Transcript MORELLI V. CEDEL

ICT in Education: Preparing Children
for the 21st Century and Beyond
Dr. Sheryl Walters-Malcolm, DBA
Omni Consulting Services
Introduction
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Now in information age, largely driven by
increased use of the Internet
In this environment, critical resources for
competitive advantage are intangible assets
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Role of government:
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Knowledge, capabilities such as innovation,
technical expertise
Establish policies that encourage investment in
information technology and facilitates innovation
Technical innovation critical element required for
competitive performance of firms and nations,
and for sustained growth of world economy
The New Economy
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Convergence of digital technology, intellectual property, and customer
supremacy has resulted in the transformation of ‘old’ industrial economy
into ‘new and virtual’ economy
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‘Old’ economy built on tangible assets, standardization and stand-alone
participants
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‘New’ economy built on intangible assets, customization, and connected
participants
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Efficiency in producing physical goods that workforce freed up to offer
services or produce intellectual properties
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Competitive advantages erode quickly; companies actively work to recreate new competitive advantage
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New economy requires free business environment unimpeded by old
economy regulations
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Government role to cooperate with, not just regulate business
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Use public policies to encourage investment in IT infrastructure, and
create public-private partnerships
IT Industry Development Model
Government Policies
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Education
Introduction of secondary
and tertiary technological
institutions
IT curriculum in existing
secondary and tertiary
institutions
Ensure availability of
technologies in all
educational facilities
Research and Development
 Encourage close
collaboration between
government, industry, and
academia
 Provide tax incentives for
R&D projects
 Direct funding of R&D
projects based on industry
interest
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Capital
Enact policies aimed to
encourage FDI
Create/improve alternative
financing mechanisms
(such as venture capital)
Improve capital markets
IT Industry Development
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Legal Issues
Enact policies to facilitate
the creation of patents and
other intellectual property
Legal system to protect
intellectual property
Education
o
Knowledge and human capital are critical elements of growth
and development
o
The long-term solution for the economic difficulties facing
citizens in developing countries is to raise the standard of
education
o
Education policy makers are faced with the task of
transforming their respective education institutions and
current schooling practices to align them with the growing
demands of globalization in a technology-driven world
o
ICT must be an integral component of the overall strategy for
the improvement of the educational system, transformed to
facilitate knowledge creation
Public-Private Partnerships
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Governments in developing countries often faced with the
predicament of multiple demands with limited resources
Is it reasonable to expect these governments to invest large
sums of money in ICT for educational development instead of
addressing more pressing needs?
Investment in ICT infrastructure remains low priority in many
educational systems for countries without the financial
wherewithal to successfully integrate ICTs in their education
system.
Public/private partnerships enables the optimization of
existing resources
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Government role is that of facilitator/enabler
Private sector contributes expertise, technology and management
practices
Public Private Partnership Illustration
Private Sector
Government
•Facilitator
•Monitors Project
•Ensures favorable environment
•Provides Content
•Deploys appropriate technology
•Provides Expertise
Hole-In-The-Wall Project
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Hole-In-The-Wall project partnership between New Delhi Government,
NIIT, Ltd. (an IT education company) and the International Finance
Corporation
Minimally Invasive Education (MIE) learning stations installed at various
locations in impoverished areas in New Delhi
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MIE – “a pedagogic method that uses the learning environment to
generate adequate level of motivation to induce learning in groups of
children, with minimal or no intervention by a teacher” (Mitra et al,
2005)
Hole-In-The-Wall Project
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Children 8-14 years of age provided free access to computers in
informal, open environment
MIE encourages children to learn on their own, with little or no
intervention, and enables them to acquire computer literacy and
enhance their academic levels
MIE learning stations content includes basic literacy modules,
Edutainment, and other topics related to English, Science, Social
Studies, and General Awareness
 Children often used the stations before and after school
Hole-In-The-Wall Project
(Observations)
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Learning at the MIE stations is self directed and participatory
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Self organizing groups of children – Experts, Connectors, and
Novice groups
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Improved academic performance
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Improved retention and receptivity
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Children learn through social networking.
 Connect by assisting, cooperating and collaborating within
groups and between individuals
 Information exchange took place within and between groups
 Child learns from himself as well as his peers through the
process of communication
 Transfer of knowledge through networking
Hole-In-The-Wall Project
Peer-to-Peer Learning
NEPAD E-Schools Initiative
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NEPAD recognizes that development of human resources in the region
is key in its effort to eradicate poverty and ensure sustainable socioeconomic development
Announced the e-schools initiative in 2003
E-schools initiative – elements of the public sector, private sector,
foundations, development agencies, and civil organizations have
teamed up for this initiative
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Objectives
 Provide ICT skills to primary and secondary school students to
enable them to function effectively in the emerging information
society and knowledge economy
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Make African students health literate
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Provide teachers with ICT skills in order to enhance teaching and
learning
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Provide school managers in Africa with ICTs skills to facilitate
efficient management and administration in schools
NEPAD E-Schools Initiative
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Incorporates a Satellite Network to offer
broadband connectivity to rural areas where
600,000 schools will be located
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Non-grid power sources will be provided at those
schools
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Facilitate the distribution of educational contents
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Linked to major distribution content centers in each
country from which educational contents will be
distributed to schools
Private sector partners five consortia led by AMD,
Cisco, HP, Microsoft and Oracle, and includes
more than 50 private sector companies
ICT in Education
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Information technology best viewed as facilitator of knowledge
creation in innovative societies
 IT become enabler of change, and not the agent
Education policies significantly affect the innovative capabilities of
a society
Direct government promotion is necessary for successful
development of IT industry
Success factors
 Exogenous factors
 Endogenous mediating factors
Factors significantly impact success:
 The extent of government promotion
 The extent of private sector involvement
 The level of research and development
 The existence of education system that produces IT literate
graduates
Conclusion
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Information and Communication Technology production and use, and
knowledge based activities are drives of GDP growth
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India, for example, average growth rate of 6.8% since 1994 and able to
reduce poverty by 10 approximately percentage points
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Knowledge has become third factor of production
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Knowledge is the key resource in a post-capitalist society
“The decisive factor of production, the real controlling resource is neither
capital nor land nor labor. It is knowledge. Replacing the landowner
and farmer of the agricultural era, and the capitalist and proletarian of
the industrial era, is the knowledge worker of the post-capitalist
society. Wealth in the post-capitalist society comes from the
application of knowledge to productivity and innovation, rather than
from the allocation of labor and capital to productive uses.” (Trauth,
2000, p. 5)