Teachers receive instruction in the use of their laptops

St. John’s Antigua- The Ministry of Education on Friday completed training for 100 teachers who are to return to the classroom and better utilise technology in their work.

Last year, government embarked on an initiative with telecommunications company LIME, which saw in excess of 1,600 laptops being distributed to the nation’s teachers.

Ministry officials said the maximisation of these laptops to the benefit of students is key and hence the reason for the training.

“It’s also to make learning more fun,” said Stacey Mascall, who has responsibility for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in the island’s schools.

She denied suggestions that the laptops distributed in October are being under-utilised.

“The laptops were just distributed and we have not yet provided the necessary training,” Mascall said. “The first thing is to give them the tool and now it’s for us to play our part to ensure that the training is provided.

“After the training, we will be able to monitor how frequently it is used in the classroom,” Mascall added.

Training took place in Microsoft Excel, Word, and hardware.

“We had people coming in taking apart a PC,” she noted.

Trouble-shooting, the use of the Internet and networking also formed part of the training.

The Ministry of Education official told OBSERVER Media that the plan is to train all the island’s teachers to better utilise the technology.

She said her department also needs other educational equipment for the classroom like projectors and screens.

“We are throwing out that call to business people to join forces with us as we embark on this very important initiative,” Mascall said.