Overview of the Education Technology Resource Centre

By Jacinth Gordon
Director of Projects

What is the Education Technology Resource Centre (ETRC)?

The ETRC was established through the New Horizons for Primary Schools Project (NHP), a seven-year joint initiative of the Government of Jamaica (GOJ), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with the major aim of facilitating the sharing of resources and initiatives among the 14 NHP schools in Region 2.

It is intended that this centre will use educational technology as a vehicle to motivate and strengthen communication among schools, thereby facilitating the transfer of knowledge from one teacher to another and from teachers to students. The effective utilisation of the centre will ultimately support the academic, professional and personal development of students, teachers and other persons within the communities by providing programmes and activities that are both hands-on and interactive.

It is hoped that this centre will engender partnerships both at the community and corporate levels, which will eventually serve to sustain this initiative long after the project has ended.

Historical review

In 1996-1997 when the NHP was conceptualised, it was felt that the use of educational technology in our primary schools was affected by outdated modes and methods of delivery and a significant lack of media materials to complement useful teaching strategies. Teachers were not adequately trained to enhance the effectiveness of instructional delivery and students’ performance in Language Arts and Mathematics were unsatisfactory.

The NHP was specifically designed to increase the literacy and numeracy levels of students in 72 selected primary schools islandwide.

The Educational Technology component, one of the 10 interventions of the project, was specifically designed to upgrade teachers’ competencies to select and effectively integrate the most appropriate modern technologies in the teaching and learning process. The original intentions of this intervention was to procure 150 computers for installation in at least 15 designated schools and to provide two pieces of audio-visual equipment for the remaining 57 schools.

However, early in the implementation process, it was realised that the project could not be implemented as planned due to the changing nature of technology, and that the pace of technological innovation would render these computers obsolete in about three years.

The intervention needed to be teacher and student-driven rather than technology-driven. The same technology support that is effective in one school may not necessarily be effective in another school as teaching and learning styles differ and this must be acknowledged when planning for teacher training and support in the use of technology.

An ad hoc committee on educational technology, comprising 28 persons representing varying stakeholder interests and chaired by the NHP chief of party, Dr Ernest O’Neil, reviewed and revised the Educational Technology component. In this revised plan six multimedia resource centres, one in each region, would be provided to facilitate the sharing of resources and expertise among the 72 schools. These centres were intended to be the “hubs” of the educational technology activities, in addition to providing essential resources inclusive of a library.

In April 2001, when the revised plan was presented, sustainability issues such as the management and operation of these centres during and after the project and students’ access were major concerns.

It was decided to establish one centre as a pilot, in order to test the viability of this approach before expanding to other regions with emphasis on professional development for teachers and content production in support of Mathematics and literacy programmes and to appoint a full-time co-ordinator to manage the operations of the centre. This would address the management issues and substantially lessen the need for time-tabling and the movement of students. It was envisaged that this centre with proper strategic location, infrastructure and support would develop into a significant unit within a tertiary institution and become one more link in the nation’s network of literacy centres. Given the location of two such literacy centres, one at Bethlehem College and the other at Moneague, the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Region 2 was considered the preferred site. In addition, CASE would provide an opportunity for collaboration with the pre-service teacher preparation programme.

On November 25, 2002, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture (MOEYC), and CASE for the establishment of the Multimedia Resource Centre (MMRC) to be located at CASE and a 12-member planning committee under the chairmanship of Dr Paul Ivey, vice principal of CASE, and in accordance with stakeholders and partner/donor consensus with implicit objectives to:

• Secure the site of the future headquarters for the centre.
• Organise workshops/discussions/seminars to sustain momentum and to channel ideas.
• Mobilise and utilise the best human resources available with the related agencies in the interest of the project.
• Examine the possibilities for the long-term sustainability of the centre.
• Create the vision, mission and the name for the centre.
• Put in place a management committee, and an organisational structure.
• Co-ordinate the response of and the contributions of stakeholders, partners/donors, customers and community to secure and place the technology, equiptment, funds and any resources required for project success.

Creating a vision

On June 25, 2003, the first visioning workshop for the MMRC was held at Strawberry Hill, St. Andrew.

A major output from this workshop was the vision statement for the centre:

“Empowering Learners through Technology and Partnerships”

In July 2003, Mr Horace Palmer was selected as co-ordinator for the ETRC. He considered himself qualified and experienced for the position as up to that time he had been engaged in a similar type of operation at Happy Grove High School in Portland, while he held responsibility for the library-based computer centre that provided service to other sections of the school.

In August 2003, the second visioning workshop was held at Jamaica Crest in Portland. The mission statement was created and unanimously accepted.

 

The Educational Technology Resource Centre will seek to enhance and enrich the teaching/learning process and the development of competencies in literacy and numeracy through appropriate and innovative educational technologies.

The name of the centre was changed from the Multimedia Resource Centre (MMRC) to:

Educational Technology Resource Centre (ETRC)

The historical review presented here shows that a fundamental shift in thinking has emerged gradually over five years that augurs well for education in Jamaica. We have demonstrated our ability to adapt; to be flexible and innovative; to discern changing conditions and to act speedily to accomplish our goals.

Forward: With a positive vision

The approach has been to hold on to those principles and methodologies tested and proven sound; to cast off old ideas, old structures, old systems, and old ways of doing things, which impede rather than advance. We are now putting in place 21st century technology that will serve the people rather than the people being enslaved by the technology. Even though often forced to act within the constraints of objective reality our vision remains limitless. The ETRC is being positioned to be the catalyst for profound changes at all levels of the educational systems. The critical challenge of the ETRC is to enhance numeracy and literacy at the primary school age level through instructional web-based technology in order to meet the most diverse needs in teaching and learning.

The success of this centre is dependent on:
• Our teachers, who will now avail themselves to fully utilise the resources provided at the centre to improve their quality of teaching, which will then enhance students’ performance.

• Other stakeholders/partners, such as our education officers, college students, lecturers, parents, business enterprises and other community persons who will utilise the centre as a resource facility for educational advancement inclusive of research and professional growth and development.

Given the challenges for sustainability, the partnership between the ETRC, the schools and the community must be kept vibrant. There must be a conscious effort by all stakeholders to maintain a high level of performance in its operations.

Currently we are operating in one region, within the structure of the MOEYC, but it is envisioned that this development will be extended outwards beyond Jamaica to the Caribbean region and even globally. With the rapidly increasing inter-regional and global migration of people and in the structures of unity which exist, for example, the West Indies Cricket Team, Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), and the Caribbean Court of Justice, it is not inconceivable that the ETRC could become the Caribbean Educational Technology Resource Centre.