Module 10: Activity 3 - SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a method of analysing an audit to identify:

 Strengths - The human and other resources, skills and attitudes which are available in the school community that may assist the enactment of the school's vision.

 Weaknesses - The significant problems that can be identified in the school environment that may make it harder to enact the school's vision.  

Opportunities - The significant opportunities in the external environment that can be capitalized upon.

 and Threats -The situation in the external environment that could limit the success of the school plan.

At my school, there has been significant investment in ICTs, and teachers have an aesthetic appreciation of the value and use of ICTs however, there still seem to be some fear in integrating ICT in the teaching learning process.  Some teachers are at the emerging stage, some are applying and some are at the integrating stage.  My desire is that all the teachers become facilitators of learning and have the students learning in groups through exploration, engaged in authentic and multidisciplinary tasks, presenting their learning interactively, collaboratively and be assessed based on performance of real tasks. 

I think with the resources we have, human (three staff members being trained in ICT integration);support from community members and  tools (website, blog, camera, wifi, laptops),   Teachers can be trained to integrate ICT into regular pedagogy and to exhibit confidence in using ICTs.

Module 10: Activity 2 - ICT Policies

Some primary and all secondary schools in Antigua have received computer labs as donations or initiatives through the Ministry of Education.  Once, weekly mobile lab visits those primary schools that do not have labs.  Also most students from form two to five have received tablets.  It is therefore necessary that schools develop ICT policies to bring awareness to all concerned about the roles and responsible use of ICTs and to ensure the safe use of these tools.

Vision: Foster the use of ICT to modernize the teaching and learning environment to facilitate equity of access, to enhance competitiveness and to develop individuals who are capable of functioning effectively in a technologically driven society.

Teaching and learning with ICT  in ten years time at my school:

• Principals, teachers, students and parents will  use ICT meaningfully, to enhance the teaching-learning process
• All teachers and students will have equitable access to ICT resources
• Skills across the areas of learning will be developed
• Students will find things out by gathering information from a variety of sources, enter and store the information in a variety of forms and retrieve the information that has been stored
• Students will communicate and collaborate to create knowledge, share their knowledge by presenting information in a variety of forms; review, modify and evaluate information.
• There will be a high level of computer ownership at home and constant internet access to foster school to home connection
• Attainment in Mathematics, Reading and Science will be greatly improved
• Teachers will have the requisite skills and competencies to use and
• promote ICT as a tool in the enhancement of the teaching / learning process and there will be opportunities for continuous upgrade of these skills
• Provision for continuous professional development
• Students will use ICT independently
• Students would be able to build on and develop existing knowledge through skills taught at our school to maintain continuity and progression in secondary school
• The internet will be used as a research and communication tool among students, parents, teachers, principals, other MOE officials and members of the community.
• Authentic assessment will be used  -  individual progress of each student  will be maintained and teachers will use data collected to identify students’ weaknesses and  to determine measures that can be taken to address such weaknesses.

 

To achieve this policy, the school’s ICT policy would need

The vision

Goals and objectives

Strategies and activities

Resources available

 Issues to be included in the ICT policy

Roles and responsibilities

Staff professional development

Use of ICT tools and resources

Teaching and learning

Repair, Replacement and Insurance

Environmental, health and social issues

Financial plan and budget

Assessment

I have looked at the Manchester Elementary Middle School.  

Policies are documents that provide guidelines for the management and use of ICTs.  When planning policies there needs to consultation, accountability, transparency and fairness.  Guidelines and possible consequences of transgressing these must be clear.

Module 10: Activity 1: Where is your school in this world of technology?

It is important if I have proper plans for integrating ICT in my class/school.  Proper planning will help to enhance the teaching and learning process and therefore contribute to the raising of standards.

From my colleagues’ comments I have observed that there are varying views of levels of ICT integration in the schools.  At my school where there has been significant investment in ICTs, and teachers have an aesthetic appreciation of the value and use of ICTs there still seem to be some fear in integrating ICT in the teaching learning process.  Some teachers are at the emerging stage, some are applying and some are at the integrating stage.  My desire is that all the teachers become facilitators of learning and have the students learning in groups through exploration, engaged in authentic and multidisciplinary tasks, presenting their learning interactively, collaboratively and be assessed based on performance of real tasks.

Module 10: ICT Planning - Hello Activity

I am Rosemarie Roberts from the nation of Antigua and Barbuda in the heart of the Caribbean.  I teach Language Literacy at Pares Primary School; interacting mostly with the K - Grade 2 classes.  I hope to gain the knowledge and skills to develop an ICT policy for my school so that ICT can be further integrated.  Presently each teacher has a laptop, a few classes have PCs, the Literacy centre has 9 computers and six laptops that the students use daily with a reading programme and other students would use for Mathematics and research.

I am really looking forward to reaching the goal :-)