LOCAL EdTech company Camble & Co Innovations last week called for the Government to look to educational technology as a viable solution to the challenges affecting the educational system in Jamaica. The company, which provides interactive e-learning apps and software, is confident that with greater investments in the future of education the nation will see marked improvement in the quality of education delivered to the nation’s youths.

“Globally, there is a shift from conventional teaching to the digital classroom. Developing nations like Jamaica continue to lag behind their more developed counterparts as it relates to educational offerings, and this is a problem that can be easily remedied with the Government putting its support behind Jamaican-based edTech start-ups,” said Camble & Co CEO Allando Campbell.

Educational technology is a billion-dollar industry with major players such as Apple, Microsoft, Google and IBM pumping huge investments into improving technologies such as cloud computing, cognitive computing, and computer learning, to create a seamless digital learning process.

“For many persons, edTech is still a novel concept and we understand that as with all forms of technology there will be some apprehension towards wide-scale implementation,” said Campbell. “Edtech consists of many different forms of technology implementation in the learning process and ranges from distance learning, which has made access to college courses a reality for many, to learning software and apps used as teaching resource for students,” he continued.

Camble & Co stated its interest to partner with the Government in a private-public partnership to provide educational content that will complement the curriculum.

“We would like to commend the Ministry of Education, Youth & Information, and the Ministry of Science, Energy & Technology for the implementation of their Tablet in Schools Programme which is a step in the right direction for the future of education in Jamaica,” Campbell said. “However, we believe more can be done, with the support of the private sector, but greater support has to be extended by the Government to enable this to happen. It is no secret that to start a company requires capital and sadly, most Jamaicans still lack access to the capital circulating in the economy.”

“A part of our mandate is to sensitise our nations’ educators on how they can use technology to engage with the ‘net generation’ cohort of students, which requires a totally new outlook than before,” Campbell added. “The world is moving collectively towards the digital economy and for nations like Jamaica to compete effectively in the digital-age we must prepare our students starting with education.”

The company also called for educators to tap into their creativity to work alongside app developers and businesses to develop learning resources that will better the classroom.