CARIBBEAN TODAY


SPRING/SummER EDUCATION

 ~ A Caribbean Today advertising feature


PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,
CMC Government is moving
to ban mobile phones with
cameras from all schools here.
 Education Minister
Esther Le Gendre said last
month that principals have
been given guidelines "to
implement a ban on the use of
camera phones in schools."
 This latest development
came after pornograhpic
images were taken by students
and put on the Internet
recently. This caused outrage
among several interest groups,
including the Trinidad and
Tobago Unified Teachers
Association and the National
Parent Teacher Association.
 Le Gendre said principals,
who are effectively the front-


 Tips for getting
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
scholarship lists.
 Get right on this, because
many application deadlines are
coming up quickly. Also, Chany
said, as your student bears
down on applications and
essays, keep in mind that "less
than five percent of the money
for college comes from outside
private scholarship sources. So
don't devote a huge amount of
time to this."

* Be wary of the hired gun If
you feel like you're in over your
head, professional help is avail-
able from college consultants and
scholarship search services. But
be careful when considering
some of these national services,
which often rely on direct mail or
mass e-mail blitzes to attract fam-
ilies. Their promises, at the very
least, can be of questionable
value.
 On the other hand, some
professional consultants who
walk you through every aspect
of the application and financial
aid process can be worth every
penny. Decide how much time
and money you want to devote
to this project.

* Look for deals As your stu-
dent comes up with a final list
of schools to apply to, it may
pay to look for offers like this
incentive from the University of
Kansas: The university will lock
in a guaranteed tuition rate for
in-state students for four years.
There's another parental benefit
to the plan students will have
added incentive to graduate in
four years.
 It is risky, of course, to wait
so late in the game to start eye-
balling the tuition tab. But with
a little bit of knowledge about
the financial aid process, you
can at least get going in the


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line managers of schools in
this country, "are being asked
to exercise their authority
firmly, fairly and swiftly in
matters of discipline." She
said where it is warranted
sanctions will be placed on
students who breach this new
arrangement.
 Le Gendre said in the
wake of recent incidents of
violence and indiscipline in
the nation's schools a security
manager is to be hired on
June 1 to r \ Ki\\ the security
policy of the ministry and
develop a strategic plan for
the management of safety for
schools as well as the facilities
occupied by non-teaching staff
of the ministry."



a late start...
right direction before the clock
strikes 12.


 2007 Tribune Media
Services, Inc
0


Haitian students to benefit from laptop project
VASHINGTON The Inter- not only makes for the best audio files and electronic docu-
Lmerican Development Bank team, but also a model for ments, will be translated into
[DB) and the One Laptop Per other countries in the creole and applications will be
'hild Foundation (OLPC) will Caribbean and Latin America."
nance a pilot project to test Emma Nislund-Hadley, the
whether one-to-one computing IDB's project team leader, said
an improve teaching and while there were studies about
-arning in schools in Haiti. the impact of computer labs and


 OLPC makes the XO lap-
top, a low-cost computer
designed for children in places
with poor infrastructure. The
rugged machine, which uses
open-source software, can be
powered with car batteries,
solar panels or devices such as
cranks, pedals and pull-cords.
 The IDB said it would
make a $3 million grant for the
pilot project, which will distrib-
ute XO laptops to some 13,200
students and 500 teachers in 60
Haitian primary schools.
OLPC will contribute $2
million to the project.
 "As one of the poorest
countries in the world, deploy-
ment in Haiti has always been
an important goal for OLPC,"
said Nicholas Negroponte,
founder and chairman of One
Laptop per Child.
 "Doing it with our long
standing partner, the Inter-
American Development Bank,


shared computers in the class-
room, I IL rL never been a
comprehensive evaluation of
the learning model based on
giving each child a laptop.
 "This is crucial to deter-
mine the effectiveness of this
model under conditions of
extreme poverty and as a tool
for accelerating learning."

ASSESSMENT
 The pilot project will
assess how a child-cantered
learning technology can be
used to bridge problems such
as the shortage of qualified
teachers and educating chil-
dren of different grades in the
same classroom. Another
major priority for the Haitian
government is speeding up the
learning process for students
who enter school late or repeat
grades.
 Under the project, content
including text books, movies,


Children in Haiti will soon benefit from
low cost laptop computers.
developed for subjects such as
reading and writing, numerical
literacy and problem solving,
environmental studies and
social skills.
 Training will be provided
for teachers and students to
operate the laptops and carry
out basic maintenance and
trouble-shooting tasks.
0


T&T plans to ban camera

cellular phones in schools


April 2008