The World Bank-sponsored Second Caribbean Learning Event for Improving Teaching and Learning Outcomes with the assistance of ICT was held in Portland, Maine from July 26-28, 2011. The learning event was a follow-up to the First Caribbean Regional Learning Event held in Barbados in April 2011, and featured representatives from Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as from the Caribbean Examinations Council, the Organization of American States (OAS), and UNESCO.
The learning event was structured to build upon the five main areas that countries identified during the first learning event for further support within the overall theme of improving teaching and learning outcomes. The five areas included:
- teacher professional development;
- developing ICT-assisted instructional materials;
- maintenance of investments and formulation of e-waste policies;
- Education Management Information Systems (EMIS); and
- strategic planning for integration of ICT in education, budget trade-offs and returns to investment.
Strategic planning (area 5), was the overall focus of the second workshop and countries benefited from the practical guidance and experience of the Maine International Center for Digital Learning (MICDL) who co-hosted the event. The State of Maine is considered a leader in formulating and implementing ICT in Education policy and was one of the first worldwide to implement one-to-one computing in its school system at grades 7 and 8. This was achieved through the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) that was founded by former Governor Angus King and MICDL, President, Bette Manchester in 2000. Maine was a vibrant setting to host this event, providing the Caribbean participants the opportunity to interact with the state’s policymakers, managers, and practitioners involved in the development and execution of the strategy. Panelists discussed their recommendations on how best to approach and support the development of policies and practices in the field of digital learning and teaching and then implement them in a successful manner.
The learning event also focused on the introduction and application of the ICT in Education Policymakers Toolkit through working sessions with an independent expert formerly with UNESCO, Bangkok. The OAS assisted with teacher professional development and ICT-assisted instructional materials, by setting up a community of practice on their Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN) for the Caribbean countries and a repository for educational software that is recommended, piloted and/or evaluated among the participating countries. Participants and others are welcome to join and continue the dialogue as well as to make suggestions and participate in webinars for the Caribbean. Finally, in response to the growing recognition that ICT can produce a dilemma for managing the maintenance and disposal of electronic equipment, a brief session on e-waste policies was included in the learning event.
Over the course of the three days, presentations and group working sessions were held, producing invigorating discussions and achieving high-levels of collaboration. At the end of the event, groups of countries made ICT in Education Master Plan presentations based on their work with the ICT in Education Policymakers Toolkit. Presentations and working group outcomes are posted for further information.
Participant feedback on the Second Caribbean Regional Learning Event confirmed that it was informative and extremely relevant to the education context of their respective countries. The Maine experience offered an invaluable firsthand account of using ICT as a support for achieving educational goals. It highlighted some of the key issues in implementing digital technology and underscored the importance of ICT as a device to enhance teaching and student learning within the larger framework of developing a 21st century education system. Participants also noted that the learning event provided an excellent combination of presentations and hands on resources, developing and honing the skills and tools participants will apply in refining their Education Sector Strategies and specific ICT components.
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