Trinidad and Tobago/OER

Policies Survey notes:

Trinidad and Tobago is involved in the OER movement through the VUSSC and OER for Open Schooling initiatives. This has now extended to other subject areas and other levels of education. For example, the Distance Learning Secretariat of the Ministry established an initiative in 2008 called Electronic Collaboration for Learning, Access, Information, and Research (ECLAIR), which is a mechanism to drive national capacity-building activities related to e-learning and the development and use of OER for the tertiary education sector.

Trinidad and Tobago’s ICT in Education policy makes reference to the use of open platforms and resources. In addition, its draft ODL policy framework and draft tertiary education legislation make reference to the identification and communication of best practices in intellectual property agreements that facilitate sharing of digital content whilst recognising owner/developer rights.

The respondent to Policies Survey from Trinidad ad Tobago, commenting on obstacles to the adoption of OER, noted that "The movement is still fairly new, [and] as such the awareness is very low in my country. Over time it is anticipated that there will be more active participation in the OER movement."

Overview

Trinidad and Tobago, in full the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west. The population is estimated at 1,300,000 (2005). The capital is Port of Spain (on Trinidad) but the largest city is San Fernando. The country covers an area of 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands; Tobago is much smaller, comprising about 6% of the total area and 4% of the entire population. Trinidad and Tobago was a Spanish colony from the times of Christopher Colombus to 1802, when it was ceded to Britain. The country obtained independence in 1962. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.

Further information

For further general information see Wikipedia:Trinidad and Tobago/OER.

Education in Trinidad and Tobago/OER

For a general description of education in Trinidad and Tobago/OER see Education:Trinidad and Tobago/OER.

e-learning

For a description more focussed to e-learning see E-learning:Trinidad and Tobago/OER.

In support of government’s e-Connect and Learn (eCAL) laptop programme, the Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism through NALIS (National Library and Information System Authority) has introduced nationwide remote online access to information databases specifically targeted to secondary school students. Through personal laptops or other computers, students using an individually assigned user name and password can access a wide range of major e-resources to meet their various information needs. Teacher resources are also available through access to the ERIC information database and the Professional Development Collection. Minister of the Arts and Multiculturalism said that “this initiative creates a unique learning environment which is not only highly flexible but which offers greater learning support and resources to our students and society at large. It is important to find and implement sustainable and innovative ways to empower young people and I encourage all secondary school students to take up the opportunity to explore the world of e-learning and to gain access to the considerable resources that are available through NALIS” . Working with the Ministry of Education and the School Library Media Centres, NALIS recently distributed approximately 17,000 letters and library application forms to students who will be entering Form one in September 2011. (http://virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/National_Library_and_Information_Systems_Authority_(Trinidad) )

References

Reports

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