BUSINESS Development Executive Caribbean Government Sector IBM, Robin Forde has lauded the Ministry of Education for its move to improve the local education system through technology. He made the comments during a recent press briefing to announce a joint

BUSINESS Development Executive Caribbean Government Sector IBM, Robin Forde has lauded the Ministry of Education for its move to improve the local education system through technology.

He made the comments during a recent press briefing to announce a joint initiative with the Ministry of Education, Digicel (Barbados) Ltd and IBM which will ensure that Barbadian students keep pace with evolving technology, through the 9 000 tablets that have been distributed to several schools on the island.

Ford stressed that children of today learn by different methodologies and they no longer need to be in a classroom. “So they can be any place and have access to information.”

He noted that IBM has a variety of learning products including Watson Analytics which they would wish to introduce to Barbadian students. “We would love to share with the children and give them access to not only e-books but to the wealth of knowledge that exists out there. We want to give our children the access to that information and help them to quicken their learning.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by Chief Executive Officer of Digicel Barbados Alex Tasker who highlighted the transformative role of technology. In order to ensure that the country is not left behind the rest of the world, Tasker says the transformation must start in the classroom.

“We are not just preparing them to compete in the digital age, we are also giving them the opportunity to use the tools they need to win when they are at work or at school.

Through the partnership with IBM the tablets in the programme will be managed by a best in class Mobile Device Management Solution called IBM MAS 360. It enables the Ministry to push approved educational content directly to the devices, restrict access to unauthorised apps, websites and features of the tablets and track location of the device in the case of loss or theft.

Tasker also revealed that over the years Digicel has also successfully implemented similar projects in other countries like the Government Assisted Technology Endeavour in Antigua and Barbuda as well as the Tablets in School Initiative in Jamaica in 2014.

“We look forward to seeing this project right through to success and hope to continue working on even more initiatives like these that aim to put Barbadian youth at the forefront of the knowledge economy,” he said. (JH)