Microsoft and Education Ministry to train 300 ICT teachers from April
View(s):Two Sri Lankan teachers recently attended the “Microsoft in Education Global Forum 2014″, held in Barcelona, Spain, according to a statement issued last week by Microsoft.
Additionally, the statement also noted, “Shiroma Weerathunga from Presidents College, Ambilipitiya and Champa Rathnayaka from Kandy Model School were picked from 23,000 teachers worldwide for their innovative and effective use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the classroom”.
Elaborating further, the statement also indicated that the “two teachers had enrolled their schools in the Microsoft Innovative Expert Educators Programme, conducted locally by Microsoft Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Ministry of Education earlier this year. The programme, which stressed on the productive use of ICT in the classroom, required applicants to submit a lesson plan designed with the use of ICT, along with a link to a YouTube video on the lesson experience and pictures or videos providing learning evidence”.
“Shiroma Weerathunga, from Presidents College, Ambilipitiya who teaches ICT, submitted her lesson plan for Grade 6 students on the water cycle. She says that even though Sri Lanka lacked ICT facilities as a country in its education system, innovation and guidance could direct students to use ICT in learning and studying beyond the class room, especially since most of them own personal computers at home… IT teacher, Champa Rathnayaka innovatively combined her lesson plan with IT, General Science and English. She says ‘ICT could vastly contribute to empower students and discover their real potential across a wide range, without limiting them to just a few subjects’,” added the statement.
At the same time, it also emerged that “[both] Shiroma Weerathunga and Champa Rathnayaka who had the one of a kind experience of participating in the Global Forum 2014 said that they are looking forward to train 300 teachers in Sri Lanka to use ICT effectively in the classroom. The project action plans, which were submitted to the Department of Education last year, are now approved for carrying out. The teacher-training project, which will be set in motion by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with Microsoft Sri Lanka, is scheduled to commence in April this year”.