ST. JOSEPHS ENTERS THE COMPUTER
AGE
It was the summer of 1985, when Mrs. Naseema Kapadia received a call from the Principal, asking whether it was possible for her to attend a "Computers in Education" course.
The Computer Education courses were sponsored by the BCCI, and initially involved 14 schools and 32 teachers of the secondary level. The course was run by a group of experts from the UK, and consisted of five educationists of long standing in the UK.
Computing is not more than 50 years old, and the introduction of computers in education is even more recent. In the UK it dates back to the late 1960's. The world is changing fast technologically and it was obligatory for educationists to equip students with the skills for coping in the modern world. Education therefore, has to be reviewed in a changing perspective. Evolving changes must result in broadening a student's knowledge. Education with computers allows for analysis of new problems through creative thinking, which is the most essential part of education.
The use of computers in our school is used simply as an aid to teaching and learning styles. Sister Zinia as the Principal in 1985, introduced computer studies in the curriculum of classes VI, and VII. In December 1985, Miss Fauzia Fikree was involved in teaching Computer Studies as well. In 1987, the school had four computers and computer activity was commenced with a program called DART, an easy graphical program, followed by DISCLOZE and LOGO. We now have nearly twenty computers, Internet services and regularly updated programs with greater capabilities.
Our school recently participated in the NICAS program.
NICAS, the National Award Scheme in Computing, is a method of assessing basic computer literacy skills in various applications at three levels of attainment. Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. It covers several applications used in real life and helps students to develop skills that are used everyday. NICAS awards certificates in UK which are accredited by OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA examination Boards.
This is a UK based assessment and globally recognized. In the year 2000, SJC students sat for the first time for the advanced assessment in five applications which included Word Processing, Databases, DTP, Windows 95/98 and Spreadsheets. and received the certificates from the UK which were distributed at an award giving ceremony at the school.
The school feels that this program is result oriented and allows the students flexibility in the choice of applications they enjoy learning.
In today's world of fast changing trends in the field of technology NICAS affords the most suitable Information and Communication Technology at grass root level.
For more details on NICAS you can refer to www.nicas.org.uk
