​Press Statement

Teachers in Antigua and Barbuda are given an opportunity to win several prizes, once they successfully complete an annual technology training facilitated by a partnership between the public and private sectors.

The Rotary Club of Antigua and The Bellevue Breakfast Club (Rotary) through its “Improving Teaching Through Technology” Initiative is delivering the Systemic Technology Integration Training Series (STITS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Sports & Creative Industries (MOE&S), iLabGlobal Inc and The Caribbean Tech Genius Foundation (CTG).

The Ministry of Education will offer STITS as a part of an extended Summer Professional Development Program for three half-day online sessions from June 28th – July 18th. The goal is to train over 150 teachers, so they are encouraged to sign-up early, as space is limited.

Teachers will learn how to design lessons and match them to technological activities based on grade level and subject area to improve students’ engagement in the classroom through the STITS training over the next three weeks.

Once finishing at the top percentile of the training, four primary school teachers stand to win 15 laptops for their classrooms as well as several projectors.

The Rotary-led initiative was created in 2009 and since 2015 has built wireless networks in schools, providing laptops, and offering training to educators.

Mako S. Williams, CEO of iLabGlobal and The Caribbean Tech Genius Foundation says the mission is to have multiple stakeholders advance the Caribbean’s human capital by supporting STEM skills and Computational Thinking.

Since 2020, successful alumni of the program have been invited to join the train-the-trainer program, sustainably expanding its reach within schools.

Almost all the teachers who completed the STITS program say that their students now participate in class enthusiastically through the use of experience enthusiastic participation from their students using this tech-based pedagogy.

Over the years, participants’ feedback has included how tech tools learned in STITS has assisted teachers in creating and executing hands-on lessons by applying the “practical, concise and well-presented” information.

The STITS program is helping upskill classroom educators to prepare their students for the modern world since more than 65% of students today will work jobs that have yet to be created through  innovation.