From colonial to contemporary Caribbean, education has always been significant to our development. Many scholars have emerged from the lands in this region yet still our struggles to become developed are ongoing as a brain drain seems to continuously expel them into the vast ocean of the developed world. Educators play a significant role therefore not only in raising the levels of literacy and scholarly achievement but also in 'motivating' our graduates to apply their knowledge to our collectively lived realties. The use of and integration of 21st century literacies into our classrooms at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels will help achieve the goal of motivating our student graduates to remain in the region and continue to contribute to our development. One main reason for this is the communication and interaction component of 21st century literacies. Once students become comfortable with the literacies available for their use in academia they will likely realize that they can interact, collaborate and communicate with international students and scholars who work in similar fields. With the use of podcasts, wikis etc, on site research can continue while living in the Caribbean while at the same time communicating updates to often outdated information stored in overseas libraries.
For example, I remember while going to school in Toronto, I did a short paper on the use of Tobacco amongst Carib Indian Shamans. While I was able to find books with some information on the topic, I was not able to get contemporary data on current day rituals involving tobacco use amongst the Native Carib Indians. As I later realized upon return to Trinidad, there are several contemporary Carib Indian ceremonies which use tobacco as a sacred herb.
The use of the internet and other technologies apart from the word processor was not at all common at the time when I did my paper, so obviously my paper was not as dynamic as it could have been.
Hi Alicia,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved reading your blog. I forced me to wonder about the state of technology literacy in the Caribbean. I personally believe that we are light years behind the first world. Many people have stated using the internet and some of its supporting technologies; however, just a glance at many offices and homes would reveal that the spread is still very thin. I know the advantages of being technologically savvy but is it such a bad thing to abscond from using it? I am thinking about the quality and quantity of interpersonal communication, the human contact, the oral tradition, the natural uninterrupted carefree way of living. I am thinking about the negative aspects of the share high speed of sharing information, and the impersonal ways of dealing with people. I don’t know, but to me it detracts something from the humanness of individuals. Just thinking!
As I pointd out elsewhere, teaching is intertwined with nurturing. Our students often lack the emotional and mental stability which is needed to maintain academic performance (even on the basic levels). So I agree with you that there must be a balance with quality and quantity in terms of classroom instruction and overall interaction.
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