Internet is the Enabler for the Classrooms of the Future, Says Vodacom

Peace Obi

As the impact of technological advancement sweeps across sectors and human activities with its widespread adoption in education management as a basic tool in teaching and learning processes, Vodacom Business Nigeria has called on parents, teachers and governments to put necessary facilities in place, in preparation for the classrooms of the future.

Speaking at the 9th edition of the Total School Support and Exhibition (TOSSE) in Lagos recently, the Internet service provider company’s Senior Manager, Product Portfolio, Funke Atanda hinted that the days of classrooms where a teacher’s desk sits at the front and students’ desks neatly arranged in rows will soon be over. She noted that in the future, classrooms will no longer be described as rooms within a school, where students are taught, but rather any space where learning takes place.

She said, “Today, assignments are completed online and uploaded through classroom portals. Posting of grades and results are also done online. However, in the near future, group projects will be completed through collaborative software and students will use cloud storage instead of flash drives or paper to store their work. Teachers, parents, students and administrators will communicate through social media platforms designed specifically for education or for a school. All this will be made possible through the power of the Internet.”

Stressing on the role of the teacher in the classrooms of the future, the Manager, she said teachers will change from instructor to guide, and the responsibility now lies with teachers to become tech savvy and ready for the future classrooms as well as for the future learners.

Enumerating some of the Internet giant’s contributions to providing affordable Internet connectivity solution for different sectors, Atanda said, “Vodacom Business Nigeria has been at the forefront of creating reliable and affordable connectivity solution for corporates and schools. Vodacom has now gone a step further to create EduLink Wireless Internet Services that gives schools across Nigeria access to fast, reliable and cost-effective Internet. This solution offers access to curriculum content from primary school to local and international qualifications preparations such as SSCE, UMTE and A-Levels.