The Ministry of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training and National Excellence, in partnership with the IT for Dominica Foundation Summer Institute, concluded its 22nd session of teaching and learning with technology Friday, July 21, 2023.
The workshop lasted two weeks with more than 100 participants trained in Education Technology over 10 days. The courses included Building Teachers’ Efficiency and Students’ Self Efficacy, Using Google to Engage Students, and Coding for the Classroom – Moving from Passive Consumers to Engaged Creators using Google Workspace Apps among others.
At a closing ceremony of training, Minister of Education, Octavia Alfred stated that this program is vital to the education systems to prepare students to “survive” in the digital era.
“These workshops that you did these two weeks in information technology, [are] vital to education. As we prepare our students to survive in this digital era, and as adults, we need to fight to survive because it’s true peace our students are already ahead of us,” she said.
“In this 21st century, technology has become the knowledge transfer highway as well as technology integration which nowadays has transformed our society and that has totally changed the way people think work and live.”
She said as part of this, to prepare students to live in a knowledge-based society, schools must continue to consider ICT integration in the curriculum with an aim to not go back to pre-COVID days as students and teachers are the key players in using ICT in their daily classroom.
“I cannot stress enough that the spirit of collaboration between the staff of the ministry and the schools has contributed to our success over the past month and as we grapple with the new challenges to learning; a new style brought on by COVID-19, we are becoming more and more convinced that we should push ahead with the strides we have already made in virtual learning.”
She acknowledged that the teachers continue to innovate and come up with new ways to teach and engage students.
“We appreciate the need to further support our teachers in building their capacity and deepening their expertise and to this end we have strengthened our capacity in virtual learning and administering at all levels and we are now in a better position to provide training for teachers in use of the online platforms to reach students at all levels.”
Meantime, beneficiary, Joan Moses, said the practical nature of the activities throughout the training provided participants/teachers with the necessary skills for improving lesson delivery and encouraging participation and motivation amongst students.
“The [two-week] training sessions on digital classrooms involved utilizing technology to enhance the learning experience for students. It included various engaging and practical activities such as using micro-bits for hands-on coding activities and also, digital arts and word art were used to explore and promote teachers’ creativity.”
She noted that useful learning apps and tools were incorporated to make the classroom and learning more interactive and engaging.
“These resources can facilitate collaborative learning, encourage active participation, and provide personalized feedback to students.”
Training occurred at DGS and Newtown Primary School with funding from the IT for/Dominica Foundation with support from the Alberta Teachers Association and the Government of Dominica.
The program incorporated local instructors working alongside Canadian instructors.
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