Most students showed significant improvement in their performance in literacy and Mathematics with boys outperforming girls following their completion of the Technology Enrichment Programme (TEP) an initiative organized by e-Learning Jamaica Company (e-Ljam).

Dr. Christopher Clarke, Principal of Shortwood Teachers’ College (left) presents a certificate to a student at the Technology Enrichment Programme (TEP) awards function at the Convent of Mercy “Alpha” in Kingston on April 18.

The TEP which had the full support of the Ministry of Education, involved the use information and communications technologies (ICTs) to assist learning in 30 high schools.

“The use of interactive computer software in assisting students to learn at their own pace and in their own time was very important”, Chief Executive Officer and Project Manager of e-Ljam Mrs. Avrill Crawford disclosed at a function to honour those students who had showed marked improvement in literacy/numeracy skills.

Guest speaker at the function, Dr. Christopher Clarke, Principal (Acting) of Shortwood Teachers’ College commended the students on their performance as well as e-Ljam, the teachers, coordinators, volunteers and parents who assisted in their success.

Quoting from the words of former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, Dr. Clarke implored the students to “never, never, never give up” in their quest for excellence.

“Do not let anyone tell you about where you live and where you are coming from; every time they tell you that, just tell them where you are headed,” Dr. Clarke said at the function held at the Convent of Mercy Academy “Alpha” in Kingston on Thursday (April 26).

Students and teachers of Yallahs High School in St Thomas are joined by parents and volunteers in celebrating their success in the Technology Enrichment Programme.

The schools were selected for the programme based on recent GSAT and CSEC results as well as the Grade Nine Diagnostic Test which is conducted in all high schools by e-Ljam.

At the function, the top five students in each school, as well as coordinators, teachers and volunteers from 11 of the 30 schools were honoured.

Sixty grade seven and eight students were selected for the programme by each school which included Denham Town, Greater Portmore, Yallahs, Inswood, Clan Carthy, Cumberland, Haile Selassie, Kingston Robert Lightbourne, Tivoli Gardens and Paul Bogle High Schools. Stakeholders expressed satisfaction that the most of the students who had benefited from the programme were boys.

Speaking on behalf of the students, Kisean Williams, a grade eight student of Greater Portmore in St Catherine, said the programme had helped him to improve his schoolwork.

“It has helped me tremendously to understand my schoolwork and prepare for my City and Guilds exam.                e-Learning has done a lot for me and I will never forget it”, he said.

The Tivoli Gardens High School Dance Troupe thrilled the audience with their movements at the TEP recognition function at Alpha.

Ms. Pauline Corlis, in her response on behalf of parents of the children, attested to the positive impact the TEP had on her daughter, Courtney Smith, of Cumberland High in St Catherine.

“When this programme started at the school, to be honest my child was called a slow learner, and today this programme with the help of the teachers, has boosted her so much. I cried when I got the certificate from the summer programme because, trust me, I’m so proud. I wish that it will continue throughout the whole school year,” Ms. Corlis said.

Tests and an independent evaluation conducted at the end of the year-long programme reflect that as many as 76 per cent of the 1,800 students showed improvement, with at least two students improving up to four grade levels within the year.

TEP coordinator, Mrs. Dorothy Thompson noted that the students had grown in confidence and had improved their use of technology, while some had been promoted to higher streams in school.

She however cited poor attendance, lack of parental support, competition from sporting activities and inadequate transportation as challenges which hindered even better performance from students in the programme. She recommended that the TEP be incorporated into the regular school day for it to be more effective.

e-Learning Jamaica Company Limited in association with Educational Technologists at the islands Teachers Colleges, was host to over four hundred (400) educators at an Educational Technology Symposium held on November 20^th 2012 at the Knutsford Court Hotel under the theme, “Transforming Education in Jamaica through eLearning”.

Among the distinguished guests were Government Ministers and technocrats from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (MSTEM), lecturers, teachers and administrators from various schools and colleges across the island, as well as members of other education interest groups. This occasion also saw the launch of“EdTech Jamaica” an Association spearheaded by the Education Technologists.

Honorable Julian Robinson, Minister of State, Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining addressing the Symposium.

In his address, the Hon. Julian Robinson, Minister of State, MSTEM, stated that “although an advocate of technology”, he was “not of the belief that technology is the panacea.  He pointed out that the data shows that “on an international scale, technology by itself has not lead to an increase in the educational achievements of students. As such, technology will not solve the problems in the education system, as it requires other reforms to be undertaken”. Referring to the recent CXC results, he assured the audience that they should not be discouraged by the findings, as it did not indicate that the project was not a success, as the challenges we are confronted with regionally are also being faced globally.

The MOE was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Grace McLean, who brought greetings and gave her stamp of approval on the event. Mr. Clayton Hall, JTA President and Mrs. Elaine Foster-Allen, Dean of the Teacher’s Colleges of Jamaica (now Permanent Secretary, MOE), were also in the lineup of speakers.

Dr. David Vogt, Guest Speaker, University of British Columbia, Academic Advisor.

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. David Vogt, specialist in the integration of innovative and emerging technologies from the University of British Colombia, Vancouver, Canada.

Dr. Vogt’s address was centered on how the world has been revolutionized through education technology. He pointed to the fact that no longer are we  limited to access to such knowledge in “special places”, as ICT’s (Information and Communications Technologies) have made it so that knowledge  permeates the entire globe and is available for anyone who reaches out for it. He expressed the view that “we have cultivated our fragile garden of knowledge so well that it has blossomed and grown beyond our imagination, it is everywhere, it is flourishing and it is overwhelming”. Continuing, Dr. Vogt pointed out that the path to knowledge is all about learning, and how individuals who wish to become knowledgeable can be fulfilled without leaving the comfort of their homes, as this is done through the use of technology.

Conference Chairperson, Mrs. Keisha Edwards-Hamilton, Educational Technologist of the Moneague Teachers College, in launching the Symposium, expressed the hope that through the symposium they would be able to share their expertise, showcase best practices and new practices and establish the links between both in order to provide efficient solutions to problems and challenges being faced in the education system.

This hope was well realized as the topics addressed by the workshops and presentations included – Using Animation Technology to Enhance the Learning Experience presented by Mr. Wayne Sinclair, Real Rock GSW Animations; Bridging the Gap in Information and Communication Technology between Poverty and Gender presented by Mrs. Yvonne McCalla Sobers, Chairman e-Ljam; Technology Integration in the Teaching of Spanish presented  by Mrs. Kerene Nelson-Monteith, Teacher, STETHS; Microsoft Apps for Educators presented by Queenie Ko, Microsoft; and Technology Integration in Secondary Schools presented by Dr. Donna Powell-Wilson, Shortwood Teachers College. In fact the concurrent sessions included presentations by all 15 Education Technologists as well as other experts and full details of these are available on e-LJam’s website www.e-ljam.net.

Participants were elated at the highly professional presentations and the opportunities presented for exchange and networking and expressed the hope that this opportunity for professional development would be made available on an annual basis.

The Symposium was well supported by various sponsors. Leading was CaribbeaniSchool as Major Sponsor, supported by Gold Sponsors Microsoft, VSCHOOLZ, Silver Sponsors KBC Learning, Dell International, Pearson/SuccessMaker, while Dekal SUPERWIFI provided Wireless Internet and Power 106 was the media partner who had a very informative outside broadcast from the venue.

Members of EdTech Jamaica unveil/launch their newly formed Association.

EdTech Jamaica is an Association formed by the 15 lecturers from the ten teachers colleges who were granted scholarships by e-LJam to pursue an online Master of Education Technology Degree from the University of British Colombia in Vancouver, Canada. The aim of this group is to provide a platform for educators to share best practices, to harness the technological skills of contemporary society, to inspire interest and energy for the creation of new and emerging trends in addition to being the cradle and the repository of ideas related to technology in the present education system. The inaugural Executive includes President, Dr. Donna Powell Wilson, Vice –President, Venturo Bryan; Secretary, Norma Williams; Treasurer, Kirk Smith; Training and Events Coordinator, Mrs. Keisha Edwards-Hamilton; Research Officer, Mrs. Denise Stoney-James; and Business Ventures Officer, Ms. Kerry Ann Henry.

The resource was adapted specifically for e-learning Jamaica by a joint team comprising representatives from the University of Technology and local math teachers and specialists, with direction provided by the authors at the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching (CIMT) at the University of Plymouth.

Education Specialist at e-learning Jamaica, Mr. Robert Philips, cites the programme as a significant achievement in e-learning Jamaica’s ongoing work of delivering locally relevant interactive content to enhance education.

“Any serious effort at quality improvement using engineering principles, typically focuses on methods and materials, manpower and machines,” noted Mr. Philips. “The provision of these well-designed materials completes the requirements of the main inputs to tackle the performance problems that abound in secondary school mathematics in Jamaica.” 

The Math resources can be accessed under the “Hot Links!” section of the e-Learning Jamaica Website (http://www.e-ljam.net/ ) or you simply click here.

To visit the course you first need to have an account for the Item Bank.  If you have one already, you simply login then click the System Administration course.  If you do not have an account however, you can create a login for the site.  An email will be send to you after you fill out some information with a link for you to confirm the creation of the account.  Once that is done, you can visit the site, login then access the course.

When you login, you will see all the courses for which items have been created categorized by subject and the system administration course.  To access any of the courses you simply click on the icon for the subject and access will be granted.  The only exception will be the system administration course where an additional password is required.  Once you enter the password for each subject within the course you will never have to enter it again.  Click here to directly access the system administration course.

If you are a system administrator and you do not have the password to gain access to the course, please contact the e-Learning office for assistance.

1. Warranty is Dell’s system will reflect a date earlier than your rollout date.
2. Dell’s support team will honour the warranty as per the rollout date but ONLY IF a scan of the rollout document is emailed to the representative.
3. It is strongly advised that any reporting of warranty issues be handled through Dell Chat and not over a voice call as there will be no proof of what was said in the event the is a need for e-Learning to intervene.

If for any reason you are having difficulties finding said sign off documents, please contact e-Learning.

System Adminstrators, see training materials, resources, forums, etc. available at the e-learning Item Bank. Contact the e-Learning Office for access today!

1. Technology Infrastructure

• As planned, as at August 2009, all existing public high schools (162), 8 Teachers Colleges and 6 Special Schools (students with learning and physical disabilities), equipped with computers and local area networks and audiovisual equipment delivered to 5 Community Colleges
• Technical specifications for the Central Repository for Educational Materials (CREM) finalised for hosting at the Ministry of Education (MOE), Interim repository established on e-LJam web-site

2. Instructional Materials

• Teachers and Students Instructional Materials (TIMs and SIMs) for English, Mathematics, Biology and Information Technology acquired and delivered to all public High Schools and Teachers Colleges and Hydel High School (Independent school included in the pilot project), Chemistry delivered to pilot schools only
• The Joint Board of Teacher Education (JBTE) Foundation – UWI Mona and University of Technology (UTECH)/University of Plymouth contracted to develop Govn-owned materials for English, Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology; materials for terms 1, 2 and 3 completed and being site tested in pilot schools.
• 40 video lectures produced 10 each for English, Biology, Mathematics and Information Technology and placed on the e-LJam web-site, delivered to schools on DVDs and being broadcast by PBCJ as of February 2010.
• Over 11,000 items (test questions) approved covering all 11 subjects and provided on DVDs to all project schools and over 7,000 placed on e-LJam web-site (interim CREM); Item Bank used by students to revise for June 2009 examinations. Additional item writers and reviewers contracted to produce an additional 13,000 items by March 2011, totalling 22,000 – 2,000 per subject
• Mathematics, English and Science Workshops held for all schools, reviewing all materials supplied to schools

3. Teacher Training

• Over 10,000 of 11,400 teachers and lecturers  and MOE Education Officers trained by the HEART Trust/NTA, over 6,000 certified to NCTVET NVQ-J level 1 or level 2 standard, over 400 systems administrators trained in network management, approx 200 teachers trained as trainers in ICT skills
• The Mico Foundation contracted to provide training in the integration of the technology in instructional delivery, approx 2000 of 4,000 teachers trained/in training
• Collaborating with the Joint Board of Teacher Education (JBTE) to provide scholarships to lecturers from the Teachers Colleges to pursue on-line Masters Degree in Education Technology with British Columbia University; 9 of 16 lecturers currently in the programme and will become the Instructional Technology Officer at their College and be responsible for ongoing training

4. Continuous Assessment

• Grade 9 Diagnostic Tests in English and Mathematics pilot administered in June 2009 in 29 schools as a means of establish standard end-of-year examinations across the board

5. Project Evaluation and Sustainability

• JBTE Foundation contracted to provide Project Evaluation services, Baseline Survey and Implementation Process and Formative Evaluation completed.
• School e-Learning Implementation Committees (SEIMC) established in all schools and colleges to oversee the implementation of the project and ensure buy-in/ownership, orientation and project update meetings held with all schools
• MOU signed with schools outlining responsibilities of each party with respect to project implementation, deployment, usage and security of equipment and materials

Due to the recent state of emergency in the parish of Kingston and St. Andrew, the new dates for the 2010 Diagnostic Tests will be  June 8 and 9, 2010.  We are now in the process of delivering the examination materials to the participating schools across the island. The New dates for these tests are now as follows:  

TEST DATES

Tuesday June 8, 2010

• English – 9:00 am
• Integrated   Science – 12 noon

Wednesday June 8, 2010

• Mathematics – 9:00 am

PICK UP DATES FOR COMPLETED EXAM ANSWER SHEETS

Friday June 11, 2010 at your school.

Note: Question papers and unused answer sheets are to be kept by the school.

INTERNAL ASSESSMENTS DUE

Tuesday June 15th 2010 (Same as before)

Please submit the name and email address of the individual who will have the responsibility for the examination at your institution to register2010@e-ljam.net

Click here for further information.