I believe introducing tablets for Year 12 and 13 to replace textbooks is a good move by the Minister for Education (FT Sept 7, 2016). This will assist in overcoming the production and transport issues of the physical texts to our remote schools by compressing the texts into electronic format. Hopefully the e-books will be cheap enough to produce or purchase.
But a word of caution — introducing IT should not affect student note-taking ability or teachers’ ability to write notes and draw diagrams on the board. These are absolutely essential requirements of teaching-learning that many (especially those not in the trade) forget about.
The technology is still not very good at allowing students to insert quick notes and easily draw the all-important diagrams and sketches in their electronic notes. And teachers need their freedom to scribble and sketch on the board as they are speaking.
No one should be allowed to take away these essential tools of teaching-learning from our schools.
But my most serious concern is this — will all Years 12 and 13 students throughout the country have the bandwidth and internet access to enjoy this new facility? We don’t want a two-tier Fijian schooling system — the internet haves and the internet have-nots.
My other concern is whether the minister will be able to deliver in time. What is his previous record with the knee-jerk actions he has tried to introduce in the past?
