Activity 1

Audit of West St George Secondary School(WSGSS) ICT use (what we have and what we do with it):   After reading the articles on the Rationale for ICT in Schools and Common ICT use in Schools, I have come to realize that WSGSS has access to sufficient technology and trained teachers necessary to integrate ICT in our classrooms. The problem is we have not been maximizing the resources available.   WSGSS is equipped with two computer labs that house approximately twenty working computers each. There is also a media room with a white board. The media room can seat over fifty students. The school also has two multimedia projectors. In addition, each department in the school has its own laptop. The staffroom also contains two desk top computers that are available for use to all teachers. Both the principal and the deputy principal have their own laptops. Our present Form two students are beneficiaries of the one-laptop per student project.t All these were given by the Ministry of Education in their quest to have ICT integrated in our classrooms.  WSGSS  also has internet access but this is not always up and running. The school boasts a reading room that is equipped with computers and software donated by the Venezuelan Embassy to assist the students with their reading.   Though these are used to enhance learning, the use to which they are put is too limited to have the kind of impact that I have read about in other countries where research was done to identify the positive impact on learning when ICT is integrated in the classrooms.   The two computer labs are mainly used for the teaching of Information Technology and Electronic Documentation Preparation Management(EDPM).   They are also used for the teaching of other subjects such as Principles of Accounts. The students also use the labs to type up their School Based Assessment (SBA) for the regional exam Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate(CSEC).However they are also allowed to use the computer labs to do research for their projects. Students are only allowed to use the computer labs under the guidance of a teacher.   The media room is generally used for teaching sessions where the teacher has to use the multimedia projector to enhance teaching and learning. This room is also underutilized.   The computers in the staffroom are generally used by teachers to access lesson plans and information to use in their lessons. The Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) has a site where teachers are allowed to place and access lessons in their subject areas. Teachers can use these computers to access these and other lessons.   The students with their laptops get little constructive use of them in the classroom as only the IT teachers seem to use them in their sessions. The students can be seen sometimes using these laptops in their spare time to play games.   Many of our students are reading far below their grade level. The reading teacher has been using the computers and soft wares to assist the students in developing literacy skills.   Our Peace Corp. volunteer has also started a programme where he has teamed up students in a school in the United States of America with some of our students. The students are expected to communicate by email. This programme is expected to help the students develop their reading, writing and expression skills. Our students were introduced to their counterparts in the USA through the use of the multimedia projector.   I believe with proper planning and execution of a plan on the integration of ICT, students at WSGSS too will be able to boast about the benefits they are having from integrating ICT in the school.