Williams throws support behind smart board technology

Education Minister Fayval Williams says that local teacher-training institutions will be outfitted with smart boards, which are designed to introduce trainee teachers to that technology ahead of their entry into the nation's classrooms.

"We are installing smart boards in our teacher-education institutions because we want our new teachers coming out fully conversant with technology and to be comfortable when they go into the classroom," explained Williams. "We know that the students are already conversant with technology, and we don't want there to be a gap between the teachers and the students they are teaching."

Williams made the disclosure while addressing the media launch of the Girls in ICT Hackathon 2024 at the Immaculate Conception High School in St Andrew, on Tuesday. The initiative is designed to empower Caribbean girls between the ages of 13 and 18 to become leaders and accomplished professionals in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics industry. The event is being hosted by e-Learning Jamaica Company Limited (e-Learning Jamaica), in partnership with STEAMHouse, which is an educational hub that brings life concepts and principles to the educational process.

The virtual hackathon, which includes ICT-related challenges and activities, will culminate on International Girls in ICT Day on April 25.