Thirty science teachers from 15 schools in Kigali, yesterday, trained in the use of technology as a tool to improve teaching of science subjects. The training, held at Tumba College of Technology, was organised by House Of Technology Ltd (HOT), a company that deals in software development. The managing director of HOT, Ildephonse Mungwarakarama, said the training aimed at stimulating innovation among teachers and supporting new ways of teaching to achieve better results. “We wanted to help teachers understand the main role of technology in teaching. It is going to be useful in schools with no computer labs; we showed them how they will be getting these didactic materials from the Internet for teaching chemistry, physics and mathematics subjects,” he noted. Diogène Hategekimana, a teacher from Groupe Scolaire APACE, said the training would be helpful to them. “It has been expensive to us to prepare lessons since we would spend much money in Internet café doing research so as to have a good lesson that will benefit the learners,” he added. Yvonne Pacifique Umurerwa, another participant, said it was beneficial to interact with different teachers and come up with ideas on how to develop tools which can enhance teaching and learning based on ICT. “We had an interactive session which we hope will raise both teachers and students’ understanding of technology. Students are going to learn things in practical ways, which eases understanding of the lesson for students,” she said. House Of Technology Ltd works to improve academic outcomes and technology awareness in schools through providing tech tools, creating tech clubs in schools and engaging them in open source projects. HOT recently launched a new product called Rwanda Gorilla Game, which is a computer programme created to raise awareness about Rwanda’s tourism through an interactive and engaging platform. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
