Teachers, students praise e-Learning Jamaica Project

Jermaine Francis, Gleaner Writer

VERE, Clarendon:

TEACHERS AND students of Vere Technical High and Central High schools have heaped praises on the e-Learning Jamaica Project (eLJam).

But Onnicka Minott, a teacher of information technology at Central High School, said she would like to see more teachers at the institution utilising the equipment and incorporating them in their lessons.

Head of the Information Technology Department at Vere Technical High School, Keisha Peters, said teachers are mandated to incorporate the e-learning materials in their lessons at least once per week.

"We have a policy where each subject must have an e-class at least one time for the week. This is mandatory and lessons must reflect this," Peters noted.

Both schools say a majority of their staff received basic training from the HEART Trust/NTA in data operation, and some also completed the Mico ICT Integration training that aims to equip them with more advance information technology skills.

Necessary skills

Clive Reid, head of the Information Technology Department at Central High, said training that is offered under the programme needs be customised to better provide the teachers with the necessary skills they would need to deliver different lessons.

"Though teachers received training, it should be customised to treat the needs of the teachers. It was a general HEART Trust Data operations programme that was not altered for the e-learning project," stated Reid.

Both Reid and Peters expressed similar concerns, noting that they were particularly concerned about the continuity of the project, as the schools would have to find funds to purchase and replace the tools issued when the warranty on them expire.

"The continuity of the project is something that needs to be taken into consideration. We are given all these great equipment and when the warranty ends the school will be the one funding the repairs and replacement. So when the time that the project allots for these equipment has elapsed, what will the schools do?" Peters noted.

A great project

Though the teachers have their concerns, they all agree that it was a great project, noting that they were seeing improvements in both the internal and external examinations, such as the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate, since the inception of the project some two years ago.

Nadine Thompson-Allen, Social Studies teacher at Vere Technical High School, said students were more receptive to lessons when she incorporates technology.