www.lifhaus.com.sb

you tru ya many udgrading needs to be done @ SICHE

@Mastermind, this is a great idea. The question I have is what IT skills? Personally, I have always believed FOSS have the greatest potential for least developing countries like ours. So SICHE should simply build on current efforts done by people like David Leeming and team to teach these skills to our teachers. But I personally doubt this would happen any time soon. It us vital though.

Well, you know my preferences (kill all Windoze machines!!! :-) I think there should be courses 'about' computing, not on how to use a Winbloze machine.

I think first SICHE shud build a better infrastructure.... with in three campus and provide library for all students..with secure network. The best to connect three compus use fibre optic. I see these are being used by most Uni in Australia...if the building is 100 mtre they use that one. After that they have some one do subnetting all the networks with in the required eviroment and just get one outside access which will have bigger pipe or bandwith...am sure international law allowed that all Educational Intstitution have very low telecommunication or else College just use its own Sat......

the current infrastuction is just for minimal..and need one IT Network Engineer or admin to look after this rather than dodge Normal IT and even they dont know how to teach users and how can they provide the classes for IT...

Just some thoughts

@Nic  Reese: You completely misunderstood my point. If your preference is to destroy computers or whatever, keep that to yourself because I know hundreds and even thousands of Solomon Islands' want to learn more about computers. For people like us who never touched computers  until the last 6 years, we know there's a tremendous gap our government needs to close in terms of technology and education.

Fact is, IT is a huge field. I think the best place to start is to teach our "students" to be "computer literate" themselves. They need to know the basic operation of the machine and how to apply those skills in their professions. Computer Literacy is very important because before you opened up a computer system, you ought to understand how it behaves and its potentials and limitations. Technology is improving everyday and almost all schools around the world are using computers extensively; Solomon Islands should prioritize computers in order to build up the next digital generation. Just computing is not going to help.

Do we need a huge IT infrastructure before talking about IT? Off course not. All you need is a computer and a screen, a printer and an internet if you can. IT theory should be simple or easy to understand. I saw a UN project somewhere in Africa where volunteers used small laptops to teach these African students basic computer skills. We can do that! 

We could start with these:

1. Computer Literacy - Understanding the terms of computer, eg. Hardware and Software; windows, operating systems, inputs and outputs, printing process, etc. Very important steps. 

2. How to turn on a computer and browse. 

3. Danger of the internet - particularly social network. 

4. How to use Micro-soft Word, excel, powerpoints, media etc. 

5. How to save files, write files to a CD or save them to a external HD. 

6. How to care for the computer etc. etc etc etc. 

I have a cousin who just graduated with a diploma in Finance @ SICHE and he doesn't know much about computer. He knows how to log in and browse, but most of the things he should have learned as part of his business studies hem barava confuse long hem. 

Forget about taking apart a computer, troubleshooting, and configuring computer systems. These areas are too advanced for our students, better pursue these areas in University. We just need to keep it simple!

Hem nomoa, tingting nomoa, but oketa olo long SICHE and ministry of educaiton nomoa save! 

Establishing an IT Infrastructure is a tip of an ice-berg. Another issue that must be taken to consideration is, how reliable the Solomon Islands Communication infrastrucure is. IT evolves around Information systems, Communication Systems and Telecommunication Systems/Infrastrucure. More to that is Network Engineering, an art enabling all the above systems whereby they be integrated enabling the flow of traffic, whether this be data, voice or management data. To this end, you may look at two expertises/fields in maintaining that network; the Network administration (Systerm Engineers) and Network Engineering.

If Solomon Islands has all the above sectors of communication, you may go ahead and plan and design a network infrastrucure including, cabling (copper or optic), routing, switching capabilities etc ..., LAN or WAN may come into play, again, you must have network engineers to do all this and network administrators to maintain the infrastrutures. Security, availability, reliability etc ... are features that must be cosidered.

Its not hard to do all these, its easy peasy I must say. The problem is to finance the idea and whether, politically we have the backings of the government to make the ICT be part of our local institutions like SICHE.

I am afraid that given the status of local politics, I must say that: “Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason.”

I am a post graduate, an associate, a professional and currently in the making to join a pool of 30,000 experts (certified engineers) world wide in the field of networking engineering. I work in various countries in Europe - Hem nomoa oloketa wantok, bae stori come later moa ..

If people/SICHE students are looking to improve their basic IT skills then go to one of the many service providers who provide short courses. There are also free online tutorials that can help, naf fo facebook olowe do some self development to ba! If SICHE struggles to provide basic infrastructure (class rooms/hostels) how mas more the cost of sustaining an IT Dept!
In addition why teach our new teachers IT skills? Taem olketa go teach lo province what kaen PC na bae olketa usim skills ia lo hem?
There are no courses or training on how to use mobile internet but more and more people even kids are beginning to use it every day.

niguaeli good idea if iumi mi tok with actions..no gud iumi just mention what iumi duim but with no actions is just useless and no point of boasting about ourself

hi anat, thanks for your nice comments, in fact, i clearly put those remarks about my own achievement with the idea that, other wantoks out there who are plainly working hard to achieve their goals in any forms of studies can do so, that others have done it  through such indirect form of  " ma mi man too ia, i can do this and that"  this raises competition in all forms of work-life, whether be it in studies or work - you cannot be a communist all your life and be spoon-fed by the poor farmers and fishermen in the country who pay most of your taxes including those who rob our government (the government itself). Look in the country yourself, all you see are layers, commerce guys, business people, management people, officers, etc etc etc etc ...., all they care about and managing and auditing is donors money.  where are our engineers, where are scientist, where are technologist, and so on ..., these are the people who pull their gears into action ( just like our farmers, our gardeners, our fishermen etc ..., )  that  government does not invest heavily on them. What I have seen is that the government did/does send people on scholarship every year - on completion of studies, they end up in teaching professions or in non-technical areas - is that how your government invest and prepare its HR for real actions you are concern about or are you still waiting for the AID/Donor's package before you decide what to do next?

ask the government to create a statistical presentation of its own people (including techinical ones) who are working in foreign countries, likewise, renouncing SI passport partly because there is no investment in the SI in these technical ereas - i will be suprised with the number you will come up with.

"action" you talked about is the failure of the greedy government of the day and past bad planning consequences, not the expertise of it's citizen and the know-how-pool of its people not being utilized, thus, useless is your government.

oh, sorry!  the description about what i am doing in my field as you expressed as "boasting" is unintentional, and i hereby regrets that you have such feeling nor to others of similar view. on that line, i am proud of what i am doing and would continue to share this unique expertise on world-stage where they need it.

any way, thanks for the post and enjoy a continual discussion.

I would not blame others for thinking that Niguaeli was bragging about his achivements in his first comments...I however took that as an evidence to tell us readers that he did know what he was talking about. Nice discussion Niguaeli!

yea yea! what ever! i believe people are intelligent enough to read and then decide if someone knows what they are talking about. i am not a certified in what ever trade but i know that when someone "blows his own horn" he is most definitely boasting! not that its bad, its an unwanted distraction and totally irrelevant to the discussion. the original question was: should we encourage IT classes for SICHE. Some fala agree, some fala disagree while some fala se umi must garem right infrastructure. Ok so where does saying what you know and where you work fit in? no where in this discussion. But before anyone accussim me of jealousy - congratulations on your achievement. Solomon by proud lo you. care care no gud me nuclear physicist hide lo middle bush malaita!!!!LOL

Solomon Islanders are very good thinkers but sometimes I wander why we often fail to turn think-big ideas (e.g the subject discussed here) into action. What do you think is our problem? Is it lack of money?...ufala moa.

yes na ia naf for boast na...we shud help our beloved SICHE to improve rather than...you a engineer..and engineer with out good plan for his country???
u fal moa