Educators pursuing the first ever Advanced Certificate in Education – ICT integration are now better able to proceed with the programme, following a one-day orientation exercise.
The course is part of the European Union funded Education Enhancement Through Information Communication Technology Programme (EEICTP), branded under ICT – The ‘I Can’ Technology. One of the major goals of the Programme is the integration of ICT in schools and the community.
The orientation exercise was held on Wednesday, June 19 at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College for educators from the north of the Island and at the National Skills Development Centre in Vieux Fort for those from the south.
Lecturer at the Division of Teacher Education at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Roystan Emmanuel says while participants began the online programme a few weeks ago, Wednesday’s exercise gave them the opportunity to come together, meet their facilitators and resolve concerns.
“With any online learning programme you are going to have teething pains,” he said. “There are people who believe that you must be I.T. savvy to do online schooling, so you expect that they are going to come into the process with those fears. This meeting is to help them understand that we are there for them, that the support is available whether online or
face to face and that the programme is important enough that they should attempt to overcome those fears and other obstacles for successful completion.”
Teacher at the Grand Riviere Primary School Manasseh Joseph says course participants received advice and support, which will boost their confidence going forward.
“We’re being educated on how we go about doing the course online,” he expressed. “It’s completely online, so there’s no classroom setting. We are being given guidance on the course and an opportunity to clarify a few issues that we’re facing with the online programme.”
Principal of the Ti Rocher Combined School Judy Johannes said the day’s activity was important, particularly for educators who are new to online learning.
“Some persons were getting a little frustrated, since this is not our normal medium for pursuing a course of study,” she said. “It was an opportunity to see that this is not too difficult and that we have the support we need to complete the programme.”
The programme consists of ten courses and is modeled on the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers and the Commonwealth Certificate for Teacher ICT Integration (CCTI). Upon completion of this programme, the educators are expected to use the latest technology to meet specific teaching and learning needs.
Wednesday’s exercise was attended by eighty teachers and principals and follows an orientation held in May for facilitators of the Certificate Programme.
