ICT

The International Inaugural conference “Assuring Quality of Tertiary Education to Meet Global Challenges and Requirements. The Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary. Education”, November 3-4 2004, Runaway Bay, Jamaica

Proposed Caribbean regional standards for Information Communication Technologies (ICT) offered by tertiary institutions. Valeri Pougatchev (University of Technology, Jamaica, [email protected]), William Corry (University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, [email protected])

Introduction The Caribbean conjures up exotic holidays, turquoise seas and tranquil warmth and is regarded as a Paradise on earth. It has a myriad of islands and a kaleidoscope of diversity in its peoples and culture. It has a common legacy, which it has been shaking off for years as it attempts to carve its own place in history. Geographically separated, they recognize their future lies is in uniting economically under the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and combining their strengths and talents, just as when they play Cricket as The West Indies Team. This ability and recognition to ‘combine as one’ is both recognized in nation-building and sport, but now with the relentless rise of technology it is now one homogenous region. Now everyone is looking forward to the ICT revolution when the Internet gathers to critical mass in the Caribbean, just like the Cell Phone. ICT technology knows no boundaries and does not discriminate by nature. It is akin to electricity, invisible but has the power to transform or shock. How and what ICT is taught is the most crucial to overwhelming success. ICT in Education is for all and not for the few. No one knows where the talent will come from unless everyone is given the same chance to develop and blossom. So every country must afford this to every citizen. Education systems have previously been one-way streets where children are processed in a kind of conveyor-belt mentality and recycled if necessary. Current education systems were created in the Industrial Age and need to be transformed for the Information Age as they respond too slowly to be effective. The Real world demand for ICT Industry and the Real Links Necessary ICT education is new and is very important new dimension for everybody for World-wide Progression. As a part of each system of ICT education this particular subject has its own characteristic unlike education in, for example Mathematics, Physics, and Science. Contemporary achievements of ICT immediately become the common property of the people and this has been changing our lives in extraordinary ways at many levels. Achievements in other fields of Science are not so widely sharing these benefits and only narrow groups of specialists understand them and can utilize them immediately. This fact dictates the other approach in learning about ICT. It creates other demands on the teacher of ICT and system of education. Learning with ICT and learning through ICT are becoming new areas of influence in ICT. ICT technology has been changing approximately every 5 years, almost in a step fashion. Personal computers in the early 1980’s and the Internet in the mid-1990s have changed all our lives. It is a real ‘Revolution for Mankind’ critically comparable with inventing the wheel thousands of years ago. As a result we cannot stipulate what will be possible in say 5 – 10 years time for the education process but instead we must promote the idea of an adaptive framework that allows the system to stay relevant, receptive and fresh. This would allow the Educational framework to become a mechanism, which supports a streamlined two-way, demand, and supply link between Education and real-world ICT demands. ICT for the Teachers Teachers play a crucial interactive role in the adoption and implementation of ICT in education. Currently the situation in Staff Teachers Development characterized by lack of ICT knowledge and skills and is a 1

major obstacle to implementation, and consequently points to the need for further training for teachers. It requires teachers to adopt new roles as more responsibility for learning is given directly to the students. In most educational institutions, the organization of the learning process can be characterized as being predominantly “teacher controlled”: usually the teachers (or lecturers) fully regulate the learning process. If education is to provide an adequate preparation for the future (the information society), schools must empower learners to become more active and more responsible for arranging their own learning process. Roles of teachers: 1. Teachers will use more instructional methods that are aimed at stimulating active learning (group and individual assignments, practical work); 2. Teachers will focus their actions more on the individual interests and needs of students; 3. Teachers will provide guidance to students when they co-operate in projects. 4. Teachers will share responsibility with students for decision-making in the learning process. Roles of students: 1. Students will be more active; 2. Students will be more independent (planning their own learning path); 3. Students will be more responsible for their own learning (planning and monitoring their own progress); 4. Students will work more in teams. The learning process will become one of active knowledge construction rather than passive acquisition, more strongly social than individual in nature, and less focused on specific contents. There will be more emphasis on independent and self-directed modes of learning, in which good self-regulation is important. Preparing teachers to take on these new roles is a major challenge for staff development, which includes both initial teacher education and continuing professional development. Ministries of Education must give teachers the opportunity:  To regularly update their ICT knowledge and skills  Exchange their views through ICT on changing curricula and pedagogical practice  Integrate ICT technology into education These are the main and crucial requirements for the staff development process. Developing teachers’ ICT competence is the first, but not the most important step in teacher professional development in the information age. It is also widely recognized that teachers need to know how to make use of ICT in pedagogically meaningful ways in the school curriculum. Many ICT-related educational policy goals also recognize the need to promote changes in the roles plays by teachers and lecturers such that learners can become more self-directed and autonomous. We have to adopt that, the world of work and business is changing faster than the Education curriculum can keep up. During the discussions with the school principals, the heads of departments/schools of the universities and colleges, Ministers of educations of reviewed countries was indicated 36 major obstacles of implementing and using ICT within educational process. The result is shown on the slide, sorted by descending order of the average percentage: Obstacle Insufficient number of computers

%%

%%

70

Obstacle Quality teachers training too low

Teachers lack knowledge/skills

66

Software not adaptable enough

29

Difficult to integrate in instruction

58

Students know more then teachers

29

31

2

Scheduling computer time

58

WWW: slow network performance

28

Insufficient peripherals

57

Lack of interest of teachers

27

Not enough copies of software

54

22

Insufficient teacher time

54

Difficult use by low-achieving students Telecom infrastructure weak

WWW: not enough simultaneous access

53

WWW: Difficult funding information

21

Not enough supervision staff

53

WWW: Information overload

20

Lack of technical assistance

51

Software curriculum incompatible

19

Outdated local school network

49

Lack of administrative assistance

19

Not enough training opportunities

43

18

WWW: no time for teachers to explore

41

Software not in Language of instruction Lack of support from school board

WWW: no time in school scheduler

41

No plan to prevent theft/vandalism

15

Lack of information about software

38

Software culturally incompatible

12

WWW: not enough connections

35

Software too complicate to use

10

WWW: insufficient technical support

34

Poor quality WWW materials

9

Not enough space to locate

32

WWW: complicated to connect

8

21

17

It is easy to see in this table, that hardware is a major component of ICT infrastructure. Although the availability of hardware is an essential condition for being able to use ICT in educational practice, it is obvious that the availability of relevant educational content is crucial too. From above, first, rather obvious implication is a financial one: equipping schools and keeping them up to date with ICT equipment is a very expansive operation, not only due to the necessary hardware and software purchases, but also because of recurrent costs associated with maintenance and support and, especially nowadays, the fees of using high-speed Internet connections. We will now review each of the five Caribbean country’s ICT standards.

Jamaica. ICT infrastructure in Jamaica Jamaica wishes to be one of the leading ICT countries in the region but this has not materialized as fast as they would have wished due to several economic factors:  Poor School performance and literacy levels generally have risen to top of the political agenda. Less than 50% of Jamaicans passed English and Mathematics CXC in 2004 of the minority of those who took it.  Confusingly, Mobile Phone Technology held by 90% of the population is not true ICT take-up.  Budget cuts in Tertiary Education such as 16% cut in funding to the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus – the Leader University in the country.  Increasing the General Consumption Tax on ICT and related equipment, despite originally giving tax exemptions and other incentives to invest in ICT to improve the take-up.  Continuing high cost access to the Internet and slow access speeds by Cable & Wireless

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Against this background Education is now in crisis. It is not working as intended and the Education system requires a complete radical overhaul and a paradigm shift in thinking in order to meet the needs of the future. The Education System in Jamaica The Education system is currently experiencing much debate as it is heavily criticized for its poor results. In 2004 of those Jamaican students who took the CXC examinations only 39% of students passed English language and only 25% passed Mathematics (the regional average for the Caribbean was 40%). Significantly CXC states that for all Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate applicants English Language, Mathematics and Typewriting were the only three subjects to record performance below 50 percent. Forty-nine percent of candidates achieved Grades I to III in English, 36 percent in Mathematics and 48 percent in Typewriting. Significantly two of these are core subjects. A comparison with the UK, shows future core subjects are English, Mathematics and Information Technology, whereas Jamaica focuses on English, Mathematics, Social Studies and a second language. Paradoxically, in Jamaica, there are pockets of Hi-tech or Advanced ICT in vocational training such as Caribbean Institute of Technology, HEART Trust-National Training Agency, plus Technology companies and the strong Financial Sector (driven by ICT). However there is not enough importance attached to ICT in fundamentally changing Education itself. This is despite the best efforts of ICT based agencies. Some of these obstacles have been observed:  Known limited ICT resources historically given to Primary, Secondary schools  The conservative nature of Education and Curriculum  The concerns of Teachers for their present working conditions and their future careers  Historical misreading of the rapidly changing demands of the labor markets  Late acknowledgement to address the fundamental problems in Education  Inability to transform quickly the old bureaucratic Government systems  Inability to respond to the rapidly changing ICT dynamics worldwide Feedback from the latest Employers Conference in Montego Bay in October 2004 indicated that businesses were finding quality job seekers were hard to find, lacked basic skills and were not work-ready. The Educational system was not producing good student results and was criticized for:  Under-performing Students, indicating a present and future Worker Crisis  Resistance from Teachers to take productivity-based pay with poor conditions  Encouragement of Patois instead of English English is now the accepted world language of business. In the Caribbean Patois and Creole are very prevalent, outside school. This is becoming a serious concern to ‘middle class’ Jamaicans. Basic skills of communication in English for school leavers are becoming scarce. ICT Infrastructure Plan The Government has been much encouraged by the great success of the adapting to mobile phone technology in recent years. In mid-2004 the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology (MCST) announced that the Government was going to raise funds from the successful mobile phone companies by taxing 3 to 5% of their revenues to fund major Internet links to the island with several years. The Internet link currently relies on just Cable & Wireless. The Minister emphasized: ‘We [Jamaica] need to have fiber immediately as there is no way our information sector can expand in the way we wish. There is no way we are going to equip our schools with broadband facilities. There is no other way to get the population to have wide scale access to DSL and other broadband facilities at prices that are reasonable’.

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The Future Education Framework Requirement The Educational framework for Jamaica needs to be able to closely match what it supplies with the marketplace demand for work, not just in Jamaica but also in the CARICOM region. There is not a national policy target set in Jamaica for the Knowledge Society as with Trinidad by 2008. According to the latest ‘Development of Education – National Report of Jamaica’ dated August 2004 it states ‘one of the Governments policies speaks to the equipping of every primary school with at least one computer and Internet Service’. This policy is implemented in almost all primary schools except those without electricity.

Barbados Barbados has an island economy that has been built successfully on Tourism recently. It was a top destination for supersonic jet Concord until 2004 year. Barbados has a population of 270,000 people. There are 80 Primary schools and some 23 Secondary schools and several Private schools making a total of 108 schools. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education is free in Barbados. There is a 7-year plan to put computers into schools but it may take another 10 years to complete. There are usually 5 computers per class, but it depends on the school. There are 200 to 350 computers per school. All schools particularly at Secondary level have computers. It is aimed to have Hardware, Software and Internet Access in all schools and to make them self-sufficient in Hardware support skills. Government’s foresight about the need to start developing lifelong skills from an early age, led to the implementation of its EDUTECH programme in all public and Government-assisted primary and secondary schools. That is a comprehensive education reform programme that seeks to develop students who are creative, and who are critical thinkers, problem solvers, and trainable individuals. The Education System in Barbados Barbados presently uses the CXC syllabus and Mathematics as basic ICT necessities. However Barbados emphasizes that the CXC syllabus should focus, not so much on remembering, but discovery skills instead, as this is the future of education and learning. This is an extremely important point to them. The Ministry of Education notes that:  Children learn at different rates and in their own way.  Education provides ICT around them.  Barbados provides a range of diverse ICT resources to attract a wider audience.  Identify learning stimuli to focus on ‘Child-Centered Learning’. The Ministry of Education wishes to:  Document each child’s learning  Identify what is taught and how it is taught  Prepare the child for Life-long learning  Prepare for Globalization in a ‘Caribbean context’ ICT Initiatives in Education in Barbados Historically there was a fear of change by teachers and administrators, but this has now largely been overcome when these groups see the benefits of using ICT. Also in Barbados there is recognition that there always needs to be an interactive teacher, facilitator or mentor with ICT students. There is currently one Teachers Training College with Satellite units in Barbados for Re-training Teachers, Continuing Training required (at school level), Implement Leadership Training, Team-working skills acquisition.

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Barbados Ministry of Education also has Problem-solving Teams comprising on a Principal, an IT Coordinator, a Curriculum Developer or Coordinator. The teams organize training at schools pedagogy, ICT, and other issues. Education Strategy in Barbados As Barbados wishes to accelerate the use of ICT in schools, it has a 4-point education policy plan for ICT: 1. The Curriculum. Currently the MOE is in the middle of reforming the curriculum. 2. Major investment in schools. There is a holistic program of reform. This includes restructuring and rebuilding schools to accommodate the new and anticipated changes for ICT requirements. 3. Training the Teachers. This covers both leadership and ICT training. 4. Integration of Technology.  The use of technology in Administration, Teaching, Student Records and Archives.  Integration of ICT in the curriculum and in all subject areas by using all kinds of digital equipment such as Digital Cameras, Scanners, Digital Projectors etc.  Acquisition of ICT skills for both Students and Teachers. Barbados MOE also wishes to accelerate the use of ICT technology by:  Formal Training in ICT  Adoption of Technology  Selection of Technology Barbados has the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, which provides formal courses in Computer Science for First degrees and Masters. It also provides ICT training for adult workers wishing to become computer literate under the pro-active Government policy.

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad has a population of 1.3 million people. It has 481 Primary schools, approximately 200 Secondary schools making for 700 schools in total. National ICT ‘Fast Forward’ Project Trinidad and Tobago has a national ICT policy, named ‘FastForward’, personally approved by the Prime Minister in 2002. It is about transforming the country into a knowledge-based society by 2008. This plan aims to take the country to developed status by 2020. The national ICT vision is ‘Trinidad and Tobago is in a prominent position in the global information society through real and lasting improvements in social, economic and cultural development caused by deployment and usage of information and communication technology’. The National ICT plan comprises:Trinidad and Tobago National Objectives:  Provide all citizens in the country with affordable Internet access  Focus on the development of the children, and adult skills to ensure a sustainable solution and a vibrant future  Promote citizen trust, access, and interaction through good governance  Maximize the potential within all of citizens, and accelerate innovation, to develop a knowledgebased society “FastForward” Goals:  Sustaining strong economic growth  Creating a competent, productive and sophisticated workforce  Improving efficiencies and service quality in public sector agencies  Improving education at all levels and increasing science and technology literacy through cuttingedge information and knowledge 6

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Improving social equity Helping people become information sensitive

The Trinidad vision and mission is very ambitious and is by far the most promoted ICT policy of all the Caribbean countries. ICT in Trinidad comprises:  The National ICT Policy (NICT) under the Prime Minister.  An ICT Team and ICT Unit set up in the Ministry of Education  An ICT Program with many ICT Projects currently being implemented The challenge here is to ensure that all ICT units are very compatible and well used to really progress the curriculum, as in line with the Government’s ‘Fast Forward’ ICT policy. The MOE Policy on ICT is to ensure all schools have Hardware, Software, Networks and Connections to the Internet. There is a Plan for 2005/6 to have more Computer Laboratories in schools and make full use of Internet Connections. There are several MOE initiatives: 1. The Curriculum and ICT  Mathematics and English are at the heart of the curriculum  An ICT curriculum guide is to be implemented very soon  Primary schools have Computer Laboratories  Access to core subject levels involves the infusion of technology.  CXC and GCE (General Certificate in Education) in Information Technology at levels 4, 5 and 6, especially Upper 6th  Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Education (CAPE) studies for the Upper 6th  CAPE is preferred over Cambridge, UK examinations  Project Management skills are included in ICT training There is a harmonization program for the adoption of ICT in all education. Distance Learning is taking place. The non-computer curriculum is also affected by ICT. 2. Major investment in schools Only 35 schools do not have ICT Computer Laboratories and the Ministry of Education is upgrading all the other schools. The International Development Bank (IDB) has approved loans for this and 96 schools have been upgraded. 3. Training the Teachers (TTT). There are some 250 teachers ICT trained on 2004 August. This covers leadership and ICT training. Some advanced ICT trained teachers complain the Ministry is not moving fast enough. Computer Laboratory Technicians are also trained. Several years ago the teachers were allowed interest and tax-free loans to encourage the purchase of personal computers. The Major ICT Challenge in Education in Trinidad The major challenge for the Ministry of Education is the choices of standards to go for in ICT education. Whether to go for:  International or Caribbean Regional Standards  European or North American Standards  Cambridge or Other Examination body  Microsoft, Open-Source, Linux or Other 7

The University of the West Indies (UWI) has one of its campuses at St. Augustine, Trinidad. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the areas of Agriculture, Business Administration, Engineering, Humanities, Languages, Law, Natural and Social Sciences including Computer Science. UWI is primarily an academic institution. The new University of Trinidad and Tobago (was launched in 2004) focus on the technical and industrial job market needs of the country. It has two years of graduates. It also encourages children aged 15 or 16 in Secondary Schools to team up with companies and thus it has a dynamic curriculum. The UWI provide supervision on a B.Sc degree from the University of London. The CXC Chief Examiners, both past and present, are based in Trinidad. Trinidad and Tobago has a well-educated labor force of about 500,000 with an adult literacy rate in the 80-85% range. Primary level education is compulsory. Approximately seventy percent (70%) of the 12-15 age group attend secondary school, the rest pursue other forms of training. The regional Caribbean Examinations Council, taken at form 5 (grade 12), is accepted as an entry qualification for higher education in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. After form 5 (grade 12), some students continue in secondary school for an additional two years to take the British 'Advanced Level' examinations of community standard, set up by the universities of Cambridge and London. Two private schools based on the American and Canadian education systems opened for enrolment in 1994. Approximately 5,000 students attend fifteen technical and vocational schools. The government also sponsors Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme, whose nine-month courses turn out eight thousand graduates a year. Recent Developments in Trinidad and Tobago In the October 2004 Budget Speech the Prime Minister declared that ‘by 2008, all nationals of this country will have access to tertiary education free of charge. We also intend to achieve a participation rate in post secondary and tertiary education of 60 percent by 2015. In other words, our objective is that within the next 10 years, 60% of our Secondary School graduates will proceed to attend university level or postsecondary level institutions. This is the level of participation in tertiary education and will place us on par with the countries of Europe, North America and the Far East.’

St. Lucia St. Lucia has a population of 150,000 whose main tongue is English with French patois. It has a few industries including clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime and coconut processing. Unemployment is at a rate of 15- 20%. Tourism is the most important industry and offshore banking is gaining hold. St. Lucia looks to the larger island members of CARICOM to assist it in its endeavors to plan ICT in its Education and Vocational Training. ICT in Education in St. Lucia In collaboration with C&W, the Ministry of Education has developed a private Wide Area Network known as EDUNET for connectivity of the pre-tertiary educational system. EDUNET connects 18 secondary schools via fiber optic. 73 (out of 82) primary schools have dial-up access. C&W provided all of the networking equipment (routers, hubs) for free, donated 25 computers, a consultant for one year, and also provides discounts for connectivity charges. Teachers and other education personnel can purchase PCs at reduced prices with six months of free Internet access. Every secondary school has a computer lab with around 20 personal computers. Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) provides tertiary education on the island. Named after the St Lucian Nobel Prize winner for Economics in 1979, the college offers two-year Associate Degrees as 8

well as a continuing education program for adults. It was created in 1985 by integrating three existing higher education institutions. St. Lucia is determined to be up-to-date with ICT in Education as it realizes its very fortunes will depend on its digital presence rather than its physical size in all spheres of influence and life.

Surinam Surinam also called Suriname and ex-Dutch Guyana is the most ICT-challenged of all the countries reviewed here. It also has the widest range of languages, up to 26, and Dutch, not English, is the main language. It lies on the mainland northwest cost of South America, bordered by Guyana, Brazil and French Guyana. The population is 438,000 approximately. Growth areas are tourism, construction and service industries and mining for gold, oil and bauxite hold possibilities. These sectors demand higher levels of education including ICT skills plus technology. Schools in the main urban areas along the coastal plains are typical of other Caribbean countries. However the further from the coast the quality of the schools deteriorate as some do not have basic amenities such as electricity as they are so poor in resources and teachers. The government recognizes that it is realistically looking at potentially 20 years to eradicate poverty and create sustainable development throughout the country. Nevertheless of all the countries reviewed, Surinam perhaps has the most potential, in terms of its natural resources and the diversity and peaceful integration of its people, which is regarded by some as a model of the future. Challenges in Surinam Education The Educational ‘wish list’ to overcome Surinam’s problems is extremely long and deep. The main shortcomings in Education are:  Largely ICT is not taught in schools except for the last years  Most training in Suriname is undertaken by the private sector  Only Institute for Advanced Teacher Training College has computer training facilities  Surinam University does not teach any ICT but uses ICT for administration.  Many teachers at University are trained in Holland and other countries.  The Education curriculum is seriously out-of-date and in urgent need of reform.  The Teachers are not motivated due to poor pay and conditions.  There is no Refresher Train the Teacher program, never mind ICT Training  There has been no education modernization or innovation in the last 20 years  50% of Secondary pupils do not attend classes, again due to poor motivation. Educational Reform in Surinam A Caribbean Education Task Force was set up by CARICOM and ‘Caribbean Education Strategy 2020’ was devised by experts from the World Bank based on contributions from participating education ministers including Surinam. UNESCO also has produced a new Regional Education Project for Latin America and the Caribbean. Following that document Surinam has produced a National Education Plan formulating Education Policy for the next 15 – 20 years. Education is regarded as the key driver that will propel ‘economic redress’ as Surinam recognizes labor-intensive industries are declining whilst ‘scientific and technological principles are now considered keys to increasing productivity and prosperity’. In short Surinam has the most challenges to face in this study, as there has been no innovation in education for the last 20 years. The Ministry of Education has provided a critical insight into this by publication of its latest very informative report ‘Educational Development in the Republic of Surinam – prepared for the 47th session of the International Conference on Education – September 2004’. This report is very apt and timely and is an excellent model in its future thinking of Education reform and transformation. 9

The Caribbean Region Social and economic trends in the Caribbean region Examples of the challenges facing all Caribbean countries:  Economies at the cross-roads  High Unemployment rates  High Inflation and costs  Old infrastructures  New Investment required  High crime rates  High delinquency rates, often linked to drug trafficking  High rate of school drop-outs  Growing social and economic inequality  HIV/AIDS increasing  Health / Nutrition especially in poorest groups The contribution ICT can make is both identifying and solving problems in these areas is huge. Caribbean Educational Systems All the education systems found so far in the Caribbean are classic one-directional systems. They are characterized by being static by nature, instead of dynamically adapting to new world ICT and Work demands. They were designed in the Industrial Age, not the Information Age. These are some of the future Education challenges and anomalies that need addressing:  Industry is moving faster than academia in ICT  Other Government Ministries leave Education behind in resources, traditionally  Students are showing the Teachers new ICT ways they see outside the classroom  Some Computer Science graduates not able to operate a Personal Computer effectively  Over-qualified Graduates become unemployed and go back for more qualifications  Practical Skills are becoming emphasized and valued more than academic qualifications  Transferable skills are key (ICT skills, Telephone, Selling, Networking, Service, etc)  Personal Development is key (Adaptability, Flexibility, Enthusiasm, Determination, etc)  Many School leavers and Graduates are not conversant with ICT basic skills  Teachers unable to use new technology or are not kept up-to-date, motivation impacted  Illiterate school leavers totally vulnerable (to crime and poverty)  Re-training of school leavers is common, before they are fit to do any work  Disinterested students not attracted to old school methods and do not attend school  Old ICT methods and skills are still being taught, even in Tertiary Education  Old, out-of-date techniques being continued – not the latest, Best-Practice  Huge resource wastage (both personal, social and economic) due to lost vision and lost focus In the past ‘Education for All’ policies advocated by UNESCO have attempted to democratically provide everyone with equal education for primary and secondary levels. Whilst this is applaudable it has often been impracticable in the remotest parts of some countries with today’s demands as few have the teachers let alone the resources to make this happen. New techniques in ICT can help overcome these limitations.

Recommendations The Education system in Caribbean countries stands at the crossroads. It cannot do ‘more of the same’ as in the past, as that is unacceptable. It has no option but to move forward employing ICT in new creative ways, from the ground up as never before. The reasons are mainly economic: 10

          

Globalization and Trade Liberalization impact Vulnerability to Natural Disasters e.g. Hurricanes, Floods, Earthquakes Costs are escalating in most areas Resources are getting scarcer Self-reliance is the future key for its citizens Self-learning and Self-help in most matters is the new mantra Governments no longer can control all matters but must focus on Governance Government funding is becoming more impracticable – except in Trinidad Liberal markets require dynamic, flexible adaptable, life-long learning workers Knowledge workers are the future and need developing now within school The Quality of Education is paramount and ICT is the key

Tertiary Education Tertiary Institutions need radical thinking and transformation to address new work demands. The Academic style on its own in ICT is not only one principle of delivering ICT knowledge and skills to the students. The Departments and Schools have to offer wide number of subjects, which reflect both the latest and modern technologies to create the ICT professionals adequate for the ICT market, and industry and they have to be very flexible in terms of accepting new technologies. ICT new technologies have to be reflected in the courses offering for graduate students as soon as possible. This aspect gives rise to a problem of creating and developing Academic Staff to be adequate with new technology as the Specialist Lecturers with expertise. The process of selecting individuals who apply for the ICT lecturer positions in the Tertiary institutions has to base on two main principles:  Select the specialists with a solid scientific research foundation in ICT (PhD in Computer Science) or young (say up to 30 years old) individuals who are definitely interested in research in Computer Science and have an appropriate level of knowledge (MSc in Computer Science)  Select the specialists from the ICT Industry, from real world Technology, who have at least 10 years experience of real development and implementation computer technology, who are familiar not just with the theory, but have real experience on it. Several solutions for getting this in place are:  Active participation in Conferences devoted to the latest thinking in new technology  Tight link between Departments/Schools of Computer Science with key computer companies such as Links with Key Suppliers e.g. IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, AT&T, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Berkeley University etc.  Tight link between Departments/Schools of Computer Science with real ICT-based commercial companies in terms of development of common projects by students and real collaboration.  Tight link between Departments/Schools of Computer Science with local Governments to ensure the supply of the local job market demands.  Periodically training academic staff by the new technology, for example by professionals from key Computers companies.  Providing occasional Student’s Olympiad competitions between Caribbean Tertiary institutions to recognize talented individuals and active participating in the World Students Olympiads  Periodic workshops between lecturers of similar subject areas for sharing the best teaching practices, methodologies, techniques, experiences and skills.  Each ICT subject in tertiary institutions has to have a Rolling Plan for its improvement for accumulate news in scope of described technologies. It could be used as the basic indicator of the quality of the subject 20 years ago University was key font of knowledge in ICT and not in outside industry – now the roles are reversed. We have to realize that now Industry is moving faster than academia in ICT. 11

Secondary School and Colleges Teaching was until recently regarded as a traditional occupation requiring traditional skills. It was not massively impacted by ICT, which was regarded as an ad-hoc subject, which could be taken outside the curriculum if necessary. Most teachers and lecturers, right up to University level, shared this view. Information Technology was a specialist subject for those who is interested in it. Only minorities have been taking IT. The CXC Information Technology syllabus tries to deliver to the student’s information about hardware, which students never hear, see and won’t recognize. As a result they don’t understand what the teacher is speaking about and don’t accept the material. It would be better to concentrate student’s attention on the real hardware devices, which they can touch, and control themselves. The process of acceptance of IT subject has to be based on step-by-step principle. Each step of education needs practical implementation. For example, when we need to teach basics of programming it is extremely important to give students a real opportunity to develop their first working program. The programming tools for teaching basic of programming must be as simple as possible, not C or C++ programming languages, like recommended in many cases as this is too advanced and beyond them initially and often highly likely never to be possibly re-used. At Secondary school level Students should be comfortable and confident with the following tasks: Mandatory Core Tasks- Internet Skills:  Email creation and sending to relatives, friends, Email receiving and saving  Searching for information using Search Engines - General Knowledge (ask.com, Google, etc)  E-business Mandatory - Create small projects using combinations of the:  Word processing  Spreadsheet calculations  Power Point Presentations  Graphics  Simple Flat file Databases Mandatory – Miscellaneous:  Hardware (in scope of using on personal computer by students and School server)  Files and Directories  Applications (MS Office/ MS Works Suite, Simple programming, Databases)  Security (password protection) and Virus protection  Connecting to the Internet and Peripherals Optional subjects:  Simple Multimedia Audio- and Visual-Tasks  Digital photography  Web page design  Audio Manipulation Information Technology Specialists would cover basic knowledge on Hardware Maintenance, Networks, and Communications High Schools leavers should be:  Resourceful  Self-Reliant/Self-sufficient  Able to show others their skills 12

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Able to demonstrate and apply this knowledge to the real world

When the IT Specialists, College entrants and University freshmen should be:  Computing literate  Fully conversant to do more interesting discovery work tasks  Have had a life-enriching experience full of enthusiasm for life-long learning  Be totally confident and comfortable with Computing and ICT Special ICT recommendations to support solutions to these problems:  Under UNESCO to create a committee which holds a database of the Caribbean ICT Special Interest Group, which includes the best ICT lecturers from the tertiary Caribbean institutions – universities, colleges, etc.  This ICT group is a volunteer organization  This ICT group with local governments of each countries provide:  Periodically train ICT staff of schools/colleges in Caribbean region to teach new technologies and new methodologies in ICT  Exchange views on changing ICT curricula and pedagogical practice organizing an ICT Caribbean conferences for ICT Caribbean Staff  ICT student competitions in Caribbean countries

Primary Schools Computers for children are just devices which should be experienced by them as early as possible without much technical explanation. They should perceive it as just a tool like a fun-provoking game or discovery trail. Once they accept this non-threatening, non-technical foundation view, it will allow the natural progression of developing an internal framework for the future within their own minds. They must feel they have acquired a new life-long friend. At this level the children should be comfortable and confident with the following tasks:  Turn the Computer on and off  Read simple information  Drag and Drop visual objects using a mouse  Play Music and different sounds (Audio skills)  Play Learning Games for different subjects  See photographs and pictures of different types (Visual skills)  Use E-books and E-Encyclopedia  Type simple words, messages or lists (sometimes in a quiz) (Spelling Skills)  Print out any work from the above  Save their work and retrieve it  Demonstrate on a one-to-one or more people e.g. teacher, parents, friends Education at this early level must be based on a special educational computer programs targeted at growing their minds in different areas of interest. The educational problems and solutions mentioned above cannot be solved without computers. This is a biggest obstacle for developing Caribbean countries. The price of computers is still high and very often is not a justifiable cost for early education. Where are the resources for getting computers and equipment the computer labs and classes coming from? There are several possibilities. Most of these solutions are based on the educational policy of each country, and funds be provided for these purposes. We would like to attract attention to one resource, which is little used. All companies have offices with a lot of abandoned seemingly redundant computers (and practice keyboards) but are still in the good condition and not utilized at this time. They are taking up space in storage rooms and unused. This resource can be reused at the school level. Of course this process is not as easy as it seems. The second hand computers need to be serviced and adjusted by computer technical specialists and system 13

administrators. But it is not big problem for companies, which have used these computers before. After technical maintenance these computers can be sent to the schools as donations. The company, which used this mechanism, could:  Provide technical support of these computers (hardware and software)  Provide an Internet access  Could be recognized by Government as active participant of local programme of Education and attract tax relief possibilities

Conclusion The current Final Report and Recommendations was presented by author on behalf of UNESCO for the Caribbean on a one-day discussion with regional stakeholders in the fields of ICT education. These stakeholders represented all levels of the education system, including delegates from Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname. This discussion was held in the Technology Innovation Center in the University of Technology, Jamaica on 25 February 2005. The result of that discussion is summarized below.  All members of this workshop supported the creation of a committee, under the supervision of UNESCO, which would oversee the creation of an Education Caribbean Web Portal. This web portal will permit not only the collection of information about the best teaching practice and lecturers in different areas of education, but will also enable the sharing of curricula, and materials for Distance Learning. The committee should include, on voluntary basis, the best ICT professionals from tertiary institutions, schools, and colleges in the Caribbean.  Universities in the Caribbean should play a leading role in the implementation of ICT for all levels of education.  There should be close partnerships between Universities and leading World computer companies (e.g., Microsoft, IBM) in the process of delivering up-to-date technology to the teaching and learning of ICT. Moreover, Schools/Departments of Computer Science should be creators of this technology, and in this, universities should use the methodology, materials and experience of these leading companies.  Professional development for teachers should be appropriately integrated with technology. Teachers should be competent to use ICT and to teach it to students from their earliest years in school.  Students should be able, from an early age, to develop programmes using certain software.  The use of wireless technology should be made as widespread as possible to eliminate the cost of ICT infrastructure.  Each teacher should have access to computers. Government could give tax incentives for the purchase of computers and relevant software for this category of customers.  ICT should be made a focus of education at all levels, from early childhood to the tertiary sector.  One ideal tangible outcome of all ICT in the Caribbean would be to establish School web sites for each school whereby schools teachers and students could contact each other and share resources and projects.  The Universities on the larger islands could be ideally placed to provide government-funded webserver facilities as the backbone to national schools web networks where they could host synchronized curriculum and teacher-training facilities in-line with up-to-date requirements.

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