Canadian assists with Flow and Rotary Club Computer E-Learning Initiative

Thursday, January 05, 2012

MONTEGO BAY, St James — NORMAN Kregger, Rotary Club representative of St Catharines in Canada, made a special visit to Montego Bay last month to attend the final presentations of the Flow and Rotary Club Computer E-Learning initiative.

During the visit the two remaining beneficiaries -- Green Pond Primary and Mount Salem Primary and Junior High in St James — received a total of 30 refurbished computers from the Rotary Club and commercial grade Internet from Flow. The donations allow these schools an opportunity to integrate an Information Technology (IT) component into their current educational curriculum.

As part of the presentations, Kregger taught the students how to assemble computers, and they worked alongside him to put together the donated machines.

Kregger said he was quite impressed by the determination and aptitude for knowledge that students displayed during the exercise.

One student in particular, Javan Cameron, a ninth grader at Mount Salem Primary and Junior High School caught his attention.

"Javan assisted through the entire process and seemed quite eager to grasp as much information as he possibly could. I was truly impressed and I am looking forward to hearing about the progress that the students will make in this programme."

To date, more than 300 computers have been distributed to schools across Jamaica through the joint education initiative. This significant accomplishment took approximately six months and numerous volunteers from the Rotary International and Flow who helped with the testing, preparing and distribution of the computers.

The computers were shipped from Canada, courtesy of Rotary Club of St Catharines and Flow, last August, and were donated to over 25 qualifying schools and institutions, in a bid to infuse technology in the education process.

Nicole Campbell, Flow's public relations executive, who was also present at the official handover, expressed delight at the positive response from the students and teachers. "This level of enthusiasm is exactly what we hope for from the beneficiaries of the Building Leaders Through Technology Programme." This is why the programme was created, to offer students a window of opportunity with the help of technology," said Campbell.

She reaffirmed Flow's commitment to youth development through technology based resources.

"Our investment in the Green Pond Primary and Mount Salem Primary and Junior High School is consistent with our mandate to enable the growth and development of young Jamaicans. We are doing our part to ensure that each student has a fair opportunity to achieve their goals and dreams, especially in the field of ITC, by providing these facilities," she said.

Hall-Clarke, principal of Green Pond Primary and Infant, was ecstatic with the donation.

"This donation offers a wonderful opportunity to the students here. Some of them have never worked on a computer before so it will be a real eye-opener for them to have a computer lesson. Having access to computers and internet gives the teachers and students a real chance to use technology as a learning tool," she explained.

Flow's Building Leaders Through Technology (BLTT) Programme was first introduced in 2006, the same year that Flow launched service in Jamaica. BLTT seeks to contribute to the national education agenda by helping to enhance learning and teaching environments in all public schools through the integration of technology.

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Canadian assists with Flow and Rotary Club Computer E-Learning Initiative