Hello activity

Good day to all the ones participating in this course of study. I do hope we've gotten past any initial hiccups that may have been experienced.

I'm Mr. Adrian Neverson, a teacher of 28 years experience. I've taught at the New Grounds /Union Methodist Primary School for the past 8 years, where I've been largely involved with the grade 5/6 streams. Our school, located on the windward side of our island overlooking the vast Atlantic just may have the distinction of having the largest school-yard on the island. Our school's present population is relatively small at under 300 students. There's a teaching/administrative staff of 14. Having been born and raised in this region myself, I attended this school as a child, although in a different location. Our current buildings were donated by the Canadian government nearly 20 years ago.

St. Vincent is, as you may know, the largest of the islands in our in our multi-island state of St.Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG). Further afield, we're a part of the wider Caribbean region located between North and South America. Our nation is a member of several sub-regional groupings as well as of the major international organisations relevant to our development and well-being.

At present, I teach all the subjects in the lone Grade 5, which is where the formal 2-year transition to the secondary school begins for us. These days I tend to gravitate more to the science/math aspect of teaching and less to the languages. This may be due to the fact that over the years my interests have veered more towards technical/electronics developments around us. I have a strong appreciation for the intricacies of photography and music production, on the artistic side of things.

 The students i teach (10-11 years) are many and varied in different aspects, coming from their different social backgrounds. In the main I find they possess that urge for learning which I try to bring out daily, as best I can.

 I also happen to be the technology co-ordinator for the school at present, a post necessitated by the introduction, a few years ago, of a programme that aimed to supply one net-book per student/teacher in SVG. This programme seemed to presage the introduction of a greater degree of ICT-centred learning in our schools, hence the introduction of courses like this one. Initially I had hoped that this course would have been more technically-oriented, but that may be for another time and place. From this course, anything that I may gain to facilitate the structured use of ICT in schools and to increase the positive learning outcomes for the pupils in our care would be what i hope for most, despite the fact that, so far, ICT-centred lessons seem a bit more labour-intensive. 

Most of the students in our school, from grades 3 - 6, have net-books which they would take with them to the secondary level. In addition we have access to a computer lab with seven computers, as well as projectors, scanners, a white board and other related devices. It would seem, at our school at least, that the introduction of a course such as this couldn't have come at a better time, insofar as it would better equip us for what seems to be the current thrust in ICT-centred learning.

Adrian.