I2d, Inc.

Description

The typical classroom in the Caribbean consists of a number of desks and chairs neatly arranged in military style, like soldiers on the drill range. The classroom is dominated by a black board, sometimes green in colour. The teacher, chalk in hand, reigns like a monarch in the classroom. The students with eyes riveted on the teacher, hangs on his or her every word, which in the classroom is almost gospel. Words, sentences, phrases written on the blackboard are copied into notebooks using pencil or pen, memorized and etched into the brain to last a lifetime. The power of the teacher to influence young minds and teenagers cannot be overestimated, I meet my teachers on the streets today and still call them Sir and Mam. But this scenario is changing as technology is introduced into classrooms all over the Caribbean, like a slow moving vehicle, slowing gathering speed, there is a sea change sweeping our classrooms. This is not to say that our classrooms did not have technology before, but this was limited to television, radio and on an infrequent basis, the VCR, the overhead projector and slide viewer. The personal computer and the Internet has transformed our personal and business lives, therefore applying this technology to the classroom is a natural progression. Caribbean governments like governments in other parts of the world are also creating the digital classroom. For example, in the UK, there is one computer for every six pupils in secondary school and one computer for every nine pupils in primary schools. Ninety nine percent of schools are connected to the Internet. More than 240,000 teachers have competed ICT training and teacher confidence in ICT has improved from 63% in 1998 to 77% in 2002. The Eductech project in Barbados seeks to have a computer to student ratio of one to four. The digital classroom consists of computers, educational software, productivity software such as word processors, spreadsheets and presentation software, projectors capable of projecting the image of the computer screen, interactive whiteboards, digital cameras, camcorders, personal digital assistants (PDA) and Internet access. Access to the Internet can be used for reading lessons, chatting with school children (cyber class mates) in other parts of the world, conducting research for class presentations and for homework assignments, sending email etc. The digital classroom will ensure that graduating students are better equipped to enter the workforce, where technology is standard practice. It will change the way teachers teach, may impact their status in the classroom and will definitely alter the way students learn. The starting point for the digital classroom is the teacher. Teachers must be trained how to effectively use the technology for planning and student instruction. This is the first challenge, as most teachers will find that students will take to the technology like a “duck to water,” and if the teacher cannot fully grasp the technology, immediately there will be a power shift in the classroom. The following simple example illustrates the range of technologies a teacher must master to make a presentation to the class.

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