NAEC unveils E-learning centre

A POPULAR saying goes thus: “What you hear, you forget; what you see, you remember; what you do, you understand.” To make learning more functional,  fun and more student-centred, the Nigerian Army Education Corps (NAEC) in collaboration with Access Bank and Chips, Bits & Bytes Ltd., an e-learning solutions provider, have built an e-learning centre (21st Century classroom) at the Command Day Secondary School, Ikeja.

Speaking to a gathering of top officials of NAEC and some teachers on the benefits of the centre equipped with interactive board and laptops loaded with last 20 years of past question papers of NECO, JAMB and WAEC and over 4,000 animations, Chief Executive Officer, Chips, Bits & Bytes, Mr. Tunji Ola said e-learning centres became necessary having discovered that children love animations.

Teaching and learning
“Children are glued to television sets because they love animations. What we have done is to transfer that same energy they use in watching animations that profit them little, to be able to watch animations of how the brain functions, how digestion, respiration etc.,  take place.

Hitherto, it has been difficult to communicate certain things to them, we use all manners of languages but when they can see it graphically, everything changes. So rather than the old way of teaching where it is all about the teacher, this method is about the pupils. They contribute to the process of teaching and learning.”

Ola noted that the laptops have been approved by the Federal Ministry of Education for up to 44 subjects. “It has curriculum for every teacher, per subject, per week, per term. The student can study on his own, generate questions on a topic, test and grade himself.

With this method of teaching, if we were having A students, we can have A-star students who will not just pass exams but understand the subjects. Students in British and American International schools are not more brilliant than our students,” adding: “This is a pilot scheme and we will train the teachers here.”

Asked if it is possible to monitor the student, he answered in the affirmative, saying that the teacher can monitor what each student does. “The teacher can demobilise the particular laptop from his end. The child will be unable to update anything in the laptop even if he removes the battery. It is called electronic punishment.”

In a chat with Vanguard Learning, the Commandant, NAEC, Major Gen. Dapo Adebayo said NAEC has contributed immensely to Nigeria’s education sector. “NAEC has been able to train first class students. “Our students are first class materials in the universities. We are able to inculcate discipline into them. It is not just training them but being able to inculcate discipline and that is really helping our society,” he said.

While thanking Access Bank for this gesture, Adebayo said: “The military believes that cutting-edge technology is what is most needed in our generation to improve educational standards among school children.” He promised that the school will put the centre to good use.

On his part, the Commandant, CDSS Ikeja, Lt.Col. Eduoku noted that Major Gen. Adebayo initiated the programme and it is being coordinated by the Director, Directorate, Command School Services, Colonel  Joseph Iferi. My school is just a pilot school.”

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