Coral Reef Innovation Lab engages Private Schools in Tamale on Edtech Ghana Project

Coral Reef Innovation Lab, a technical hub that is focused on introducing technology to influence the way people live and do businesses in Ghana has engaged private Schools in Tamale as part of the Edtech Ghana Hackathons project.

The Ghana educational technologies national Hackathons is a planned project for the 16 regions of Ghana to foster inclusion and quality education for the Ghanaian student.

The Edtech Hackathon also aimed at promoting Science, Technology, Arts and Maths (STEAM) for girls and digital literacy, set up smart labs which would be funded by corporate organizations, charitable clubs, international organizations, and the formation of Coral Reef in all schools.

Offers by Coral Reef Innovation Lab in the EdTech Ghana Project include Tablets for Students, Laptops for Teachers, Access Points for storing educational content such as videos, audio, text, Virtual Library with access to over three million titles.

The packages also include Solar E-Classrooms for areas not connected to the national electricity grid, Training for teachers for management of the library and educational technologies, and lastly, Coding & robotics devices & training for children.

At a one-day engagement with private schools in Tamale on Monday, August, the Team leader for EdTech Ghana Tour Yaw Edu-Gyanfi said the engagement was a planned thing to be done in all 16 regions to integrate educational technologies towards improving teaching and learning in schools.

“Coral Reef Innovation Lab and its partners engaged decision-makers at Private Basic schools in Tamale on integrating educational technologies towards improving teaching and learning. This has become apparent especially during this pandemic where the uses of these technological devices have become integral towards the process of providing continuing education,” he said.

He noted that plan was to engage every school in Ghana to educate them on the need to see technology as a tool for education development in Ghana. “The first of the planned 16 regional tours were held at HOPin Academy, in Tamale for the Northern Region with similar tours planned for Takoradi, Kumasi, Ho, and Accra respectively. By the end of the year, the whole country will be covered.”

He explained that Coral Reef Innovation Lab was poise to creating enabling environment for technological development in schools in Northern Ghana.

“Coral Reef Innovation Lab and partners are keen to developing the enabling environment for inclusivity and access to cutting edge technologies in Northern Ghana through the set-up of a community of practice and enhancing access to tools and equipment to bridge existing gaps.”

Speaking to The Finder a participant and owner of the Meridian Community School Complex in Tamale Reverend Jones Frimpong Kwarteng lauded the idea and called for more engagement since the move was geared towards improving teaching and learning in schools.

“I think that generally, it is an eye-opener because we have always been thinking of in cooperating ICT into what we do at our schools, but then, the question is how do we practically get these things in place, resources is a challenge and then how to even get to a Banks and then start discussing, some of the proprietors are unable to do that so with their new approach they bare introducing where for instance they can get the bank and the schools together to now doing business, that is laudable,” he said

He stressed that the region stands to benefit a lot when the if aims and dreams of the project come to reality, and thanked Coral Reef Innovation Lab for the opportunity.

“So Northern Region stand to gain a lot at the end of the day because all the children in the north will be ITC literate.”