The Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago, Policy for Information and Communication Technology – Pol. No. 01 Issue Date: 30/09/05) points to "developing our students into critical thinkers, problem solvers and lifelong learners using ICT as a tool/vehicle" (p. 6) and "to establish a technology centred infrastructure focussed on enabling the education system to be responsive to the dynamic social and economic environment" (p. 11). As an administrator at a secondary school I am concerned about the integration of ICT as a teaching tool in the classroom. This seems to be the real problem. The MOE has incorporated ICT in the schools in several policy documents and has also put in place several training programmes for teachers. This present course (EDRL6004) has exposed the mammoth task of getting teachers motivated to use the technology. I believe it can be done but the technology must be a good fit to overall instructional programme, complementing and extending the existing curriculum. Technology requiring changes in approaches by teachers generally do not succeed in improving students' learning. The critical issue is arriving at a shared vision for the integration of technology in the classroom that will impact on teachers' attitude towards implementation.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteI share your concerns about the integration of ICT in education and the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. You were correct when you said that I the MOE has incorporated ICT in schools in several policy documents. There seem to be a great divide between establishing the policy documents and implementing the policy. I have attended a number of ICT courses organised by the MOE however, EDRL 6004 really opened my eyes to the absence of a meaningful plan for training teachers in ICT. Moreover, teacher training is only one prerequisite for meaningful integration of ICT in school. There also need to be a technologically rich environment in which skills can be taught and practice and this is sadly lacking in our schools.ICT needs to be introduced in a meaningful way as early as Pre-school, none of the newly built ECCE Centre has computer labs. The MOE has to fine tune it vision before it can be shared with the people in the trenches.