(Trinidad Guardian) The Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) will make history in Grenada this week with the recording of its first-ever completely video-based syllabus orientation. The recording is being done for the launch of CXC’s CAPE Digital Media Syllabus and will be facilitated by BrightPath Foundation, a Trinidad-based technology education non-profit. A team of teachers, CXC officers and volunteer digital media specialists will be working together to produce the orientation video. Telecommunications provider, Columbus Communications has made its CC6 Community Station studio resources available to CXC for the occasion.
Rhea Yaw Ching, corporate vice president sales and marketing at Columbus said, “Columbus has been working closely with CXC and BrightPath to ensure the success of this important initiative. A Digital Media Syllabus is an important inclusion in the Caribbean curriculum, and it also supports our large corporate objective of enabling learning through technology.” A team of teachers, CXC officers and volunteer digital media specialists will be working together to produce the orientation video. Telecommunications provider, Columbus Communications, has made its CC6 Community Station studio resources available to CXC for the occasion. CXC provides primary, secondary and post-secondary examinations and other education services for Caribbean countries.
Registrar and chief executive officer Dr Didacus Jules said the region’s education system needs to be updated to produce graduates with the requisite technology-based skills. “Emphasis will be placed on project work and active participation to ensure that students have opportunity to develop both practical skills and a solid understanding of how digital media is applied in real-world scenarios.” Bevil Wooding, Congress WBN’s Chief Knowledge Officer and Executive Director of BrightPath Foundation, is coordinating the activity in Grenada. He explained that the newness of the subject matter has meant that CXC had to turn to technology to accelerate the syllabus roll-out process. A special Accelerated CAPE Digital Media Implementation Strategy has been developed in collaboration with the CXC’s civil-society partner Congress WBN, a Trinidad-based international non-profit organization. “We wanted to ensure the same principles and tools highlighted in the Digital Media syllabus were reflected in the approach to implementation,” Wooding said.
In addition to the syllabus orientation video, Wooding and his BrightPath team of volunteers are putting together Caribbean-centric reference texts, digital and physical teaching aids targeted at teachers, students and parents. Alice Thomas-Martin, a teacher from St Benedict’s College in San Fernando and one of the educators selected by CXC to help create the syllabus, is in Grenada for the recording. “Using digital means to introduce CAPE Digital Media is a perfect way to kick of this new syllabus. This is truly a step in the right direction. I feel privileged to be part of this milestone moment in Caribbean education. I am excited about introducing this subject to my students. The subject material lends itself to very practical and ‘hands on’ activities which will make the teaching and learning process very student-centered.” She added, “The majority of my students are ‘digital natives’ having grown up surrounded by technology. I know they will be most excited when this launches in September. CXC is exploring the possibility of applying the approach taken for the Digital Media Syllabus other subject areas.