By Monique Washington
The first information technology textbook published in the Caribbean has been written by Ricardo Neil, a lecturer at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) and published by Caribbean Educational Publishers in Trinidad.
On Friday May 6, during Atlantic International University (AIU) proceedings Neil successfully defended his thesis, “Tertiary Level Information Technology Academic Advancements: Through Secondary Level Competency Based Approach.”
During the event at the Ocean Terrace Inn in St. Kitts, Neil received his PhD in Information Technology and Management. At the same time he introduced his new textbook “Information Technology in FOCUS for CSEC.” A copy of Neil’s textbook will be presented to bookstores and 12 Federation high schools.
Neil is an assistant examiner for the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC). He taught at the Charlestown Secondary School. Neil holds a master’s degree in Information and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems.
The textbook totals more than 800 pages, with a glossary of more than 300 pages. Each textbook includes a New Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (NEEPROM) pen drive cleverly placed in a Credit card Pen drive which contains additional information on the topic and a practice test.
Neil’s textbook was applauded by Hon. Shawn Richards, Minister of Education in the Federal Government. The minister congratulated Neil for his accomplishments and said the new textbook will help students. He said it has the potential to transform the Information Technology teaching and learning around the region.
“This book is student friendly with many color illustrations, diagrams and figures which will appeal to the majority of students who are visual learners,” Hon. Richards said. “The textbook also has a resource storage device, commonly referred to as a credit card pen drive, attached to the back cover. This will enable teachers and students to easily access Microsoft productivity tools.”
CFBC President Kelvin Daley congratulated Neil on obtaining his doctorate.
“I remember when I was doing my thesis, although mine was 300 pages, and that’s the size of just your glossary,” Daley said. “It took a lot of time and sleepless nights (for me) and I am sure it took Neil more time and sleepless nights. So, I want to congratulate you on your hard work.”
Caribbean Education Publishers representative Errol Benjamin described the event as a “momentous occasion.” Benjamin said his interest is in literature, but when he read Neil’s book he was surprised at how easy it was to read and understand the 800-page volume.
