Foundation lauded for Tablet Project

The work of the Aron & Christina Foundation has received high praise from parliamentary representative for St Andrew, George Payne.

 

“It is indeed refreshing when you have persons in the community like them,” he expressed of the husband and wife team.

 

In 2009, Aron and Christina Truss started the registered charity with the purpose to promote and facilitate children’s education at the primary and secondary levels in Barbados.

 

The Foundation’s first initiative was the purchase of XO laptops from the One Lap Top per Child Project. However, from academic year 2013/2014 they purchased XO tablets instead of the laptops, followed by the purchase of Samsung tablets during academic year 2014/2015 to be gifted to Class 3 students across 14 Government Primary Schools.

 

Last week, the Foundation returned to A. Dacosta Edwards Primary to continue the tablet programme – 38 students were the recipients.

 

“I recalled last year when this presentation was made in St Andrew for the first time… I thought it was going to be a difficult task and I said I hope it was something they would able to keep up and I am indeed delighted to see them return and include A. Dacosta Edwards in these presentations,” Payne said.

 

Principal Laureen Hinds thanked Truss, noting that the tablets couldn’t be timelier.

 

She also told her students, “This is a learning tool and it must assist you in your studies. It is for you to do lots and lots of research – we have a project coming up “Exploring Barbados: Legends to Legacy” as well as “Exploring St Andrew”. You are going to need those tablets as we traverse the environs of the school, as we visit places of interest, as we visit centenarians and as we visit business places.”

 

Mr Truss said that Class 3 were selected because they are old enough to handle the responsibility of taking care of them and that it will assist them with preparations for the Common Entrance Exam.

 

Acknowledging that the students will also use the tablets for recreational purposes, he indicated, “We know you are going to also play games and we support that...you can find several educational games on them”.

 

“Even when you are playing games you are learning how to use technology – learning certain skills.”

 

The Foundation is also encouraging the teachers to use the tablets as a teaching tool and incorporate their use into the curriculum. In light of this, one extra tablet per Class was provided so that teachers will also have a tablet in the classroom to assist them with their teaching.

 

Once the Foundation adds a school to the project it is their goal to try and return at the start of each academic year to present tablets to the new Class 3 students. 

 

“We do have to rise the funding but our first set of funds always goes to tablets for the schools already part of the project,” Mr Truss explained. (TL)