STUDENTS GET HELP

SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth:

THERE WAS excitement at the Schoolfield Primary and Infant School on Tuesday as the institution received Internet for the first time courtesy of Lime and DEKAL Wireless.

Recently, it was announced that a member of the Cable & Wireless Communication (CWC) Group had acquired the shares of the parent company of DEKAL Wireless Jamaica Limited.

Dwight Williams, head of products at Lime, said the acquisition would further its Rural Internet Expansion Programme.

Principal Prim Lewis said the Internet would mean an improved teaching-learning experience at the school.

"When I came to the school in May and learned that there was no Internet, what I did was to bring my own projector to the school. I went home to download videos for the infant department to make learning more interesting. I required that teachers integrate technology into their instructional activities, however, they faced a challenge because they were limited.

"What this means is improved instruction. We are going to be linked to the rest of the world. We can teach how to surf the Internet and how to use the Internet wisely; we can now give them research and send them to our own lab to do that research. It will be pushing our educational goals forward, and our literacy programme, I expect, will be enhanced by this venture," she told Rural Xpress.

dangers of the internet

Elon Parkinson, corporate communications manager at Lime Jamaica, while telling the students about the wide possibilities the Internet could afford, warned them against the dangers.

"You have the service; it's here. You can bring your tablets; you can bring your phone; you can bring your laptop, and you can get connected, but it means nothing if you're not using it to make your brains wiser. It can make you into wiser, smarter [children] who are going to become the leaders of tomorrow."

adult supervision

Parkinson said: "The Internet can be a bad place, because of other people who are not using it for the good that it is intended to be, so be careful about the website that you go on. If you're in doubt, talk to your teacher; talk to mommy; talk to a responsible adult about the content you view online. It's very important."

Regional director in the Ministry of Education's Region 5 Dr Nadine Leachman said schools in rural Jamaica are often deprived of Internet access because providers are unwilling to set up in certain areas because of theft.

Parkinson said the theft of telecommunications equipment has cost the company millions over the years.

rural@gleanerjm.com