Using Technology in Jamaican Classrooms

     

                            Toscana Kindergarten students visit the Safari in Falmouth Trelawny.

        The 21^st century classroom is geared towards stimulating, motivating and improving learning outcomes for modern students through collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity. In this classroom both the teachers and students are equipped with the necessary devices to access technological resources which are essential to their relationship. The Jamaica Information Service (2023) reported that over 18236 or 83% of teachers in Jamaica’s public school system have received electronic vouchers to purchase new laptops in the “Laptop for Teachers Programme” developed by E-Learning Jamaica. With this initiative in place teachers can access a wide variety of applications which may be used to facilitate synchronous or asynchronous teaching experiences. The students were also included in a similar initiative dubbed, ‘Tablets in School Programme Empowering Students,’ which saw the distribution of tablets throughout public schools through varied avenues during the periods 2021-2022. With these devices in place teachers and students could access a wide array of applications to boost their knowledge.   Some of these applications include Smart Term, Zoom, Google Classroom, Blackboard Collaborate among many others which can facilitate communication among students and students or students and teachers. 

Photograph showing Blackboard Collaborate

Source: (Technologies)

            As teachers begin to become acquainted with their devices, instead of using the lecture method on these platforms they can introduce additional applications which can be used within the virtual learning environment. Some of these include Kahoot, Quizizz, No Hands, Wooclap, Online Stopwatch, and PowerPoint Games. Teachers can immerse themselves in the current technology to increase the engagement of students and management of their overall behavior. Students of course have their role to play. They should endeavor to keep abreast of all updates and new trends within the technological society and tap into these applications to extend their knowledge and use creative methods to collaborate, communicate, and apply critical thinking to problem solving. With futuristic artificial intelligence becoming our present reality, now more than ever students and teachers alike should immerse themselves in activities which will develop the skills required to function in the society of the future.

Video showing how to insert Quizziz in your lessons. 

 Source: YouTube: (Permiakov, 2020)

Reference

Government of Jamaica Ministry of Education. (2022). ICT in Education Policy. Kingston 4 Jamaica: Ministry of Education and Youth.

Permiakov, E. (Director). (2020). Top 5 Apps To Make Virtual Lessons Interactive [Motion Picture].

Service, J. I. (Producer), & JIS (Director). (2022). Technology and Education- A Benifical Arrangement [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl-TPKAMhI0

Technologies, C. (n.d.). Class Collaborate. Class Technologies. Blackboard Collaborate.

 

Let us interact: What technological equipment would you like to see in your classroom? 

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