UWI Continuing Professional Development and Outreach Unit

"As we sail through the 21st century, technology in the classroom is becoming more and more predominant. Tablets are replacing our textbooks, and we can research just about anything that we want to on our smartphones. Social media has become commonplace, and the way we use technology has completely transformed the way we live or lives."

Benefits of Technology in the Classroom Benefits of Technology in the Classroom

"There has been considerable interest in how fathering contributes to developmental processes in children across cultural communities with different levels of economic development (Roopnarine, 2015; Shwalb et al., 2013). The focus here is on father-child relationships in Caribbean cultural communities and their implications for childhood development."
Read more: http://thecren.com/index.php/blog/90-father-child-relationships-in-caribbean-cultural-communities-implications-for-childhood-development

Father-child relationships in Caribbean cultural communities - implications for childhood development

Teachers, what are your experiences with bullying among students?
"In today’s technological world, cyberbullying is now a new way to harass others, and it comes with a menu of new vocabulary terms. Words like phishing, impersonation, and flaming are all words used to describe the various aspects of bullying in today’s society. As teachers, it’s important to understand these terms and concepts so we can use anti-bullying tactics to help our students though these difficult situations."

Read more:

Anti-Bullying in Today’s Society Anti-Bullying in Today’s Society

Readers, how do you set boundaries for screen time? Here are some tips:

Tips on how to limit excessive screen time If screen use is disrupting sleep, exercise and concentration, what can parents do?

"Deaf people all across the globe have been repeating it for years: with sign language, deaf children can become anything they would like. With sign language, barriers can be broken down. Even though the call brings attention to the plight of deaf people everywhere, we don’t have to look far. It is worthy to start with our own fellow deaf Trinbagonians whose needs have been too long invisible to the mainstream eye."

Read more:

Language rights for the deaf community in Trinidad and Tobago Language rights for the deaf community in Trinidad and Tobago Details Created: Sep 06, 2017 Print Email Tagged under Language Sign language Deaf rights by Kristian Ali, CREN Guest Contributor Every year, the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) hosts its annual International Week of the Deaf, a short....

Today we join with the international community in raising awareness for World Down Syndrome Day! How many of you are rocking your socks in support? :) Join us as we continue working hard to ensure an inclusive and empowering society for all persons - not just for today, but for every single day

REASONS TO CELEBRATE | March 21 - World Down Syndrome Day | #LeaveNoOneBehind We don’t have so many reasons to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. When all of us - not only a few of us - have more opportunities at school, more opportuni...

Readers, what are your thoughts on early childhood development?
"The early years matter because, in the first few years of life, more than 1 million new neural connections are formed every second."
Read more:

Five Numbers to Remember about Early Childhood Development - Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University These five numbers illustrate the importance of early childhood to the learning, behavior, and health of later life and explain why getting things right the first time is easier and more effective than trying to fix them later.

"In this article, the authors argue for a greater understanding of children’s play across cultures through better integration of scientific thinking about the developed and developing societies, through consideration of socialization beliefs and goals, and, finally, through the use of more complex models in research investigations."

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Parent-Child Play Across Cultures - Advancing Play Research Parent-Child Play Across Cultures - Advancing Play Research Details Created: Dec 13, 2017 Print Email Tagged under Play Parent child play by Professor Jaipaul L. Roopnarine and Kimberly L. Davidson In this article, the authors argue for a greater understanding of children’s play across cultures th...

"Research on resilient children reveal that usually having an imagination is far from enough to pull oneself up by the bootstraps. Among other factors research points to how very important having a mentor and role model is, someone who takes a special interest in a ‘hard luck’ kid. But still, having a playful spirit and being imaginative and creative are workable ingredients and can inspire the resourceful teacher who wishes to make a difference in such a child’s life."

Play and Creativity: A Spiritual Side Play and Creativity: A Spiritual Side Details Created: Jan 17, 2018 Print Email Tagged under Education Play Early childhood by Professor James Johnson, CREN Contributor Research on resilient children reveal that usually having an imagination is far from enough to pull oneself up by the bootstraps. A...

The importance of speech and language development in a child's early years:

The importance of speech and language development in a child's early years The importance of speech and language development in a child's early years Details Created: Jul 14, 2017 Print Email Tagged under Early childhood Speech Language by the Speech Language and Audiology Association of Trinidad and Tobago What are speech and language? Speech and language are tools that h...

Readers, do you believe that there may be a relationship between social media and trauma?
"While the benefits are widely known and statistically supported, little attention has been paid as to how social media technologies may change the way individuals are engaged in this form of knowledge sharing. The simultaneous explosion of violence and use of social media has led to our people being bombarded with stories, images and videos of violence, sometimes in real time, in our backyards and around the world."

The power and impact of social media The power and impact of social media Details Created: May 01, 2017 Print Email Tagged under Education Social media By Caron Asgarali, the Victim Support Foundation Do we cross the proverbial white line between positive and negative when social media intersects with trauma? Over the last twelve yea...