{"id":4580,"date":"2012-08-29T05:56:21","date_gmt":"2012-08-29T10:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=4580"},"modified":"2012-08-29T06:08:39","modified_gmt":"2012-08-29T11:08:39","slug":"technology-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2012\/08\/technology-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Are we truly using technology in the classroom?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Across the region there have been calls for schools and teachers to cater to our increasingly tech-savvy students. Here are five factors affecting the use of technology in the classroom.<\/em><\/p>\n

With the recent release of \u00a0Caribbean Examination Council (CXC)\u00a0examination results, the quality of the education offered in the Caribbean has been garnering wide debate. At the launch of the 2012 CXC results, CXC Registrar, Dr. Didicus Jules, challenged countries to revisit the teaching methods being used:<\/p>\n

\u2026 the \u201cchalk and talk\u201d mode of teaching is dead and it is time teachers\u2019 start using the tools available to reach their more technologically savvy students\u2026 (Source: Demerara Waves<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"http:\/\/www.caribbeantrakker.com\/2012\/05\/cxc-touts-introduction-of-software-to-arrest-plagiarism\/cxc-logo\/\"<\/a>Dr. Jules\u2019 sentiments are not new. Over the past several years, policymakers, along with others who have some interest in education, have posited similar views, which (in part) would have been the impetus for initiatives such as One Laptop Per Child and the expansion of Internet broadband access to schools. However, although we have had varying degrees of success to date on such projects, there might not be any measurable improvement in student performance, evidenced by the disappointing results at the June 2012 examination sitting. What could be some of the factors that are affecting the use of technology in the classroom? We highlight five.<\/p>\n

Do you agree with our five points? Did we miss other important factors? Please share as a comment below.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

1. Still too few computers relative to the student population<\/h3>\n

Although the One Laptop Per Child\/One Laptop Per Student projects might have their own challenges (see Are schemes offering laptops to students really effective?<\/strong><\/em><\/a>), at the very least, they aim to put a computing device in the hand of every child\/student, thus providing a means to interface with technology. In areas or countries where such programmes are absent, the ratio of computers to students might still be unduly high, which means<\/p>\n