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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

EduTech expo promotes usage of ICT in education |15 September 2012

EduTech expo promotes usage of ICT in education

Guests and students visiting the expo after its official launch yesterday

The forum is the platform used by the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with a number of other partners, in promoting the use of technologies in teaching and learning.

It is also the platform used by educational institutions and stakeholders to connect and to discover the developments in technology.

The forum provides opportunities for teachers to use technologies as a tool for teaching and learning, and opportunities for students to develop an interest in learning through the use of technology.

EduTech is a continuation of the Ministry of Education’s efforts to modernise teaching and learning through the use of ICT.
The chairperson of the EduTech committee told Seychelles Nation that many students finish school today with less technology baggage than they could have, and then have to take Information technology (IT) classes since computer literacy or knowledge in certain technology is a requirement in job applications nowadays.

In launching the event, held at the Seychelles Trading Company’s conference hall, the Minister for Education Macsuzy Mondon pointed out that technology evolves so rapidly that everyone needs to keep abreast of developments and regularly update both hardware and software available in the schools.

“Modern technology offers opportunities that we must seize in order to address our teacher shortages, especially in mathematics and sciences. For example, by promoting good pedagogical practices, and encouraging our students to set their individual learning goals, we will also be making easier the development of their capacity to use ICT for independent learning,” she said.

“We will also seek to strengthen existing structures and continue to empower our teachers through networks that they can use to increase their understanding of ICT.”

The minister added that their efforts will bear fruit when students broaden their horizons and show what they have learned through blogs, e-portfolios, video productions and other creative uses of ICT.

“However, as our students become increasingly connected, we must also ensure that they are made aware of the potential dangers and remain safe when using technology.”

During the launch ceremony a number of local companies showed their support for the forum by announcing new products, packages and partnerships with the Ministry of Education.

Andy Noel from Space 95 Company spoke about the new Raspberry Pi computer that will soon be made available in Seychelles for students, at a very affordable price that parents can buy for their children.

“By giving students tools to bring out their creativity we hope to have more students emerging with programming skills, and exploiting to the maximum our new fibre-optic cable,” he said.

Maria Radeau from Intelvision pledged television broadcasts to schools in Seychelles, and said education programmes on TV is a great learning tool.

“TVs have been a great asset to schools. Students and teachers can look at many educational programmes and can even record them. Through TV, students can explore places, animals and objects that they would not otherwise get to be able to see,” she said.

Luther Denis from Incipe spoke about how his company is authorised to provide Apple ipads, which could be used as a tool in education.

“With the ipad, students won’t need to carry books around and can load all their textbooks on it. They can use the ipad to help them keep tracks of their assignments, manipulate photos, watch videos, follow lectures from a teacher from it and so much more,” he said.

There were also various donations of computers and printers for schools, all received by the principal secretary for Education Merida Delcy.

The EduTech expo will remain open until 12.30pm today.

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