Jamaica College Sixth Form Students given Tablets and 16 CAPE Books under extension of UWI TEST Project

“This is indeed a tremendous day in terms of learning in Jamaica and we certainly want to be a stimulus in ensuring that the education system in Jamaica is world-class, the same way we conquered athletics”

Principal of JC (Jamaica College) Ruel Reid during the handing over ceremony of 7” SmartTab Tablets under UWI’s (University of the West Indies) TEST (UWI Total eBook Solution Tablet) Program

The UWI (University of the West Indies) isn’t waiting for the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining to roll out their much touted Tablets as described in my blog article entitled “Minister Paulwell gives Parliamentarians and 20,000 Students in 30 Schools Tablets- Future in Science and Technology now rescued Indiana Jones and the Palace of Doom”.

They’ve decided to extend their Tablet Program to the Sixth Form Students at JC (Jamaica College) as stated in “'We couldn't ask for a better deal' - JC students excited about UWI eBook project for sixth-formers”, Published Saturday September 7, 2013 by Alessandro Boyd, Gleaner Writer, The Jamaica Gleaner.

UWI has apparently decided on their own that Medical Sciences Students aka Med Sci peeps, aren’t so special. After all, they had already given their Med Sci Students 7” SmartTab Tablets from JL Mobile costing a mere US$200 for the Tablet and the Books since November 2012 as described in my blog article entitled “UWI Medical Sciences Students get deal on JL Mobile SmartTab Tablets and cheaper ebook versions of Textbooks - From Gross Anatomy to Islandwide Push towards Tablet Adoption”.

The Telecom Providers Digicel and LIME has also seized on the opportunity and donated a few Tablets as recorded in my blog article entitled “LIME and Digicel both make Donations of Tablets to Preparatory and Primary Schools - How Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark started a Love for Computer Programming Languages in Jamaica”.

Then the Ministry of Education Ronal Thwaites caught wind of the idea and in partnership with the Minister of State, Julian Robinson in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining decided to make Primary and High School Students get in on the action as described in my blog article entitled “Minister Paulwell gives Parliamentarians and 20,000 Students in 30 Schools Tablets- Future in Science and Technology now rescued Indiana Jones and the Palace of Doom”.

Meanwhile UWI’s re-branded the Med Sci Tablet Program and dubbed it TEST (UWI Total eBook Solution Tablet), as apparently the UWI Students in Academic Year 2013-2014 are Guinea Pigs for the idea of using Tablets and E-books. I had mentioned this in my blog article entitled “Crowdsourced, Teleworking Flex-work Publishers needed for UWI and High School Students with Tablets in 2014 - How Jamaican Writers can make money via ePub Publishing Books” as this presented an opportunity for writers of Books to get their work published by following the steps and using the software recommended.

But with the GOJ E-Learning II Project being held up by a lack of a suitable contractor, many of those Primary and High Schools promise to get Tablets won’t be getting them this year. Hence TEST has decided to recruit JC Sixth Form students as yet another batch of Guinea Pigs to test out this idea of improving learning via these Mobile Computer Devices.

Packed with sixteen (16) CAPE (Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination) e-books that cost a nice caboodle of puppies, the material may be a godsend for many students, to quote Principal Ruel Reid, quote: “These books cost an average of [JA$]5,000 to [JA$]20,000, and they are getting all that for free, plus a machine in the form of a tablet that allows you to enhance your learning, search the Internet, interact with teachers, and post assignments. This is the future in terms of teaching and learning”.

The article doesn’t give much details, but I’m betting it’s the same exact tablets as those being used by the Med Sci Students. This would suggest that JC’s got some pretty decent Wi-Fi and equally decent Students ….or some very strong Porn blocker software as Millennials (ages 18 to 28) have a love for Porn as noted in “XXX-Rated Kids”, Published Sunday July 28, 2013, by Tyrone Reid, Senior Staff Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner.   

Still the students are grateful for the gift presented by UWI Special Projects Consultant, Dr Ronald Robinson who initiate the Tablet e-book project for Med Sci Students and then rebranded it to TEST, to quote Alex Chen Sue, a sixth-form student: “This project is very good and I will be taking part. I am asking them to keep this, going forward, as the tablets are very beneficial and will really help our parents financially as we are getting the eBooks for free. We couldn't ask for a better deal”.

Hopefully the next time I write about Tablets and Education in Jamaica, it’ll be about a Corporate entity making a massive donation of Tablet to Several Schools or the GOJ rolling out Tablets islandwide!