Primary schools' teachers show off their skills in using technology in the classroom

Bygone are the days of blackboard, chalk and text books in the classroom

For the past week a group of five engineers and trainers from Intel Education Services Corps (IESC) have been visiting the primary schools providing support to the teachers on the use of the Intel-powered classmate PCs. The team was led by Linda Kenworthy who have all volunteered to take part in the educational programme in Seychelles.

With the help of the trainers and engineers, over 40 teachers from the 23 primary schools on Mahe, Praslin, La Digue and Silhouette upgraded their technological skills in maintenance of the equipments and creating lessons using the software on the CMPCs and teacher's laptop.

"We trained the teachers on the classroom management software (mythware) so that they can create lesson plans on the teacher laptop and share these with the students via the Intel-powered classmate PCs,” said Ms Kenworthy.  "We are in other words, training the trainers,”  she added.

The CMPCs program was launched in the primary schools since 2010 and initially the Ministry of Education had trained the teachers to use  the technology in their classrooms.However, with movements of teachers, resignation and teachers who have taken up further studies it has not been easy for some schools to fully implement the program.

During the training session the group of teachers were able to deliver a series of lessons they had prepared to students from Anse Royale primary school. During the lessons, students could read texts, view slideshow or videos on the CMPCs, after which they answered questions, chatted "on line" about what they had just learned, or answered a quiz controlled by a teacher which popped up on the pupils’ screens.

The session was attended by the primary school teachers involved in the training as well as Ministry of Education officials.

Intel and Seychelles team up to support Seychelles' primary schools

A group of five engineers and trainers from Intel Education Service Corps teamed up with the Ministry of Education IT Technical Support Unit to upgrade the Intel powered classmate PCs (CMPCs) and provide support and training to the primary schools and teachers.

Since the inception in 2010 of the Sheikh Khalifa Project for Seychelles primary schools, there have been a few issues of connectivity and software upgrades that have prevented the programme from being fully functional.  

Through the joint efforts of the Ministry of Education and the University of Seychelles, it was possible to connect with the Intel Education Service Corps who agreed to provide their technical support. 

The objectives of the team were firstly to troubleshoot the Intel powered classmate PCs to ensure they are operational and install the latest version of Classroom Management Software by MythWare and secondly, train at least two teachers from each primary school on the MythWare teaching software and other useful software to create lesson plans.

The team visited 21 of the 23 primary schools on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and configured more than 900 of the 1500 CMPCs located in these schools. 

The Intel team was accompanied by technicians from the IT Services Unit of the Ministry of Education and the University of Seychelles, who have were also trained and assisted with the maintenance support. 

At least two teachers from each primary school were trained on maintenance programs, troubleshooting and best practices to help their school sustain the programme.

 The same teachers will then be responsible for the maintenance of the equipment and completing the upgrades at their respective schools.

During their visit, the team also met with the head teacher of each primary school and explained the maintenance procedures necessary for the upkeep of the equipment.

Linda Kenworthy, the team leader of the Intel Education Service Corps, said “We are honoured to be working with the Ministry of Education and the University of Seychelles - their teams are committed to supporting the schools and teachers and ensure they have what they need to make this programme successful.  The Seychelles primary school teachers are very engaged and want to improve their skills to become agents of change for 21st century schools and learning - their active participation in the classroom and during our visits to their computer rooms demonstrates their commitment.”

Each primary school also designated either one or two teachers to be trained as teacher trainers.  

During the different sessions the teachers were trained on how to incorporate their lesson plans into the classroom management software on the teacher’s laptop and share them with the student’s CMPCs in their classrooms. 

They also learned how to use different software to prepare lessons and teach these to a group of students, so they could assess and provide support to each other.

The trained teachers will be responsible to lead the training sessions and ensure that the programme is fully implemented at their respective schools - part of a “train the trainer” model.

 At the end of the two weeks the teachers who took part in the training sessions were presented with a certificate.