ict potentials in education

ICT for Education An Overview : ICT for Education An Overview CE-LEARNING: FROM POTENTIAL TO EFFECTIVENESS

Introduction : Thomas Edison, the father of electricity and inventor of the motion picture, predicted in 1922 that “the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our educational system and ... in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks.” Since then high levels of excitement and expectation have been generated by every new generation of information and communication technologies (ICTs): compact discs and CD-ROMs, videodiscs, microcomputer-based laboratories, the Internet, virtual reality, local and wide area networks, instructional software, Macs, PCs, laptops, notebooks, educational television, voice mail, e-mail, satellite communication, VCRs, cable TV, interactive radio, etc. The list of “hot” technologies available for education goes on and on. Introduction

Slide 3 : Twenty years ago, Seymour Papert, predicted that, there won’t be schools in the future…. “I think the Computer will blow up the school, that is, the school as something where there are classes, teachers running exams, people structured in groups by age, [who] follow a curriculum—all of that.”

Our Vision for ICT in Education : Following the overall vision of the Department of Education (DepED), our vision is “21st Century Education For All Filipinos, Anytime, Anywhere. This means an ICT-enabled education system that transforms students into dynamic life-long learners and values-centered, productive and responsiblecitizens. Our Vision for ICT in Education

Slide 5 : ICT plays a major role in creating a new and improved model of teaching and learning where education happens anytime, anywhere. To achieve this vision, we will continue to use ICT to: revitalize our schools to make them into dynamic, collaborative and innovative learning institutions where students can become more motivated, inquisitive and creative learners.

Slide 6 : · link up our students with the vast networked world of knowledge and information to enable them to acquire a broad knowledge base and a global outlook and provide them with the resources for the development of a creative mind; · develop in our students skills and capabilities to critically and intelligently seek, absorb,analyze, manage and present information; ·

Slide 7 : create new knowledge and products; and develop in our students habits of self-learning to nurture the attitude and capability for lifelong learning. In order to achieve our vision within the next five years, we aim to:

Slide 8 : completely integrate ICT into the curriculum, which includes the development of multimedia instructional materials, and ICT enabled assessment; intensify competency based professional development programs; establish the necessary ICT infrastructure and applications.

Slide 9 : develop processes and systems that ensure efficient, transparent and effective governance; The key thrusts of this strategy are: Enhancing Curriculum Empowering Teachers, Administrators, Officials and Students Strengthening Schools, Governance and Management

Policy Context: Importance of the Strategic Plan : ICT in Education – Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific countries have recognized the importance of ICT in education. They have responded to this challenge by formulating policies and developing strategies in different ways. Some, such as South Korea and Singapore are further down the path of ICT for education, while others, such as Thailand and Cambodia are in the early stages of planning and preparation. Policy Context: Importance of the Strategic Plan

ICT in Education – Global : On a global scale, the use of ICT in education is well underway. The extent to which a country has created and diffused technology and built a human skill base varies considerably. Leaders are countries such as Finland, the United States and the United Kingdom who are at the cutting edge of technological innovation. ICT in Education – Global

ICT in Education – the Philippines : Policy: past and present The Philippine Government has shown serious commitment to ICT in education by announcing a series of initiatives to apply ICT in teaching and learning. These were aligned to the Millennium Development Goals and the Education For All movements. They have provided a global policy environment for the directions and nature of interventions towards the achievement of improved access to and quality of basic education. Other key policy documents have identified the need for ICT reform within the education sector and these have resulted in more prioritizing from regions, ICT in Education – the Philippines

Slide 13 : schools and teachers regarding the incorporation of ICT into the education system. It is within this context of policy initiatives that this Five-Year ICT Strategic Plan has been developed.

The current situation : Current ICT integration in education remains a large task. For example, student-computer ratios and teacher-computer ratios can be improved. The education system as a whole lacks infrastructure for connectivity and access to technologies. While most of the teacher training institutions (TEIs) have incorporated computer courses into their curriculum as a requirement for graduation, computer literacy is not a requirement for teacher certification/licensure. The current situation

Slide 15 : Partly due to this reason, in-service training is generally limited to basic computer literacy. Therefore, there is a need for more training to integrating ICT into the curriculum. Fortunately, more government funds are being channelled into ICT for education. Private sector and foreign donors are increasing their support for this agenda. There is a need to consolidate these efforts and help to ensure that the Philippines will realize its ICT4E goals.

Moving Towards an Enhanced CurriculumThe Enhanced Curriculum : The overall curricular goals outlined in BEC remain valid. ICT is simply a tool to more effectively and efficiently achieve these goals. However, to be able to effectively use this tool, students, teachers, school managers and administrators should achieve a certain level of competence in the use of ICT. ICT Learning targets for students have been identified in the following six areas: Moving Towards an Enhanced CurriculumThe Enhanced Curriculum

six areas: : · Basic operations and concepts · Social, ethical and human issues · ICT for Producing · ICT for Communicating · ICT for Researching · ICT for Problem-solving six areas:

Slide 18 : The use of ICT in teaching and learning must be accompanied by a corresponding enhancement of the school curriculum. However, in the initial stages of this Strategic Plan, it is suggested that ICT be integrated within the existing curriculum. Therefore, it is envisaged that curriculum reform will proceed by two stages; (1) enhancing the level of awareness and use of ICT in the existing curriculum and (2) full integration of ICT in the enriched curriculum.

Multimedia Instructional Materials Development : Already, various independent initiatives within DepED have developed customized teaching and learning digital content tied to the curriculum. These materials are being collated and are available for use by teachers through the DepED website. However, access to existing digital content remains limited and creating a comprehensive inventory of these materials continues to be a challenge. Multimedia Instructional Materials Development

Dilemmas : Dilemmas Qs about Value of ICTs Myths Pressures Belief Doubt Wait Monolithic Automatic Computers Substitute Vendors Parents Business Techies Realities Analyze Educational objectives Determine Objective for ICT Understand Potential of ICTs Examine suitability of ICTs Plan program of investment Implement prerequisites and corequisites Evaluate and adjust continuously

Challenges to Education Systems : Challenges to Education Systems

Necessity of ICTs : Necessity of ICTs Globalization of Economy Information Tech Innovations Knowledge-based Economy Society Escalating Demand for Education

The Role of ICT : It is going to be very difficult—if not impossible—for countries to meet the objective of effective learning, for all, anywhere, anytime. Our inability to meet this challenge, however, is self-inflicted because we tend to think of linear scaling, that is, using the same model of education (a school constrained by space and time) but more of it and on a larger scale. What we really need is to think differently and radically. Through the advancement of ICTs, the world is experiencing a real revolution in the dissemination of knowledge and the enhancement of instruction. This is the third revolution in learning, the first being the invention of the written language and the second being the development of moveable type and books. ICTs make both the content of learning and the interactions of high-quality (and other) instruction affordable and available anytime, anywhere. The Role of ICT

Slide 24 : ICTs for Learning Objectives ICTs for What Purpose

ICTs for What Purpose : ICTs for What Purpose ICTs for Teaching Objectives

Slide 26 : ICTs and Learning Location ICTs for What Purpose

Slide 27 : ICTs and School ICTs for What Purpose

Slide 28 : Potential Of ICTs Access Efficiency Learning Teaching Skill Formation Lifelong Learning Planning & Management Community Linkages

Potential: 1. Expanding Educational Opportunities : Potential: 1. Expanding Educational Opportunities Radio Broadcast Interactive Radio Instruction Television Virtual Schools Virtual Universities

Potential: 2. Increasing Efficiency : Potential: 2. Increasing Efficiency Issues Dual Shift Systems Multigrade Schools Small Urban or Rural Schools Flexibility in Learning Schedule Solutions Broadcast Radio Interactive Radio Educational TV Virtual Online Courses

Potential: 3. Enhancing Quality of Learning : Potential: 3. Enhancing Quality of Learning Potential Motivate and engage learners Bring life to concepts and processes Foster inquiry Provide flexibility Allow application of information Provide access to world of information Bring the world into the classroom Offer collaborative opportunities and communication Offer tutored and individualized learning Solutions Radio and TV Multimedia Learning Modules Virtual Labs Connecting to the Worlds Designing and Creating Things

Potential: 4. Enhancing Quality of Teaching : Potential: 4. Enhancing Quality of Teaching Issues Difficult Profession No One-Shot Training Continuum Initial Training Lifelong Upgrading Connecting Solutions Multimedia Training and Support System Training Videos Teacher Development Portal Internet Resources for Teachers

Potential: 5. Facilitating Skill Formation : Potential: 5. Facilitating Skill Formation New Workplace Realities E-Training Just-in-Time Convenient Place Up-to-Pate User-centric Solutions Simulations Competency-based multi-media Video and Interactive media Workplace Training

Potential: 6. Sustaining Lifelong Learning : Potential: 6. Sustaining Lifelong Learning Issues Workers need to learn new skills Modern societies demand constant updating The “educated” can become obsolete Life-cycle pattern is changing Solutions Radio and TV Multimedia Packages Online Courses Open Universities “Third Age” Universities

Potential: 7. Improving Policy Planning & Management : Potential: 7. Improving Policy Planning & Management Management of Institutions and Systems School: Admissions, student flow, personnel, staff development, facilities… System: School mapping, personnel payroll, MIS, communication, information, . . . Management of Policy Making Storage and analysis of data Construction and assessment of policy scenarios Tracer studies and tracking systems

Potential: 8. Advancing Community Linkages : Potential: 8. Advancing Community Linkages Growth in ICT Access Millions

Potential: 8. Advancing Community Linkages : Potential: 8. Advancing Community Linkages Telephones, Cellular phones and PCs per 1,000 inhabitants

Potential: 8. Advancing Community Linkages : Potential: 8. Advancing Community Linkages Internet hosts and users per 10,000 inhabitants

Potential: 8. Advancing Community Linkages : Potential: 8. Advancing Community Linkages ICT access varies within countries Disparities is magnified by gender factor ICT access contributes to escape from poverty ICT access for all requires attention to Infrastructure Cost Laws and regulations

Radio Stations and Receivers : Radio Stations and Receivers

Slide 41 : Prerequisites Corequisites

From Potential to Effectiveness : From Potential to Effectiveness Educational Policy Approach to ICTs Infrastructure ICT-Enhanced Content Committed and Trained Personnel Financial Resources Integration Piloting and Evaluation

Conclusion : Conclusion To Tech or not to Tech Education ICT ――►Education More Effective and Responsive ICTs X 

Slide 44 : “We do not think anymore of the spectacle of printing every time we read a book, the phenomenon of TV every time we watch a movie, or the miracle of the telephone every time we make a call. The ultimate success of ICTs for learning will be attained when we stop marveling about the ICTs and apply our minds and emotions to the wonders of learning.”

Slide 45 : The End

Slide 46 : Levels of ICTs for Different Learning Objectives and Roles of Learners LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Levels of ICTs for Different Teaching Uses and Roles of Teachers : Levels of ICTs for Different Teaching Uses and Roles of Teachers TEACHING OBJECTIVE Go Back

Infrastructure : Infrastructure Go Back

5. Costing and Budgeting : 5. Costing and Budgeting Total Cost of Ownership Acquisition - hardware and software Installation and configuration Connectivity Maintenance : 15-20% of initial investment Supplies: 8-10% Utilities: 4-8% Computer training 5-10% Retrofitting of physical facilities replacement costs (5-7 years) Additional Costs Acquisition and creation of content materials Orientation and training of staff Testing, evaluation and adjustment 31-48% Go Back

MYTHS : In the environment surrounding the potential and use of ICTs, many myths and misconceptions have developed and are being promoted across countries and institutions. It is important for decision makers to be aware of these myths to avoid making decisions based on them. MYTHS

Myth 1: ICTs are one monolithic entity : Decision makers frequently question the potential of technology in the singular. Such inquiry is unanswerable for two reasons: 1. Technologies differ in their properties, scope, and potential. An audio technology can only capture sound, while a video technology depicts sound and motion. A CD provides multimedia digital content, while a Web version adds connectivity. 2. Different technologies can be used for different purposes. The potential of technologies is influenced by what we use them for. There are different levels at which technologies may be used, including: • Presentation of a piece of information • Demonstration of a concept, idea, phenomenon, law, or theory • Drill and practice to gain competence in applying knowledge • Research for certain topics or projects using multiple sources • Interaction—manipulation of variables to reach generalizations or to draw implications from a law or theory • Collaboration on projects with other students in the school or in other schools in the country or elsewhere or with scientists in the field • Production of educational materials Myth 1: ICTs are one monolithic entity

Myth 2: The effects of ICTs are definite : Technology is only a tool: no technology can fix a bad educational philosophy or compensate for bad practice. In fact, if we are going in the wrong direction, technology will only get us there faster. Likewise, distance learning is not about distance, it is about learning. Just as we can have bad education face to face, we can have bad education at a distance. Similarly, if teaching is demonstrating and telling, and if learning is memorizing and reciting, using learning technologies and multimedia programs for this purpose will not have the desired impact. Also, if students are not asked to search and work collaboratively, and if teachers function independently, investment in connectivity will not be cost effective. Many of the factors that constrain the expansion and effectiveness of on-site education also work against ICT-enhanced education—sometimes more intensely. These factors include availability of affordable physical infrastructure, quality ICT-enhanced content, financial resources, and acceptability by the educational establishment, parents, and teachers. Additionally, in many countries the main hurdle is the legal frameworks. ICT-enhanced systems, with their ability to reach beyond political boundaries, defy many of the national and international legal frameworks that were created for a world with frontiers. Solutions, albeit necessary, have been difficult to find and implement. Distance education providers have to deal with telecommunication monopolies and restrictive regulations, accreditation and certification, and intellectual property. Myth 2: The effects of ICTs are definite

Myth 3: ICTs mean computers and the Internet : Under pressures to be fashionable and adopt the latest educational innovations, the temptation is to limit ICTs to the Internet and exclude other technologies such as radio, television, and print. These technologies use reception equipment that is readily available in homes, have proven to be effective and inexpensive in packaging high-quality educational materials, reach “unreachable clientele,” and overcome geographical and cultural hurdles. Experience is proving, to our surprise, that acquiring the technologies themselves, no matter how hard and expensive, may be the easiest and cheapest component in a series of elements that ultimately could make these technologies sustainable or beneficial. Effectively integrating technology into learning systems is much more complicated. It involves a rigorous analysis of educational objectives and changes, a realistic understanding of the potential of technologies, a purposeful consideration of the pre- and corequisites of effectiveness of ICTs for education, and the prospects of this process within the dynamics of educational change and reform.   To "tech" or not to "tech" education is, therefore, not the question. The real question is how to harvest the power of ICTs to make education relevant, responsive, and effective for school settings and lifelong learning. Myth 3: ICTs mean computers and the Internet

Myth 4: ICTs are a substitute for schools and teachers : ICT-enhanced education activities should not be perceived as a substitute for conventional schools. Despite its shortcomings, the school system has been remarkable in its contribution to fulfilling basic learning needs, to skill formation, and to the preservation and evolution of cultures. We have reached the limits of this model, however, in providing high-quality education for all, anytime, anywhere, in an affordable and sustainable manner. ICTs can expand the potential of a conventional delivery system, complement its existing elements, and empower instructors to become better teachers. Myth 4: ICTs are a substitute for schools and teachers Go Back

There are the believers, the skeptics, the agnostics, and the pragmatists. : The Believers think that under the right conditions technologies can have a monumental impact on the expansion of learning opportunities to wider populations, beyond the confines of teaching institutions and over the lifetime of the individual. Also, technologies can improve the teaching/learning process, enhance higher levels of cognition, and facilitate institutional management.   • The skeptics have been told many times before that certain technologies, from filmstrips to tape-recorders to television, would remake their world. Why is it any different this time? There are the believers, the skeptics, the agnostics, and the pragmatists.

Where are we today? : ICTs have definitely revolutionized business processes and organizations, created a worldwide network of e-commerce, and turned the domain of entertainment into a fascinating experience. But can ICTs have a similar impact in education? Where are we today?

There are the believers, the skeptics, the agnostics, and the pragmatists. : The Believers think that under the right conditions technologies can have a monumental impact on the expansion of learning opportunities to wider populations, beyond the confines of teaching institutions and over the lifetime of the individual. Also, technologies can improve the teaching/learning process, enhance higher levels of cognition, and facilitate institutional management.   • The skeptics have been told many times before that certain technologies, from filmstrips to tape-recorders to television, would remake their world. Why is it any different this time? There are the believers, the skeptics, the agnostics, and the pragmatists.

Slide 58 : • The agnostics are not sure. They have an open mind but do not think that there is enough evidence to incorporate ICTs into educational systems. They think that our empirical knowledge of the effectiveness of different ICTs is spotty, and that our experience with what works and does not is still tentative. • The pragmatists are holding back. The technologies are changing so fast and prices are dropping so rapidly, that they are waiting for the technologies to stabilize and prices to hit bottom. Go Back

PRESSURE GROUPS: : Almost every decision maker in every school system across the world is under tremendous pressure to provide every classroom (if not every student) with technologies, including computers and their accessories and connectivity to the Internet. The pressures are coming from vendors who wish to sell the most advanced technologies; from parents who want to ensure that their children are not left behind in the technological revolution; from businesses that want to replicate in schools the dramatic impact that ICTs have had in the worlds of commerce, business, and entertainment; and from technology advocates who see ICTs as the latest hope to reform education. PRESSURE GROUPS: Go Back

Unfinished Business : Despite the dramatic progress in education achieved so far at the national and school levels, much remains to be done: • Each country, to varying degrees, continues to struggle with issues of children out of school and illiterate youths and adults. • The quality of learning and the capacity to define and monitor this quality is lacking in most developing countries. • Inequities in educational opportunities, quality of educational services, and level of learning achievement continue to persist by gender, rural/urban locality, ethnic background, and socioeconomic status. • The means and scope of education continue to be narrow and confined to historical models of delivery, and the use of other channels continues to be ad hoc and marginal. • The increase in quantitative and qualitative demand for education is not matched by increase in resources. Unfinished Business Go Back

Global Challenges : Globalization of the Economy The world is faced with significant shifts in the global economic environment characterized by three major developments: • Changing patterns of trade and competition • Technological innovation • Globalization of information Global Challenges

Slide 62 : Globalization of Knowledge Generation, selection, assimilation, and application of knowledge are fundamental to the economic growth and well-being of any modern society. Economic growth today is a combination of capital accumulation and knowledge accumulation. Knowledge also plays a crucial role in resolving social problems related to areas such as health (including HIV/AIDS), water supply and conservation, energy generation and use, food security, and environmental protection.

Slide 63 : “Marketization” of Educational Services The relationship among the marketplace, the state, and the education sector is evolving significantly. Education is no longer a monopoly of the state or a “protected industry.” Local and transnational private entities have entered this field as a result of expanding economic liberalism, increasing political pluralism, and rising demand for education. Government funding has not been able to cope with the evolving demands, and new providers have entered the market in large numbers. In fact, the growth of private tertiary education institutions in developing countries has been more rapid than it has been in industrialized countries. A large number of the new providers are private, nongovernmental institutions, many of them established in partnership with American or European institutions of higher learning, and most are profit-driven and, therefore, accessible only to those who can afford them. Go Back

New Demands : The demands for providing educational opportunities are escalating. • Modern economic, social, political, and technological requirements demand that all members of society have a minimum level of basic education; no country can afford to leave anyone behind. But the biggest challenge continues to be reaching individuals and groups that are historically underserved with physically feasible, economically viable, and socially and culturally acceptable educational services.   • As countries achieve higher levels of basic education, there will be more demand for secondary, technical, and tertiary education. Providing such education across the country through efficient and affordable means is the next challenge, after the challenge of “Education for All.”   • Similar pressures are coming from the workplace and the population at large for continuous learning to update existing knowledge and skills and stay current with advancements in knowledge and developments in technologies. New Demands Go Back

Financial Resources : As the demand for more and different tertiary education increases, financial resources are not increasing in the same proportion. Part of this constraint is self-inflicted because some of the conventional models for education are not sustainable. Financial Resources Go Back

Implications for Education : The above challenges pose serious questions for the planning of education and training systems and force rethinking in the way education is perceived, delivered, and managed. Where does this leave education development? Implications for Education Go Back

Effective Learning : 1. Holistic Education Structure. The workforce of the future will need a whole spectrum of knowledge and skills to deal with technology and the globalization of knowledge. It also will need to be agile and flexible, and to be able to adjust to continuous economic and social changes. This means that countries must embrace a holistic approach to education, investing concurrently in the whole pyramid of basic education, secondary education, skill training, and tertiary education.   2. Focus on Learning. The ancient objective of education, to teach how to learn, problem solve, and synthesize the old with the new, is now transformed from desirable to indispensable. Effective Learning Go Back

Education for everyone : Modern economic, social, political, and technological requirements demand that all members of society have a minimum level of basic education. Education for everyone Go Back

Education Anytime : The need for continuous access to information and knowledge makes learning lifelong and the traditionally neat distinction between learning and work unreal. Education thus becomes a continuum, with no marked beginning and end, which provides opportunities for lifelong learning to help individuals, families, workplaces, and communities to adapt to economic and societal changes, and to keep the door open to those who have dropped out along the way. Education Anytime Go Back

Education Anywhere : To cope with the diversity, complexity, and changing nature of demands for education services, learning cannot be confined to the traditional classroom. It is unrealistic and unaffordable to continue to ask learners to come to a designated place every time they have to engage in learning. Delivery must extend beyond the face-to-face institutional modality to include distance education, enrichment mass media, and non-formal settings. Education Anywhere

Preparation for the Future : We are moving out of the industrial age into the age of free trade, information systems, knowledge economy, and technological innovations. The best and most efficient of our past and present schools have served a different age. Schools of the future have to meet the needs of the future. But what is the future, and can we predict it?   We cannot predict the future. The only thing we can predict is that it will be beyond our wildest imaginations. The future is changing so dramatically and quickly that it poses a nightmare for the traditional educational strategist and planner. We can no longer draw occupational pyramids or do manpower planning. We are educating students for the unknown; the best we can do is to equip them with the necessary conceptual, cognitive, attitudinal, and social tools to continue learning anytime, anywhere, on demand. The skills include: Preparation for the Future

Slide 72 : • A conceptual open-ended foundation of the physical, human, environmental, and cultural world • Skills to access knowledge, assess it, and apply it. • Skills to analyze, critique, and apply knowledge to generate solutions and test options. • Interpersonal skills to interact and work collaboratively • Social skills to exercise good citizenship, tolerate diversity, and respect other perspectives and rationalities Go Back

ICTs for Instructional Objectives : Learning objectives differ in scope, level and complexity. They relate to hierarchical levels of thinking and cognitive processing. When we design teaching/learning activities and experiences, as well as ICT interventions, we must plan explicitly for the type of cognitive processing that we hope to foster. The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives was created by Benjamin Bloom in the 1950s to describe these levels. During the 1990s, Lorin Anderson (a former student of Bloom’s) led a team of cognitive psychologists in revisiting the taxonomy to examine the relevance of the taxonomy as we enter the 21st century. ICTs for Instructional Objectives

Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy : 1. REMEMBERING Recognize, list, describe, identify retrieve, name.... Can the student RECALL information? 2. UNDERSTANDING Interpret, exemplify, summarize, infer, paraphrase.... Can the student EXPLAIN ideas or concepts? 3. APPLYING Implement, carry out, use... Can the student USE the new knowledge in another familiar situation? 4. ANALYZING Compare, attribute, organize, deconstruct... Can the student DIFFERENTIATE between constituent parts? 5. EVALUATING Check, critique, judge hypothesize... Can the student JUSTIFY a decision or course of action? 6. CREATING Design, construct, plan, produce... Can the student GENERATE new products, ideas, or ways of viewing things? Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy Go Back

Slide 75 : Selection of a technology and the way it is applied should be driven by the nature and level of the learning objective it is meant to stimulate and enhance. Table 4.2.2 translates the above taxonomy into ICT-fostered learning objectives. The lowest level of this taxonomy involves using technology simply to store or display material for students to use; it places them in a passive role. The highest taxonomic level represents active students synthesizing material and using ICTs to construct projects such as hypermedia presentations. Go Back

Teaching objectives for ICT : Similarly, there are teaching objectives for the use of ICTs, such as • Presentation of a piece of information • Demonstration of a concept, idea, phenomenon, law, or theory • Drill and practice to achieve student competence in the application of knowledge • Simulations and animations to abstract reality and offer an efficient and inexpensive environment to reach generalizations or to draw implications from a law or theory • Research for professional development and preparation of lessons • Collaboration on projects with other teachers in the school or in other schools in the country or elsewhere, or with scientists in the field • Management of student learning Teaching objectives for ICT Go Back

Learning Location : Technologies may be used to support learning and teaching on location or at a distance. In most cases though, technology-enhanced materials used on location can be used at a distance as well, using the appropriate dissemination technology. This makes it possible to invest in materials that may be used on location and at a distance, thus widening the circle of users and lowering the unit costs Learning Location Go Back

Evolution of an Enhanced School Model : Education will not be a location anymore, but an activity: a teaching/learning activity. This is the ultimate raison d’être of ICTs for education. The foundation of this “educational system” is a knowledge infrastructure that includes the traditional school, broadcast television, digital radio, virtual courses, Internet chat rooms, Web portals, telecenters, and other information and communication technologies that have not yet been conceived. In this learning structure, students will learn through a variety of ways: face-to-face, in groups, or in a synchronous or asynchronous online course. They will pursue expeditions with scientists on the Web, follow space flights, perform simulated experiments, take virtual archeological and geographic tours, do research in digital libraries, and perform collaborative projects with students in other schools in their country and all over the world. Evolution of an Enhanced School Model Go Back

Expanding Educational Opportunities : Decision makers and beneficiaries alike now recognize that education is crucial for economic development, human welfare, societal advancement, and environmental protection. Looking into the future, the demand for education is going to escalate. Expanding Educational Opportunities

Slide 80 : The biggest challenge is to reach individuals and groups that are historically underserved: • girls and women, who face cultural and physical obstacles to educational institutions; • rural populations that are too thinly dispersed to populate “regular” schools with reasonable class sizes; • adult workers who have no time to attend regular courses; and • persons who cannot come to learning centers because of security hazards. Here we need to be innovative and think radically. In some situations, we may need to go “over” the hurdles and provide education where these potential learners are—anywhere and everywhere. Go Back

Increasing Efficiency : The internal efficiency of an educational system is measured by its ability to deliver quality education in cost-effective ways. The traditional model for providing primary through tertiary education, adopted across the world, relies on three basic principles. • Learners must congregate in a building where the teaching/learning process takes place. • There must be a predetermined path, divided into grades, that leads to a diploma, and students must follow this path. • There must be a hierarchical structure where the instructor is the provider of knowledge and the students are the recipients. Increasing Efficiency

Slide 82 : • Learners must congregate in a building where the teaching/learning process takes place. • There must be a predetermined path, divided into grades, that leads to a diploma, and students must follow this path. • There must be a hierarchical structure where the instructor is the provider of knowledge and the students are the recipients. THE POTENTIAL The capacity of ICTs to reach students in any place and at any time has the potential to promote revolutionary changes in the traditional educational model. • First, ICTs eliminate the premise that learning time equals classroom time. To avoid overcrowded classrooms, a school may adopt a dual-shift system without reducing its students’ actual study time. Students may attend school for half a day and spend the other half involved in educational activities at home, in a library, at work, or in another unconventional setting. They may be required to watch an educational radio/television program and complete related activities, or work on an online lesson at the school technology lab or in a community learning center.

Slide 83 : • Second, ICTs can make multigrade schools, in areas with low population density, viable institutions rather than a necessary evil. While the teacher attends to certain students who need individual attention, other students may listen to an educational program on the radio, watch a television broadcast, or interact with multimedia computer software. • Third, ICTs can provide courses that small rural or urban schools cannot offer to their students because it is difficult for them to recruit and retain specialized teachers, particularly to teach mathematics, science, and foreign languages. Schools that do not need a full-time physics or English teacher can use radio, TV, or online instruction, utilizing already developed multimedia materials and sharing one “teacher” among several schools. Alternatively, retired or part-time teachers who live hundreds of miles away can be used to teach the online courses. Go Back

Enhancing Quality of Learning : “Whether or not expanded educational opportunities will translate into meaningful development—for an individual or for society—depends ultimately on whether people actually learn as a result of those opportunities, i.e., whether they incorporate useful knowledge, reasoning ability, skills, and values.” (Jomtien Declaration, article 4). This statement clearly has implications for how success is measured. High enrollments and efficient student flow, while necessary, do not indicate by themselves whether a country is achieving an acceptable level of education. Actual learning achievement is the real measure. But what is learning? Studies in cognitive psychology and brain science are challenging the traditional model of learning as a matter of transmission and mastery of facts and concepts. They have identified several principles for effective learning: Enhancing Quality of Learning

Slide 85 : • Learning engages the entire physiology, and some aspects of how the brain is wired are affected by experience. • Learning is influenced and organized by emotions and mindsets based on expectancy, personal biases and prejudices, degree of self-esteem, and the need for social interaction. • Memory is organized both spatially (allowing for “instant” memory of experiences that build on one another) and through a set of systems for rote learning. • Humans need to make sense of the environment, and they understand and remember best when facts and skills are embedded in natural, spatial memory or in ordinary experiences. Further, the search for meaning takes place by “patterning,” or attempts to organize and categorize information meaningfully. • The brain downshifts under perceived threats and learns optimally when appropriately challenged. • Concepts are learned best when they arise in a variety of contexts, when they are represented in a variety of ways, and when students have a chance to use the concepts on authentic tasks. • Learning to do well involves practice in doing. Students cannot learn to think critically, analyze information, communicate scientific ideas, make logical arguments, work as part of a team, and acquire other desirable skills unless they are permitted and encouraged to do those things over and over in many contexts.

Slide 86 : The implication of these understandings is that learning is an active process in which people construct their understandings, concepts, and ideas of the world around them through active and personal exploration, experimentation, and discussion. To enhance such learning, the instructional environment should enjoy the following characteristics: • Hands-on: Students are actually allowed to perform science, math, history, etc. (directly and vicariously), as they construct meaning and acquire understanding. Such activity takes these subjects out of the realm of the magical or extraordinary. • Minds-on: Activities focus on core concepts, allowing students to develop higher-order thinking processes and skills, and encouraging them to question and seek answers that enhance their knowledge and thereby acquire an understanding of the world in which they live. • Reality-on: Students are presented with problem-solving activities that incorporate authentic, real-life questions and issues in a format that encourages drawing on multidisciplinary knowledge, collaborative effort, dialogue with informed expert sources, and generalization to broader ideas and application. The objective is to promote students’ insight into the real scientific, technological, business, social, cultural, and everyday world, along with the skills needed to live and work effectively.

A shift in objectives. : The globalization of the economy and its concomitant demands on the workforce requires a shift in objectives: an education that enhances the ability of learners to access, assess, adopt, and apply knowledge; think independently; exercise appropriate judgment; and collaborate with others to make sense of new situations. The objective of education is no longer simply to convey a body of knowledge, but to teach how to learn, problem solve, and synthesize the old with the new. It is worth noting, also, that the emerging economy will no longer be centrally created and controlled by national governments. This environment, which will be dominated by private sector and not government jobs, will place a premium on creativity, initiative, and entrepreneurship. In addition, society is looking to the school of the future to produce good citizens. To meet these objectives, education must be engaging and authentic: engaging in the sense that students are involved in the learning process, and not viewed simply as “receptacles” for knowledge, and authentic in the sense that what they are learning has meaning to them as individuals, members of society, and workers in the marketplace. A shift in objectives.

The hard reality : This focus on a broader concept of learning is constrained by the limitations of the educational environment in most schools. • The world that the student has to understand is multidimensional and dynamic, including sound and motion. Yet the learning environment is usually restricted to lectures, cluttered chalkboard presentations, static texts, and rote learning. • Some subjects, notably science and languages, cannot be taught without interaction with and manipulation of their elements through sound, animation, and simulation—activities that are rarely provided for. • In many schools, teachers are not well qualified to translate the curriculum into teaching/learning activities or to be the chief mediators between knowledge and learners. Their initial training, often all the training they receive, generally does not include preparation of teaching materials or use of contemporary technologies for teaching. Most teachers are reluctant to invest substantial amounts of their own time and resources in bringing their knowledge and competencies up to date in these areas, and few school systems provide time or incentives for this to take place. • Students in any one class are at different levels—intellectually and academically—and they learn at varied speeds and paths. Research has shown that the most effective way to allow for these individual differences is to have tailored instruction—tutoring individuals one-on-one. In conventional setups, tutoring is neither feasible nor affordable. Alternatively, teachers tend to focus on the average students in a class and leave the slower and faster students to take care of themselves. The hard reality Go Back

Enhancing the quality of teaching : Teaching is one of the most challenging and crucial professions in the world. Teachers are critical in facilitating learning and in making it more efficient and effective; they hold the key to the success of any educational reform; and they are accountable for successful human development of the nation and for preparing the foundation for social and economic development. Yet, they are usually ill-prepared and left on their own to understand and address the needs of students, parents, administrators, society, the economy, and the past, present, and future. Enhancing the quality of teaching

Slide 90 : Modern developments may have eased some teaching burdens, but they certainly have not made life easier for teachers:   • The objectives of education have become more complicated. It is no longer sufficient to teach a certain body of knowledge and skills. Teachers are expected to help students to acquire higher levels of cognitive skills—problem solving, creativity, collaborative learning, synthesis, and, above all, the skill to learn new knowledge and apply that knowledge to new situations. • Our understanding of the nature of learning has evolved. For learning to take place, learners have to be active, learning has to be meaningful and authentic, and the learning environment should be challenging but not stressful—all easier said than done! • Knowledge is expanding rapidly, and much of it is available to teachers and students at the same time. This puts an unavoidable burden on teachers to continue updating their knowledge and exposing themselves to modern channels of information.

Slide 91 : • The social environment in many countries is making it more difficult for teachers to manage classrooms and learning processes. Teachers’ authority is challenged and their knowledge questioned continually. Students, in many instances, are becoming less respectful and more belligerent, and in some extreme cases, teachers must function in the face of physical threats and psychological duress. • Information and communication technologies have brought new possibilities to the education sector, but, at the same time, they have placed more demands on teachers. They now have to learn how to cope with computers in their classrooms, how to compete with students in accessing the enormous body of information—particularly via the Internet, and how to use the hardware and software to enhance the teaching/learning process. Obviously, teachers cannot be prepared for these unfolding challenges once and for all. One-shot training, no matter how effective and successful, will not suffice. A new paradigm must emerge that replaces training with lifelong professional preparedness and development of teachers, along the following continuum:

Slide 92 : • Initial preparation/training that provides teachers with a solid foundation of knowledge; proficiency in pedagogical, social, and organization skills; deep understanding of the teaching/learning policies and materials they will deal with; and broad familiarity with sources of educational materials and support. It is equally crucial that candidates have a sophisticated grasp of continuous exploration, assessment, and acquisition of new knowledge and competencies, according to future demands. • Structured opportunities for retraining, upgrading, and acquisition of new knowledge and skills. Many professions require practitioners to renew certification for practice. It is only logical for the critical profession of teaching to demand recertification every two or three years based on evidence of professional upgrading, and it is equally imperative for education authorities to ensure that opportunities and facilities for such upgrading are available. • Continuous support for teachers as they tackle their day-to-day responsibilities.

THE POTENTIAL : Implementing the emerging paradigm with conventional measures and techniques faces, in most countries, insurmountable financial, organizational, and institutional obstacles. ICTs may make the difference and can contribute significantly to all three components of the continuum:   • First, ICTs and properly developed multimedia materials can enhance teachers’ initial preparation by providing good training materials, facilitating simulations, capturing and analyzing practice teaching, bringing into the training institution world experience, familiarizing trainees with sources of materials and support, and training potential teachers in the use of technologies for teaching/learning. • Second, ICTs open a whole world of lifelong upgrading and professional development for teachers by providing courses at a distance, asynchronous learning, and training on demand. ICTs’ advantages include ease of revision and introduction of new courses in response to emerging demands. • Finally, ICTs break the professional isolation from which many teachers suffer. With ICTs, they can connect easily with headquarters, with colleagues and mentors, with universities and centers of expertise, and with sources of teaching materials. THE POTENTIAL Go Back

FACILITATING SKILL FORMATION : The Objective There was a time when planning for vocational and technical training was a straightforward exercise: manpower planners mapped out needs of the different sectors of the economy with reasonable precision, classified corresponding jobs by level, defined skill requirements for each job, and subsequently projected the manpower needs. It was then fairly easy for educational planners to take this “dependable” information and build technical and vocational education programs on it.   Life is not that easy anymore. Everything is changing faster than the life cycle of a training program: sectoral needs, job definitions, skill requirements, and training standards. Countries, firms and workers are all feeling the effects of the changing patterns of trade and competition, technological innovation, and globalization of information. FACILITATING SKILL FORMATION

Slide 95 : • First, producers of tradable goods and services now must operate in a global marketplace. They are more interdependent, more susceptible to external economic shocks, and more vulnerable to international changes in demand for types and quality of products and services. The situation also makes it hard to predict the skills that will be needed in the future. • Second, the production of manufacturing and high-valued services no longer filters down “naturally” from high-income to middle- and low-income countries based on labor costs alone. The location of manufacturing and high-value service depends on the producer’s ability to control quality and manage flexible, information-based systems. • Third, the emerging economy will no longer be centrally created and controlled. As countries become more open to international trade, production will reflect international and not just national demand. This environment will place a premium on entrepreneurship, or the ability of individuals and institutions to respond to market changes through evolving their own businesses or creating new ones.

Slide 96 : These facts change the rules of the game for economic success: • Countries and firms can no longer rely on a low-wage edge; industry has to develop and mature technologically and managerially and needs to place greater emphasis on productivity, quality, and flexibility in production. • Workers can no more be trained once for life. They need to acquire flexible training to cope with the changing nature of their existing tasks and the requirements of new tasks. Acquired skills have a short life, and many new skills are needed during an individual’s lifetime. • Learning new skills required by emerging jobs necessitates a solid scientific and technological foundation as well as an array of higher-order cognitive and social skills, such as problem solving, flexibility, agility, resourcefulness, collaboration and teamwork, “how to learn,” and entrepreneurship. • Everyday living is becoming more and more technologically sophisticated. Citizens need technical skills to cope with home appliances, entertainment devices, communication equipment, and marketplace processes. They need to continuously update and upgrade these skills; otherwise, and in a very short time, they will find themselves in a way “disabled” and outdated.

THE POTENTIAL : Historically, the technical and vocational training sector has been very innovative and daring in the use of technology for instruction, training, and practice. In the face of the emerging challenges facing countries, firms, producers, and consumers, the advancements in ICTs offer real hope to meet these challenges in a timely, effective, and sustainable manner. ICTs can be very powerful as an instructional and distributional tool over the whole range of skill training: basic and advanced; synchronous and asynchronous; individual and group; residential and at a distance; and virtual, simulated, and hands-on. ICTs have the potential to contribute to skill formation in the same way that they enhance the quality of learning and teaching in general. Additionally, network technologies have the potential to deliver the most timely and appropriate knowledge and skills to the right people, at the most suitable time, in the most convenient place. E-training allows for personalized, just-in-time, up-to-date, and user-centric educational activities. E-training has been most popular (and successful) in the corporate world, probably due to the culture of innovation and light bureaucracies, the feasibility of having limited and clear educational objectives, and the existence of quantifiable trade-offs. Consumers also use e-training for informal skill formation and for professional training and upgrading in certain specializations; however, corporate and consumer e-training modalities have opened new paths, raised new ideas, and generated new approaches. THE POTENTIAL

Sustaining Lifelong Learning : The Objective For many years, lifelong learning has been a permanent fixture in international education pronouncements and national policies and strategies. How can anyone disagree with the need for people to continue their learning to enjoy personal fulfillment, economic advancement, and social development? As early as 1972, one of the four basic assumptions that underpinned UNESCO’s classic report, Learning to Be, was that: Sustaining Lifelong Learning

Slide 99 : Only an over-all, lifelong education can produce the kind of complete man the need for whom is increasing with the continually more stringent constraints tearing the individual asunder. We should no longer assiduously acquire knowledge once and for all, but learn how to build up a continually evolving body of knowledge all through life—“learn to be.”

Slide 100 : Modern demands on countries, societies, and individuals further necessitate lifelong learning for all, anywhere and anytime. Some of the reasons for such a need are: • The fast–changing, technology-based economy requires from workers the flexibility to adjust to new demands and the ability to learn new skills. • The increasing sophistication of modern societies demands constant updating of the knowledge and skills of their citizens. • The escalating knowledge makes the “educated” obsolete unless they continuously update their knowledge. • As society evolves, we are unlikely to continue the present life-cycle pattern of prolonged education at the beginning of life and an extended retirement period at the end. • Lifelong learning provides opportunities for those who are unemployed to reenter the workforce. • Given the importance of learning foundations, and of continued learning in knowledge-intensive societies characterized by rapid change, those who miss out—either initially or later on—are effectively excluded.

The Potential : ICTs may provide their most valuable contribution in this domain. They are flexible, unconstrained by time and place, can be used on demand, and provide just-in-time education. They have the potential to offer synchronous as well as asynchronous learning opportunities. But, above all, if well prepared, they can pack a wealth of expertise and experience in efficient packages that can be modified and updated constantly in response to feedback, new demands, and varied contexts. Possibilities fall in a wide range of technologies, including videos, correspondence, Internet, and e-learning superstructure. The Potential

Slide 102 : Adults need to have a minimum level of basic education, including literacy. Technology should not blind us to the fact that there are still millions of adults who cannot read or write, and, because of that, they cannot use educational programs offered through information technologies, or even through classical correspondence. Schools should equip individuals with the necessary cognitive and technical skills to pursue and manage their own continuous learning—how to search, assimilate, define problems, apply knowledge to problem solving, etc.   Technology literacy—the ability to use technology hardware and software—should be part of basic education and a prerequisite for adults to make good use of ICTs throughout their lives.

Improving Policy Planning and Management : The Objective Compared with any other national activity, the education enterprise is huge and intricate. It involves educational institutions all over the country, teachers and administrators in large numbers, and students of every age, who can account for up to 30% of the population. For instance, the educational system of a middle-income country of about 10 million people can easily encompass more than 11,000 educational institutions, 140,000 teachers, and 3 million students. The budget of this enterprise may reach 20% of the government budget and 3%–5% of the gross national product (GNP). By any measure, this is an enormous enterprise to manage and maintain, and for which to ensure quality of input, process, and output.   Recent reforms within the education enterprise have resulted in observable successes in making educational opportunities more accessible and equitable and the teaching/learning process more effective. Yet, these successes are making an already unwieldy system even more complicated: Improving Policy Planning and Management

Slide 104 : • Expanding educational opportunities means more schools in isolated rural areas and more diversified modes of delivery. • Aiming for education for all means including students from underserved populations who require special measures to reach and have special needs that must be met. • The accent on learning requires setting reliable and measurable standards and attending to individual differences. • Decentralization and devolution of decisions to district and local levels require better information systems and management procedures. • Involvement of more stakeholders in the education process (parents, employers, unions, political parties, etc.) is resulting in more transparency and accountability. These developments demand a consistent flow of information and force the education enterprise to be managed better and more efficiently.

The Potential : Many educational institutions and systems have introduced simple management and statistical information systems. But this should be only the beginning. Two interrelated measures are needed: • First, education systems need to undergo structural reengineering of their processes and techniques and to modernize their procedures and applications—at different levels of decision making and administration. • Second, communication and information technologies must be an integral part of the restructuring design and application. The Potential

Slide 106 : More specifically, technology for management may enhance reform in two areas: Management of institutions and systems. The same elements of computing and telecommunications equipment and services that made businesses more efficient and cost effective can be applied to schools and school systems to enable principals and superintendents to streamline operations, monitor performance, and improve use of physical and human resources. Technology also promotes communication among schools, parents, central decision makers, and businesses that fosters greater accountability, public support, and connectivity with the marketplace. At the school/institution level, technologies are crucial in such areas as admissions, student flow, personnel, staff development, and facilities. At the system-wide level, technologies provide critical support in domains such as school mapping, automated personnel and payroll systems, management information systems, communications, and information gathering, analysis, and use. Management of policy making. The process of policy analysis and development is a sophisticated and strategic exercise. It is, by necessity, an intricate, nonlinear process in which a variety of people and organizations with diverse perspectives are actively involved in the process through which issues are analyzed and polices are generated, implemented, assessed, adjusted, and redesigned. Here ICTs can be valuable in storing and analyzing data on education indicators, student assessment, educational physical and human infrastructure, cost, and finance. Technology not only can help in diagnosis but, more important, it can also assist in constructing scenarios around different intended policy options to determine requirements and consequences. Each scenario can then be systematically analyzed and evaluated, not only in terms of its educational desirability but also in terms of financial affordability, feasibility, and sustainability over a sufficient period to show results. During policy implementation, technology can facilitate tracer studies and tracking systems as well as summative and formative evaluation.

Advancing Community Linkages : The Objective The ICT Gap The spread and use of ICTs (telephone, radio, television, computers, and the Internet) have grown exponentially. Radio broadcasts cover vast areas; satellite television encircles the globe; personal computers that were little known or used in the 1950s have, within a generation, become essential tools for work and communication; and Internet use has increased beyond imagination. Table 5.8.1.1 shows the growth over the last 13 years in telephone lines, cellular subscribers, PCs, and Internet users. The Need for ICT Access Although lack of ICTs does not constitute a dramatic component of poverty, access to ICTs is increasingly recognized as a significant contributor to efforts to escape poverty. Access to ICTs opens vast opportunities for individuals and communities to improve their economic and social well-being, and to bring them from the margins of society into the mainstream. Advancing Community Linkages

Slide 108 : More specifically, community ICT linkages can contribute to a variety of objectives: • Income generation. There is documented evidence on the utility of broadcast media as a tool for improving incomes. The same is true of providing telephone centers. Small manufacturers of traditional handicrafts are also discovering how ICTs can assist in the marketing and distribution of their wares to a worldwide client base. • Education and lifelong learning. ICTs are an increasingly important means of providing educational opportunities to remote areas and offering a setting for lifelong learning (see specifically sections 5.1 and 5.6 above).

Slide 109 : • Improvement of health services. ICTs provide information about health issues and good preventive practices. • Reduction in the isolation of rural communities. ICTs offer opportunities for communication and information sharing. • Increased efficiency of management of government services in remote areas using networked computers and the Internet. • Encouragement of small businesses. Communities with ICT access provide incentives for individuals and companies to start small businesses, some of which may involve provision of ICT services, such as telecenters (see section 5.8.3.2 below) and cyber cafés.

The Potential : The vision of ICTs for all communities is easy to justify but hard to achieve. An implementation strategy must recognize the constraints and devise sustainable mechanisms to overcome them. • The first and obvious constraint is infrastructure. Until recently, most ICTs depended on electric power and telephone lines, solar and technologies (wireless, radio, and satellite) offer new opportunities for access, bypassing the traditional technologies. • Cost is another obvious constraint, despite reduction in unit costs of ICT investments and services. ICT projects require start-up investments that may challenge the limited resources of poor countries or locales. However, technologies also offer solutions that help to defray costs without jeopardizing the quality of the projects. Creativity is essential to overcome potential barriers. Also, public-private partnerships should be explored and encouraged. • Attention must be paid to laws and regulations that could facilitate or hinder ICT plans. ICTs, with their ability to reach beyond political boundaries, defy many of the national and international legal frameworks that were created for a world with frontiers. Solutions, albeit necessary, are difficult to find and slow to implement. The balance among national and global interests, rights of individuals, and freedom of information is a challenge that must be faced if the potential of ICTs is to be fulfilled. The Potential

Slide 111 : • Ensuring access to ICTs is just one step; securing acceptance and use is equally important. Cultural and political factors may promote or create obstacles to the use of ICTs or limit their use to certain subgroups of society. Likewise, the structure and organization of local educational systems may favor integration of technology, or it may create a technophobe atmosphere that hinders efforts to change. Despite these constraints, the potential to secure community linkages to ICTs is feasible and attainable. Among the reasons for optimism are: • Acceptance: ICTs have been well received worldwide, and it appears that older technologies have opened the door for the more recent ones. To reach 50 million users, the telephone took 74 years, the radio 38 years, the PC 16 years, the television 13 years, and the WWW only four years. In India, places that did not have a telephone now have Internet kiosks where families can e-mail their relatives abroad. Likewise, homeless children in Asunción, Paraguay, are learning to read and surf the Web at telecenters where commuters send e-mail messages while waiting for buses on their way to or from work. • Reduced costs: Increased use of ICTs is associated with reduced costs and improved technology. Computer hardware prices have fallen, despite significant increases in memory and speed. Likewise, Internet access growth has been accompanied by some cost reduction.

Slide 112 : • Simplification: ICTs strive for simplicity of use, even when the technology becomes gradually more complex. The first disk operating system (DOS)-operated PCs required some training for simple tasks. Nowadays, children have no problems dealing with modern PCs. This concern with the user may explain, at least partially, the rapid popularity of the medium. • Efficiency: Perhaps more than any other technology, ICTs strive for efficiency: they are getting faster, simpler, less costly, more user-friendly, and more productive. Auto industries have relied on one source of fuel for the past 100 years, despite warnings ranging from potential depletion of this sole source to environmental disasters. In less than 50 years, telecommunications has experimented with simple telephone lines, fiber optic cables, satellites, and wireless technologies, and the search continues.   These trends encourage us not to think in terms of linear projections. Also, countries and communities can leapfrog from pretechnology stages (e.g., the absence of telephone lines) to state-of-the-art strategies (e.g., wireless technologies), thus bypassing less efficient and generally more expensive alternatives.

From Potential to Effectiveness : If ICTs possess all the potential, cited above, to improve the teaching/learning process significantly and revolutionize the education enterprise, in the same manner that they revolutionized business and entertainment, why have we not experienced such drastic effects? If technologies are the solution they claim to be, then what or where is the problem?   In attempting to answer this question, it is essential to distinguish between potential and effectiveness. No ICT potential is realized automatically—not in education, in business, or in entertainment. In fact, many computerized businesses are managed badly and go bankrupt, and many movies are a complete failure. Placing a radio and TV in every school, putting a computer in every classroom, and wiring every building for the Internet will not solve the problem automatically. The problem is not strictly technological; it is educational and contextual; constraints must be alleviated and conditions met. Experience points to eight parameters necessary for the potential of ICTs to be realized in knowledge dissemination, effective learning and training, and efficient education services. From Potential to Effectiveness

Slide 114 : Educational Policy Technology is only a tool; no technology can fix a bad educational philosophy or compensate for bad practice. In fact, if we are going in the wrong direction, technology will only get us there faster. Likewise, distance learning is not about distance, it is about learning. Just as we can have bad education face to face, we can have bad education at a distance. Therefore, educational choices first have to be made in terms of objectives, methodologies, and roles of teachers and students before decisions can be made about the appropriate ICT interventions. For instance, if teaching is demonstrating and telling, and if learning is memorizing and reciting, using learning technologies and multimedia programs for this purpose will not have the desired impact. Also, if students are not asked to search and work collaboratively, and if teachers function independently, investment in connectivity will not be cost effective. The effectiveness of different levels of sophistication of ICTs depends to a large extent on the role of learners and teachers as practiced in the educational process and on the reasons behind using ICTs for student learning and for teaching; Before investing in ICTs, therefore, it is essential to determine: • The roles expected of teachers and learners • The educational purposes for which ICTs are to be used

Approach to ICTs : Classrooms are constrained environments, and conventional instructional materials are static. If technology-enhanced education programs are taped classrooms, digital texts, and PowerPoint transparencies, then we are missing out on the tremendous potential of technologies that can animate, simulate, capture reality, add movement to static concepts, and extend our touch to the whole universe. Movies and TV programs are not replicas of theater—packaged theater plays; they tell the same story in a more dramatic and multifaceted manner. So should ICT-enhanced education. Approach to ICTs

Slide 116 : The challenge, therefore, is to rethink learning objectives and teaching methodologies, and to align learning technologies with them. It was never satisfactory merely to be efficient in helping learners to achieve mastery of content and basic skills, but the issue has now become vital. As knowledge in itself becomes a perishable item, the ability of learners to think independently, exercise appropriate judgment and skepticism, and collaborate with others to make sense of their changing environment is the only reasonable aim for education. Perhaps the most profound shift is from systems of teaching and supervision of learning to systems of learning and facilitation of learning. These shifts will be difficult in different ways for both rich and poor school systems. In advantaged communities, change is an upheaval for established authorities, systems, and capacities. In disadvantaged communities, the infrastructure must be put into place, along with serious attention to pedagogy.

Slide 117 : There is also a basic difference between using technology as an add-on to make the current model of education more efficient, more equitable, and cheaper, on the one hand, and integrating technology into the entire education system to realize structural rethinking and reengineering, on the other. It is the difference between a marginal addition and a radical systemic change. It is in the second scenario that technology can have the greatest impact. Information technology is the fundamental underpinning of the science of structural re-engineering. It is the force that revolutionizes business, streamlines government and enables instant communications and the exchange of information among people and institutions around the world. But information technology has not made even its barest appearance in most public schools.... Before we can get the education revolution rolling, we need to recognize that our public schools are low-tech institutions in a high-tech society. The same changes that have brought cataclysmic change to every facet of business can improve the way we teach students and teachers.