- 85 school leaders and teachers participated in the 3-day pilot, applying the Edutec Guide and learning how to integrate AI for lesson planning with a focus on digital citizenship.
- The pilot will support a nationwide rollout in 2025–2026, aiming to assess the digital skills of 3,000+ educators and inform national teacher development policies.
The Bahamas is one of the Caribbean countries where we can find the highest advances of digital transformation in education. The country is taking bold steps like the creation of a Digital Transformation Unit (DTU), partnerships with Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) and the University of The Bahamas, and a broad strategy, led by DTU, to provide opportunities for every citizen to improve their Digital Literacy. Nevertheless, access to devices and connectivity remains a challenge across the Family Islands.
The country is taking bold steps like the creation of a Digital Transformation Unit (DTU), who, through partnerships with the University of The Bahamas and the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI), drive the DigiLearn initiative. DigiLearn aims to provide opportunities for every citizen to improve their digital literacy.
As part of their journey of digital transformation, The Bahamas has become the first country in the Caribbean to pilot the Edutec Guide hosted on IDBCloud4LAC — a free, data-driven tool designed to diagnose and strengthen how digital technologies are integrated into education.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is supporting this process as part of its regional strategy to promote digital transformation in schools, reduce learning gaps, and build teacher capacity with evidence-based tools. For The Bahamas, this pilot marks a key step in advancing its national digital agenda — starting with the people who lead learning every day: teachers and school leaders.
The Edutec Guide is a self-assessment tool aimed at identifying the level of digital competence among teachers and the extent of technology adoption across schools. It does so not only through quantitative results but by listening directly to educators through a formative self-diagnostic methodology — valuing their reflections and on-the-ground experience.
During a three-day workshop in The Bahamas, the Ministry of Education and the IDB brought together over 30 school administrators and 55 teachers from Nassau and the Family Islands — many serving as technology leaders at their schools. For many participants, it was the first time their feedback and experience were formally included in shaping national digital policy, using the Edutec Guide self-assessment tool, discussing results, and testing Artificial Intelligence to plan lessons focused on digital citizenship.
After answering 23 multiple-choice questions, users receive a personalized development plan with specific recommendations and practical references for improving the integration of technology into teaching and learning. As well, Bahamian teachers and school leaders discussed the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in their educational system and assessed their level of digital readiness.
Teachers were eager to assess their digital practices for the first time under the Edutec Guide framework. The tool provided them with the opportunity to analyze their self-assessed skills and open resources curated to strengthen them.
The results reflected a strong foundation on which the Ministry can continue to build and tailor professional development opportunities. As one teacher said, ”We use technology every day, but being digitally proficient is about using technology critically and purposefully.”
In addition, for some teachers, the workshop was their first time integrating AI as a planning tool. With guided prompts and collaborative design, they discovered how digital tools could support — not replace — their creativity. It was an awakening to the possibilities of technology for inclusion and innovation.
In education, the focus of enhancing teachers’ digital skills is to empower them in order to positively impact the improvement of students’ learning. That is why starting this November, the MoE will roll out a nationwide strategy to reach over 3,000 educators with the IDB’s digital skills assessment, which then provides them with the starting point to design a comprehensive teacher development programme relevant for the local context.
The Edutec Guide pilot validated the tool and paved the way for its national rollout in 2025-2026, led by the Ministry of Education and supported by the IDB and other stakeholders. The data will inform in-service teacher development programs and school-level innovation strategies, ensuring that technology integration aligns with local realities and aspirations. What’s happening in The Bahamas is more than a promising pilot — it’s a model of how committed, capable teams can drive meaningful change when transformation begins with listening to those who are in the classrooms.
As Miss Samantha Wilson, Senior Education Officer for Innovation at the Ministry of Education, emphasized: “The Edutec Guide application is an opportunity for the Ministry to get to know where their teachers are and, particularly, the workshop helped us by giving us a roadmap for advancement and empowerment.”
The Bahamas’ journey demonstrates that listening to educators, investing in local capacity, and grounding reform in evidence can turn islands of innovation into national strategies. As the country moves towards training thousands of teachers and expanding digital learning, its experience offers a roadmap for other countries in the Caribbean aiming to transform education, connecting classrooms, communities, and futures across the region.
Learn more about the Edutec Guide and the Edutec Guide framework.