Module 1B-3-Activity 1: Audit

Self-activity- IB-3

In weighing in on the use of ICT used in my school, I have documented the following:-

Using the Internet to gather information

Teachers employ the use of the internet to gather information for lesson plans, worksheets and other support tools that enhance the teaching- learning process. Our students utilise the IT Lab at our school or have internet access at home to do assignments or to do follow up studies on new concepts.

Research and projects

This is the most common usage of acquiring information amongst teachers and students. However as the readings indicated, highlighted plagiarism amongst students becomes an issue.  Strategies that encourages students to engage in critical thinking skills to know how to use the information researched is of vital importance 

Educators develop activities using online resources

This aspect of ICT has not been tapped into yet and we hope that in the not too distant future this will become a reality.

Using Educational Software

Just recently our school was transformed into a Secondary School. As such we were introduced to a learning portal which encourages teachers to share their work and lesson plans with teachers of other Secondary Schools nationally and regionally. It covers a number of disciplines and can serve as a guide for teachers in that particular subject area.  Teachers can peruse the objectives outlined and plan accordingly.   I personally conducted a professional development session introducing our teachers to the Educational Social learning Portal known as NOTESMASATER.  At other times we have been introduced to movie making software, in Ministry of Education workshops where we can make educational movies for class purposes.

Computer Literacy

The Ministry of Educaton( MOE) has embarked on a drive to begin the process of engaging educators in sessions to develop computer literacy.  Summer sessions have been conducted within the past six years in basic skills such as Microsoft Word and Excel which lend themselves to direct use in the teaching learning context.  For example, Microsoft for teachers to prepare examinations and assignments and Excel to document students’ grades and other statistics which are sent to the Ministry of Education.  The Ministry of Information and Technology has also been instrumental in conducting free sessions in basic computer literacy skills in communities where they have placed Computer Access Centres. Our Community is a recipient of one of these facilities.  Teachers and students have opportunities of increasing their ICT capacity.

Facilitating communication

At present, teachers communicate through the use of emails and just recently, I have been introducing skype to the administrative staff as a means of contacting one another on sight since we do not have a a switch board. Eventually, now that the MOE through LIME has been instrumental in giving teachers laptops, we are hoping that instead of using the telephone which is costly, skyping a teacher may become a quicker and efficient way of communicating with staff on and off the compound

Information Technology as a subject

Information Technology is being offered as a discipline under the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) course and so all students are getting firsthand experience in the theory and practice of basic skills and applications from first form through to fifth form.