June 20, 2013

BrightPath facilitates first-ever CXC Video-Based Syllabus Orientation

#technology #partnership #development #caribbean

The Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) will be making history in Grenada this week with the recording of its first-ever completely video-based syllabus orientation.

Caribbean Examinations Council Assistant Registrar, Cherryl Stephen's records a CAPE Digital Media Syllabus Orientation Session in Grenada

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.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is the regional body that provides primary, secondary and post-secondary examinations and other education services for Caribbean countries.

Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Didacus Jules stated that the region's education system needs to be updated to produce graduates with the requisite skills in digital media and other technology-based skills.

"The knowledge packaged into the new CAPE Digital Media program is intended to empower graduates to market their skills locally, regionally and internationally," Jules said, adding,"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."

Rhea Yaw Ching, Corporate Vice President Sales and Marketing at Columbus, explained the role her organization has played in staging the event. "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. We view the donation of our resources for the video-shoot as small but tangible demonstration of our commitment to the regional development of the education sector."

Country Manager of FLOW, Gail Purcell shared that "Over the years CC6 has played an integral role in local media production, working along with BrightPath on this initiative is a natural extension of our commitment to supporting local and regional productions that hold relevance to vision for Caribbean development. Columbus supports CXC's thrust to ensure our future teachers and students are strongly rooted in technology-based education."

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. Under a collaborative partnership agreement, the organizations, have partnered to use technology to improve the delivery of education in the Caribbean. The accelerated CAPE Digital Media Syllabus implementation strategy is a direct product of this collaboration.

"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.

Mrs. Alice Thomas-Martin, a teacher from St Benedicts 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 off 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.

About the Caribbean Examinations Council

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is the leading provider of examinations for secondary schools in the Caribbean; providing a suite of examinations to 16 English-speaking territories and some of the Dutch-speaking islands. Established in 1972, CXC offered its first examinations for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) in 1979. Nineteen years later, in 1998 CXC introduced the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). Over the last three years, CXC introduced the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC) and the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) to cater to students with a wider range of abilities. CXC has two operational centres, the Headquarters located in Barbados, which is headed by the Registrar and Western Zone Office located in Jamaica, headed by the Pro Registrar.

About Columbus Communications/FLOW

Columbus International Inc. is a privately held diversified telecommunications company based in Barbados. The Company provides digital cable television, broadband Internet and digital landline telephony in Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada and Curacao under the brand name FLOW and in St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Antigua under the brand name Karib Cable. Columbus also provides corporate data and cloud based services under the brand Columbus Business Solutions. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Columbus Networks, the Company provides capacity and IP services, corporate data solutions and data center hosting throughout 27 countries in the greater Caribbean, Central American and Andean region. Through its fully protected, ringed submarine fiber optic network spanning close to 18,000 km and its 24,000 km terrestrial fibre and coaxial terrestrial network, Columbus’ 2,400 plus professionals provide advanced telecom services to a diverse residential and corporate client base of over 550,000 customers. Visit www.columbus.co

About the BrightPath Foundation

BrightPath Foundation is a technology-education focused non-profit organization based in Trinidad and Tobago. Established in 2006, it trains individuals and communities to design and develop internet-based applications and digital content that address indigenous needs. BrightPath programs simultaneously empower participants with globally marketable technical skills while equipping them with the values and mentalities necessary to transformation to their local communities. It offers training curricula, delivered online and via centers for technology-based learning and innovation throughout the Caribbean, in the U.K. and U.S.

BrightPath conducts iCAN Mobile, the Caribbean's only dedicated, ongoing mobile app development initiative. The program provides training and hands-on experience in mobile app development, graphics and user-interface design, content development and app marketing. In the past two years alone, its programs have reached over 500 individuals across the Caribbean.

Photo Gallery