The new Board of Directors of IGovTT

The new Board of Directors of IGovTT was presented with congratulatory letters by The Honourable Maxie Cuffie, Minister of Public Administration and Communications. The members are as follows:
Ms. Esther Le Gendre (Chairman)
Dr. Sean Rocke (Director)
Ms. Jacqueline Morris (Director)
Mr. Deepak Maharaj (Director)
Ms. Anastacia Samuel (Director)
Ms. Vashti Maharaj (Director)

I was recently appointed to this Board. Looking forward to serving the nation as best I can.

T&T minister congratulates the CTO for its new strategic goals

July 18th, 2016
Port of Spain, 18 July 2016 – The Honourable Maxie Cuffie, Minister of Public Administration and Communications for Trinidad & Tobago has congratulated the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) for its new strategic goals in areas such as ICT regulation and Cybersecurity.

http://www.cto.int/news/trinidad-tobagos-minister-of-public-administration-and-communications-welcomes-the-strategic-direction-of-the-commonwealth-telecommunications-organisation/

Shola Taylor, Secretary-General, CTO and Honourable Minister Maxie Cuffie, Minister of Public Administration and Communications, Trinidad & Tobago.

Minister of Works calls to establish computer codes of practice in Trinidad and Tobago

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Establish-computer-codes-of-practice-257253951.html

Such idiocy.

But it goes beyond. What exactly is this "computer code of practice" about the use of computers? Where? My personal computer, that I bought and paid for? The Govt is to tell me what to do with it? That is censorship. In a free country, Dr. Rambachan would use his computer the way he wants to, and we will all use ours they way we want to.

<< Rambachan said codes of practice “might have to be developed for the use of computers and technology that is not inimical to progress, but at the same time it does not destroy the value systems in society”. Rambachan said the nation had to “behave like a developed country” so that people will not be “short changing” themselves. >>

Shortchanging themselves? By using technology how they wish to? The shortchanging  would be if they allowed the Government to implement central control over personal  technology use. Developed countries - do we want to be like Russia, which recently implemented restrictive laws against bloggers?  This curtailment of individual rights is happening more and more, and it's not a path we should be going down.

Presentation at TTASCD Annual Conference 2012

The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Social media is redefining how we relate to each other as humans and how we as humans relate to the organizations that serve us. It is about dialog – two way discussions bringing
people together to discover and share information (Solis 2008).

Learning needs to be relevant to today’s students, and as social media becomes more and more central to students’ lives, it is important to consider its use in the classroom.

This presentation will discuss the use of social media tools with first and second year students in the Bachelor of Education programme at the University of Trinidad and Tobago’s Centre for Educational Programmes. Several social media tools were used, and student perceptions on the use of one, Facebook, were  studied in detail.

 A copy of the presentation can be downloaded here

Thoughts on our 50th Independence

I was listening to Dr. Eric Williams' speech to schoolchildren on the eve of Independence, and I realised that adults of today probably wouldn't understand it, far less most children.  He used big words. He spoke of large dreams. He used literary references. He spoke in English, and he spoke in a rational and almost quiet voice.
 I listened to speeches last night. I heard no big words, I heard no big dreams, rather, I heard small petty ideas and a rush to "own" OUR Independence. I heard petty politics. I also heard mispronunciations, malapropisms, "green" verbs and misuse of terms. I heard all these at volumes that started at a level  above shriek and went higher.
I love the idea of this country, but more and more I'm not loving the actuality of it. It's becoming more and more loud, crude, hard, unpleasant.
On this day, I would like us all to vow to bring back civility, erudition, critical thought, love of art and beauty to this country. We need to see what is good, what potential we have, and support it. We need to fight to prevent mediocrity, corruption and pettiness taking over.
That's my Independence wish. I hope that on the 100th Independence day, in 2062, we'll be what I know we can be. Or even better!

The National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy and Strategy Conference Day 1

The first day of the National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy and Strategy Conference was focused on the first two themes of the National ICT plan (smartTT):

1. Innovation and Human Capital Development 
2. Access and Digital Inclusion

Following a short opening session (1 hr) where all the dignitaries made their speeches about the importance of the plan, we headed into the first plenary, which focused on an overview of ICTS for development, and a summary/executive review of the National ICT Plan Refresh - smartTT - by the Chairman of iGovTT, Atiba Phillips. 

History of LACRALO

At the ICANN meeting in Costa Rica, I sat down with  Carlton Samuels to explain the history of LACRALO to Glenn McKnight who's documenting the history of ICANN's At Large community.