Jamaica/OER

Policies Survey notes:

Jamaica is making strides towards OER, particularly through C@RIBNET (the Caribbean Research and Education Network). The recently formed Jamaica Research and Education Network (JREN) is a community of institutions that collaborate to share resources collectively and to access the resources of C@RIBNET. Jamaica’s Central Repository of Educational Material (CREM) component is also planned to be a part of JREN.

Overview

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, amounting to 11,100 km2. It is the third largest island and the fourth largest country in the Caribbean. Jamaica is about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, on which the Dominican Republic is also located. Its indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the island Xaymaca, meaning the Land of Wood and Water, or the Land of Springs. Formerly a Spanish possession known as Santiago, it later became the British Crown colony of Jamaica. Jamaica has a population of 2,800,000 - it is the third most populous anglophone country in North America, after the United States and Canada. Its capital is Kingston. It remains in the Commonwealth of Nations with Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State. Jamaica's population mainly consists of people of African descent. Multiracial Jamaicans make up much of the population also. The Indian and Chinese population is together around 160,000. Some 20,000 Latin Americans and 7000 US Americans also reside in Jamaica. The official language of Jamaica is English. In informal discourse, Jamaicans primarily speak an English-African Creole language known as Jamaican Patois, which has become known widely through the spread of Reggae music. Christians make up somewhat over half of the population, approximately 59% percent - the remainder are spread among several religions. Jamaica is a mixed economy with both state enterprises and private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaican economy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism, and financial and insurance services. Tourism and mining are the leading earners of foreign exchange. An estimated 1.3 million foreign tourists visit Jamaica every year.

Further information

For further general information see Wikipedia:Jamaica/OER.

Education in Jamaica/OER

For a general description of education in Jamaica/OER see Education:Jamaica/OER.

e-learning

For a description more focussed to e-learning see E-learning:Jamaica/OER.

Internet in Jamaica/OER

Internet in Education

The Mission of the Ministry of Education intends to provide a system which secures quality education and training for all persons in Jamaica and achieves effective integration of educational and cultural resources in order to optimise individual and national development. It has seven objectives, of which the 7th (the last) is about ICT: To enhance student learning by the greater use of information and communication technology as preparation for life in the national and global communities. (1)

References

1. ReVica/VISCED page for Jamaica (http://virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/Jamaica)

Reports

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