Educational Consultant and philanthropist, Dr Henry Godson-Afful, is appealing to the government to invest in Information and Communications Technology education and has urged for support from telecommunication industries to subsidise charges on internet data for educational purposes and institutions.
He made this request when the Department of Business and Social Sciences Education at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) organised a training workshop for lecturers and students in the department on how to effectively use technology in both virtual and physical learning interactions under the theme ’embracing the use of technology in a hybrid classroom.’
During the workshop, Dr Godson-Afful, who happens to be an old student of UCC, seized the opportunity to donate some educational technology gadgets like an interactive whiteboard, projector, tripod and cameras to help with hybrid learning.
Few weeks after the President’s announcement on the reopening of schools, the country has seen an upward surge in covid-19 cases, thus, prompting many institutions to adopt virtual learning strategy which hasn’t been a popular means of teaching and learning in ‘our part of the world’ over the last few years.
It is against this backdrop that the consultant has asked for proper conversation and consciousness with regards to hybrid learning.
“What we are seeing in our educational setup with the use of technology is something that could have happened 20 to 30 years down the line but now Covid19 has taught us to do that quickly,” he added.
He has reiterated the need for students and teachers to get acquainted with the new trend in Ghana’s educational system.
He added that: “Despite the struggles with the use of modern gadgets and challenges with data and internet connectivity, it is important to have an open mind and embrace change.”