By Spy Uganda Reporter
As part of the government’s bid to train all civil servants in Information and Computer Telecommunications (ICT), the
Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), led by Eng. Godfrey Mutabaazi, has embarked on an ICT training programme targeting teachers across the country.
Our sources at the UCC reveal that they are implementing a countrywide ICT capacity building programme through workshops, as a way of skilling secondary school teachers to spur their performance and interact with digitized government operations.
The ICT workshops organised by the Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF) in partnership with Kisubi Associated Writers Agency (KAWA), aim at deepening the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning.
So far, three ICT workshops been held in Mbale, Jinja and Gulu districts, with Moroto district set to be covered later this week.
SpyUganda has also learnt that more training will take place in Masindi, Arua, Mbarara, Kabale, Fort Portal, Kampala, Masaka and Mubende districts in subsequent weeks.
During the workshop in Jinja which was held at the Civil Service College last week, KAWA facilitators trained teachers in the installation and use of open source software, among other ICT skills.
While at the workshop Geoffrey Ssengendo, the RCDF Head Technical Services who represented the Director Nyombi Thembo, told ICT teachers that they need to acquire digital skills beyond merely word processing and spreadsheets software.
He explained that 21st Century teachers need more advanced digital competencies, including cloud storage and sharing solutions, social media, web editing, image editing and presentation software.
“This workshop is about building the capacity of ICT teachers, who are the persons in charge of the school labs, to monitor usage of the ICT infrastructure by their students, empower them to initiate and drive the activities of ICT clubs in their schools,” said Ssengendo.
He added that “The training will expose teachers and learners to digital libraries and information literacy, among other digital resources.”
Other areas covered by the programme are; computer usage and monitoring software, computer maintenance, eLearning, ICT clubs in schools, and digital libraries.
At the end of it all, he said, ICT teachers will be equipped with the relevant software and hardware maintenance skills as well as basic knowledge on troubleshooting.
Eria Kisambira, the Jinja District Education Officer, urged teachers to always undertake adequate research to avoid giving outdated or inauthentic content to students.
