Transcript Slide 1

CREATING THE FUTURE
Challenges and Opportunities for ICT in
Education and Development
Patti Swarts, GeSCI Africa Regional Programme Manager
TPD Workshop, 20 -22 October 2009, Dar es Salaam
This presentation will provide:
• Background about GeSCI
• General trends in ICT4E
• Overview of Challenges and
Opportunities in ICT4E
Why GeSCI?
• Funds, access to technologies, efficient
business processes, deployment and training
for ICTs provided
• Provision of knowledge support, building of
sustainable capacities and expertise for
successful exploitation of ICTs inadequate
• Need for neutral organisation with no vested
interests to work with education sector
GeSCI’s vision
Knowledge Society for All
In a Knowledge Society, communities are able to gain a competitive edge
by applying new knowledge, technology and innovations to solve their
problems and challenges
GeSCI’s Mission
To advise and support Ministries of Education
(MoEs) in the developing world to make
informed strategic choices and decisions
about ICTs in Education.
ICTs in Education: what’s it about?
ICTs in Education
•
ICTs have the potential to address the current challenges in Africa
related to:
- access to education educational resources
- quality of learning, equity, equity in quality, relevance, and
- management efficiency
• Contribute to equipping tomorrow’s citizens with the increasingly
important skills related to science and technology
•
More critically, ICTs have the potential to transform education; a
potential that many developed countries are doing their best to
harness
GeSCI’s Foundation
WSIS
UN ICT
TaskForce
GeSCI as a
Global Programme
• Developing countries following the rest of
the world by placing ICTs and ICTs in
Education at the centre of their
development strategies.
• However, developing countries are less
equipped in terms of capacity and
resources- human and financial- to
successfully and effectively harness the
potential of ICTs.
• With this in mind, GeSCI was founded by
the UN ICT Taskforce in 2003, and began
operations in 2005 working initially with
Namibia, Ghana, India, Bolivia and later
Rwanda.
GeSCI activities 2009 -2011
•
Country programmes involving direct advisory engagement with developing
country MoEs on a system-wide basis to provide high quality strategic advice and
support to the countries’ own plans, policies and efforts to deploy and integrate
ICTs in education.
•
Regional programmes involving knowledge sharing between GeSCI and the
partner countries and between the partner countries, at the regional level in
Africa, Asia and Latin America.
•
Knowledge products and services through the identification of major knowledge
gaps or common challenges related to ICTs in education.
•
Promoting partnerships and facilitating global dialogue by leveraging ICTs to
promote communication and collaboration with a diverse number of partners,
globally, regionally and locally.
Working with countries- typical outputs
GeSCI does NOT tell
countries what they
should do; rather
GeSCI assists
countries to develop
the capacity to
identify problems,
craft suitable and
sustainable solutions
and prioritize
actions.
• ICT in Education policies and
strategic plans;
• Implementation or action
plans;
• Organizational structures and
staffing plans;
• Budgets and resourcing plans;
• Convening and aligning
partnerships.
 Successful deployment of
ICTs.
GeSCI’s approach: successful deployment
GeSCI’s approach to capacity development
2. Capacities to integrate ICTs go beyond enhancing skills and knowledge
through training and the provision of technical advice
Micro
Individual/ Project team
Personnel skills as
exhibited by the staff, team
work, information building
and sharing.
Meso
Organization
Organizational structure,
definition of roles and
responsibilities, leadership,
attitudes and incentives,
appraisal procedures, budgetary
allocations, facilities, access to
information, infrastructure, and
communication within the
organization.
Macro
National institutions
Political will, stakeholders
dealing directly or indirectly
with the said organization,
policies, networks and
partnerships and budgets
from the parent institutions
or ministries.
Global trends: opportunities and
challenges
OPPORTUNITIES
• Increased flow: knowledge, capital,
goods, services, people
• Pervasiveness of ICTs
• Changes in ways people live, work, are
educated, entertained
• New knowledge, products, jobs,
services
Global trends
CHALLENGES
• Tremendous stress on education
systems to prepare for knowledge
society and economy
• Economic downturn: resource
constraints
• Shortage of qualified personnel
Implications of ICT integration: are we
ready for it?
• New knowledge and understandings: educative
process, learning
• New sources of knowledge and knowledge creation
• New roles requiring new skills and attitudes: life long
learning
• Flexible delivery: new/different responses to
challenges
• 21st century learning: focus on higher order learning
21st century learning
Factors influencing technology use
• Insufficient time: acquisition of skills, practice,
gaining experience, exploration, share
• Access and cost
• Vision for the use of technology
• Teacher preparation and development: use
and proficiency vs integration
• Technical and pedagogical support
• Beliefs: traditional, hierachical
Stages in technology acquisition
Entry: struggle with basic use
Adoption: some success with use at basic level
Adaptation: progress to appreciation and exploration
Appropriation: integration and exploitation
Innovation: create new learning environments
ICT integration
Apply & development of
ICT capability
ICT capability
ICT
ICT
the subject
in subject
ICT – a tool for teaching/learning
Where to with ICT4E? The Knowledge
Ladder
From technology literacy to knowledge
creation and innovation
Technology
Literacy