Browsing by Author "Daley-Morris, Paula"

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    Introduction of information technology in schools in Jamaica
    (Office of the UNESCO Representative in the Caribbean, 2000) Daley-Morris, Paula
    This monograph describes the initiatives that enabled the introduction of computers to Jamaican primary and secondary schools. It also describes student performance on the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Information Technology (IT) examination over a period of six years. The results show that each year more candidates were entered for the Technical Proficiency level than the General Proficiency level of the examination. The monograph further shows that student performance at the General Proficiency level steadily improved over the six years, while it fluctuated at the Technical Proficiency level. It highlights the fact that the performance of Jamaican candidates improved significantly in the year CXC instituted the six-point grading system. However, most of the passes were below the Grade 1 level. The data suggests that there may be deficiencies in the education system that caused IT teachers to show a preference for teaching the Technical Proficiency syllabus. The implications of this occurrence as it relates to tertiary level training in computer science are discussed.
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    The sociolinguistic influence of text messaging on writing English [PowerPoint presentation]
    (2013-07-10) Daley-Morris, Paula; Devonish, Hubert
    This presentation explores the sociolinguistic influence that young children's use of text messaging writing systems in their everyday lives have on their ability to write in Standard English in formal educational contexts. The issue of texting language's interference with the writings of children during schoolwork has come to the fore in recent times. Teachers and other educators have posited that this uneducative practice is an obstruction to good writing and disrupts literacy development. The researchers conducted an experiment to understand what happened when 72 Grade 5 Jamaican children were asked to write an essay, composition, or a few sentences using text messaging and later translate them into Standard English. This paper discusses the sociolinguistic practices that children employed in order to construct the samples that utilized text messaging language. It also explored the level of scribal accuracy that children were able to demonstrate through the translated samples. The findings that resulted explain the possible relationships that writing in text messaging has on children's writing in Standard English Language
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    Texting and sexting among Jamaican youths: Educational, social, psychological and legal impacts [PowerPoint presentation]
    (2013-07-10) Daley-Morris, Paula; Berry, Camille
    This presentation explores the impact that widespread ownership of cell phones by Jamaicans has on the behaviour of youth age 15-25. This qualitative study examined the practice of texting and sexting by the young in Jamaica, through focus group interviews, the testimonial of one teen, detailed analysis of Jamaica's constitution, byelaws and acts, as well as available cyber-crimes data. The findings revealed that texting is the most popular vehicle of communication among Jamaicans, and its popularity has given rise to the practice of sexting. Sexting continues to play an important role in youth dating culture, but in many cases it is also the means through which sexual indiscretions, i.e. e-blasting, bullying and cyber-crimes occur. Extreme cases of sexting have resulted in social as well as psychological damage, which have altered the lives of some Jamaicans. In most cases these victims are left defenseless as the laws of the Jamaica are yet to catch-up with ills of telecommunication