank of the ministry’s Education Strategic Plan for 2008 –2013.
He noted that the consultants’ work will go a far way in aiding the knowledge- deepening process and the realisation of government’s vision to bridge the digital divide.
The ministry’s strategic plan aims to equip all secondary schools and 50 per cent of primary schools with IT laboratories by 2013. To date, work on laboratories for 70 of 110 secondary schools has been completed, and Baksh has reported that the remaining ICT labs will be completed this year. Also, about 60 primary schools have already been equipped with IT laboratories, and another 40 will be outfitted this year.
The government has approved some US$1.4 million for the purchase of computers for secondary schools, and the Global Partnership for Literacy (GPL) has made a commitment to install systems in 50 schools. Each school will have at least 30 computers. GPL has so far installed systems in six schools, and Baksh said he has been in contact with the organisation about its commitment. Apart from this, the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) is aiming to train at least 1500 teachers this year to use the computer as a teaching and learning tool.
Thomas has reported that, to date, some 150 teachers have completed basic IT training, and the training programme has been extended to Regions Two, Six, and 10. The Education Ministry is also moving to double the number of students sitting IT at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
Consultant Ming pointed out that, from this month until September, several essential activities will be completed.
These activities include development of a new set of training modules, a thorough review of two key components of the ICT in Education Initiative, a comprehensive audit of the current capacity of Guyana’s teachers to use ICT effectively, and working with global partners to secure international accreditation for these training modules and the implementation of a robust three-tiered governance model.
The new set of training modules for teachers is designed to help teachers move beyond basic information literacy to ‘knowledge deepening’, to harness technology more effectively in the classroom. These new modules will be developed by NCERD, with specialist input and support from Commonwealth Secretariat educational technology specialists and an international advisory committee appointed to provide ongoing advice to the ministry regarding its ICT in Education Initiative.
NCERD will also be collaborating with the Cyril Potter College of Education and the University of Guyana to integrate these modules, with suitable modification, into pre-service teacher training programmes, so that all new teachers coming into the system will be equipped with the skills required for effective ICT integration.
