SCHOOL HEADS UNDERGO ICT TRAINING (AUG 15, 2011, PAGE 30)

TWENTY (20) selected head teachers of schools in the Tamale metropolis have benefited from a three-week intense practical training programme in Information Communication and Technology (ICT).
This is part of a series of training programmes designed to sharpen the skills of teachers in ICT to enable them support school children to appreciate ICT as a necessary tool for advancement.
The programme is being spearheaded by an ICT-based non-governmental organisation, Savannah Signatures (Savsign), in partnership with the Community Outreach Programme of the Radboud University in the Netherlands.
The head teachers, many of whom conceded they had little or no experience with ICT, were taken through the basics of ICT.
The areas tackled included basic ICT knowledge about hardware and software, typing skills, mouse movement and the use of Microsoft Office tools and the Internet.
The Director for Savana Signatures, Mr John Stephen Agbenyo said the training was largely practical so as to build the capacity of the teachers to incorporate ICT into the administration of their respective schools.
He noted that with Microsoft excel, the computing of students’ marks and the balancing of school accounts will be much easier and more convenient.
“This can improve upon teaching and learning, increase productivity through effective administration and eventually translate into good academic performance of students,” he added.
Mr Agbenyo mentioned that the head teachers could now access the pool of knowledge and opportunities on the internet at virtually no cost, while at the same time saving time and energy.
He commended them for the commitment they exhibited throughout the course and reiterated the commitment of Savsign to continue working towards mainstreaming ICTs into education by empowering teachers to play a lead role.
The course trainers, Robbin Janssen and Iris van Kesteren, from the Radboud University, said they were thrilled about the progress made by the heads within the three weeks of training.
“It is important that you (the teachers) constantly put what you have learnt into practice because that is the sure way not to forget,” Kesteren remarked.
The beneficiaries were full of appreciation for the training course, noting that it had demystified the computer for them because hitherto, they saw the computer as a complex and inexpensive machine that could be operated only by experts.
“Each day, we were embarrassed because of our lack of knowledge in ICT,” the Headmistress of Bishop’s Junior High School (JHS) stated.
“Today, apart from also using the computer in my office to compute academic records, I can go onto the internet to do research and operate an email account,” he added.