Over 5,000 tablets have been distributed as the secondary school leg of the “One Tablet Per Child Program” comes to an end.
Minister of Education, Petter Saint Jean, made the announcement on Wednesday as students of the last three secondary schools on the island, the Convent High School, St Mary’s Academy and St Martin Secondary School, received the devices.
“The fact that in October 2015 we have been able to distribute over 5,000 pieces to you, the future, is a manifestation of the seriousness with which we take your education development,” he said. “This final ceremony for secondary schools, to my mind, is just as significant as the first ceremony that was held at the Pierre Charles Secondary School in Grandbay.”
Saint Jean pointed out that the Ministry of Educaion is cognisance of the fact “that we live in an age when technology is intertwined in almost every aspect of our lives.”
“It now affects how you shop, how we socialize, play and even most importantly how we learn,” he stated.
According to him we live in a dynamic world, “a knowledge base society” where technology is rapidly and quickly advancing.
Saint Jean strongly believes that in order to survive in the post secondary education and business world, students will need to be computer literate, “so as to be marketable in a competitive school and work setting.”
“I believe that technology integration or the use of technology resources such as laptops and tablets should be a regular feature in classroom practises and even in the management of schools,” he explained.
Meantime, Minister for Information, Science, Telecommunication and Technology, Kelver Darroux said the tablet devices received, “did not come cheap.”
“It is very important as students you understand the need to take very good care of the tablets that will be in your possessions,” Darroux warned. “You have to ensure that you do not place the tablet in any way that water may fall on it, or while you are eating, you are touching it with your hands at the same time.”
He told the students that if their tablets are destroyed, they should be the one resposible for them.
He appealed to students to make proper and effective use of the tool, “so that at the end of the day you can see progress in your work and you can see the development of your education.”
Acting Chief Education Officer, Melena Fontaine, said the objective of the Ministry of Education, through the program, is to expose students to the relevant technologies while at school, “so that their changes are greatly enhanced, “in not only being a receiver but also a producer of knowledge and innovations.”
“We expect you to be responsible uses of the tablet devices,” she noted. “We expect you to use the tablet to access only content that is appropriate and relate it to school work and learning,” Fontaine added. “If you do that you will have a good and long use of the tablet.”
Fontaine is appealing to parents that it is their responsibility to learn along with their children and they use the instructional tool to prepare themselves for the future.
“You need to monitor their appropriate use of the internet and ensure that your children adhere to the guidelines for internet use both at home and at school,” she stated.
On Thursday, 1,500 tablets will be presented to students of the Dominica State College.
hose Tablets are not the same as the ones Skeritt and Darroux showed during the election.They even went as far as saying the Tablets were on island when in fact they were not .When so called Leaders lie to the Youth and their Parents just to win an election it is very sad.The evidence is there all You need to do is look for the pictures on DNO
This is shameful and should not be forgotten
Labour Ka Twavay!!!! All hail the brilliance and compassion of the mighty Dominica Labour Party and our great and Christ-like Supreme Leader, the right and Honourable Dr. Roosevelt M. Skerrit. The Uneducated Wicked People cannot afford to give tablets to our precious school children and do not have friends in the International Community that would assist or facilitate them in doing so. Thus, they seek to disparage this magnificent gesture with negative criticism. However, our students are extremely happy. They are singing the well-deserved praises of the divine Dominica Labour Party and recognizing that red is a blessed color that should be worn in 2019-2020 during the next DLP victory rally!
Whoopty doo…Serious time. Now, was there some sort of plan for these tablets to be incorporated into the curriculum? Are they going to be used for electronic textbooks? Have the teachers been trained? What about a maintenance/repair/replacement plan? Is something put in place to have the students return them when done?
Would be nice to have these questions answered. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say the answer to all these questions is no. Hope I’m wrong because if I’m not, this is just passing butter in people’s mouth. Politicians fooling the public all over again. Time we rise up and realize these schemes.
Perhaps the tablets should be left at school, secured , and used only for school.
Tablets relay visual images. Therefore to benefit from the “one tablet per child” program I have just launched a website specifically to encourage Dominican students to take a wider interest in the Visual Arts. It can be found at: [email protected]
As individuals and as a nation, creativity is our most valuable resource. Given the fact that at 30% of all children are creatively, rather than academically inclined, we would benefit if creative subjects were given greater attention in our schools. This omission is particularly apparent in the Visual Arts.
In the 1990’s I published a daily diary on the internet that followed my work as a painter and sculptor. Schools and colleges throughout the world accessed the site. Currently it is followed by art students in 37 countries and over the years a number of them have become artists in their own right.
I look forward to enabling Dominican students to achieve similar success.
Good idea but even if the tablets are taken care by the students and recycled I do not see this programme as sustainable from a govt point of view in the short/medium term. If students have tablets but teachers do not have … unless there is a computer in every classroom… how will the teaching/learning occur effectively? What training programmes have been given to teachers so that they can incooperate this technology in their teaching? These are the topics to be discussed at the prinicipal’s level and not “smoking people out of holes”.
The minister has been harassing teachers/principals to sacrifice and just for a delivery of tablets it has the minister, the CEO and who knows who else from the MoE entourage in photo ops. They don’t have work to do?
I have noticed that both the darroux and st jean characters seem to be scared of visiting the GSS. I wonder why with all the crap this st jean character been letting out. I do have some tp to wipe his mout. As it is obvious is only crap coming from st jean mouth.
5000 tablets that doesnt work. they start going bad already. holders of those tablets already stat reporting how it sticking and shutting off on them.
Thanks to the government for now making it easier for our kids to become more distracted and offcourse more seasoned in their immoral behaviors . we will begin to see porn vids , experience videos of fights in schools between students vs teachers , and students vs students . Lord help our children and save them from the elements which presented them with the tools to self destruct .
I want to know how these tablets are to accessed when the kids have no internet at rheir homes? Not eveeyvody can afford wifi you know.
stop hating
2500 still missing…he promised 7500. I hope they come with wifi too, and that the kids use them for their INTENDED purpose, not to watch worldstarhiphop and videos of Drake
the yutes them done start watching more porn on these devices. As most of them dont have supervision at home. They still come to class without home work and they cant add much less multiply simple numbers.
What you got against Worldstar and Drake?
and not record there peers fighting with each other and post it on facebook
I endorse the idea of equipping students with technology. However I believe that every teacher should be given a TABLET too. We have to upload grades and attendance on EMIS and some of us do not even own a smart phone or a lap top. Plus we cant leave our students unattended to go to the computer lab to upload information on EMIS. As for me, is a flashlight phone I have. So Minister of Technology, since you are technologising the students, consider doing the same for the teachers and I mean all teachers, both primary and secondary school teachers
Me self dont want these evil men tablets for when d devil come for his payment for my name to be on the list. Put more PCs in the schools.
i already see a video of a girl in grandbay school being beaten up in a drain right outside the school and guess what ? in that same video you could see numerous students recording the incident on those same tablets that are being issued .that is what those tablets are going to be used for that was only a start of what is to come . the government has taken a giant step to lower the grades of our students n school other than raising learning standards
Poor souls,they do not know any better,tablets does not improve the economy,they secure votes,Kelvar your pathetic.
GRELL, you have no vision no brains ,tablet helps your education in a much quicker way as not to be pathetic as workers suppoters .
Halo you making sense? Tablets are just political gimmicks.
It would still be helpful for policymakers to clarify whether there’s to be training for educators how to use these effectively. If so, then this is an educational initiative that may show real promise. If not, then this is just Father Christmas with his sleigh full of toys. And it’s not too late, if that was overlooked before, there’s no reason not to form a plan now.