Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

It proposes that when used appropriately, ICT can bring many benefi ts to the classroom and the education process
and can provide new opportunities for teaching professionals delivering education. The Policy suggests that these
benefi ts include: more student-centred teaching; greater opportunity for students at risk; greater exposure to
vocational and workforce skills; greater opportunity for communication and collaboration; foster greater enthusiasm
for learning amongst student; provide teachers with new sources of information and knowledge and provide learners
with additional resources to assist resource-based learning.
The Policy also gives due recognition to the complexity of integrating ICT in education and how the rapid rate of
technological change creates greater complexity. It also acknowledges that differing views and perspectives on
these matters exists. For this reason, the Policy proposes to be open-ended to encourage its longevity instead of
becoming obsolete before it is adopted.
The Policy also recognises that investment in ICT integration in education can also assist with developing local
educational ICT businesses and solution providers that could develop local solutions and create local employment.
It also encourages the use of ICT facilities outside of school hours to allow for services to the community but places
the onus on the local school management take responsibility for these activities.
It further proposes that detailed implementation plans, curricula, teachers’ guides, deployment criteria and technical
standards be developed as an addition to this Policy. It provides a maturity model that articulates development
levels of ICT access in education institutions. Table 6 provides a snapshot of these level and some of their matching
criteria.
Table 6: Development Levels of ICT Access and Use
Development Level Attributes
Level 1 A small computer room with 2 to 12 computers used for teaching ICT skills
Staff have the skills to retrieve information, prepare documents, use school management software, and develop their
skills
1 or 2 staff will have a minimum basic ICT literacy qualifi cation
Students will spend about one hour a month using a computer
Level 2 All level 1 attributes apply
All teaching and administrative staff should have reasonable access to a computer (at least 1: 5 staff and 1:10
students) and are able to use the Internet, e-mail and word processor
The site is connected to the Internet
Learning materials are downloaded and occasionally created by teaching staff
Signifi cant email and web communication and administration with the rest of the parent Ministry
Students will spend about 1 hour every 2 weeks on the computer
At least 2 of the site staff will have an ICT qualifi cation
The site will have a classroom equipped with a computer and projector system and/or the ability to display audio-visual
materials to students
Level 3 Use of ICT underpins signifi cant proportions of the work
All students have reasonable access to a computer (1:10 students), and all staff have access to a computer (better
than 1:3 staff)
The site has an Internet connection suitable for the number of users
All students are able to use a computer, communicate by e-mail, fi nd information using web-based systems, create
output using a word processor e.g. assignments
Learning materials are downloaded, created, and uploaded by teaching staff
Over a third of the communication and administration with the rest of the parent Ministry is done via e-mail and web
services
Some computer based training materials are used to support teaching
30% of staff will have some ICT qualifi cation. Students will spend about two hours a week using a computer
The site will have one or more classrooms equipped with a computer and projector system and/or the ability to display
audio-visual materials to students
Case Study: Namibia | 77