Innovation labs bring virtual reality to students

The Digicel Foundation has announced that five additional special schools will receive fully-equipped Innovation Labs before the end of this year. The schools – Lady Hochoy Cocorite, Eshe’s Learning Centre, Cascade School for the Deaf, Servol Sunshine Hill and St Dominic’s Trade School – will each get new computers, virtual reality equipment, smart boards, assistive tech accessories, and specialised furniture to support more inclusive, hands-on learning for students with disabilities.

A media release said, principals from the five beneficiary schools recently visited an existing Innovation Lab at Palmera’s Learning Centre in St James, which was established last year. With guidance from IT teacher Faith Jackson and principal Earlene Phillip, the visiting team got a first-hand look at how technology is being woven into the curriculum.

Phillip described the impact on Palmera’s classrooms as transformational: “The Innovation Lab has revolutionised our teaching and learning. Our students are taking every opportunity to include tech in their daily activities. The smart board is a favourite, but just having computers and internet access where they can research and learn new things is fantastic.”

“These five schools join a movement of educators who are committed to digital inclusion,” shared the Digicel Foundation’s project manager Diana Mathura-Hobson. “Through the Innovation Labs programme, our goal is to ensure that students with special needs have equal access to all of the opportunities that technology provides.”

The Innovation Labs programme is part of the Digicel Foundation’s Digital Citizenship portfolio, which aims to empower youth and marginalised communities with the skills, tools and confidence to participate fully in the digital world. Including these five, the Digicel Foundation has now installed 20 Innovation Labs at special schools, integrating accessible and adaptive technologies into special education across the country.