MANDEVILLE, Manchester — St Elizabeth school teacher Romel Richards is looking forward to incorporating her newly acquired smartphone as a vital tool in helping her to connect with her students.

According to a news release from telecommunications provider Digicel, this was her sentiment after purchasing her DL600 smartphone from a store in Juici Beef Plaza, Mandeville during Digicel’s Data Link-Up session last Saturday.

“Technology is advancing every day, and as a teacher I see where the smartphone is fast becoming a powerful tool in education, and so being able to keep up with it is very important to me,” Richards was reported as saying.

“I love to make my lessons interactive and use PowerPoint presentations and videos. With a smartphone, I can do all that and make learning even more fun for my students,” she added.

According to Richards, “having a smartphone also means that if I’m in class, I can just pull up a video on YouTube and show this to my students or do quick reference checks online. This is exactly what they (the students) are already doing, so it’s just one way of reaching them in a way that they understand and can appreciate.”

Richards, who stayed to participate in the session after purchasing her phone, collected data and ideas on how she could incorporate it in lessons for her students.

Distribution director at Digicel, Patrick King, reportedly said that while social media was a key driver for mobile data in Jamaica, persons like Richards were already capitalising on many of the other benefits that come with it.

“Mobile data is becoming such an integral part of our lives. There’s an application for almost everything we do and everyone wants to stay connected at the same time. Educators, like Miss Richards, are seeing the benefits of using smart devices in the classroom and other people are already taking advantage of all that data can offer,” King said.

“Customers realise that a smartphone with mobile data is also a tool that can be used to enhance their businesses or even start an online venture. … That’s why we’re having these Link-Up sessions to give our customers the opportunity to have all their questions about data answered on-spot and have some fun learning about all their smart devices can do.”

The Link-Up session was the fourth in the series and will continue in Digicel stores across the island.