By Dipo Olowookere
The Samsung Smart School Project for teachers and students has moved to Calabar, the capital of Cross River State.
The initiative, a brain child of Samsung Electronics West Africa, is an integral part of Samsung’s ‘Smart School Rollout’ scheme, which is aimed at digitising classrooms on the platform of mobile learning across unity schools in Nigeria.
Launched across the country in partnership with the various state governments, the Samsung Smart School Project will ensure that secondary schools benefit from the Digital Classroom, which is equipped with mobile devices, electronic boards, thin client monitors, learning contents all from Samsung Electronics West Africa and her partner, Etiam Global, for more collaborative, engaging and interactive education.
Samsung had opened similar Smart Schools in Abuja and Ogun State.
The platform will focus on the training of 50 teachers in basic computer literacy, provision of access to tools teachers need for impactful teaching, empowering them to access digital content which can be shared with students at any location; facilitating better conduct and monitoring of student’s progress, and also providing students with learning tools from any location through Samsung’s mobile devices.
Speaking at the event, which held at Government Secondary School, State Housing Estate, Calabar, Managing Director of Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr Changwook Lee, represented by the Head, Enterprise Business solution/IT Business, Mr Anu Rotimi Agboola, said that Samsung has decided to equip the country’s teachers with the skills and motivation they need to lead their students towards a successful future in the 21st Century.
He stated that, “the global initiative by the company is an indication of the value it places on people and its willingness to help them build and change the society the way they desire.”
“In keeping with this aspiration, the Smart School for Teachers will focus on equipping and training teachers in basic computer literacy, as well as providing them access to the tools they need to use ICT for curriculum development and more impactful teaching. The aim is to empower teachers to access digital content, share it with their students, use it to conduct assessments and monitor their students’ progress continuously,” Lee added.
Cross Rivers State Governor, Prof. Benedict Ayade, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ivara Ejemot Esu, in his goodwill message said, “Cross River and Samsung share a common belief that the Smart School/Mobile learning concept will make a positive impact on the lives of our student and the people. We need to work together to make quality education delivery a reality in Cross River State.”
The exposure of technology to the classroom, along with guidance from teachers, who understand the technology, will be the first step for students to gain the skills they need to flourish in the rapidly advancing and ICT-centric world.
The Samsung Smart School in Calabar is among the first three of nine ICT labs that Samsung plans to launch across Nigeria.
It is estimated that over the next five years, a total of 5,000 teachers will receive training through the Samsung Train- the- Trainer approach, with a further 100,000 students impacted as secondary beneficiaries in Cross River State.
This is line with the mission of the Cross River State government to use education to foster development of the people to their full potential in the promotion of a strong, democratic and prosperous state.
