As part of the capacity-building of trainers in health schools in Togo, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare organized a training workshop for trainers of schools of health in collaboration with the West African Health Organization, WAHO.
The training aimed to introduce Health Nurses and midwives to the use of E-learning techniques was held in Togo from 13 to 17 March 2017 in Lomé.
The tools needed for interactive learning activities are being reinforced with new technologies such as Information and Communication Technologies. Many teachers have been using them for a number of years in a non-technological environment.
However, the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the teaching activity offers new ways of collaboration, and a facility of communication and information search motivating for the learner. In E-learning, the teacher conceives the activities but it is now the learners who realize them. They are thus confronted with the responsibility for their learning.
What generally gives an active role and a greater responsibility to the learner, the possibility of initiatives, therefore a relatively high degree of control over the proposed tasks, the use of peer dialogue (cooperative or collaborative learning); A role as a mentor, a coach for the teacher. It is now possible to demonstrate that the judicious use of ICTs encourages the development of transversal skills: in fact, at the same time as it carries out disciplinary and technological learning, the learner has the opportunity to carry out, In the context of appropriate information and communication technologies, learning that contributes to the development of intellectual skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving, social skills such as teamwork and methodological skills .
The use of Information and Communication Technologies also increases the motivation of the learner because he has the opportunity to play a more active role in his training by introducing, among other things, Interactive learning methods. The time of sustained attention or concentration that the majority of learners are willing to engage in interactive learning activities is higher when using new technology than in traditional ways. It appears that the introduction of technologies in an interactive learning context has a positive effect on learners’ outcomes.
It is important to emphasize, however, that the introduction of technologies into college education is not a revolution. Though they offer many tools and uses, convivial and powerful, ICTs must not be seen as a necessity beyond which there is no pedagogical salvation. Their use does not have the effect of eliminating the non-technological pedagogical approaches nor of eliminating the other types of resources such as the book already available to the pupil.
There is still some question as to whether the use of ICTs compromises, to a greater or lesser extent, the teaching profession. Surely not! On the contrary. Information and Communication Technologies support, professionalize, guide and facilitate, but can never replace human relationships. There is consensus that learning is a largely social and emotional phenomenon. In an ICT context, the role of the teacher becomes more essential than ever.
“Information and communication technologies are one of the most important factors in contemporary societies. The field of education is no exception and many governments are investing in this sector, hoping for more efficiency and effectiveness in their education systems. If the West African Health Organization, our organization all of us agrees to support the training of trainers in health training schools this is an opportunity to be seized.
This workshop aims to familiarize yourself with the “Moodle” platform, its different tools and the different workspaces for its appropriation. That is why I invite participants in this training of trainers to punctuality and attendance in order to get the most out of the trainers here present, of whom I have no doubt for a moment of their capacity to give everything. Said Dr TCHANILEY Ganiou, representing the Minister of Health and Welfare at the opening of the work.
For Laurent ASSOGBA, Deputy Director General of WAHO, “this activity is part of the implementation of the project” Empowering Women and Demographic Dividend “(SWEDD), one of the objectives of which is to facilitate the capacity building of Health professionals in the ECOWAS area to improve health care delivery. To do this, the World Bank has mandated WAHO to develop an e-learning method in the ECOWAS area so that all countries have access to the regional e-learning platform “.
It should be noted that global health continues to face many challenges, including continuing high maternal and infant mortality, persistence of major infectious endemic diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and the rapid progression of chronic diseases. Today, the contribution of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improving the quality of care in general, including the training and capacity building of health professionals, no doubt.
