Ministry of Agriculture Extension Staff Ayo Xavier Simon received ICT Training
The Introduction to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Stewardship course was facilitated by The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, in partnership with the University of Alberta and the University of Guelph. The 10 weeks short online course ran between February 16 and April 20, 2023 with 46 participants from across 12 countries in the Caribbean including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.
According to Prof. Wayne Ganpat of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, the host university, “The course was designed to introduce participants to methods and techniques that would assist them in assuming the role of a technology steward within a community. The ultimate goal being to have members adopt ICTs for their development”
The extension officers were able to utilise their extension experiences, including those from the pandemic, to identify alternative modes of communication choices utilising ICT devices (internet-ready) and WEB 2.0 tools example WhatsApp and Facebook, to undertake an exploratory campaign to respond to farmers’ challenges using low-cost ICTs.
“The medium-range goal of implementing a Technology Stewardship program is to promote experimentation with ICTs and to build capacity for innovation within communities. Enabled Technology Stewards would cultivate a culture of innovative thinking among their community members with the long-term objective of enhancing the range of real choices available to practitioners when sharing information and mobilising knowledge with digital ICTs,” according to Prof. Gordon Gow of the University of Alberta.
Jennifer Maynard and Ayo Xavier Simon are the two local participants who contributed significantly to the class and their class group exercises during the weekly interactive sessions. Ms. Maynard brought a wealth of knowledge and experience for which we are thankful. Both participants would do well to provide training in ICT technology stewardship to their peers. We look forward to having both complete a capping project study toward their advanced certification.
Having the course online allowed us to train twice as many participants as we would have face-to-face in one cohort. The Technology Stewardship Programme is supported by a Canada grant.