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Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies inEDUCATIONin Asia and the Pacificedited byGlen Farrell, Ph.D and Cédric Wachholz

Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education in Asia and the Pacific 2003-2004Edited by Glen Farrell, Ph.D. and Cédric Wachholz© UNESCO 2003272pp.1. Educational technology. 2. Information technology. 3. ICT. 4. Communication technology. 5. Asiaand the Pacific. I. Farrell, Glen, ed. II. Wachholz, Cédric, ed.371.334Published in 2003 by theUNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for EducationP.O. Box 967, Prakanong Post OfficeBangkok 10110, Thailandwww.unescobkk.orgPrinted in Bangkok, ThailandDesign and Layout: Lowil Fred EspadaISBN 92-9223-010-7The author [or institution] is responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts containedin this book and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCOand do not commit the Organization.The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do notimply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legalstatus of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of itsfrontiers or boundaries.

III. Country Reports 41Central and South West Asia 041Afghanistan by Hilary Perraton, Ph.D 043Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistanby Hilary Perraton, Ph.D 049Islamic Republic of Iran by Tohid Sadeghnezhad 059Pakistan by Hilary Perraton, Ph.D 065East and South-East Asia 071Cambodia by PREL 073China by Chen Li, Ph.D 079Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by Jung-Soon Hahn, Ph.D 085Indonesia by Tian Belawati, Ph.D 089Japan by Aya Yoshida, Ph.D 095Lao People’s Democratic Republic by PREL 101Malaysia by Tian Belawati, Ph.D 107Mongolia by Sukhbaatar Engkhjargal and Lkhagvasuren Ariunaa 11100Myanmar by PREL 11700Philippines by Tian Belawati, Ph.D 12100Republic of Korea by Jung-Soon Hahn, Ph.D 12900Thailand by Tian Belawati, Ph.D 13700Viet Nam by Tian Belawati, Ph.D 143Pacific Island Countries 14713Australia by Som Naidu, Ph.D. and Carol Jasen 14913Cook Islands by Ruby Vaa, Ph.D 157ii

AcknowledgementsFirstly, we would like to thank the 24 authors who despite finding the informationgathering process difficult at times, persisted to work with us at a distance throughoutthis project. Special thanks go to Dr. Glen Farrell, the study team leader, whosecontribution, feedback and guidance were invaluable to the quality and timeliness ofthis report.Thanks also must go to the Director of the UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureaufor Education, Sheldon Shaeffer. He initiated the survey seeking the assistance of allUNESCO offices and National Commissions in the region and provided sustainedsupport through this process. Thanks also to Professor Fumihiko Shinohara, to MrCorin Golding and to Ms Naly Arunkit for their valuable contributions to thispublication.Finally yet importantly, we would like to thank the Government of Japan, andparticularly the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT) for their generous financial contribution and continued support, withoutwhich this survey would not have been possible.vi

Training being systematically implemented in thecountries, especially that for teachers, educators innon-formal education settings, and learners. Whatare the strategies, and sources of expertise; is itcompulsory or optional; is there evidence ofeffectiveness; and what are the needs?Constraints regarding the use of ICT in the country,particularly those involving gender, rural/urbandivisions, ethnic minorities, learning softwarelanguage, issues of ICT use and learning quality,resourcing and sustainability.Analyses focusing on actions/initiatives that theresearcher felt might facilitate the increased use ofICT in the country to support educational goals.The research method applied included a careful selectionof organizations and individuals with knowledge andexpertise in the use of ICTs in education in the Asia-Pacificregion. They were invited to prepare the country andthematic reports and gathered the necessary informationusing publications, the web, e-mail and telephone interactionwith individual contacts within the countries, personalinformation and other sources. The researchers thereforeanalysed and synthesized already existing information, butalso integrated new knowledge gained. A much morecomprehensive survey including detailed questionnaires toMinistries of Education for the thorough analysis of schooland country situations is currently being undertaken byUNESCO’s ICT in Education Indicator Project in selectedMember States.For this reason, the Meta-survey neither attempts norpretends to reflect country situations in their diversity inthe limited space we have here. This task was sometimesdifficult because information was hard to obtain. At othertimes, because of our broad definition of the term “ICTs”and the coverage of formal and non-formal learningenvironments, there was a sheer information overflow. Thecriteria for selecting and synthesizing information have beenmentioned before: lessons to be learnt in order to reach theEducation for All (EFA) goals, better understanding thecountries’ key players, initiatives, constraints, and needsand opportunities for UNESCO to contribute todevelopment.When we received the first drafts of the country reports wenoticed that the gender analysis component was generallyincomplete, even though this is a major EFA priority. Tomake up for this lack, we contracted an ICT and genderspecialist, Ms Lyndsay Green, to write a separate chapteron gender issues and trends in the use of ICT in educationin this region. The report benefited directly from Ms Green’sparticipation in the very timely Forum on ICTs & Gender:Optimizing Opportunities, organized by the GlobalKnowledge Partnership (GKP) in Kuala Lumpur from 20–23 August 2003.The Meta-survey is composed of the following chapters:The first chapter gives an overview of developments andtrends in the application of ICTs in education. It providesan illustrative overview of applications and models of ICTuse in education, looking more carefully at trends in contentdevelopment and in applications for primary and secondaryeducation and for non-formal education, and in researchand evaluation, and at emerging infrastructuredevelopments.Gender-based issues and trends in ICT applications ineducation in Asia and the Pacific are the focus of the secondchapter. It shows exciting examples of how ICTs canincrease access to and improve the quality of learningexperiences for girls and women, including in non-formaleducation. Trends in strategies, including gendermainstreaming and the engendering of ICT and educationpolicies, are discussed.The third chapter includes the collection of the ICT ineducation country papers, grouped by sub-regions.The concluding section summarises the apparent principlesof ICT applications in education and discusses differentpolicy framework developments, constraints and challengesof successful ICT integration in the region and possiblestrategies and opportunities for UNESCO assistance.We trust that initiatives beyond those launched by UNESCOwill benefit from, and be inspired by, the knowledge sharedand networks created through this survey.Sheldon ShaefferDirectorUNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education1World Education Forum (2000): The Dakar Framework for Action, Expanded Commentary, Paris p. 212

Regional Perspectives

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationAn Overview of Developments and Trends inthe Application of Information andCommunication Technologies in EducationThe contextMr Glen M. Farrell, Ph. D.Senior ConsultantCommonwealth of LearningOctober, 2003glenf@col.orgAcknowledgementsThe author wishes to acknowledge the support of theCommonwealth of Learning (COL) in the preparation ofthis paper. The access provided to the materials in theCOL information database were particularly helpful aswas the use of the Knowledge Finder software that COLhas made publicly available. The assistance of the COLprofessional staff in referring the author to additionalprint, electronic and human resources is alsoacknowledged with appreciation.Over the last few years the use of information andcommunication technologies (ICTs) in all sectors ofeducation has increased dramatically – and continues to doso. While the writer is not aware of supporting researchspecific to education, it is probable that the diffusion andadoption of ICTs in that context is following a pattern similarto that which has characterized the adoption of anyinnovation in other fields such as agriculture and medicine.The pattern in those contexts has been that adoption istypically led by a small group of “innovators” who areable to imagine applications for the innovation, in this caseICT, and are able to acquire the resources needed to test it.This influences a larger group of “early adopters” to try thetechnology, largely on the basis of the “visions” created bythe work of the “innovators” coupled with the advocacyand incentives that policy makers and institutional leadersmay provide. At this point the adoption of the innovation isshifting from the periphery to mainstream practice and isstarting to receive a great deal of attention. Practitionerswant to see evidence of the benefits of adoption and areless likely to be influenced by the rhetoric of the advocates.As more evidence supporting adoption becomes available,the large body of “late adopters” will decide to get involved– and following these, a smaller group of practitioners whogenerally find change of any kind difficult, decide to adoptthe innovation. This group is referred to as the “laggards”.It is arguable that the adoption of ICTs in education has, ingeneral terms, reached the stage of early adoption. Decisionmakersand teachers want to know how this innovation willincrease access to educational opportunities, what the costswill be, and what the impact will be on the quality of contentand the learning experience. They need to be convinced byevidence before making wholesale changes to the wayschools function and the way in which available resourcesare allocated. And their starting point, as it has been withfarmers or physicians, is the question: “How will this helpme improve what I am already doing?”4

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional PerspectivesThe need to encourage and facilitate the use of ICTs ineducation systems is urgent. The World Education Forumconcluded at its Dakar conference in 2000 1 that, while therehad been progress since the Jomtien conference a decadeearlier, large numbers of people were still without a basiceducation and that more effort was required to meet theEducation For All (EFA) goals. More use of distanceeducation, telematics and broadcasting was urged. And, aswill be seen from the examples that follow, that ishappening.The intent of this chapter is to provide a global snapshot oftrends in the adoption of ICTs into educational practice and,thereby, to provide a backdrop against which to viewapplications in countries of the Asia-Pacific region that aredescribed in the following section of this report. As we shallsee, there are many examples of “innovators” who are tryingnew things. There are also some very successful examplesof applications on a mass scale, and many more initiativesthat hold much promise. Some of these examples will beused to illustrate the various trends happening in the areasof ICT infrastructure development, ICT applications inprimary and secondary school systems, curriculum materialscontent development, and non-formal education. There isalso a trend towards more emphasis on research andevaluation on issues related to ICT use in educationincluding not only those related to efficiency andeffectiveness, but also to the matter of gender equity in termsof access and involvement – an issue that will be reviewedin a separate section of this report. The description of trendsthat follows is not intended to be a listing of “good practice”but rather as examples selected to illustrate that trend. Takentogether, the trends illustrate the growing contribution ICTapplications are making to the achievement of EFA goals.Trends in emergingICT infrastructureThere are many ways to look at the concept of infrastructure.A common framework is to think of infrastructure in termsof the following components: the hardware (the machines)that we use, watch or listen to such as computers, televisionsets, radios, etc.; the “libraries” where information is storedsuch as servers; the networks that enable information tomove between and among machines and libraries such assatellites, wires and cables, and wireless networks; and theoperating systems, such as Windows and Linux, that allowthe interactions to take place. For the purposes of thisdiscussion we shall include another component, theemergence of “management information” strategies thatallow us to access information we want in an efficientmanner.It is also important to make clear that the definition of ICTused in the scope of this report is comprehensive. It includesnot only the newer digital technologies of computers,Internet, e-mail, World Wide Web, wireless, etc, but alsothe older technologies of print, radio and television that havebeen used extensively in both distance education andclassroom instruction. Indeed, as many of the examplesillustrate, these “older” technologies are still the mainstayof educational outreach in many parts of the world becausethe state of infrastructure development has not allowed thesame degree of adoption as has taken place in moredeveloped countries. This is often referred to as the “digitaldivide”.Combined Use of “Old” and “New” TechnologiesWhat follows illustrates ways that “old” and “new” ICTsare being used together to add value to educationalendeavors around the world and, in the process, areproviding bridges to the digital divide. The examples alsoillustrate the importance of not “throwing the baby out withthe bath water” as is often the case when “old” ICTs areabandoned in the rush to incorporate the new.1. One of the best school-based examples of this trend canbe found in Mexico’s Telesecundaria, which is describedin detail later in this chapter. The school uses television,print, and, more recently, the Internet to supportclassroom-based learning.2. Another, more recent, example is the Philippinegovernment’s Integrated Distance LearningProgramme (IDLP), which uses satellite, television,computers, the Internet, and solar power to target some3,000 communities, or barangays, across the island ofMindinao. Enrollees in remote highlands and evacuationcentres will take a qualifying exam to determine theprogramme most appropriate for them. The programmeis designed to address the low quality of education amongindigenous peoples. More information is available atwww.digitalopportunity.org/article/country/970/3. Radio Sagarmatha in Nepal is broadcasting the Internetover the radio – something that is in direct contrast tothe more common practice of simulcasting radio overthe Internet. www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/stories/index.cfm?key=252. While this example relatesto education in a general sense, it illustrates howcommunity radio can be enriched as an informationsource through the use of the Internet. Listeners can learnabout the Internet and its uses, and also phone in theirqueries for Internet searching and have the informationbroadcast for all to hear.4. Interactive Radio Instruction 2 is not new. It has beenused for nearly 30 years in over 20 countries around theworld. However, it illustrates how the combination of“old” technologies, radio and print, can effectivelyimprove the quality of education in remote schools. Inmany ways the model resembles the Farm Radio Forumstarted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation andreplicated in India and other parts of the world. Modern5

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationday versions now incorporate Internet-based interactivityas well.5. The Kothmale Internet Radio project in Sri Lanka 3 isan add-on to a community radio that was set up 20 yearsago by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation whenthe construction of the Kothmale dam displaced entirevillages. Local radio was chosen as a strategy for helpingto rebuild the social fabric for those displaced withinthis rural community and KIR became an important partof many people’s lives.Several community telecentre facilities were developed toenable Internet access for members of the communities sothey could do “radio browsing” of websites. In this waycommunity radio is used as a gateway for a poor communityto actively participate in the global knowledge society. Atpresent, the radio browsing formula is the only means toovercome the language barrier entirely, as information onEnglish-language websites is explained and discusseddirectly in Sinhalese and Tamil. One advantage forKothmale is the existence of many regionally based Englishlanguagesites carrying a vast range of information relevantfor much of the Asian region. The number of students atKIR centres after school hours, surfing the web in Englishand using English for their e-mail exchanges, indicates thatlanguage is far less of a barrier for the younger generationsthan it is for adults.Growing Interest in“Open Source” Operating SystemsOperating systems enable computers, and the networks thatconnect them, to function. They are comprised of two maintypes of software: those that control the workings of thecomputer, and those that allow computer users to undertakespecific sorts of tasks such as word processing, usingspreadsheets or developing and manipulating graphics.Some of the most commonly used operating systems, suchas Windows, are referred to as “proprietary” software. Useof this type of software usually requires the payment of alicense fee and, even then, the user is not able to access thesource code or inner workings.Open source software on the other hand, refers to anysoftware which may be copied and used freely. The softwareis often available free of charge on the Internet. And, unlikeproprietary software, open source software can be copied,used, studied, modified, distributed, etc., with little or nocopyright restrictions. It is royalty and license free, and istherefore substantially cheaper to acquire than brandedalternatives. The reason for this is that open source softwareis developed by volunteer collectives who are not seekingto profit from its sale. In addition, just as the recipe forgeneric drugs is made public, so the source code of opensource software is accessible to the user. Any qualifiedperson can see exactly how the software works and caneasily make changes to the functionality of it.The reasons for the growing interest in open source softwarein the educational context are obvious. As Dr. KathrynMoyle points out in her paper “Open Source Software andAustralian School Education”, 4 the use of ICT in schools isan added cost to the traditional infrastructure of buildings,teachers’ salaries, books, etc. Therefore, anything that canpotentially save money is attractive. Open source isattractive for other reasons as well. Governments andschools are interested in increasing the interoperabilitybetween software systems for teaching and learning andadministrative purposes. The question of how to achieveinteroperability hinges on the nature of the standards uponwhich the software is based. This is akin to determining thenature of the foundations upon which a house is to be built.Open standards that allow the code for the standard to beseen provide the capacity for interoperability between bothopen and proprietary software. Open source softwareprovides a concrete way of developing open standards.Rather than making open standards theoretical exercises,open source software provides the practical means fordetermining these standards.However, there are pros and cons as Martin Bruggink pointsout in his paper on “Open Source in Africa: TowardsInformed Decision-Making”. 5 He provides a comprehensivereview of the realities involved in the use of open sourcesoftware and gives a useful summary of the advantages anddisadvantages.Nevertheless, open source software is becomingincreasingly attractive to educational leaders andpractitioners. The Australian context described by KathrynMoyle is illustrative. After a comprehensive review of thecurrent state of open source software use in the country,she concluded that the management of software is emergingas an important part of the work of schools. She reviews alist of the software requirements that schools have, givesher assessment of the pros and cons of open source, andprovides a review of the risks involved in using proprietarysoftware.Obviously the trend toward open source software will beof increasing significance to education leaders and theimportance of making informed decisions before adoptingit is important. Other sources that discuss this trend include:Fredrick Noronha’s paper “Liberation Technologyfor the Lands of Diversity? Free Software in Asia.” 6Particular pieces of open source software arediscussed at: www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_Software.6

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional Perspectiveshttp://fossfa.org/database/all_projects.html/ has adatabase of people, projects and organizationsinvolved in open source software development.The Commonwealth of Learning completed anassessment of open source learning managementsystems in June 2003. A hard copy is available bysending a request to: (info@col.org).Use of Mobile TechnologyAn article in the February 25, 2003 edition of the Guardianbegins as follows:“Imagine all those times in the day when wesee groups of young people hunched overmobile phones, thumbs straining repetitively.Now imagine they are not texting friends orpassing the time with a game, but are activelyengaged in learning. If you are finding thishard to imagine, the researchers running the“m-learning” project are not.”The aim of m-Learning 7 is to develop prototype productsand services, which will deliver information and learningexperiences via technologies that are inexpensive, portableand accessible to the majority of European Union citizens.The products and services in development are designed tocapture the interest of young adults (16 to 24) who are notcurrently taking part in education or training and to assistthem in the development of life long learning objectives.The learning themes focus on subjects of interest to youngadults, e.g. football and music, and the modules includeactivities designed to develop aspects of literacy andnumeracy. m-Learning’s target audience includes youngadults who are unemployed, under-employed or homeless.The m-learning infrastructure includes a LearningManagement System which, when combined with themicroportal interface layer under development, willfacilitate access to m-learning materials and services froma variety of mobile devices as well as web and TV access.For interfacing with devices with minimum multimediafunctionality, and for the benefit of learners with sensorydifficulties, m-learning is developing speech-to-text, textto-speechand SMS facilities. In addition, the followingsupports are also being developed: an intelligent tutorsystem to help identify needs and learning preferences, anda tutor agent to help personal learning planning. User trialsinvolving young adults from the target audience will takeplace in the UK and Italy.A somewhat similar project began in May, 2003 in thePhilippines. Over the life of the project, more than 13,000pupils in Grades 5 and 6, mostly 10 to 11-year-olds fromselected public and private schools, will be able to vieweducational science videos downloaded to the classroomwith the help of mobile phones and satellite communicationsystems.Text2teach 8 is part of the global Bridgeit programme todeliver digital learning materials to teachers and studentsin even the most remote schools with the use of mobile andsatellite technology. Bridgeit is a global programmedeveloped jointly by Nokia, the international mediacompany Pearson, the International Youth Foundation(IYF), and the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP). The four organizations combined their expertisein technology, content, training, and processes to create animpact on the learning of young people. In the Philippines,text2teach is spearheaded by the Ayala Foundation incooperation with several partners. The Department ofEducation and the South East Asia Ministers of EducationOrganisation (SEAMEO-Innotech) were responsible forlesson development and the training of more than a hundredscience teachers, supervisors and school heads. Mobiletelephone operator Globe Telecom, PMSI-DreamBroadcasting and the Chikka Asia services, which offersshort message service (SMS) on the Internet, provided thehardware, software and technical requirements for theproject.Under text2teach, each school is equipped with a satellitedish, a 29-inch television set with rack, a 40-gigabyte digitalvideo server/recorder to record and store video clips andtwo to three mobile phones.The technology is fairly basic. Following a lesson plan thatincorporates text2teach lessons, science teachers just haveto send an SMS request on mobile phones for specific videosfrom the more than 100 that Pearson has made availablefrom its KnowledgeBox video library. These are thendownloaded via satellite to a Nokia digital recorderconnected to the school’s television set.The Emergence ofKnowledge Management SystemsThe increasing rate of ICT adoption in education isgenerating a huge amount of information and knowledgein areas such as technology applications, costs, learningmaterials, training, and organisational change – all of whichpeople want access to. Fortunately there are a variety ofknowledge/information management systems emerging thatmake the task easier.1. Portals are one of these management systems. They areessentially sites on the Internet that serve as searchengines to assist the user in finding the requiredinformation from the morass of sources. Nowlin andBliss 9 have defined a portal as:“a term, generally synonymous with gateway, for a WorldWide Web site that is or proposes to be a major startingsite for users when they get connected to the Web or thatusers tend to visit as an anchor site. There are generalportals and specialized or niche portals. Some majorgeneral portals include Yahoo, Excite, Netscape, Lycos,7

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationCNET, Microsoft Network, and America Online.Examples of niche portals include Garden.com (forgardeners), Fool.com (for investors), andSearchNetworking.com (for network administrators). Anumber of large access providers offer portals to the Webfor their own users. Most portals have adopted the Yahoostyle of content categories with a text-intensive, fasterloading page that visitors will find easy to use and toreturn to. Companies with portal sites have attractedmuch stock market investor interest because portals areviewed as able to command large audiences and numbersof advertising viewers. Typical services offered by portalsites include a directory of Web sites, a facility to searchfor other sites, news, weather information, e-mail, stockquotes, phone and map information, and sometimes acommunity forum. Excite is among the first portals tooffer users the ability to create a site that is personalizedfor individual interests.”Neil Butcher 10 has stated that: “In effect, a portal can containany service available via the Internet. It is not limited to theWorld Wide Web, as it can be expanded to included e-mailservices, chat rooms, and other Internet applications notdependent on the web.” He describes three types of portalscurrently available, emphasising that, in many instances,these services are merged in a single portal:a. Networking Portals are those that provide variousindividuals (educators, learners, managers andadministrators) with a central point from which toaccess various educational tools and facilities (onlineand offline).b. Organizational Portals are those constructed by aspecific organization whose core business is todeliver educational material. Generally these typesof portals contain search facilities, links to otherrelevant organizations or institutions, as well assubscription services, projects, publications andinformation about the organization itself.c. Resource-based Portals provide access to variouseducational resources online. A feature of manyresource-based portals is that they providesubscription services, thus requiring people to paybefore being able to access resources. They may havea focus on generic resources, subject-specificresources such as math, or they may focus on linksto other resource sites.Butcher also provides a comprehensive analysis of thefeatures and tasks required in the construction andmaintenance of portals.An example of a portal that has a different focus, and hasdirect relevance to this discussion, is the one developed byUNESCO (www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict). Thisis a comprehensive networking portal that has a focus onICT use in education in the Asia-Pacific region.Another is www.bized.ac.uk/, an example of a portal that isboth resource-based and networking, that provides servicefor students, teachers and lecturers of business, economics,accounting, leisure and recreation, and travel andtourism, with a searchable and browsable catalogue of over4300 quality checked Internet resources.The Digital Dividend Clearinghouse is an innovative onlineplatform tracking social enterprises that use ICTs to delivercritical tools and services to underserved communities indeveloping countries. Its twin goals are 1) to serve as aknowledge base for those interested in developingsustainable business models to bridge the global digitaldivide, and 2) to facilitate networking among thosestakeholders. http://wriws1.digitaldividend.org/wri/app/index.jsp2. AskERIC (http://askeric.org/About/) is a personalizedInternet-based service providing education informationto teachers, librarians, counsellors, administrators,parents, and anyone interested in education throughoutthe United States and the world and it contains a databaseof lesson plans that cover most areas in any curriculum.3. Teachers Net (http://teachers.net/gazette/AUG03/wong.html) is another example of a lesson plan andteaching resource database. While this and AskERIC areboth US sites, they nonetheless offer a potentially usefulresource, and provide an example of how such sites canbe constructed.4. The Manhattan Virtual Classroom (http://manhattan.sf.net) has been in use at Western NewEngland College since 1997. It includes a variety ofdiscussion groups, live chat, areas to post the syllabus,lectures, and other handouts/notices, a module fororganizing online assignments and exams, and a selfcontainedmodule for private e-mail. However the pointof including it in this illustrative list is that it wasdeveloped using open source software and is easy toinstall on a Linux/FreeBSD server.5. Eschoolnet 11 , a service of Schoolnet Europe, providesanother form of knowledge management services thatwill be described in more detail in a later section of thischapter.6. Knowledge Finder (http://colfinder.org/public), aservice offered by the Commonwealth of Learning, waslaunched in July 2002. The Finder, an example of aknowledge management system, is designed to be usefulto anyone involved with, or interested in, open anVdistance learning, including government policy makers,educators, developers, trainers, researchers and learners.All content comes from online sources in the public8

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional Perspectivesdomain, filtered so that only the resources most relevantto educational development, curriculum content andlearning are included in the Finder’s current index ofabout one million reports, eBooks, documents and webpages. The type of information available also includestimely and critical development topics such as povertyalleviation, gender equity, food security and health. Openand distance learning (ODL) sites are indexed intoregional interest libraries while other development topicsare indexed globally. The COL Knowledge Finder is alsolinked to other key ODL information sources such asthe Global Distance Education Network (GDENet,www.col.org/disted), and national and regional“SchoolNets”. Users also have access to advanced toolsfor storing, cataloguing and disseminating their research.AnalysisThe rate of change in the nature of ICT infrastructure,combined with the stunning rate of global adoption, makesthe development of policy frameworks very challenging.Historically and theoretically, the purpose of policy ineducational environments has been to guide the adoptionprocess; however, what we observe now is that innovationtypically begins in the absence of any guiding policy, andpolicymakers find themselves in the position of scramblingto regain the leadership role. And they find that the policydevelopment processes of the past, those based on careful,time consuming analysis, are a luxury that can no longer beafforded because the pace of change is so rapid. Policymakers need access to planning tools that enable them toassess needs, evaluate ICT infrastructure options, and makedecisions within short timeframes. And they need to be ableto continually evaluate the effects of policy and makeadjustments as needed. Efforts to develop tools and trainingto assist policy makers to meet this challenge need to be“ramped up”.Trends in ContentDevelopment – LearningObjects and RepositoriesThe background for this trend is well stated on the websiteof the Centre for Educational Technology: 12“Learning Technologies have been evolving over thelast two or three decades, and have gone throughmany phases and approaches, including earlymainframe based programmed learning systems,microcomputer software packages written in nativeprogramming languages for specific machines,bulletin boards, CBT systems, authoring systems, andmore recently after the internet explosion, web-basedsystems and Learning Management Systems. Formuch of this time, learning software development hasoften been the result of individual ideas and initiative,and little regard has been paid to ensuring thatlearning software can survive the rapid change intechnology. Those who wrote high quality learningmaterials for BBC micros now find them trapped onfloppy disks that cannot be read by modern PCs, andeven if they could, the software on them would notrun.Further, unlike the well elaborated ways we have forcategorising and describing text that libraries haveevolved, no such system exists for computer basedlearning materials. This has made the learningcontent world somewhat chaotic, and many excellentmaterials are underused for one or both of the abovereasons.”The need then is for standardised systems that can catalogue,store and retrieve content in ways that enable users to accessand organize it for their particular purposes as well assharing it institutionally, nationally, and internationally.There is a great deal of effort being expended around theworld on the development of such systems – ones that willstandardize the development of resources (learning objects),catalogue them (metadata) and store them (repositories).A recent paper 13 from the Australian National TrainingAuthority provides an excellent overview of LearningObject Repositories. While the paper acknowledges thelack of a generally accepted specific definition of a learningobject, it suggests that one think about it as you would anyeducational resource. Learning objects are digital assets thatcan be as diverse as a chapter in a book, a piece of text, avideo or audio clip, or visuals on an overhead transparencyor PowerPoint slide. And they can be used in a variety ofteaching settings, by course designers, managers, trainers,content writers and learners. The only constraint is that theasset meet the required level of educational integrity.The educational integrity of learning objects means that theycan be identified, tracked, referenced, used and reused fora variety of learning purposes. Learning objects aredeveloped to function as discrete entities or to be linked inorder to relate to explicit concepts or learning outcomes.Content requirements are determined throughcommunication with educators across the target audienceand then the learning object is developed by independentcontractors.Another way of thinking about learning objects comes fromthe Wisconsin Online Resource Center. 14 They definelearning objects as:A new way of thinking about learning content.Traditionally, content comes in several hour chunks.Learning objects are much smaller units of learning,typically ranging from 2 minutes to 15 minutes.9

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationSelf-contained – each learning object can be takenindependently.Reusable – a single learning object may be used inmultiple contexts for multiple purposes.Capable of being aggregated – learning objects canbe grouped into larger collections of content,including traditional course structures.While the initial leadership for learning object repositorieshas tended to come from the university sector, the interestand activity in the schools sector is increasing rapidly. Forexample, the Australian and New Zealand Governmentshave created an organization to develop a pool ofeducationally sound and quality assured content specificallyfor Australian and New Zealand schools. This initiative willsupport teachers in enhancing student learning, therebygreatly improving educational outcomes for students.Tagged with metadata – every learning object hasdescriptive information allowing it to be easily foundby a search.As the authors of the Australian paper state, the smaller alearning object is, the higher the level of reusability, butthe lower the level of instructional value. While this is true,if a learning object becomes too small, there is a dangerthat it may become meaningless with little chance for reuse.Conversely, the larger the learning object the greater theinstructional content and context, but there will be feweropportunities for its reuse.Metadata is structured data that is used to “tag” informationto learning objects that enable users to locate the informationthey are searching for. It is essentially descriptors for thelearning object much like the card catalogue system of alibrary. Typically the metadata tagging would includeinformation about the subject content (e.g.. math, science,etc.), the form of the object (such as a video clip, piece oftext, slides, etc.), and the learners for whom it would beappropriate.Repositories, the “libraries” where learning objectdatabases are stored, differ from standard web materials inthat they provide teachers, students and parents withinformation that is structured and organized to facilitate thefinding and use of learning materials regardless of theirsource location. The Australian paper points out that:“Most learning object repositories are stand alone.That is, these repositories function a lot like portalsin that they contain a web-based user interface, asearch mechanism, and a means of retrieving alearning object. Within this stand-alone architecture,there is the potential for two major models orrepository. The most common suggests a centralisedmodel in which the learning object metadata islocated on a single server or website. This websiteor portal then provides the interface with which tosearch the repository. This model is typical of thesmall intra-organisational repository. The alternativemodel is based on a distributed system, in which thelearning object metadata is contained in a number ofconnected servers or websites. Distributed learningobject repositories typically employ a peer-to-peerarchitecture in which a variety of repositories maybe searched from a single portal”.EdNA Online 15 is a repository that holds information in arange of formats: learning materials, networks, authorities,policy, industry information, traineeships, packages, supportservices, training providers and research. The EdNA VETOnline project aims to develop the vocational educationand training (VET) component, and, during 2003, EDNAwill work collaboratively with the Australian FlexibleLearning Framework (AFLF) to develop content guidelinesand metadata standards to facilitate interoperability.The eduSource project (www.edusource.ca/english/what_eng.html) is focused on the creation of a network oflinked and interoperable learning object repositories acrossCanada. The initial part of this project will be an inventoryof ongoing development of the tools, systems, protocolsand practices. Consequent to this initial exercise the projectwill look at defining the components of an interoperableframework, the web services that will tie them all together,and the protocols necessary to allow institutions to enterinto that framework.The Campus Alberta Repository of Educational Objects(CAREO) http://careo.netera.ca) in Canada is a searchable,web-based collection of teaching material for educators.The CAREO project defines learning objects as including:simulations, tutorials, drill and practice modules, contentdatabases, multi-media exercises. It also goes beyond thearea of curriculum development to include administrativeobjects such as calendars and quiz programmes, researchrelateditems such as discussion papers and research results,and also content creation tools such as map makers, databasetools, graphics and animation tools. CAREO is a projectsupported by Alberta Learning and the Canadian AdvancedNetwork for Research, Industry and Education (CANARIE)that has as its primary goal the creation of a searchable,web-based collection of multidisciplinary teaching materialsfor educators across the province and beyond.Educational Software Components of Tomorrow (ESCOTwww.escot.org/)is a test bed project for the integration ofinnovative technology in middle school mathematics. Theproject investigates replicable practices that producepredictably high quality digital learning resources (learningobjects).There are a great many repositories that are focused oncontent development in the realm of higher education. Oneof the most well known is the Merlot project10

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional Perspectives(www.merlot.org/Home.po). Merlot is a free and openresource designed primarily for faculty and students ofhigher education. Links to online learning materials arecollected here along with annotations such as peer reviewsand assignments.The Wisconsin Online Resource Center mentionedpreviously provides a comprehensive listing of repositorysites, including Merlot, as well as a bibliography on learningobjects.Work on the development of international standards forbuilding educational content repositories is well underway.The most well know project is The IMS Global LearningConsortium that develops and promotes the adoption ofopen technical specifications for interoperable learningtechnology. Several IMS specifications have becomeworldwide de facto standards for delivering learningproducts and services. IMS specifications and relatedpublications are made available to the public at no chargefrom www.imsglobal.org. No fee is required to implementthe specifications.AnalysisAs the work on learning repositories progresses, so mustthe development of international standards to ensure thatthere is interoperability among them. One of these standardsdevelopment projects is the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 36 projecton information technology for learning, education andtraining that is administered under the American NationalStandards Institute (ANSI). Its scope is: standardization inthe field of information technologies for learning, educationand training to support individuals, groups or organizations,and to enable interoperability and reusability of resourcesand tools.The development of learning object repositories that arewidely accessible and sharable is perhaps the mostsignificant trend of all because of the potential it holds forreducing one of the largest single costs in the use of ICT ineducation – namely the cost of developing content. It isoften said that “it is not the technology that’s difficult – it isdeveloping appropriate content”. This development offersnot only the economy and flexibility that comes withreusability, but also, for the first time, allows content to bedeveloped independently from the form of its delivery. Itoffers benefits across the spectrum of learning venues –from the remote learner in some form of distance education,to the teacher and learners face-to-face in a classroom.The potential is also there for much greater collaborationamong educators in the developing world to develop contentrepositories that reflect both culture and content – whilestill being able to chose from databases internationally. Thechallenge will be to provide the training and coreinfrastructure needed to take advantage of it.Trends in ICT applicationsin primary and secondaryeducationThree trends that are being enabled by the increasing ratesof ICT adoption are: the growing use of distance educationmodels; the growth of organizations that facilitatecollaboration and sharing across schools and schoolsystems; and the pedagogical changes occurring as a resultof ICT applications. The first of these often uses the labelOpen School ; the second is typically called Schoolnets;and the third refers to the variety of ways that teachers areusing ICTs to enhance teaching and learning processes intheir classrooms.The Growth of Open SchoolsThe models that have evolved in the primary and secondaryeducation sectors as a result of the use of distance educationmethodologies often use the label “Open School”. It issomewhat ironic that the development of distance educationmodels, which began in many parts of the world for thepurpose of increasing access to primary and secondaryeducation, has been so dominated by the higher educationsector for the past quarter century. That, however, ischanging. “Open schools” are emerging to provide:Education opportunities in dispersed locations whereconventional schools are not viable;A choice to students (and their parents) of what theywant to learn;A safety net to school drop-outs so they do not lapseinto illiteracy;An education to those who cannot attendconventional schools for a variety of social andeconomic reasons, as well as to those who missedout and are now “over age”.These developments are making important contributions tothe achievement of EFA goals.A report published by COL in 2000 16 described the ways inwhich this trend is being facilitated by the ever-increasinguse of ICT in education:The Internet and worldwide web are enabling accessto new and enlarged sources of information andknowledge that offer teachers and studentsopportunities for self-development as well as benefitsfrom incorporation into classroom environments.11

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationOther Internet-related feedback mechanisms areproviding greater opportunity to reduce the isolationand time delay associated with distance education.The extraordinary pace of software development isenriching teaching and learning with enhancedgraphics, interaction, animation and visualization.Lower telecommunications bandwidth costs and theemergence of enhanced cable, wireless and satellitesystems are facilitating greater opportunities for basicaccess, video-conferencing, on-line interactivelearning, and real time interaction between the learnerand the providing institution or teacher.Community access schemes are making it easier forlower income people and rural people to receive thebenefits of distance education.However, it is not just the newer digital technologies thatare enabling this trend. The older ICTs such as radio andtelevision have been, and continue to be, used widelybecause they have greater outreach, and are often cheaperthan other technologies. And, as we shall see later, they areincreasingly being used in combination with newer ICTs.The following examples will serve to illustrate how ICTsare being applied to make elementary and secondaryeducation more accessible on a mass scale in different partsof the world:1. India’s National Open School (NOS) (www.nos.org)is the largest Open School in the world in terms ofenrolment, programmes and courses offered and thegeographical areas under its operations. It operatesthrough a network of 10 regional centres and more than1400 study centres spread all over India. It also has studycentres in the Middle-East, Nepal and Canada. NOSoffers Secondary and Senior Secondary courses, as wellas various vocational and life enrichment courses,through an open and distance learning mode. Morerecently it also ventured into Open Basic and ElementaryEducation. At the Elementary Education Level and AdultEducation sector, it has MOUs with more than 200agencies that in turn have their own centres throughwhich the NOS courses are offered. During the 2001-2002 admission year 213,660 students were admitted inthe academic and vocational stream making thecumulative enrolment more than 725,000. During thatyear 329,136 students appeared in the NOS examinationsand, of these, 25% were certified. Approximately 35%of NOS learners are female.NOS is a prime example of a distance teaching institutionthat is continually evolving in its use of ICT. It began, ashave most such institutions, using print based materialsthat were distributed to learners through the post andregional centres. Today, it is equipped with the latesthardware and software. There is a Local Area Networkwith a centralised database system using Windows NTas the basic operating system and a Pentium III-basedNT Server. All the Regional Centres of NOS have beenprovided with Internet access and an e-mail facility fortransfer of data and smooth connectivity withheadquarters in Delhi. In order to provide better and moreefficient services, all major areas of applications havebeen computerized. For example, learners can nowregister entirely on-line.NOS has also established a partnership network of over100 institutions, mostly in the private sector, to run itsIT courses. These centres serve as training centres forNOS and in turn get the benefit of well-planned, wellstructuredcourses, supported by self- study instructionaland audio-video material.NOS also offers a wide range of vocational courses thatare independent and modular and lead to variouscertificates in Agriculture, Secretarial Practice,Technology, etc.CD versions of all course materials have been producedand made available to students as priced publications.The course materials have also been placed onto the NOSwebsite (www.nos.org). Other current and planned usesfor this website include:Direct Interaction with the students: once registrationof a particular student is done on-line, each individualstudent account will be provided with a user-ID andpassword and a free e-mail account.Tutorials: there will be a separate section for tutorialsas part of the course itself. At the end of this section,on-line testing will be provided.Assignments: students will be required to submitassignments via the Internet. They will be evaluatedand feedback provided immediately.On Demand Examinations: this is a revolutionaryconcept in the context of Indian education, but animportant step to take from the standpoint of addingmore flexibility to the distance learning process.Pilots are underway and systems are being put inplace.NOS has also taken a lead role in establishing anelectronic forum using the Internet. The forum,“Indian Open Schooling Network (IOSN)”, enablesmember Internet-based schools (approximately 30)to communicate, share content, problem solve andgenerally enhance the teaching-learning process.IOSN has linkages with the CommonwealthElectronic Network for Schools and Education(CENSE), thereby expanding contacts within theinternational community.12

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional Perspectives2. Mexico’s Telesecundaria was created over three decadesago in response to the needs of rural Mexicancommunities where a general secondary school (grades7 to 9) was not feasible because the number of studentswas low and attracting teachers was difficult.Telesecundaria’s primary feature is the use of televisionto enable one teacher to be responsible for all subjects,rather than having several subject matter specialists asis the case in general secondary schools. Enrolments arecurrently over 900,000 and expected to grow.Neighbouring countries are beginning to use it as well.Much of the following information on the Telesecundariais derived from a paper by Castro, Wolff and Garc’a: 17The pedagogical model is not distance education in anypure sense. It is not a conventional classroom modeleither. The programmes are aired from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00p.m. and repeated from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for asecond shift of students. Each subject is allocated 60minutes in the school day. The students watch 15 minutesof television and at the end of the TV session, the set isturned off and the book, workbook and teacher take over,following detailed instructions on what to do in theremaining 45 minutes. At the end of the 60 minutesanother subject begins following the same routine.Teachers follow a guide that contains instructionalstrategies and learning objectives. The guide also assiststeachers in overcoming some of the limitations they mayencounter due to unavailability of teaching materials orlearning tools, and it provides strategies for adapting thelesson to local contexts and individual student needs.Telesecundaria teachers and supervisors also receive inservicetraining through televised programmes that arebroadcast during the afternoons or on Saturdays.Each Telesecundaria school has at least three televisionsets, a decoder to decompress EDUSAT’s digital signal,and a 1.9 minimum meter external satellite dish. About10% of Telesecundaria schools use solar power. Amajority (85%) of the Telesecundaria schools are locatedin purpose-built buildings constructed by thegovernment, and have 3 to 9 classrooms, restrooms, alibrary, a science laboratory, playground, and often apiece of land for farming. The remaining 15% are oftenpoor, ill-equipped facilities.Telesecundaria is both effective and cost efficient. Flowrates (a measure of dropouts) are slightly better than thoseof general secondary schools, and significantly betterthan technical schools – in spite of the fact that this is aschool catering to the poor, predominantly located in ruralareas, where one would expect high dropout rates. Theexplanation offered by Telesecundaria officials is thatthis is because: there is strong involvement of localcommunities; the use of a single teacher (instead of oneteacher per discipline) means the teacher is closer tostudents; an, the high quality of the programmes. Almost75% of the students who enter at grade 7 successfullycomplete grade 9.In terms of costs, the authors show that it would be threetimes more expensive to operate a conventionalsecondary school in the areas where Telesecundariaschools operate. In short, these schools are an exampleof one of the very few programmes in which the poorreceive a better-conceived and better-managedprogramme than urban middle and upper socio-economicclasses.That said, however, Telesecundaria is not perfect. Theftof TV sets occurs at some schools, sometimes antennasmalfunction, and sometimes the books do not get out torural areas in time. It is also recognized that theTelesecundaria model is very rigid because of TVscheduling. Experiments are underway with an Internetbased system that would allow teachers and students toview programmes at different times and to viewprogramme repeats. More than likely, the long-run futureof Telesecundaria will be web-based to give it moreflexibility.3. The New Zealand Correspondence School(www.correspondence.school.nz/) was started by theMinistry of Education in the early part of the 20 th centuryfor the purpose of enabling access to primary andsecondary education through the use of print materialsdistributed via the post. Today it is New Zealand’s largestschool serving over 31,000 students, nationally andinternationally, with a wide range of programmes of studythat lead to a variety of qualifications, including theNational Certificates in: Educational Achievement,University Bursary (2003 only), Employment Skills,Computing, and Business and Computing. One may alsochoose to build a personal record of learning or simplytake a subject for interest.According to the 2002 report from the CEO, the Schoolembarked on a journey in 2000 that will enable it toreposition itself within New Zealand education.The new vision calls for a new pedagogy that is “learnercentred-digitally minded”. The pedagogy is based onresearch conducted through the school’s two-year“eSection” pilot, which explored best teaching practicein an online environment. Systematic provision ofintensive professional development for teachers is nowa priority to ensure that they, and in turn their students,will gain maximum benefit from technology and fromthe new pedagogy. As part of implementing the vision,thirteen ICT projects were continued or completed in2002. These ranged from the further development of theICT infrastructure to the digitisation of resources andthe development of new software. Work was also startedon the development of a new Learning ManagementSystem, which is a key ICT project. Changes to13

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationpedagogy, operational processes, and student preferencesare driving the design of the new system, which, whencomplete, will enable teachers to personalise aprogramme of learning for each student and to tailorlearning resources to each student’s needs and interests.The New Zealand Correspondence School was chosenas one of the current models that illustrate the trendtowards “open schools” as part of national educationsystems, not because it is new, but because it is anorganization that is essentially “re-inventing“ itself inorder to incorporate emerging ICTs into its operations.The process of this “re-invention” is described in thefollowing comments taken from the 2002 Annual Report(www.correspondence.school.nz/about/publications/2002annual_report.pdf):Then. Until relatively recently the practice within faceto-faceclassrooms could be characterised as teachersworking on their own in a rectangular classroom with agroup of 20+ students for fixed periods of time. Muchof the theory and practice that has been developed aboutwhat happens in classrooms is based on theseassumptions. Similarly, in the field of distance educationthere has been an emphasis on bridging the geographicalseparation of teacher and student, based on the notion ofa guided didactic conversation being embedded withinprint-based materials. Each of these areas of educationhas developed quite separately, with their own bodies ofknowledge, skills and experience, and their own theoriesand practices. The one thing that they did have incommon was a focus on teaching, emphasizinginstructional processes and asking, “How can we teachbetter?”Now. We are witnessing a fundamental shift in theculture of pedagogic practice in our schools and distanceeducation settings. As primarily face-to-face institutionsstrive to embrace ICT and attempt to address the demandsof learner choice and autonomy, many classroom teachersare adopting practices that may previously have beenconsidered the domain of distance educators, forexample, establishing individualized learningprogrammes on school intranets. Similarly, as distanceeducation providers adopt a range of online technologiesas an alternative means of providing instruction, theytoo face the challenge of adopting what may have beenregarded as face-to-face practices, for example, teachingvia video conferencing. This is the era of eLearningwhere a gray area is forming between two previouslydiscreet areas of educational endeavour, as each uses ICTas a means of meeting learner needs instead ofemphasising the role of teaching.Next. It may be only a relatively short time before wemove to the next phase, where we see an almost completemerging of the two paradigms, and where a student’slearning experience will not be dependent on attendanceat a particular school or institution, or enrolment with aparticular provider. Instead, a combination of onlinetechnologies will make it possible for students tocomplete a ‘portfolio’ of subjects through a range ofinstitutions. In this scenario the role of schools, teachersand students will all change and the emphasis on the “e”in eLearning will no longer be necessary. Instead, thefocus will be again on the whole sphere of education,addressing the issues of both teaching and learning, aswell as taking into account the context of that learning.Alternative Secondary Education is the core activity ofthe Namibian College for Open Learning (NAMCOL).(www.saide.org.za/worldbank/countries/namibia/namcol.htm) It began after independence when thegovernment in Namibia was faced with the problem ofproviding secondary education for large numbers oflearners who could not be accommodated in the formalschool sector. More specifically, the objectives ofNAMCOL are: upgrading the educational level of adultsand out-of-school youths through programmes of openlearning; establishment and maintenance of tutorialcentres for those Namibians who are unable to engagein conventional school-based education; and provisionof counselling services to those seeking admission intoprogrammes of open learning.The College currently offers courses at two levels: theJunior Secondary Certificate (Grade 10) and theInternational General Certificate of Secondary Education(Grade 12). In addition, NAMCOL offers the Certificatein Education for Development (CED), which is designedto meet the professional development needs of adulteducators, extension agents and community developmentworkers. This course is offered in collaboration with theUniversity of South Africa (UNISA) Adult BasicEducation and Training Institute. All courses are offeredin English, with the exception of the indigenous languagecourses.The College has used radio mainly for informationcampaigns. However, an instructional radio programmeis now being developed in partnership with the NamibianBroadcasting Corporation which will be incorporatedinto the Business Management Course for Grade Ten.The Emergence of SchoolNetsA recent study by the Commonwealth of Learning 18defines Schoolnets as follows:“Schoolnets can be defined as groupings of schools thatuse ICTs to support the education process, or agenciesthat facilitate and develop the use of ICTs in the educationcontext. The word “school” refers to the participants,namely the schools in the primary and secondaryeducation space. Schools generally consist of theteachers, students, families and the broader community,14

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional Perspectivesall of who can benefit from the introduction of schoolnets.The word “net,” a shortened form of “network,” refersto the purpose of the initiatives. Most importantly, it isthe network of people within the community ofpractitioners that collaborate for the purpose of enhancingteaching and learning. Secondly, it is the network orplatform of ICT infrastructure that allows people tocommunicate, collaborate and share within restricted orlarger groupings. Thirdly, it refers to the emphasis onthe Internet and related technologies that enable the worldat large to be accessible to the individual, no matter wherein the world he or she may be. By definition, schoolnetsencourage teaching and learning through a collaborativeapproach to the education process. Complementing thisis the belief that the use of ICTs promotes a moreindividualised learning experience, with a broad rangeof educational resources and experiences available toboth the teacher and learner, and that the use of ICTsthroughout the world supports the trend towardsoutcomes-based and learner-focused education.These movements have typically been organized withinschool districts, or within geographic or socio-economicboundaries and include the establishment of national andregional Schoolnets to promote and facilitate the use ofICTs in the education sector, in both the developed anddeveloping world. Although the overarching themeamong Schoolnets is similar, they range in their focusfrom policy formulation and advocacy, informationdissemination, deployment and installation oftechnology, teacher training and facilitation ofcollaborative student projects.”The report also provides examples of these various typesof schoolnet organizations:1. SchoolNet Canada (www.schoolnet.ca) is an initiativeled by Industry Canada in partnership with provincialand territorial governments, the education communityand private sector. SchoolNet Canada carries out manyinitiatives to encourage the use of ICT in the classroom,including SchoolNet GrassRoots, SchoolNet’s Networkof Innovative Schools, First Nation’s SchoolNet,LibraryNet and SchoolNet’s Youth EmploymentInitiative. SchoolNet’s services allow students, teachersand parents to learn about the world of ICTs and howthey can be used to enhance education. Over the pasttwo years it has also focused on creating e-learningcontent.2. European SchoolNet (www.eun.org or www.eschoolnet.org)is an international partnership of 26 Ministries ofEducation developing learning for schools, teachers andpupils across Europe and beyond. It provides insight intothe use of ICT in Europe for policy-makers and educationprofessionals. The organization acts as a gateway tonational and regional school networks and internationalpartnerships for more than 20 European Ministries ofEducation, thus helping to develop learning for schools,teachers and pupils across Europe, and supporting schoolnetworks in individual European Union (EU) countries.It is primarily driven by individual governments and theEU, and is focused on the teaching and learningexperience using ICTs.3. SchoolNet South Africa (www.school.za) is a non-profit,independent organization with an emphasis on promotingthe use of ICT for teaching and learning in South Africa,particularly in historically disadvantaged schools. Theorganization initially worked on many aspects of schoolnetworking including policy and advocacy, infrastructureprovision, teacher development and content provision.As the use of ICTs in South African schools hasproliferated, the organization has refocused to ensure thatthe educational value of ICTs is realised, largely throughteacher development, conferencing and workshops.4. Western Cape Schools Network (www.wcape.school.za)was established in 1994 and, together with otherprovincially based school networks in South Africa,assisted in the development of SchoolNet SA. It is largelya volunteer-based organization with a small staff and hasextended its functions over time. It is soon to be mergedinto SchoolNet SA. The Western Cape office ofSchoolNet SA will continue to manage the help deskand some other educational services on behalf ofSchoolNet SA for the entire country, in addition toproviding other services.5. SchoolNet Africa (www.schoolnetafrica.net) emergedout of a need to promote and support the developmentof schoolnets throughout the African continent. Theorganization has been created as a support mechanismfor national schoolnets, and thus works primarily in theareas of policy direction, information dissemination andsupport, and resource mobilisation while participatingin various continent-wide initiatives.6. World Links for Development (www.worldbank.org/worldlinks) started as an initiative of the World BankInstitute and has grown to become a separate non-profitentity. World Links is focused on the promotion of ICTsin the developing world, and as of October 2001, wasactive within 15 countries, reaching approximately 650schools. It works in collaboration with Ministries ofEducation and supports the development of nationalschoolnets. Although involved in various aspects of ICTin education, it has had a particular focus on teacherdevelopment. The organization is currently developinga fee-for-service contracting component that will enableit to share its knowledge and expertise more broadly andwill also assist in sustaining the organization.7. SchoolNet India (www.schoolnetindia.com) wasincorporated by Infrastructure Leasing & FinancialServices Limited (of India) as part of a broader initiative15

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationto meet the need for sustainable models of socialinfrastructure, specifically in the sectors of education andhealth. SchoolNet India is committed to enhancing thequality and delivery of education across the spectrum ofschools and curricula in the country. Its focus is on theuse of technology in the development of teachingmaterials as well as the learning process in the classroom.The areas of content include technology, curriculumsubjects, teacher training and support services. It isoperational in over 18 locations across India. In order tofacilitate support for their programmes in less advantagedschools (over 750,000 schools), it has established theSchoolNet Foundation, which attracts financial and inkindsupport from individuals, corporations and donoragencies. The SchoolNet India model is a standardcorporation that performs the operations with theassistance of a special purpose charitable vehicle.8. Pilippinas Schoolnet (www.world-links.org/english/html/philippines.html) is a partnership involving theDepartment of Education, the private sector, NGOs andlocal universities. Thirty geographically dispersed publichigh schools have been selected to participate in a pilotprogramme to animate ICT applications. Hardware,software, connectivity and basic computer literacytraining are being provided by the Department ofEducation, NGOs and a variety of corporate donors.9. The development of the Schoolnet in Thailand(www.nectec.or.th/it-projects/) in 1995 allowed schoolsall over Thailand to have dial-up access to the Internet.This goal was furthered in 1998 as a result of a GoldenJubilee initiative, which allowed schools to access theInternet without the need for a long distance phone callto Bangkok. This has enabled schools to use the Internetto access the libraries, classrooms and laboratories inthe country. By April of 1999 there were more than 850schools using SchoolNet services, with more than 200schools running their own websites. More recently, aproject has been initiated aimed at providing massiveeducational content in the Thai language on the web.10.Another development is the ASEAN SchoolNet(www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/unesco_projects/JFIT/ICT_Brochure.pdf), a UNESCOledproject co-funded by the Japanese Funds-In-Trustand the ASEAN Foundation to strengthen ICT use inschools. The project is designed to explore anddemonstrate ICT applications; test innovative models;and improve connectivity and access to resources.Changing Practice in the ClassroomChange in education involves much more than the provisionof technological appliances. Not only do teachers need todevelop the competencies for using the tools and developinginstructional materials for them, but also the educationalsystems they are part of need to change in order to providean environment that encourages and supports ICT-integratedpedagogy. Roy Singh 19 makes this point very well in a paperon 21st century education in the Asia-Pacific region. Hedescribes challenges facing educational systems and makesthe point that these need to have the capacity to nurtureboth individual and institutional creativity. The followingcase examples, reports and analyses describe various waysteachers are integrating ICT applications into theirclassrooms, and provide some insight into the processesthey follow in making decisions to adopt particular ICTtools.1. Lawrence Ssenkubuge, an information technologyresource teacher at a school in Uganda, was faced withan overwhelming response to his efforts to get teachersand students to use the school computers. 20 He had tomake changes to his classroom practices in order toaccommodate the huge increase in the demand fortraining on the use of computers and how they could beused in teaching. His solution was to develop a systemof peer-to-peer learning whereby some of the trainedstudents became the trainer for other students andteachers. They set up a student-managed computer clubas the forum for conducting training and maintaining theequipment – something, he states, that the studentsundertook with much enthusiasm. Ssenkubuge goes onto describe how he and his students, in collaboration witha neighboring school, created an award winning websiteon “wetlands” that became part of a world-wide project.2. A comprehensive source of information regardingintegration of ICTs in classrooms around the world isthe report on the Second Information Technology inEducation Module 2 (SITES M2), edited by RobertKozma. 21 The qualitative study he describes wasconducted by a team of international education expertsin 28 countries studying 174 case studies of innovativepedagogical practices that used ICTs. In general, thefindings of SITES M2 support those of an earlier studywhich found that: teachers and students are using ICTsas part of larger changes in the roles and activities of theclassroom; teachers are engaged in advising and guidingstudents; students do collaborate with other students tosearch for information, design or create products, andpublish or present their results; teachers do acquire newICT and pedagogical skills, subject knowledge andcollaborative skills.The following examples, taken from an abstract 22 of thestudy, are illustrative of how ICTs are being integrated intoclassrooms:Primary school children in a small rural school inCatalonia, Spain took digital photographs of theirchurch and town square and digital recordings oftheir grandparents telling folktales and singingnearly forgotten folksongs. They collaborated with16

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional Perspectivesstudents in nearby villages to build a website on thehistory of their region.Lower secondary school students in Norway used thee-mail to collaborate with students in the US as theyfollowed two women who crossed Antarctica oncross-country skis. The students communicated withthe women and with weather and research stationsin the area to learn about the Antarctic continent.A technology-intensive upper secondary school in theUS was redesigned from the ground up aroundtechnology and project-based learning. The schoolwas organized like a high-tech start-up business inthat students were given real world projectsconsisting of complex tasks with long-range duedates for which they had individual and sharedresponsibility.worked towards targets/deadlines.were more reflective about their work.Several factors were important in contributing to thesuccessful implementation of the innovations introducedwithin the schools:previous involvement in innovations (both involvingICT and unrelated to ICT).support at senior management level, not only forimplementing new practices, but also for addressingfinancial implications when appropriate.the involvement of several members of staff: theprevailing culture within the schools was one ofcollaboration and mutual support.First and second grade students in Chile used lowcostNintendo Gameboys to improve their readingand mathematics skills. The self-regulatededucational games were developed by universityengineers, psychologists, and educators in supportof the country’s curriculum objectives.A physics teacher in the Philippines wanted toenhance the development of her students’ criticalthinking skills through hands-on investigation, indepthverification, exploration, and discovery ofscientific concepts and processes. Teams of studentsused computers and probe ware to conductexperiments and solve a hypothetical murder case.3. England’s contribution to the SITES M2 study wascarried out by the National Foundation for EducationalResearch. The results were reported by Harris andKington 23 as follows:The introduction of the innovative practices in theseschools placed additional demands on teachers as theyhad to:develop their own ICT skills.be willing to change their existing practices.support students as their roles and activities changed.monitor the implementation of the activities theyintroduced, and identify possible solutions to anyproblems that arose.In addition, students’ roles and activities also changedas they:had greater independence and responsibility for theirown work.willingness to take risks, accepting that some ventureswould succeed but others would not.4. The lack of broadband connectivity in many parts of theworld is a major constraint to the use of the web inclassroom instruction; however, that is changing and itis useful to look at the ways the web can be used tofacilitate learning. A recent paper 24 from TeleEducationNew Brunswick provides a framework for this. Fourexamples are presented to illustrate increasing integrationof web use:A website is developed as an information“container” to supplement classroom education withtext (course notes, assignments, pointers to externalwebsites), and other types of media (graphics, videoclips etc.).Currently this is by far the most common use of the web inthe classroom supporting the presentation of information.The functions of learner guidance, practice and feedback,and student assessment are left to classroom interactionsbetween the student and the teacher.A website is created to supplement classroomeducation similar to the previous example, but a newsgroup and e-mail discussion list is established forthe instructor to communicate asynchronously (notin real time) with students to help guide theirunderstanding of content and exercises. Theinstructor has also developed an on-line studentassessment application that allows students to takesome tests on-line and submit them electronically tothe instructor.In this example, the instructor has shifted more of thefunctions of effective instruction to Internet supportincluding elements of learner guidance and learner17

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationassessment. The primary delivery vehicle is still theclassroom, however.An instructor with the support of an instructionaldesigner and media developers prepares a series ofInternet-based self-instructional tutorials or moduleswhich present important concepts using simplesimulations and video clips, provides interactivesequences of examples and non-examples to guidestudents through tough concepts, includes practicequestions with computer generated correctivefeedback, and finally presents on-line tests on themodule concepts which are tracked and reportedback to the instructor via an Internet application.Here most instructional functions have been shifted to theInternet environment. The modules are entirely selfinstructionaland no collaborative Internet tools like e-mailhave been included. This approach is derived from thetradition of self-instructional, individualized computerbasedtraining (CBT). Classroom sessions may still takeplace for other non-modularized segments of the course.An instructor, with the support of an instructionaldesigner and media developer, prepares an Internetbased“distance education” course for remotestudents or those who wish to study independently.Information is presented primarily using WWWpages, embedded media files like graphics, simpleanimations, video and sound clips, and a supportingtextbook. Collaborative tools like e-mail, discussionlists, live chat and a shared work space are used forlearner guidance, dialogue, and practice activities.The instructor also embeds a few multi-media selfinstructionaltutorials with computer generatedpractice and feedback as exercises within somecourse units. Finally, all testing and studentassessment is completed using various Internet tools.An Internet application is used to track studentactivity and assessment.In this example, the Internet was again used to support allinstructional functions; however, the entire course isdelivered “virtually” via the Internet. This approach is basedon a classroom model that fosters collaborative approachesto learning among students. The electronic environmentattempts to mirror and enhance that model in a space that istotally virtual.AnalysisA conclusion drawn from examination of these trends inthe application of ICTs in schools is the fact that they arehighly interrelated. For example, the use of ICTs to improveaccess to education requires that mechanisms be establishedto train teachers, develop materials and share experiences.Changes to pedagogical practice in classrooms require thatteachers have access to infrastructure and are given theopportunity to develop the expertise to use the machinesand software tools. The trends also demonstrate the varietyof strategies that educational policy makers, administratorsand teachers are pursuing in order to improve access tolearning opportunities, enhance the quality of the learningexperience for students, and, at the same time, make themost efficient use of limited resources. They also illustratea number of other features about the adoption of ICTs intothe schools and school systems. These include:1. The adoption of ICTs that continues to enable the growthof “open school” institutions is not a “one-off” process.It is an on-going process incorporating new technologiesas they are perceived to add value to those alreadydeployed. Furthermore, the adoption process is facilitatedwhen it is possible to try new initiatives on a small scaleand then make decisions regarding larger scale adoptionon the basis of evidence that doing so will add value tocurrent practice. The development of “readinessindicators” that help decision makers understand thecircumstances under which a given technologyinnovation will add value and be sustainable will be ofgrowing importance.2. The examples of the National Open School in India andTelesecundaria in Mexico, both highly successful interms of fulfilling their respective mandates, begs thequestion of the conditions that need to be met in orderfor these models to be replicated elsewhere. Clearly, oneis that there be a national need for delivery systemscapable of reaching mass numbers – as there was in Indiaand Mexico. Also, there were successful precedents forthe models that emerged in each of the countries. In thecase of India there was the highly successful IndiraGhandi National Open University; Mexico had a nationaltelevision network and experience in using it foreducation purposes; and the Namibian College of OpenLearning had experience using radio. It would seem,therefore, that adoption occurs more readily when thereare existing models that can be used to help educators“imagine what could be”, and when there is some levelof existing infrastructure to use as a “launch pad”.3. The increasing use of ICTs creates needs that are systemicin nature. For example. teachers want to share experienceand learn from that of others. Collaboration becomes anobvious way of achieving economies both in thetechnologies and development of learning materials. Andpartnerships, consortia and joint ventures become usefulways to share risk and costs. The growth of SchoolNetsis, in part, a response to these needs – one that has becomea truly global phenomenon in both developed anddeveloping countries. The interesting point is that it isthe increasing adoption of ICTs that creates the needsand facilitates the solution strategies!4. The growing array of partnership arrangements deservesa special focus. The examples demonstrate a growing18

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional Perspectivescomfort with partnerships, not only among institutionsand different levels of government, but more importantlywith the private sector. The role the private sector playsin the provision of infrastructure and software makes suchpartnerships an inevitable component of the adoptionprocess.5. There are several additional conclusions that can bereached about the impact of ICT use on classroompractices. First, the evidence clearly indicates that ICTuse requires a change in pedagogical practice. Teachersneed training, ongoing support, and a work environmentthat supports change if they are to make appropriateadaptations. Secondly, the evidence suggests thatchanging classroom practice is an evolutionary processinvolving small increments of change rather than largeones. Teachers need to be able to see how a change inpractice will enable them to improve on the way theycurrently do their job. Using peers as a way of coachingand supporting change in schools appears to be effective.Trends in ICT applicationsin non-formal educationNon-formal education (NFE) is an integral part of a lifelonglearning concept that allows young people and adults toacquire and maintain the skills and abilities needed to adaptto a continuously changing environment. Much, perhapsmost, of non-formal learning is organized by the individuallearner and occurs through self study outside the formaleducational system. The content of this type of NFE is aseclectic as the needs and interests of the learners, reflectingthe diversity of their demographic and socio-economiccircumstances. And there is no doubt that as moreindividuals have access to the web, and as the amount ofinformation on the web continues to grow, individual selfstudy will increase.There is a very substantial portion of NFE that is organizedby some type of “provider”. One part of this activity isreflected in what is frequently termed the “continuingeducation market” by both public and private institutionsand organizations. Here one finds formally organizedcourses and workshops on almost every subject imaginable.The use of ICTs to provide access to this type of learningactivity is increasing; however, some research has shownthat one of the powerful motivators that drives participationin these programmes is the social contact. Therefore, onewould not expect the use of ICTs to replace face-to-facecontact.Another part of this “organized” NFE activity are theprogrammes that are more targeted to both content andlearner groups. Whereas the “continuing education” activitydescribed above is typically market responsive and sustainedby fees, this type of activity is usually sponsored anddesigned to achieve particular ends such as professionalup-grading, religious education, corporate in-house training,literacy development, or community development moregenerally. The use of ICT in this sector of NFE hashistorically been much higher than in the other sectors. Theuse of radio and television has been, and continues to be,quite extensive. And the use of the newer digitaltechnologies is increasing rapidly – often in a “mix andmatch” fashion as described previously. The use of the webtends to be the medium of choice in corporate traininginitiatives.This latter sector of NFE activity (organized) is the onethat is of particular interest to this study because it is herethat we find NFE programmes focusing on issues related topoverty reduction and capacity building in the developingnations of the world. It is in this type of NFE activity thatwe see donor organizations, non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs), governments, and increasingly theprivate sector, focusing their efforts on increasing literacylevels and enhancing the capacities of developing nationsto improve socio-economic conditions. And it is also in thissector of NFE that we find a concerted effort to up-gradethe skills of specialised workers such as teachers and healthcare personnel. For purposes of examining the use of ICTsin this branch of NFE activity, the examples are groupedinto three categories: literacy programmes, specialised upgradingand community development – by far the mosteclectic grouping of activities!Applications in LiteracyLiteracy programmes have historically involved face-to-faceinteractions between and among learners and tutors. Otherthan radio, ICT has not had much applicability because ofthe lack of resources and infrastructure in the communitieswhere literacy programmes have typically been offered.However, as the following examples indicate, that is startingto change:1. The Tata Group. “40 hours is all it takes to teach anIndian to read” is a claim being made on the basis of theresults from an initiative 25 of the Tata Group in India.The initiative is a computer-based functional literacy(CBFL) programme that used a “new-age solution” toan age-old problem, and one that has the potential to liftIndia’s literacy rate in record time.The programme uses animated graphics and a voiceoverto explain how individual alphabets combine to givestructure and meaning to various words. It was designedfrom education material developed by the NationalLiteracy Mission and uses puppets as the motif in theteaching process. The lessons are tailored to fit differentlanguages and even dialects, to focus on reading, andare based on theories of cognition, language andcommunication. With the emphasis on learning wordsrather than alphabets, the project stimulates thought19

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationprocesses. The objective is to teach the reading of wordsin as short a time as possible.The initial experiment for the CBFL programme wasconducted in Beeramguda village in the Medak districtof Andhra Pradesh in February 2000. This was followedby an extended trial run in 80 centres spread across thedistricts of Medak, Guntur, Vijayawada andVisakhapatnam. The initial experiment and trial runhighlighted the following advantages of the project:Acceleration in the pace of ‘learning to read’ (it takesabout one-third of the time that writing-orientedmethods require).Flexibility in adjusting to individual learning rates.Lower dropout rates in comparison with other adultliteracy programmes.Trained teachers or large-scale infrastructure notrequired.Programs can run on low-end computers (these arethe kind of machines that many organizations canafford to give away).Objective data regarding the role of ICT-basedcommunity learning centres (CLC) in the educationdelivery model for the country.Development of materials for training literacyworkers.Development of literacy teaching materials.The issues associated with providing access for literacyworkers and learners to technology appliances such ascomputers, audio and video equipment, as well as onlineconnectivity, had to be resolved in order for theproject to proceed. Therefore, the delivery model selectedwas that of a “technology-based community learningcentre” that would give learners access to thetechnological appliances as well as a place to gather andinteract with others. As a result, these centres were atthe core of the implementation of the project. Animportant aspect of the project evaluation was anassessment of their effectiveness in enabling literacyworkers to develop instructional materials and deliverliteracy training programmes. The use of these centresfor other purposes by members of the community wasencouraged as a way of increasing both sustainabilityand relevance in the community.Enhanced existing adult-literacy programmes.Multimedia format ensured that the pronunciation ofthe words/letters is taught accurately through thesystem, rather than being left to individual teachers.This is particularly useful for languages like Tamil,where the same letter can be pronounced differentlydepending on the context.Each centre was equipped with two or three computers,a printer, TV, VCR, digital camera, handicam and anaudiocassette recorder. Internet connectivity was to beprovided along with regional language software whereavailable. Staff were selected and trained to operate andsupport the equipment and tutors were taught how touse the technology to design and produce instructionalmaterial locally.2. The Commonwealth of Learning. Another example isa project that has just recently been completed by theCommonwealth of Learning. 26 The purpose of the projectwas to explore ways in which literacy programmes mightbe enhanced through the use of appropriate technologies.The project outcomes were defined and approved asfollows:Enhanced knowledge of what constitutes appropriateand sustainable use of ICTs in literacy education.Development of a cadre of tutors who areknowledgeable in terms of using ICT in literacyeducation and are aware of media-based instructionalresources on a global basis.Following the completion of the project, workshops wereheld in each of the countries to disseminate informationgleaned from the project. The evaluation report, writtenand carried out by an independent team, is available fromCOL.3. The Solomon Islands. A project in the Solomon Islands 27is another illustration of the application of ICT indeveloping literacy skills, but in the context of a morespecific national development goal. The need was to findways to provide services more equitably to remotecommunities and to enable a greater degree ofinformation exchange among citizens. Obviously, bothaccess to infrastructure and the literacy skills to use itare necessary prerequisites.Significantly improved knowledge and skills inreading, numeracy and the use of ICT appliancesfor learners who participated in the project.The purpose of the project was to explore the feasibilityof using an existing communications network (Pfnet) toprovide educational opportunities to remotecommunities. The courses selected were Pre-tertiaryEnglish and English for all academic purposes. Theywere provided by the University of the South Pacific20

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationwill, in turn, lead to improved governance, povertyreduction, and economic growth. The activities include:the establishment of video conferencing capacity; accessto distance learning course materials; financing ofoperating costs over the first 4 years of operation;technical assistance for staff training; a market survey;development of a business plan; a marketing campaignand periodic evaluation of centre operation/managementeffectiveness; and the purchasing, installing, andmaintaining of distance learning technology.3. The e-learning for life initiative 30 is a partnershipinvolving the Coca-Cola Company, the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry ofEducation in Malaysia. It provides Internet access,educational software and ICT training for students,teachers and local community members in peri-urban andrural areas. The project supports the Malaysiangovernment’s vision of building a knowledge-basedeconomy and the Ministry of Education’s drive to bridgethe digital divide by bringing Internet access and e-learning resources to Malaysian classrooms andcommunities.Six ICT “hubs,” equipped with state-of-the-artinfrastructure, multimedia resources and software, havebeen set up in secondary schools across PeninsularMalaysia. Under the leadership of the Ministry ofEducation, the ICT “hub” schools are integratingcomputer lab-based training into existing curricula. Acore group of teachers and students are being trained sothey can then transfer their ICT skills to others in thehub area.4. Healthworks 31 is a new radio program series for healthprofessionals who want to improve living conditions intheir communities. It consists of thirteen (13)programmes of information and ideas to help health andsocial development workers. The Healthworks episodesplus theme music and promo are available to radiostations for download from OneWorld Radio. The seriesis accompanied by a workbook with spaces forresponding to learning activities in the Healthworksprogrammes. Listeners who complete the workbook canreceive a Certificate of Participation. Radio stationsinterested in re-broadcasting Healthworks, can downloadan Info Pack and a script for a sample Healthworksprogramme.5. The Aravind Eye Hospital in India is helping toeradicate blindness by using Internet-connected kiosksto provide video consultations and diagnosis, as well asproviding extensive education and training to localhealthcare providers (www.digitaldividend.org/pubs/pubs_04_overview.htm).6. TelMedPak (www.telmedpak.com) is a team of healthprofessionals in Pakistan working to: create awarenessof the educational and reference opportunities availableon the Internet amongst health professionals and medicalstudents; facilitate electronic access to medicalinformation for the public; facilitate the use ofinformation technology at medical colleges andinstitutions in Pakistan; and explore modalities forprovision of telemedicine to the rural areas of Pakistan.7. MEdRC EduTech (www.medrcedutech.com/) is anIndian company that has core competencies in learningtechnologies, multimedia programming, televisionproduction and development of interactive software.MEdRC has developed a unique process through whichmedia can be distributed through personal computers atnetworked e-Learning Centres and emerging channelssuch as broadband Internet, interactive TV and mobiletechnologies. MedRC’s mission is to:Provide the opportunity for medical teachers todeliver education using digital channels.Forge collaborative relationships to promote lifelonglearning in medical and health education, particularlyin the form of continuing professional developmentat all levels.Innovate and imaginatively utilize emergingtechnologies to make learning interactive, flexibleand exciting.Set up a network of 200 e-Learning centres, one eachat every medical college location in India - on a build,own and operate model.8. Teachers Without Borders 32 is a website that connectsa global community of teachers with each other in orderto share ideas, work collaboratively, and make change.One of its services is a programme that leads to aCertificate of Teaching Mastery. The programme is aprofessional development course of study that focuseson preparing teachers for the 21st century.9. China is trying to improve the quality and technicalcompetence of primary school teachers through aproject 33 that will use two ICT approaches: the electronicclassroom model, already in use elsewhere in China,and online learning resources for self-study. There willbe a learning centre in three counties of each province,linked to a common network, with multi-mediaclassrooms at each site. For primary schools in centraltownships, satellite technology will provide digital data,including text, video, audio and graphics, which theycan download and store. Teachers in the townships willuse these materials for their own learning, which willinclude how to make use of ICT in their classrooms. Theproject will also test models for financing distanceteacher education and produce policy recommendationson cost-efficiency and cost-recovery strategies.22

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional PerspectivesCommunity use of the ICT infrastructure can be a sourceof income to offset costs, including fee-for-service ICTand agricultural training, cyber weather services, anddial-up Internet.10. Straight Talk (www.straight-talk.or.ug) and SchoolNetUganda (www.schoolnetuganda.sc.ug) havecollaborated to launch an online counseling service thatprovides training for teacher and student-peercounsellors. The objectives of the project include:demonstrating the integration of ICTs in HIV/AIDSprevention and caring services; expanding anddiversifying opportunities for access to AdolescentSexual Reproductive Health (ASRH); information andservices for young people in and out of school; andpromoting the creation of HIV/AIDS information andeducational communication initiatives by and for youngpeople, to enhance behaviour change.11.The Virtual Colombo Plan 34 was launched by theAustralian Government and the World Bank in August2001. Its major focus is to improve education and accessto knowledge in developing countries through distanceeducation and to support policy development using ICTs.It is designed to:Enhance the quality of basic teacher education andschool management in Papua New Guinea, Indonesiaand a number of other developing countries.Expand physical infrastructure to improve access toand the cost-effectiveness of ICTs for distancelearning and knowledge dissemination. This will beachieved by providing support for the World Bank’sGlobal Development Learning Network in selectedcountries in Asia and the Pacific.Use courses and material developed by Australianuniversities to improve the capacity of the AfricanVirtual University to deliver quality, relevant coursesthat address Africa’s development needs.Deliver ICT-based training through some 200 virtualscholarships.Develop activities in basic education, public policy,and higher education, in consultation with Australianuniversities and other key institutions.Applications in Community DevelopmentThe range of examples that could be used to illustrate thistrend is almost limitless. Those that follow will demonstratethe range of contexts in which ICTs are being applied.1. The Asian Women’s Exchange (www.panasia.org.sg/grants/awards/99221a.htm) is an Internet-based women’sinformation service and network in Asia. It is an initiativegeared towards developing cooperative approaches andpartnerships in increasing access and exploringapplications of ICTs for women’s empowerment. Thisnetwork aims to help expand existing regional networksin the women’s movement, promote electronic resourcesharing and build a regional information service that willsupport various women’s advocacies, specifically thosethat are critical for the women in the region.2. Catalysing Access to ICTs is a three-year project inAfrica 35 to enable poor people to gain maximum benefitfrom the opportunities offered by ICT. It is hoped it willalso act as a strong catalyst for reform. It will provide apackage of strategic activities to improve affordableaccess to the full range of ICTs, from Internet tocommunity radio.3. The Learning Center Program in Vietnam(www2.coca-cola.com/citizenship/education_asia_digital_divid.html) is part of a pan-Asianprogramme in which the Coca Cola Company ispartnering with governments, multilateral organizations,non-government organizations and educators to help andempower a new generation of teachers and studentsthrough the innovative and locally relevant use of ICTs.The goal is to help communities throughout the regionbridge the growing “digital divide” between ICT “haves”and ICT “have-nots”.4. Deepalaya schools (www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/64866/1) have started 337 educational centres and7 formal schools that offer education from Kindergartento 12th grade. Computer lessons are a compulsory partof the curriculum from 6th to 12th grade; however, after8th grade the children also learn how to use DOS andWindows operating systems, MS Office, the Internet, ande-mail. Apart from the computer lessons that are in thestudents’ timetable, there is also a vocational trainingprogramme on computer hardware and software forschool drop-outs or students that have passed grade 10or 12.5. Pedagogical techniques that allow communities tobecome owners of the technology as they learn to useICTs were demonstrated in the Lighthouse Project inThailand (www.panasia.org.sg/news/rnd_st/ict_rnd06s.htm). The goals of this pilot project were tohelp villagers master technology, cultivate a sense ofownership in the use of technology, and foster culturalpride. Additionally, the project intended to create alearner-centred constructivist educational experienceusing desktop publishing software. A communitycomputer centre was constructed and equipped andtraining was provided. Many of the goals of the projectwere accomplished, as villagers became owners of thetechnology they learned to use, and became informationproducersrather than information-receivers.23

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education6. The Gobi Women’s Project, launched in 1996, providesnon-formal distance education to some 15,000 nomadicwomen. (www.unesco.org/education/educnews/96_12_12/gobi.htm) The aim is to provide usefulinstruction on health, commercial skills, family planning,traditional crafts and environmental issues. The projecthas re-equipped four radio stations (one in the capitaland three in the Gobi) to produce three weekly seriesreinforcing the books’ lessons. While the Ulaanbaatorstation takes the lead in introducing new subjects, theregional stations take a local look at the curriculum.Radio producers, teachers and communicators have beentrained by the project, which has also provided some 30jeeps. An achievement of the project is that women arebecoming self-sufficient: they can now make clothes fortheir children and families.7. One of the most intensive applications of ICTs anywherein the world can be found in the Pondicherry region ofsouth India. The M.S. Swaminathan Foundation(www.mssrf.org/) has provided leadership in anexperiment in electronic knowledge delivery to the poor.Ten villages near Pondicherry have been connected by ahybrid wired and wireless network - consisting of PCs,telephones, VHF duplex radio devices and e-mailconnectivity through dial-up telephone lines - thatfacilitates both voice and data transfer. This has enabledthe villagers to get information that they need and canuse to improve their agricultural and fishing practices.The vision for the project is based on the holisticphilosophy of Swaminathan, which emphasizes anintegrated pro-poor, pro-women, pro-nature orientationto development and community ownership oftechnological tools and encourages collective action forthe spread of technology. The process involves localvolunteers gathering information and feeding it into anintranet that people access through nodes in differentvillages in their local language. Most of the operatorsand volunteers providing primary information arewomen, thus giving them status and influence. All centresevolved to meet the information demands made by thecommunity. More recently, the project has beenreplicated in other regions of southern India and hasincorporated literacy training into the activities.AnalysisThe three categories of NFE show quite different patternsof ICT use. For example, while literacy programmes havenot historically incorporated much use of ICT, mostlybecause of the environments of the learners, one gets thesense that this is changing rapidly. The Tata projectdemonstrates that large numbers of literacy learners canlearn quickly with relatively low cost infrastructurerequirements. The Commonwealth of Learning projectdemonstrated that ICTs can be used very effectively bytutors to develop locally relevant teaching materials. TheSolomon Islands example is encouraging so far as the useof distance education is concerned. And the Action Aidinitiative, similar in many ways to the model developed bythe M.S.Swaminathan Foundation, promises, with its“bottom up” development model, to make a unique additionto the growing experience of ICT use in literacy educationprogrammes.However, unlike the adoption of ICT in primary andsecondary education, ICT use in literacy has not yet capturedthe imagination and commitment of policy makers neededto move adoption to a mass level. A more comprehensivereview of the use of ICT in literacy education needs to beundertaken that compiles a body of evidence, describespolicy options, and defines mechanisms for sharingresources, materials and experience in the same way thatSchoolNets are doing in formal primary and secondaryeducation.The use of ICT to facilitate skills up-grading forprofessionals and para-professionals is well underway –often because of the advocacy and initiative of the workersthemselves. Access to these types of programmes is typicallythrough the use of distance education models that areenhanced by ICT applications. Of particular note is theincreasing use of ICT - supported distance educationstrategies for up-grading the skills of teachers.As indicated earlier, the number of examples using ICT ineducation for development – community education - is huge.It is in this sector that we see the most use of older broadcasttechnologies as well as the most creative examples of waysthey can be combined with the use of e-mail and the Internet.The Swaminathan example also demonstrates how we candevelop both community “ownership” and the direction inwhich ICT use should be heading – an important point froma sustainability perspective!The examples of ICT use in NFE have been selected onlyto illustrate some of the many applications that are underwayaround the world. Many more are identified on a websitedeveloped by UNESCO Bangkok which is undoubtedly themost comprehensive source of information on ICTapplications in non-formal education in the Asia Pacificregion. The website can be found at: www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/teaching_learning/nonformal_edu/projects.htm.Trends in research andevaluationThe amount of research and evaluation regarding ICTapplications in education is limited. And the majority ofwhat has been done has occurred in the higher educationsector. Most of what has been written about ICT in educationhas been either of a visionary nature describing what “mightbe” or advocating increased use. However, this situation is24

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional Perspectiveschanging as use of ICT in the other sectors of educationincreases. As the rate of ICT use increases, there are moreprojects to evaluate. The following studies and reports ofproject evaluations illustrate this growing emphasis on thegathering and documentation of evidence concerning theuse of ICT in education:The use of ICT to provide effective learning forpeople with literacy and numeracy needs.The use of ICT in helping people with literacy andnumeracy needs to achieve satisfactory learningoutcomes in non-basic skills learning.1. At all levels there are questions as to whether, in therush to embrace e-learning, enough research is beingdone into the benefits for students and staff in differentdisciplines. For example, Oxford University’s LearningTechnologies Group 36 has questioned whether the choiceof technology will shape the way subjects are taught orresearched. It said that in trying to make a “tool-kit” forall, staff might be deterred from experimenting byimposing the teaching methods of one discipline ontoanother. Their view is that there has been an absence ofdebate about how information technology can be usedeffectively to complement face-to-face teaching.2. The Flexible Learning Framework in Australia has justcompleted a project called “Access & Equity in OnlineLearning”. 37 The purpose of the project was to establishthe needs of learners in the following groups: those withliteracy needs, indigenous learners and learners withdisability. Three additional groups were subsequentlyadded: women e-learners, rural and remote rural e-learnersand isolated metropolitan e-learners. The project producedguidelines, literature reviews and research reports, 17 ofwhich are listed on their website.3. Another contribution to the body of evidence about ICTapplications is the work that the UNESCO office inBangkok is conducting on performance indicatorsregarding the use of ICTs in education. 38 This work is partof the “ICT in Education in Asia and the PacificProgramme”, an international undertaking funded by theJapanese Funds-in-Trust.4. A project of the Flexible Learning Framework inAustralia (http://learnscope.flexiblelearning.net.au/LearnScope/golearn.asp?Category=11&DocumentId=4379) attempted to enhance the learningoutcomes of students by using ICTs to provide directinstruction. This involved a trial of real time teaching viathe Internet, using Microsoft Netmeeting. The conclusionwas that real time teaching via the Internet appears toenhance the cognitive functioning of children in the fiveto-eight-yearage groups and demonstrated that teachingvia the Internet using a direct instruction model withchildren in the five-to-eight-year age groups is apedagogically sound and cost effective way to supportyoung learners.5. A research project 39 carried out by the Institute ofEducation, University of London from April 2000 toMarch 2001 provided some data regarding the use of ICTin literacy. The study report focused on the following topics:The study concluded that the use of ICT did havebeneficial effects. A full description of the results isprovided on the website.6. A study 40 by SchoolNet Canada to assess the impact ofits “Grassroots Programme” provides some insights intothe adoption of ICT by teachers. The study reportprovides an overview of innovation and a backgroundto some of the challenges associated with large-scaleinnovation in the Canadian K-12 school system. Itdescribes the factors contributing to the success of theprogramme and also the challenges that are faced.7. Another SchoolNet Canada report 41 from 1998 titled“The Emerging Contribution of Online Resources andTools to Classroom Learning and Teaching” concludedthat the use of technology in the classroom has alreadybeen demonstrated to have a significant impact onteaching and learning. It concluded that the way newtechnology is adopted is related to l) the users’ interestin improving on what they now do well, and 2) the users’interest in doing things that are different from the onesthey are used to doing. It also identified several trendswith respect to the K/12-13 sector:Trend 1: Higher levels of control by learners arecalled for as classrooms are getting more online.Trend 2: Learning situations become more realisticand authentic as classrooms are getting online.Trend 3: Online resources boost student interest andmotivation in the classroom through a greaterdiversity of learning goals, projects, and outcomes.Trend 4: The successful online classroom combinesinformation technology with appropriate pedagogy.Trend 5: The classroom is extended to onlinelearning communities with the potential to supportor even challenge the locally established curriculum.Trend 6: The education of educators is broadened toinclude just-in-time and/or collaborative learning.Trend 7: Educators use online technology as adriving element of an educational reform.The report goes on to describe a number of gaps in currentknowledge about online use of technology in theclassroom such as:25

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationMore information is needed on the nature and extentof teachers’ experience with informationtechnologies, how teachers view these resources, howthey understand their impact on society as a whole,and how they alter their instructional practices inorder to use them effectively.The content of what will be taught using onlineresources is becoming more diverse and shiftingtowards more construction and input by the learner.More information is required on whether this moredynamic content conflicts with traditional curriculumcontent and goals.As the presence and use of information technologiesbecomes increasingly widespread, schools anduniversities will need to develop performanceindicators to monitor the use and outcomes of thetechnologies, and to demonstrate accountability tofunding sources and the public.8. A recent study 42 in the UK identified a range of factorsthat teachers need to take into account when using ICTs.These include:Clear identification of how ICT will be used toimprove pupils’ attainment and meet specificobjectives within subjects of the curriculum.Ensuring that pupils have adequate ICT skills toachieve those subject specific objectives.A planned match of pedagogy with the identifiedpurpose of ICT activities and learning outcomes. Finding appropriate starting points for developmentfor particular teachers in accordance with theirteaching styles and approaches.Adequate access to, and intensity of use of, thenecessary equipment by pupils and teachers.Effective technical back-up and support to overcomeany difficulties encountered.9. The British Educational Communications andTechnology Agency (BECTA) is an organization set upto support the transformation of education through theintegration of ICT into learning and teaching, educationalinstitutions and systems. It provides a variety of services,one of which is an educational research portal 43 thatcontains links to other websites, documents and sourcesof information in the field of ICT research andeducational research generally. Study reports are listedin categories such as “ICT and Effective Pedagogy”;“ICT and School Improvement”; and “ManagementInformation Systems”.An example, one of the many reports contained in the“ICT and Pedagogy” section of this portal, is a studyfocusing on how teachers make effective choices aboutwhen, when not, and how to use ICT in teaching literacyand numeracy in primary schools.AnalysisThese examples of research and evaluation, while providingsome very useful evidence, also underscore the point thatthere is still a paucity of “hard data” on which to base policyand investment decisions. As was pointed out in the openingparagraphs of this chapter, the adoption of ICT in educationis still in its early stages. However, it has seemingly reacheda “take-off” point which increases the pressure oneducational leaders to be, and be seen to be, doing somethingabout the adoption of ICTs. Networks that facilitate sharingexperience and information among policy makers andinstitutional leaders seem to be lacking. Initiatives thatwould address this need would make a significantcontribution as the more formal research activities proceed.SummaryThe adoption of ICTs into the practice of education is notsomething that began with the emergence of the new digitaltechnologies. It has been on going for decades in verysuccessful programmes that have utilised radio, televisionand print. What is new are the many ways that these “oldertechnologies” are being combined with the use of e-mailand the Internet, particularly in the arena of non-formaleducation.ICT infrastructure is evolving in other ways as well. Theuse of wireless technologies, often referred to as “mlearning”,is a relatively new trend that may help overcomethe lack of ICT infrastructure in remote communities. Opensource system software holds some promise for cost saving,and more importantly, for the development of standards thatfacilitate interoperability among systems. And, with theburgeoning amount of information, it is not surprising thatmanagement systems are being developed to allow forefficient cataloguing, searching and retrieval of information.One of the more important trends is the rapidly expandingdevelopment of online learning object content repositories.The ability to be able to reuse content in different contextsand deliver it in different formats for learners at differentlevels of the system is promising, and will lead to greaterconvergence between the historically separate worlds of thedistance educator and the classroom teacher. But it is in anearly stage of development and there are issues that need tobe resolved.A trend that will surely grow is the use of distance learningmodels to create mass access to primary and secondaryeducation. The very successful examples of the NationalOpen School in India and Telesecundaria in Mexico26

An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application ofInformation and Communication Technologies in EducationRegional Perspectivesdemonstrate how the goals of increasing access andenhancing the quality of curriculum content can be achieved.However, the increased use of ICT in schools has creatednew needs for both teachers and school systems. Forexample, the benefits of sharing information and teachingmaterials becomes more obvious. Teachers need to acquirenew skills. And managers want to collaborate to share costs.In response, we are seeing the emergence of neworganizational models called schoolnets with mandates toaddress these and other needs.While the “tried and true” older technologies continue toplay an important role in non-formal education, the use ofnewer ICTs is proving useful here as well. There areemerging applications in literacy training and certainly incontinuing professional education. In the communitydevelopment area the applications demonstrate appropriateuse as well as showing models of local control and relevanceto community needs.The final comment is about evidence. Is this increased useof ICT in education contributing to the goals of more accessto learning opportunities; enhanced quality of content andpedagogy; and greater efficiencies? While there remains apaucity of data to answer these questions, it is clear that theemphasis on research and evaluation is increasing. And anotable feature of this increasing effort is a shift from thearguments of being “for” or “against” ICTs, to questionsrelated to the conditions that need to be met in order toensure that adoption adds value to current practice.NOTES1 Synthesis of The World Education Forum. April 2000. Dakar,Senegal http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012001200120058e.pdf2 www.digitalopportunity.org/external3 Jayaweera, W. “Computerised Radio Operations in Remote SriLanka”. UNESCO Delhi. http://portal.unesco.org/ci/ev.php?URL_ID=8150&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=10470558154 Moyle, K. “Open Source Software and Australian SchoolEducation”. August 2003. Education Au. www.educationau.edu.au/papers/open_source.pdf5 Bruggink, M. “Open Source in Africa: Towards Informed Decision-Making”. August 2003. International Institute for Communicationsand Development. www.iconnect-online.org/base/home?frame=content&lng=1&nav=37&template=news_detail&prm=id%3d21726 Noronha, F. “Liberation Technology for the Lands of Diversity:Free Software for Asia”. January-February 2003.www.bytesforall.org7 M-Learning is a 3-year pan-European research and developmentprogramme supported by the European Commission’s InformationSociety Technologies Programme and is coordinated by theLearning and Skills Development Agency. www.m-learning.org/background.html8 Pabico, A. “Teaching Through Mobile Technology Debuts inPhilippine Schools”. June 2003. www.cyberdyaryo.com/features/f2003_0616_01.html9 Nowlin, C. and Bliss, G. ‘Portal” Internet Technology Terms. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212810,00.html10 Butcher, N. “Best Practice in Educational Portals”. October 2002.Commonwealth of Learning and SchoolNet South Africa.(www.col.org/Consultancies/02EducationPortals.htm)11 Eschoolnet offers a wide range of services including eLearningnews, online training, European curriculum resources and schoolpractice ideas. One can meet European teachers, trainers andstudents through collaborative school projects or learningcommunities. http://eunbrux02.eun.org/eun.org2/eun/en/index_eschoolnet.html.12 The Centre for Educational Technology Interoperability Standards(CETIS) is an organization that represents higher and furthereducation institutions on international learning technologystandards initiatives. in the United Kingdom. (www.cetis.ac.uk/static/standards.html):13 West 1. “VET Learning Object Repository: Green Paper forDiscussion” 2003. Australian National Training Authority.Available on the Australian Flexible Learning Framework websiteat (http://flexiblelearning.net.au/projects/resources/VLOR_green_paper.pdf)14 Wisconsin Online Resources Center. “Learning Objects andMetadata: Organization”. December 2002. Center for InternationalEducation, University of Wisconsin –Milwaukee, Wisc.(www.uwm.edu/Dept/CIE/AOP/LO_orgs.html)15 EdNA Online (www.edna.edu.au/edna/page1.html0 was developedas a major repository of information for and about Australianeducation. It commenced in 1996 and was jointly funded by State,Territory and Commonwealth governments.16 Commonwealth of Learning International/Intelcon Research. : Theuse of Information and Communication Technologies in Learningand Distance Education”. January 2000. The Commonwealth ofLearning. www.col.org/resources/consultants.17 Castro, C., Wolff, L. and Garcia, N. “Mexico’s Telesecundaria:Bringing Education by Television to Rural Areas”. It is available atwww.iadb.org/sds/doc/Edu&Tech12.pdf18 Brandjes, D. “School Networking in the Pacific Island States: Anenvironmental scan and plan for the establishment of schoolnets forthe Pacific island states.” April 2002. The Commonwealth ofLearning. www.col.org/Consultancies/02SchoolnetPacific.htm19 Roy Singh, R. “Education for the Twenty First Century: Asia-Pacific Perspective”. UNESCO, Bangkok. 1991. www.unesco.org/education/pdf/15_15.pdf20 Ssenkubuge, L. “From scratch to IT project results”. In theeducation section of www.iicd.org/thematics/21 Kozma, R.(ed.) “Technology, Innovation, and Educational Change– A Global Perspective.” International Association for theEvaluation of Educational Achievement 2003. www.iste.org/bookstore/tocs/index.cfm?sku=sites122 SITESM2 abstract http://sitesm2.org/sitesm2_studyabstract.pdf23 Harris, S. and Kington, A. “Innovative Classroom Practices inEngland: Implications for Schools”. National Foundation forEducational Research 2002. www.nfer.ac.uk/research/down_pub.asp24 TeleEducation NB. “New Media Survey”. 2002. http://teleeducation.nb.ca/content/web-guides/english/NewMediaSurvey/intro.htm25 The Tata Group is a large corporation in India that has long had acommitment to community development. A full description of thecomputer-based functional literacy programme can be found atwww.tataliteracy.com/how_it_works.htm#26 The project was implemented at three sites in Zambia and sevensites in India from July 1999 to December 31, 2002. Support wasprovided by the Department for International Development of thegovernment of the UK. www.col.org/literacy27 The “Radio Sagarmatha” project was a distance learning researchinitiative of the People First Network, partner organization to theRural Development Division of the Ministry of Rural Developmentof the provincial government in the Solomon Islands. The projectwas carried out from June to September, 2002. www.panasia.org.sg/grants/awards/0201a1s006rtp2.htm28 The project is led by Action Aid (www.actionaid.org/), one of thelargest development organizations in the UK. A description of theproject can found at http://217.206.205.24/Initiatives/ict/project/project.htm29 A description of this pilot project can be found atwww4.worldbank.org/sprojects/Project.asp?pid=P06978430 The project focuses on the innovative and enjoyable use ofInformation and Communication Technology (ICT) for youth27

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationlearning and community development. It has been underway sinceMarch 2002. www2.coca-cola.com/citizenship/education_malaysia_elearning.html31 The programme was produced by Health CommunicationResources in Australia (www.h-c-r.org) A description is at http://radio.oneworld.net/index.php?fuseaction=audio.view&audio_id=339)32 The programme is geared to those teachers who seek additionaleducation. Students who enroll in the Certificate of TeachingMastery are placed in a global cohort, interact with a teachermentor, and have access to a professional technical support team.Graduates of the programme become local mentors. www.teacherswithoutborders.org/html/certificate_of_mastery.html#description33 The project is designed to help meet the increasing demand forbetter-qualified teachers and to provide opportunities for teachers tocontinue their professional development. (http://learningchannel.oneworld.net/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.undp.org%2Fdpa%2Ffrontpagearchive%2F2002%2Fnovember%2F26nov02%2Findex.html34 See the following website for detailed information on the VirtualColombo Plan Initiative: www.ausaid.gov.au/hottopics/topic.cfm?Id=326_3216_5474_6437_291035 This programme is described at www.catia.ws/. It is focused onaddressing the need for ICTs to support social and economicdevelopment issues. It will be working to help build capacity acrossAfrica to achieve sustainable change. The components of theprogramme are:•Low-cost satellite Internet access widely available across Africa(Component 1a)•Robust African Internet backbone with exchange points at the coreand strong African ISP Associations (Component 1b)•Well-informed, lively and inclusive policy debates across Africa,shaping the local policy environment (Component 1c)•Positive policy environments for radio broadcasting across Africa(led by Panos Institute) (Component 1d)•An African-led network of institutions, actively strengthening theAfrican expertise involved in setting ICT related policy(Component 1e)•Increased capacity for African developing countries to participatein international ICT decision making (Component 1f)•Low-cost computers and open source software being developedand tailored to the African market (Component 2a)•Stronger network of community radio, FM and public service radiostations across Africa, offering good pro-poor radio programmes(led by Amarc) (Component 2b)•A thriving African-based Open Knowledge Network, catalysingthe creation and exchange of local content (led by OneWorld)(Component 2c)36 For a more complete description of this report see www.oucs.ox.ac.uk.37 The project, which began in 2000, focused on issues for e-learnersaround the Digital Divide. It developed recommendations andguidelines for six learner groups as well as guidelines, literaturereviews and research reports that are available at http://flexiblelearning.net.au/accessequity/research/research.htm38 For a description of this work see www.unescobkk.org/ips/ebooks/documents/ICTedu/index.htm39 The venues for the project were FE colleges, community colleges,outreach centres, learning shops, a prison and a refugeeorganization. The results from the study are available at:www.ufiltd.co.uk/press/papers/literacyguide.pdf40 The report is provided at: www.schoolnet.ca/grassroots/e/resources/toolkit/Dibbon/index.asp. The GrassRoots Programme is aimed atencouraging teachers to move beyond traditional ways of teachingto incorporating more innovative approaches to teaching andlearning in their day-to-day work.41 The report is available at www.schoolnet.ca/accueil/e/resources/metadata/newurl_technology_support_13842_e.html42 www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00001369.htm#Summary43 www.becta.org.uk/research/display.cfm?section=328

Gender-based Issues and Trends in ICTApplications in Educationin Asia and the PacificIntroductionMs Lyndsay GreenGender is a factor in every aspect of formal, non-formaland informal education, and has an impact on allparticipants: learners, teachers and administrators. Theissues examined here are drawn from all facets of theeducational system, and the strategies have relevance acrosssectors. In particular, formal education has a great deal tolearn from strategies being used in the non-formal sector,and some of the initiatives being undertaken in the Asia-Pacific region, as described below, are leading the way inputting information and communication technologies (ICTs)to work for gender equality.The emphasis is on ICT applications and models that holdpromise in assisting with the achievement of Education forAll (EFA) goals, specifically Goal 3, to “promote genderequality and empower women.” The focus is on Asia andthe Pacific; however, examples are included from otherregions where they suggest models that lend themselves tobroader application.One of the strongest messages that emerges from researchon the effective use of ICTs in the education of women isthe need to use appropriate technology. The examples belowlook at the newer ICTs, computers and related services suchas e-mail and the web, and also include the use of broadcasttechnologies, such as radio and television, as well as audioand videotapes.Along with an endorsement for the more traditional ICTs,there is an equally strong message that women and girlsmust not be left behind in the digital revolution. The digitaldivide includes a gender divide, especially for rural andmarginalised women, and the newer ICTs have the capacityto allow us to benefit from the full contribution of women.29

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationGender issuesCan ICTs Improve Access to Education for Girlsand Women?Conditions that prevent girls and women from accessingeducational opportunities include illiteracy, poverty, timefamine, socio-cultural factors, mobility and relevancy. ICTshave the potential to ease or remove some of these barriers,but they may also create additional barriers includingrestricted access to the technology, and factors inhibitingusage such as high costs and lack of skills and information. 1Interactive radio instruction (IRI) has been used successfullyto improve access to primary education, and in the case ofan IRI project run by the Zambian Ministry of Education,analysis of enrolment figures demonstrates that girls havea high participation rate. Children from eight to 10 years ofage are organised into listening groups at IRI centres andfollow lessons broadcast over the radio under the guidanceof a mentor. For 2001, girls comprised 48.68 per cent ofthe total IRI enrolment, while in the same year in the otherprimary education programmes girls represented 45.2 percent of the total. This is deemed to be a significantachievement for a programme that was only fullyimplemented two years ago. One of the incentives forparents to enrol their children in IRI is that, unlike in theformal education system, there is no requirement to payuser fees or buy uniforms. 2ICTs also have the potential to mediate some of the problemscurrently facing women who wish to further their educationthrough open and distance learning (ODL). Dr. EdithMhehe, who has researched difficulties faced by Tanzanianwomen considering or participating in higher educationthrough the Open University of Tanzania (OUT), arguesthat ICTs could alleviate the constraints that womencurrently face. The barriers are operational (includingphysical and social isolation) and personal (relating tojuggling of social demands and lack of support). Theyinclude lack of time, cultural expectations that areincompatible with education and inadequate financialresources. 3However, if the benefits of ICTs to ODL are to be realised,careful attention needs to be paid to student support.Research conducted on the impact of ICTs on ODL in theSouth Pacific concluded that because ODL courses requirea high degree of organisation and commitment, supportservices in the Pacific need to be improved, especially inthe regional centres. It was determined that the use of ICTsallowed Samoan women studying at the master’s level atAustralian universities to continue to fulfil vital family andcommunity obligations; however, the burden was heavy.Research done at Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) also found the need for more support for femalestudents. Researchers concluded that many problemsexperienced by ODL students are common to both genders,but they become more acute in the case of women. Themost severe problems were irregular and unsystematictutorial help, inadequate supply of reading material and lackof study centres. 4An interesting finding is that access to the newer ICTs mayhave a role to play in encouraging participation in the formaleducational system. This was the conclusion from theInformation Village project in Pondicherry. It found thatparents and students accessed databases at the “knowledgecentres” to choose courses from information about whatwas available in the educational institutions. And the schooldropout rate declined considerably after children startedusing the computers and CD-ROM educational materials.“There is a greater awareness among the community of thevalue of education.” 5Can ICTs Improve the Learning Experience forGirls and Women?There is evidence that under the proper conditions ICTsmay increase the quality of basic and secondary educationfor women and girls. An example is provided by WorldLinks (www.world-links.org), which links students andteachers around the world via the Internet for collaborativeprojects and integration of technology into learning. WorldLinks commissioned a gender assessment study in 2001 todetermine whether girls and boys are being impacteddifferently by their educational programmes in Senegal,Mauritania, Uganda and Ghana. They concluded that thelearning outcomes seem to be greater for girls because whengirls connect to the Internet, they focus more on academicrelatedissues than on leisure. The findings suggest that therewas more impact on girls’ communication and reasoningskills than boys’, and that female students also expressedincreased self-esteem. The students felt that the quality ofteaching improved because they became moreknowledgeable and active learners. 6There are also successful examples of using interactive radioto enhance the quality of the educational experience. PapuaNew Guinea gained an enthusiastic response from teachersand headmasters because of the difference it was able tomake in the classroom. Improvements in exam results wereattributed to the radio science methodology, which resultedin more active teachers and students, better linkages betweenfollow-up exercises and local knowledge and improvementsin thinking rather than rote knowledge. 7Also, when ICTs use local languages and incorporate astrong visual component, they have the potential to be aneffective educational tool to reach women with limitedliteracy. The International Women’s Tribunal Centre workedwith the International Development Research Centre(IDRC) to develop a CD-ROM for poor rural womenfarmers in Uganda with little or no reading ability. The tooladdressed their needs as farmers and small businesswomen30

Gender-based Issues and Trends in ICT Applicationsin Education in Asia and the PacificRegional Perspectivesto earn more money. 8 SEWA (Self-Employed Women’sAssociation) uses video to support their goals of organisingwomen workers for full employment and self-reliance. Theyhave conducted educational programmes on themes suchas organising, leadership building, forestry, waterconservation, health education and financial services, andthey estimate they have reached 20,000 women viewers.“When literacy became a hindrance, SEWA members founda solution. They learnt video vocabulary. To be functionallyliterate they had to master fewer than 20 Western words.” 9However there is ample evidence that without gendersensitiveprogramme design, ICT-enabled education isunlikely to result in an equitable learning environment.Research conducted on students attending a US-basedhigher education distance organisation using primarilyonline instruction compared differences in male and femalepreferred learning styles, communication patterns andparticipation barriers. The conclusion was that the womenexperienced a less equitable environment because themedium requires some technical skills and a degree ofconfidence about distance education, and because thelearning environment supported a male domination in onlinecommunication patterns that effectively silenced femalestudents. 10Lack of computer skills is a severe barrier for women andgirls in accessing the new ICTs. 11 In the classroom, unlessfair use policies are put in place, girls are likely to receiveless hands-on computer experience. The World Links genderresearch found that girls had inequitable access to thecomputer labs in some schools as a result of severalconditions: high student-to-computer ratios and first-come,first-served policies did not favour the girls; girls’ accesstime was limited by earlier curfew hours and domestic choreresponsibilities; and local patriarchal beliefs allowed boysto dominate the computer lab environment. 12The role of women as role models is extremely importantin improving the quality of the educational experience forgirls and women, 13 and women educators need to have adegree of comfort with ICTs if they are to be effective rolemodels for their female students. This is not always thesituation, as Dr. Suri found when she measured the attitudesto computers of teachers in distance teaching institutionsin India. The female teachers were less positive regardinginterest in and personal importance attached to computers,they were less secure about their computer skills, and theyknew less about computers. They also viewed computingas an abstract science. The male teachers, in contrast, weremore interested in computing, had higher self-confidencein their ability to use computers, and viewed the computeras a masculine technology. The female teachers said that itwas hard for them to learn how to programme a computer,or they expressed a fear of using computers. 14Can ICTs Help Women and GirlsAccess Non-formal Education?The most compelling case for the potential for ICTs toimprove access to education for girls and women is foundin cases of formal and informal learning. Here are someexamples:Mothers4Mothers (www.mom4mom.com), based inMalaysia, uses ICTs to build cyber communities andnetworking opportunities for homemakers,homeworkers and teleworkers. One of their projects,eHomemakers, provides resources on how to getstarted on work at home projects and advice on howto become a successful “homepreneur.” HomebasedXchange allows people to post their products andservices online, and share their opinions on a forum.Other projects include an online grief support groupand an online breastfeeding support group.Mothers4Mothers also provides computer trainingto women. 15The Information Village project in Pondicherrycites significant educational results from their projectincluding support to women’s small businessdevelopment. Women’s self-help groups use thesystem to contact other women’s groups with whichto share their experiences. One innovative use of ICTsis the development of a multimedia presentation andmultimedia flash cards to provide gynecologicalinformation to reach women who are prevented bycultural attitudes from discussing their healthproblems with male doctors and younger females. 16Horn of Africa Regional Women’s KnowledgeNetwork (HAWKNet) is a regional network ofwomen and women’s organisations in the East andHorn of Africa regions with a web portal that providesa forum for women and girls. The website containsinformation on key issues affecting women in theregion including conflict and peace-buildingprocesses, food insecurity, HIV/AIDS and otherhealth-related issues, poverty, education, and ICTpolicies. The website includes an events calendar,bulletin/advertisement boards, chat rooms, and onlinemeeting and working spaces. An e-commerce portalprovides an opportunity for women in the region toaccess distant markets for their goods and products. 17Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) usesICTs as tools among women’s organisations to shareinformation and address issues collectively. Theiremphasis is on the use of e-mail and the web andhow these technologies can be integrated withtraditional communications tools. Their website,www.wougnet.org, profiles the work of 41 Ugandanwomen’s organisations. They administer an31

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationelectronic mailing list, produce a monthly electronicnewsletter and host online discussions. They alsooffer a web design programme to develop websitesfor WOUGNET members. 18The Japanese Government is launching a numberof online initiatives to support women’s networkingincluding e-business support for womenentrepreneurs with an “upward mobile site”providing information for women who want to findjobs, start a business, enter an international field orparticipate in community-building. Regional centresprovide access to the network for rural women andserve as counselling centres for women faced withproblems such as domestic violence. Since May2003, there has been a site providing information forwomen in agricultural and fishing communities whowant to start fishery, farming or forestry businesses.The site includes information on starting a businessand borrowing money, and links to a simulatedfarming experience. Part of the long-term strategy isto establish distribution systems for the productsthrough the use of ICTs. 19In China, a substantial number of websites have beenuploaded by women’s organisations to disseminateinformation. 20Women as ICT ProfessionalsOne of the major concerns regarding women, ICTs andeducation is that women are not equitably participating asprofessionals in the ICT sector. Women are not pursuingthe field of computer science in adequate numbers, and whenthey enter the profession they are more likely to be employedin word processing and data entry positions, rather than inprogramming and decision-making. There is concern thatif women are not active participants in the field of ICTs,they will not be in a position to ensure gender-sensitivedesign and implementation. Also, the potential forestablishing women as role models will be lost.The research conducted by Asian Pacific Women’sInformation Network Center (APWINC) found genderdifferences in enrolment in ICT in universities and collegesin the Pacific region. The closest to parity in enrolment wasfound in the Philippines, whereas there was a marked genderdifference in enrolment in the other five countries (rangingfrom 20 per cent female enrolment in Korea to 33 per centin Sri Lanka). A similar gender gap is seen in graduates. Inthe Philippines, despite near parity enrolment at universityand college levels, the gender gap widens with each higherlevel of qualification. 21The representation of women in ICT faculties mirrors themarked gender differences in graduate and postgraduateoutput, with the exception of the Philippines where thereare more women than men. In the other two countries forwhich data were available, women did not exceed 25 percent of the faculty. 22 The importance of female ICT facultyin attracting women to the field has been well documented.For example, one research project found that the majorreason for girls’ lack of interest in ICT at a higher educationstage was the male-orientated atmosphere of computerscience courses. 23It is interesting to note that ICTs themselves may assist inencouraging women to pursue ICT professions. The Institutefor Distance Education (IDEAL) at Universiti PutraMalaysia offers a Bachelor of Computer Science viadistance learning. This was the first programme in thecountry to be delivered entirely via the Internet and,according to 1998 research, 37 per cent of the students werefemale. 24Trends in strategiesMuch of the analysis about the impact of the trends instrategies being undertaken to address the issues highlightedabove is still at the anecdotal stage, but some researchfindings are available. Since the potential for crossoverapplication appears to be high, each strategy discussionbelow includes examples from all facets of the educationalsystem: formal, non-formal and informal. The importanceof gender-focused ICT research is beginning to berecognised and hopefully the results will be available toinform future work.Gender MainstreamingThe accepted wisdom for ensuring gender equity is referredto as “mainstreaming.” 25 Gender mainstreaming ensures thatan organisation’s programmes and policies include genderanalysis from inception, and that strategies to ensure genderequity are implemented in all facets of the organization’soperations. Gender mainstreaming acknowledges that thereare no “gender neutral” decisions. 26SchoolNet Africa, a network of schoolnet organisations andpractitioners promoting ICTs and education in 31 Africancountries, has a policy of gender mainstreaming.Implementation strategies include the placement of genderon agendas, encouraging website content that is genderresponsive, encouraging gender balance in learner teams,and providing an award for gender responsiveness. Forexample, a recent workshop held in Botswana incorporatedgender in all speakers’ notes and, in addition, a dedicatedsession was held on the topic. 27Research has found that the closer the responsibilities foraddressing gender issues to daily operations are brought,the greater the chances of success. The Open University ofTanzania (OUT) is considering initiating a gender unit attheir headquarters to be responsible for finding effective32

Gender-based Issues and Trends in ICT Applicationsin Education in Asia and the PacificRegional Perspectivesand sustainable solutions to the barriers facing womenstudents. 28Gender mainstreaming is an all-encompassing matter forSookmyung Women’s University, Republic of Korea’s firstprivate college for women. Sookmyung has been offeringcomputer education to undergraduates since 1987 and, inan effort to bolster computer knowledge, is increasing thesupply of PCs to the student body and providing bothstudents and teachers with Internet IDs. The university’sexperience with women’s use of ICTs has led Sookmyungto establish the Asia-Pacific Women’s Information andCommunication Center (APWINC), which has beeninvolved in many pioneering projects on ICTs and genderin the region including research, training and informationdissemination. 29Gender-sensitive Programme DesignGender mainstreaming leads to gender-sensitive programmedesign, which takes deliberate steps to remove barriers towomen’s participation and actively encourages women’sinvolvement. The requirement for gender-sensitiveprogramme design applies to all facets of the educationalsystem: in the case of the formal system from curriculumto admissions to student-support strategies, and in the caseof the non-formal and informal systems, from access totraining to relevant content. 30World Links responded to their gender assessmentstudy by introducing special action to encouragewomen and girls to apply and participate in theirprogramme. They offer awareness sessions on genderand development and have developed new policiesincluding one to relieve girls from household choresthat they perform during evenings in boardingschools while male students are enjoying more labtime. They also encourage schools to develop fairusepolicies for their computer labs to ensure girls’access is proportional to their representation in theoverall student body. 31The Open University of Sri Lanka trains primaryand secondary school teachers in the use of gendersensitivematerials in the school and teachereducation curricula, and offers a number of computerprogrammes and courses that use gender-sensitivelanguage. 32In the Information Village project in Pondicherry,because of a deliberate decision to give priority towomen, more than half the volunteers operating theknowledge centres are female. A 2001–02 survey ofusers and non-users in five villages found that theuse of women operators was linked to an increase inthe number of women users. 33Other examples of gender-sensitive programme designinclude female-focused programmes and programmes witha financial incentive to encourage women’s participation.In Bangladesh, Lever Brothers Bangladesh Limited issponsoring computer courses for 1,500 female students whowrote secondary school exams and are awaiting theirresults. 34 In Cambodia, female students are being offered a50 per cent discounted fee to attend Cisco system training.The e-learning programme is being offered through theRoyal University of Phnom Penh, and the NationalInformation Communications Technology DevelopmentAuthority (NiDa) is offering the financial incentive toencourage women to join the IT field. 35Engendering ICT and Education PoliciesResearch on how to ensure that women and girls benefitfrom ICTs in education emphasises the importance ofengendering policies at all levels – regional, national, localand sectoral. Policy initiatives range from the global level(e.g., efforts to include gender equity in the World Summiton the Information Society (WSIS) process) to theclassroom level (e.g., fair-use policies to ensure equal timeon the computers for girls). Research has found thatdeveloping policy at one level only is not effective. Ifinitiatives are to be successful, multilevel policies need tobe developed in tandem. 36The South Pacific provides a case study ofdeveloping an ICT policy and action plan that makesexplicit reference to women, ensuring that there willbe a systematic effort to develop strategies andactivities that focus on the needs of women.Evaluation activities, including data collection, willalso be mandated to have a deliberate focus on theimpact on women. 37APWINC examined the national policies for theadvancement of women’s “informatisation” in sixcountries. Republic of Korea was the only countryto have formulated a plan and a budget for thispurpose. China approaches women’s informatisationthrough the overall development of women.Indonesia has mainstreamed the use of ICT bywomen in its overall development plan for women.The Philippines and Sri Lanka have no specific plansor programmes for women’s informatisation, whileIndia has some programmes to encourage women touse ICT in different sectors. 38To encourage the development of gender-equal ICTpolicies, APWINC held a two-week programme inJuly 2003 for 22 government women from 14countries. The goal of the Asia Pacific Latin AmericaGovernment Women’s ICT Training (APLAW-IT)is to activate partnerships in network building so thatmore women can benefit through ICT capacitybuildingand to promote gender equality in ICT33

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationpolicies. APLAW-IT shared information throughcountry reports on gender and ICT, conducted e-business training and carried out ICT field trips.Providing Girls and Women with Access toEquipmentStrategies for enabling girls and women to use ICTs foreducation emphasise the need for access to equipment inwelcoming and supportive environments. The use oftelecentres is one model that is finding support. 39 However,research on the effectiveness of telecentres in reachingwomen and girls shows mixed results, and great care mustbe taken to ensure gender-sensitive programme design.Research conducted by the Acacia project, whichhas been involved with 35 telecentres in six Africancountries, concluded that most groups, other thanyoung males, will not use telecentre servicesoptimally unless they are assisted or supported by arange of sensitive strategies. Women are particularlydisfavoured because of cultural norms, costs andother administrative and structural characteristicsassociated with telecentre use. Also, mostinformation products currently available in thetelecentres are not made for or attractive to women. 40In Sri Lanka, teacher education programmes usedregional study centres equipped with audiocassettes,videocassettes and computers. Surveys found that useof the technology by the women students was poorfor a variety of reasons: non-availability of transportfacilities, the nature of the terrain which made evenwalking difficult, and cultural inhibitions andhousehold chores that prohibited long hours awayfrom home. Researchers felt that mindset and genderbasedsocialisation may also have been contributingfactors. 41Research into barriers to the use of ICTs faced bywomen students of the University of the SouthPacific found the major barrier to be equipmentaccess at study centres. The small number ofcomputers was aggravated by staff use of thecomputers for their own work, the centres’ restrictedhours and a lack of maintenance skills. As well, costsof transport to the centres were prohibitive. 42 The Malaysian government has opened 15telecentres, with another 119 in the implementationstage. One of the aims of the CommunityCommunications Development Program (CCDP) isto enable rural communities to acquire skills,knowledge and experience through the use ofcommunication and multimedia facilities. Fourgroups are being targeted for training: operator,village committee, teachers and youth. To ensure theinvolvement of girls and women they are partneringwith the Foundation for Women’s Education andVocational Training. 43The Government of Bangladesh aims to ensure thathigh school girls are provided with computer accessin an ICTs and Education programme announced inJuly 2002. Girls’ schools are to be given priority in aprogramme that will provide 10,000 computers,along with Internet connections, to schools at thesecondary level. 44Placing equipment in women’s homes has thepotential to remove their access problem. Thisapproach is being tried in New Zealand whereComputers in Homes (CIH) is providing all sociallyand economically disadvantaged families with acomputer, an Internet connection, training andtechnical support. Tutoring has been offered in oneon-onelearning at home. The project is new andresearch results are preliminary, but it has been notedthat mothers are the most reliable attendees at thetraining and the family meetings at the school. Theyare using the PC during the day while the childrenare at school. 45The University of the South Pacific has recognisedthat lack of computers at home also acts as a barrierto the teachers’ acceptance of distance learningprogrammes. To encourage computer ownership, theuniversity allows staff to purchase computers on timepayment at the university book centre, and many havetaken advantage of the programme. 46Providing Gender-sensitive TrainingTraining is an essential component of any effort to supportthe education of girls and women through ICTs, and to beeffective the training must be gender-sensitive and provideongoing support. 47 The requirement for gender-sensitivetraining applies to all facets of the educational system: fromeducators to curriculum developers, from administrators toadmissions officers. Arguably the most effective strategyis to have training begin in the early school years withteachers actively encouraging girls to become computerliterate. 48Dr. Suri of the University of Delhi examined the attitudinalbarriers of women teachers towards ICTs (as discussedabove), and has a number of recommendations to increasethe skill and confidence level of both teachers and students.She proposes computer skill training workshops providedin single-sex settings, with female instructors. 49 This shouldbe coupled with supportive policies and programmes suchas educational leave, scholarships and preferential accessto equipment. She also recommends recruiting computerprofessionals to help teachers prepare material for courses34

Gender-based Issues and Trends in ICT Applicationsin Education in Asia and the PacificRegional Perspectivesand tutorial support. The training should be conducted aspart of a collaborative task. 50This technique of “learning through doing” has foundsuccess with female learners. Research recommendsimbedding ICTs in the curriculum, rather than teachingcomputers as a separate subject. When Carnegie MellonUniversity changed its approach to teaching computerscience from one of conveying abstract technical knowledgeto demonstrating applied computer applications, theyincreased the number of females enrolled in the programmefrom 8 per cent in 1995 to 37 per cent in 1999. 51An effective way to offer relevant and applied ICT trainingis to focus on skill development for a specific professionalor occupational group. An example is the seven-dayworkshop held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in August 2003, totrain women development journalists in South Asia in newmedia. The workshop aimed to familiarise womenjournalists with the use of Internet-based technologies inorder to improve their skills. The focus was “learningthrough content production.” Topics included websitecreation, writing for the Internet, discussion forums andmailing lists, Internet radio and TV, online journalism issuesand using the Internet effectively as a research tool. TheCentre for Women’s Research (Cenwor), based in Sri Lanka,facilitated the hands-on training. 52All-female training sessions that place girls and women inthe role of teachers have proven to be effective. In pilotprojects in two telecentres in Mozambique, when it wasdetermined that men were significantly greater users of thetelecentre computer services, including e-mail, Internet andCD-ROM, a training programme called Skills for Womenwas launched. There were no dropouts from the programme,the trainees formed the nucleus of regular users of thetelecentres and some became trainers themselves. Researchemphasised the importance of all-female classes and thevalue of peer assistance. 53Peer training is also being used effectively by Marathmoli,the Internet-based information network and support servicefor women and other marginalised peoples of Maharashtra.Marathmoli conducted ICT training and leadership trainingfor young girls, and these same girls are now assisting astrainers in the ongoing training camps. 54One of the critical strategies in the non-formal sector hasbeen capacity-building in women’s organisations to enhancetheir capability to transfer knowledge to their target groups. 55WENT (Asia-Pacific Women’s Electronic NetworkingTraining) has been held annually since 1999. The trainingis organised by APWINC and the Association forProgressive Communications Women’s NetworkingSupport Program (APC WNSP) with the goal of promotingthe use of ICT among women and enhancing women’s rolesin social and policy advocacy. 56 To date 116 women from18 countries have been trained in basic website developmentand networking, web-based information management usingICT and local area networking. 57Women’s organisations are well positioned to developgender-sensitive training for their clients:Women’s Aid Organization (WAO) is a Malaysianorganisation that provides shelter and counselling tosurvivors of violence against women. WAO has beenexperimenting with a variety of techniques to providecomputer training to residents and ex-residents,including pre-packaged training programmes. Theyhave found customised training by volunteers to bemost effective, especially when linked toemployment prospects and daily concerns, locallanguage instruction, child care provision, computeraccess and technical support. 58Women’sNet, which provides a website relevant toSouth African women, girls and women’sorganizations, has developed a number of effectivestrategies to provide gender-sensitive ICT training.They work in small groups to facilitate participants’engagement with the technology, and demonstrateapplied uses of ICTs. They combine contentdevelopment with technical training, either in theform of content that can be posted in the Women’sNetsite, or radio-ready audio spots. They designcampaigns for the learner’s organisation anddemonstrate how the technology can facilitate theiractivities. Their trainers speak multiple languages.One technique that has worked particularly well forgirls is to have them document the training throughaudio or videotaping. 59Large-scale government initiatives to target womenfor ICT training are underway in both The Republicof Korea and China, and in both cases organizationswith a mandate for women are partners in the project.The e-Korean Project launched in March 2001 bythe Ministry of Information and Communication hasa goal of providing two million “housewives” withInternet training. The number of housewives whohave used the Internet increased from 1.8 per cent in1999 to 45 per cent in 2002. The Korean Ministry ofGender Equality is providing ICT training for womenin specialised areas including e-business courses,web-design courses and onsite job training. Inaddition, 1,000 female ICT professionals are beingtrained by Sookmyung Women’s University,Samsung Mulitcampus and the Korea WomenDevelopment Institute. 60 The All China Women’sFederation, the Ministry of Education and theMinistry of Science and Technology have trainednearly three million women who had been laid offfrom work to re-skill them to find employment inthe emerging economy. 6135

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationEnsuring RelevancyResearch findings emphasise the tendency for girls andwomen to treat ICTs as utilitarian tools and as means to anend. The strategies that have been successful in engaginggirls and women in the use of ICT for education haveemphasised relevant content that matters to their lives.An example of the power of relevant content is found in apilot project using ICTs in literacy that is being carried outin Zambia and India in selected learning centres, supportedby the Commonwealth of Learning (COL). The projectstarted its operation in Kabwe in August 2000, with fiveliteracy classes, now increased to seven. One of the moststartling results of the pilot is that the number of femalelearners far outnumbers that of the male learners (nearly100 per cent female). One of the conclusions for theprogramme’s attractiveness to females is the content of theliteracy training materials which are often interwoven withor based on topics that are viewed as “female,” such ashealth, nutrition and child care. 62Another example is the Women Empowerment through ICTproject in Nepal, which has emphasised practical outputsin its programme to train 10,000 computer literate women.Computer training is being linked with the potential toengage in income-generating activities, and the focus is onICT skills for front office management, for designinginstructional materials or to set up their own businesses.Organisers of the Information Village project in Pondicherryemphasise that the success of their project rests on the factthat much of the content, including close to 100 databases,has been developed in collaboration with the local people.“We do not download the information and then look forusers. Through surveys and continuous dialogue with villagecommunities, we study what information is needed and whatwill be useful to the community...We maintain ledgers ineach centre and all queries are recorded and analysed.” 63Some significant efforts are being made to develop ICTcontent of relevance to rural women. Maharashtra Women’sNet will be participating in the Virtual University initiativewith the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The organisation has alreadydeveloped content on health issues targeted at ruralwomen. 64 In China, Agricultural Broadcasting and TVSchool uses radio, TV, tapes, videos and written material toprovide agricultural open and distance education to rurallabourers, especially rural women and girls. Estimates arethat nearly 10 million rural women have been trainedthrough tele-education to enable them to use informationfor farming and daily life. 65 The FAO Regional Office forAsia and the Pacific supports various open universities inIndia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines to explore theeducational and learning needs of rural women in theircurriculum content. They are also working with threeagriculture universities in northern India to improve theirmultimedia teaching strategies in working with ruralwomen. In 2004, FAO will support a subregional workshopon Gender Responsive Community Education Programmein Distance Education to make the linkages between theOpen University and community-based organisations. 66Conducting Gender-focused ResearchResearch reports decry the lack of hard data around theissues of gender, ICTs and education and recommend acommitment to ongoing research and gender-disaggregateddata. When APWINC conducted their research on the ICTstatus of six Asian countries, the authors of the countryreports drew attention to the paucity of data that wereavailable, and especially to the lack of gender-disaggregateddata. 67 This same situation was encountered by theresearchers participating in COL’s project on women andICTs for open and distance learning. 68 The commitment togender research needs to be an institutional imperative. Asan example, one of the research priorities of the OpenUniversity of Sri Lanka is to address the role of gender instudent enrolment and performance. 69A valuable new tool for gender analysis has been developedby APC WNSP. Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM)is a guide to integrating a gender analysis into evaluationsof initiatives that use ICTs for social change. As well asserving in evaluation, the tool is designed to be used in theproject planning process to ensure the integration of genderconcerns. (See www.apcwomen.org/gem/index.htm.)Promotion and Information SharingOne of the problems confronting those who wish to engagegirls and women in the use of ICTs for education is the lackof awareness of the potential of ICTs. This problem is wellillustrated in the telecentre project in Mozambique wherewomen were interested in the idea of using ICTs, but mainlyused the telecentre services to meet their immediate andobvious needs such as telephone use. “Demonstration,training and practice is needed before the benefits of ICTsare recognised, but women are not prepared to give the timeor spend the money until benefits are proven.” 70One strategy is to use the media as a transmission vehicleto raise awareness and knowledge about how ICT canempower women. 71 The Information Village project inPondicherry has been providing content to All-India Radio(AIR) including a series called Silicon Valley in whichpeople are interviewed who benefit from the knowledgecentres. 72 In Sri Lanka the goal is to produce live radioprogrammes on the subject of the Internet and use theMobile Computer Laboratory of CINTECH to encouragewomen to increase their use of new technologies. 73SchoolNet Africa carried out a Global Campaign forEducation using celebrities to teach on gender issues forone hour. The programme reached 50 countries at the sametime and involved 1.8 million learners worldwide. They36

Gender-based Issues and Trends in ICT Applicationsin Education in Asia and the PacificRegional Perspectivesalso use media campaigns to create awareness and increasegender sensitivity among educators. 74Another promotional technique is the use of awards, bothto give an increased profile to the sector and to share bestpractices. SchoolNet Africa provides an award for genderresponsiveness. Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) andAPC WNSP organise the Gender and ICT Awards torecognise gender and ICT initiatives globally and providefurther impetus for others to mainstream gender in the fieldof ICT for women’s empowerment. Best practices andlessons learned will be showcased on a special websiteduring the four-year run of the awards.Using Blended MediaThe use of blended media is a consistent theme in the useof ICTs for educating girls and women. The objective is touse a variety of technological tools within an educationalexperience, selecting what works best to meet the needs ofthe learner and the pedagogical objectives.Research on the ODL activities of the University ofthe South Pacific concluded that a combination ofdelivery methods would provide the best educationalexperience for their female students. Womenpreferred a mixed mode of learning, which includedface-to-face and online delivery and communication.For people in rural areas, print packages were stillthe best mode for learning, and radio provided aviable alternative. However, in the future, it isanticipated that telecentres may provide isolatedpopulations with access to ICTs. 75spectrum and e-mail connectivity through dial-uptelephone lines. A fortnightly Tamil newsletter, OurVillage News, is also part of the project. Multimediaand loud speakers are used to reach out to illiterateclients. “Currently we are testing the possibility ofusing World Space radio to network the rural poorof the world.” 78ConclusionThere is a legitimate fear that the advance in ICTdevelopment and use may increase the “structured illiteracy”of those who do not have access, and may reduce the statusof women as bearers of “indigenous knowledge.” 79 Howeverit is equally possible for ICTs to give a voice to the voicelessand empower women to use their knowledge for globalbenefit.The strategies discussed in are pointing the way forward.The non-formal sector in particular is learning theimportance of engendering programmes and projects atevery stage and ensuring that gender-specific policies areenacted at all levels. Access to equipment is critical, buttrue access requires addressing and overcoming the barriersof poverty, geography, time famine and socio-culturalconstraints. Gender-sensitive training is essential and worksbest if it is applied, practical and provided in all-femalesessions. And the role of computer-savy women as teachers,mentors and role models cannot be overestimated. Capacitybuildingin women’s institutions and organisations is a veryeffective method for expanding multifold the benefits ofICT training programmes.Women’s Aid Organization (WAO) uses a websiteto provide information to survivors of violenceagainst women and their support networks. Theyhave concluded that although there have been majorsuccesses, the medium remains largely inaccessibleto most Malaysian women due to a lack ofinfrastructure and skills, as well as a lack of culturethat encourages women to use the technology to theiradvantage. WAO has found that public educationthrough the radio and other forms of traditional mediais more effective in reaching out to the public,especially to their clients. They have partnered withseveral national radio stations to produce regularprogrammes on women’s issues, including some insoap opera format. 76 HAWKNet has decided thatsince radio and TV are the most commonly usedforms of ICT in Africa, they will be promoting theintegration of radio and television with the Internet. 77The Information Village project in Pondicherry hasemphasised the use of multiple media. Knowledgecentres in 10 villages are connected by a hybrid wiredand wireless network consisting of PCs, telephones,VHF duplex radio devices, as well as spreadThe mandatory ingredient is relevancy. Women and girlsneed to understand the ways in which ICTs can benefit themand their community, and improve their world. They needto see how ICTs can help them do their work better or faster,keep themselves and their family fed, healthy and safe, andexpand their horizons. Organisations that already have avalid and respected role with women and girls need to takethe lead in ICT implementation, training and capacitybuilding.Organisations that are custodians of knowledgethat is critical to women’s lives, whether it be informationabout health, agriculture, business development or domesticviolence, need to use ICTs in gender-appropriate ways tomaximise the impact of their own programmes. We havelearned a great deal about what needs to be done. We nowneed the collective will to apply these lessons learned.NOTES1 Lyndsay Green and Lawry Trevor-Deutsch, Women and ICTs forOpen and Distance Learning: Some Experiences and Strategiesfrom the Commonwealth (Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning,2002). Hilton cites the most important factors as geography,poverty, culture and health in Eliza Hilton, “KnowledgeBank paper2 – Girl Issues”(2002), http://imfundo.digitalbrain.com/imfundo/web/learn/kb2/?verb=view..37

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education2 Mildred M. Wakumelo Nkolola, “Interactive Radio Instruction inZambia,” presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender: OptimizingOpportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August 2003.3 Edith Mhehe, “Overcoming Gender Barriers When Using ICTs forFormal and Non-Formal Education,” presentation at the Forum onICTs & Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23August 2003. Some of the benefits Dr. Mhehe envisions for womenstudents: “They could more easily communicate with the worldaround them and open up their minds to the world beyond theirhome base and outside their culturally defined roles. They coulddiscuss issues with both male and female peers and tutors anywherein the country without having to travel or meet physically. Theycould spend less time, money and effort searching for library basedstudy material, particularly important since their lives are alreadyoverloaded. They would be less isolated which is a significantdropout factor. They could assist their children and others in thecommunity to learn how to use ICTs.”4 See note 1 above.5 Subbiah Aruchalam, “Reaching the Unreached”, How Can We UseICTs to Empower the Rural Poor in the Developing World ThroughEnhanced Access to Relevant Information? presentation at theForum on ICTs & Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, KualaLumpur, 20–23 August, 2003.6 See note 1 above. A sample quote from a female student: “We areno longer dependent on boys. We feel capable of solving ourproblems with great autonomy...that is powerful. It makes us veryproud.”7 Michael Olsson, “Institutionalizing Radio Science in Papua NewGuinea: A Response to Teacher Demand for Interactive RadioInstruction,” Learntech Case Study Series 2 (1994).8 For an online version of the CD-ROM entitled Rural Women inAfrica: Ideas for Earning Money go to www.iwtc.org/files/!start.html. See Green and Trevor-Deutsch, note 1 above.9 Namrata Bali Chandramohan, “SEWA Experiences on ICT,”presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender: OptimizingOpportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August, 2003.10 Kimberly Dawn Blum, “Gender Differences in AsynchronousLearning in Higher Education: Learning Styles, ParticipationBarriers and Communication Patterns,” JALN 3 (1999).11 Eighty per cent of the women students of the University of theSouth Pacific (USP) indicated a lack of computer literacy andappropriate training to be a barrier to their use of ICTs for ODL. ABangladesh survey of women professionals found that 60 per centhad no exposure at all to computers, and the computer knowledgeof the remaining 40 per cent was limited to word processing. SeeGreen and Trevor-Deutsch, note 1 above.12 Hilton, cited in note 1 above, notes the importance of “hands-on”experience, and that boys often dominate classroom interactionaround ICTs and act as “experts” for the teacher, therebyreinforcing a gender stereotype.13 The importance of the role women teachers can play in balancinggender disparities is acknowledged in government educationpolicies in some regions. For example, the Ministry of Education inZambia has committed itself to ensuring that every school employssome female teachers to provide appropriate role models for girls.See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.14 Seema Suri, “Attitudinal Barriers Amongst Teachers in DistanceTeaching Institutions of India,” presentation at the Forum on ICTs& Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August2003.15 Dato’ Zawiyah Baba, “Women on the Web: An Evaluative Surveyof Websites on Women with Special Reference to MalaysianWebsites,” presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender:Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August 2003.There are more than 50 Malaysian websites concerning womencovering the following topics: women and family, violence againstwomen, women in business, women professional, religion, genderequality and politics.16 See note 5 above.17 Constantine Obuya, “Bringing African Women’s Voices ‘On-line,”presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender: OptimizingOpportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August, 2003.18 Angela Nakafeero, “Experience of Women of Uganda Network(WOUGNET)” presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender:Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August, 2003.19 Yumie Nishimori, “Japanese Efforts for Disadvantaged Women andWomen in Rural Areas,” presentation at the Forum on ICTs &Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August,2003.20 Kio Chung Kim, Leelangi Wansundera, and YongJa Kim, “ICTrelated Human Capital & Women’s Informatization of AsianCountries: China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Sri Lanka,”presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender: OptimizingOpportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August, 2003.21 See note 20 above.22 See note 20 above.23 See Hilton in note 1 above.24 Gan Siowk Lee and Rinalia Abdul Rahim, “Barriers to Informationand Communication Technologies Encountered by Women:Country Presentations – Malaysia” (Vancouver: Commonwealth ofLearning, 1998).25 For example, see UNDP’s Guidance Note on GenderMainstreaming at www.sdnp.undp.org/gender/policies/guidance.html.26 For example, Grameen Telecom’s Village Phone programme inRural Bangladesh found that the concept of “universal access” isnot gender neutral. The gender of the Village Phone operator andthe physical placement of the phone can either inhibit or improvewomen’s access to phones. A woman’s home provides a space thatis acceptable for other village women to access. See Green andTrevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.27 Sara Kyofuna, “It is HOT for African Girls,” presentation at theForum on ICTs & Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, KualaLumpur, 20–23 August, 2003.28 Andrea Rugh, “Lessons Learned From the USAID Girls’ EducationActivity in Guatemala, Morocco, and Peru,” (American Institute forResearch, 2002). The Girls’ Education Activity project ran from1996 to 2001 with the goal of improving the overall schoolparticipation rates of girls in primary school in Guatemala,Morocco, and Peru. One of the lessons learned was the importanceof supporting a group or individuals within (instead of outside)local institutional structures to pursue the goals of girls’ education.29 Examples include the research project on the ICT status of sixAsian countries, WENT and GEM.30 For an example of guidelines, see “Gender Guidelines for ICT andEducation Policy Making and Planning” in the report Gender Issuesin the Use of Computers in Education in Africa by HelenDerbyshire, January 2003. http://imfundo.digitalbrain.com/imfundo/web/learn/genderissues/31 See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.32 Uma Coomaraswamy, “Barriers to Information and CommunicationTechnologies Encountered by Women: Country Presentations – SriLanka,” (Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning, 1998).33 See note 5 above.34 Ashabunnaher Beauty, “Bangladesh Country Report,” presentationto Asia Pacific Latin America Government Women’s ICT Training(APLAW-IT), Seoul, Republic of Korea, July 2003.35 Phon Puthavika and Prak Sophear, “Royal Kingdom of CambodiaCountry Report,” presentation to Asia Pacific Latin AmericaGovernment Women’s ICT Training (APLAW-IT), Seoul, Republicof Korea, July 2003.36 See note 28 above. Another lesson learned from the USAID Girls’Education Activity is that effecting changes in the schoolparticipation of girls requires attention both to the national policylevel and to the organisations that can affect the local communitylevel where impacts occur. One without the other dilutes theimpact.37 The current policy groups women with “the disadvantaged, thedisabled, under-represented minorities, and those in rural andremote communities.” They recommend that future policy givewomen a separate category of their own. See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.38 See note 20 above.38

Gender-based Issues and Trends in ICT Applicationsin Education in Asia and the PacificRegional Perspectives39 Research carried out on the Information Village project inPondicherry found that offering computer training for women andchildren in the knowledge centre at the local village meant thatmore women and children were able to avail themselves of thetraining. Local access ensures the safety of the learners because itwas not necessary to travel to distant towns, as well as saving timeand money. See note 5 above.40 See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.41 See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.42 See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.43 Nasaruddin Che Abu, “Empowerment Through CommunityDevelopment,” presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender:Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August 2003.44 See note 34 above.45 Di Das, “Computers in Homes in New Zealand: Addressing genderand culture issues through ICT,” presentation at the Forum on ICTs& Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August2003. Cultural prohibitions make it unacceptable to attend nightclasses and women are caring for children during the day, but it isacceptable to visit their children’s school for evening meetings. Theschools run videos in the library to keep the children occupied.46 Esther Batiri Williams, “Crossing Borders: Women and Informationand Communications Technologies in Open and Distance Learningin the South Pacific,” (Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning,2001).47 For a discussion of the shortcoming of mainstream trainingmethods for women, see Gender & information & communicationtechnology: Towards an analytical framework.www.apcwomen.org/work/research/analytical-framework.html. SeeGreen and Trevor-Deutsch (note 1 above) for more suggestionsabout gender-sensitive training for ICTs for ODL.48 One of the recommendations from the Kuala Lumpur DeclarationAugust 2003 is to “introduce ICT into the school curriculum at theearliest possible opportunity, ensuring equal access to all.” Forumon ICTs & Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August 2003.49 Professor Uma Coomaraswamy of the Open University of SriLanka also recommends “girl-friendly” computer labs and findsthat “when interacting with technology, girls tend to work better inpairs or small groups.” In addition, she has found that the visibilityof women graduates has been one of the most positive impacts onwomen. See note 32 above.50 See note 14 above.51 Nancy Taggart and Chloe O’Gara, “Training Women for Leadershipand Success in I.T,” TechKnowLogia, September/October (2000).www.TechKnowLogia.org.52 The workshop was organised by Global Knowledge Partnership(GKP), OneWorld South Asia and Panos South Asia (Nepal). Therewere 12 participants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.Another workshop targeted at participants from India, Sri Lankaand Maldives will be held in November 2003 in Bangalore.www.globalknowledge.org/gkps_portal/index.cfm?menuid=338.53 Polly Gaster, “Promoting ICT Use by Women: Some Experiencesfrom Two Districts of Mozambique,” presentation at the Forum onICTs & Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23August 2003.54 M.J. Asmita, “Marathmoli, Maharashtra Women’s Net,”presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender: OptimizingOpportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August, 2003.55 The recommendation is made to train women leaders because theyare catalysts and agents of change. They may include local leaders,extension workers, community development workers, NGOs, andmedia practitioners. See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.56 WENT Africa 2003 was held in Cape Town, South Africa in Marchand was directly modelled on the Asian women’s training,providing an excellent example of South-South collaboration.57 Kio Chung Kim, “ICT For Women: Opportunities and Challenges,”presentation on behalf of Dr. Kyungsook Lee at the Forum on ICTs& Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August2003.58 Jaclyn Kee, “Overcoming Gender Barriers When Using ICTs forNon-Formal Education,” presentation at the Forum on ICTs &Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August2003.59 Natasha Primo, “Overcoming Gender Barriers When Using ICTsfor Non-Formal Education – The Women’s Net Experience,”presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender: OptimizingOpportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August 2003.60 Online Learning Center (OLC) for Women at www.apolc.org hascreated an online community for ICT Trainers. See note 20 above.61 See note 59 above.62 See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.63 See note 5 above.64 See note 54 above.65 See note 20 above.66 Revathi Balakrishnan, “Rural Women’s Equal Participation inInformation Society,” presentation at the Forum on ICTs & Gender:Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 August 2003.67 See note 20 above.68 See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.69 See note 32 above.70 See note 53 above. HAWKNet also reports that one of their majorchallenges is lack of awareness of the benefits that come with ICTs.See note 17 above.71 Another lesson learned from the USAID Girls’ Education Activityis that the media need to be full partners to ensure extensivecoverage. See note 28 above.72 See note 5 above.73 See note 32 above.74 See note 27 above.75 See Green and Trevor-Deutsch in note 1 above.76 See note 58 above.77 See note 17 above.78 See note 5 above.79 For example, see Hilton referenced in note 1 above.39

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education40

KazakhstanUzbekistanKyrgyzstanTurkmenistanTajikistanAfghanistanIslamic Republic of IranPakistanmap of Central and South West Asia

Central and South West AsiaAfghanistan • Islamic Republic of Iran • Kazakhstan • Kyrgyzstan • Pakistan • Tajikistan • Turkmenistan • Uzbekistan

AfghanistanICT USE IN EDUCATIONMr Hilary Perraton, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONTwo decades of war have left Afghanistan battered and impoverished,facing major problems of reconstruction. Among these is the scaleof the country’s educational needs where even to restore theeducation service to the state it was a decade ago would leave itmiserably inadequate. Planning is also hampered by the shortageof information. Basic data are scarce; there are, for example, norecent figures for primary and secondary enrolment ratios, but 10years ago Afghanistan’s figures were among the lowest in the world.Figures are also not available for telephone, Internet and PC users.(Table 1 illustrates how limited are the data on Afghanistan usuallyavailable from international sources.)

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTable 1: Basic data on AfghanistanIndicatorDateValuePopulation[millions]199925. 9GNP per capita [USD]1999thought to be low income, $755 or belowArea[thousands km 2] 1999652Grossenrollment primary education ratio1990-9127. 0Grossenrollment secondary education ratio 1990-18. 9S ource: World Bank; EFA Global monitoring report.National policies, strategiesand programmesAfghanistan’s recent history means that there has been aflurry of policy-making, much of it co-ordinated andpossibly dominated by external agencies with key planningdocuments being developed outside the country. At this pointit is impossible to forecast how far the Afghan governmentwill have the capacity to implement plans that are beingdeveloped or how far the international community will fundeither the capital or the recurrent expenditure needed tomake them a reality.Early steps towards an Afghan education policy were takenat a meeting of Afghan educators in Peshawar in 2001 withsupport from UNICEF in “An Afghan Perspective onEducation.” 1 It set out a series of goals including thedevelopment of a national vision for education, thebroadening of educational opportunities for all children,especially for girls, recognition of the importance of teachersand the improvement of educational policy-making andmanagement.Thinking of this kind fed into the substantial “AfghanistanComprehensive Needs Assessment in Education” 2developed in 2002 by a team of agencies. It estimatedprimary gross enrolment ratios of 38 per cent for boys andthree per cent for girls, and secondary enrolment betweenfive per cent and 11 per cent. It noted that there were 3.5million refugees outside Afghanistan and one millioninternally displaced people within the country. Some 80 percent of school buildings had been destroyed in the war andAfghanistan needed an extra 43,500 teachers and 13,851schools. The refurbishment and expansion of schools,measures to encourage children back to school and theexpansion of teacher training were seen as priorities. TheAssessment makes little reference to information andcommunication technologies (ICTs) beyond proposals touse radio in a back-to-school campaign and in a childdevelopment communication strategy for preschoolchildren.Policies have been developed for telecommunications.Indeed policy may be ahead of practicality as “Afghanistanhas a barely functioning, very limited telecommunicationssector” with little capacity outside the main towns of Kabul,Herat, Mazar and Kandehar. 3 With support from the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP), a seminar inKuala Lumpur in 2002 developed an ICT policy which drewon existing national telecommunications strategy andtelecommunications strategy issued by the governmentearlier in the same year. The seminar identified threeobjectives to be pursued: the development of ICT networksthat would be accessible and affordable to all Afghans,policies for universal access to information and knowledgeand improved government use of ICTs. It recognised thatattainment of these goals was far off and, among otherstrategies, proposed arrangements for a national ICT counciland arrangements to strengthen training in informationtechnology. Among the groups it identified as priorities wereteachers. It also recommended that “government emphasison IT education in primary and secondary schools shouldbe elaborated.” 4The national policy documents do not discuss theireducational implications in detail. They assume that theprivate sector will play a major role in the expansion oftelecommunications, but require that as a condition of theirlicence telecommunications operators should contribute to“the achievement of national universal access objectives” 5while the regulatory commission will identify targets foruniversal access and encourage the development ofmultipurpose community telecentres. 6Current level of ICT useAfghanistan has an established educational radio andtelevision service, although these are now reduced to twohours and one hour 10 minutes per week respectively. Thegovernment of Italy, with UNESCO, has funded a two-yearprogramme to restore the former educational televisionheadquarters in Kabul and provide new studio equipment(see www.learningchannel.org/article/archive/1740).44

AfghanistanCentral and South West AsiaA seminar, involving both national and internationalparticipants and organised by the Ministry of Informationand Culture, agreed in September 2002 both that Radio-Television Afghanistan should be transformed into a publicservice broadcaster and that arrangements should be put inplace to license independent broadcasters (www.unamaafg.org/docs/media/declaration2.htm).These decisions,coupled with the existing experience of educationalbroadcasting, mean that Radio-Television Afghanistan mayhave a significant role to play in education during andfollowing reconstruction. The Afghan delegation reportedto a UNESCO meeting in Bangkok in 2003 that its prioritiesin educational radio and television were to provide teachertraining programmes for primary school teachers by radio,with a half-hour programme every day together with arepeat, and to produce a daily half-hour basic literacy courseby television. It is not clear from the report how far theseproposals fit with Ministry of Education priorities or howthey might relate to the work of the British BroadcastingCorporation (BBC). The same report also shows that 1,450radio receivers are needed for each primary school – a figurethat suggests there are no working radios in school atpresent.External players are also important in relation tobroadcasting. During the Taliban period, the BBC WorldService launched an educational radio soap opera whichstill continues and attracts large audiences (see below). Inhigher education, international operators including PurdueUniversity in the United States, the Technical Universityof Berlin and the software company CISCO have announcedplans to expand work in computer-based systems in cooperationwith Afghan higher-education partners. TheCISCO Networking Academy – apparently funded by theEuropean Commission and with UNDP support – isdesigned to teach computer skills to civil servants, civilsociety organisations and the general public. 7Computer-based work in classrooms is thought to beminimal. There is, however, interest by the internationalagencies in what might be needed if computers began to beused for education in any significant way. UNDP, forexample, with funds from the European Union, has carriedout a review of the problems of displaying text in Pashtoand Dari on a computer screen, while noting that less thanthree per cent of the population of Kabul know how to usea computer, with lower figures from other parts of thecountry. 8Major initiatives“New Home, New Life”The BBC World Service launched a Pashto service forAfghanistan at the time of the Soviet invasion in 1981. Sincethen it has developed a series of educational broadcastingactivities, calling on the skills of the Afghan refugeepopulation, which are now run through a separate agency,the BBC Afghan Education Projects (BBC-AEP). Aneducational radio soap opera, “New Home, New Life”(NHNL) was launched in 1994 during the Taliban regime.It continues today and has now been repatriated fromPeshawar to Afghanistan.NHNL was designed to meet educational needs of bothrefugees and those in Afghanistan. It drew on theunderstanding of the BBC-AEP Afghan staff and on thespecialist knowledge of donor agencies in order to developeducational messages across a range of topics, includingrepatriation, reintegration of returnees, mines awareness,health, hygiene and sanitation, and conflict resolution. Thesemessages were incorporated into a storyline about the livesof villagers in three fictional villages in Afghanistan.The soap opera format has proved powerful in allowing thesame theme to be repeated in different contexts withoutboring the audience. People identify with the characters andthe storylines, so much so that, for example, BBC-AEP hasreceived many messages from listeners offering to find abride for the character Nazir, the night watchman. And whenlisteners gossip about NHNL, they also repeat and reinforcethe educational messages in the stories.NHNL very quickly gained a mass following, mainlybecause it provided entertainment as well as informationand advice. As the crisis in the country deepened, the showbecame the only source of entertainment for many Afghans– and the only thing that Afghans inside and outsideAfghanistan had in common. And it was successful: a surveyof 60,000 households undertaken in 1997 found that adramatic fall in the number of mine accidents after 1994was due to the impact of mines awareness messages in thesoap opera. Around 50 per cent of people interviewedlistened daily to the programme. The number of listenershas now risen since 1997, with the overwhelming majorityof the Afghan population (including refugees inneighbouring countries) listening in one or both languages.The success of the soap opera owes much to its use of needsanalysis, based on techniques of participatory ruralappraisal, which keeps it close to the everyday problems ofits listeners’ lives. Needs analysis also reveals the kinds ofmisinformation and dangerous practices, which can becountered through the radio programmes.Unlike many soap operas in the world, NHNL began toreflect the changing world situation in its output within twoweeks of the events of 11 September 2001. As politicalevents developed, it quickly became clear that there was ahuge humanitarian crisis in the making in Afghanistan, andthat the audience’s need for help and advice from a trustedsource was greater than ever before.The programme staff in Peshawar could draw on theirpersonal experiences to anticipate the mass population45

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationmovements, which began even before the Americanbombing campaign in Afghanistan. They were, therefore,well placed to develop practical messages to support andhelp their audience, such as the importance of taking alldocuments with them if they fled their homes, the need tokeep families together, mines awareness for people movinginto foreign terrain, and conservation of food and watersupplies. Most importantly AEP also encouraged debateabout whether leaving homes and land could be moredangerous than staying behind.All of these messages began to be incorporated into thesoap opera by the beginning of October. Scenes in theprogramme involved families who arrived in both villagesof NHNL, having fled their homes in panic from fear ofbombing. These scenes became the vehicle for putting overthe kind of practical humanitarian advice needed by Afghanaudiences. Initial features developed in response to thesecontacts included mental health issues, post-traumatic shocksyndrome (especially in children), practical informationabout mines and the need to behave safely, what is neededin an emergency kit, how to build a latrine and sanitationadvice.The overthrow of the Taliban regime made it possible forBBC-AEP to be repatriated to Kabul in October 2002. Withits huge following, proven audience impact, use ofaccessible language and experience of working very closelywith its audiences, NHNL remains as a powerful tool forthe grassroots reconstruction of Afghanistan.The original impetus for the soap opera was to help withrepatriation of refugees, but the political situation inAfghanistan during the 1990s meant that large-scalerepatriation never really got underway. Amongst the kindsof things which it is ideally placed to handle are thereintegration of returning communities, conflict resolution,income generation, and promoting learning and educationamong adults and children.The impact of returning refugees on their communities ishuge. There are strains on sanitation, water supplies, thesupply of necessary commodities and the size of localmarkets. The radio team is working on programmes thatrespond to the changed political situation in Afghanistanincluding a new series on the process of developing thecountry’s new constitution to help ordinary people makeinformed choices and air their views and concerns aboutthe development of good government. It will also continueto cover critical areas such as mines awareness, healtheducation, vaccination campaigns, veterinary issues andfarming advice, as it has always done.REACHeducational programmes for Afghan children (REACH –Radio Education for Afghan Children). The programmesare designed to encourage active learning in the localenvironment by suggesting simple activities that childrencan carry out without help from adults.The experience gained by BBC-AEP in running its REACHprogramme for school-age children provides the basis onwhich the team can plan further educational broadcasts bothto support schools and for the large numbers of childrenoutside formal education. The team has identified fouraudiences as priorities: teachers, medical personnel, farmersand women. They also have a role in capacity-building inradio techniques where they have unparalleled experiencein successfully training teams of Afghan broadcasters to avery high standard, including training people with noprevious broadcasting or journalistic experience. 9Constraints on ICT useThe constraints on ICT use are obvious and severe: a poor,mountainous country with a low density of population anda limited, partly destroyed, communications infrastructure.Along with these practical constraints are educational andlinguistic ones. Afghanistan is short of schools and itsworkforce has a limited background education. If it isproposed to make materials available in the two mostcommon mother tongues, then they will need to bedeveloped or translated, once problems of presenting thescript on a screen have been overcome.AnalysisAfghanistan presents in a severe form the questions facingany of the least-developed countries in implementing apolicy for the use of communications to support educationand training. It will need to decide at what level in theeducation and training system any teaching about thetechnologies themselves should take place. Then, insofaras computer technologies are concerned, it will have todevelop a linguistic policy and the emphasis to be placedon local versus international languages.In broadcasting, experience elsewhere has shown howpowerful radio can be in both formal and non-formaleducation. Given the shortage of trained teachers, radio andprint-based distance education may be of particular valuefor teacher training in Afghanistan; its effectiveness for thispurpose has been widely demonstrated elsewhere. Therespect in which the BBC’s work is held is a major asset onwhich to build.When the Taliban came into power in 1996, the prohibitededucation for girls and closed down many boys’ schools aswell. The BBC responded by planning freestanding radio46

AfghanistanCentral and South West AsiaNOTES1 “An Afghan Perspective on Education: Building on the past for thefuture” (personal communication, 2001).2 “Afghanistan Comprehensive Needs Assessment in Education:Draft report” ( 2002), www.adb.org/Afghanistan/can_educn.pdf.3 “National Telecommunications Policy Paper” (AfghanistanMinistry of Communications, n.d.), www.af-com-ministry.org/policy.asp.4 “Information and Communications Technology Policy forAfghanistan: Final Report,” developed at ICT Policy Developmentand Implementation seminar for Afghanistan, Kuala Lumpur, 2002,www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/act/ict_enabling/main.htm.5 See note 3 above.6 See note 3 above.7 See “ICT Announcement” on UNESCO-Bangkok website (16 April2003), www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/board/news_list.php8 See “ICT Announcement” on UNESCO-Bangkok website (11 June2003), www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/board/news_list.php9 Shirazuddin Siddiqi, “The role of the BBC in the reconstruction ofAfghanistan” (unpublished paper, 2003). This section is closelybased on Siddiqi47

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education48

Central Asia:Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UzbekistanICT USE IN EDUCATIONMr Hilary Perraton, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONThe five central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan share a common historyand face similar problems in developing and reforming theireducational systems. All were formerly within the Soviet Union,attained their independence suddenly in 1991 as a result of thebreakup of the Union and are now members of the Commonwealthof Independent States (CIS). Despite many differences between them,it is convenient to look at them as a group. Basic data are set out inTable 1.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTable 1: Basic data on on the five republicsKazakhstanKyrgyzstanTajikistanTurkmenistanUzbekistanPopulation (millions)2002GNI per capita (USD)2001Area (thousandskm2)Population density:people per km2Net enrolment ratio -primary education2000Gross enrolment ratio–primary education1999-2000Gross enrolment ratio–secondaryeducation1999– 2000Phone subscriber per100 people 200214.95.06.45.824. 4$ 1,350$ 280$ 180$ 950$5502,7171991434884476 2544105988.782.5102.6n/a99. 696.2101.6104.6n/a87.083.076.0n/a15.78.83.98.26. 9Internethosts 2002 16,5625,9303022,020213Internet users per10,000 people 2002PCs per 100 people2002932985 17109n/a1.3n/aS ource: World Bank; EFA Global monitoring report; ITU statistics; ADB statistics.n/an/ an/ an/ aThese are landlocked countries, dominated by deserts andmountains, and with low densities of population.Economically, the five countries were part of the singleSoviet system so that economic planning and decisionmakingwas based on their role within that system. Theresulting economic policy might just be defended within acommand economy of a colossal state like the Soviet Union,but it was quite unfit to the needs of newly emerging states.Just one illustration is the over-emphasis placed on cottoncultivation, which had a severe environmental impact. Therewere some bizarre results of the state economy as well:Kazakhstan, for example, was left with a cosmodrome fromthe heyday of the Soviet space programme.The development of new economic policies, withimplications for education, was complicated by tensionswithin the region, reaching the level of civil war inTajikistan, and by the high levels of emigration, especiallyof middle-class, well-educated Russians, the so-called piedsrouges.In working through the period of post-Soviet transition, allfive countries have had to respond to similar pressures. Asone Russian commentator argues:The all-union “mechanism” was fundamentally differentfrom a self-regulated market economic system, which inthis context may be described as an “organism.” Thenaively criminal attempt to transform the “mechanism”into an “organism” in one stroke by the universal totalimplantation of a totally new economic system made thedestruction of the [former Soviet] united spaceunavoidable, resulting in economic catastrophe in the CIScountries. The most serious effects were felt not in Russiabut in the weaker parts of the “mechanism,” the CentralAsian states. 1Independence thus meant that the new countries had toestablish new economic structures and look for neweconomic links and trading partners, while at the same timeseeking to establish their national identity and culture.Economics, culture, history and religion all had potentialroles to play in transformation. For practical reasons, CentralAsia soon began again to look to Russia; for reasons ofhistory, language and culture countries they looked to Iranand Turkey; for religious reasons they looked to the richIslamic states to the south; and as part of the move awayfrom communism they looked to the West. Uzbekistan, forexample, established new links with Turkey, Vietnam, India,France and the United States and succeeded in establishing50

Central AsiaCentral and South West Asiajoint economic projects with China and, in principle, withPakistan. Perhaps as significant, after earlier disputes, itre-established economic links with Russia. 2This reaching out may have begun a process of economicchange to match the political transformation, but it has hadlimited short-term success. The CIS has proved a weakorganisation and does not have the capacity to promotemajor economic change or co-operation. “The cousins ofthe Central Asian people in Turkey and Iran proved too weakeconomically to serve as locomotives of development, thebrethren-in-faith in the rich Arab countries were in no hurryto share their wealth with remote northern relatives, andthe West and the Asian tigers preferred to invest only inlucrative enterprises such as mining, metallurgy,telecommunications and car assembly plants.” 3One part of the solution to the region’s economic problemsmay lie in co-operation within the region, leaving politicianswith the demanding task of promoting at one and the sametime regional co-operation and a new national identity. Butthere are no simple answers to questions about the culture,the politics and the economics which the education systemshould serve, or about the framework within whicheducational decisions are to be taken. Decisions aboutlanguage, for example, are fundamental to education andreflect the complexities of the region. Kazakh, as oneillustration, was originally written in Arabic script whichwas replaced by a modified form of the Roman alphabet in1930, only to switch to Cyrillic 10 years later. Kazakhstanis reported to have switched again, back to the Latinalphabet, but has applied this policy unevenly. “Thedifficulties experienced in establishing new alphabets maybe seen as metaphors for the obstacles that pave the wayfor Central Asia as it attempts to define its new position,resolutely modern and freed from the constraints of the oldRussian tutelage.” 4It is not surprising that poverty dominates. The Economistreports how the whole region got poorer after the collapse ofthe Soviet Union. More than 80 per cent of the populationfall below the official poverty line in Tajikistan and 17 percent live on less than US$ 1 a day. The proportion of poorpeople in Kyrgyzstan hovers around 50 per cent. InKazakhstan as a whole, nearly 25 per cent of the populationare below the poverty line, while on the shores of the CaspianSea the figure rises to 95 per cent. 5Despite all that they have in common, the differences betweenthe countries are striking. Kazakhstan, the richest country inthe region, is huge, the fourth-largest country within Eurasia,exceeded in area only by Russia, China and India. Much ofit is semi-arid steppe but with important industrial areas inthe northeast, where industry was most easily integrated withthe rest of the Soviet Union. It has reserves of oil and naturalgas, which made up over a quarter of GDP in 2001.Kazakhstan is described as multi-ethnic, with Kazakhsforming a plurality but not a majority of the population.Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are smaller and poorermountainous countries with limited mineral resources.Agriculture is still a dominant feature of the economy inKyrgyzstan while Tajikistan was the least industrialised ofthe Soviet republics. Both countries export labour to Russiaand Kazakhstan. They have high levels of debt anddependence on foreign aid. Tajikistan is still recovering fromits civil war with a reported 100,000 dead and 700,000homeless.Turkmenistan is dominated by desert, with a smallpopulation and a low density of population. Its oil and gasreserves make it relatively wealthy within the region. LikeKazakhstan it has a relatively high rate of urbanisation. InUzbekistan, in contrast, the primary sector is dominated bythe rural population and only 38 per cent of the populationis urbanised. It is self-sufficient in natural gas, has somemineral reserves and a significant industrial sector.The five countries’ Soviet inheritance means that all have awell-established educational system with high levels ofliteracy and high enrolment ratios at all levels. Central Asianeducation benefited both from an ideological commitmentto raise the standard of education and from the relativelyhigh proportion of GNP spent on education in the Sovietperiod.Upon independence, the countries responded in a similarway in restructuring education. All of them reduced thelength of compulsory education from 11 to nine years,allowed private education, sought to use local languages asthe medium of instruction and began introducing fees,particularly for higher education. All also tried, with varyingsuccess, to decentralise educational decision-making,although in some cases this policy was rapidly reversed. 6The countries now share a similar educational structure with10 years of schooling organised in a 3 + 5 + 2 structurewith a three-year primary cycle, followed by a five-yearjunior-secondary cycle and a two-year upper-secondarycycle, sometimes provided in a number of different typesof school. Uzbekistan is now moving to 12 years ofcompulsory education, with the final three years eitheracademic or professional.The figures show that there have been declines in enrolmentat most levels of education since transition. UNICEFcomments, for example, that the situation in Kyrgyzstan“appears particularly alarming, with significant fallsapparently taking place in enrolment rates at the primarylevel, as well as at lower-secondary level. Taking both levelstogether, the data appear to show that about one in sevenchildren of compulsory age are not enrolled in school inseveral countries in Central Asia.” 7 And a conclusion drawnby International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP)eight years ago still seems to hold true: “Social demand foreducation, which was previously guaranteed by the stateand satisfied at all levels of education except higher, butincluding continuing and non-formal education, can no51

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationlonger be met due to the economic and financial stringencyof the transition period.” 8National policies, strategiesand programmesStrategies can be distinguished at two levels: for the CIS asa whole, of which these states are members, and for the fiveseparate countries. It is useful to examine how far policieshave been adopted for the communications sector generally,and for information and communication technologies (ICTs)within education.On the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the CIS countriesagreed to share information technology resources relevantto research and education developed within the Union oramong the member countries. Agreement was reached in1992 between Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, Belarus,Ukraine, Moldova and the five central Asian republics.However, despite all good intentions, 90 per cent of theformal agreements made by the CIS have not beenimplemented. 9A review undertaken by the UNESCO Institute forInformation Technologies in Education (IITE) providessome data on policies in four of the countries. (Their reviewdid not include Turkmenistan.) Table 2 reproduces their data.The IITE review did not consider the content of thisdocumentation and it is not possible, therefore, to say howfar these policies reflect, and are taken account of within,national policies in relation to ICTs. The picture they give,which is consistent with other information, is of Kazakhstanand Uzbekistan, the richest countries in the group, havinggone further than the others in the development of policy.The general emphasis seems to be on secondary (andprobably senior secondary) education. Development ofcurricula has gone ahead. Only in Uzbekistan is there aparticular reference to the use of the Internet.Alongside national policies there have been individualinitiatives, many of them launched from outside the region,to promote or support the use of ICTs especially in highereducation and for training. In all five countries, for example,an American Internet Access and Training Program (IATP)is aimed at people who have studied in the United Statesand returned home; it also aims to provide training in ICTsto professional groups that include educators. It runs sometraining programmes as well as providing access to theInternet (www.iatp.uz/about.htm).In terms of national policies on broadcasting, the regiongives a consistent picture of radio and television remainingdominated by state broadcasting corporations. With theexceptions of external broadcasters, such as the BBC andVoice of America which both have transmitters inKazakhstan, the radio stations listed in the World Radio TVTable 2: Government documents on ICTs in educationPoliciesup to 2002Policies from 2002K azakhstan • Education Law No. 3904 adopted 7 June 1999.KyrgyzstanTajikistan• The government programme of the President of theRepublic of Kazakhstan, ICT Application inSecondary Education Systems, approved byPresidential order no. 3645 on 22 September 1997.• The government standard of information education(grades 7-11). Curriculum on Informatics (7-11grades).• Curricula, syllabi and a draft of governmenteducational standards for Informatics.• Curriculum approved by Kyrgyzstan’Ministry.s Education• Development and incorporation of new ICT into theeducation system. Computerisation of informationprocesses in education management.U zbekistan • Education Ministry Resolution No. 230 (2 May 2001) .• The Computer and Information TechnologiesProgramme for 2001– 05, aiming to provideextensive access to the Internet.• The government programme for secondaryeducation in the Republic of Kazakhstan (2002-4).• The information integration programme forelementary and secondary vocational institutions inthe Republic of Kazakhstan. Approved by RKgovernment resolution No. 616 on 10 May 2001.• KR Government resolution No. 697 titled Approvalof the Information and Communication TechnologiesDevelopment Programme in the Kyrgyz Republic (8November 2001).• A co-ordinated plan on complex education issues(2001– 10).• Official statement ordering the analysis of ICTefficiency in education, approved by the EducationMinistry and the Academy of Sciences.• Education Ministry Order No. 237 (29 June 2001) tocreate the New Information Technologies Centre.S ource: UNESCO-IITE 2002, Appendix 8.52

Central AsiaCentral and South West AsiaTable 3:ICT school use in Central AsiaKazakhstanKyrgyzstanTajikistanUzbekistanPercentageof schools with computer classrooms100661146Percentage of computers which are IBM or Applecompatible954 4 8Studentsper computer625748100Percentageof schools with Internet access0 0 2 0Source:UNESCO-IITE 2002 diagrams 2,3,4, 7Handbook 2002 appear to be entirely state broadcasters,although this may conceal a measure of privatisation. Thesame picture emerges in relation to television, although inmuch of the region there are also relays from Russia, Turkeyand Iran. Post-Soviet transformation appears to haveproduced only partial shifts away from government control.Internews, an Internet news service funded by USAID,reports that in Kyrgyzstan a widening of ownership ofstations in the 1990s was followed by a narrowing and aconcentration in the hands of those close to government. 10There have, however, been some moves towards usingtelevision for informal education about the values of thenew society. Building on the strengths of Kazakh cinema, aKazakh-British co-production Crossroads (Kavusahi inKazak) has attracted large audiences for programmes thatlook at the problems of working in the new style economy,and successfully fought the competition from Russian andAmerican sitcoms. 11In Uzbekistan plans are underway for a series of radiodramas, the Silk-Road Radio Soap, which will address issuesof health, agriculture and contemporary national issues.(UNESCO, in reporting on it, carefully avoids sayingwhether it will address trickier issues including AIDS andpolitics.) The programmes are apparently made in bothUzbek and Tajik and for use in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan(www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict).The continuing public control of broadcasting givescountries the means, if they have the will and can find thefinances, to use broadcasting for education.Current level of ICTaccess and useThe IITE survey referred to above makes it possible tosummarise the extent to which four countries of the regionare using ICTs in the classroom. Although the title of thesurvey refers to secondary education, the text refers tocomputer use in schools at all three levels. It is, however,possible that the survey respondents treated the IITEquestionnaire inconsistently. With those cautions, the surveygives the picture set out in Table 3.It seems reasonable to assume that Kazakhstan interpretedthe enquiry as referring to one group of its schools (possiblythose with senior secondary classes only) as the logistics ofequipping all its rural schools with computers would beforbidding. The study did not make it possible to distinguishbetween the use of a single computer for managementpurposes, and it is possible that some of the computersrevealed by this survey were used in the office rather than inthe classroom. The survey reports that the majority ofUzbekistan computer classes have programmes forelementary classes and that, where information was supplied,most of the software was developed by domestic specialists.Reflecting the low densities of population and restrictednational telephone systems, the Internet is irrelevant to basiceducation in Central Asia. Indeed, Kyrgyzstan notes thatInternet access has become more difficult than it was sincethe winding down of a Soros Foundation project which wasexploring the potential for the use of the Internet in theregion. 12There may be potential to use a range of technologies for theupdating or retraining of the teaching force. Distanceeducation techniques have been widely used for this purpose,sometimes in countries in transition like Mongolia and SouthAfrica, though more rarely in the former Soviet bloc.Uzbekistan is developing a distance education programmefor secondary teachers within the context of its reform ofsecondary education. The UNESCO Institute for InformationTechnologies in Education is reported to be holding aworkshop on this topic in Tajikistan in October 2003, whichmay shed light on the opportunities and constraints.The picture that emerges is one in which governments,moved perhaps by a quest for post-Soviet modernisation,perhaps by middle-class pressure, perhaps by internationalenthusiasms for ICTs in education, have been compelled toframe policies and to begin bringing computers orinformatics into the curriculum. With the exception ofUzbekistan, and like most of the other CIS states, computersare not expected to be a support for other subjects in thecurriculum. 13 Rather, they seem to have been used forteaching about ICTs. But they are being used on a verymodest scale, probably with cottage-industry software, andoften with obsolete hardware. With all the other pressures53

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationon the educational system this is hardly surprising. Therelative insignificance of ICTs within the context ofeducational transformation is symbolised by the fact thatthe two country papers from Central Asia produced for theInternational Bureau of Education 2001 biennial conferencebarely mentioned the technologies in their analysis of theeducational problems. 14Major initiativesComputers in Schools in KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan’s exploration of the use of computer-basedtechnologies in schools probably reflects experience moregenerally. As already noted, Kyrgyzstan inherited a soundeducational system from the Soviet Union and sees itselfas the leading CIS state in the reform of education. As farback as 1995 it developed a national ICT programme whichincluded an educational element, but this was only partiallyimplemented because of shortage of funds. In 1996 the masscomputerisation of schools began with funding from theAsian Development Bank with some 100 kits, each with12 work stations in a local network being provided toschools. Over the next three years, the number of computersin schools expanded as with donations either by foundationsor by the private sector. Active steps were taken to expandthis process in 2000 with a further 1,450 computers providedwith Ministry of Education and foundation funding. Itseems, however, that expansion was more rapid between1996 and 2000 than in the period 2000–2003. The result ofthis apparently piecemeal development is that in middleand senior secondary schools there is now one computerfor every 240 students, but that ratio worsens to only 1:971if you remove from the equation all the outdated,incompatible Soviet-era computers.Originally, there were attempts to distribute computersevenly throughout the country, but because of donationsand one-off initiatives, distribution has become morerandom and uneven. Only about 21 schools had Internetconnection in April 2003, and the use of the Internet hasdeclined since the end of a Soros Foundation programmethat was exploring the use of the Internet for communicationand development in the region. There are four main reasonsfor the restricted development of Internet use: thetelecommunications infrastructure is limited, ISPs are notavailable in rural areas, costs are high and senior staff inschools are not persuaded of its value.The expansion of computer use in the classroom generallyis constrained by a number of factors. First, there is ashortage of teachers with an appropriate specialty. Nor arethere technical and support services for schools. There isalso a lack of an appropriate qualification structure for theseteachers; a training system was included within the ADBproject but not funded. In fact, in 2002–03, there were only1,345 teachers of informatics in 2,029 schools whichincluded 1,694 middle schools. Meanwhile few teachingmaterials are available in Kyrgyz and available software,for example about programming and algorithms, does notmatch the demand.The Kyrgyz government now does have programmes whichit would like to see developed in 2003-07 but these aredependent on funding. It would like to put 7,000 computersinto schools, but at US$ 500 per computer this would requireUS$ 3.5 million for the computer hardware alone. Accessto the Internet would require considerable recurrentexpenditure, on top of that required for other uses ofcomputers, estimated at US$ 1.2 million per annum if 1,700schools were connected.A project for an educational management informationsystem appears to be making only slow progress. 15 A review,conducted under the auspices of UNDP, sets out prioritiesfor developing the country’s information technology outsidethe schools. In considering human resource development itargues for the need of the systematic education of seniorgovernment officials, improving educational managementsystems and the development of an Internet educationalportal. By implication these moves are needed earlier indeveloping national readiness for the wider use of thetechnologies than school-based programmes. 16Two general conclusions follow from Kyrgyzstan’sexperience and appear to be reflected elsewhere in theregion. First, the use of computers in schools has beenheavily dependent on external funding so that the pace ofchange has in part been a function of aid policies of agencieslike the Soros Foundation and the Asia Development Bank.(This may well be a contrast with the educational use ofolder media such as radio.) Second, some earlydevelopments relied on hardware and software that wereincompatible with the international standards which marketforces have more recently been imposing. Old Sovietcomputers and software to teach programming skills do notfit with demands from learners or employers today.Distance Education in KazakhstanThe government of Kazakhstan, in co-operation with theUNESCO Institute for Information Technologies inEducation, has set up a pilot project of distance educationfor middle schools. The project was launched in 2001 withsix schools in two districts of the country. It is now reportedto involve 68 schools in the western district, 43 schools inthe eastern district and 326 schools in the Pavlodar districtin the more industrialised northeast of the country. Theproject has required the installation of some five to 10computers in each school together with lecture roomsequipped with television. It appears to be designed, at leastin part, for real-time interaction with specialist teachers,although it also looks ahead to tapping resources fromMoscow through the Internet. 1754

Central AsiaCentral and South West AsiaBackwards and Forwards with the Internet inUzbekistanThe UNDP began supporting Internet development inUzbekistan in 1996 and continued to do so for some years,alongside other donors. The Internet was, however, seenby some politicians as a potential threat. This led thegovernment in 1999 to make the state-owned operator ofthe national data communication network the sole operatorof the national network with a monopoly on access to theInternet backbone. Funding agencies, including the SorosFoundation and USAID, withdrew their support. UNDP has,however, continued to work and has work in hand whichincludes training about ICTs for those working in small andmedium enterprises. 18But politics changes priorities and USAID has come backinto Uzbekistan with a set of projects which includes theInternet Access and Training Programme (IATP) referredto above and a “computers for schools” project. This projectis run by an American non-governmental organisation(NGO) IREX (International Research and ExchangesBoard) and has installed an average of 10 personalcomputers in each of about 100 primary and secondaryschools throughout Uzbekistan, with funding from USAIDwhich has a new priority “on education and youth in CentralAsia.” IREX reports that when the computers are fullydeployed, 10,000 students a day will have access to theInternet (www.irex.org/programs/uxc.index.asp). Whiletheir website reports do not discuss the aims of the projectbeyond a general concern with fostering democracy andinternationalising education, the reference to the Internetsuggests that connectivity, probably alongside teaching ofinformatics rather than the use of computers within thecurriculum, is central to the project.Public Education and Informationthrough the Internet in TajikistanDespite the technical constraints, agencies are beginningto use the Internet for public education in Central Asia. InTajikistan, for example, IATP has put on its server a websiteabout tuberculosis, which is a major health problem in thecountry. The site was created by five medical professionalsin Dushanbe and was initially designed to provideinformation to the medical profession (http://irex-tj.org/~dots). IATP report that, “The participants initially createda Russian-language version of the website because Russianis universally understood by doctors in Tajikistan and theEurasian medical community at large. Plans are underwayto translate the website into Tajik, a difficult task given thelack of medical terms in the Tajik language, but an importantone for making the information more accessible to patients.The committed group of participants continues to work onthe project, planning to add information about the treatmentfacilities of various hospitals and links to relevant webresources. As treatment methods advance, so will thewebsite.” (www.irex.org/programs/iatp/news/2003/01003-ca.asp#web).The University of Central AsiaThe university has been established by the Aga KhanFoundation and has its first campus at Khorog in Tajikistan.It plans to open campuses in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.The university’s main purpose is to provide educationrelevant to the needs of mountain people so that the themeof development in high mountain areas is central to its work.Alongside its degree-level work the university has, fromits initial planning, also been interested in the developmentof community education. Taking account of the scatterednature of its audience it is also committed to the use ofappropriate distance education technologies and has beenexploring what these should be. While the university is onlyin its early days, it could become of major significance notonly for the courses it is running but also for its explorationof their methodologies.Soap Opera in Tajikistan and UzbekistanAs noted briefly above, a Silk-Road Radio Soap builds onregional traditions of storytelling to discuss current issuesin a twice-weekly radio drama series, produced andtransmitted in Uzbeki and Tajik. The programmes areexternally funded and have had support from UNFPA,UNESCO, UNODCCP and UNHCR together with theBritish government. Some 200 episodes have beencompleted and a comic-strip version is published inTajikistan and Uzbekistan. Studio and airtime are providedfree by Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.Evaluation reports on the series have not been located, butUNESCO notes that:The themes dealt with in the radio dramas can be groupedin three categories, in accordance with the priority areasof the main funding agencies: family and reproductivehealth, agricultural themes and contemporary nationalissues such as humane and considerate treatment ofdisplaced and underprivileged groups in society, ethnicharmony and tolerance in society and trafficking ofwomen. New themes are constantly surfacing, in the lightof ongoing needs assessment, consultation withstakeholders and audience research. These areincorporated in the radio drama storylines and scripts,through existing and developing characters and scenarios.In this way, the Silk-Road Radio Soap continues to be amedium for effective contemporary education, while alsodrawing attention to current, topical issues(www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/v2/info.asp?id=14355).55

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationConstraints on ICT useThe major constraints on ICT use in these countries followfrom their economics, their geography and their history,discussed briefly above. Assessments of e-readiness makeit clear that the countries face major difficulties which needto be overcome in hardware, software and training in seekingto expand the information technology sector in theeconomy. 19 Constraints on educational use inevitably follow.There are also potential constraints arising from questionsof language and of alphabet. These are not likely to beserious at the higher levels of education, provided Russianor English is used. These remain the dominant languagesof international trade and are apparently widely used in thegovernment and private sector within the region, solanguage may not be a constraint on the use of thetechnologies in training and in relation to employment. Anyproposals to use computer-based ICTs with small childrenor for non-formal education – which might well fall on othergrounds – would need to take this into account. But anymove to the increased use of national and local languages,rather than Russian or English, adds another layer ofproblems to computer-based activities.AnalysisThe development of the use of the technologies in educationneeds to be seen in the context of the process of transitionwhich has dominated Central Asia over the last decade. Thereduction in funding for education, which followed thecollapse of the Soviet Union, has meant that educationalinnovations of many kinds have depended on externalfunding. A partial dependence on Moscow and on the richerparts of the former Union has been replaced by a relianceon the shifting policies of the aid agencies. External fundingis, for example, a dominant theme in each of the illustrativeprojects discussed above. The evidence also suggests that anumber of the agencies have moved away from an earlierinterest in the use of computer-based technologies in school.The Asian Development Bank and the Soros Foundation,for example, have previously funded work in these areasbut are no longer doing so. The Aga Khan Foundation, whichfunded early work on the use of computers in schools, inKenya for example, does not appear to have this as a prioritytoday. With the exception of the Silk-Road radio project,there does not seem to have been external support, ordramatic endogenous interest, in the use of radio despite itstechnical advantages for a region. With GNP per capita ofless than US$ 1000 in four of these countries, the expansionof the use of ICTs in education looks as if it will remaindependent on external support.That support in turn will depend on achieving clarity ofpurpose which does not seem to be present in much of thereported thinking and discussion from the region. Accountsof the use of computers in school, for example, do notspecify why this is seen as desirable. Insofar as one caninfer from the documentation, computers are seen asdesirable in some cases in order to teach informatics, inothers to allow access to the Internet. In contrast, there islittle discussion of their use within the curriculum moregenerally, or within the process of educational reform, orsimply for children to acquire basic skills in word processingor the use of spreadsheets. One consequence is that theshortage of specialist teachers of informatics is seen as amajor constraint on development. A further consequence isthat there seems to have been little informed discussionabout the level in the educational system at which it makessense to invest in the technologies or the extent to whichvocationally oriented education in this area belongs properlyto the publicly funded sector of education, or the publiclyor privately funded training sectors.Generally, Central Asia gives the understandable impressionof being outside the mainstream of thinking about the rolesof the technologies in education and distance education.The CIS republics, including Russia itself, rejected theSoviet Union traditions of distance education, which wereoverly dependent on print but had solid achievements totheir credit and had worked out firm links between educationor training and employment. But, having abandoned thoseapproaches, at least some of the new thinking about distanceeducation, as in the schools project in Kazakhstan, seemsto be based on assumptions about the value of real-time,technology-based teaching at school level and of the use ofmaster teachers in the television or computer classroom – amodel which has been severely criticised and often failedto survive where it has been tried elsewhere. Other plans,including those for higher education in the region, aredominated by discussion about high-technology approachesin contrast to those widely used in, for example, the majorAsian open universities. For poor and remote countrieswhich have abandoned the educational traditions andpractices of over half a century, there is a real danger ofadopting currently fashionable approaches in a hurry.What is needed is hard-headed analysis of the case for andagainst using the technologies in education backed by acritical analysis of successful and unsuccessful experienceelsewhere. The encouraging feature of the literature fromMinistries of Education in these countries is their apparentscepticism about the technologies and their properconcentration on the important jobs of improving andexpanding education.Two gaps: First, there is little here about the use ofcomputers to help in the management of schools or ofeducational systems, and of their significance in anydecentralisation of education. Second, again, radio seems amedium which was seen as powerful in the Soviet period,but which would seem from the literature to be sufferingcomparative neglect today.56

Central AsiaCentral and South West AsiaNOTES1 A.M. Vassiliev, Central Asia: Political and economic challenges inthe post-Soviet era (London: Saqi, 2001), 16.2 G.R. Capisani, The Handbook of Central Asia (London: Tauris,2000), 85-6.3 See note 1 above, p. 271.4. Jean Radvani in Capisani. See note 2 above, pp. xi-xii.5 “At the Crossroads: A survey of Central Asia,” Economist 26 July2003.6 I. Kitaev, ed., Assessment of Training Needs in EducationalPlanning and Managements (with special reference to Central Asia(Paris: UNESCO/IIEP, 1995), 8,15.7 UNICEF, “Education for all? (The MONEE Project, CEE/CIS/Baltics – Regional monitoring Report 5)” (Florence: UNICEFInternational Child Development Centre,1998), 23).8 See note 6 above, p. 9.9 See note 1 above, p. 26.10 “Television and Radio Companies, Operating in the Republic ofKazakhstan,” Internews March 2003, www.internews.kz/eng/stations.11 See note 2 above, p. 68.12 National Commission for UNESCO, Kyrgyzstan 2003, unpublishedreport.13 “Basic ICT usage indicators in the Baltic and CIS states” (Moscow:UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education,2002), 14.14 N. Bekturganov, “On the Development of the System of Educationin the Republic of Kazakhstan, IBE conference paper (Ministry ofEducation and Culture of the Kyrgyz Republic, 2001), www.ibe.org.15 This account is based on National Commission for UNESCO,Kyrgyzstan 2003. See note 12 above.16 F. Nam, “Monitoring of ICT Development in the Kyrgyz Republic– ICT Strategy, Methodology, E-readiness Assessment, GeneralApproach for Assessment of Developing Countries” (Bishkek:UNDP, n.d.), 38.17 National Commission for UNESCO, Kazakhstan 2003, unpublishedreport. See note 12 above.18 “Information and Communication Technology,” UNDP Uzbekistan,2002, www.undp.uz/focus/information.cfm.19 See note 16 above.57

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education58

IranICT USE IN EDUCATIONMr Tohid SadeghnezhadINTRODUCTIONIran has a population of 64 million with a growth rate of 1.7 percent. Its people represent a variety of ethnic origins including Par,Turk (Azerbaijani), Kurd, Lore, Armani (protestants), Arab, Baluchand Turkmen. Forty-one million live in urban areas and 23 millionin rural areas.The literacy rate is more than 96 per cent and education is mandatorythrough high school. There are currently approximately18 millionstudents in the school system, which includes both public and privateschools.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationThe government controls over 80 per cent of the economyand has a gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$120 billion. Exports of raw oil, petrochemicals and carpetsamount to about US$ 20 billion.National policies, strategiesand programmesNo clear national information and communicationtechnologies (ICTs) strategy has been developed, althoughmany governmental entities are responsible for developingpolicies and strategies. The oldest of these entities is the HighCouncil of Informatics, established after the Iran Revolutionto systemise information technologies (IT) and ICT activities.Its primary role is to assess and classify IT enterprises andsupervise software development activities.Another entity is the National ICT Agency (NICTA), whichis led by the President of Iran, H.E. Khatami. It has the overallresponsibility for ICT initiatives in the country. The structureand sectors of focus for NICTA are illustrated in Figure 1.NICTA is responsible for designing and managing theApplication Plan of Information and CommunicationTechnology (TAKFA), which is the overarching ICTdevelopment plan for Iran.Figure 1: Structure and areas of focus for NICTAFurther, the Iran Informatics Companies Association (IRICA)was formed in 1944 with the primary objective of being acatalyst for the growth of the ICT industry. IRICA is a nongovernmental,not-for-profit organisation, financed mainlyby the annual payments of its 600 members.While Iran has not yet developed policy and strategies, overthe past two years there has been a big increase in activitiesand initiatives for decreasing the ICT gap. For example, thefollowing laws and regulations have been put in place:A copyright law (although it does not yet protectforeign intellectual property, but this is to changesoon).Protections and guarantees regarding foreigninvestment.Easier and more suitable methods for awardingcontracts.A regulation that states that all national projects mustbe awarded to consortiums of Iranian and foreigncompanies.The Information and Communication TechnologyApplication programme (TAKFA) is, at this point, the mostimportant policy initiative for Iran. Its mission is to fosterthe development of a knowledge-based economy byachieving the following objectives:Creating infrastructure (network, law and security) forIran’s information and communications development.Compiling and applying a comprehensive system ofcommunications and information.Developing productive employment.Promoting the development of ICT skills at bothindividual and institutional levels.Implementing flagship projects.A number of plans are to be developed to guide the pursuitof these objectives:Although NICTA is very important to the support of ICT, ithas not established policies and strategies for using ICT inIran. This task will fall to the High Council of IT, a Board ofthe Post, Telephone and Telegraph Ministry (PTT – seewww.iranict.org).A plan for electronic government (system, virtualnetwork, law and security).A plan for promoting ICT application in educationand expanding digital skills in Iran’s manpower.A plan for expanding ICT in higher education.A plan for expanding ICT in health, treatment andmedical education.60

IranCentral and South West AsiaA plan for expanding ICT in economy, commerce andtrade.Vocational Training InstituteA plan for expanding the culture and knowledge ofICT, and for strengthening the Persian script andlanguage in the computer environment.Tehran Technical Training InstituteElectronic Education Committee of TAKFAA plan for expanding active SME in ICT by creatinggrowth centres and ICT parks.A number of initiatives will be undertaken to execute theseplans. Those most relevant to the education sector are thefollowing:Developing a science network (universities andresearch institutes).Developing a growth network (Ministry of Education’sschools).Creating a national information portal (i.e., creationof a web for all executive bodies and disseminationof relevant information through such a web).Developing ICT in schools.Creating digital libraries.Developing remote control medical services.Iran National Radio and TVPrivate sector organisations offering computertrainingThe most widely used ICTs are multimedia CD-Roms, webportals, electronic support of traditional curricula (PowerPointpresentations, etc.) and online newsgroups.The Ministry of Education has plans to develop ICTapplications in primary and secondary education.Currently, 6,500 of Iran’s 15,000 secondary schoolshave computer sites, and by 2006 all of the rest will aswell. The Growth Network is the ministry’s plan forestablishing ICT facilities in schools. Guidelines forthe Growth Network include research and development,putting hardware and Internet connectivity in place,developing educational materials and providing trainingfor people in the education sector.The Vocational Training Institute has a few courseson IT and ICT; however, its equipment is not adequate.The main activities of TAKFA that will affect education are:The application of ICT in schools and workforcedevelopment (at primary and secondary schools aswell as vocational training institutes).The application of ICT in higher education (Medicine,Engineering, Social Sciences, Arts, etc.).The development of ICT in cultural issues (Farsiwriting and usage, art, culture, etc.).In all, a total of 1,650 projects have been officially submittedto the SCICT with a total value of over US$ 2.7 billion. Mostof them are for consultancy, concept development andfeasibility studies, creating infrastructures in organisations,completion of projects defined in the past and human resourcedevelopment.Current level of ICT accessand useThe governmental partners in Iranian education include thefollowing:Ministry of EducationThe Tehran Technical Training Institute providestraining leading to the Microsoft Certificate of SystemEngineering (MCSE).The Electronic Education Committee of TAKFA isresponsible for expanding the use of ICT in educationby continuing to manage the progress of projects,conducting seminars to develop ICT expertise,identifying appropriate educational models andestablishing a digital education database. They continueto develop education software products (all CD-Roms),with 25 products in 2000 increasing to 100 in 2002.The Iran National Radio and TV offers the EducationChannel, which offers many programmes in the realmof IT-related subjects ranging from how to use varioussoftware to scientific shows and documentaries. Thereis also a radio station, the Education Station, whichoffers similar programmes. The other effective publicbroadcasting medium is the teletext provided by TVchannels 2 (Farsi version) and 3 (English version). Itoffers a wide variety of information that is periodicallyupdated, as well as daily information on topical matters.The private sector offers computer training in labscertified by the Ministry of Jobs and Social Insurance.These are the centre of IT-related training. They haveformed their own association, the Computer Lab Heads.61

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationBased on the latest statistics available, 1,100 computerlabs are currently active in the region (seewww.isaci.com).Because of the widespread disregard of copyright, there hasnot been much motivation for the production of educationalsoftware; however, it appears this may change. In recent years,the High Council of Informatics has defined copyright forIranian software products; the challenge now is to apply thelaw.In computer literacy and use of computers there is nodifference between genders. However, Islamic rules for boysand girls still apply to some extent. Also in rural areas andsmall cities there are doubts and worries about usingcomputers, especially regarding the World Wide Web andthe concern that it may be used to access materials that areinappropriate in terms of Islamic rules.Major initiativescomputer games; parental training such as nutritionfor kids, how to “tech” your kid and how to behavetowards your kids; an Internet school for Iranianchildren; and a news board for kids.The first virtual class is an online teacher trainingclass promoted by the Research and ProgrammingOrganization. It provides an opportunity for a numberof experts of the Educational Department to take partin the class as students and experience a virtual class.The project was suggested by Parviz Dullayee,President of EDTLab and the staff of Electronics,Computer and Telecommunication Department ofWollongong University. The content of the eight-weekcourse focuses on computer hardware and software,connection to the Internet and web-based applications.Examples of trainingThe Vocational Training Institute has established ICTcourses for 3,000 teachers.The Ministry of Education has initiated an ElectronicSchool Plan in 10 schools that facilitates the use ofcomputers and provides training for teachers andlearners.Pardis Technology Park is located in Pardis area inthe northeast of the capital city of Tehran. It plans toprovide a range of services including ICT services;training and education; consulting, investing andmarketing; banking, financing and insurance; andlaboratory and workshop facilities.SchoolNet was established with the support of theScience and Arts Foundation (SAF) and SharifUniversity of Technology. SchoolNet makes it possiblefor schools and cultural institutions to connect to theInternet. Moreover the central intranet at SchoolNetfacilitates access to the educational resources on theweb and provides a portal to interact with the users.All governmental staff must take a 130-hour courseon MS Office and ICT concepts.Seventy thousand teachers of the Ministry ofEducation have passed ICDL courses. The contentof these courses includes general IT information,introduction to OS and working with files, wordprocessing, electronic presentation, spreadsheets,databases, Internet and mail and using search engines.Constraints onthe use of ICTMinistry of Education constraintsThe current constraints on the use of ICT in education areas follows:The Vocational Training Institute has establishedseven centres for ICT education. This number will beincreased to 30 by 2004. In March 2003, departmentsof this institute were equipped with a computer site.The Electronic Education Committee of TAKFArecently held an electronic education seminar in Tehranthat brought together experienced specialists andtechnologists to brainstorm about both the literatureand the perspective of e-learning. A number of paperswere presented and some workshops were held.The private sector computer training institutes thatprovide ICT training do not meet any standards.There is little emphasis on ICT skill developmentstrategy in vocational and educational departments.There is no distinct national standard for e-learning.There is a lack of knowledge of copyright law, andits application, which creates an insecureenvironment for those in charge of e-learning.The website www.irankids.com provides services tochildren that include training in areas such as sciencearithmetic, safety, art and music; entertainment suchas proverbs, comics, jokes, picture galleries andThere are no standards among the large number ofunauthorised computer training labs. There is a needto establish a centre to observe and evaluate thefunction of computer training labs.62

IranCentral and South West AsiaThere is a lack of evaluation of the efficiency andeffectiveness of current e-learning activities.There is no distinct programme to develop ICT atthe primary and secondary levels.AnalysisThe following are proposed strategies to improve anddevelop the use of ICT in the educational system:Strategies from other countries have been copied withno cultural adaptation.ICT has been used in teaching without changingprevious traditional infrastructure and practices.Develop and promulgate a national strategic plan fore-learning that is appropriate for primary, secondaryand high schools, as well as vocational trainingcentres. (This item is on the duty list of the HighCouncil of Informatics – e-learning committee.)There is a lack of information for parents about theuse of ICT in teaching.Train specialist teachers to develop ICT teaching inschools.Governmental ConstraintsTrain ICT specialists in the Education Department.The lack of a national e-learning strategy has led toisolated projects and variance in quality.Introduce school principals to the use of ICT andhelp them develop a supporting school culture.Students have little access to computers and TV.Low bandwidth leads to a sharp decrease of datatransfer in Internet services.Telecommunication infrastructure for connectingschools to the national intranet is not satisfactory.There is a lack of experienced trainers in ICT.There is an unsatisfactory level of expertise inFarsi among students in regions that have certaindialects and/or different languages (e.g., W.Azerbaijan, E. Azerbaijan, Zanjan, Ardabil,Kermanshah, Kordestan, Sistan and Balouchestan).Schools do not have lines that enable Internetconnectivity.There is a lack of Farsi applications and scriptproblems.There is a lack of strong and integratedmanagement for the development of ICT for thecountry.ICT projects are granted to governmentalcorporations.There are a number of different decision-makingbodies without distinguishing role descriptions.There is a lack of IT infrastructure in the societygenerally and especially in primary and secondaryschools. The lack of computer labs and localnetwork access plus poor Internet connectivity arethe basic difficulties.Develop a vision for education that is based onlifelong learning.Hold training seminars to introduce families to theuse of ICT in teaching.Activate parent-teacher associations to support theuse of ICT in teaching.Activate city councils to act like a facilitator todevelop the use of ICT in teaching.REFERENCESWebsites• www.mche.or.ir — Ministry of Science, Research and Technology site• www.irandoc.ac.ir – The website of IRANDOC, whose main work isresearch, training and information service. Research on informationscience, as part of IRANDOC mission, is carried out by researchunits. These units work on library and information, informationanalysis, information systems management, terminology and thesauriand information technology. IRANDOC is also the secretariat and amember of National Research Council of I.R. of Iran, and representsIran in ASTINFO (a UNESCO-supported regional network for theexchange of information and experience in science and technology inAsia and the Pacific).• www.iranict.org —Ministry of PTT. This website introduces readersto the use of ICT for development and has gathered some useful links.• www.shci.ir• www.irankids.com• www.techpark.com• www.iran-ict.org — Iran’s National Information and CommunicationTechnology Agenda; Regulation of Internet Connection Provider(ICP).• www.schoolnet.ir — This site provides detailed information about theobjectives and programmes of SchoolNet Iran.• www.sanaray.com – The website of Sanaray Corporation, which is aconsortium that was established in 1998 when a number of majorIranian software companies came together, based onrecommendations from the Iranian government authorities.• www.irica.com — The Iran Informatics Companies Association(IRICA) was formed in 1944 with the primary objective of being acatalyst for the growth of the ICT industry in Iran.63

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PakistanICT USE IN EDUCATIONMr Hilary Perraton, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONAs a large country, with GDP per capita below US$ 400 and alimited telecommunications infrastructure, Pakistan is severelyconstrained in developing the use of the new technologies ineducation. It is clear from the data in Table 1 that Pakistan is farfrom achieving basic education for all; the need to expand primaryand secondary education, and raise its quality, are priorities whichtake precedence over proposals to expand the use of informationand communication technology in education.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTable 1: Basic data on PakistanIndicatorDateValuePopulation(millions)1999137. 6GDP per capita (US$)2001$387Area(thousands km 2) 1999796Grossenrolment primary education ratio1999–200096Grossenrolment secondary education ratio 1999–200039Phonesubscriber per 100 people20022. 9Internethosts200211,319Internethosts per 10,000 people200234PCsper 100 people20020. 4Source:WorldBank; EFA Global monitoring report; ITU statisticsNational policies, strategiesand programmesPakistan has recently adopted an Education Sector ReformsAction Plan 1 which proposes to increase the level of publicexpenditure on education and, along with other reformmeasures, to decentralise and to encourage public-privatepartnership in education. This follows a recognition thatnearly 27 per cent of all school enrolment is through privatesectorinstitutions of which there are some 36,000. 2Like other large, poor countries, Pakistan has an advancedindustrial sector alongside its large rural and agrarian sector.As a result, while on a smaller scale than India, Pakistanhas a computer software industry and has attracted workfrom major international companies in this area. It haslaunched a communications satellite and with it publicdiscussion of its use for education. As well, alongside itswell-established open university it has now set up a virtualuniversity. At the same time, it is reported to be hamperedin some computer uses by the lack of an agreedtypographical style for Urdu and to benefit from thewidespread use of English in government and business.These contrasts provide the backdrop for its policydevelopment.Pakistan has developed a formal policy and action plan forinformation and communication technologies (ICTs).Reflecting the country’s adoption of neoliberal policies, theguiding theme is stated to be that government shall be thefacilitator and enabler to encourage the private sector todrive the development in ICT and telecommunications. Thisis in line with earlier decisions to privatisetelecommunications even though they proved problematic(e.g., a decision to privatise Pakistan Telecommunicationin 1994 had still not been implemented five years later). 3The major features of the policy are to encourage thedevelopment of a workforce with information technologyskills, to provide a simple regulatory and enabling legalframework and to promote the use of informationtechnology within both the private and public sectors. (Asummary of the policy and accompanying action plan isavailable at www.unescobkk.org.)The national policy and action plan argues for thedevelopment of a separate and more fully developed planfor the educational use of the technologies, but itselfincludes proposals for human resource development,information technology education and informationtechnology training, emphasising the need to develop askilled workforce. To this end it is proposed to expandtraining and education at postsecondary and highereducation levels. At school level it is recommended thatinformation technology literacy should be included in thecurriculum of high schools, but the policy makes norecommendation about its role at other levels of the schoolsystem or in teacher training. It recommends that allgraduates should become computer literate.In relation to broadcasting, one recent survey reports thatPakistan has no national media policy with televisionprogramming governed by directives from the relevantministry from time to time. 4 At the same time, in contrastwith its liberalisation of the economy, the government ofNawaz Sharif in 1997 increased its control over andrestrictions on television programming in order to bring itcloser in line with Islamic values and to impose a strictdress code on presenters. 5Current level of ICT useAs one might expect, the role of the technologies appearsto be low in priority for national educational policies ateither school or the higher-education level. The Pakistancountry paper for the 2001 International Bureau ofEducation biennial conference made only passing referenceto the technologies, and did so mainly in relation to66

PakistanCentral and South West Asiamanagement and in the context of decentralisation.Similarly, the 2002 “Report of the Taskforce on theImprovement of Higher Education” made little referenceto the technologies and clearly did not see them as beingthe vehicle for university reform or expansion.In sympathy with – indeed antedating – the ICT nationalpolicy and action plan, some provincial Ministries ofEducation have introduced computer studies into the highschool curriculum, though with limited success: only eightper cent of college students in Karachi chose informationtechnology as a subject for higher school certificate in 2003.An estimate in May 2003 put the number of computers inschools within the range 50,000 to 200,000; the same reportreferred to plans for a Pakistan Education Network whichwould provide connectivity to 60 universities initially andeventually to some thousands of primary and secondaryschools. 6Similarly, over the years, there have been a number ofexperimental projects to encourage computer education inschools. The Pakistan Association for Computer Educationin Schools, for example, reports on a computer literacyproject in schools in 1985 and on “running programmes tospread computer literacy to the younger generation” with100 computers in 50 schools from 1985–1990. 7 A ComputerLiteracy in Pakistan Schools (CLIPS) project covered 150schools from 1991–1995, while a follow-up projectrecommended to the Sindh Ministry of Education in 1997was not funded.Other modest one-off developments are reported such asdiscovery centres, including computers for school children,set up in Karachi and Lahore. In 2000, following its supportfor private-public partnerships, the government began aninformation technology programme to encourage privatecompanies to put computer equipment into public schools,provide students with access to computer classes at a fee,and/or provide information technology classes to thecommunity. The programme is intended to be selfsupportingand over 4,000 schools have been equipped withcomputer labs. 8There is a history of expectation of the use of public-servicebroadcasting on a significant scale in education, includingnon-formal education, because of its power and its nationalcoverage.In a country where the literacy rate is only 37 per centand where only 30 per cent of the total population areurban dwellers, the role of national television as a publicservice is immensely important. Islam is not the onlydriving force behind television programming in Pakistan;the preservation and promotion of eastern culture, withits traditional family system, the battle against crime,drugs and child abuse, together with the creation ofawareness in health, family planning, environmentalissues, are all important...Radio and television reachpeople in larger numbers than all newspapers andmagazines combined [whose readership]...is less than 10per cent of the population, while television is viewed byabout 35 million people on about four million sets. 9Achievement has not always matched promise. The PakistanGovernment established an educational channel some 10years ago, influenced by this kind of consideration as wellas by the needs of the formal education sector, with reportedfunding of US$ 100 million from the Japanesegovernment. 10 Earlier this year there was a pressannouncement that Pakistan was to launch a 24-hour ETVchannel in association with an institution based in Manila(www.oneworld.net/article/search). But the quality of theexisting educational programmes, whether from theeducational channel or from Allama Iqbal Open University,attracts criticism. Hoodbhoy argues that the educationalprogrammes of both institutions are few in number andunacceptable in quality. 11In assessing the significance of the national televisionnetworks in Pakistan, it is necessary to note that a growingnumber of viewers now have access to satellite programmesincluding those of Star which was launched in 1991. Sofar, and with the partial exception of the BBC, there hasbeen limited activity by the major international broadcastersin education.Major initiativesPakistan has long experience of using informationtechnologies, especially broadcasting, to support the workof what are described as “nation-building agencies.”Education and extension broadcasting is well established.The technologies have, too, been part of the armoury of theAllama Iqbal Open University, established in 1974, whichfrom its foundation has had a responsibility for publiceducation at various levels and not simply for providingdegree courses. Over the years it has, for example, usedradio along with its other teaching methods in teachereducation where its Primary Teachers’ Orientation Course,followed by its Primary Teachers’ Course, have beenimportant mechanisms for the inservice education andprofessional development of the teaching force. Theuniversity has also used distance teaching methods forfunctional education, offering programmes from basicliteracy to electrical wiring. Much of this work has been onan experimental and pilot basis, so that while it has valuablydeveloped and tested methodologies for rural non-formaleducation, it has not had the mechanisms to tie its workwith that of field extension agencies in a way that wouldallow national replication. 12Constraints on ICT useThe major constraints on ICT use are economic andgeographical. Pakistan is a large country with a low GNP67

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTable 2: Levels of development of Internet useLevelPervasivenessInternetof theGeographicaldispersalConnectivityinfrastructureOrganisationalinfrastructure01234Non-existent:Internetdoes not exist in viableform in country. Anyusers obtain connectionby internationaltelephone call.Embryonic:Ratio ofInternet users per capita< 1 in 1,000.Nascent:Ratio ofInternet users per capitaat least 1 in 1,000.Established:Ratio ofInternet users per capitaat least 1 in 100.CommonRatio ofInternet users per capitaat least 1 in 10.Non-existent:TheInternet is not present inthis country.Singlelocation:Internetpoints of presence in onemajor population centreonly.M oderately dispersed:Internet points ofpresence located inmultiple first-levelpolitical subdivisions incountry.H ighly dispersed:Internet points ofpresence located in atleast 50% first-levelpolitical subdivisions.Nationwide:Internetpoints of presencelocated in all first-levelpolitical subdivisions andrural access widelyavailable.Note: The column for Internet connectivity combines several measures used byshown here, international links did operate in the range 129 Kbps– 45 Mbps.S ource: Based on Wolcott and Goodman (2000): 67-81.Non-existent:TheInternet is not present inthis country.Thin:Domesticbackbone 10Gbps, Many Internetexchange both bilateraland open.Non-existent:TheInternet is not present inthis country.Single:A single ISP hasmonopoly.Controlled:Only a fewISPs with high barriers toentrance to market. AllISPs connect to Internetinternationally throughmonopoly telecomsprovider.Competitive:Many ISPswith low barriers tomarket entry. Somecompetition ininternational links ordomestic infrastructure.Robust:Many ISPs withboth international linksand domesticinfrastructure open tocompetition.Wolcott and Goodman. Despite the overall ratingand modestly developed communications infrastructure. Atthe same time it contains elements of an advancedindustrialised economy and a consequent demand for a flowof people able to work with computers in that sector, whichcertainly places demands on the training sector and couldbe seen as doing so on the education sector.There are particular constraints on the use of the Internet inPakistan reported in a comparative study of Pakistan andTurkey. As shown in Table 2, Wolcott and Goodman 13identified a number of different dimensions of Internetdevelopment and went on to assess Pakistan’s status on eachof these. In their assessment they reported that by late 2000there had been rapid growth of users of the Internet in thelate 1990s so that, while they showed Pakistan as being level2, or “nascent,” in its pervasiveness, it might around thattime be moving to level 3, or “established.” Geographicaldispersion was quite limited with rural access in particularbeing difficult. As there was Internet activity in all provincesand in many parts of the country, they rated Pakistan ashighly dispersed.In a detailed study of interconnectivity they found thatPakistan lacked a domestic Internet backbone with noInternet exchange points within the country. Access wasnormally by means of dial-up connection. In terms oforganisational infrastructure, the monopoly control oftelecommunications put Pakistan in their level 2 of68

PakistanCentral and South West Asiacontrolled infrastructure. If it is assumed that educationshould follow rather than lead technological developmentin other sectors, then the current state of Internet use arguesagainst extensive use in education, at least below tertiarylevel.There are also linguistic constraints where it is proposed touse computers in a language other than English. Inevitablysoftware is more limited in Urdu and likely to be extremelylimited in the other languages spoken as mother tongue bymany within the country.AnalysisPakistan seems to have followed an admirably cautiouspolicy in its embrace of the technologies in education withtheir use in schools limited to the upper level of the relativelysmall secondary system. There is a potential contradictionin its policy on training which follows from its faith in theprivate sector. National policy is both to promote the use ofthe technologies to the extent, for example, of funding 75per cent of the costs of training, while letting the privatesector remain the main driver. The contradiction would beuncomfortable to resolve if, say, the private sector decidedto concentrate international investment and developmentin India and South Africa and withdraw it from Pakistan.There is one potential educational growth point: alongsidemany other countries Pakistan has recognised that therecould be an increased role for the use of computer-basedsystems in the decentralised management of education,although this is not highlighted in its recent action plan. 14As its open university has experience of teachingeducational management, it might well considerinvestigating this and developing appropriate systems andsoftware.NOTES1 “Education Sector Reforms: Action Plan 2001–2005 (The roadahead: summary)” (Islamabad: Ministry of Education, 2003).2 B.R. Jamil, “Decentralization: Scope and limits of public privatepartnerships in Pakistan,” presentation at Oxford InternationalConference, Education and Development 9–11 September 2003.3 P. Wolcott S. Goodman, The Internet in Turkey and Pakistan: Acomparative analysis (Palo Alto: Center for International Securityand Cooperation, Stanford University, 2000), 66–7.4 S.N. Tahir, “Globalisation and National Television Networks: Ananalysis of Pakistan television” in Television in Contemporary Asia(New Delhi: Sage, 2000), 15.5 See note 4 above, p. 355.6 T. Banuri and M. Zaidi, “ICTs and Human Development inPakistan,” presentation at ICTS and Human Development inPakistan Workshop, Islamabad, 10 May 2003.7 N. Kapadia, “IT Education at School Level,” presentation atUNESCO meeting, Moscow, March 2001.8 See note 2 above, p. 15.9 See note 4 above, p. 358.10 P. Hoodbhoy, “IT is Not a Magic Wand” (Asia Pacific InformationCentre, 2001), www.aspnic.net/mailing-lists/s-asia-it/archive/2001/01/msg00071.html.11 See note 10 above.12. Compare D. Warr, Distance Teaching in the Village (Cambridge:International Extension College, 1992) and H. Perraton, Open andDistance Learning in the Developing World (London: Routledge,2000).13 See note 3 above.14 See note 1 above.69

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MongoliaDemocratic People’sRepublic of KoreaRepublic of KoreaJapanChinaMyanmar• Lao People’s Democratic RepublicThailandCambodiaViet NamPhilippinesMalaysiaIndonesiamap of East and South-East Asia

East and South-East AsiaCambodia • China • Democratic People’s Republic of Korea • Indonesia • Japan • Lao People’s Democratic Republic •Malaysia • Mongolia • Myanmar • Philippines • Republic of Korea • Thailand • Viet Nam

CambodiaICT USE IN EDUCATIONPRELNational policies, strategies andprogrammesAt present, Cambodia has no specific policy regarding informationand communication technologies (ICTs) in education. The Ministryof Education, Youth, and Sports (MOEYS) focuses its educationalresources on basic education, with pre-primary and primaryeducation accounting for nearly 70% of public expenditure oneducation. 1 In recent years, MOEYS has undertaken a reform processfocused on developing a sector-wide approach to education. Part

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationof this process includes the revision of primary andsecondary school curricula. There is little mention of ICTsin this process and no particular ICT subject in thecurriculum.Since 2000, however, the Government of Cambodia hastaken several steps towards the development of a nationalICT policy. On 23 August 2000, the government establishedthe National Information Communications TechnologyDevelopment Authority (NIDA), with Prime MinisterSamdech Hun Sen as chairman. The main responsibilitiesof NIDA are (1) to formulate policies on informationtechnology (IT) promotion and development, (2) to overseeimplementation of IT policies to ensure economic growth,and (3) to monitor and evaluate all IT-related projects inthe country. 2NIDA, in partnership with the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) and UNESCO, organised the firstnational Information Technology Awareness Seminar inSeptember 2001, which was attended by representativesfrom the national government, private sector, nongovernmentalorganisations (NGOs), and internationalinstitutions. The prime minister opened the seminar bypresenting the six elements critical to a long-term visionfor IT in Cambodia:Developing telecommunication infrastructuresthrough liberalisation, strengthening the regulatoryframework and competition;Expanding Internet coverage by attracting privateinvestment;Standardising the Khmer language for computer useand improving English language abilities;Increasing computer literacy by for exampleincluding it in the curriculum of every secondaryschool and university;Ensuring the private sector participates in ITdevelopment for the purpose of transferringtechnology and technical skills;Protecting intellectual capital and prevention ofcomputer crimes. 3In February 2003, the MOEYS, with support of theUNESCO office in Cambodia, held a roundtable toformulate policies and strategies on ICT use in education.The following four policy approaches to ICTs resulted:ICTs as a need for all teachers and students;ICTs as a teaching and learning tool and as a subjectitself;ICTs as a means to improve productivity, efficiencyand effectiveness of education management;ICTs for the promotion of Education for All throughdistance education and self-learning. 4On 3 July 2003, the government held the National Meetingon the Formulation of National ICT Policies and Strategiesto continue its work in this area. 5Current level ofICT access and useAccording to an e-ASEAN (Association of Southeast AsianNations) Readiness Assessment conducted in 2001,Cambodia ranked eighth out of the 10 ASEAN countries interms of e-infrastructure, e-society, e-commerce and e-government. As such, it was classified as an “emerging”readiness country, characterised by the need to build basicICT infrastructure. 6There is relatively little ICT use inside and outside ofschools. Public access to computers and the Internet remainlimited, despite various efforts to establish Internet cafesand centres. Urban dwellers fare much better in this regard,however, with approximately 100 Internet cafes in PhnomPenh and several in the Siem Reap tourist area. 7 But withmore than 80 per cent of the population living in rural areas,the majority has little or no access to the Internet. 8Although the Government of Cambodia partners with nongovernmentaland international organisations on thepromotion of ICT use in education, it has no specific policiesor major programmes of its own regarding ICT use in basic,vocational, non-formal or special needs education.Major initiativesWhile the Government of Cambodia has made progresstowards the development of an ICT framework in recentyears, the international community has been responsiblefor the key initiatives that introduced and expanded ICTinto the country. The Open Forum of Cambodia, a nongovernmentalorganisation (NGO), provided the first e-mailconnectivity in 1994. Since then, it has provided e-mailaccess to individuals, government agencies and NGOs, withcurrently about 500 subscribers, and it has opened anInternet cafe. 9 The International Development ResearchCentre (IDRC) of Canada helped Cambodia achieve fullconnectivity to the Internet in 1997 via a link to Singapore. 10Several more recent initiatives by the internationalcommunity highlight various approaches to bringing ICTsto Cambodia:74

CambodiaEast and South-East AsiaVillageLeap.com: This project established threecomputer-equipped schools in Robib, a remote andinaccessible area of Cambodia, in 1999. Under theproject, one of the schools received a permanentInternet connection, which is now being used to bringlocal silk handicraft products to the global market(see www.villageleap.com). 11CambodiaSchools.com: This adopt-a-school projectsolicits donations to build schools in Cambodiathrough the CambodiaSchools.com website. Donatedfunds are matched by a World Bank credit throughthe Social Fund of Cambodia and go towardsconstruction of the schools as well as supplementarysalaries for teachers. Donors can also support theinstallation of solar panels so that these schools cangenerate energy for electricity and Internetconnectivity. More than 200 schools have been builtunder this programme, several of which have solarpanels and Internet connections. 12Digital Divide Data (DDD): This company beganoperations in Cambodia in 2001 with the dualobjectives of providing digitalisation services tointernational customers and providing IT training andwell-paying jobs to Cambodian workers. Partbusiness, part philanthropy, DDD works with localNGOs and the Asia Foundation to recruit and traindisadvantaged Cambodians, such as landminesurvivors, former victims of sexual trafficking, andthose too poor to afford technical education. TheDDD model has been so successful that the numberof Cambodian staff has grown from 20 to more than100, with a second office opened in Battambang.Plans for a third office to be based in Vientiane, Laos,are underway. 13Community Information Centers (CICs): TheAsia Foundation, through a grant from the U.S.Agency for International Development, and inpartnership with Microsoft Corporation and 11Cambodian NGOs, undertook a project in spring2003 to establish 22 CICs around the country. TheCICs, which are based in offices of local NGOs,provide local communities with access to e-mail, theInternet, a new Khmer web portal and othercomputer-based services. The purpose of the CICnetwork is to increase access to news and informationfor Cambodians outside of Phnom Penh and to createa network for information-sharing across thecountry. 14Women’s Media Centre Radio: This non-formaleducation initiative aims to improve the participationand portrayal of women in the media. Throughdeveloping and running a daily radio broadcast, theprimarily female staff receive practical experiencein radio journalism and feature production, as wellas in the use of radio, computer, and Internettechnologies. 15Cisco Networking Academies: The UNDP AsiaPacific Development Information Program (APDIP)and Cisco Systems, Inc., in partnership with NIDA,have established three Networking Academies inCambodia. The Networking Academy Programteaches students to design and maintain computernetworks. 16ASEAN and UNESCO have also launched regional ICT ineducation projects that include programmes in Cambodia.UNESCO and ASEAN, along with several developmentpartners, have launched a regional project on strengtheningICT in schools and establishing a schoolnet. The generalobjectives of the project are to share practices on using ICTsin schools, to test various models of ICT-based teachingand to improve access to educational resources through theestablishment of a schoolnet in ASEAN countries. Throughits e-ASEAN initiative, ASEAN has also held a number ofICT programmes, workshops and seminars forrepresentatives from member countries. 17UNESCO has also been increasingly active in supportingICT use for education in Cambodia. Through a project titled“Promoting the Effective Use of Information andCommunication Technologies for Education,” it has beenworking with the Cambodian government to develop anational policy on ICT for education, to train teachers onskills and the use of ICTs to improve teaching and toestablish a national ICT-based clearing-house. UNESCOhas also contributed through pilot projects and computerdonations. In 2002, UNESCO and the Open University ofHong Kong donated 350 phased-out personal computers toNIDA, MOEYS and the Cambodia Institute of Engineering.As part of a pilot project, MOEYS distributed 150 of thecomputers to five pedagogical institutions located aroundthe country and held training for lecturers of theseinstitutions on basic computer skills. Recently, UNESCOannounced a new project on improving the managementand delivery of technical and vocational education throughthe application of ICTs. UNESCO has also initiated an effortto create a non-formal education monitoring informationsystem.Examples of trainingSeveral small-scale training efforts are being undertaken bythe Cambodian government and the international community.Most of these efforts focus on teacher training, with a fewexamples in the areas of non-formal education and distancelearning. Training in ICT at the primary and secondary schoollevels is negligible.Under the “Promoting the Effective Use of ICT in Educationfor All in Cambodia” project, UNESCO and the Teacher75

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTraining Department of MOEYS have begun trainingteachers, both at the pre-service and inservice stages, in ICTskills and the use of ICT to improve teaching and learning.In May 2003, training was provided to teacher trainers whoalready had basic ICT skills. In August, those trainers trained400 additional teacher trainers in the use of ICTs foreducation. 18 To support increased teacher training, MOEYSnow requires all students in teacher training colleges to attendat least two hours per week of ICT courses. MOEYS continuesto supply the necessary hardware to support this training.Another objective of the UNESCO project is to provide ICTaccess to 1,000 primary and secondary school teachersthrough teaching colleges and to at least 5,000 children andyouth enrolled in formal and non-formal educationprogrammes. The project will address geographical andgender-related digital divide issues by targeting teachers andstudents in deprived areas and by establishing a minimumpercentage of female trainees. According to the projectguidelines, 35 per cent of the teacher trainers, 40 per cent ofthe trained primary and secondary school teachers and 45per cent of the trained children and youth must be female. 19In 2000, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation of Japan fundedtwo training programmes on distance education managementand technology for educators and technicians from severalSoutheast Asian countries, including Cambodia. Thailanddonated six sets of distance learning equipment to Cambodiafollowing these two training programmes. 20 Weak telecommunications policies andinfrastructure: Restrictions, ambiguity and lack oftransparency in telecommunications policies, laws andimplementing regulations constrain the developmentof the telecommunications industry. 24 In addition,since only 26 per cent of the population has a fixedtelephone line, the potential for dial-up Internet accessis limited. 25 The use of ICT in Cambodia has also beenaffected by the country’s relatively late entry (1997)onto the Information Superhighway. According to theInternational Telecommunications Union, as of 2002Cambodia had the lowest Internet penetration inSoutheast Asia and the highest Internet prices. 26Lack of basic education infrastructure: In theeducation sector, the basic needs are substantial.Schools lack trained teachers, equipment, textbooks,electricity and water. Teachers are undereducated,underpaid and often have to wait months for theirsalaries. Many rural areas do not even have localschools. Faced with these challenges in improving thequality of and access to education, MOEYS may nothave the necessary resources to venture into therelatively costly realm of ICTs. Even if they receiveddonations of computer equipment, most public schoolsin Cambodia could not afford the electricity andtelephone lines to use them. Universities andpedagogical schools also lack ICT equipment andaccess.Training has also been provided to Cambodian representativesunder the Southeast Asian Ministers of EducationOrganization (SEAMEO) INNOTECH programme. In 2002,for example, a course was held in the Philippines titled“Technology Applications in Education: Teachers and TeacherTrainers.” 21Constraints on theuse of ICTsThere are numerous constraints on the use of ICT both withinCambodia in general and within the education sectorspecifically:Lack of financial resources: Cambodia is one of theleast-developed countries in the world, ranking 130thout of 175 countries in the UNDP 2003 HumanDevelopment Index. Gross domestic product (GDP)per capita in Cambodia is roughly US$ 1,860. 22Relatively high Internet prices – the highest inSoutheast Asia in fact – limit the average Cambodian’sability to access the Internet and ICT trainingopportunities. 23 Likewise, the government facesnumerous development priorities with limitedfinancial resources.Lack of ICT human capital: The brutal KhmerRouge regime and decades of internal conflict havedecimated the human resource base of Cambodia.Under the Khmer Rouge, an estimated 1 to 3 millionlives were lost, including more than 75 per cent ofthe teaching force. The legacy is a Cambodianpopulation both young and uneducated, without avibrant academic community to support ICTdevelopment. The adult literacy rate is 68.7 per centwith combined primary, secondary and tertiary grossenrolment of only 55 per cent. 27 The quality ofeducation is also affected by the lack of trainedteachers and their regular absence in school due toincome-generating activities outside the classroom.The government itself does not use ICT extensivelyand its personnel lack training on the skills andbenefits of ICT.Difficulty of computerising the Khmer script: TheKhmer script is highly complex, with 150 letters inthe alphabet, no spaces between words, andconsonants that have multiple forms depending ontheir position within a word. This makes text entry inKhmer extremely difficult. Moreover, though differentKhmer font systems for computing have beendeveloped, they are not compatible with each other.To solve this dilemma, several Khmer-to-Khmertranslation systems have been developed, and the76

CambodiaEast and South-East AsiaUNICODE consortium is working on developing auniform code for entering Khmer script on computers.Even with this problem solved, however, the lownumber of Cambodian Internet users and the lack ofICT training constrain the development of Khmer webcontent. 28AnalysisWith a lack of trained teachers and limited resources toimprove educational quality and access to schooling,Cambodia’s challenges in the education sector are numerous.It may be argued, therefore, that the immediate needs of theeducation system render an ICT programme to be a lowpriority for the near future. On the other hand, it may beimperative that Cambodia takes additional measures now tobring ICTs into education so that the country does not fallfurther behind in the digital age. As a new member to ASEAN,and with its entry into the World Trade Organization,Cambodia can benefit from, and has a greater need to promote,its connectivity to the international community.To reap those benefits, Cambodia must bring clarity anddirection to its telecommunications policies and develop aco-ordinated national ICT plan. The government should alsoseek to foster a supportive climate for private sector ICTventures such as the DDD company. In considering how bestto integrate ICT into education, it will be important to findthe appropriate balance between interventions at the basiceducation level and those in the area of continuing or nonformaleducation. Cambodia needs to develop an ICT humanresource base both now and for the long term, so thegovernment should support initiatives like theCambodiaSchools.com model as well as adult skills trainingprogrammes. One possible initiative may be to build uponthe network of CICs located around the country. In additionto offering continuing education, these centres could beadapted to provide distance education, including teachertraining materials, perhaps through a link with MOEYS orinstitutions of higher learning.NOTES1 See UNDP Human Development Indicators 2003, www.undp.org/hdr2003/indicator/cty_f_KHM.html.2 See website of the National Information CommunicationTechnologies Development Authority, www.nide.gov.kh.3 Address by Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the RoyalGovernment of Cambodia, to the Opening Ceremony of theWorkshop on Public Awareness about Information Technology,September11,2001, www.nida.gov.kh/activities/it_awareness/docOpening_Speech_of_Prime_Minister_Hun_Sen.pdf.4 “Cambodia launching E-learning and Education for All,” pressrelease (Cambodia: , Kingdom of Cambodia MOEYS, February 26,2003), www.moeys.gov.kh.5 Remarks by Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the RoyalGovernment of Cambodia, at the National Meeting on theFormulation of National ICT Policies and Strategies, Phnom Penh,3July 3, 2003.6 See “E e-ASEAN Readiness Assessment, Executive Summary –2001 Assessment, October 24, 2001), www.e-asean.info reports/ASEANe-ReadinessAssessment ReportforPublicBW.pdf.7 See “ ICT Profile: Cambodia,” in Digital Review for Asia Pacific,www.apdip.netdig-rev/kh.asp.8 See note 1 above. UNDP Human Development Indicators 2003.9 “Houth Ratanak, “Internet for All, The Open Forum InformationExchange: A Civil Society IT Contribution to the Development ofCambodia,” by Houth Ratanak, Open Forum of Cambodia.Presented at the Information Technology Awareness Seminar, inSeptember 2001, . At www.nida.gov.kh/activities/it_awareness/doc/Speech_by_openforum.pdf. See also www.forum.org.kh.10 “Khmer Internet: Cambodia Case Study,” (InternationalTelecommunication Union, March 2002).11 www.villageleap.com. See also http:/www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/teaching_learning/development_prog/cam.htm.12 See www.cambodiaschools.com.13 James Loving, “DDD – Bridging the Digital Gap of Have and HaveNots,” (by James Loving, National Radio Text Service, 8 April 8,2002), www.nationalradio.com/ddd_1.shtml. See also the DigitalDivide Data website: www.hockenstein.com/DDD/.14 “USAID and TAF Launch Network of 22 Community InformationCenters Across Cambodia,” http://usembassy.state.gov/cambodia/wwwh0032.html. See also www.asiafoundation.org/Locations/cambodia_cic.html.15 Mary Van, from a Presentation by Mary Van, WMC StationManager, at the seminar on Integrating New and TraditionalInformation and Communication Technologies for CommunityDevelopment, Kothmale, Sri Lanka, January 22-27, 2001. See“Seminar Final Report” prepared by Ian Pringle, March 2001, athttp://portal.unesco.org.16 “UNDP APDIP and Cisco Systems Complete a Three-Year Plan toSet Up Networking Academies in Developing Countries, ” http://cisco.netacad.net/public/news/success_storiesUNDP.html.17 “ASEAN Annual Report 2002-2003,” www.aseansec.org/ar03.htm.See also www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/unesco_projects/JFIT/schoolnet/project.htm.18 See www.unescobk.org/education/ict./19 “Promoting the Effective Use of Information and CommunicationTechnologies (ICT) for Education,” (Phnom Penh: UNESCO)Phnom Penh, http://portal.unesco.org.20 Tong-In Wongsothorn, “Moving Towards Distance Education andOpen Learning,” by Dr. Tong-In Wongsothorn, President, (Thailand:Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University)., Thailand.21 “Technology Applications in Education: Teachers and TeacherTrainers,” www.seameo-innotech.org.22 Per capita income measured in purchasing power parity (PPP)terms. UNDP Human Development Indicators 2003, see note 1above.23 See note 10 above.International Telecommunication Union, March2002.24 Darrell Owen, from Speech by Darrell Owen, an internationalconsultant specializing in ICT in developing countries, presented atthe National Seminar on IT Awareness in September 2001,www.nida.gov.kh/activities/ it_awareness/doc/Speech_by_USAID.pdf. Mr. Owen conducted the ICT Assessment for USAID inJune 2001.25 See note 10 above.International Telecommunication Union, March2002.26 See note 10 above.International Telecommunication Union, March2002.27 See note 1 above.UNDP Human Development Indicators 2003.28 See notes 9 and 10 above “Internet for All: The Open ForumInformation Exchange: A Civil Society IT Contribution to theDevelopment of Cambodia,” by Houth Ratanak, Open Forum ofCambodia, paper presented to the Information TechnologyAwareness Seminar, September 11-13, 2001, www.nida.gov.kh/activities/ it_awareness/doc/Speech_by_openforum.pdf. AlsoInternational Telecommunication Union, March 2002..77

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education78

ChinaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Chen Li, Ph.DPolicy goals andImplementationsThe Chinese government believes that modernisation of educationby applying information technology is essential in order to producestudents who can be competitive in the information era. The processof introducing and integrating information and communicationtechnology (ICT) application into the education system is referredto as educational “informationisation” – something the Chinesegovernment is giving a great deal of attention to.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationThe actions being undertaken by the government andschools include the following:Constructing infrastructure needed for an informationenvironment;Developing educational resources;Encouraging computer education;Supporting teacher professional development;Integrating ICT into traditional classrooms;Delivering good educational resources into ruralareas using ICT-assisted distance education methods;Changing administration systems through ICTapplications.Long-term Goals for Chinese EducationalInformationisation 1The aim is to meet the following goals by 2010:ICT-based infrastructure which covers the wholecountry will be set up;ICT education will be popularised in the most places;The competence of ICT application for all Chinesecitizens will be improved;There will be enough ICT specialists to meet socialdevelopment needs;A lifelong education system will be in place;Software producing centres and ICT corporationswill be operational;The general level of infrastructure development andICT application in education will rank at the top levelamong developing countries;For universities, and for 85 per cent of the technical/vocational schools and primary and secondaryschools in the developed area of China, the level ofinfrastructure development and ICT application willmatch that of developed countries.Main Tasks and Relative Policies 2To realise these goals, the Chinese government hasdeveloped policies and plans as follows:Increase the bandwidth of the main lines of ChinaEducation and Research Network (CERNET),extend coverage towards the West and include smallcities;Enhance the province and city networks of CERNETin order to supply good quality service to all kindsof education institutes with 2.5 Gbps bandwidth;Construct a wide band satellite-based network(CEBsat) and combine that with Internet (CERNET)in order to supply multiple information transmissionservices for the entire country, particularly remoteand rural areas;Enhance university campus network construction,particularly in the western part of China, and developa digital information platform to support an e-library,an information management system and a distanceeducation system;Enhance campus network construction in primaryand secondary schools, particularly in village areas,launch the course ICT Education in most of schoolsand integrate ICT into the curriculum of middletechnical/vocational schools;Improve education administration informationisationby constructing platforms for officials, resources andpublic information;Increase the number and quality of ICT specialiststo spread ICT education in primary and secondaryschools, to train teachers in information literacy andto provide inservice training about informationliteracy for adult and vocational students;Facilitate sharing of teaching resources in order toimprove the quality of education by developing adistributed education resource platform;Launch research on second generation networks andconduct trials in selected central cities;Develop policies regarding education enterprises thatwill encourage more financial investment and supportdevelopment of ICT corporations;Develop quality standards for educationinformationisation and use them to developevaluation systems.In 2000, the Teacher Education Department of the Ministryof Education published a very important document,“Training Guidance for Teacher Training about InformationSchool,” which requested that all the teachers in primaryand secondary schools learn how to use informationtechnology by engaging in professional developmentactivities.80

ChinaEast and South-East AsiaIn summary, the central government is attempting toenhance the application of ICT in different aspects ofeducation in China through its national plan, by launchingnational-level projects and by encouraging localgovernments and local schools to be involved in and toinvest in education informationisation.Current level ofICT access and useTeachers and students use personal computers athome or schools.Instructional platforms are becoming available toprovide support to schools for networked learningbased on local and wide area networks (LANs andWANs).Resource warehouses are being established to sharelearning resources among teachers and students inall subjects.Main Achievements to Date 2The development of infrastructure for educationalinformationisation is proceeding. The CERNET andCEBsat system provides basic support for scientificresearch and modern distance education. CERNETcovers 30 cities and has become the second largestnetwork.Application of ICT in education is developing swiftly.About 70 per cent of all colleges have establishedcampus networks. Good progress is being made insecondary vocational education and in primary andsecondary schools. Support for education from socialenterprises and the development of educationalresources are assisting this process.Education resource development and the moderndistance education experiment have made someprogress. Recently, many education administrationdepartments and schools have developed aneducational resource warehouse for materials suchas web-based courses and other courseware, groupedaccording to the subject specialties and instructionalcharacteristics of the institutions.The Main Forms by Which ICT Is Applied intoEducationThe satellite network system with two digitalchannels provides the main method of deliveringcourses to rural areas.Classifying Access and Use in Education 4Because of gaps in the economy, there are different levelsof ICT access in education. These can be classified asfollows:Top level: Some schools in central cities have verygood ICT infrastructure. Teachers and students haveaccess to the CERNET and all staff and students havea high level of ICT literacy. They understand how tochange the teaching and learning model, how todevelop curriculum content using ICT and how toimprove the effectiveness and efficiency ofadministration through ICT applications.Middle level: Most schools at this level are tryingto integrate ICT into courses and administration witha middle-level ICT environment. Only some of thestaff are skilled in the use of ICT, but even thoughthey are far from the top level, they are making astart at using ICT in the classroom.Lower level: Most schools in rural areas have nomoney to invest in ICT. Even with sponsorships fromdonors or governments, they cannot use ICT ineffective ways. Few staff have received any training.They need more money, training and resources.Major initiativesNational Government ProjectsMore schools have access to the CERNET systemas bandwidth improves. CERNET is used to obtainlearning resources and for distance education.Computers are being connected to form networkclassrooms that can be connected to CERNET or theInternet.Multimedia classrooms are being developed toenable the exchange of instructional information(audio, video, Word, etc.) between teachers andstudents for use in conventional classrooms.School Connection Project: 5 The purpose is toenable all primary and secondary schools to haveaccess to the Internet and to encourage the applicationof ICT. The goal of the project set by the nationalgovernment is for over 90 per cent of elementaryschools to be connected to the Internet by 2010.Modern Distance Education Project: 6 Thepurposes of this project are to increase the bandwidthof the China Education and Research Network, toconvert two satellite TV channels from analogue todigital, to develop web-based teaching resources and81

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationto support some universities to deliver distancecourses by ICT on an experimental basis. The nationalgovernment is providing the funding and thenecessary authorisations.Computer Network Construction Project forWestern University Campus: 7 In 2002, the nationalgovernment invested CNY 900 million (US$ 108million) to support 152 western universities toestablish campus networks and have access to theChina Education and Research Network (CERNET).The project improved the infrastructure for the ruralareas of China, which may be useful for other levelsof education in the future.Popularisation of ICT Education in Primary andSecondary Schools: 8 In 2000, the Ministry ofEducation launched a plan called Popularising ICTEducation in Primary and Secondary Schools, andrequested all primary and secondary schools to offera course on ICT education during the following fiveto 10 years, The intent is to have all K-12 studentslearn to use a computer.Administration Informationisation Project: 9 Thisproject aims at establishing a web-based supportenvironment for educational administration toenhance the quality of public service educationadministration, to improve the efficiency ofeducational administration and to facilitatemonitoring by the society.Distance Education Project for Communist PartyMembers Training in the Countryside: 10 Thegovernment plans to build a distance educationnetwork, which will reach the Communist Partymember learning centres in the countryside. Thisproject will use distance education to facilitate theprovision of education for country Communist Partymembers, schools and the general community toimprove the cultural condition in the countryside.receiving equipment to primary and secondaryschools in 12 provinces in rural areas, and set up10,000 learning centres which can receive Chinasatellite and broadband learning programmes. Theaim of the project is to improve education quality bysupplying good teaching and learning resources.China–U.S. e-Language Project: 13 This is by farthe biggest educational co-operation project. Throughthe co-operation of experts in China and the UnitedStates, it uses advanced technologies such asmultimedia and simulation, together with advancededucational ideas, to develop web-based learningcourseware for English and Chinese instruction. Thelearning modes are portable media such as CD-Rom/DVD, web-based learning and combinations of thetwo. It is mainly aimed at high school students from12 to 18 years who study English in China andChinese in America.Wireless Network Instructional DemonstrationProject Sponsored by Lenovo, Intel and theAffiliate School of Remin University: 14 The aim ofthis project is to use the Lenovo E360 notebooktogether with the campus wireless LAN to applydifferent kinds of instructional resources for dailylearning, to enhance interactions among teachers andstudents and among students themselves, and toimprove the learning efficiency of students.China-Europe Basic Education Project inGanshu: 15 This project is the biggest of all theEuropean Union–sponsored Ganshu projects. Thefund is EUR 15 million. Begun at the end of 2001, ithas provided tuition assistance to students, equippedsets of desks and tables and provided computers. Ithas helped 439 primary school teachers to take degreeprogrammes, provided training for 1,200 juniorschool teachers and set up 86 teacher learning centres.The project has now spread to 41 rural villages inGanshu province.Modern Distance Education of Primary andSecondary Schools in the Countryside: 11 Thisproject started in 2003 with CNY 10 billion (US$100 million) invested by the central government. Themoney was used to buy infrastructure equipment. Theaim was to enable primary and secondary schools inthe countryside to make use of distance education inorder to share good educational resources with theschools in developed areas.Examples of trainingDemonstrated Software College: 16 In 2002, theMinistry of Education and the Committee of CountryDevelopment authorised 35 universities to set updemonstration software colleges. The aim is to traininformation technology personnel to meet marketdemand.Joint Projects Between Enterprises and TheEducation System The Rural Area Distance EducationDemonstration Project: 12 The Li Jiacheng Fund andthe Ministry of Education will provide 5,000 sets ofTraining for Educational Technology Specialists:About 150 universities provide training at thebachelor’s degree level in educational technology.Approximately 20 other universities have the rightto award master’s degrees in educational technologyand, among those, three universities (Beijing Normal82

ChinaEast and South-East AsiaUniversity, East China Normal University and SouthChina Normal University), have the right to award adoctoral degree in educational technology, thusproviding a multilevel system of professional trainingin educational technology.Intel Future Education Project: 17 In 2000, theNormal Department of the Ministry of Education andIntel Company set up the Intel Future Educationproject on an experimental basis in 10 provinces andcentral cities. The project delivers teacherprofessional development on how to integrate ICTand new teaching methodology in teaching andlearning.Teacher Training for The New Century: The aimsof this project are to improve the quality of teachersin primary and secondary schools, strengthenprofessional development opportunities for keyteachers, improve the structure of teacher teams andincrease the numbers of teachers in rural areas. The Teacher Education Network Union: In 2003several universities, such as Beijing NormalUniversity, Central Radio and TV University, and theChina education TV station set up the TeacherEducation Network Union. The union will work onsupplying teacher professional development bydistance education using ICT.Constraints onthe use of ICTThe lack of a clear and shared understanding ofinformationisation: The different levels ofgovernment and administrators, as well as students,teachers and parents, often lack a full understandingof educational informationisation. Thus localgovernments often fail in their efforts to direct andpromote educational informationisation because ofimpracticable plans and measures.The deficiency of the investment in educationalinformationisation and the imbalance of thedevelopment in different areas: The eastern part ofthe country invests more money and manpower ininfrastructure than the west does. The provision ofICT equipment in elementary schools in the middlewest and the poor villages is falling behind and thecomputers and networks they do have are notsatisfactory. According to 2001statistics, in Shanghaithe ratio of students owning computers is 16.7:1, butin Yunnan it is 186:1. It is not unusual for there to beno computers at all in the schools of the westernvillages.The difficulty in integration of ICT into education:The integration of ICT into traditional classrooms isa practical difficulty in Chinese schools because ofthe lack of education resources and sound applicationmethodology. Research should be carried out todevelop suitable models for China that embody bestpractices of ICT in daily instruction andadministration.The demand for the people who are skilled in ICT:In order to integrate ICT into education, there needsto be many more people with specialised knowledgeof educational technology – particularly on the partof the teachers and the administrators. Moreover, theinsufficiency of the teachers and the resources in thewest increases the gap between the western and theeastern parts of the country. The constraints of the educationinformationisation facilities in elementary schools:It is common for elementary schools to pay muchmore attention to the hardware than to its applicationand to teaching and software development. They alsodon’t have sufficient budgets for daily maintenance,which limits the efficiency of ICT application. It isalso worth noting that the schools seldom have anoverall plan when using ICT in teaching andadministration.The immaturity of the educational ICT industry:There are many factors creating obstacles to thedevelopment of the educational ICT industry. Theseinclude the lack of ICT products in terms of bothquantity and quality, which are needed to support thedevelopment of informationisation; the shortage oftalented people; the lack of co-ordinating policies,competitive mechanisms, and evaluation of results;and the immature stage of the development ofinformation criteria and success indicators.AnalysisGenerally, China has made great progress in the applicationof ICT in education as a result of the sustaining effort of thenational government. Most people in education realise thatmeeting the challenges of ICT is an important condition formoving forward. However, there is much to be done if theeducation system is to produce an information society withcompetitive citizens.Educational informationisation can be classified into threesteps for any country. The first is information infrastructureconstruction. The second is applying ICT into all aspects ofeducation. The third and last is to change all aspects of theeducation system, particularly the education environment,educational content, pedagogy and administration methods.At this point, China has almost finished part of step one in83

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationthe central cities, but not in the villages. There are still twokinds of effort necessary for China: one is to support villageschools to complete step one; the other is to push otherschools to pass the second and third steps as soon aspossible.The following initiatives are suggested as ways ofpromoting the application of ICT in education: Invest money on village informationinfrastructure and staff training. Villageinformation infrastructure level in China is very low.There are two problems: there are not enoughfacilities and few people can provide technicalsupport.government system and management mechanism, aswell as e-government criteria.Many domestic and overseas organisations and enterprises,such as UNESCO, Apple, IBM, Lenovo, TCL, overseasinstitutions and non-governmental organisations provideproducts, technology support, teacher training programmesand funding to enhance the development of ICT educationalapplication in China. These joint projects have contributeda great deal to the application of ICT in education in Chinain terms of funds, new education philosophy andmethodology, and administration system methods. Chineseeducation has benefited much from these collaborations andjoint projects.NOTESDevelop resources that are relevant to theapplication of ICT in education. First, a nationalresource platform is needed to support the sharingof learning materials among regions and schools.Second, it is important to identify and spread ICTapplication models suitable to Chinese education.Last but not least, greater effort is needed to identifyappropriate management and resource criteria to useas a basis for future development.Supply staff training on ICT and new educationphilosophy. In order to increase the application ofICT in education, it is necessary to help staff developthe requisite skills. Additionally, the ideas of relevantpersons should be renewed to improve the efficiencyand quality of ICT applications. The training ofadministration and decision-making staff is the mostimportant task. So far there is no plan for this.Promote development of modern e-government.It is necessary to push forward the informationisationof educational government affairs and to build theperfect e-government system in order to improve theeducational public services and administration. Thiswill require the development of a wholesome e-1 “Education Development Agenda for 21st Century,” Governmentdocument, 1999.2 “The Development Agenda of Educational Informationisation forTenth Five-year Plan,” Government document, 1999.3 See note 2 above.4 Chen Li, “Research Report on Education Informationisation inChina,” Network Era, 4 (2002).5 “Set up ‘School Connection Project’ in Primary and SecondarySchools,” Government document, 2000.6 “Instruction on Developing Modern Distance Education in China,”Government document, 1999,7 “The Project of Constructing University Campus Network for WestUniversities,” Government document, 2001.8 “Popularising ICT Education in Primary and Secondary Schools,”Government document, 2000.9 “The Instruction on Accelerating Speed of EducationalAdministration Informationisation,” Government document, 2001.10 “The Distance Education Project for Communist Party MemberTraining in the Countryside,” Government document, 2003.11 “The Project of Modern Distance Education of Primary andSecondary Schools in the Countryside,” Government document,2003.12 See the home page of China State Ministry of Education website:www.moe.edu.cn.13 See note 12 above.14 See note 12 above.15 See note 12 above.16 “Instruction on Authorising Some Universities to Set UpDemonstrated Software Colleges,” Government document, 2001.17 Chen Li, “Statistic Report about Network Education College inChina,” 2003. success_storiesUNDP.html.84

Democratic People’s Republic ofKoreaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Jung Sun Hahn, Ph.DNational policies, strategies andprogrammesIntroductionThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is one of the world‘smost closed and isolated countries. It faces desperate economicconditions and is in its ninth year of food and energy shortages.Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regimeto escape mass starvation since 1995, but the population remainsvulnerable to prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating livingconditions.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationReporting on information and communication technology(ICT) use in education appears to be an odd assignmentwhen students at primary schools need food and basicnecessities such as books, pencils and notebooks. Thegovernment of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea doesnot reveal any official statistics about ICT, not even thenumber of people using computers. Thus this report is madewith the absence of detailed information and statistics.Policy Goals and Action PlansThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is led by anational founder, a person with overwhelming power andthe only one who can decide almost everything. In 1988 athree-year plan for the promotion of science and technologybegan, and the government started massive funding forinformation science and industry. However, the amount offunding was not known. The second three-year plan (1991-1994) aimed to computerise all sectors of the nation by theyear 2000 and to industrialise the production of IC chips. 1Current Implementation StatusICT is used by a limited number of organisations. Stateorganisations, factories, companies, colleges, computerresearch and development institutions, and some seniormiddle schools have access to computers. While the Internetis not used, the intranet is installed and used by those limitednumber of organisations and institutions.Budget and Sources of FundingInformation about budget and sources of funding is notavailable. It is known, however, that Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea is eager to develop the ICT industry,and will jointly venture with the Republic of Korea andthe Hana Program Center (HPC) in Dandong, China. 2 Theinitial capital is US$ 300,000. The South will own 60 percent of the HPC and the Pyongyang Information Center(PIC) in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will ownthe other 40 per cent. PIC is dispatching 40 of its topengineers to Dandong for three months of training from theRepublic of Korean engineers.Gaps, limitations and needsExposure to computers and ICT is limited to those studentswho excel in the class. This select group of students is givenaccess to computers and the intranet. 3 This situation widensthe already existing gap between the outstanding academicstudents and the average and below-average students.Current level ofICT access and useSummary of Technologies Being UsedIn Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, there are 16AM radio stations, 14 FM radio stations and 38 TV stations. 4The four major TV stations are Korea Central TV,Mansoodae TV, Pyongyang TV and Science & EducationTV. 5 These stations air from 5:10 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. duringthe weekdays and from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Sundays(Science & Education TV airs from noon to 10:30 p.m. onSundays).Korea Central TV airs a children’s programme for 30minutes per day, 6 but as most families do not own a TVreceiver, most children cannot watch this programme.Children can watch television at school, but it is notgenerally used in the teaching-learning process.Since 1998, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea hasconducted compulsory computer education two hours perweek from the fourth grade to the sixth grade of seniormiddle schools. 7 Recently, the hours and the target studentsof the computer education have been extended to the studyof mathematics. Some schools have specially designedprogrammes for gifted and talented students to train themas computer programmers or software engineers, but mainlythe focus of computer education has been on teachingcomputer literacy to all students. Recently, the importanceof ICT use has been realised and has started to be taught.Digital Divide IssuesComputer hardware and computer education are providedto a limited number of schools and students. Schools in themajor cities and students who are identified as talented andgifted are given priority. This causes a digital divide betweenthe city and the rural dwellers and between the gifted andaverage students.Nature and Roles of PartnershipsDue to the devastating economic situation in the country,the partnerships involved in the development of ICT arecharacterised not with the industries in Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea, but rather with corporations in theRepublic of Korea and organisations in the US. Forexample, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea hasrequested the Institute for Strategic Reconciliation (ISR,www.isr2020.org) to conduct computer education forstudents as well as teachers. 8 (ISR is a non-profitorganisation whose members are Koreans residing in theUnited States.) In the first stage ISR installed two computerclassrooms with 25 PCs at Morhanbong high middle school86

Democratic People’s Republic of KoreaEast and South-East Asiaand Osan high middle school. In the second stage ISR willinstall computer classrooms in 15 different cities. By 2004ISR will open a computer education research centre andwill conduct systematic training and research on computeruse and its application in education.Other examples are partnerships with corporations in theRepublic of Korea such as the Hana Program Center (HPC),a new South-North joint venture established in Dandong,China, and the Korea Computer - Samsung Software JointCo-operative Development Center between SamsungElectronics and the KCC, which opened in Beijing in March2000.Major initiativesThe leader of the country, Jong-il Kim realised that to buildan infrastructure and to develop hardware would require ahuge amount of capital. He knew his country could notafford it and he also realised that building the necessaryinfrastructure could not be accomplished in the currentsituation. Therefore, the leader changed his plan and shiftedthe emphasis from the development of hardware to software,which requires only knowledge workers who shareintellectual and scientific minds, and creativity. The majororganisations in software development are KCC (KoreaComputer Center), PIC (Pyongyang Information Center)and the Department of Computer Science under theAcademy of Science.Kim started computer education for talented and giftedstudents beginning in high middle school. He alsorestructured several universities to put more emphasis oncomputer science and opened new science and technologyuniversities in several cities. As well, he opened a researchcentre to educate more engineers and scientists. Thespecially trained graduates from high middle schools attendthe best universities, such as Kim Il Sung University,Pyongyang Computer University, Pyongyang ProgramCenter, Korea Computer Center and Chosun ComputerCenter. 9Annual software competitions have been held since 1990to encourage interest in ICT and to promote the softwareindustry. The participants who enter these competitions arescientists, engineers, teachers and students. The awardwinners receive various benefits such as being able to enterthe college of their choice.Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has already reachedthe top level of software techniques in several fields. 10Various research and development institutions aredeveloping computer software ranging from computergames, character and voice recognition programmes,translation software and fingerprint recognition systems.Computer games developed by Democratic People’sRepublic of Koreans are exported and used in the Republicof Korea. The country is gradually shifting its focus fromcomputer software to programmes necessary for eachindustry.Recently Jong-il Kim re-emphasised the importance ofscience and technology and announced a road map to adaptthe educational system and educational contents to theinformation age. He also announced that a plan to producecomputer engineers and programmers had been verysuccessful due to the curriculum revision introducing ICT. 11Examples of trainingThere is no evidence of training in ICT use in education.Any training that does occur is focused on achieving specificgoals. For example, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorean military authorities are especially interested incomputer security technology that protects against thedestruction of computer hardware and software, physicalloss of data or the invasion of databases by unauthorisedindividuals. The College of Automation University, amilitary academy for information, selects the 100 mosttalented students per year, trains them in intensive coursesfor five years, and then appoints all of them as officers. Tenout of 100 talented students take charge of only searchingand hacking matters.There are two training centres: the Computer TrainingCenter at Kim Chaek Engineering University and theNational Training School for Programming in Pyongyang. 12Constraints onthe use of ICTThere are many constraints pertaining to the use of ICT inthe country. In Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, themost obvious constraint is the economic situation. Anotherconstraint is the inability to access the Internet directly orsurf and search for external information freely. Althoughthe Internet country code “kp” has been assigned toDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea, no one has yetregistered a domain. Instead of using the “kp” domain,Democratic People’s Republic of Korea operates someInternet sites indirectly for the purpose of self-advertising. 13Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Infobank(www.dprkorea.com) opened in 1999 and is operated by theHong Kong-based Pan Pacific Economic DevelopmentAssociation of Korean Nationals and is said to be sponsoredby the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.As of August 2003, there was just one Internet serviceprovider (ISP). 14 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea hasjust started to use the Internet to announce its policies andKim’s instructions via the website at www.uriminjokkiri.com.Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, however, stillconnects to the Internet via Chinese or Japanese networks;87

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationit is through these networks that the Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea receive external information and postinformation outside the nation.The Kwangmyung intranet was installed in 2002 and is beingused by major organisations and institutions. 15AnalysisJong-il Kim uses India and Ireland as his models andattributes their success to their reliance on the many welltrainedpeople they can draw on from the pool of humanresources. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has awell-organised educational system, and Kim relies on itheavily to accomplish his goals. Through the educationsystem for very gifted children, Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea is actively cultivating talent in computerrelatedfields. Programmers who are in their twenties andthirties are playing leading roles in software development,and the majority of them have come from the gifted studentprogrammes. Kim is successful in educating talented youngpeople to be outstanding programmers; however, theknowledge-based society does not rely on a handful ofintelligent citizens.The Democratic People’s Republic of Korean ICT modelcould be characterised as intranet-oriented with a nationalinnovation system under government initiative. In theDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea, people cannotaccess the Internet to get information freely. The informationgathered through the Internet is filtered and is circulatedamong the people. This is due to the juche (the theory ofself-reliance) – an ideology that dominates all the fields inthe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.TheDemocraticPeople’s Republic of Korea may need to choose betweenideology and technology in order to achieve prosperity.NOTES1 Sung-Wook Nam, The Strategy of IT Industry Development andBuilding of Strong State in North Korea (Seoul: Hanul Academy,2002).2 Sung In Kim, “Hanabiz to Form IT Joint Venture with NK inChina,” (2001), www.hankooki.com/kt_tech/200207/t20010706171501545110.htm3 “North Korea’s IT Industry,” Korea Today (1998),www.koreascope.org/newdocs.etext/sub/2/1/nk3_15.htm.4 CIA Factbook (2003), www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kn.htm.5 Wan Shin Park, “The Road to the Unification and Peace in theKorean Peninsula,” (Unpublished article, 2003).6 Woo-Seung Lee, “Summary of the Broadcasting of North Korea”(2000), http://old.tv.news.or.kr/eng/yu7.htm.7 See note 1 above.8 “Information and Communication Technology in Education,” aWhite Paper (Ministry of Education & HRD and Korea Education& Research Information Service, 2002).9 Ho-Chul Lee, “North Korea’s Information TechnologyRevolution,” Joint U.S.-Korea Academic Studies 11 (2001): 25-60.10 “A Trend Analysis of Information Industry of North Korea, NCAVII-PER-96137 (National Computerization Agency, 1997).11 Rodong Shinmin (Rodong Newspaper), 2 October 2003,www.kcna.co.jp/calendar/2003/10/10/2003-10-02-013.html.12 See note 1 above.13 See note 9 above.14 See note 4 above.15 The North Korea Trends (Seoul: Ministry of Unification, 2003), 38.88

IndonesiaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Tian Belawati, Ph.DNational policyAs other countries, Indonesia is determined to harness the use ofinformation and communication technologies (ICTs) for increasingthe country’s national competitiveness. The initial step in doing sowas the establishment of the Indonesian Telematics CoordinatingTeam (known as TKTI) in 2000, consisting of all cabinet ministersand chaired by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is nowthe president of Indonesia. In 2001, the ICT national plan wasformulated by Presidential Decree No. 6/2001 (‘Guidelines for theDevelopment and Implementation of ICT in Indonesia’), which statesthe government’s general policy towards ICT and calls on TKTI totake an active role to drive ICT implementation in Indonesia. 1

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationThe decree is supplemented by a detailed five-year action plan,which specifically sets out an ICT plan for education thatincludes the following areas as priorities: 2Collaboration between the ICT industry and ICTeducational institutions (2001-2005);Development and implementation of ICT curricula(2001-2004;Use of ICT as an essential part of the curricula andlearning tools in schools, universities and trainingcentres (2001-2005);Establishment of distance education programmes.Facilitation of the use of Internet for more efficientteaching and learning (e.g. School 2000 or SMU 2000,which started in 1999).Unfortunately, those priorities have not yet been fullyimplemented because of unrest in the country.Current level of ICT accessand use in educationIndonesia is one the largest of the ASEAN countries with apopulation of over 210 million. The area of the country ismostly water (81 per cent with the land divided into 33provinces, 268 regencies, 73 municipalities, 2,004 subdistrictsand 69,065 villages). 3 Despite the economic crisis which startedin 1997, Indonesia has progressively increased itstelecommunication network over the last decade.Indonesia ranks number 21 within the top 25 countries ofInternet users. 4 However, the percentage of Internet users tothe total population is less than two per cent, which is muchlower than the Internet penetration in other ASEAN countriessuch as Malaysia. 5The growth of ICT users in Indonesia within the last two yearshas been phenomenal, increasing from around two million in2000 to over four million in 2002. The Indonesia InternetService Provider Association (APJII) expects this number toincrease up to 7,550,000 by the end of 2003 due to theexpansion of Internet access points provided by Internet kiosks(known as WARNET), which are mostly owned by privatebusiness enterprises. A survey conducted by APJII showedthat about 43 per cent of users access Internet from WARNET(APJII cited in International Telecommunication Union,2002). The rest access the Internet from offices (41 per cent),homes (12 per cent), and schools/universities (four per cent).The cost of Internet access varies depending on the type ofconnection. Subscription to ISP ranges from IDR 45,000 (US$5) to IDR 500,000 (US$ 60) per month depending on theoptions (number of hours, application, etc.) and connectionlines (telephone, cable, fibre optic, etc.). Internet access fromhomes and offices can also be accomplished through thenationwide telecommunication corporations (Telkoms) directInternet line (known as Telkomnet Instant), which costs aroundIDR 160 (US$ 0.02) per minute. Due to high competitionamong WARNET access sites, the cost of Internet access isrelatively affordable, ranging from a low of IDR 5,000 (US$0.05) to IDR 9,000 (US$ 0.09) per hour.In educational practice, ICT use in Indonesia is still in the initialstages. It is estimated that in 2002, about 2,500 educationalinstitutions were Internet users of some kind, 80 per cent ofwhich were secondary schools and the other 20 per cent highereducation institutions. 6Although data on the actual use of ICT in schools have neverbeen comprehensively surveyed, the use of computers (i.e.,PCs) is primarily for administrative purposes. Several schools,especially private ones and those in large cities, have developedschool websites that are used for promotion and communicationbetween students, teachers and parents. However, theapplication of ICT to teaching-learning activities is prevalentin few schools, usually only international schools or franchisedbranches of foreign school systems.A survey conducted by the Centre for Information andCommunication Technology in Education (PUSTEKKOM)of 10 senior secondary schools in Jakarta found that all theschools had a policy to add computer studies to the curriculum.The main purpose was to encourage students to use computersand the Internet to search, gather and process information tosupport their learning. The content of the course included MSWord, MS Excel and MS PowerPoint, Photoshop, CoreldrawOffice, and Internet (search engines, e-mail and mailing-lists).In the non-formal education sector, ICT as a subject is verypopular. Anywhere in the country, it is easy to find privatetraining centres that offer short courses in various ICT-relatedsubjects. These training centres, however, are usually notaccredited nationally or internationally. Subjects taught includebasic computer operation such as MS Office, programming,web-designing, graphics design, animation, etc.As is the case in most ASEAN countries, statistics on genderuse of ICTs in Indonesia are sparse. In the few studies reported,the number of women users is much smaller than that of men. 7A survey on the use of ICTs by women’s organizations in selectcountries of Asia and the Pacific, including Indonesia, 8 foundthat women and men have not benefited equally. Women inparticular have to contend with ideological, systemic andinstitutional barriers to accessing ICTs.90

IndonesiaEast and South-East AsiaHighlights of the survey findings include the following:Women’s groups that have been able to tap into the potentialof ICTs have experienced benefits and increased opportunitiesto conduct research and gain access to news and information;improve organization, knowledge, and skills; monitor andparticipate in global women’s initiatives; disseminateinformation and publicise materials; lobby development causesat local and regional levels; exchange information andexperience; co-ordinate activities both in country and abroad;contribute to civil society and local communities; identify newcontacts and development partners; and apply for donor fundingand other forms of technical support.The dominant use of ICTs is for e-mail, which is primarilyused for administrative purposes and for correspondence withdonors and regional and international partners. The Internet,on the other hand, was found to be useful for networking,information access and advocacy.Major initiativesThe Ministry of National Education (MONE) has conductedseveral initiatives and programmes to enhance the use of ICTin primary and secondary education, including the following:Education Radio Broadcast for Primary SchoolStudents (Siaran Radio Pendidikan untuk MuridSekolah Dasar or SRPM-SD): One of the first projectsto utilise ICT was radio broadcasting for primaryeducation; it was started in 1991/1992. The radioprogrammes were based on the national curriculumby PUSTEKKOM and were intended to enrich thelearning-teaching process. By 2003, about 508 radioprogrammes (in Science, Social Science, Mathematics,Bahasa Indonesia and Civics) had been produced andused in about 20 provinces by 170 primary schools. 9The schools that participated in this project were alsoequipped with a radio/audio cassette player, teachermanuals, and workbooks for the students.secondary schools, primary schools and localrepresentatives of APJII. 10WANKota (Wide Area Network - CITY): This wasinitiated by members of SIN10 with the objective ofconnecting school LANs within and between cities,using a wireless connection. The project, whichincluded eight cities (Malang, Surakarta, Yogyakarta,Wonosari, Bandung, Cibinong, Tangerang andMakasar), is predominately funded and supported byparticipating schools and local district governments.The pilot project for 2003 plans to include another 30cities. The DTVE injected a small incentive for schools(through a school/VSS block grant of US$ 10,000 percity) to leverage-related parties to contribute eitherfinancially and/or conceptually through regulations.Among other things, WANKota serves as a distancelibrary,a medium for teleconferencing and as an accessto the Internet through which all the schools will havea space for developing and hosting their own websites.ICT block grants for secondary schools: TheDirectorate of General Secondary Education (DGSE)and MONE initiated a system of block grants ofabouUS$D 4,179 per school to procure computerfacilities. The project, during 2002 and 2003, hasallocated grants to about 174 schools throughout thecountry. 11“SMU2000” or School 2000: This project wasinitiated through collaboration between the DirectorateGeneral of Primary and Secondary Education, MONEand APJII, and was intended to connect 2000 highschools to the Internet by the year 2000 through thedevelopment of an educational portal. However,although APJII has brought various partners to theproject, it was only able to connect about 1,180 schoolsby the end of 2000. 12 Later data show that by March2002, about 1,800 high schools had been provided withInternet connection. No further data are available onthe progress of this project.IT programme: The Directorate of Technical andVocational Education (DTVE) and the MONElaunched this programme in vocational secondaryschools (VSSs) in 1999. It introduced informationtechnology as a compulsory subject across all skillcompetency programmes. VSS students are taughtbasic knowledge on computers, as well as webdesigning. This project has led to the establishmentof a communication forum known as SchoolInformation Network or Jaringan Informasi Sekolah(SIN or JIS) among VSSs in every region utilising amailing-list application. It has been reported that morethan 500 VSSs and about 800 individual memberssubscribe to the mailing list. The forum also conductsregular face-to-face meetings, which attractmemberships from general secondary schools, junior “E-dukasi” or E-ducation project ofPUSTEKKOM: In co-operation with the Directorateof Vocational Education, this project was started in2002. 13 The objective is to improve the quality ofeducation in high and vocational schools through theuse of Internet-based learning materials (termed e-learning). The first subjects developed wereMathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology,Electronics, and Information Technology. They arenow available for use by teachers (see www.edukasi.net/).ICT-related activities are also being conducted by variousinstitutions, and these are mostly intended to raise greaterawareness of ICT and its advantages, encourage a largercommunity to use ICT for their benefit, develop content91

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationthrough ICT, enhance collaboration among different agencieson ICT-related educational programmes and activities andprovide training on ICT-related skills. APJII and TheSoutheast Asian Ministers of Education Organization forOpen and Distance Learning (SEAMOLEC) are among theorganizations that have been intensively conducting ICTrelatedprogrammes.APJII has developed a website to raise awareness of thebenefits of ICT (see http://ti.apjii.or.id/), which containsgeneral information on ICT and how to use it for variouspurposes. It is easy to understand and is designed using simpletechnologies to allow maximum access. Informationcontained in the website is also available in CD format forwider dissemination. 14Examples of trainingIn addition to the various and sporadic teacher trainingprovided by individual schools, there are several nationalefforts:The Directorate General of Primary and SecondaryEducation (DGPSE), in collaboration with MONE’sPUSTEKKOM, MONE, has trained some 800 high schoolteachers on computer-assisted learning. 15As part of the information technology programme for VSSs,the DTVE has provided training to teachers and studentssince 2001. Both groups are trained in using ICT (i.e.,Internet) and teachers receive training in graphic design,sound, video, storyboard and the tools and peripherals formultimedia acquisition, presentation and production.Internet equipment has been supplied and connections madein over 550 locations. 16 It was expected that after the training,teachers would have the competencies to producemultimedia-learning packages on CD-ROM. However, itseems that this goal has not been realised yet. Servers ofWANKota are still filled with materials produced byPUSTEKKOM rather than by those created by the trainedteachers. 17Basic computer training for about 98 teachers from 49schools (including JSSs, GSSs, and VSSs, both public andprivate) was provided by the APEC Cyber EducationNetwork (ACEN) in 2001. This programme was followedin 2002 by the National Office for Educational Researchand Development (known as Balitbang) providing othertraining related to web design, home page development, webdatabase and e-learning application.SEAMOLEC (www.seamolec.or.id/) has conducted manynon-formal ICT-related training programmes such asProduction of Web and CD-based Interactive MultimediaLearning Programs for Online Access, Utilization of Internetfor Instruction and Training Purposes, Virtual Library toSupport Distance Learning, and The Utilization of Internetin Teaching and Training Instruction. 18 SEAMOLECtraining programmes are attended by participants fromSoutheast Asian countries, and are conducted throughregional face-to-face workshops.Unfortunately, there are no further data available on theimpact of these initiatives in terms of the number of teacherstrained or on the actual application of the skills ininstructional practice in school classrooms.Constraints onthe use of ICTThe initiatives undertaken have significantly increasedawareness of the potential use of ICT for education amongboth the general public and school communities. However,the use of ICT as an integral part of the teaching-learningprocess in schools, as well as a subject matter in primary andsecondary schools, has not yet been widely implemented. Themost common use of ICT is limited to the use of stand-alonePCs for administration purposes, even in the more advantagedschools. The use of ICT to facilitate learning and e-learning atbasic education levels remains more as a seminar topic ratherthan an implemented programme.This situation is due to multiple factors:There is no national strategic plan for implementing ICT ineducation. All the initiatives have been conducted as projectbasedactivities, which tend to be ad hoc, unsustainable andwithout long-term goals.Since the multidimensional crisis, which was started witheconomic events in mid-1997, the Indonesian government haspushed its priorities to more fundamental issues such as politicalstabilisation and basic welfare for the people. This has causeddelays in the development of ICT infrastructure. As a result,Internet access through Internet kiosks is limited to urban areas,especially in Java and Bali. Furthermore, the locations of theInternet kiosks are not associated with school locations; theyare usually located in the business areas, while most primaryand secondary schools are located in rural and residential areas.Due to financial difficulties, government priority in basiceducation has been put on the rehabilitation of school buildings,teacher training on the pedagogical aspects of teaching and onteachers’ welfare. ICT for education has, therefore, not yetbeen considered a priority. Hence, even though some teachershave been trained to use ICT in their teaching activities, theycannot use their new skills because of the lack of facilities(hardware). Moreover, the number of teachers who have beentrained is very small in relation to the total number of primaryand secondary school teachers in the country.The availability of relevant content in the national language(Bahasa Indonesia) is limited. So far, the only development of92

IndonesiaEast and South-East AsiaICT-based learning materials has been done by PUSTEKKOM,and then only for five subjects. Individual private schools havedeveloped their own web-based materials, but they are notavailable for external users.AnalysisThe use of ICT in basic education in Indonesia is still farfrom a reality. It can only be improved by providing accessto hardware, developing instructional content and using thelocal language. Future initiatives should emphasise thefollowing:Providing access through the expansion of ICT infrastructure.This would include re-evaluation of telecommunication policyto decrease the domination of the two largesttelecommunication operators (PT TELKOM and INDOSAT)and allow more opportunity to private players. 19Providing access through the use of existing communitymeeting centres (e.g., schools, mosques, post offices). Theseare the places where people usually gather. Governmentpolicies on telecommunication should encourage individualprivate entrepreneurs to establish Internet access points.Establishing Internet access points at schools especially wouldsignificantly accelerate the number of Internet users byenabling the teachers to use the technology in theirinstructional activities.Providing incentives for content development. Thegovernment should encourage all segments of the educationalcommunity to participate in content development.International funding agencies should be invited tocollaboratively enhance the identification and developmentof relevant content that is in line with the national vision forthe educational sector. Furthermore, repackaging of Internetaccessedinformation and combining Internet technology with“traditional” or more established tools of communication likeradio and print is also essential to enhance access toinformation.Even the fulfillment of the above three aspects (higher access,local content and local language) will not be sufficient unlessthey are wrapped in a systematically and comprehensivelydesigned national strategic plan for the use of ICT ineducation. Therefore, it is essential for the Indonesiangovernment to immediately develop a national policy andstrategic plan for harnessing the use of ICT in education.The government should also address the matter of unequalaccess to ICT between men and women as it develops policiesand plans. Specifically, it should implement therecommendations put forward by Cabrera-Balleza: 20Ensure that gender is mainstreamed in ICT policies andprogrammes and that women are represented in the bodiesthat make decisions and policies.Make the technology accessible, relevant and useful to Asia-Pacific women by developing holistic state policies on ICTthat take women’s needs and gender issues into considerationas well as address related issues such as the urban-rural bias.Promote the enrolment of girls in ICT programmes byproviding incentives such as scholarships and awarenessraisingactivities.Provide additional funding support to promote ICT use amongwomen’s groups in the Asia-Pacific region.Conduct continuing training on the potential and use of ICTwhich should also include the basic technical aspects such assimple data exchange, searching, processing and storage.Conduct awareness-raising workshops on the benefits of ICTsparticularly as an effective means of communication.Disseminate, in both print and electronic formats, results ofresearch on women and ICT, especially those that provideexamples of successful use of ICTs by women’s organizations.NOTES1 ‘Kretek Internet: Indonesia Case Study’ (InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU), 2002), www.itu.int/asean2001/reports/material/IDN%20CS.pdf.2 ‘Five Year Action Plan For the Development and Implementation ofInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Indonesia’(TKTI, 2001), www.bappenas.go.id/bap.eng.html.3 Daftar Wilayah Pemerintahan: (Ministry of Home Affairs, 2003),www.depdagri.go.id.4 ‘Internet Usage in Asia (Internet Users and Population Statistics forAsia)’ (Internet World Stats, 2003), www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm.5 JII cited in ITU. See note 1 above.6 Nugroho, ‘Pengguna Internet Di Indonesia Meningkat Dua Kali Lipat’(2002), www.ristek.go.id/berita/news/news_156.htm.7 E. Rathgeber, ‘Gender and Telecentres: What have we learned?,’presentation at World Bank Gender and the Digital Divide SeminarSeries (2002), www.worldbank.org/gender/digitaldivide/Eva%20Rathgever.ppt.8 V. Cabrera-Balleza, ‘Women’s NGO@asia-pacific.net: ICT and GenderIssues in Asia and the Pacific’(2002), www.isiswomen.org/onsite/knowhow/ict_gender.htm.9 PUSTEKKOM, www.pustekkom.go.id/SRPM_SD.htm.10 H. Iskandar, Policy Development on SchoolNet Operations inVocational Secondary Schools (The Directorate of Training andVocational Education, Ministry of National Education, 2003).11 H. Yuhetty, ICT and Education in Indonesia, presentation at theUNESCO High Level Policy-Makers Workshop, Bangkok, 18-21February 2003.12 See note 1 above.13 See e-dukasi website, www.e-dukasi.net.14 See APJII website, www.apjii.or.id.15 See note 11 above.16 See note 11 above.17 See note 10 above.18 SEAMOLEC, www.seamolec.or.id.19 ‘Status of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)Development in Indonesia’ (in English) (GIPI (Global Internet PolicyInitiative), 2003), www.gipi.or.id/page.php/.20 See note 8 above.93

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JapanICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Aya YoshidaNational policies, strategiesand programmesIt was 1994 when Japan took serious steps to promote a nationalICT policy. The first step was the formation of the AdvancedInformation and Telecommunications Society PromotionHeadquarters, headed by the prime minister and composed of thefull cabinet. In 2001, this Headquarters was reformed as the StrategicHeadquarters for the Promotion of an Advanced Information andTelecommunications Network Society, followed by the announcement

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationof the e-Japan Strategy. 1 Now, in 2003, the creation of basicICT infrastructure that was the goal of e-Japan is almostcomplete and the e-Japan Priority Policy Program–2003based on the second phase of the e-Japan Strategy has beendecided. In this second phase, “human resourcesdevelopment and education/promotion of training” isidentified as one of five key areas. 2The involvement of the Ministry of Education, Culture,Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in ICT promotionbegan with the (100) Hundred Schools Project in 1994 3 inco-operation with what was then still the Ministry of Tradeand Industry. Approximately 100 schools from all overJapan were selected for assistance in using networks thatwould enable classroom teachers to provide variety ininstruction. In 1999, this project was followed byimplementation of the Information Technology in EducationProject (ITEP), 4 the goal of which was to use computers inteaching in all elementary and secondary schools by 2005.Specifics of the plan included:Installation of computers with Internet access in allordinary classrooms by 2005;Creation of training opportunities for teachers toimprove their computer skills and enable them to usecomputers in teaching their subjects;Development of visual and video contentsappropriate for teaching the use of computers;R&D on teaching methods that use high-speednetworks;Creation of a teaching materials portal site at theNational Institute for Educational Policy Research.Current level of ICT access and useTable 1: Computer installations and Internet accessType of schoolStudents pereducationalcomputer(individuals)Internetaccess rate(%)High-speed (400kbps or faster)Internet accessrate (%)Ordinaryclassrooms withLAN connections(%)E lementary12.6(22.2)99.4(48.7)52.8(11.7)23.2 (6.5)J unior high8 .4 (11.2)99.8(67.8)57.9(15.9)24.3 (7.1)H igh school7 .4 (10.3)99.9(80.1)75.7(11.5)51.8 (14.6)S chools for the disabled 4 .0 (7.7)99.8(59.9)70.2(10.4)45.6 (12.0)Note: Figures in parentheses are 1999 data, except for those on high-speed Internet access, which are 2000 data.S ource: MEXT (2001), “ Survey of Information Education in Schools, ”www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/zyouhou/index.htmlThe degree to which ITEP has been implemented ineducation is shown in Table 1. The table presents computerinstallation and Internet access data as of fiscal 2002. Thereare on average approximately ten students per educationalcomputer over all schools, except for schools for thedisabled, where the ratio is lower. Virtually all schools haveInternet access; however, high-speed Internet access,although increased over 1999 figures, remains lower inelementary and junior high schools than in high schools.Only 20 per cent of ordinary classrooms have LANconnections in elementary and junior high schools: thatfigure rises to around 50 per cent for high schools andschools for the disabled. Compared, however, to 1999 (or2000), Internet access has become much more common,and the last couple of years have seen high-speed Internetaccess spreading at an accelerating rate.Table 2 indicates the level of ICT skills in the teacherpopulation. While 90 per cent of teachers know how toTable 2: Teacher ICT skillsType of schoolCanoperate acomputer(%)Can usecomputersin teachingE lementary88.0(63.0)66.3 (36.5)J unior high87.1(67.2)46.1 (29.7)H igh school89.0(73.8)38.1 (28.1)S chools for the disabled 82.3(54.2)37.4 (20.5)Note: Figures in parentheses are 2000 data.S ource: MEXT (2001), “ Survey of Information Education in Schools, ”www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/zyouhou/index.html96

JapanEast and South-East AsiaTable 3: Teacher ICT useType of school3-plus time/week (%)1-plus time/week (%)1-plus time/month (%)1-plus time/semester(%)Less than 1time/semster(%)Virtuallynever (%)Elementary24.330.319.36.33.816. 0Juniorhigh 35.424.310.73.82.523. 3Highschool 43.022.99.22.11.621. 3Schools for thedisabled35.425.810.23.12.423. 1S ource: Committee to Promote IT Use in Primary and Secondary Education (2002), “ IT Contributions to Learning Ability: Realities and Perspectives, ”www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chousa/shotou21/operate a computer, the proportion of teachers able to usecomputers in teaching falls to 66 per cent for elementaryschools, and much lower for other types of schools. Inelementary schools, the same teacher teaches almost allsubjects, but in secondary schools, different teachers teachdifferent subjects. In junior high schools, those who usecomputers are concentrated in the sciences. In high schoolsand schools for the disabled, teachers using computers areconcentrated in vocational training classes. Relatively fewteachers in other areas have the skills required to usecomputers in teaching and, thus, the proportion of allteachers using computers in teaching is relatively low.Table 3 shows the frequency with which teachers use ICT.At all levels, around 60 per cent of teachers use ICT one ormore times per week. Around 20 per cent virtually neveruse it.Table 4 shows that elementary school students are mostlikely to be the most frequent users. Compared to elementaryschool students, those in other schools do not often usecomputers. This result appears to be related to data onteachers reported in Table 2, with teachers in secondaryschools lacking the ICT skills for teaching purposes.Data are available on the use of broadcast (TV and radio)technologies in education. Nippon Hoso Kyokai, JapanBroadcasting Corporation (NHK) has radio and TV channelsthat are used for education. Educational radio started in 1931with programmes specifically for schools begun in 1935.Educational TV was initiated in 1959 and there is now avariety of school education programmes, such as nationallanguage, foreign languages, math, science, social sciencesand so on.All schools, from elementary to high school, have 15 TVmonitors on average. Table 5 shows the use of broadcastingtechnology in schools. TV is pre-eminent over radio,particularly in elementary schools. An interesting statisticis that the use of these media has declined year by yearsince the 1980s. Broadcasting is being replaced by the newICTs such as recorded videos and computers.School completion from elementary to junior high is almost100 per cent and 97 per cent by the end of high school.There seems to be, then, no niche for non-formal educationin the system. Cram schools, however, might be regardedas a kind of non-formal education. However, there are nodata on ICT use in these schools. Some universityTable 3: Student ICT useType of school3-plus time/week (%)1-plus time/week (%)1-plus time/month (%)1-plus time/semester(%)Less than 1time/semster(%)Virtuallynever (%)Elementary11.620.916.722.6 4.623. 6Juniorhigh 6.54.53.710.67.966. 9Highschool 13.22.42.03.63.875. 0Schools for thedisabled13.56.46.19.74.060. 3S ource: Committee to Promote IT Use in Primary and Secondary Education (2002), “ IT Contributions to Learning Ability: Realities and Perspectives, ”www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chousa/shotou21/97

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTable 5: The use of broadcast technologiesT ype of school T V (%)Radio (%)preparatory schools use satellite to deliver classes taughtby prominent lecturers, and some of these schools usepersonal computers with cameras for question-and-answersessions between students at home and the lecturers. Otherlanguage schools employ web-based training.In Japan, there is no digital divide in ICT infrastructure orin access. Differences due to gender, cultural backgroundor place of residence are not an issue either in accessingICTs.Major initiativesImportant examples of initiatives to promote use of ICT ineducation include the Japan Association for Promotion ofEducational Technology’s Computer Education PracticalIdea Award, 5 started in 1997, and the MEXT InternetUtilization Concours (NETCON), 6 started in 1999. Theformer aims to broaden the use of computers, while the latteris more narrowly focused on the use of the Internet ineducation. 7Awards vary widely depending on the level of the schoolsand the particular classes involved, but they can be roughlydivided into five patterns:199219961998199219961998Elementary95.2 94.9 97.1 4.6 4.0 7. 1Juniorhigh 39.2 31.7 58.4 5.6 n/a 6. 0Highschool 50.9 45.5 62.1 2.8 7.6 2. 0Source:H. Sano, K. Saito, and Y. Itani (1997) “ The Use of Broadcasting in SchoolEducation, compared with other media,” The NHK Monthly Report on BroadcastingResearch, p.12-29.The first pattern uses the Internet as a source ofinformation. When investigating a particular topic,an Internet search engine can lead to unexpecteddiscoveries and acquisition of information not foundin textbooks. One elementary school used the Internetto investigate local history, with a focus on historicalfigures that played important roles in constructinglocal levees. Information posted on the web wasgathered and organised via the Internet and theninformation from other sources, including interviewswith local people, was added. Use of the Internet forgaining information or as a learning tool is by far themost common. This approach is called “learningthrough investigation.” 8 In cases where students donot know where to begin, the web is an especiallyeffective way for them to get started.The second pattern creates multimedia presentationscombining text, still images, video and audio, andposts them on the web. One elementary school usedits period for integrated study for a project that addedenvironmental sounds in the school’s neighbourhood.Sounds were recorded and digital photographs weretaken of the sites where the sounds were located.Presentation tools were used to combine sounds andimages and add observations to them. The finishedproject was then uploaded on to the web. The projecttook advantage of the computer’s ability to combinedifferent media and, in addition, it used the Internetto communicate the information created. This provedto be an effective way to promote a deeperunderstanding than is possible by orally describingthe images and sounds. It showed how environmentalexperiences could be recorded and shared with othersvia the Internet.The third pattern uses the Internet to exchangeinformation. For example, in one experiment, around200 schools planted seeds from the same plants atthe same time on the same day. E-mail and a webbasedbulletin board were used to post informationabout the plants’ growth and student activities. Datawere collected, organised and distributed to everyone.The experiment’s objective was to test theeffectiveness of the Internet as a means of stimulatingexchange concerning a shared topic. One of theoutcomes was spreading awareness of the regionalvariation in Japan’s climate and topography.The fourth pattern uses the Internet for distancelearning. With assistance from participatingcompanies, some industrial high schools used anInternet-based video conferencing system for aninternship programme in which students receivedremote instruction on how to build simple equipment.Web-based groupware was used to assemble reportson each day’s progress. Equipment manufacturinginternships had not been easy for companies becauseit was difficult to put students on their regularassembly lines. As well, combining academic andpractical work experience was a problem for theschools. Distance learning, delivered via the Internet,provided a solution for both issues.The fifth pattern involves programmes that provideinformation to an unlimited number of people. Forexample, some elementary schools create virtualcompanies on the web allowing students toexperiment with virtual sales of locally producedproducts, or local volunteers and junior high schoolstudents start virtual companies and incorporate theirown ideas to compete for sales with web-voting usedto simulate purchases. As purchases vary day by day,the companies must modify their products in responseto orders or change their prices to compete more98

JapanEast and South-East Asiaeffectively. Allowing unlimited numbers ofindividuals to participate in a virtual reality createsan experience impossible in the classroom settingwithout access to the Internet.These are but a few examples of the ways that ICT is beingused in Japanese education.Examples of trainingIt is accepted that training and instruction are required topromote the use of information technology in education.Accordingly, beginning in 2002, elementary schools beganintroducing ICT training into individual subjects or into theirperiods of integrated study. Also, starting in fiscal 2002,use of ICT became a requirement in technical and homeeconomics classes in junior high schools. As of 2003,information technology became a required subject in highschools.In connection with these efforts, training is being providedto teachers with the goal of equipping them with thenecessary ICT skills. One example of a programme iscourses open to the public or at training seminars organisedby private businesses. Overall, the amount of trainingprovided has increased slightly since 1999. The proportionprovided at the national or prefecture level has declined,while the level of training provided by schools stayed fairlyconstant. Since there is no national standard for training,there are dramatic differences from one board of educationto another and from one school to another.In 2003 an online e-learning training system called the e-Teacher Project was developed. Instead of a conventionalclassroom-based approach, this project encourages teachersto acquire ICT skills during their free periods by using thecourses available through the e-Teacher Project. Thisinservice training is important because informationtechnology courses are now a required part of the curriculumthat teachers need to be able to teach, and university teachertraining programmes are still not producing teachers withthe necessary qualifications. As a result, providing trainingto teachers already in the labour force has become the biggestchallenge confronting educational use of ICT in the country.In 2001, the Japan Association for Promotion of EducationalTechnology began offering a certification examination forTable 6: Percentage of teachers receiving trainingT ype of school Within the fiscal year (%)National or Prefecturetraining (%)School-providedtraining (%)E lementary105.9(68.1)20.9(41.0)70.5 (56.4)J unior high67.5(56.2)12.6(39.4)46.9 (48.7)H igh school44.6(41.4)8 .0 (36.6)31.9 (49.6)S chools for the disabled 55.7(54.9)8 .9 (32.2)41.1 (59.8)Note: Figures in parentheses are data from fiscal 2000.S ource: MEXT (2002), “ Survey of IT Education in Schools,” www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/zyouhou/index.html/“Training to Foster Instructors in Educational Use of IT.”This national programme aims to educate leaders at theprefecture level and is offered for three-to-five day periodsduring school summer vacations. Approximately 2,000individuals receive this training each year. Another exampleis a programme called “Basic Computer Training” byprefecture boards of education. This training is providedfor all teachers who have several years of teachingexperience. Between 30,000 and 35,000 teachers receivethis training annually.Table 6 shows the percentage of teachers who received someform of training during 2002. The highest proportion wasfound in elementary schools. The percentage of teachersreceiving training declines up the school hierarchy. Virtuallyall of the training was provided either by schools or at thenational or prefecture level. Not included in the table is thehandful of cases in which training was received in university“educational information technology co-ordinators,” whowould then be well versed in ICT and provide support forother teachers in its use. The objectives of the certificationexamination are to establish a new position and to provideICT training for teachers so they might take the position.To date only a few have received this certification and, sinceit is still very new, it is not yet widely recognised. Still,providing this kind of support by ICT specialists instead ofdepending entirely on teachers’ self-study may becomeincreasingly important.Constraints on the useof ICTsWhen elementary and junior high school teachers wereasked to identify barriers to the use of ICT in classrooms,99

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationtheir most frequent answers were as follows: Insufficient number of computers (40.6%)Greater preparation time required for classes usingcomputers (38.6%) No free time for training (37.7%)Lack of software usable by teachers and students(33.3%) 9While highlighting the lack of both hardware and software,these answers also reveal the plight of teachers who haveinsufficient time to acquire computer skills and prepareclasses in which ICT is to be used. The combination of lackof skills and time is a fact of teacher life. But the shortageof computers is one problem that can be readily solved.Also, as ICT use becomes more pervasive, the lack of basicknowledge of how to operate equipment will become lesspressing.The real issue, then, is the amount of preparation timerequired. Case studies reveal that ICT use most often is aspecial event in a lesson. It is not easy for teachers to makefrequent use of ICT in everyday teaching without adequatepreparation. Teachers lack the know-how of why, when andhow to use the technology. This problem cannot be solvedby time alone. Research, training and repeated practice areessential.AnalysisAs indicated, the last few years have seen fulfillment ofmost national policy targets for ICT use in classrooms. Theinfrastructure is largely in place. As of 2001, the penetrationrate of household Internet access had reached 61 per cent.It is no longer unusual for a student to access the Internet athome as well as at school.The critical question is no longer that of knowing how tooperate a computer or browse the Internet for information.The issue now is how to successfully incorporate ICT intothe teaching process. Specific methods for achieving thisaim are not yet in place. High-school teacher trainingprogrammes to meet the demand for teacher-experts ininformation technology have only just been started, andmost schools must still rely on retraining those teacherscurrently in the classroom. It is not at all easy for teachersto obtain the training they need. In addition to providingtraining opportunities, it is vital to build environments thatfacilitate such training.Although experience is being accumulated in the use ofICT as part of the teaching process, more academic researchin this area is required. What is the effect of ICT on theeducational experience? What are the successful factors inusing ICT in classrooms? How are cost and the effectivenessof ICT use balanced?NOTES1 For more information on national level steps to promote ICT, seethe home page of the Strategic Headquarters for the Promotion ofan Advanced Information and Telecommunications NetworkSociety, www.kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/it2/index.html/.2 See “E-Japan Strategy II” (http://kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/it2/kettei/030702ejapan.pdf) for a description of the basic direction ofJapan’s ICT strategy. “E-Japan Major Plans 2003” describesconcrete programmes based on that strategy.3 The 100 School Project finished in 1998. The history of the projectcan be found at www.edu.ipa.go.jp/100school/.4 The Information Technology in Education Project was one of aseries of four projects entrusted to a government ministry andagency task force reporting directly to the prime minister andcabinet. Between 1998 and 2000 approximately 9,100,000,000 yenwas invested in this project (www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/zyouhou/index.htm).5 The Japan Association for Promotion of Educational Technology’sComputer Education Practical Idea Award has collectedapproximately 700 case studies, of which 10 to 15 have beenchosen for the award (www.japet.or.jp/idea/index.cfm).6 The MEXT Internet Utilization Concours (NETCON) has been thesubject of presentations to MEXT, the cabinet, the Prime Minister’sOffice, METI, and the Asahi Shimbun. Ten prizes are awarded eachyear (www.netcon.gr.jp).7 Additional case studies can be found athttp://thinkquest.gr.jp/index.html, the website for the international ThinkQuest contestmanaged in Japan by the School Internet Promotion Associationand www.nicer.go.jp/itnavi, the “IT Teaching Practice Navi”website of the National Center for Educational Information at theNational Institute for Educational Policy Research.8 “IT Contributions to Learning Ability: Realities and Perspectives”(Committee to Promote IT Use in Primary and SecondaryEducation, 2002), www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/zyoujou/index.htm.9 See note 8 above.100

LaosPeople’s Democratic Republic ofICT USE IN EDUCATIONPRELNational policies, strategiesand programmesSeveral government agencies are involved in the development ofinformation and communication technology (ICT) policies andprogrammes in Laos. The Ministry of Communication, Transport,Post, and Construction (MCTPC) is responsible for nationaltelecommunications policies and regulation. The Science,Technology, and Environment Agency (STEA) has the authority toadminister policies and programmes that fall under those threesubject matters. The government has also established the Lao

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationNational Internet Committee (LANIC) to formulate andregulate national Internet policies. The followinggovernment bodies comprise the LANIC: the MCTPC, theMinistry of Information and Culture (MOIC), the Ministryof Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), andthe STEA. The MOIC is also technically responsible forregulating Internet content, though there are few Laotiansites for it to monitor.In 1996, the STEA was given the mandate to develop anational plan for information technology (IT). The resulting“Lao National Plan on Information Technology: Master Planup to Year 2000” outlined three main projects: the creationof a Lao code page, software standards and a governmentintranet. Unfortunately, the plan ended in 2000 withoutrealising these goals. 1Currently, the MCTPC, with support from the JapaneseInternational Cooperation Agency (JICA), is developing aTelecommunications Master Plan for the period 2003-2015.According to the MCTPC, this plan will outline theresponsibilities within the government regarding IT andclarify that MCTPC has authority over all ICT policies. 2The Ministry of Education (MOE) has developed a threephasemaster plan for IT development in education. Thefocus of each phase is as follows:The establishment of a ministerial intranet systemwith links to provincial offices and the NationalUniversity of Laos (NUOL);The incorporation of ICT content into the secondaryand tertiary curriculum;The promotion of distance learning and e-learningthrough ICT.In 2000, the ministry requested international assistance indeveloping an IT curriculum under phase 2 for the NUOL. 3The emphasis of the MOE, however, continues to be onbasic education, with 47.3 per cent of public expenditureon education dedicated to pre-primary and primaryschooling. 4Current level ofICT access and useOverall, use of ICT in Laos is limited. Government agencieshave little experience in using ICT, and the few officialswho use the Internet do so primarily for exchanging e-mail.Likewise, the business sector has not been active indeveloping Internet-related applications. Few Laotians haveaccess to computers or the Internet, and less than 2 per centof Laotian households have a telephone. Although there areapproximately 60 Internet cafes in Laos, most of them arein Vientiane. 5 Thus, the 80 per cent of the population livingin rural areas have even less access to ICT than Laotians inthe capital or tourist areas. 6 According to an e-ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) ReadinessAssessment conducted in 2001, Laos ranked last out of the10 ASEAN countries in terms of e-infrastructure, e-society,e-commerce and e-government. As such, it was classifiedas an “emerging” readiness country, characterised by theneed to build basic ICT infrastructure. 7The MOE has received computer equipment and technicalassistance from the World Bank, the Asian DevelopmentBank, l’Agence de la Francophonie, and other developmentpartners. As a result, it has a relatively high ICT penetration.As of 2002, the MOE and 11 provincial offices share roughly150 computers, 40 of which are Internet-compatible andhave a basic intranet system. This ICT presence within theministry, however, does not indicate a high level of ICTawareness or planning for the school system. Rather, itreflects the MOE’s “top-to-bottom” approach toward ITdevelopment. Under this approach, the MOE will focus firston ICT development within itself, then within the NUOLand then on the integration of ICT into secondary schools. 8At present, almost no public primary or secondary schoolsin Laos have access to the Internet, and formal education inICT or computer science is not available below the tertiarylevel. Although the MOE reportedly has plans to providecomputers and Internet access to two secondary schools ineach province by 2005, these computers will be primarilyfor use by the administrative staff. The MOE has alsoindicated that it plans to support basic computer courses atthe secondary level. 9 However, given that ICT is notincorporated into the national curriculum at the primary orsecondary levels, such computer studies may be restrictedto after-school hours, which may not be feasible for eitherstudents or teachers.One reason for the limited use of ICT in Laos is the relativelylate introduction and development of mass media andInternet technologies within the country. Radio andtelevision broadcasting in Laos did not begin until 1960and 1993, respectively. In addition, Laos did not havesustained Internet connectivity until 1996, making it oneof the last Southeast Asian countries to be online. 10Likewise, the NUOL was not established until 1995 andhas not been active in the development of ICT. The NUOLhas a computer lab, funded by the Japanese government, ofapproximately 20 computers with LAN and Internetconnectivity. Although the facility is primarily for use bythe engineering faculty, fee courses are also held there, andthe NUOL now offers an undergraduate computer scienceprogramme.One promising trend is the rise in demand for the Internetamong young educated and urban Laotians. This trend stemsfrom a unique paradox in the higher education system in102

People’s Democratic Republic of LaosEast and South-East AsiaLaos. Prior to the opening of the NUOL, most studentsreceiving college degrees studied outside of Laos and wereexposed to the Internet during that time. Upon their returnto Laos, they sought to remain electronically connected tothe outside world. In this way, the absence of a nationaluniversity seems to have contributed to an increase in ICTawareness among this population. Private traininginstitutions for computer, typing and English skills are alsoin demand among urban youth.Radio and television usage in Laos is also on the rise. Radio,in particular, is a critical media outlet, with more than 50 percent of Laotian households owning a radio. The absence oflocal cinemas and the availability of video technology acrossthe border in Thailand may have contributed to the rise invideo use. In 1997, 20 per cent of Laotian households had avideo recorder, a relatively high percentage given the averagelevel of income. Laotians living close to the Thai border havealso developed an increased awareness of Internet technologythrough Thai television broadcasts and advertising. 11Major initiativesThe Jhai Foundation and Schools Online established thefirst Internet Learning Center (ILC) in Laos in the ruralPhonmee secondary school. Computers were set up in arenovated classroom, and approximately 40 teachers andstudents received computer training. The Center also servesthe needs of the community by opening for public andbusiness use after school hours. The Phonmee ILC projectreceived the Stockholm Challenge award for education in2001. The Jhai Foundation and Schools Online have nowset up three new ILCs in other parts of the country. 12 TheWorld Links for Development Program is also working withthe Jhai Foundation to provide wireless connectivity andrefurbished computers to schools in seven sites across thecountry. Similar to the Phonmee model, the schools willalso be used as community telecentres.ASEAN and UNESCO have launched regional ICT ineducation projects that include programmes in Laos.ASEAN, along with several development partners, isimplementing a project on strengthening ICT in schoolsand establishing a schoolnet. The general objectives of theproject are to share practices on using ICT in schools, totest various models of ICT-based teaching and to improveaccess to educational resources through the establishmentof a schoolnet in ASEAN countries. ASEAN has also helda number of ICT programmes, workshops and seminars forrepresentatives from member countries. 13 RegionalUNESCO projects that encompass Laos include a projecton improving the management and delivery of technicaland vocational education through the application of ICTand a project on promoting successful policy models andstrategies of integration within Asia and the Pacific region. 14The European Commission has also begun a project in Laosunder its Asia IT&C (Information Technology andCommunication) Program. The objective is to applyEuropean Union developments in digital media technologiesto improve the quality of education administration anddelivery in Asia with a focus on vocational, technical andgeneral education. 15In recent years, CISCO Systems, Inc. and the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) held discussions withthe Lao government to explore the establishment of aCISCO Networking Academy Program in Laos. However,it is unclear whether any agreement was reached.Examples of trainingIn 2000, the STEA, with assistance from UNESCO and theCenter of International Cooperation and Computerizationof Japan, established an IT Training Center. Located withinSTEA, the Center provides system administration andadvanced IT courses to Laotian engineers, basic IT skillsdevelopment training to STEA branch officers, and generaltraining in IT utilisation to government officials (seewww.stea.gov.la/English.STEAWeb.htm).Training has also been provided to participants from Laosunder the Southeast Asian Ministers of EducationOrganization (SEAMEO) INNOTECH programme. In2002, for example, a course was held in the Philippinestitled “Technology Applications in Education: Teachers andTeacher Trainers” (see www.seameoinnotech.org).SEAMEO INNOTECH has also undertaken a project onusing ICT for HIV/AIDS preventive education in schoolsin the high-risk border areas of the Greater MekongSubregion.In Laos, there is a rising demand for ICT training. The publicsector lacks the capacity and human resources to meet thisdemand. Therefore, the private sector has played anincreasing role in providing ICT-related training. In a 2000survey of six top business administration institutes andcomputer retailers in Laos, UNDP found that they offeredICT-related courses in the following categories: generalcomputing, typing, Internet introduction, computerhardware, database, programming and computer-aideddesign. 16Constraints onthe use of ICTThere are numerous constraints on the use of ICT bothwithin Laos in general and within the education sectorspecifically:103

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationLack of a co-ordinated ICT master plan: Althoughseveral government agencies have developed ICTplans and projects, there is a lack of co-ordinationamong these groups, which has created uncertaintyabout the roles of these agencies and about whichagency is in charge of overall ICT planning. Inparticular, the hierarchy between STEA and MCTPCon ICT matters is unclear. Such a lack of coordinationresults in numerous independent initiativeswithout a clear prioritisation of the government’s ICTneeds.Lack of ICT infrastructure: The currenttelecommunications infrastructure does not allow forhigh-speed information access, and telecommunicationsaccess is lacking outside urban areas. There is also aninsufficient legal framework for e-commerce and relatedICT laws. In addition, there is a lack of Laotian webbasedcontent, and the domestic standard for the Laofont does not meet international standards. 17Lack of knowledge base for ICT: The governmentof Laos, including the MOE, lacks the necessary ICTexpertise to formulate and implement a co-ordinatednational ICT policy. Among the general population,there is also a considerable lack of ICT awarenessand practical experience. UNDP HumanDevelopment Indicators (2003) show that educationalattainment overall is low in Laos with an adult literacyrate of only 65.6 per cent and a combined grossenrolment rate of 57 per cent. In addition, Laos lackslocal ICT training facilities and manpower. Most ICTpersonnel from the government and private sectorreceived their training abroad. Those who get trainingwithin Laos do so through private colleges andcompanies. In 1998, the NUOL began offering acomputer science degree programme; however, bothNUOL and private training institutions suffer from ashortage of ICT reference and training materials. 18Lack of financial resources: Laos is one of the leastdevelopedcountries in the world, ranking 135th outof 175 countries in the UNDP 2003 HumanDevelopment Index. Gross domestic product (GDP)per capita in Laos is roughly US$ 1,620, withapproximately 39 per cent of the population livingin poverty. 19 Therefore, most Laotians cannot affordcomputer equipment and Internet access. Thegovernment also lacks the financial resources toimplement a large-scale ICT in education project,since it already relies heavily on donor assistance tofund its poverty alleviation and developmentprogrammes. In 1997, for example, foreign aid madeup 38 per cent of the government’s budget. 20Lack of awareness: The potential benefits andapplications of ICT are not well understood in Laos,with the local media presenting scant information onICT. Even within the government, there is not a clearawareness of how ICT could benefit the populationbeyond the use of the Internet for e-mail purposes. 21As a result, there is little public incentive to improveICT planning and access. 22AnalysisLaos faces substantial challenges in developing an ICTinfrastructure and integrating ICT into education. The firstpriority should be to clarify the roles and responsibilities ofthe various agencies involved in ICT planning, includingthe MOE. At present, the MOE appears disconnected fromother national ICT actions, so bringing the MOE into theprocess may create beneficial linkages and reduce initiativeredundancies.In terms of achieving increased ICT use in the short term,one potential area for government action is in vocational,technical and continuing education. The rising demand forprivate ICT training institutions indicates that public sectortraining programmes may be ineffective in meeting thedemands of today’s job seekers. In order to build thenecessary ICT base for Laos, the MOE may need tostrengthen its incorporation of ICT in these programmes.Alternatively, the government could provide a supportiveclimate for the further growth of private sector traininginstitutes. One step in this direction would be to reduce thehigh import tariffs that currently exist on computerhardware.Some factors that could benefit Laos in its ICT developmentare the presence of young Laotians with ICT experience,the interconnectedness of the country with Thailand, andthe Laotian diaspora. The interest in ICT among young urbanLaotians and the presence of those trained abroad in ICTindicates that there is both a demand for ICT and a supply,if limited, of those who can provide training and awareness.In addition, Laos may be able to profit from the ICTdevelopment work that Thailand has already undertaken.Thailand is the largest foreign investor in Laos, and thatincludes the telecommunications sector. Given the absenceof Lao-language Internet-based content and the fact thatmany Laotians understand Thai, there may be opportunityto capitalise on Thailand’s achievements in ICT. Lastly, theLaotian diaspora could also play a role in promoting thebenefits of ICT and launching Internet or other ICT-relatedventures.NOTES1 Boualoykhong Chansavat and Phet Sayo, “E-Readiness Assessmentin the Lao PDR” (Vientiane, Lao PDR: UNDP/UNV).2 “Internet on the Mekong: Lao PDR Case Study” (InternationalTelecommunication Union, March 2002).3 See note 1 above.4 See UNDP Human Development Indicators 2003, www.undp.org/hdr2003/indicator/cty_f_LAO.html.5 See note 2 above.104

People’s Democratic Republic of LaosEast and South-East Asia6 See note 4 above.7 See “E-ASEAN Readiness Assessment, Executive Summary – 2001Assessment,” (24 October 2001), www.e-asean.info/reports/ASEANe-ReadinessAssessment-ReportforPublicBW.pdf.8 See note 1 above.9 See note 2 above.10 See note 2 above.11 See note 2 above.12 See Jhai Foundation,www.jhai.org/technology.htm; Schools Online,www.schoolsonline.org/ whatwedo/laos.htm.13 See “ASEAN Annual Report 2002-2003,” www.aseansec.org/ar03.htm; also www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/unesco_projects/JFIT/schoolnet/project.htm.14 See UNESCO websites: www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/unesco_projects/JFIT/TVE.htm;www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/.15 See http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/projects/asia-itc/html/main.htm.16 See note 1 above.17 See note 1 above.18 See note 1 above.19 Per capita income measured in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.UNDP Human Development Indicators 2003, see note 4 above.20 “Lao PDR-Country Report, Asian Forum on Information andCommunication Technology Policies and e-Strategies” (KualaLumpur, Malaysia: International Telecommunication Union, 2002),www.apdip.net/asian-forum.21 See note 2 above.22 “Assessment of Internet Technology for Integration into the HigherEducation Teachers’ Instructional Support System in Cambodia, Laos,and Vietnam” (Bangkok, Thailand: Continuing Education Center,Asian Institute of Technology Extension), www.panasia.org.sg/grants/awards/00115fr.htm.105

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MalaysiaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Tian Belawati, Ph.DNational policyThe Malaysian government has introduced various initiatives tofacilitate greater integration of information and communicationtechnology (ICT) to enhance the effectiveness of education andtraining programmes. This was outlined in the country’s ICT MasterPlan, finalised in 2001. 1 The long-term vision of the plan, Vision2020, calls for sustained, productivity-driven growth, possible onlywith a technologically literate, critically thinking workforce,prepared to participate fully in the global economy of the 21stcentury. At the same time, Malaysia’s National Philosophy ofEducation calls for “developing the potential of individuals in a

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationholistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individualswho are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally andphysically balanced and harmonious.”Increase co-operation between educationalinstitutions and the community towards expansionof ICT in education.The Ministry of Education sees ICT as a tool to revolutioniselearning, to produce richer curricula, to enhance pedagogies,to lead to more effective organisational structures in schools,to produce stronger links between schools and society andto empower learners. The ministry’s articulation of thevision for ICT in education focuses on three major areas:ICT provided to all students so that it is used as anenabler to reduce the digital gap between schools;ICT used in education as a teaching and learning tool,as part of a subject and as a subject by itself ;ICT used to increase productivity, efficiency andeffectiveness of the management system.As a result, the Malaysian education system is beingtransformed to create a new generation who are adept withthe new technologies and are able to access and managethe information explosion. Malaysia’s ICT developmentalplan for the next 10 years aims to:Intensify the development of ICT infrastructure;Expand access to and equity for ICT facilities;Improve assessment and evaluation systems usingICT;Emphasise ICT integration in teaching and learningprocesses;Improve the ICT knowledge and skills of students,teachers and other personnel;Intensify ICT usage in education management;Improve the management and maintenance of ICTequipment;Increase research and development efforts in ICT.Table 1: School access to ICT (2000)Current level of ICT accessand use in educationMalaysia ranks 17th in the top 25 countries of Internet users.The growth of ICT users in Malaysia over the last two yearswas over 50 per cent increasing the number from around3.7 million to 5.7 million users. The percentage of the totalnumber of Internet users to the total population (23,396,700people) is around 24 per cent This is much higher thanInternet penetration in other ASEAN countries such asIndonesia (two per cent) that ranks 21st and Thailand (5.7per cent) that ranks 25th. 2 One likely factor that contributesto the greater Internet use in Malaysia is the high fixedtelephone connection with 66 per cent of Malaysianhouseholds having phones. 3As of 2001, Malaysia had the second-lowest dial-up Internetcost among the ASEAN countries: Singapore ranked firstwithout any charge for an Internet service provider (ISP)subscription. According to the InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU), the average cost foraccessing 30 hours of Internet in Malaysia was less thanUS$ 20 (including costs for ISP subscription, telephoneusage and rental). The cost for the ISP subscription itselfwas only around US$ 5, which was much lower than inThailand and the Philippines with an average of around US$19, and Indonesia with an average of about US$ 25. 4According to Harvard (www.cid.harvard.edu), the annualcost of 20 hours of monthly Internet access in Malaysia isapproximately 4.85 per cent of the country’s GDP per capita.As of 2000, 31 per cent of Malaysia’s 7,217 primary schoolsand 54 per cent of its 1,641 secondary schools had PCfacilities: 10 per cent of primary schools and 34 per cent ofsecondary schools had Internet access. 5 However, thedistribution of Internet services among schools is stilluneven. With 100 per cent Internet connectivity of schoolsin the Klang Valley (the region around Kuala Lumpur), butfew schools in rural areas connected, a national digital dividedefinitely exists. Outside the Valley, it is estimated thataround 1,000 schools (approximately 12 per cent) do notLevel of schoolsNumber ofschoolsNumber ofstudentsNumber ofteachersNumber ofschools withPCNumber ofschools withInternetPrimary7,2172,870.667247,2042,202739Secondary1,6411,794,515150,681883559Total8,8584,665,18296,5233,0851,298S ource: INFOSOC Malaysia as cited by ITU, 2002.108

MalaysiaEast and South-East Asiaeven have telephone lines. Table 1 shows the condition ofschool access to ICT in 2000.The need to integrate ICT in teaching and learning at alllevels of education is deemed essential. Therefore, theMinistry of Education has earmarked 30 per cent of itsannual budget (approximately MYR 4.2 billion) to connectanother 230 rural schools to the Internet: 120 will beconnected with ISDN lines, 100 with PSTN lines and 10with VSAT connection. 6 As a result, more recent data fromthe Malaysian Ministry of Education indicate improvementin ICT use over the 2000 figures. As of early 2003, almostall educational institutions had at least one computerlaboratory equipped with Pentium class PCs. Specifically,about 75 per cent to 90 per cent of schools and 100 per centof universities have access to the Internet through eitherdial-up, broadband, leased line or cable-broadbandconnection. 7 With these facilities, it is expected that theusage of ICT in teaching and learning as well as in educationmanagement will be increased. Furthermore, to prove theMinistry of Education’s commitment to ICT in learning,computer literacy elements are included in the National PreschoolCurriculum, which started to be implemented in2002.Major initiativesBeginning in 1999, Malaysia began to establish ICT-enabled“smart schools” (www.moe.edu.my/smartschool/), througha contract with Malaysian TELEKOM under the TelekomSmart School Sdn Bhd (TSS) project. To date, there are 90such schools. Smart schools are designed to introducetechnology and deliver education in a better way. The pilotapplications developed teaching/learning materials (firststep was for four subjects: Bahasa Melayu, English, Scienceand Mathematics), a more accurate assessment system andan integrated management system. The governmentenvisions that all schools will be converted into smartschools by the year 2010. 8There are three categories of smart schools, A, B and B+:Smart schools type A (Model Bilik Darjah Penuh):Each classroom within the school will be equippedwith six PCs. Every school will also be supplied withat least five notebook computers, six support serviceunits, equipment for networking, A3-size laserprinter, color printer, multimedia software, videopresentation equipment and a leased line connectionto the national ICT superhighway. The governmentwill supply at least 390 PCs for primary schools and520 PCs for secondary schools in this category.computers, six support service units, equipment fornetworking, an A3-size laser printer, an A4-size laserprinter, color printer, multimedia software, videopresentation equipment and a leased line connectionto the national ICT superhighway.Smart schools type B+ (Model Bilik Darjah Terhad):15 selected classrooms within the school will beequipped with five PCs. Every school will have atleast 81 PCs and will also be supplied with at leasttwo notebook computers, six support service units,equipment for networking, an A3-size laser printer,an A4-size laser printer, color printer, multimediasoftware, video presentation equipment and a leasedline connection to the national ICT superhighway.In addition, a number of non-governmental agencies arevery much involved in the drive to introduce ICT intoschools. For example, the Chinese Smart Schools projectaims at setting up computer laboratories in more than 100selected Chinese stream primary schools throughout thecountry. To date, there are an estimated 250 schools, primaryas well as secondary, that have their own websites (see, forexample, www.jaring/my/tkc/right.html, or www.homestead.com/skkpasirputeh/uji.html).Other portals extending the use of ICT in education havebeen developed by the private sector. Educational portalssuch as “my-e-tutor” (www.myetutor.com) and “e-tuisyen”(www.e-tuisyen.com) allow those people with Internet theoption of expanding or acquiring knowledge online, ofaccessing interactive multimedia tutorials and of developingpersonalised learning programmes. However, accessingthose online courses, which follow the Ministry ofEducation’s curriculum, requires a subscription fee of MYR38 for primary courses and MYR 48 for secondary courses. 9Examples of trainingIn an effort to increase ICT use within classrooms, theMalaysian government requires all teachers to take basicinformatics courses in teachers’ college. As well it providesintensive and continuous ICT training for teachers. Between1996–2000, it is reported that about 30 per cent of theteachers received some form of ICT training.As well, school principals, administrators and other supportstaff within the education system have also been targetedfor ICT training. Topics include education managementinformation systems, an information literacy course forprincipals and administrators, and a computer managementcourse for principals.Smart schools type B (Model Makmal): Eachclassroom within the school will be equipped with20 PCs. Every school will have at least 37 PCs andwill also be supplied with at least two notebookIn the non-formal education sector, women in Sabah,including single mothers, will now benefit from free ICTtraining courses jointly offered by the federal Ministry ofWomen and Family Development and Sabah Skills and109

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTechnology Centre (SSTC). The courses began in January2003 with a targeted enrolment of around 320 women byyear-end. Participation in the courses is open to Malaysianwomen in three categories: working women, non-workingwomen and women entrepreneurs. The objective is to ensurethat women are given the opportunity to develop their skillsin the ICT field. 10Constraints onthe use of ICTThe major factors perceived to inhibit the growth of ICTuse in Malaysian education is described by Lee Huei Min,Senior Analyst with IDC Malaysia, are “the cost of Internetaccess, which includes the cost of hardware, access andknowledge [and the stagnant] Internet experience…asbroadband Internet applications are yet to be deployed.”Another constraint that seems to hinder the actual use ofICT in classrooms is the lack of teachers’ ability to integrateICT-related skills they have learned into their teachingactivities.AnalysisAlthough Internet access is not a barrier and the cost for itin Malaysia is one of the lowest in ASEAN countries, thegrowth of Internet access is still perceived to be slow. Thedata shows that the distribution of Internet services amongschools is still uneven. There is still a national digital dividewith 100 per cent Internet connectivity of schoolsconcentrated within the region around Kuala Lumpur.Outside this area, around 1,000 schools (approximately 12per cent) do not even have telephone lines.The Malaysian Ministry of Education regards the need tointegrate ICT into the teaching and learning at all levels ofeducation as a high priority. In this regard, as part of thesmart schools project, the government conducts training thatincludes pre-service and inservice training of teachers,training of school administrators and other school staff,fosters the use of electronic books and sets up a pilot projecton e-learning. Nevertheless, between 1996 and 2000, only30 per cent of teachers received some form of ICT training,only a small number were able to integrate it into theirteaching and few have the expertise to build courseware.Therefore, the number of teachers who incorporate ICT intheir lessons to develop interesting and effective teachingand learning remains low.In summary, although the Malaysian government hasconcentrated its efforts to enhance the use of ICT in schools,the impact of it on the actual practice of teaching andlearning has not yet been significant. It is still a challengefor the Malaysian Ministry of Education to convinceteachers who still use traditional methods of teaching andlearning and are less inclined to embrace change toincorporate ICT into their instruction.Malaysia also faces problems related to the digital divide.The inequality between the haves and have-nots is showncreating websites by students in more advantaged schoolswho have acquired computer/ICT skills beyond the basic,while others in less advantaged schools have never evenused a PC.NOTES1 “ICT Policies of Selected Countries in the Asia-Pacific” (UNESCO,2003), www.unesco.org.2 “Internet Usage in Asia (Internet Users and Population Statistics forAsia)” (Internet World Stats, 2003), www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm.3 “Multimedia Malaysia: Internet Case Study” (InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU), 2002), www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/malaysia/material/mys%20cs.pdf.4 Michael Minges, “Measuring the Internet in South East Asia” (2001),www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/Malaysi./5 See note 3 above.6 See note 3 above.7 Statistics as provided in response of Ministry of Education to surveyquestionnaire.8 Juraida bt Umat, “Web-based dissemination and utilization oflearning resources: tigerweb project” (2000), http://gauge.uakugei.ac.jp/apeid/apeid00/seminar/papers/Malaysia/Apeid2000_Malaysia.htm.9 See note 3 above.10 “Sabah Women to Benefit from Free ICT Courses,” Daily ExpressNews, 13 January 2003, www.digitalopportunity.org/article/country/970.110

MongoliaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMr Sukhbaatar EnkhjargalMs Lkhagvasuren AriunaaNational policies, strategies andprogrammesThe Mongolian information and communication technology (ICT)sector has had a lengthy period of development, which received aboost in 1994 with the establishment of the first Internet serviceprovider (ISP) in the country, Datacom Co. Ltd. Then, after a periodof relative inactivity, the next serious attempt to address ICT policywas undertaken in 1999, when the First National ICT Summit wasorganised and the “ICT Vision-2010” policy document developedwith contributions from representatives of government organisations,the business sector and civil society. The Parliament of Mongolia

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationadopted the ICT Vision-2010 in 2000 as a blueprint for ICTdevelopment in the country. According to the Visiondocument, the mission is to develop a knowledge-basedsociety and to improve the quality of people’s lives.ICT Vision-2010 has three major components: agovernment-legislation framework, a business-economyframework and a people-society framework. Within thepeople-society framework, the goal is to “create a favourableenvironment for Mongolian citizens to communicate freelyamong themselves and with the world community, ensureopportunities for their equal and active participation in sociallife and improve quality of people’s lives.”In January 2002, representatives of government, the privatesector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) sattogether to develop a mid-term strategy and action plan toimplement ICT Vision-2010. Both strategy and action planhad three major components, each outlining activities,specified time lines, an organisation responsible forimplementation and the donor or national support requiredto achieve the objectives. Although the mid-term strategy,action plan and ministerial policy document are in place,there has been no money allocated in the state budget forits implementation.Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science(MOECS) has used Vision-2010 as a model to implementICTs in the education sector, developing an action planwhich was approved in 2001. MOECS’s vision for ICT ineducation has four major components:working group of 15 members (representatives of NGOs,government, business and others) was established to revisethe law. According to the MOI, the revised draft law wasoriginally planned for presentation to Parliament inSeptember 2003. Representatives of the working group anddonor organisations approached the Minister requesting adelay in submitting the draft law stating a need for broaderpublic discussion with NGOs, government organisations,members of Parliament, media and business as well asexpressing a need for consulting with international experts.Current level ofICT access and useBasic Education (Primary/Secondary)According to statistics of the MOECS published in April2003, there are 2,041 computers in 518 schools, or fourPCs per school in average. Most of the computers are usedfor teaching Informatics in grades 8 to 10 with a limitednumber of computers available for use by staff and teachers.Within the Informatics curriculum, the pupils are taughtlogistics, programming languages and applications ofMicrosoft Office. The use of computer-assisted instructionin other secondary subjects is quite limited. In urban areasthere are a number of projects evaluating the deploymentof ICT in basic education. One of these projects addressesutilisation of open source standard applications andsoftware, such as Linux.Training (to utilise all possible resources to introduceICT in all levels of education);Hardware (to provide hardware and softwarenecessary for training in ICT);Teaching staff (to provide support for highlymotivated staff);Vocational EducationVocational education is currently in a revival phase afternear abandonment in the 1990s. At present, the greatestactivity is in fee-based, short- or long-term computer-basedtraining courses offered by individuals, private sector orprivate institutions. Information ware 1 (to develop a sectoral informationand database to improve conditions for betterinformation services).The limiting factor in integrating ICT into education is thatthe focus has been on the teaching of ICT as a subject ratherthan the way in which it can be integrated into the teaching/learning process.Mongolia has taken steps to create or amend laws concernedwith the development and use of ICTs. Thetelecommunications law of 1995 was amended in 2001,there is a law on radio frequency, and minor amendmentshave been made to the patent laws, Civil Code andtechnology transfer law. Recently, the Ministry ofInfrastructure (MOI) developed draft ICT laws aftersecuring input and recommendations from stakeholders. ATeacher TrainingThis aspect of the plan is being addressed in two ways: preserviceand inservice. The pre-service teacher training isoffered mostly at the Pedagogical University, the leadinginstitution for training secondary school teachers. There aretwo curricula: one for Informatics teachers and another fornon-Informatics teachers. They, of course, differ in coursecontent, the intended use of the computers, as well asapplication to the course.The Informatics teacher-training curriculum involvesinstruction in the use of logistics, programming languagesand applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel,PowerPoint, and web design. Recently, a limited numberof classes have been offered to provide training on basichardware maintenance and troubleshooting.112

MongoliaEast and South-East AsiaThe non-Informatics teacher training curriculum is limitedto instruction in office applications with future extensionlikely to the other subjects. Recently, the Computer andInformation Technology School of the Mongolian StatePedagogical University has been involved in thedevelopment of a curriculum for non-Informatics teachers 2as part of the Teacher-2005 project of MFOS. 3Inservice teacher training appears to have been abandonedwith no new, upgrading, or retraining courses offered.According to a recent survey, teachers state there is a lackof hands-on opportunities for practice using computers andthere are a limited number of computers for use in classesand for after school work.Non-formal EducationIn past years the non-formal education sector has used TVor radio almost exclusively because there was littlepenetration of computers in the rural areas where mostrecipients of non-formal education were residing. However,recently the number of computers in aimag centres 4 hasincreased and there is greater access to the Internet, enablingnon-formal education to become involved in distanceeducation offerings.According to some surveys and research, two types of digitaldivide exist in Mongolia: that between urban and rural areas,and that between the downtown and suburbs. The digitaldivide has increased dramatically lately with theintroduction of PC game rooms and centres dominated bymale-oriented action games which has resulted in boysbecoming increasingly interested in computers.The Telecommunication and Information TechnologySchool of Mongolian University of Science and Technologyand Post and Telecommunications authority will provideretraining for public servants. Training is to be delivered in12 aimags and Ulaanbaatar using distance educationtechniques and technologies.The recently developed and introduced education portal,www.mongoleducation.mn, is an example of a tool usedfor sharing experience and knowledge among teachers onany subject or policy issue.Major initiatives www.knowledge.mn: A project was initiated in 1998by the Internet and Information Centre, an NGO, andsupported by IDRC of Canada with the aim ofproviding web-based information for teachers andstudents. www.mongoleducation.mn: This project of theMongolian Foundation for Open Society (SorosFoundation) provides a web portal for secondaryschool teachers. Its purpose is to supply a forum forpublic discussion, sharing knowledge and experiencein the development of curriculum materials, teachingmethodologies, etc.Internet for Schools of MFOS: 5 In 1999, followingimplementation of the Education SectorDevelopment programme of ADB, the Internet forSchools project was developed and supported byMFOS (Soros Foundation). MFOS supplied 10 PCsto each aimag school while Soros allowed local areanetworking between computers to occur at eachschool and enabled access to the World Wide Web.iEARN 6 and ThinkQuest: 7 Projects wereimplemented by MFOS (Soros Foundation) toprovide access to already developed content and toassist in content development by Mongolian pupilsand students. Education Sector Development Program of ADB: 8In 1998, this programme was launched with thepurpose of: furnishing over 90 secondary schools inrural and urban areas with computers, providingtraining for Informatics subject teachers andproviding technical support for the equipmentsupplied.Academic Network – Erdemnet: As an initiativewithin the Education Sector Development Programof ADB, in 1999, a network of academic institutionsand schools established an ISP, Erdemnet. It was setup at the Computer Science and Management Schoolof the Mongolian University of Science andTechnology.Sakura Project of JICA: This project providessecondhand computers using open source software(Linux-based operating system), the Star Officepackage and access to an e-mail system to someschools. The connection to the Internet was madeavailable through Erdemnet. Within the frameworkof the project, manuals were developed using LinuxOS and the Star Office package and training wasprovided to teachers and students on their use.MIDAS Project: The Mongolian InformationDevelopment Application Scheme (MIDAS) project,supported by MFOS (Soros Foundation) and UNDP/APDIP, has assisted in the developmsent of a varietyof Mongolian language education software packages,such as the Library for University software (LIB4U),RENOR 2 (an application for teaching Math and thealphabet to primary school pupils), online and offlinedictionaries, online Math applications,Mongolian-language typing tutor (Fast Type) andothers. (See www.ict.mn/midas.)113

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationE-learning: This project of IDRC of Canada willpilot distance learning course packages that have beendeveloped by Infocon, ESPI, Datacom and others toaddress English language, gender, online Math andICT education issues. (See www.elearning.mn.)Cyber Aimag Project: 9 As part of this project ofMFOS, three secondary schools of three aimagcentres were connected to the Internet via wirelessradio-modem connection, enabling access to theWorld Wide Web. This access has now broadenedtraining on both basic computer and application skillsand web page development for teachers and pupils.Parliament members’ projects: As part of theirelection agenda, most members of Parliamentincluded support for computer supplies in schools.At present no specific data is available on how manycomputers were supplied and to which regions andschools.Rotary Club Project: The Rotary Club of Mongoliaand its branches have developed initiatives to furnishsecondary schools with computers and equipment. Atpresent, over 20 schools have been supplied with at leastfive computers each. (See www.rotarymongolia.mn.)education are the Mongolian Foundation for Open Society(Soros Foundation), ADB, UNDP and JICA.Examples of trainingFollowing are some examples of training beingprovided:Education Sector Development Programme ofADB: Training workshops were conducted on theMIS, computer training for staff of educational andcultural centres, teachers of informatics, pupils andothers.Cyber Aimag Project of MFOS (SorosFoundation): Training on computer use, access tothe Internet, development and update of websites,hosting websites, online chats and discussions,troubleshooting and technical support wereconducted.Internet for Schools Project of MFOS (SorosFoundation): Training was conducted on use ofcomputers, applications, accessing the World WideWeb, using an e-mail system, etc.Project of the Mongolian Association ofCooperation with Oceania Countries: 10 Theassociation, in cooperation with Oceania countries,has supplied 64 secondhand computers to 17 ruralschools.Indian government project: The Indian governmentcommitted support of US$ 1 million for ICT inMongolia. A teleconferencing facility with computerlabs was established in the Communications Schoolof the Mongolian University of Science andTechnology. In addition, five Internet centres withfive computers were established in five aimags.Japan-Mongolian Centre: The Japan-MongolianCentre, established in 2002, provides professionaltraining for Mongolian ICT professionals. A numberof scholarships and fellowships were offered toMongolian ICT professionals to study in Japan for aperiod of six months or more.Private School Initiatives: To be competitive in themarket-driven situation in Mongolia, private schoolsand institutions are offering short and long computerdegrees and ICT courses.Most of the initiatives described are recent projects that facethe challenge of sustainability upon completion, sincesecondary schools have limited budgets for ICTdevelopment and staff. The major partners for ICT inJoint pilot project of MIDAS, MFOS and KhureeICT Institute: 11 Training was conducted for non-Informatics tea chers of Darkhan-Uul aimag oncomputer use. Laptop computers were utilised in thesessions to demonstrate their mobile capability. Aneeds assessment on computer availability wasconducted with participants. At the end of the week,ICT companies and institutions showcased theirsoftware and their application(s).Joint project of MIDAS, UNV-JTF and KhureeICT Institute: Piloted in the Khentii aimag (east ofMongolia), the training was conducted for secondaryschool teachers and administrators of the localgovernor’s office on the use of computers foreveryday activities and troubleshooting.E-learning: Training on use of online content inEnglish, Gender, Math and ICT was conducted forteachers to assist them in using computer-aidedlearning.Mongolian Development Gateway: Pilot trainingwas conducted in the Umnugobi aimag on the use ofthe Internet and development of websites. (Seewww.gateway.mn.)CISCO Academy Project of UNDP/APDIP andCSMS: Established in 1997, the Cisco Academyoffers courses on CCNA with online access to the114

MongoliaEast and South-East AsiaCisco Academy website. Over 100 people have beentrained.Project of the Indian Government: The staff andteachers of the Communications School of theMongolian University of Science and Technologyhave attended short- and long-term specialisedtraining in India.Sakura Project of JICA: Training was conductedamong teachers and pupils on the use of computers,followed by training on the use of Linux, StarOfficepackages and mailing software, prior to thedistribution of computers.E-learning Center: The goal of the E-learningCenter, which was established with the support ofthe Center for International Cooperation forComputerization of Japan (CICC) at the ComputerScience and Management School of MUST inOctober 2003, is to develop e-content for distanceeducation. The Center is equipped with two servers,four host machines and CULTIIVA-2 software.Open Web Centre Project of MFOS (SorosFoundation): The goals of this project are to provideaccess to computers and the Internet for civicorganisations, to develop training materials and toprovide online and off-line support for developmentand update of websites. (See www.owc.org.mn.)UNV-JTF Project for Disabled Children andTeachers of the Pedagogical University: Thepurpose of this project was to introduce a newcommunication tool to children who are deaf andmute. With the support of a sign language teacher,29 students from a special school were trained in theuse of computers and development of websites.PolicyThere is a need for a thorough policy approach that addressesissues such as the choice of operating systems, thedevelopment of software and training materials, stafftraining and the way that ICT is applied in education.InfrastructureConnectivity: The connectivity situation inUlaanbaatar and some of the relatively developedaimags is no longer an issue, although the provisionof certain bandwidth for education purposes shouldbe negotiated with the Internet providers.Hardware: In the last two years, the hardwaresituation has improved drastically in aimag levels.However, there is a need to address the issue ofsupplying computers to some schools. Moreover, thenumber of students per computer, maintenance,troubleshooting and use of computers by teachersstill require attention.Affordability: As mentioned above, the budget ofsecondary schools is limited for maintenance,troubleshooting, telecommunications and Internetconnections, which affects maximum utilisation ofhardware and software.Human Development and Capacity-buildingThere is a need for total revision of staffing in schools anddevelopment of pre- and inservice ICT training for allteachers and administration of schools because of lowcomputer penetration, lack of professionally trainedInformatics teachers in rural schools and households andlack of training materials and curriculum.Even though extensive training and courses have beenconducted, there is still a considerable demand and needfor basic to advanced levels of ICT training for Informaticsand non-Informatics teachers, students, NGOs and others.Although the comprehensive ICT education strategy wasdeveloped and adopted by the Government of Mongolia,almost all projects lack sustainability, action plans andactivities to achieve set goals.Constraints onthe use of ICTThere are a number of constraints on ICT development inthe country, each of which need to be addressed within theframework of policy, infrastructure, human developmentand capacity-building, and content and learning materials.Content and Learning MaterialsThe curriculum for prospective Informatics and non-Informatics teachers should be revised and includecompulsory ICT training for all. The lack of off-line training,teaching materials and curriculum (CD-ROMs, DVDs,manuals, guides, etc.) has affected the computer knowledgeand skills of secondary school graduates, and they aretherefore penalised upon entering post-secondaryinstitutions.The increasing number of Internet cafés and game centresprovides favourable conditions to introduce touch-typingsoftware in the form of games, which alleviates the problemsomewhat.115

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationAnalysisThe following issues need to be addressed in order to enablewide-scale ICT application in education in Mongolia:Appendix 1desks, etc. Special attention should be paid to thedevelopment of computer-based teaching materialson specific subjects of the curriculum.A specific action plan is needed to introduce ICT ineducation rather than ICT education itself. Policydocuments need to be developed with a legal andregulatory framework favourable for the involvementof business. The approach should cover ICT use indistance and classroom education. To develop asound policy document on ICT in education, anumber of stakeholder meetings should be held.Stakeholders should not be limited to educationalexperts, but should include ICT businesses andcompanies, NGOs, representatives of parents,students, media and governmental officials. Themeetings should develop recommendations onpolicies to attract businesses which would supporteducation and encourage institutions to developcontent and training packages as well as materialsthat can be delivered through schools by teachers,advanced students, clubs, etc.There is a need to introduce a nationwide procomputerliteracy programme for teachers, pupils,school staff and parents that has a managementinformation system component which is userfriendly. Further, there is a need to address thecopyright issues around software and its applicationto education.The development of manuals, guidelines andtextbooks (including e-textbooks and e-contents)needs to be addressed.ICT training should be integrated into all schoolsubjects where possible. For example, computers canbe used for writing essays, reports and presentations,or for analysing data in Physics, etc. This can be donewith minor adjustments to the curriculum ofInformatics and non-Informatics subjects.There is a need for online and off-line Mongolianlanguage content of manuals, guides, teacher andstudent books, course materials, help and supportGlossary of acronymsADB: Asian Development BankAPDIP: Asia-Pacific Development Information ProgrammeCCNA: Certified Cisco Network AssociateCICC: Center for International Cooperation for Computerization, JapanCSMS: Computer Science and Management SchoolESPI: English for Special Purposes InstituteiEARN: International Educational and Research NetworkICT: information and communication technologyIDRC: International Development Research CentreJICA: Japanese International Cooperation AgencyMFOS: Mongolian Foundation for Open Society (Soros Foundation)MIDAS: Mongolian Information Development AssociationMIDAS: Mongolian Information Development Application SchemeMIS: management information systemMOECS: Ministry of Education, Culture and ScienceMOI: Ministry of InfrastructureMSPU: Mongolian State Pedagogical UniversityMUST: Mongolian University of Science and TechnologyNGO: non-governmental organisationUNDP: United Nations Development ProgrammeUNV-JTF: United Nations Volunteer-Japanese Trust FundNOTES1 Decree No. 151 of Minister of Science, Technology, Education andCulture, Ulaanbaatar 2000.2 Choijoovanchig, “Curriculum of Informatics Subject for NoninformaticsStudents” (Ulaanbaatar, 2003).3 “Teacher-2005” project of MFOS (Soros Foundation), starting from2003.4 Aimag is a second by size administrative unit of Mongolia. Thereare 21 aimags in Mongolia with a population of 15,000 to 45,000each.5 Annual report of MFOS (Soros Foundation) 1999–2001.6 iEARN is a global network to enable young people to use theInternet and new technologies to engage in collaborativeeducational projects, www.iearn.org.7 ThinkQuest is an international contest where teams of students areengaged in the development of educational websites,www.thinkquest.org.8 “Report of Education Sector Development Program of ADB andMOECS” (Ulaanbaatar: 2002).9 Annual Report of MFOS, 2002.10 Purevjal, A., “Mongolian and Korean Cooperation in ICTImplementation in Education and Science Sector of Mongolia:Multiple Language Processing for Globalization and Korean-Mongolian IT Exchange” (Ulaanbaatar, 2003).11 Report among schools and teachers in Darkhan-Uul aimag, jointproject of MFOS, MIDAS, Khuree ICT Institute.116

MyanmarICT USE IN EDUCATIONPRELNational policies, strategies andprogrammesThe Government of Myanmar has developed a 30-year long-termeducation development plan that incorporates the vision of creating“an education system that will generate a learning society capableof facing the challenges of the Knowledge Age.” 1 Information andcommunication technology (ICT), through e-education, appears tobe recognised under this plan. The Myanmar Education ResearchBureau, the agency responsible for non-formal education, hasindicated that the following ICT in non-formal education objectives

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationare included in the national plan: increasing educationopportunities through the use of ICT in schools andcommunity learning centres (CLCs), increasing theproduction of audiovisual and multimedia teachingmaterials for schools and CLCs, and retraining instructorsfor effective use of ICT. 2In addition to the Ministry of Education, which isresponsible for the development and management of theeducation system, the Government of Myanmar hasestablished the Myanmar Naing-Ngan EducationCommittee to co-ordinate education activities at the nationallevel and to serve as the highest-level decision-making bodyfor the education sector. 3 Myanmar is also a party to the e-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)Framework Agreement, and accordingly, the governmenthas formed a Myanmar e-National Task Force to promoteICT. The government also established the MyanmarInformation and Communication Technology Park in 2001to promote private sector ICT development (see www.mictpark.com.mn).Current level ofICT access and useICT access and use in Myanmar is limited. Telephonedensity is one of the lowest in the world at roughly 0.6 percent and it is estimated that there are only 50,000 personalcomputers in use in the country. In addition, until recently,all telecommunications services were provided andcontrolled by one organization: the Myanmar Post andTelecommunications (MPT), a division of the Ministry ofCommunications, Posts, and Telegraphs (MCPT). Althougha second telecommunications provider, Bagan Cybertech –a partly state-owned enterprise – was granted authority tooperate, the ICT base from which to engage in educationprogramming remains weak.Within the education sector, distance education seems tohave the longest experience with ICTs. Distance educationin Myanmar began in 1970 with a correspondence coursefor inservice teachers at the Institute of Education. Today,there are two universities for distance education: the YangonUniversity of Distance Education (for lower Myanmar) andthe Mandalay University of Distance Education (for upperMyanmar). These universities use several delivery systems,including radio lessons, cassettes, TV programmes and –the latest initiative – lessons through e-education learningcentres. 4Major initiativesIn recent years, the Government of Myanmar has launchedseveral programmes to increase the role of ICT in education.The Ministry of Education has installed multimediaclassrooms in more than 400 primary, middle and highschools across the country. These multimedia classroomscontain print and electronic media, computers and languagelaboratories. The government also introduced an e-educationinitiative that uses satellite communication and an electronicdata broadcasting system to relay education programmingto more than 500 e-education learning centres that offerlanguage training and undergraduate studies. E-learningcentres, e-resource centres and computer training centreshave also been set up at several institutes of highereducation. It is not clear whether overlap exists in themultimedia, e-education and e-learning centre initiatives. 5In the area of non-formal education, the government hasestablished an estimated 480 CLCs across the country. Themain purpose of the CLCs is to provide non-formaleducation, continuing education and skills training inresponse to needs of the local communities. Theseprogrammes typically include basic literacy, post-literacyand non-formal primary education for out-of-school youths,and skills training for the community. Videos, puppet showsand other printed materials are used to disseminateinformation and learning. The Myanmar Literacy ResourceCenter also uses mass media and video technology toprovide continuing education. 6The government has also opened at least two New CenturyResource Centers (NCRCs) in upper and lower Myanmarto provide continuing learning and research opportunitiesand to provide access to e-education for the public. Thecentres are equipped with computer training rooms,language laboratories, e-learning centres and e-educationresource facilities. ICT-related courses available at theNCRCs include computerised accounting, Windows 2000,software engineering, network engineering, hardwareengineering, a postgraduate diploma in multimedia arts anda diploma in information technologies. The centres alsoutilise video, audiotapes and compact discs. 7Malaysia has provided assistance to Myanmar to launch aSmart School pilot project. Under the project, Malaysia hassupplied computers to three primary and high schools inYangon. Bagan Cybertech provided Internet connectivityto the schools and has announced plans to sponsor theconnectivity for an additional 100 schools with multimediaclassrooms. 8ASEAN and UNESCO are undertaking regional ICT ineducation projects that include Myanmar. ASEAN, alongwith several development partners, is implementing aregional project on strengthening ICT in schools andestablishing a schoolnet. The general objectives of theproject are to share practices on using ICT in schools, totest various models of ICT-based teaching and to improveaccess to educational resources through the establishmentof a schoolnet in ASEAN countries. ASEAN has also helda number of ICT programmes, workshops and seminars forrepresentatives from member countries. 9 Regional118

MyanmarEast and South-East AsiaUNESCO projects that cover Myanmar include improvingthe management and delivery of technical and vocationaleducation through the application of ICTs, promotingsuccessful policy models and strategies of integration withinAsia and the Pacific region, and using ICT for non-formaleducation. 10Examples of trainingTo support the multimedia classroom initiative, training forteachers on the use of multimedia equipment is being offeredat the Central Institute of Civil Service for basic educationteachers, and a post-graduate diploma in multimedia arts isnow available at the Institute of Education (seewww.myanmar.com/information/computer/IT_Edu/IT_Edu.html).The Sasakawa Peace Foundation of Japan has also fundedtraining programmes on ICT in education for educators andtechnicians from Myanmar. In 2002, for example, theFoundation sponsored two training programmes on distanceeducation management and technology representatives fromthe “CLMV bloc” – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar andVietnam. Thailand donated six sets of distance learningequipment to each country following these two trainingprogrammes. 11Training has also been provided to participants fromMyanmar under the Southeast Asian Ministers of EducationOrganization (SEAMEO) INNOTECH programme. In2002, for example, a course was held in the Philippinestitled “Technology Applications in Education: Teachers andTeacher Trainers” (see www.seameoinnotech.org).SEAMEO INNOTECH has also undertaken a project onusing ICT for HIV/AIDS preventive education in schoolsin the high-risk border areas of the Greater MekongSubregion.The private sector has played an increasingly active role ineducation activities, in particular in ICT, language andbusiness training. Private ICT training institutes typicallyoffer computer courses such as word processing, computerprogramming, desktop publishing and graphic design. 12Constraints onthe use of ICTThere are numerous constraints on the use of ICT withinMyanmar generally and within the education sectorspecifically:Lack of infrastructure: According to an e-ASEANReadiness Assessment conducted in 2001, Myanmarranked ninth out of the 10 ASEAN countries in termsof e-infrastructure, e-society, e-commerce and e-government. As such, it was classified as an“emerging” readiness country, characterised by theneed to build basic ICT infrastructure. 13Lack of financial resources for ICT education:Myanmar is one of the least developed countries inthe world, ranked 131st out of 175 countries in theUNDP 2003 Human Development Index. Grossdomestic product (GDP) per capita in Myanmar isroughly US$ 1,027. While international isolation anddonor country sanctions restrict the government ofMyanmar’s access to foreign aid, the government’smain spending priority is its military. Publicexpenditure on the military is roughly five timesgreater than spending on education. 14Limited access to and awareness of ICT:According to the non-governmental organizationReporters Without Borders, Myanmar is one of thecountries most shut off from the Internet. Accordingto the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) Human Development Indicators (2003), thecountry has less than 10,000 Internet users out of apopulation of 50 million. In addition, the governmentreportedly restricts access to a local Internetsubstitute, the Myanmar Wide Web (MWW), whichfunctions as a national intranet with links to only afew dozen government-approved sites. Thegovernment also allegedly controls the establishmentof e-mail accounts and websites, with governmentagencies monitoring e-mail traffic and websitecontent. 15AnalysisObjective information on the current state of ICT ineducation in Myanmar is limited. The majority of data oneducation planning and programming come fromgovernment sources, and the reliability of the informationis difficult to verify. At the same time, sources of informationon conditions tend to be subjective as well.Based on the limited information available, there appearsto be a mixed outlook for the incorporation of ICT ineducation in Myanmar. On the one hand, the government isreportedly making progress in incorporating ICT into itseducation policies and programmes. The relatively highlevel of literacy may also prove to be an advantage inbuilding an ICT human resource base, although literacy inEnglish, arguably the language of the Internet, is quite low.On the other hand, Myanmar is still a developing countrywith limited financial resources and numerous developmentchallenges. However, due to the prevailing political climatein the country, the United States, the European Union andother potential donors have sanctions in place that prohibitthe provision of non-humanitarian assistance to theGovernment of Myanmar. In addition, multilateral119

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationinstitutions, such as the World Bank and the AsianDevelopment Bank, have generally been restricted fromoperating in Myanmar. Therefore, the country is currentlyunable to tap into most pools of international developmentassistance to implement ICT in education vision.In sum, the government’s alleged restrictions on using theWorld Wide Web, control over the MWW, monitoring of e-mail and intranet usage and punishment for ICT usageviolations likely inhibit the development of Internet-relatedprogrammes. Not only might such policies have a chillingeffect on interest in the Internet, but they may also impedeindividual and private sector ICT ventures.NOTES1 See “Review on Adult Education in Myanmar,” www.unesco.org/educationuie/pdf/country/Myanmar.pdf.2 U. Myint Han, “Myanmar Country Report, ” ACCU-APPEAL JointPlanning Meetings on Regional NFE Programs in Asia and the Pacific(Tokyo, Japan: 2002), www.accu.or.jp/litdbase.3 See “EFA 2000 Assessment: Country Reports – Myanmar,”www2.unesco.org/wef/countryreports/ myanmar/rapport_1.html.4 See note 1 above.5 See “Digital Review for Asia Pacific,” www.apdip.net/dig-rev/mm.asp;also www.myanmar.com/ information/computer/IT_Edu/IT_Edu.html.6 See note 1 above.7 See note 1 above.8 See note 5 above.9 See “ASEAN Annual Report 2002-2003,” www.aseansec.org/ar03.htm; also www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/unesco_projects/JFITschoolnet project.htm.10 See UNESCO websites: www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/unesco_projects/JFIT/TVE.htm; www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/.11 Tong-In Wongsothorn, “Moving Towards Distance Education andOpen Learning,” (Thailand: Sukhothai Thammathirat OpenUniversity), http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity unpan011271.pdf.12 See note 1 above.13 See “e-ASEAN Readiness Assessment, Executive Summary – 2001Assessment” (24 October 2001), www.e-asean.info/reports/ASEANeReadinessAssessment-ReportforPublicBW.pdf.14 Per capita income measured in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.UNDP Human Development Indicators 2003, www.undp.org/hdr2003/indicator/cty_f_MMR.html.15 “The Internet Under Surveillance – Obstacles to the Free Flow ofInformation Online,” (Reporters Without Borders, 2003), www.rsf.org.120

PhilippinesICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Tian Belawati, Ph.DNational policyThe Philippine government believes that to foster lifelong learningskills in learners, educational development with a principal focuson quality and access should form the core of its information andcommunication technology (ICT) programme. The Philippines’Information and Communication Technology Plan 1 sets forth thefollowing objectives:

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTo provide physical infrastructure and technicalsupport that makes ICT accessible and useful tostudents, teachers, administrators and support staff;To develop competence in using technology, indesigning, producing, and using ICT-basedinstructional materials;To ensure access to the latest developments in ICTand to support research and development;To undertake a curriculum improvement programmefocused on the integration of technology;To promote the use of appropriate and innovativetechnologies in education and training.Furthermore, the 1996 General Appropriations Act (GAA)laid the groundwork for procurement of hardware andsoftware, teacher training and courseware development. Forfiscal year 2002 alone, PHP 155,000 (US$ 2,800) wasallocated to cover the following: 87.5 per cent for theprovision of computers (Windows-based with provisionsfor networking) and printers; 1.7 per cent for theprocurement of courseware and 10.8 per cent for staffdevelopment. Six hundred and sixty-six public secondaryschools and more than 7,000 secondary school teachers andprincipals have benefited from this project. An additional258 schools across the country are expected to benefit aswell.The use of ICT in education varies from school to school.A recent report 5 shows that:For the population of almost 80 million, the targets to reachby 2009 are:Seventy-five per cent of the public secondary schoolsand 50 per cent of the elementary schools will havea computer lab equipped with basic multimediaequipment;In the majority of private elementary schools,familiarisation with the computer starts in grade 2,while in the public elementary schools, where thetechnology may be available, introduction to basiccomputer operations starts in grade 4 as an area ofstudy in Home Economics and Livelihood Education(HELE).All public science-oriented secondary schools willbe connected to the Internet;All public schools will have an electronic librarysystem;Seventy-five per cent of the public school teacherswill have been trained in basic computer skills andin the use of the Internet and computer-aidedinstruction (CAI);At high school, computer applications for furtherskills enhancement are introduced as an area of studyin Technology and Home Economics (THE). Thisincludes word processing, spreadsheet, databasemanagement, creating PowerPoint presentations andusing the Internet. In some private schools, the studyof computers extends to more complex operationssuch as programming and website development. Thecomplexity of skills development depends on theavailability of ICT resources in schools.All public schools will be provided with appropriateeducational technology equipment packages.Current level ofICT access and useAccording to Internet World Stats, 2 the number of Internetusers in the Philippines is around two million people (1.1per cent of its population). Further, a Department of Scienceand Technology (DOST) survey showed that among the 16regions in the country, access to information technology atthe secondary school level varies from a low of 34 per centto a high of 98 per cent. 3 Metro Manila, as the centre ofcommerce and industry in the country, has the greatestaccess to computers, while the Visayas and Mindanao havethe least. More specifically, the InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU) reported that, in 2000 to2001, only about 17 per cent of 7,509 secondary schoolswere equipped with PCs, and about 1.16 per cent of thisgroup had access to the Internet. 4Computers are used mainly in THE for formal studyof the technology, with relatively limited applicationto other learning areas. The integration of technologyacross the curriculum has been constrained by thelack of ICT resources.In non-formal education, there is very limited use ofinformation technology because out-of-school youthand adults participating in non-formal educationprogrammes generally do not have access tocomputers.Knowledge of gender issues in ICTs is hampered by thelack of reliable statistics. Few studies have kept genderstatistics on users of public access facilities. However, invirtually all that have, the number of women users is muchsmaller than that of men. 6 A survey on the use of ICTs bywomen’s organisations in selected countries of Asia andthe Pacific, including the Philippines, 7 indicated that womenand men have not benefited equally. Women in particularhave to contend with ideological, systemic and institutionalbarriers to accessing ICTs.122

PhilippinesEast and South-East AsiaHighlights of the survey findings include the following:Women’s groups that have been able to tap into thepotential of ICTs have experienced benefits andincreased opportunities to conduct research and gainaccess to news and information, improveorganisational and personal knowledge skills,monitor and participate in global women’s initiatives,disseminate information and publicise materials,lobby development causes at local and regionallevels, exchange information and experience, coordinateactivities both in country and abroad,contribute to civil society and local communities,identify new contacts and development partners andapply for donor funding and other forms of technicalsupport;The dominant use of ICTs is for e-mail, which isprimarily used for administrative purposes andcorrespondence with donors and regional andinternational partners. The Internet, on the other hand,was found to be useful for networking, informationaccess and advocacy.Major initiativesMajor initiatives of ICT use in education include thefollowing: 8The “DepEd Modernization Programme”, whichbegan in 1996, involves the introduction and use ofmodern technology to improve teaching and learning,educational management and support operations inthe educational system.The Act of 1998 (R.A. 8525) was passed to generateprivate sector participation in the upgrading andmodernisation of public schools, especially those inunderserved provinces. The project has fourcomponents: curriculum improvement, teachertraining, courseware development and procurementof hardware and software. Recipient schools wereselected based on the criteria adopted under theComputerisation Program. In all, 110 public highschools received computers in 1996 under the DOSTEngineering Science Education Project (ESEP) andan additional 68 public high schools were recipientsunder the DOST Computer Literacy Program. DOSTcontinues to allocate some PHP 20,000,000 to30,000,000 (US$ 400,000 to 600,000) annually tosupport computer acquisition in schools. In 2002 and2003, 125 public high schools were to be providedwith 10 to 15 computers along with the correspondingteacher training programmes (see Appendix).The Science Education Institute (SEI) initiativesinclude the provision of Mobile IT Classrooms(MITCs), ICT Mediated Science&TechnologyLearning Programs, Mini Computer Laboratories,and development of Computer-based Teaching(CBT) modules. The MITC is a classroom housedin an air-conditioned bus, which is custom made toaccommodate 32 students and a teacher. It isequipped with 17 laptop computers, two multimediaprojectors, a television set, two VHS players, a publicaddress system, two power surge protectors, avacuum cleaner and two fire extinguishers. The ICTMediated S&T Learning Program is for a selectednumber of elementary and secondary schools whichare provided with one to three computers, one printerand one microscope that can be linked to thecomputer. These facilities are intended for teachingpurposes and for limited hands-on activities forstudents. The Mini Computer Laboratory, installedin selected public schools, consists of four or fivecomputers, a printer and software for Science andMathematics. The mini-laboratory is used fordemonstration and teaching, but may also be usedby students for research-related activities. Some 164schools were expected to benefit from the programmein 2002. Finally, the CBT modules are CD-ROMs,developed by SEI, to facilitate teaching and learningin General Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics andMathematics I-IV at the secondary level. Themodules have been distributed to 110 S&T-orientedhigh schools, 1,145 recipients of the computerliteracy programme of DepEd, 122 school recipientsof the PCs for Public High Schools Project and 100other school recipients in the different regions of thecountry.The Bridgeit Programme, locally called“text2teach,” is part of the global BridgeitProgramme, which delivers digital learning materialsto schools using mobile technology. 9 Each school isequipped with a satellite dish, 29-inch television setwith rack, a 40-gigabyte digital video server/recorderto record and store video clips and two to threemobile phones. The Philippines is the only Asiancountry in the Bridgeit Programme which enablesgrade 5 and 6 students from selected public andprivate schools to view educational science videosdownloaded with the help of mobile phones andsatellite communication systems right into theirclassrooms. It is expected that more than 13,000pupils will experience this teaching approach.Other initiatives undertaken by the Department of Education(as parts of the Adopt-A-School Act) at the elementary levelinclude the following:Development of multimedia packages with ABS-CBN Foundation Inc: To date 56 videotapesprofiling outstanding instructional practices in123

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationEnglish, Science and Mathematics have beenproduced.At the secondary level these initiatives have taken place:Computer Education for Elementary Schools(CEDES): A computer education curriculum forgrades 1 to 6 that has been developed and piloted in10 divisions. A training programme in basic computereducation supplemented the project for 24 teachersfrom six regions in August 2000.DepEd Computerization Program (DECS): In1999 and 2000 undertook to provide networkingamong schools, access to the Internet and capabilityfor electronic instruction. Three hundred and twentyfivepublic secondary schools have benefited fromthe programme.TV-Assisted Instruction Project: Launched by theDepartment and the ABS-CBN Foundation in 1994,this project aimed to introduce innovativetechnological approaches to upgrade instruction usingtele-lessons. The 30-minute television shows suchas Sineskuela, Hiraya Manawari, Bayani, Math-Tinikand Epol/Apple were aired from Monday to Friday.Eskuela ng Bayan Project: Proposes to standardisebasic education by providing public elementaryschools access to educational materials in English,Filipino, Mathematics and Science. It also providesaccess to the Internet and makes availableinformation on non-formal education through aneducational cable channel. The project includes awebsite for potential and currently participatingschools which is also accessible to students and outof-schoolgroups. The website has teaching aids forteachers to use in enrichment programmes, e-mailservices, chats and links to other sites for onlineeducation. Project LINK: Scheduled to be operational in 2003.It has two components: technology access anddevelopment and teacher training. The formerinvolves upgrading computer facilities to ensureconnectivity that will provide access to theinformation highway. The latter involves the teachersof recipient schools, who will receive instruction onthe use of the Internet for research and distancelearning.Continuing Studies Via Television (CONSTEL):The first educational TV programme in the countryto make use of the latest broadcast satellitetechnology combined with well-researched andcarefully produced tele-lessons. The project aims totrain elementary and secondary school teachers tobecome more competent in teaching English, Scienceand Mathematics. The project is being implementedin co-ordination with UP-ISMED and NBN.Telecourses in English and Science have already beendeveloped.In collaboration with University of the PhilippinesNational Institute for Science and MathematicsEducation (UP-NISMED): A project to integrateICT in the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC).A framework for ICT integration in Science andMathematics for K to grade 10 was developed.Similar frameworks for other learning areas are nowbeing developed.Information Technology Centers: These centres ofexcellence in information technology, crossingtraditional boundaries, were established in order tofocus on the needs of a greater number of learners.There will be three IT Centers: two elementary andone secondary, in each of the 15 regions. Each willbe provided with a laboratory equipped withcomputers, printers, peripherals, a multimediaprojector, an air-conditioning unit and softwareprogrammes. Teacher training will also be acomponent. For the first year of operation, operatingfunds are provided by the Department, and the LocalGovernment Unit (LGU) will supply funds for themaintenance and continuous operation of thefacilities.Sci-DaMath Competition: An annual Sci-DaMathcompetition which is a collaborative endeavour insustaining the Science and Mathematics educationthrough drama activities, which intend to increasethe awareness of the learner and the public in Scienceand Mathematics.e-MAGE 2000 (Math Games for Excellence): Acollaborative intervention with the private sector toenhance the teaching skills of math trainers throughthe use of information technology. Teacher trainingon using indigenous games in instruction and teachermadecomputer-aided instructional materials inMathematics were to be developed.PCs for Public Schools Project (PCPS): fundedthrough a grant of PHP 600,000 (US$ 12 million)from the Government of Japan, secured largelythrough the initiative of the Department of Trade andIndustry. The grant has benefited 996 publicsecondary schools across the country through theprovision of 20 desktop computers, two printers, onefax/data/voice external modem with cable, onesoftware package and teacher training to each ofrecipient-schools.124

PhilippinesEast and South-East AsiaIn the non-formal education sector, a network of 25community-based radio stations has been set up under theTambuli (horn) project. It was set up in 1993 as part of AklanCollege’s agricultural extension work, and was designed topromote community radio. To become part of the TambuliAklan network, a radio station needs to use a communityparticipatory model of operation, 10 which has to be managedby a community media council (CMC) that ensures localparticipation through representation from a variety of sectorsof the local community to which it is broadcasting. Themedia council includes representatives from the localchurch, government, market vendors, police, healthauthorities, taxi drivers, farmers, senior citizens, ruralwomen, youth and business. One example of a member radiostation is DYMT-FM, which broadcasts from the premisesof the Aklan State College of Agriculture (ASCA).Examples of trainingStarting in 2000, the Philippine Department of Educationhas given preference in hiring teacher-applicants who werecomputer literate. In most teacher training institutions,computer education is now a required course. For those whoare already employed as teachers, inservice is provided inseveral ways:DepEd. Robotics facilities were given to theparticipating schools in the programme.Training programmes have been developed on theuse of graphic calculators for Mathematics andCalculus for Science and Mathematics teachers inpublic schools. The Mathematics Association ofTeacher Education Institutions (MATHTED) wastapped to handle the teacher training programmeparticipated in by Mathematics teachers from 110S&T-oriented high schools and other public sciencehigh schools.Distance training through CONSTEL is available forteachers who are unable to partake in face-to-facetraining in English and Science. The project has threecomponents: development of instructional materialsfor teachers; production and distribution; and teachertraining. The materials that have been produced anddistributed to more than 2,000 schools nationwideinclude videotapes for English and Science teaching.Fifty-eight teachers of English and 91 teachers ofPhysics have been trained in the use of the materials.Videotapes in Mathematics will be produced anddistributed by the Foundation for Upgrading theStandard of Education (FUSE).Intensive training on electronics and assembly ofcomputers for THE teachers of 110 S&T-orientedhigh schools and other special science high schoolsis offered. The objective of this training is to ensurethat teachers in schools with special S&Tprogrammes have the appropriate technology skills.The Science Education Institute (SEI) allowsrecipient schools to keep the computers assembledby their teachers after the completion of their training.Training using computers in classroom managementand instruction started in 1997 as a component of theDepartment’s computerisation programme. It hasreached about 7,500 teachers of English, Science,Mathematics and THE (including those in elementaryschools) and 691 school administrators.The PCs for Public High Schools Project is aimingto train 20,000 teachers over a period of two yearsunder the Intel Teach to the Future Training Program.The training was initially for 1,000 teachers of therecipient schools. Each one of these 1,000 teachersis expected to train 20 additional teachers to reachthe goal of 20,000 teachers trained by the end of theproject.Training is provided by SEI of DOST on roboticsand the use of advanced ICT facilities in Physics.The Physics teachers of the Philippine Science HighSchool acted as trainers for Physics teachers of otherpublic science high schools being supervised by theTraining and capacity-building of women’s nongovernmentalorganisations (NGOs) and grassrootsgroups on various ICT skills is available. Someexamples are the Women’s Electronic NetworkingTraining (WENT) series by AWORC and WiredFridays, a grassroots women’s training project onICTs by Isis International-Manila.Constraints onthe use of ICTEven though the Philippine government has initiated severalprogrammes and projects for the use of ICT in education,real implementation in day-to-day learning is still limited.Teachers’ fear of technology still hinders the optimal use ofICT-related skills in their teaching activities. Otherconstraints include the traditional mindset of the schoolprincipals, inadequacy of ICT facilities, the lack of adequatemaintenance of the available/existing ICT resources,dependence for financial investment on the centralgovernment and dependence on ICT service providers forsoftware/courseware. 11Despite various training programmes having been providedto teachers, there is still a need to embark on acomprehensive and sustained inservice training for teachers.Likewise, a systematic development programme foreducation managers needs also to be implemented to changethe mindset of principals so they appreciate the value ofICT in education.125

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationAlthough almost all initiatives involve some allowance forprocuring ICT hardware and software, equipping schoolswith ICT facilities is still a problem. Therefore, given thebudgetary constraints, the participation of other stakeholderslike local government units, parent-teacher-communityassociations (PTCAs), NGOs, and the private sector needsto be encouraged to provide the education technologypackages. Considering the lack of technical staff formaintaining computers and computer networks, as well asproviding user support for Internet-related activities, leasearrangements rather than procurement should be exploredas an alternative.Another constraint that has had a significant impact on theuse of ICT in classrooms is the availability of courseware.Applications and courseware currently available arepredominantly productivity tools provided by ICT serviceproviders. Schools, therefore, are limited to teaching thetools rather than using the tools to teach and learn. Withouta variety of subject-specific applications, the curricularusefulness of the technology will not be fully realised. It istherefore necessary to develop a system to produce ICTbasededucation, including the development of ICT-basedmaterials in teacher training.AnalysisData and information available show that the Philippineshave eagerly embraced ICT in education. With facilitationby the Department of Education, and collaboration with theprivate sector, several initiatives have successfully equippeda number of schools with ICT facilities. Nevertheless, theinitiatives have not insured that teachers fully use thefacilities for teaching purposes.A survey of 4,310 secondary schools (both public andprivate), conducted by DOST, showed that 84.1 per cent ofthe computers in schools are being used for instruction whilethe rest are used for office work. Among the computersused for instruction, 50 per cent were being used in THEwhile only 11 per cent and nine per cent of these computerswere being used for Science and Mathematics instruction,respectively. Likewise, 15.2 per cent of the teacherrespondentssaid that they used computers for instructionalpurposes (56.5 per cent) and office work (43.5 per cent).Student-respondents also claimed that 92.1 per cent usecomputers for learning while 7.9 per cent use computersfor other purposes. The survey also found that recipientschools are still dependent on external agencies for themaintenance of computers. About 45.1 per cent of the 2,405schools surveyed engage the services of outside technician.A factor hindering bringing Internet to more schools is thatonly 38.9 per cent have telephones. Among schools thathave telephone lines, the majority (81.1 per cent) do nothave an Internet connection.The Survey of Information and Communication TechnologyUtilization in Philippine Public Schools, conducted by theFoundation for Information Technology Education andDevelopment (FIT-ED) in the latter part of 2001, revealedthat student-computer and teacher-computer ratios are stillconsidered poor and need to be improved. Furthermore, itwas revealed that institutionalisation of technologyintegration in the curriculum has not been realised. Onehundred recipient-schools under the 1996 DECSComputerization Program were included in the study.In summary, it is fair to state that the use of ICT in teachingpractice in Philippine schools is still not widely implementedbecause of uneven access to ICT facilities and the Internet,poor ratios of students to computers and teachers tocomputers, and the low levels of technology integration inthe school curriculum.NOTES1 “ICT Policies of Selected Countries in the Asia-Pacific” (UNESCO,2003), www.unesco.org.2.“Internet Usage in Asia (Internet Users and Population Statistics forAsia)” (Internet World Stats, 2003), www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm.3 L.M. Andrada and V. Abcede, “The Use of ICT in Basic Educationin the Philippines and Efforts to Measure Its Impact” (2001), http://gauge.u-gakugei.ac.jp/apeid/apeid02/papers/Philippin.htm.4 “Pinoy Internet: Philippines Case Study” (InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU), 2002), www.itu.int/asean2001/reports/material/PHL%20CS.pdf.5 See note 3 above.6 E. Rathgeber, “Gender and Telecentres: What have we learned?,”presentation at World Bank Gender and the Digital Divide SeminarSeries (2002), www.worldbank.org/gender/digitaldivide/Eva%20Rathgever.ppt.7 V. Cabrera-Balleza, “Women’s NGO@asia-pacific.net: ICT andGender Issues in Asia and the Pacific” (2002), www.isiswomen.org/onsite/knowhow/ict_gender.htm.8 See note 3 above.9 A. Pabico, “Philippines: Teaching through Mobile TechnologyDebuts in Schools” (2003), www.ipsnews.net/print.asp?idnews=18701 or www.digitalopportunity.org/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipsnews.net%2Finterna.asp%3Fidnews%3D18701.10 K. Seneviratne, “MEDIA-PHILIPPINES: Community radio makesits voice heard” (2001), www.oneworld.org/ips2/july01/07_36_016.html.11 See note 3 above.126

PhilippinesEast and South-East Asia127APPENDIXPartnersAdopt-a-SchoolTheCompany/Organisation/InstitutionschoolecipientRtprojecofameNnSupport/InterventioInc.BS-CBN Foundation,AtProjecultimediaMsvideotapeeducational56HirayacomprisingApolBayani,Manawari,otherandTinikMathEpol,showsABS-CBN producedschoolpublicbyviewingforchildrenFoundationboitizAuCebinschools71 lAdopt-A-SchooAboitizProjectprintersandcomputers20usestudentandteacherforInc.FoundationyalaAXCENTEandCENTEX Mla.BatangasExcellenceofCenter(CENTEX)establishmenttheforFundslaboratory,computeraofprinters2andPCs11withtoaccessschool;eachforschoolshighforInternettheMA FoundationASPCPtheunderschools100projecttrainingComputerprogrammestrainingcomputerofSeriesteachersforprogrammespublisher)and(authorAndes.Asschoolhighpublic08 tProjecDonationookBsbookapplicationComputerFoundationBarriostheforooksBsschoolelementarypublic63 tProjecExcellenceofodelMehardwarComputeritibankClSchooHighandaluyongMndonatioomputerCscomputer21FoundationExportCoca-ColaCorp.ManilaMetroinschoolshigh15VisayastheandProjectVentured.ErfoconnectivityInternetintrainingteacherschools;Internet;theofusetheamongtelecollaborationschoolsPhils.ntelI )batch(1stschoolshigh755batch)(2ndschoolshigh500FuturethetoTeachIntelProgramTrainingtheforsupportFundingofmonitoringandconductfortrainingschool-basedtheteachersschoolhighgovernmentapaneseJsschoolhighpublic,0001 sSchoolHighPublicforPCsProjectCurriculum development;hardware;ofprocurementteachers;oftrainingdevelopmentcoursewareClubBusinessakatiMsschoolhigh001 hped.onnectC ;laboratoriesComputerInternettraining;software;connectionsFoundationetrobankMyelementarsciencespecial6schoolsRSHS16labdonations;Computerdonationequipmentmodel)(486computers60labof2.5M-worthAroundPCsandequipmentLightingandElectronicsPhilipsCo.SchoolHighScienceManilaSchoolElementaryBurgosP.RoomEducationalPhilipsProject(PER)PER servingeachPERs,10electronicone-stopaasdataandlearningforLibrarygatheringTISsteacherschoolhighpublic,5004 eprogrammtrainingeacherTcbasiintrainingHands-ontechnologyinformation

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education128

Republic ofKoreaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Jung Sun Hahn, Ph.DNational policies, strategies andprogrammesIntroductionEntering the 21st century meant different things to different countries.To the Republic of Korea, it meant a paradigm shift from aninformation-based society to a knowledge-based society. The newparadigm requires changes in the social and economic environment,in social and cultural behaviour and in human resources. Theknowledge-based society needs workers who are efficient and

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationeffective using information and communication technology(ICT) and education; therefore, should be adapted to theneeds of the society.Policy Goals and Action PlansThe goal adapting education to the knowledge-based societyis when to educate competent people who are knowledgeproviders, problem-solvers, good communicators and selfdisciplinedlifelong learners. To foster such competent people,the Ministry of Education and Human ResourcesDevelopment (MOE & HRD) announced the ComprehensivePlan for Developing ICT use in Education. 1 The plan was tobe carried out in two stages: the first from 1995 - 2000 andthe second from 2001 - 2005. The second stage educationreform includes standardising ICT skills and revisingcurricula, maintaining financial subsidies, narrowing digitallydivided nations and people, monitoring progress and usageand operating e-governance in education.Current Implementation StatusThe second stage of the plan targets four major groups:elementary and secondary education, research institutions anduniversities, lifelong education and educationaladministration.ICT use in elementary and secondary educationinvolves revamping curricula - developing anddisseminating educational content, developing ICTutilisation skills of teachers and creating infrastructureconducive to ICT.(NEIS – see www.keris.or.kr), and the other is toimprove the efficiency of education administrationthrough computerisation in the MOE & HRD. NEISis an electronic system that connects all educationaladministration services of schools, other educationalinstitutions and offices through the Internet. It isdesigned to improve the quality of education byreducing the workload of teachers, allowing studentsand parents access to student information, and toincrease the productivity of educational administrativeinstitutions by sharing information. NEIS started itsservices in March 2003, and it is currently used by96.9 per cent of schools. 3 The MOE and HRD iscomputerising educational administration within theministry to improve its efficiency using an electronicdocument processing system.Budget and Sources of FundingThe MOE and HRD secured KRW 158 billion (about US$130 million) for the use of ICT in education in 2002, KRW139 billion (US$ 115 million) for 2003 and KRW 100 billion(US$ 85 million) for 2004 respectively. 4 The funds arestrictly public schools and national colleges and universitiesexcluding private schools and universities. The MOE andHRD amended the enforcement rules to subsidise localeducation in 2001 and secured a budget of KRW 300 billion(US$ 250 million) in 2002. 5 Private sectors have alsoparticipated in sharing costs by donating PCs and providingfree training.Gaps, Limitations and NeedsThe promotion of ICT use in universities includesconstructing ICT infrastructure, promoting ICT usein science and research, using ICT in the teachinglearningprocess, digitising the library collections andpromoting ICT use in academic administration. Thereare four cyber campus consortiums and 17 cyberuniversities. 2 Among the cyber campus consortiums,Korea Cyber University (KCU) consortium(www.con.kcu.or.kr) and Seoul Digital Universityconsortium (www.sdu.ac.kr) have the largest memberuniversities, the former with 38 and the latter with 42.There have been a variety of services in lifelongeducation: a comprehensive lifelong educationinformation system, a lifelong learning network, aguidance counselling network, a comprehensiveinformation system of national human resourcesdevelopment, a comprehensive credit bankinformation system, a lifelong contents developmentand the cyber-learning systems of broadcast andcorrespondence high schools.In the area of the educational administration, adaptingto the knowledge-based society has two goals: one isto develop the National Education Information SystemThere are several gaps, limitations and needs in the system.First, there is not enough software available to meet thedemands of the hardware in use at schools. It also has beendifficult to develop and utilise educational information andmaterials due to the lack of standardisation. Several issues- copyright, privacy and negative use of Internet - remainunresolved. As well, the digital divide is a problem betweenthe haves and the have-nots.Current level ofICT access and useSummary of Technologies Being UsedThe major technologies being used in schools are radio,television, computer and the Internet. The two representativeorganizations are the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS)(www.ebs.co.kr) and KERIS (www.keris.or.kr).EBS provides educational programmes for early childhoodeducation, pre-school education, primary/secondaryeducation, teacher training and lifelong education throughfive channels: one FM radio channel, VHF and UHF130

Republic of KoreaEast and South-East Asiatelevision channels, and two cable and satellite televisionchannels (Plus 1 and Plus 2). Each channel airs programmesfor the specific target groups with focused content. VHFtelevision airs the lifelong educational programmes, and thePlus 1 satellite channel airs curriculum instructionalprogrammes for high school students. Plus 2 broadcastscurriculum instructional programmes for primary andsecondary school students, for vocational education and forforeign languages. FM radio specialises in cultural,educational information and foreign-language learningprogrammes.EBS also produces vocational education programmes inconjunction with the Korea Research Institute for VocationalEducation and Training (KRIVET – www.krivet.re.kr).Vocational programmes are supported by MOE and HRDand by the Ministry of Labor. EBS also airs the KoreaNational Open University (KNOU – www.knou.ac.kr)programmes as well as Air and Correspondence High Schoolprogrammes. They have also begun a service in Internet jobbroadcasting, and provide the audio-on-demand (AOD) andthe video-on-demand (VOD) services of all the airedprogrammes except copyrighted foreign-made motionpictures. EBS is internationally recognised for itsdocumentary programmes. Fifty-five per cent of the televisedprogrammes of EBS are for lifelong education and 45 percent are for curriculum instruction; 88 per cent of the FMprogrammes are for lifelong education and 12 per cent arefor curriculum instruction (see Appendix 1).KERIS, which was established in April 1999 as a governmentfundedinstitution under the educational research informationlaw, is the leading educational and research organisation inKorea. KERIS provides service via the educational network(EDUNET – www.edunet.net), operating ResearchInformation Service System (RISS – www.riss4u.net). KERIShas been at the forefront of enhancing the quality of nationaleducation and has made significant contributions.Digital Divide IssuesTo narrow the gaps between the haves and the have-nots,MOE & HRD established a plan for promoting ICT use anddistributing PCs to children from low-income families in April2001. Half a million children were selected and given theopportunity to take lessons on computer use and to practiceonline communication. Among those who have taken thecourses, 50,000 students will receive free PCs and moneyfor communication fees for five years. 6 Despite thisprogramme, however, a recent survey showed that the Internetusers of low-income families has dropped from 38.7 per centin 2001 to 22.9 per cent in 2002. 7Due to budget allocations, there also exists a gap betweenvarious cities and provinces in the use and promotion of ICT,and there is a need to clarify the responsibilities between thenational and local governments in order to narrow thisinformation gap. Article 8 of the Framework Act onInformation Promotion describes the responsibilities ofdifferent levels of government.Another gap is between males and females. The KERIS studyon elementary and secondary school students shows that malepupils use computers longer and are more familiar with themthan their female counterparts. The research concluded thatthe gap in exposure and familiarity to computer is related toparents’ attitudes towards computer usage. More femalerespondents said that their parents give priority to boys inthe family when it comes to using computers.Nature and Role of PartnershipsPartnerships for ICT use in education exist in a variety offorms in several government agencies, government-fundedorganisations and the private sector. The central governmentministries, such as MOE and HRD, the Ministry of Labor,the Ministry of Information and Communication, theMinistry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry andEnergy develop and disseminate ICTs, digital content andtraining and education for educators, students and citizens.Local government agencies co-operate with private sectororganisations in establishing computer labs and offeringtraining sessions. Several government-funded and nonprofitorganisations are also actively involved in ICT usein education (see Appendix 2).Major initiativesThe government, private sector, research organisations,schools and universities are all co-operating to fulfill thenation’s ultimate goal of constructing a knowledge-basedsociety. The government has enacted and implemented theComprehensive Plan, enforced necessary regulations, actsand laws, and restructured the research and academicorganisations adding new functions for ICT dissemination(see Appendix 3).Upon the completion of the first stage of the ComprehensivePlan for Developing ICT Use in Education (1995 - 2000),Republic of Korea was evaluated as having the besteducational infrastructure in the world. Certainly, theadvanced ICTs, the full coverage of high-speedcommunication networks in the nation and the best ICTindustries laid a solid foundation for making ICT use feasiblein education.During the first stage of the Comprehensive Plan, the focuswas on computer literacy for educators, students, workersand citizens. Education for ICT literacy has been undertakento provide equal access to information and to reduce theinformation gap within the public education. The governmenthas required mandatory ICT education for elementary schoolstudents from grades 1 to 6. For secondary school students,ICT education is an elective, but in 1999, an ICT skillsrecognition system was implemented, requiring all high131

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationschool graduates to take either ICT courses or an ICT skillstest. 8 In addition, in every subject more than 10 per cent ofclassroom activities are supposed to make use of ICTs.In the second stage the focus shifted from literacy toutilisation, not as a special subject or a technical education,but as something to be integrated with all subjects. Therefore,teaching-learning process plans for ICT use are nowconstructed and implemented in the teacher trainingprogrammes. The Seventh School Curriculum emphasisesICT utilisation and the integration of ICT knowledge andskills into the curriculum. 9The most noticeable aspect of ICT education in the Republicof Korea is the definition of the target learner, which has notbeen limited to educators, students or government workers,but instead includes individuals regardless of age, income,social status, education or gender. Universities, severalgovernment-funded organisations and industries offer thenecessary training for ICT users for free or with minimumtuition fees. During this second stage, to diagnose the progressof ICT use in education, the government, in co-operationwith research institutions, is developing the standardisededucational indicators of ICT use in education that, up to thepresent time, have been used for elementary, secondary andhigher education. Indicators for special education and forlifelong and vocational education are underway and will becompleted by 2003 and 2004 respectively. In addition, ICTSkills Standards for Teachers (ISST) and its curriculum weredeveloped during 2002 and 2003. 10It was recognised that to use ICT effectively, the properenvironment is needed, including the necessary computerhardware, basic peripherals and software. The governmenthas funded these needs for universities, research organisationsand elementary and secondary schools, and the ClassroomAdvancement Plan (1997 -1999) 11 standardised the provisionper class as one PC, television, beam projector and printer.During the implementation of the plan, several needs wereidentified: training, good quality educational content andutilisation plans. This led to the revised ClassroomAdvancement Plan being enacted at the end of 1999. Itreduced the PC distribution, but enhanced the utilisation rate.It also focused on building school intranets. And in 2002, theComprehensive e-Learning Plan announced that connectivitywould be provided to all schools.Educators, organisations and private vendors are helping todevelop the necessary software, books and training materials,and these are evaluated and certified by KERIS. As well,organisations such as the Education Software PromotionAssociation, the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency andthe Korea Software Industry Association are actively involvedin developing and promoting good quality software. Eachyear, there are several educational software contests fordifferent levels of participants. Since 1998, educationalexhibitions have been held to show new software to educatorsand to provide opportunities to software developers toadvertise their products. The Sixth Education InformationExpo (EDUEXPO) in 2003 toured four major cities and drewabout half a million people. 12It was also determined that for easy and quick access to awide variety of educational content, a collective database wasneeded. To meet the need, EDUNET (www.edunet.net),operated by KERIS, was launched in 1996. As of June 2003,EDUNET had 5.3 million subscribers 13 and 3.8 millionmonthly users. 14 Fifty-four per cent of the subscribers areelementary and secondary school students and six per centare teachers. (Eighty per cent of all teachers in the nation aresubscribers.)To meet the needs of higher educational institutions andresearch organisations that require fast and accurate sharingof information and research results, KERIS operates ResearchInformation Service System (RISS), a portal site. 15 It isconnected to all the university libraries in the nation as wellas to major international databases such as OCLC in theUnited States, the British Library in the United Kingdom,KINETCA in Australia and NII in Japan. It is also connectedto the National Library of Korea (www.nl.go.kr), the KoreanSocial Science Data Center (KSD C – www.ksdc.re.kr), theKorea Social Science Library (KSSL – www.kssl.or.kr) andLG Sangnam Library (www.lg.or.kr). The most widely usedcomprehensive databases are Nationwide Resource Sharingof RISS and the National Assembly Library(www.nanet.go.kr).KERIS also operates the APEC Youth Internet Volunteer(AYIV) programme and the APEC Cyber Education Network(ACEN – www.acen.or.kr) project. These two projects werelaunched in 2001 as a result of the APEC Forum in Seoul inMarch 2000 and the suggestion at the Seventh Meeting ofAPEC in Auckland, New Zealand, by President Kim Dae-Jung, Republic of Korea, for an “e-education project.” Thepurpose is to alleviate social and economic disparities bydeveloping human resources among member economiesthrough educational co-operation.In 2002 the Digital Data Support Center was installed in aselected Office of Education. KERIS has implemented ametadata system and is preparing to implement e-learningcontents standardisation. The Korea Association of CyberEducation (KAOCE – www.kaoce.org) is actively involvedin promoting e-learning and building a cyber educationcommunity. KAOCE, one of the leading e-learning researchand development organisations, also conducts seminars andworkshops and is pursuing e-learning contentsstandardisation.Examples of trainingEffective ICT utilisation depends heavily on the abilities ofthe teachers. Various pre-service and inservice teacher training132

Republic of KoreaEast and South-East Asiaprogrammes are offered. In the pre-service training, studentsare required to take from six to 20 credits of ICT courses. 16Teacher colleges and colleges of education are offering newcourses on information and ICT use, updating teachinglearning methods and integrating ICT use in all classes. Asignificant amount of funding has been allocated to teachers’colleges to install the necessary hardware and software andto provide a proper learning environment.At the inservice training level, one-third of the teachers havereceived training every year since 2002. 17 The training isdivided into five target groups: inservice teachers, principalsor vice-principals, professional instructors, ICT specialistsand excellent teachers. The content of the training includesinformation literacy, multimedia courseware developmentand use of ICT in the teaching-learning process.As teachers have shown more interest in learning how tointegrate ICT in their classroom teaching than in learninghow to develop courseware, a Plan for ICT Use: TrainingProgram Development by Subjects was undertaken in 2002as a two-year project. The plan seeks to document theteaching-learning goals of the 10 basic subjects from theSeventh School Curriculum. Under the plan a teachinglearningmodel is to be developed for ICT use in each subjectand implemented in the classroom teaching. The process ofimplementation is meant to be documented and then adaptedto the teacher training programmes. A total of 11 subjecttraining programmes were developed and 20 teachinglearningmodels in five subjects for ICT use were completed. 18KERIS has been the main organisation for providing teachertraining; however, 46 institutions are now certified as distanceeducation institutions for teacher training. They includeteacher colleges, colleges of education, private sectororganisations and city and province training institutions. Aswell, on their own teachers have shown the initiative to learnmore about ICT use in education. Many have organised studygroups on each subject by city or by province and have metfor lectures, seminars, workshops, symposiums and todevelop educational materials.Constraints onthe use of ICTIn an effort to address the constraints on the use of ICT, inJanuary 2001 the government enacted the Act on Solutionsfor the Digital Divide. 19 This act seeks to promote a higherquality of life and the balanced development of the economyby guaranteeing free access and free use of informationnetworks to people who have difficulties with access due toeconomic, regional, physical or social barriers, such as peoplewith low incomes, residents of farms or fishing villages,people with handicaps, the elderly and women. Accordingto a survey conducted by the Korea Institute of SpecialEducation (www.kise.go.kr), income level and residentialregion are important factors in predicting ICT use. Thegovernment should be more active in reducing the digitaldivide and developing substantial long-term support for thesestudents.Students in special education also need support. Specialeducation is categorised into two major fields: students withdisabilities and gifted students. Several organisations supportand provide training for ICT use in special education. Forexample, the Korea Institute for Special Education hasinstalled eight distance special education broadcastingsystems and is conducting distance special education trainingand counselling for teachers and parents. KERIS is also activein this area, as are some private industries with the supportof the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Laborand the Offices of Education in the cities and provinces.AnalysisJust as students cannot learn from a pencil, they cannot learnfrom ICT. A good quality pencil cannot improve a student’slearning, but it can, however, help that student write easilyand comfortably. Similarly, ICT does not guarantee that astudent will learn, but it can help a student find informationquickly and easily.Educators should think carefully about what effectivenessof ICT use in education really means. Further, they shouldthink how students’ learning should be evaluated. Studentslearn from thinking, and thinking mediates learning. Thinkingis engaged by activities. Simply using ICT in the teachinglearningprocess does not improve students’ thinking, unlessthe ICT is used in a way to improve thinking. Trainingprogrammes for educators and students are focused oncomputer literacy and ICT utilisation, but none of them covercritical thinking, problem-solving, communication,interpersonal skills or how to further construct one’sknowledge based on the collected information via ICT.New approaches and methods should be designed to teachthese basic skills. ICT should be used to create differentactivities that engage different kinds of thinking. Theimportant factor is that the role of teachers and thecontributions of technologies in learning are indirect. Theycan stimulate and support activities that engage learners inthinking, which may result in learning. In the future, policiesand action plans should be designed to promote thinkingskills, and ICT should be used as the useful and convenienttool for helping students to think.Clearly, the Republic of Korea has developed the besteducational infrastructure in the world. The current problems,however, are determining how to maintain that infrastructure,how the infrastructure should best be used and what shouldbe transmitted on the information superhighway. Recentsurveys gave grim reports of the negative use of ICT byelementary and secondary students. Students are consuming133

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationtoo much time chatting and playing games, and in accessingpornographic sites. Recently the information andcommunication ethics education has been started by theeducational offices in cities and provinces. In order to beeffective, ethics training programmes for teachers and parentsshould also be provided. Moreover, parents’ abilities to useICT is critical to oversee their children’s computer use andInternet access.As a result of the research that KERIS has done on SCORM(Sharable Content Object Reference Model), a methodologyfor developing educational contents works has beendeveloped. When the methodology is applied to all subjectmatters, adaptive learning, which makes it possible to tailorinstruction to individual needs, will be exercised. Moreresearch should be conducted and effort placed on developingbetter quality educational programmes, applying e-learningcontents standardization, studying new ways of using ICTand integrating ICT in daily learning activities. In the 21stcentury, teachers should also recognise their new roles asfacilitators, coaches, advisors and guides who can diagnosestudents’ needs and meet those needs at the right time withthe right amount of assistance.APPENDIX 1Ratio of educational programmes of the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS)MediumTotalbroadcastingCurriculum instructionLifelong education( hours)( hours/% )(hours/%)TVRadioTerrestrial TV(VHF/UHF)6,98077011.1%6 ,21088.9%SatelliteTV (Plus 1) 7.7507 ,74896.15%3023.95%SatelliteTV (Plus 2) 8,3302 ,29127.5%6 ,03972.5%Sum23,06011,50944.9%12,55155.1%FM8,4001 ,02012.1%7 ,38087.9%Total31,46012,52939.8%19,93163.3%APPENDIX 2Government Agencies and Non-profit Organizations in ICTAir andSchoolCorrespondence HighEducational BroadcastingSystemEducation SoftwarePromotion Associationachs.kedi.re.krwww.ebs.co.krwww.espa.or.kr• 39 Air and Correspondence High Schools in the nation• Provides high school education for students who missed school toattend regular high schools• EBS is dedicated for public broadcasting and education• Broadcasts educational programmes for all ages from kindergarten toadult• Conducts R&D in promoting educational S/ W• Develops databases for educational S/W• Conducts S/W analysis and management• Provides technical assistance and dissemination of new techniques• Sets up the training centers in cities and provinces• Conducts and provides certification of computer skills134

Republic of KoreaEast and South-East Asia135KoreanofFederationTheIndustriesInformationww.fkii.or.krwlnationaaasKoreaofRepublicintechnologiesinformationPromotes•organisationnon-profitDigitalforAgencyKorea& PromotionOpportunityww.kado.or.krwdneedewhereenvironmentaccessInternetProvides•nationwithingapsnarrow digitaltocooperationinternationalPromotes•nationsamongandpublicforeducationinformationnationalInitiates•abuselimittoinformationofuseproperforEducates•CyberofAssociationKoreaEducationww.kaoce.orgw • ge-learninactivateandpromotetocommunitieseducationcyberBuilds• yindustrknowledgepromotesandcontenteducationalExports• sproblemeducationalResolvesofAssociationKorea&InformationEducationalBroadcastingww.kaeib.or.krwgbroadcastinandinformationeducationalonresearchConducts•PromotionDatabaseKoreaCenterww.dpc.or.krwycentur21stforcontentsdigitalanddatabasesoforganisationCentral•activationanddisseminationcontentdigitalforfoundationaBuilds•researchconductsandnetworkcooperativeBuilds•EducationalKoreaInstituteDevelopmentww.kedi.or.krwhresearcandpolicyeducationforcentrenationalclassWorld•EducationalKoreaInstituteDevelopmentww.kedi.or.krwhresearcandpolicyeducationforcentrenationalclassWorld•& ResearchEducationKoreaServiceInformationww.keris.or.krwTEDUNEviaserviceseducationalProvides•educationICT inofutilisationfullPromotes•programssoftwarecoreandcontentseducationalprovidesandSecures•studentsandeducatorsforcoursestrainingOffers•administrativewithagenciesgovernmentrelatedandschoolsHelps•digitalizationserviceseducationallifelongandcybersystem forhigh-techaProvides•librariesschoolatsystemscomputerizedupSets•FrontierEducationKoreaAssociationww.kefa.or.krwninformatioeducationalforsystemsDevelops•researchforfoundationEstablishes•inICT useforrelationspublicandtraining,education,Enhances•educationskillsanddevelopment,research,inexchangeinternationalPromotes•StrategyInformationKoreaInstituteDevelopmentww.kisdi.re.krwycentur21stinsocietyinformationbuildingfornew visionaProvides•outmappingininstituteresearchleadingaspositionStrengthens•economyknowledge-basedtowardsstrategyPromotionIT IndustryKoreaAgencyww.kipa.or.krwsexportsoftwarePromotes•start-upssoftwarePromotes•contentsdigitalofedgecompetitiveEnhances•centreIT supportinternationalOperates•processsoftwareImproves•analysisandresearchConducts•OpenNationalKoreaUniversityww.knou.ac.krwleducationaandsystemslearningdiversedeliversandApplies•Demand),onEOD (EducationTV,cableon-line,Internet,viaprogrammesradioandCD-ROM,InstituteResearchKoreaThe&EducationVocationalforTrainingww.krivet.re.krwneducatiovocationalandtechnicalonresearchConducts•educationvocationalandtechnicalinstakeholdersofnetworkSupports•developmentresourceshumanandtrainingprovidesandcapacityvocationalthedeveloptopoliciesgovernmentSupports•forSocietyKoreanTechnologyEducationalww.etkorea.comwhwitproblemslearningresolvesandenvironmentlearningImproves•technologyeducationalactivitiesprofessionalandeducationalforServices•IndustrySoftwareKoreaAssociationww.sw.or.krwyindustrsoftwaredomesticPromotes•industriesofcooperationwithprojectsresearchtechnicalImplements•ComputerizationNationalAgencyww.nca.or.krwsagenciegovernmentlocalandcentralICT forPromotes•developmentpolicySupports•

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationAPPENDIX 3Acts, Regulations, and Laws to Promote ICT Use in EducationICT Use in Education1991: Research and Development of Information andCommunication Act8/4/1995: Framework Act on Information Promotion1/16/2001: Act on Promotion of Information and CommunicationsNetwork Utilization and Information ProtectionCopyright Law1/28/1957: Copyright Law3/8/1991: Copyright Law (Revised) - Added Library Promotion3/24/1994: Copyright Law (Revised) - Added Library Promotionand Reading Promotion1/12/2001: Copyright Law (Revised) - Added Copyright Protectionof Digitized Materials and Its Dissemination4/3/2003: Copyright Law (Revised) - Added Copyright Protectionunder the Digital Network Environment and Use ofDigitized MaterialsSoftware Industry Promotion Law12/1987: Software Development Promotion Act12/6/1995: Software Development Promotion Act (Revised)1/21/2000: Software Industry Development Act (Revised)7/25/2003: Software Industry Development Act (Revised) - AddedDispute Mediate CommitteeLifelong Education Law8/31/1999: Lifelong Education Law3/13/2000: Enforcement Decree of the Lifelong Education3/31/2000: Enforcement Rule of Lifelong Education Enforcement ActNOTES1 “Information & Communications Technology in Education,” WhitePaper (Ministry of Education & HRD and Korea Education &Research Information Service, 2001).2 “Information & Communications Technology in Education,” WhitePaper (Ministry of Education & HRD and Korea Education &Research Information Service, 2002).3 “Information & Communications Technology in Education,” WhitePaper (in print) (Ministry of Education & HRD and KoreaEducation & Research Information Service, 2003).4 Ministry of Education & HRD (2003). Unpublished data.5 See note 1 above.6 The Ministry of Education & HRD, Ministry of Information andCommunication, and Korea Telecom (KTF) signed an agreementfor free computers to low-income family children and freeconnection for five years, www.kt.co.kr.7 Donga Daily Newspaper (1 October 2003), www.donga.com/fbin/news.8 “Research on Standardization of Students’ ICT Utilization Skillsand Curriculum Development” (Ministry of Education & HRD andKorea Education & Research Information Service, 2002).9 “The Seventh School Curriculum, 1997” (Ministry of Education &HRD, 1999), www.sen.go.kr/7th.10 See note 3 above.11 “Research on Constructing New ICT Equipment and DevelopingUtilization Model for ICT use in Schools,” Unpublished data(KERIS, 2002).12 See note 3 above.13 See note 3 above.14 Unpublished data. (KERIS, 2003), www/keris.or.kr.15 See Korea Research Center (KRC), www.kr.co.kr.16 See Korean Education Network (KREN), www.kren.ne.kr.17 “Strategies on ICT Training for Teachers” (KERIS, 2000).18 See note 3 above.19 “Report on the Project of Training ICT Manpower” (Ministry ofInformation & Communication, 2002).136

ThailandICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Tian Belawati, Ph.DNational policyIn line with the global trend, the Government of Thailand recognizesthe importance of information and communication technology (ICTs)for achieving broader social and economic objectives. To utilisethe full potential of ICTs, Thailand’s National ICT Plan has set threeagendas:To invest in an equitable information infrastructure to empowerhuman ability and to enhance life quality;

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTo invest in people to build a literate populace and anadequate information technology manpower base; andTo invest for good governance.population. This is higher than Internet penetration in otherASEAN countries such as in Indonesia (two per cent) thatranks 21st, although it is lower than Malaysia (24.4 per cent)that ranks at 17th.The first item refers to investment in national informationinfrastructure (NII), which includes a wide range ofequipment and technologies that have to be universallyavailable at affordable costs. The second item refers toinvestment in ICT skills-related human resourcedevelopment, and the final item refers to supporting effortsthe government needs to accomplish in order to be the drivingforce of ICT implementation. 1The National ICT Plan specifically states that informationtechnology needs to be an integral tool in education andtraining at all levels, and must not be restricted to scienceand technology but must include humanities as well as thearts. 2 This should include initiatives to:Provide all teachers, college lecturers, professors,school children and college students with theopportunity to learn to use ICTs. The objective is toemploy ICTs as an enabling tool to access informationand gain knowledge through self-paced learning, orthrough interactions with teachers and fellow students.Link schools, colleges, universities and librarieselectronically to provide students, teachers andlecturers with an enriched environment in whichdistant resources can be made available remotely atone’s fingertips.Make full use of ICT and distance education to meetthe needs and aspirations of all citizens for continuingeducation and skills upgrading regardless of age,profession, distance or geography. Special attentionmust be given in particular to people with disabilities.Current level ofICT access and useThailand is an ASEAN countries with a population of over62 million. Statistics of communication infrastructure arequite impressive. Data show that in 2000, 76 per cent of thehouseholds in Bangkok had telephone connection, althoughonly around 28 per cent of households in the whole ofThailand were connected. 3The growth of ICT users in Thailand within the last two yearswas over 50 per cent, increasing from around 2.3 million toover 3.5 million users. 4 Thailand ranks 25th in a list of thetop 25 countries with highest number of Internet users. 5 Thenumber of Internet users is around 5.7 per cent of the totalThe cost of the Internet in Thailand is lower than in someother ASEAN countries. For example, the cost of an Internetsubscription from an ISP (Inet-Gold) ranges from 13 to 15baht per hour (US$ 0.39 to 0.45) for “pay in advance”packages, or from 2,700 baht to over 12,000 baht (US$ 81 to360) per month for a “multiple package.” 6The specific goals of ICT implementation in education arethe following: 7Implement a “national school-information actionprogramme” with the target of providing all stateschools with at least one PC per 80 primary schoolpupils and at least one PC per 40 secondary schoolpupils within five years; allocate an annual budget of1,000 million baht (US$ 30,000,000) to equip stateschools with up to 30,000 PCs a year, a substantialnumber of which will be linked into networks; andconnect all universities, colleges and secondaryschools to Internet.Establish a “national interactive multimedia institute,”which will oversee the development and disseminationof interactive multimedia technologies. An annualbudget of at least 400 million baht (US$ 12,000,000)to support the development of technologies andcourseware packages.Intensify ICT manpower production at all levels, withthe target of doubling the supply of computer andtelecommunication manpower in five years.However, by the year 2000, only 22.5 per cent of secondaryschools and 1.19 per cent of primary schools were connectedto the Internet. 8 Within these schools, the ratio of students tocomputers was about 40 secondary school students percomputer and 114 primary students per computer (see Table1).As of 2000, Thailand’s Ministry of Education has been ableto provide almost 190,000 PCs, more than 150,000 of whichwere used in learning/instruction processes (see Table 2).In those schools with computers, most have been integratedinto the curriculum using both PC standalones and networkedunits. The predominant use of computers by teachers andstudents is for word processing, using a spreadsheet for dataanalysis, using a database for organisng research data, usinghypermedia for publishing works on the Internet and usingboth the Internet and CD-ROMs for searching information.138

ThailandEast and South-East AsiaTable 1: ICT Facilities in Schools by 2000IndicatorsGoalsStatus by 2000R atio of secondary schools connected to the Internet100%22.50%R atio of primary schools connected to the Internet100%1.19%Computerstudent ratio: Secondary school40:140: 1Computerstudent ratio: Primary school80:1114: 1Examples of majorinitiativesMany ongoing national projects have been instrumental inproviding learning resources through various types ofnetworks. Initiatives to enhance ICT use in the educationsector include the following:SchoolNet started in 1995 as a pilot project to provideInternet access to 50 schools. Presently, it connectsover 5,000 schools to the Internet. 9 The network hasbeen designed to serve the goal of universal accessfor every school nationwide. More specifically, aschool pays only the telephone charge at the localcallrate per connection (at US$ 0.08 per call), and noInternet access charge, regardless of where they arelocated. Furthermore, content creation programmesand activities have been initiated to promote the useof Internet in teaching and learning. For example, adigital library and archive have been created whichcontain digitised materials in various forms, haveproper indexing and a search engine for ease of use.An easy-to-use tool was also developed for teachersto create their own content or teaching materials toadd to the digital library. (See the website http://school.net.th for more information.) The SchoolNetProject achieved a “universal access” status in 1997and is cited in UNDP’s Human Development Reportof 2001.A tele-education project for the non-formal educationsector via the Thaicom satellite and run by theDepartment of Non-Formal Education is coupled withGeneral Education’s tele-education project via KlaiKangwol School.The UniNet Project, under the Ministry of Education,connects public universities via a high-speed fibreopticnetwork providing teleconferencing facilitiesamong campuses throughout the country.The Information Technology Project, under theinitiatives of HRH Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn,has been working at a grassroots level to developlessons for the sector as a whole.Other projects underway include a donation programme forused computers, ICTs for people with disabilites, multimediafor young hospital patients, ICT for cultural promotion andalso ICT training for prison inmates.One comprehensive effort to utilise ICT in the non-formalsector is being made by the Mirror Art Group (MAG), a nongovernmentalorganisation (NGO) based in the northern townof Chiang Rai. MAG’s projects are focused on the hill tribesof northern Thailand (the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisuand Mien). MAG’s innovative approaches for programminginclude helping hill tribes harness the power of moderncomputer communications and broadcast technologies tocreate an education system that eliminates traditionalTable 2: Number of schools, students and teachers using ICT by levelsLevelSchoolsStudentsTeachersUse of PCsTotalTrainedForinstructionForofficeTotalPrimary30,4766,633,809358,78171,44256,4421,95958,401Secondary2,6692,638,465125,98325,00048,75016,42065,170Vocational413592,85719,1188,54223,24012023,360Non-formal1,007991,4644,0413,0109321031,035RachaMongkol In.6193,3635,7343,5609,4192,07911,498RajabutIn.41507,3428,1604,40516,1254,74720,872Religion40567,3604,38841534599444Total35,07211,524,660526,205116,374155,25325,527180,780139

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationcommunication barriers by establishing a connection betweenremote villages and the rest of the world using a satellite dish. 10Here are some of their other points of focus:The Youth Network aims to restore youth pride in tribalidentity while giving them a support network andhelping them adapt to adulthood in modern Thailand.The network organises a wide range of activities fromSaturday computer, English and Thai lessons to largecampaigns/discussions on complicated topics such asdrugs, gender issues and sex education. MAG uses awebsite for soliciting donations of books and otherresources as well as recruiting volunteer teachers. Sofar, MAG has attracted more than 1,500 volunteers toChiang Rai to work on the project.The virtual museum of hill tribes is a development topreserve the culture of the six major tribes and to showit to younger generations and outsiders. The customsand ceremonies are presented through a website. TheInternet link from the physical counterpart museumin the village will initially be done with solar powerdue to electricity being unavailable in the village. 11The development of ebanok, a web commerce site thatis designed to sell handcrafted products made bycommunity members of the hill tribes.The creation of Bannok TV (www.bannoktv.com) tohelp fill the need for positive media images of hilltribe people, and to provide an information forumcapable of reaching the remote villages of Mae Yao.Bannok TV is supported by an extensive communityvideo archive, which is a multimedia collection thatdocuments traditional ceremonies, songs, customs,costumes, farming practices, weaving methods andhunting techniques. MAG uses the archive to produceeducational documentaries for hill tribe people andlowland Thais. In addition to video, MAG also makesaudio recordings of a vast array of hill tribe songs.Examples of trainingTo promote the use of ICTs in the classroom, Thailand hasallocated substantial money for various trainingprogrammes. As shown in Table 2, about 71,442 teachersand related personnel out of 358,781 at the primary levels,and 25,000 out of 125,983 at the secondary level have beentrained. Around 21 per cent of the teachers have receivedtraining to date. 12 The content of ICT training depends onthe needs of each group. but Microsoft Office, Visual Basic,Power Builder, FOXPRO, MS ACCESS, SQL, HTML, CAIhave been the most requested.The training has been conducted in collaboration withRajabhat Institutes. Currently eight of their 36 campusesnationwide are able to offer Internet training courses. Theseeight campuses are in different provinces and can serve asregional training centres for schools in those areas. Throughthe regional training centres, schools save tremendously ontravel expenses.Constraints onthe use of ICTIn the process of carrying out developmental work on ICTfor education, many issues and problems arise that requireappropriate remedies. They fall into three groups: 13Accessibility and affordability:1Present focus on basic computer 2skills and English;3Extensive telecommunication infrastructure is aprerequisite;Highly centralised access;Long-distance call from remote areas;Digital divide within the nation.Need for appropriate content:Lack of software with Thai content;Lack of evaluation standards;Lack of input from private sector.Need for ICT literate teachers:Short courses have not much impact, but peer trainingeffective;Lack of sustainable and systematic professionaldevelopment;Need for realistic objectives in training programmes.AnalysisThailand has started to prepare its primary and secondaryeducation systems for the digital era. The initiatives andincentives given to the school system show that much hasbeen accomplished already. The initiatives taken by the nongovernmentsector such as those of MAG promise a lot ofthings for the non-formal sector. MAG’s programmes showinnovations in utilising ICTs without being hindered by theabsence of fundamental necessities such as electricity.Nevertheless, it seems that the initiatives are mostly projectbasedand have not really touched the fundamental issuessuch as more equal and affordable access to the Internet.140

ThailandEast and South-East AsiaNOTES1 “To Reach the Unreached” (National Information TechnologyCommittee Secretariat, 2002), www.nitc.go.th/it-2000/2000s.pdf orwww.unesco.org.2 See note 1 above.3 Michael Minges, “Measuring the Internet in South East Asia”(2001), www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/Malaysia.4 “Internet Usage in Asia” (Internet Users and Population Statisticsfor Asia) (Internet World Stats, 2003), www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm.5 See note 4 above.6 “How much you pay” (Inet-Gold, 2003), www.inet.co.th/services/inetgold.7 See note 1 above.8 “The Use of ICT for Education in Thailand. A country report”(2001), http://gauge.u-gakugei.ac.jp/apeid/apeid02/papers/Thailand.htm.9 See note 8 above.10 “Tribal groups harness globalization” (The Mirror Art Group,2003), www.digitalopportunity.org/external/article/country/970.11 Marwan Macan-Markar, “Culture-Thailand: Hill Tribes go hightechto preserve way of life” (2003), www.digitalopportunity.org/article/country/970 or www.ipsnews.net/print/asp?idnews=19235.12 “Trends in the Use of ICT in Asia and the Pacific” (UNESCO,2002), www.unesco/org/trendsAP.htm.13 See note 8 above.141

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Viet NamICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Tian Belawati, Ph.DNational policyAs early as 1993 Viet Nam recognised the importance of developingan information and communication technology (ICT) policy, but itdid not publish a Master Plan for ICT in Education until 2001. 1Based on a review of similar policies in other countries, the Ministryof Education and Training (MOET) of Viet Nam noted thatinformation technology “has been used as a tool for teaching allsubjects and there is no fixed curriculum. Teachers should beinnovative in applying IT to their subject teaching. [The] conceptof education technology [was] built into IT application.” The Master

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationPlan focuses on meeting the demand for ICT humanresources; educational reform in content, teaching andlearning methods; study modes; and educational management.In the Master Plan, Viet Nam aims to develop a computerbasedinformation network system for education and toimprove computer ratios at educational institutions (everyschool is expected to have at least one classroom with fivecomputers). For the period 2001–2005 the objectives for ITdevelopment are as follows:To build ICT infrastructure for education and training.This consists of computer networks (local networks,intranets, Internet), computer rooms in schools,computers in all educational institutions (schools,colleges, universities, provincial departments, MOETdepartments) linked together providing access tovarious databases and resources for teaching andlearning activities and educational management.To develop the ICT human resource for sector bypreparing up to 25,000 or 30,000 trained specialists atall levels of qualification. Specialised ICT trainingprogrammes for other disciplines are developed topromote ICT applications in all different fields.Flexible training modes with quality training areencouraged.To use ICT as a tool to promote innovative thinking,initiatives, communication, independent problemsolvingskills, information searching and processingskills to facilitate lifelong learning for all people. Toapply ICT to any subject, at any school, at any levelthrough use of educational software (software forteaching, learning, testing and evaluation).To build suitable curricula, teaching methods andstudent evaluation systems for teacher trainingprogrammes and to revamp educational managementthrough student databases, teacher databases,databases for educational institutions as well as legaland regulation documents. This information systemwill allow faster and more efficient decision-making.To reach the goal of at least 25,000 trained ICTspecialists by 2005 by strengthening training qualityat all ICT faculties, increasing technical and practicalworks, regularly revising IT faculties and updatingtheir programmes, setting up more ICT faculties atother state universities, increasing the intake into twoyeartraining programmes for technicians andtechnologists with more emphasis on practical skills,encouraging second degree training in ICT forgraduates holding bachelor’s degrees in otherdisciplines, creating a quality accreditation committeefor reviewing programmes at ICT faculties and at otherICT training levels, setting up joint trainingprogrammes with foreign universities, and byencouraging students, lecturers and researchers tostudy in developed countries. As far as ICTs in schoolsare concerned, the major aims of the Master Planinclude providing general knowledge about (1)computers and IT for all school teachers and students,(2) computer use for teaching and learning othersubjects and (3) computer use for school management.Current level ofICT access and useViet Nam has moved ahead in Internet access since the firstInternet service provider (ISP) licences were granted in 1997.As of 1999, Viet Nam had two low-speed lines connectingHanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to the outside world. 2 Internetuse in Viet Nam from 2000 to 2002 increased by about 100per cent. However, the number of Internet users in 2002 wasstill very low, at about 0.2 per cent of its total population. 3The small number of Internet users is due partly to the highcost of Internet access, which before 1999 was one of thehighest in the world. 4 Although the cost now is slightly lower,it is still considered very high by most Vietnamese. TheInternational Telecommunication Union (ITU) reported thatthe cost for accessing the Internet in Viet Nam is almostUS$ 40 per 30 hours (this includes the cost for ISPsubscription and telephone usage). Furthermore, sinceInternet access is mainly done through telephone lines, thelow percentage of users reflects telephone availability in thecountry since only eight per cent of Vietnamese householdshave a telephone. 6In the education sector, the MOET used its own budget tosupply computers and other ICT equipment to universitiesand schools in the early 1990s. This played a vital role inintroducing ICT teaching in schools and universities. Subsequently,many local authorities and communities used theirown budgets to set up computer rooms in schools. As of 2000,about 80 per cent of secondary schools (out of 1,760) have atleast one computer, but only a few primary schools (out of22,200) have set up computer rooms. Nevertheless, someprivate schools in big cities have better facilities. An exampleis the Hanoi Amsterdam High School. From the “Maths-giftedclass” that graduated in 1991, 16 of the 26 students had e-mail addresses. Many are working in the ICT sector or ingovernment institutions of one form or another, includinguniversities. Another example is the ChuVanAn SecondarySchool, which has an active alumni section that helps providecomputers for the school. Generally, however, giventhe relatively high costs of Internet access, it is only thosestudents whose parents are able to pay that have access toICT facilities.Furthermore, ICT has now become a compulsory subject inspecialised upper secondary high schools (grades 10, 11 and144

VietnamEast and South-East Asia12). In other general (upper and lower) secondary schoolsand in primary schools, ICT teaching is optional dependingon computer availability. (In the beginning, computers wereutilised exclusively for teaching ICT.)Examples of majorinitiativesSeveral international co-operative projects have beenestablished: 8 Canada, Australia and Japan provide assistance toimprove ICT facilities in Vietnamese universities andscholarships for Vietnamese students. The Institute for Francophone Informatics (French)offers a master’s programme in ICT for 25 studentsevery year. Some foreign information technology companies setup ICT training centres. Apple, Microsystem, HP IBM, COMPAQ and CocaCola offer assistance to Viet Nam education, includingsetting up ICT training centres and conducting ICTrelatedtraining. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank gavefinancial assistance to improve ICT facilities inuniversities, colleges and provincial educationaldepartments.As well, an educational network, EduNet, has been designedto link all universities, colleges, provincial departments ofeducation and MOET departments. 9 Despite the slow progressdue to low investment, this initiative has prompted otherprojects to take off, including ICT teacher training andteaching ICT as a subject in schools.Another project has been the development of an inter-linkednetwork of learning centres in secondary schools and youthcentres across Viet Nam known as the Coca-Cola LearningCenters. 10 Coca-Cola established the network in partnershipwith Viet Nam’s Ministry of Education-Training and theNational Youth Union. It is to provide a dynamic environmentin which Vietnamese youth can extend their educationthrough ICT access and tools. Covering 33 provinces andcities and benefiting an estimated 10,000 students and theirteachers, 40 centres have so far been built. Staffed by teachers,Learning Centers are equipped with computers providingInternet and e-mail access, software and books in acomfortable learning environment for use both during andafter school hours. The programme is expected eventually tocover each of Viet Nam’s 61 provinces and cities and toprovide a dynamic environment in which Viet Nam’s youngpeople (in and out of school) can extend their learning anddevelopment opportunities through information technologyaccess and tools. Even though there is no specific informationon the learning programmes conducted within the centres,the programmes include the annual Young Leaders of theFuture contest, covering a number of academic disciplinesand involving the 200 top students enrolled in the LearningCenter programmes.Another effort of the government is the development of aCD-ROM containing information on citizens’ rights called“Your Lawyer,” by the Office of the National Assembly(ONA). This is an attempt to educate people about law andorder and to make Viet Nam’s laws accessible in simplelanguage. The CD-ROM adopts a step-by-step approach toguide the reader through the vast array of rules, regulationsand forms relevant to a multitude of day-to-day legal topicsin Viet Nam. Copies are to be distributed to offices ofdelegates to the National Assembly in all 61 provinces, officesof provincial People’s Councils, media organisations and tothe 7,000 post offices in all 12,000 localities. 11Other projects are aimed at: Developing, collecting and adopting educationalsoftware; Enhancing the development of databases foreducational management; Enhancing ICT training programmes for teachers; Creating schools with good ICT application inteaching and management; Providing high-quality training programmes for ICTlecturers and researchers; Building joint ICT schools or colleges (including 100per cent foreign investment) for ICT training.Unfortunately, there is no data or information available tothe author to elaborate on the above initiatives.Examples of trainingSince 1990, various ICT teacher training programmes,including short courses and an ICT bachelor’s degree, havebeen set up to meet the increasing need for ICT teachers. In1999, through the Secondary School Teacher Training Project,most of the teacher training colleges acquired moderncomputer rooms to facilitate training ICT teachers.Furthermore, training programmes for ICT technicians havebeen set up at various vocational training schools. ICT trainingfor educational management officials has been carried outroutinely to improve their knowledge and skills. As a resultof these training programmes, teachers should now have a145

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationbroader understanding of the role of computers and ICT ineducation. 12In a broader scope, the Japanese government has initiated aJapan-Viet Nam Portal project to improve Viet Nam’s ICTworkforce. Started in March 2002, the programme strives toimprove the quality of ICT work produced by the Vietnameseand to teach the workers Japanese language skills. TheVietnamese government has also gone the way of othertechno-developing countries like China and India in sendingpromising ICT students to North America to receiveworkplace ICT training and to learn about currentdevelopments in ICTs. These measures should assist Viet Namin developing a larger pipeline of ICT workers (assuming thestudents don’t emmigrate to other more developed countries),which in turn will help to meet the government’s goal of US$300 million for software exports and US$ 200 million fordomestic software production by 2005. 13Constraints onthe use of ICTAs in other developing non-English speaking countries,constraints on ICT use in education seem to be related tocontent and access. Specifically, significant problems in VietNam include: The lack of Vietnamese language software for use ineducational applications. This effectively restricts thelikely user population for the Internet to the 10 percent or so of Vietnamese who understand someEnglish; The limited ICT facilities that do exist have not beeneffectively used in general teaching, training andeducational management; The limited access to Internet for education due to highcost of access; Lack of qualified personnel, including trained teachers.AnalysisViet Nam has been eager to be one of the hubs for ICTdevelopment in South-East Asia as indicated by itscomprehensive Master Plan with specific emphasis ondeveloping a skilled ICT workforce. Further evidence is theIT in Education Master Plan of 2000, which aims to broadenthe ICT degrees offered at state institutions. Nevertheless,efforts seem to be still tinkering with the establishment ofinfrastructure to secure greater access of the Vietnamese toICTs especially those in the education sector (including thestudents). As recommended by Viet Nam’s country reportfor the APEID conference, a formal programme should bedeveloped to extend the level of access to computers and toimprove computer skills in order to encourage Internet takeupamong students in primary and secondary schools. Thiscould include the establishment of computer clubs toencourage students to explore the Internet and to developresearch projects, the inclusion of some element of computertraining (e.g., keyboard and mouse skills) as a compulsoryelement of the secondary school curriculum and the provisionof PCs in school classrooms.Realigning prices towards regional norms is an urgent priority.Currently Viet Nam’s rates for domestic and internationalleased lines are among the world’s most expensive, whichinevitably causes higher prices for local ISPs and for Internetaccess.Most importantly, since the majority of Vietnamese do notspeak English, the lack of Vietnamese language software foruse in educational applications should also be overcome.Access alone will not enhance the use of ICT in educationwithout the availability of relevant and understandablecontent. Some programmes devoted to content developmentin the local language should be initiated. Accordingly, it seemsthat any international assistance to enhance the use of ICT inViet Nam’s education should be focused on the eliminationof the four types of digital divide: access, human resourcesdevelopment, language and content.NOTES1 “Master Plan for Information Technology in Education for the Periodof 2001–2005” (Ministry of Education and Training, 2000), http://gauge.u-gakugei.ac.jp/apeid/apeid00/seminar/papers/Viet Nam/TOKYO2000_paper.doc, and “ICT Policies of Selected Countries inthe Asia-Pacific” (UNESCO, 2003), www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/teaching_learning/pri_sec_edu/Viet Nam.htm.2 Jeremy Lieb, “Worldwide Internet Population: Asia” (1999),www.commerce.net/research/stats/analysis/WWInternetPopul-Asia.pdf.3 “Internet Usage in Asia (Internet Users and Population Statistics forAsia)” (Internet World Stats, 2003), www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm.4 See note 2 above.5 Michael Minges, “Measuring the Internet in South East Asia” (2001),www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/Malaysia.6 E. Rathgeber, “Gender and Telecentres: What have we learned?,”presentation at World Bank Gender and the Digital Divide SeminarSeries (2002), www.worldbank.org/gender/digitaldivide/Eva%20Rathgever.ppt.7 See note 1 above.8 See note 1 above.9 “E-Learning in Asia and Beyond: Coca Cola Learning Centers”(2003), www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/teaching_learning/pri_sec_edu/Viet Nam.htm and www2.coca-cola.com/citizenship/education_asia_digital_divid.html.10 “CD-ROM in Viet Nam puts laws in citizens’ hands,” Newsfront ofUnited Nations Development Programme (2003),www.learningchannel.org/external.11 See note 1 above.12 See note 1 above.13 See note 5 above.146

Timor LestePalauAustraliaMarshall IslandsFederated States of MicronesiaNauruPapua New GuineaSolomonIslandsVanuatuNew ZealandTuvaluFijiKiribatiSamoaTongaNiueCook Islandsmap of the Pacific Island Countries

Pacific Island CountriesAustralia • Cook Islands • Fiji • Kiribati • Federated States of Micronesia • Marshall Islands • Nauru • New Zealand •Niue • Palau • Papua New Guinea • Samoa • Solomon Islands • Timor Leste •Tonga • Tuvalu • Vanuatu

AustraliaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMr Som Naidu, Ph.DMs Carol JasenNational policies, strategies andprogrammesThe Australian Commonwealth (Federal) Government developsnational policies and strategies for the use of information andcommunication technology (ICT) in primary, secondary andvocational education. Australian state and territory governmentsdevelop policies and strategies for the use of ICT in primary,secondary and vocational education, adult community education(ACE) and adult multicultural education (AMES). (See Appendix 1for a glossary of acronyms used in this chapter.)

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationA range of implementation models and approaches are beingadopted for the use of ICT in teaching and learning. Theintegration of ICT in education includes project-based,inquiry-based, individual and collaborative learning models.Students studying in the vocational sector (e.g., VET, TAFE)are increasingly required to undertake subjects and coursesonline or via a blended delivery mode of face-to-face andonline learning. Online courses may include interactivemultimedia courseware and online assessment tasks, testsand quizzes. Assessment of student learning may take placewithin a computerised learning management system suchas WebCT or Blackboard, enabling teachers to track, assessand mark electronically submitted student work. Insecondary and primary education, students may undertakeproject-based learning via Internet-based projects andspecially developed online curriculum content.Policy Goals and Action PlansOverall, numerous policy goals and action plans have beendeveloped and implemented at all government levels toenable the widespread implementation of ICT in all sectorsof education. Policies, plans and strategies may be accessedvia the government, organisational and taskforce websiteslisted in Appendix 2. Some strategies and initiatives extendoutside of Australia and encompass neighbouring countriessuch as New Zealand.Current ImplementationICT in education is widely implemented throughoutAustralia at federal, state/territory and local governmentlevels.The non-formal education sector in Australia is extensiveand includes ICT use in education conducted atneighbourhood houses, ACE, AMES, CAE, TAFE,University of the Third Age, local municipal libraries andcommunity learning centres. However, these informalcourses may also provide pathways into accredited ICTcourses in accordance with the Australian QualificationsFramework (AQF).Budget Allocations and Funding SourcesFunding for the implementation of ICT in education comesfrom federal and state/territory government budgets.Examples of budget allocations and expenditure for theimplementation of ICT in education may be accessed viathe federal and state/territory contact websites listed inAppendix 2.Gaps, Limitations and NeedsIdentified gaps, limitations and needs in ICT in educationoccur in relation to indigenous Australians, olderAustralians, women, people with disabilities, people inremote locations, and socio-economic disparities. Someinitiatives have been introduced to enhance equity in theseareas and are discussed under digital divide issues,concerning those who have access to ICT and those whodo not.Current level of ICTaccess and useTable 1 provides a general overview of the current level ofICT use in primary, secondary, vocational and communityeducation.Digital Divide IssuesEducational policies and strategies have been developed toaddress identified digital divide issues at federal and state/territory government levels. These issues relate toindigenous and older Australians, women, people withdisabilities, people in remote and rural locations, and thosewith relevant socio-economic factors.Indigenous Australians. Some Aboriginal educationpolicies promote ways in which new technologies can meetthe learning needs of Aboriginal students. The NorthernTerritory DET’s Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 1proposes new communications networks for all schoolsincluding major remote sites, and all teachers to have aminimum level of computer literacy and related teachingcompetencies. Similarly, the New South Wales Departmentof School Education’s Aboriginal Education Policy 1996and Review 2001–2005 2 includes a proposal for researchinto the application of ICT to teaching and learning ofAboriginal languages, and ways that new technologies canbe used to meet the learning needs of Aboriginal students.Older Australians. The Federal Government programmeBasic IT Enabling Skills (BITES) for Older Workers 3provides workers aged 45 years and older with theopportunity to undergo nationally accredited training in ICTskills. Courses are also conducted for older Australians atnationwide campuses of the University of the Third Age 4and at the Victorian CAE. 5Women. Education Queensland’s Girls and ICTs Initiative 6aims to build new pathways and models that break downbarriers to girls’ participation in, and enjoyment of, ICTs.Informal and formal ICT skills training is also conductedspecifically for women at local ACE 7 providers, includingwomen’s neighbourhood houses. The VictorianGovernment’s Women’s Web Project 8 provides women inrural, isolated areas with Internet training and access tocommunity Internet services. However, a “gender gap”persists: for example, in 2002, Education Queensland foundthat of those enrolled in the Year 12 course InformationProcessing and Technology, 22 per cent were girls,compared to 78 per cent boys. If this trend continues, girls150

AustraliaPacific Island CountriesTable 1: Technologies used in primary, secondary, vocational and community education*Typeof technologyUsesExtent of use by sectorsSatellite broadband network, includes softwarethat allows video/audio interaction betweenteachers and students, interactive whiteboardand controlled Internet access.High-speed broadband telecommunicationsnetwork.Hardware: desktop computers, printers,scanners, file servers, notebook computers,active local area network (LAN) products,uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).Server software: Microsoft Education -Windows 2000, NT 4, Exchange 2000, SQL2000, site, ISA 2000, SMS 2.0 Standard, HostIntegration, Systems Management and Proxyservers.Desktop software: Microsoft Academic Select -Office Premium 2000, Office MacintoshEdition 2001, Encarta Reference Suite, VisualStudio, Office Starts Here, Windows 32-bitoperating system upgrades, Back Office ClientAccess Licence. Range of MicrosoftMultimedia Titles. Multimedia CD-ROM.Internet.E-mail.Televisiontransmission.Radiotransmission.High-speed networking. General teaching andlearning across the curriculum: project-based,inquiry-based, individual learning.High-speed networking. General teaching andlearning across the curriculum: project-based,inquiry-based, individual/collaborative learning.General teaching and learning across thecurriculum: project-based, inquiry-based,individual/collaborative learning.General teaching and learning across thecurriculum: project-based, inquiry-based,individual/collaborative learning.General teaching and learning across thecurriculum: project-based, inquiry-based, multi-tasking, individual/collaborative learning.Library and research. Government, EducationDepartment Web sites. Development ofeducation Web sites.Online learning/e-learning/distance learning:project-based, inquiry-basedindividual/collaborative learning.Communication between teachers, betweenteachers and students, and between students.General teaching and learning across thecurriculum.General teaching and learning across thecurriculum.School of the Air at governmentprimary, secondary, TAFE andvocational training in remotelocations.Government and non-governmentprimary and secondary.Government primary andsecondary, TAFE, ACE providers,CAE and AMES.Government primary andsecondary, TAFE, ACE, CAE andAMES.Government primary andsecondary, TAFE, ACE, CAE andAMES.Government primary andsecondary, TAFE, ACE, CAE,AMES. Private schools andprivate education providers.Government primary andsecondary, TAFE, ACE, CAE,AMES.Primary and secondary.School of the Air at governmentprimary, secondary, TAFE andvocational training in remotelocations.*Technologies listed are used in Victoria (except those for the School of the Air). All states/territories throughout Australia usesimilar technologies. A national strategy for technologies, infrastructure, interoperability and online course content is currentlybeing developed by The Le@rning Federation.and young women are at risk of being excluded from thenew and emerging jobs of the future as a result of inadequateICT skills.People with disabilities. ANTA’s Bridging Pathways 2000–2005 9 is a Federal Government strategy and blueprint forincreasing opportunities for people with a disability in VET.However, there is no ICT focus in the strategy. Many TAFEinstitutes throughout Australia conduct the vocational courseCertificate in Work Education for special needs students.The course includes a core ICT subject.Equity of access. The Victorian DET initiative Bridgingthe Digital Divide 2000–2002 10 provides AUD 23 millionover three years for additional computers and networkingto ensure equity of access to ICT for all students, regardlessof socio-economic or geographic disadvantage. TheNetworking the Nation Project 11 assists educationaldevelopment of rural Australia by funding projects thatenhance telecommunications infrastructure and networksand reduce access disparities to telecommunicationsservices and facilities. Some TAFE institutes conduct off-151

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationcampus courses in ICT skills at Certificate 1 and 2 levels,including courses for homeless and drug-addicted youth.Nature and Roles of PartnershipsExisting ICT in education partnerships include thosebetween all states/territories and between Australia andNew Zealand. Examples of partnerships include thefollowing:The Le@rning Federation: 12 an AUD 70 millioninitiative between all Australian and New ZealandMinisters of Education, to develop online interactivecurriculum content, interoperability andinfrastructure, to support teachers and enhancestudent learning.TAFE Frontiers: 13 a consortium partnership betweenTAFE, RTOs, AMES and ACFE.Deakin University, 2002. “Evaluation of theNotebooks for Teachers and Principals Initiative.”www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/ict/notebooks/research.htm.(An independent evaluation has revealed that ininternational terms this initiative has beengroundbreaking. By June 2002, 91 per cent of allteachers and principals had a notebook computer.Nowhere else in the world has a government providedthis level of support to its teachers and principals toassist them to integrate learning technologies intotheir daily working lives.)Learning Technologies Board, 2000. “LearningNetworks Trial: Evaluation.” Victoria: OTTEPublications. www.otte.vic.gov.au/publications/LTLearningNetworks/index.htm. (Evaluation ofonline learning networks as a vehicle for increasingchoice and participation in VET through shifting themode of educational delivery.)VET in Schools: 14 a partnership between TAFE andsecondary schools for courses including IT and onlinecourses.National Bandwidth Project: 15 partnerships betweenall Australian state/territory education sectorsregarding national bandwidth standards.ICT in Schools Taskforce: 16 partnerships between allstates/territories regarding ICT initiatives ineducation.Teachers of the 21st Century: 17 partnerships betweenfederal and state/territory education sectors, teachers’associations, Catholic and independent schools.MCEETYA. 2002, 2003. “Learning in an OnlineWorld: The school education action plan for theinformation economy.” Progress reports 2002 and2003. Tasmania: MCEETYA ICTs in SchoolsTaskforce. (Unpublished progress reports on theimplementation and integration of ICT in all schools,in order to improve operations and business practices,to improve student learning and to offer flexiblelearning opportunities throughout Australia and NewZealand.)Provision of trainingCurrent ExamplesMajor initiativesTable 2 provides examples of some current majorinitiatives across all education sectors.Training needs have been addressed by the introductionand implementation of a number of programmes in theprimary, secondary and vocational sectors to encourageteachers to use ICT for teaching and learning. Thefollowing are some examples:Evaluation Reports of Major InitiativesWhilst numerous discussion papers, strategic planningpapers and implementation proposals exist for ICT use ineducation, thorough, long-term evaluations of ICTinitiatives, projects and strategies are not always undertaken.Summary documentation of state/territory ICT initiativesis seldom available in an aggregated format. According to aspokesperson for The Le@rning Federation, many ICT ineducation projects are not evaluated as they are ongoingand “morph” or progress forward into the next phase of theinitiative concerned. Following are a few examples ofevaluations:The Notebooks for Teachers Program 18 providesnotebook computers and ICT skills training for allteachers and principals in Victorian Governmentprimary, secondary and TAFE sectors, to support theeffective integration and use of learning technologiesinto the classroom and in administrative practices.Similar programmes are conducted in other states/territories.ICT Skills for Teachers 19 is an accredited trainingcourse for all TAFE teachers, providing the skills andknowledge required to enhance teaching and learningpractices via the use of ICT technologies.152

AustraliaPacific Island CountriesTable 2: Current major initiatives in primary, secondary, vocational and community educationMajorinitiativesDeliverymodelsSectors and partnersTheLe@rning Federation:From 2001–2006, a AU$ 70 millioninitiative to develop nationwide online interactive curriculum contentfor Australian and New Zealand schools, to support teachers,enhance student learning and improve educational outcomes.(www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/tlf)GlobalClassroom Project:Australianand international schoolshave participated in a range of collaborative online projects over thep ast seven years. (www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/gc/index.htm)Australian Flexible Learning Framework: World-class AU$ 20million per year initiative to create and share knowledge about flexiblelearning and to support its take-up in the VET sector.(http://flexiblelearning.net.au)MobileComputer Learning Libraries Program:AU$1.5 millionproject providing access to ICT training for ACE learners in remotelocations in Victoria.(www.otte.vic.gov.au/ettenews/issue5.htm#article5)TAFE Virtual Campus:VictorianGovernment service for students toaccess over 800 fully accredited TAFE courses online and theW ebCT learning management system (LMS). (www.tafevc.com.au)LearnscopeProject:Federalonline professional developmentproject for teachers focusing on ICT, flexible learning skills, e-learningand the application of new technologies for learning.(www.learnscope.anta.gov.au/LearnScope/home.asp)WideArea Network:VictorianGovernment DET 2003– 2004 budgetallocated AU$ 8 million over four years to give non-governmentschools continued access to the Internet via high speed, broadbandt elecommunications network. (www.det.vic.gov.au/det)I nteractive Distance E-learning Initiative: Federal Government AU$17 million project for a satellite network to cover the Northern Territoryand parts of New South Wales for School of the Air classes in remoter egions. (www.dcita.gov.au)Online learning via theInternet.Online, collaborativelearning via the Internet.Flexible learning, onlinelearning via the Internet.Blended (face-to-face andonline) delivery via 414laptop computers in mobilelibraries/labs.Online learning and WebCTLMS.Flexible delivery, onlinelearning.Infrastructure.Distance learning usingvideo cameras, electronicwhiteboards and Webcameras.Primary, secondary.Primary, secondaryAustralian and internationalschools.VET.ACE in remote and isolatedcommunities –rural and urban.TAFE, AMES, ACE,secondary.VET.regional,Victorian Government andnon-government primary,secondary.School of the Air atgovernment primary,secondary, TAFE andvocational training in remotelocations.WebCT Training 20 provides training in the WebCTlearning management system (LMS) and is conductedfor teachers in TAFE, RTOs and ACE. Training isusually in-house, mixed-mode delivery of face-tofaceand online.LearnScope 21 is a major national professionaldevelopment programme for teachers, focusing onthe application of new learning technologies toachieve more flexible learning in VET in thetransition to the information economy.Undergraduate and postgraduate teacher training coursesthroughout Australia include subjects and courses in the useof ICT in education. Courses such as Computers in theClassroom 22 are compulsory in Bachelor of Educationcourses. Specialist postgraduate certificate, diploma andmaster’s courses have been developed in computer educationwith topics including computer ethics, computers in thecurriculum, evaluation of curriculum software, ICT and theInternet, multimedia development, robotics, programming,and information technology resources for teachers. TheIndigenous Education Strategic Plan 2000–2004 23 is aNorthern Territory DET strategy specifying that teachertraining programmes for teachers of Aboriginal students areto include ICT skills.Recently trained teachers graduate with competent ICTskills, including multimedia software development skills foruse in education. The training is effective and new teachersappear to be competent in, and comfortable with, the use ofICT in teaching and learning. However, some older teachersare largely lacking in ICT skills and require training. Thereappears to be reluctance on the part of this cohort to adaptto and adopt the use of new technologies in education.153

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationFuture Training NeedsCurrently, further incentives are needed in educationenvironments to encourage some older teachers in theprimary, secondary, vocational and community educationsectors to acquire ICT skills. Recognition of ICT skills as“advanced” in terms of promotion and/or higherremuneration is perceived as an encouragement. Forexample, the Tasmanian DET’s ICT in Education (K12)Strategic Policy 2002–2005 24 states that all staff in schoolleadership positions will demonstrate competence andongoing commitment to developing skills in the use of ICTin teaching and learning as a requirement for promotion.Constraints onthe use of ICTStudents with disabilities and/or impairment alsorequire improved access to ICTs via modifiedhardware and software applications.Further strategies are required to encourage olderAustralians and women to engage in ICT education,perhaps via informal, low-cost training conductedat convenient local venues, or via the extension ofthe mobile computer lab/library initiative.A comprehensive, national project to provide lowcost/no-costcomputer hardware and software –recycled from industry/commerce – to Australiansfrom low socio-economic backgrounds would breakdown the “digital divide” between computer ownersand non-owners. This would enhance access to ICTand its use in education for all students regardless ofincome levels.Rural and Remote RegionsAustralian telecommunications infrastructure and accesshave been constraints in rural and remote regions. Theindependent report, “Regional Telecommunications Inquiry:Connecting Regional Australia,” 25 made a number ofrecommendations for improvements. However, theInteractive Distance E-learning Initiative has beenintroduced to alleviate the challenges associated with theuse of ICT in education in remote locations.National Policy on Infrastructure, Inter-operabilityand Course ContentConstraints occur between federal and state/territorygovernments in relation to national policy development forthe use of ICT in education. In the past, it has been difficultto implement nationwide policies and strategies regardingbandwidth standards, infrastructure, inter-operability, onlinecourse development, learning managements systems, etc.The Le@rning Federation projects and initiatives have beendeveloped in response to these constraints.Constraints also exist in relation to the use of ICT ineducation for indigenous Australians, women, people withdisabilities and older Australians.AnalysisOverall, current Australian federal and state/territorypolicies, plans, strategies and initiatives for ICT in educationare well conceived and progressive. However, there is aneed to more fully address how the use of ICT in educationmight benefit various groups:Aboriginal students in a context harmonious withtheir indigenous cultural beliefs.APPENDIX 1Glossary of acronymsACE: adult community educationACFE: adult community and further educationAMES: Adult Multicultural Education ServicesANTA: Australian National Training AuthorityAQF: Australian Qualifications FrameworkBITES: Basic IT Enabling Skills (for Older Workers)CAE: Council of Adult EducationDET: Department of Education and TrainingICT: information and communication technologyIT: information technologyLMS: learning management systemMCEETYA: Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Trainingand Youth AffairsOTTE: Office of Training and Tertiary EducationRTO: registered training organisationTAFE: technical and further educationTLF: The Le@rning FederationVET: vocational education and trainingNOTES1 “Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 2000–2004.”www.education.nt.gov.au. Northern Territory DET’s plan forindigenous education. Equity in ICT education.2 “Aboriginal Education Policy 1996 and Review 2001–2005.”www.schools.nsw.edu.au. NSW Department. of School Educationpolicy regarding ICT to meet the learning needs of Aboriginalstudents. Equity in ICT education.3 Basic IT Enabling Skills (BITES) for Older Workers.www.itskills.dest.gov.au. Provides workers aged 45 years and olderwith the opportunity to train in IT/ICT skills. Equity in ICTeducation.4 University of the Third Age (U3A). www.u3acanberra.org.au.Australia-wide education for older Australians. Equity in ICTeducation.5 Council of Adult Education (CAE). www.cae.edu.au. Largestprovider of adult and community education programmes inAustralia, including ICT and IT training and courses. Equity in ICTeducation.6 Girls and ICTs Initiative. http://education.qld.gov.au/itt/learning/html/girls-ict.html. Queensland Government initiative for girls andICTs. Equity in ICT education.7 Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training andYouth Affairs and Curriculum Council, Ministerial Declaration on154

AustraliaPacific Island CountriesAdult Community Education (Victoria: Department of Educationand Training, 2002). www.curriculum.edu.au/mctyapdf/ace_declaration.pdf.ICT courses and training for adults and women in ACE. Equity inICT education.8 Women’s Web Project. www.womensweb.org.au/pages/default.cfm?page_id. Equity in ICT education.9 Bridging Pathways 2000 – 2005. www.anta.gov.au. AustralianNational Training Authority (ANTA) federal strategy and blueprintfor increasing opportunities for people with a disability in VET –no specific ITC strategies.10 Bridging the Digital Divide 2001 – 2002. www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/ict/bdd/index.htm. Victorian DET initiative provides AUD 23million over three years for additional computers and networking.Equity in ICT education.11 Networking the Nation. www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_1-2_3-4_106337,00.html. Federal programme to assist the development ofrural Australia via projects, which enhance telecommunicationsinfrastructure and services and increase access to services viatelecommunications networks. Equity in ICT education.12 The Le@rning Federation. www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/tlf. A2001–2006 AUD 70 million initiative for online course,infrastructure and interoperability development. Partnershipsbetween Australian state/territory and New Zealand governments.13 TAFE Frontiers. www.tafefrontiers.com.au. Peak body supportingregistered training organisations (RTOs) within the Victorian VETsector to implement flexible learning. Partnerships between TAFE,ACE and private providers.14 VET in Schools Program. http://online.curriculum.edu.au/the_cms/tools/new-display.asp?seq=-9&industry=Vetis. VET resourcesdeveloped to assist in the implementation of vocational trainingpackages in schools. Partnerships between VET and secondaryeducation sectors.15 National Bandwidth Project. www.noie.gov.au/Projects/environment/bandwidth. Major Commonwealth Government studyinto the likely availability and price of bandwidth in Australia.Partnerships between all Australian states/territories in all educationsectors.16 ICT in Schools Taskforce. www.aictec.edu.au/advisory/reports/ictst/default.htm. Major national collaborative, advisory andadvocacy group on the use of technology in school education andthe development of national services such as EdNA Online.Partnerships between all Australian state/territory educationdepartments and non-government school sectors.17 Teachers of the 21st Century. www.qualityteaching.dest.gov.au/Content/Item_282.htm. Commonwealth Government initiative toimprove teacher quality, increase the number of highly effectiveAustralian schools and maximise student learning outcomes.Partnerships and teacher training (including training in ICT).18 Notebooks for Teachers Program. www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/ict/notebooks. Notebook computers and ICT skills training for allteachers and principals in Victorian government primary, secondaryand TAFE sectors. Teacher training.19 ICT Skills for Teachers. www.tafevc.com.au/ict/htm/resources.htm.An accredited training course for all TAFE teachers, providing theskills and knowledge in the use of ICT technologies. Teachertraining.20 WebCT Training. webct.com. Training in the WebCT learningmanagement system for teachers in TAFE, RTOs and ACE. Teachertraining.21 LearnScope. www.learnscope.anta.gov.au. Major nationalprofessional development programme for teachers focusing on theapplication of ICTs and flexible learning in VET. Teacher training.22 Computers in the Classroom. www.unimelb.edu.au. Subject taughtin undergraduate teacher training courses such as the Bachelor ofEducation (secondary and primary) in the Faculty of Education, atUniversity of Melbourne. Teacher training.23 Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 2000–2004.www.education.nt.gov.au/pages/indigenous.shtml. NorthernTerritory DET strategy specifies that teacher training programmesfor teachers of Aboriginal students are to include IT skills.24 ICT in Education (K12) Strategic Policy 2002–2005. http://connections.education.tas.gov.au/Nav/StrategicPolicy.asp?ID=00000145 24. Tasmania DET strategy forthe implementation of ICT in education.25 “Regional Telecommunications Inquiry: Connecting RegionalAustralia.” www.telinquiry.gov.au/rti-report.html. Report developedfor the Commonwealth Government by the independent RegionalTelecommunications Inquiry.155

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Cook IslandsICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONCook Islands comprises 15 islands with a land area of 240 squarekilometers, spread over 2.2 million square kilometers of sea. Thepopulation of 20,407 1 is bilingual (Cook Island Maori and English).Rarotonga is the main island with the parliament, governmentdepartment headquarters and the main commercial centre.Politically, the nation is self-governed but in close association withNew Zealand. Parliament comprises 24 members elected every fiveyears. The Cook Island economy is based on the export of someagricultural produce, handicrafts and tourism. The currency used

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationis the New Zealand dollar. Cook Islands is a member of theregional University of the South Pacific (USP), and henceis part of the privately owned satellite system calledUSPNet.National policies, strategiesand programmesICT Policy and BudgetThe Cook Islands information and communicationtechnology (ICT) policy framework is currently at thewriting stage. The target date for completion is December2003. As understood, the framework will follow the guidingprinciples outlined in the Pacific Islands Information andCommunication Technologies Policy and Strategic Plan(PIIPS), a regional ICT strategy agreed and signed by theCommunication Ministers of each respective Forummember country.ICT development is still haphazard and currently led bythe private sector. The government sector is a consumer atthis point rather than an instigator of development.The budget allocation for ICT development is about US$59,000 2 under the Prime Minister’s Office. However, thepolicy analyst interviewed for this report emphasised thatthe amount is set aside for policy development only. Otherfunding sources have been identified but are awaitingofficial confirmation.Cook Islands ICT CommitteeThe ICT Committee was established in March 2003 andchaired by the prime minister who also holds the portfoliofor telecommunication. The committee members arerepresentatives of the Ministries of Finance and Education,one from the Office of the Prime Minister, andrepresentatives from the tourism, telecommunication andcomputer services sectors. The current mandate for thecommittee is to advise government on ICT matters anddevelop a strategic plan to promote national awareness ofICT issues.Current level ofICT access and useConnectivityAs of 2003, Telecom Cook Islands (TCI) reported that thereare 6,180 telephone lines connected relative to a populationof 13,400. That is, approximately 46 per cent of thepopulation has access. Mobile customers have reached 1,499and 1,200 Internet customers. Internet connection iscurrently available only in Rarotonga, Aitutaki and Mangaiaand serviced by a single Internet service provider, Telecom’soyster.co.ck.Telecom’s Internet backbone connectivity is provided fromtwo independent sources: Teleglobe in Canada (PITANET)and Voyager in New Zealand. TCI claims that internationalaccess is very expensive because of satellite and accesscosts.E-mailPublic schools connected to the Education Network(EduNet) have e-mail facilities. EduNet is a partnershipbetween the Ministry of Education and Telecom CookIslands (TCI). The overall vision of the EduNet project isto provide schools and the Ministry of Education with thetechnology that will facilitate distance education goals. Toquote directly from the proposal “the completion of theproject will enable the Ministry of Education to conductand deliver its Distance Education programmes in a timelyand effective way, supported by the establishment of aDistance Education Centre for the explicit purpose ofwriting and producing course programmes and resourcessuitable for Cook Islands conditions.”TCI will install as well as manage the telecommunicationnetwork for this project. The initial phase was implementedon Rarotonga in late 2000 and some form of training hasbeen conducted to facilitate access for all the schoolsconnected to the network. There is still a long way to go.The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) hasexpressed interest in funding the project; however noconfirmation has been received. The official update of theproject will be available in December 2003. However,EduNet only offers a single mailbox for each school, andthe school principal and another trained staff are the onlyones with access to the network. Extending e-mail facilitiesto the staff in public schools is currently in development.Private schools with Internet connection also have accessto e-mail, but on a very limited basis because of costs.USP students in Rarotonga have access to e-mail andInternet facilities through USPNet. The establishment ofUSPNet in its current capacity (e-mail access andteleconferencing capability) has made it possible forstudents of the Cook Islands to complete a significantproportion of their programme without leaving their familiesand work opportunities. They are now beginning to utilisethis technology to submit drafts and final copies ofassignments, communicate with lecturers and course coordinatorsand access online USP courses, particularly inLaw. A number of students have taken up this opportunitywhile the others still need to learn and feel confident inusing the technology.158

Cook IslandsPacific Island CountriesThe multimodal facility of the network has provideddifferent modes of learning experiences for the students thatinclude learning from the printed study materials,videoconference tutorials with the lecturer in Fiji and onlinecourses with lecturers based in Vanuatu. There are alsoaudioconference tutorials to support these modes. Thedifferent learning modes are beginning to infuse the studentswith a sense of belonging, forging a spirit of camaraderiewithin the student population.The next phase is to make the technology work in the outerislands so that the students there will benefit from the sameexperience as the students in Rarotonga. Students areadvised to fill in a form designed for setting up an e-mailaddress. Some students also have access to e-mail at workor home. Students studying Internet and video broadcastcourses also have access to WebCT, a platform by whichthey can interact with their lecturer, tutor and other students.Video Broadcast and Conferencing TechnologyVideo broadcast and conferencing technology is availableto USP students in Rarotonga only. Students who areenrolled in accounting, information systems, tourism andpsychology are the frequent users. Psychology students whoare using the videoconference mode find this technology agood substitute for a face-to-face session because it allowsfor interaction in real time compared to the video broadcastmode. Audio and video teleconference sessions arescheduled daily throughout the week in support of alldistance and flexible learning courses of the university.Tapes of video broadcast sessions and audio conferencetutorials are sent to USP students in the outer islands.Internet/World Wide Web for EducationPrimary and secondary schools do not have full access tothe Internet. Access is subject to the school’s financial abilityto absorb costs. Instead, some students have access to theInternet through private connections at home or at a parent’sworkplace. For example, a number of students at NukutereCollege, a Catholic school who are familiar with thetechnology, use the World Wide Web to research schoolassignments.USP students are beginning to utilise the web for theirresearch, and download reference materials for theirassignments. However, there is still a need to developconfidence in using different search engines, doing advancesearches and using electronic libraries and databases.Some secondary and USP students in the outer island ofMangaia can now access the Internet and use e-mail.Mangaia College, which has a suite of 15 work stations,has just recently been connected to the Internet, which willhelp USP students and tutors get in touch with the USPCentre in Rarotonga as well as course lecturers at the Suvacampus. It will cost Mangaians about US$ 0.10 per minuteto access the Internet.On Rarotonga, examples of Internet use include researchfor children’s assignments and downloading music andgames.Telephone and FacsimileTelephone and fax are the most common form ofcommunication within and across the islands. Public andprivate schools, households and organisations have accessto telephones and facsimile in Rarotonga and the southernand northern group islands. There are currently about 409fax machines in the Cook Islands, with 314 in Rarotongaalone.Computer UseLearning to use computers for primary and secondarystudents is incorporated into the school curriculum.Previously called Text Information Management (TIM), thecourse is now called Information CommunicationTechnology. The course syllabus is currently limited tolearning or familiarising students with Microsoft softwaresuch as Word, and Excel. Lack of knowledge of curriculumdevelopers and teachers limits full incorporation of ICTsinto classroom activities or learning.Most of the schools in Rarotonga and some outer islandschools such as the colleges in Mangaia and Atiu, Aitutakiand Mauke have computer suites with a number of workstations. Secondary students are enrolled in computingcourses through the Correspondence School in NewZealand. Teacher trainees also have access to computerswithin the school for word processing use.Broadcast TechnologiesThere are two radio stations in the Cook Islands: RadioCook Islands and the privately owned KCFM station,established in 1979. KCFM Radio operates only inRarotonga while Radio Cook Islands broadcasts can beheard in the southern and the northern group islands up toPenhryn. Programmes on both radios are typical and haveno educational content. However, Radio Cook Islandsannouncers utilise time slots for talkback shows to discussand get opinions from its audience on current issuesaffecting the country. These talkback programmes are nowconsidered by politicians as a feedback mechanism for thepeople’s reaction to government policy and activitiesespecially as the general election is looming in 2004. Thereis a plan to utilise radio for a health-related initiative – aninformation/education campaign targeted at young peopleon the effects of tobacco.159

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationCook Islands Television went on air in 1989 and was ownedat the time by Cook Islands Broadcasting Corporation, whichalso owned Radio Cook Islands. After the economicdownturn in 1996, the government decided to privatise assetsas part of the structural reform programme. Both CookIslands TV and Radio Cook Islands are now leased to ElijahCommunication. Cook Islands Television has only onechannel and is viewable only in Rarotonga.Major initiativesEduNetThe initial phase in the implementation of the EducationWide Area Network Project (EduNet) in 2000–2001involved the establishment of the Rarotonga intranet. Allprimary and secondary public schools are connected to thenetwork. The technology allows e-mail and file-sharingfacilities for government schools in Rarotonga connectedto the EduNet server located at the Ministry of Educationsite. Computer sites in schools are able to connect to theserver through a dial-up system.The EduNet service acts as a self-contained extranet but isnot connected to the Internet. In this initial phase it acts as amail server and file server that distributes e-mail, data filesand course programmes. It also provides file access andsharing facilities over the network and centralised backupfacilities. Schools connected to the network have only asingle mailbox. E-mail facilities for the staff are still indevelopment.Generally, access to the EduNet service is currently limitedto school administration and staff. Also in the pipeline isthe creation of a website to enable students to have accessto the site as well.TelehealthThe Telehealth project is a partnership between the Ministryof Health and Telecom Cook Islands. The project will usethe Internet and e-mail to facilitate medical diagnosis andassistance from specialists in Rarotonga to health careworkers in the outer islands. Initial training on the softwaretemplate was conducted by Telecom early this year. Thisproject is still in its initial phase of implementation.World Health Organization/USP HealthNetThis initiative, a partnership between the World HealthOrganization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health/USP, willfacilitate ICT access for all medical staff in the region. Theproject involves education and training on the use of theInternet for research and accessing relevant informationfrom WHO for health alerts and other information. Theproject also involves infrastructure management. In theCook Islands, this ICT training is envisaged to be part ofthe student nurses training programme. The initial trainingfor trainers was planned to commence in September 2003.Outer Islands Network UpgradeTelecom Cook Islands (TCI) announced an upgrade to theouter islands network early this year. This upgrade willenable the outer islands to have access to the Internet and e-mail. Mangaia College on Mangaia Island and anaccommodation business were the first establishments onthe island to connect to the Internet.Digital Cellular NetworkKoka Net cellular network, owned by Telecom Cook Islands,has announced the upgrade of its cellular network from ananalogue to a digital system. TCI has a current listing of1,499 mobile customers connected to the Koka Net. Thisrepresents a threefold increase in the number of customerswith cellular phones.Examples of trainingComputer Training for the Outer IslandsThe USP Centre is currently involved in facilitating predegreecomputer training in the outer islands in associationwith the National Human Resources Development. This isa high school or Level 2 programme in the New ZealandQualification Framework. As well, secondary students onMangaia, Aitutaki and Atiu are doing Level 2 computingthrough the Correspondence School of New Zealand.Teacher TrainingIn 2001, the principal and one staff from each school whowas familiar in using computers were given training so eachschool could log onto the EduNet server and download theire-mail and other information. The trainer was the systemadministrator running the programme; however, when thesystem administrator left the ministry, the project sloweddown and encountered a number of technical problems.Telecom also offered some training in using Internet to thoseschools with Internet connections.NHRD Computer TrainingThe National Human Resource Development (NHRD) hasfunded a computer-training programme to improve the skillsof women in the labour force who wanted to change careersand increase their employability. The course offered was aNational Certificate in Business Administration Level 2 onthe NZQA Framework. It was available only to women in160

Cook IslandsPacific Island CountriesRarotonga. Training sites were located at secondary schoolsthat have a large number of work stations available.Need for in-country training on ICT includingtraining at all levels of education and sectors;Other Computer Training for Young People andAdultsTraining in the area of basic PC maintenance, programmingand software use was initiated by private trainingestablishments. This type of training is usually conductedduring the school holidays with the target group being youngpeople.Computer literacy and ICT training are mostly done on thejob and some training needs were addressed but not in aplanned effort. It is hoped that in the setting up of the ICTpolicy framework, the level of ICT skills in the country canbe assessed to provide direction and identify future trainingneeds in all sectors.Constraints onthe use of ICTThe following constraints were identified by participantsat the Cook Islands ICT workshop held in June 2003. 3Telecom monopoly: exclusivity agreement not up fordiscussion until 2006;High cost of access: both Internet and toll calls;Cost of developing the national ICT infrastructure:lack of economies of scale and high Internet andbandwidth costs;High cost of hardware and software;Lack of government policy and political will; andGood governance issues.AnalysisWhile the Cook Islands ICT policy framework is still in thedevelopment stage, the country is more advanced comparedto many other Pacific countries. This is likely due to theclose association with New Zealand and the regular infusionof trained personnel as they complete studies and return tothe island country. Further, there was a major governmentreform of the public service in the mid-1990s and it isassumed that the public service workforce is now workingwith improved commitment and attitude. Connectivity existsthroughout the islands, and schools have all been linkedthrough the EduNet project. The long-established broadcasttechnologies have developed more and are now moving intoeducational programmes. However, there remains a needto mount training programmes that will ensure sustainabilityof trained expertise. In particular, there needs to be anongoing programme to ensure teachers are oriented andtrained before they enter the service.NOTES1 From the Census 2001, Statistics Office.2 From the Budget 2003-2004.3 “ICT for the Cook Islands,” Cook Islands National ICT WorkshopReport, June 2003. Participants of the ICT workshop in June 2003included staff of the different government ministries/departments; adhoc bodies such as tourism, environment and the police; the privatesector such as Telecom Cook Islands, computer businesses, CookIslands Television and Cook Islands News; island secretaries fromthe north and southern groups; and NGOs such as WWF, Cook IslandsAssociation of NGOs (CIANGO) and National Council of Women.Maintenance and replacement costs of hardware dueto the harsh environment and unstable electricitylevel;161

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FijiICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Salanieta Bakalevu, Ph.DMr Anare TuitogaBACKGROUNDEducationEducation in Fiji is a partnership between government and thecommunities. The government pays a large proportion of teachers’salaries and provides grants while school committees manage thefinancial operations of the facilities and infrastructure. Of the total700 primary schools only two are government-owned, and of 156secondary schools, 12 are government-owned. Committees managethe rest. While this unique partnership in the management of schools

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationpromotes a sense of identity and common purpose, it alsohas a bearing on critical choices that schools make, such asthe utilisation of new technologies. After all, technology(and maintenance) is not cheap.Information and communication technology (ICT) ineducation in Fiji is still developing, and its potential is yetto be felt. At the Ministry of Education (MOE), a networksystem is being established, a Ministry website is underdevelopment and Internet and e-mail access is limited.While about half of all secondary schools have computers,only a few of the larger ones in urban centres have Internetand e-mail access, and fewer still have their own websites.TelecommunicationsFiji’s domestic telecommunications industry comprisesthree companies that are partly privatised and partly publiclyowned. They operate as monopolies under exclusive licencearrangements. All companies are owned by ATH of whichthe government is a major shareholder.Internet access and use is still developing. Currently thereis one Internet service provider (ISP), which provides dialupconnections via traditional telephone lines and, morerecently, over digital ISDN lines. However, the ISDN isavailable only in the capital, Suva, and at a cost that puts itout of reach of most except large businesses. Until recentlyno Internet access was available in those parts of the countrywhere there are no telephone lines or where the lines are ofpoor quality. Access to the various high-speed options(broadband access) that is widely available in moredeveloped countries is limited to the larger organisationslike USP that have higher traffic and capacity. Despite thelimits on Internet access, most organisations have embracedthe World Wide Web enthusiastically.National policies, strategiesand programmesITCS is the official government department for providinginformation technology services, which include policyformulation and expert advice, systems development,information technology infrastructure building andmanagement, training and customer support. Thegovernment is committed to developing the ICT industryincluding e-governance. It is also aware of the currentmonopolistic framework for telecommunications and isintent on making the industry more efficient.Government Strategic PlanThe ICT goal in the Government Strategic Plan 1 is“universal access to internationally competitive ICTservices.” This goal transfers into the policy objectives thatinclude the reduction of telecom rates in the short term bypromoting more dialogue between investors and providersto negotiate favourable rates; increased coverage of telecomservices, especially to rural areas; liberalisation of thetelecom sector through more competition and the removalof exclusive licences; alignment of ICT training todevelopments in the employment market; and theintroduction of e-government for greater efficiency ofservice.Performance indicators include: the reduction of telephonecharges and removal of exclusive telecom licences by 2005;increased competition with more ISPs; telecommunicationaccess to at least 400 more unconnected villages by 2005;quality standards; an additional 10 schools per year withcomputers and Internet access and corporate sponsorsprovided for additional schools; upgrading of computerskills of teachers; adoption of ICT employment skillstraining modules by information technology trainingproviders; and integration of e-government.Ministry of Education Strategic PlanLimited links to education facilities is noted in theeGovernment Strategic Plan. 2 A priority of Year 2 (2004–2005) of the plan is to focus on information technologyinfrastructure for education to include links to schools anddatabase implementation. This operation is estimated to costFJD 1 million.Objective 9 of the MOE Strategic Plan deals specificallywith the exploration and use of technology. It includes plansfor establishing network systems for the ministry, as wellas information technology centres and distance educationcentres at strategic locations. These will, respectively, offerICT services and provide support for teaching and learningin schools.Regional ICT CentreUSP, working with the Fiji government and JICA, 3 plans tolessen the digital divide by establishing the PCIT, which isexpected to play a leading role in carrying out a variety ofactivities for human resources development in ICTthroughout the Pacific region. Because of USP’s strategiclocation in Fiji, the benefits of this venture for the countryare great.Current level ofICT access and useTelecommunication ServicesThe amount of traffic/telecommunications capacity at allschools and teacher training institutions is fairly small. Thusthe telecommunication service used is either a “thin route”164

FijiPacific Island Countriesor “medium route” network. USP’s larger capacity andservices use broadband networks.Radio BroadcastRadio broadcast has a long history in education andremains the most accessible medium for reaching remoterural communities. While most programmes are generallyeducational, especially those in the local languages, twoprogrammes deserve mention. The first is a dailybroadcast for primary schools that is prepared andrecorded at the Schools Broadcast Unit and transmittedthrough Radio Fiji. The programme includes lessons forprimary students as well as discussion forums forteachers. The second is developed and transmittedthrough Radio 95.2 FM of CETC, 4 the training arm of theSPC in Suva. CETC is a regional institution for womencommitted to community development, and Radio 95.2 isan extension of its training in radio programming andbroadcasting.The challenge for radio broadcasting is to improvetransmission (replace old AM transmitters of limited reach)and design more effective programmes. While radio willremain for many more years, the technology is moving todigital broadcasting and Internet radio.Audiovisual AidsThe Schools Broadcast Unit is a mini media centre for theMOE. It prints learning materials and other documents forschools, and also produces audiovisual aids includingaudiocassettes, videotapes and CD-ROMs that schools canborrow.TV TransmissionTV transmission includes the majority of the population,and a modern Free-to-Air (Fiji 1) 5 service reaches mosthomes. However, its use for specific learning purposes islimited. A few programmes such as Get Set for youngerviewers; Dateline, produced by the Government Film &TV Unit; Pacific Way, produced by the Media Centre ofSPC; and weekly programmes of the Fijian and Hindilanguagecultures and traditions serve important educationalpurposes for all viewers.Computer StudiesComputer Studies 6 is an optional subject in forms 5, 6 and7, but it is yet to make an impact. Only 86 (55 per cent) ofall secondary schools take this option. Of these, only 35have Internet connections.While there is no curriculum for computer studies belowform 5, a few have developed their own for forms 1 to 4. Tothe best of our knowledge, only two primary schools havecomputers and do some computer studies. Most schools thatoffer computer-related studies are located around the majorurban centres and funded by Indo-Fijian organisations. Thissituation reflects the constraints of resources – physical,financial, and human.InternetTwenty per cent of schools have Internet access, mainlyfor the use of teachers. While most schools have more than10 computers, a few have small LAN networks with a serverfacility for sharing information and Internet services.Meanwhile, Internet access at teacher training institutions(apart from USP) is poor. The major teacher traininginstitutions have no systems network, only standaloneterminals with a dial-up facility in libraries for the use oflecturers and trainees. The major TVET institutions havegood Internet access that is used by staff and students tosource information and for research. None of the mentionedinstitutions use Internet for online teaching or WebCT.However, Nadi Muslim College stands out with its mostadvanced technologies and services in learning, thanks to aprivate donation.An overview of the technologies being used in schools,technical/vocational institutions and in non-formaleducation is provided in Table 1. The differences betweenthe applications in secondary schools and the tertiary levelare noteworthy.Equity issuesWhile NGOs remain the strongest advocates of equityissues, the government has also instituted policies andstrategies along the lines of EFA requirements. 7 However,for obvious reasons, specific ICT focus in equity initiativesis, as yet, minimal.Indigenous FijiansUnder its comprehensive Blueprint for Affirmative Actionon Fijian Education, the government plans to createopportunities and pathways for the improvement of Fijianeducation. One initiative is the development of informationtechnology and related infrastructure in Fijian schools,which includes the purchase and maintenance of hardware,software and provision of Internet facilities.Rural CommunitiesRural development is a high priority of the government.Rural electrification, improved telecommunication services,and SME training are some of the initiatives underway.NGOs, the private sector and international organisationsare also actively involved. Most business houses, includingbanks, insurance companies and retailers, have communityoutreach projects with a strong focus on education.165

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTable 1: Summary of technologies being used (primary, secondary, TVET, non-formal)Typeof technology usedUseof the technologySectors using the technologyRadio BroadcastSBU: Recording studio: analog & digital -convertible systemCETC: Radio studio with station (FM95.2): digitalAV Library Service (SBU)Beta cam system; moving todigital system & softwareTV transmissionRecord programmes on digital audiotapesand sent to Radio Fiji for teaching andlearning in schoolsTraining in radio programming andbroadcastingBurnCDs, produce videotapes.Teaching & learningSharing information & knowledgePrimary schools (10– 12 a.m. daily), andprimary & secondary teachersVocational/community trainingfor women - regionalPrimary & secondary school resourcesYounger viewersGeneral publicHardware: desktop computers, printers,network systems, power supplyTVET-FIT, SPC, TPAF, APTECH, etc.Server software:Windows 2000Desktop Software: MS Office 97CD-ROMThin route or medium routetelecommunication applicationTeaching & learning, especiallyCurriculum Studies classes. Word:projects, group work, inquiryTeaching& learning servicesTeaching & learning especially curriculumstudies classes. Word: projects, groupwork, inquiryLow-speed/medium-speed networking.Limited to basic services as perrequirement: communication, inquiry andresearchInternetLibrary & research; inquiry & project-E-mailHigh-speed broadbandtelecommunications networkbased learning; development of Web sitesCommunication between school andoutside and teachersHigh-speed networking. General teachingand learning across the curriculumWebCT; distance learning55% secondary schools doing ComputerStudies in forms 6 & 7; three primaryschools. Teacher training-most.Not in the schools; Teacher training: onlyUSP.TVET: FIT, SPC, TPAF and few others.86 secondary schools doing ComputerStudies in forms 6 & 7; three primaryschools. Teacher training-USP, limited inothers;TVET - most use itMost schools, TVET and teacher training(except USP); rural centresIn schools-mainly for teachers' use. TVET,teacher training (USP, FCAE)-for allSchools-mostly restricted to teachers’useTeacher training-USP (USPNet)Assistance through donations of stationery and computerhardware has been prominent.WomenA survey of the 86 schools that teach Computer Science informs 5, 6 and 7 shows comparable participation of bothgenders (54 per cent female). Of the teachers who teachComputer Science, 41 per cent are women. Meanwhile atthe Ministry of Women, Social Welfare and PovertyAlleviation, an ongoing project on Women in Science andTechnology currently has two subprojects: Women inFisheries, which is being developed in conjunction with USPand SPC, and Women in e-Commerce. The latter is a newventure aimed at empowering rural women and facilitatingentrepreneurial skills. A series of activities includingidentifying producers, comprehensive training ininformation technology and SMEs, support for production,identifying primary and secondary markets and establishingsimple mobile systems of operation are part of a pilot project.People with DisabilitiesAll education and training for people with disabilities ismanaged by NGOs with the government providing teachersand trainers. The main schools have computer laboratoriesthat students have access to. Hilton School for the Disabledhas prevocational courses which prepare students for furtherstudies or employment. Despite a constant lack of funding,the services have been very successful.166

FijiPacific Island CountriesYouthSmall and micro enterprises in the informal sector are thecurrent priority of youth training and development. Adatabase of needs, capabilities and resources is beingcompiled. A pilot project in rural banking, among others, isbeing trialled.Major initiativesTelecommunications InfrastructureThe infrastructure capacity via the new Southern CrossCable Network that links Fiji to Australia, New Zealandand the United States has provided a greatly expandedcapacity for data traffic. The network has the impetus forbridging the digital divide and optimising the country’sopportunity in transmission.Modern telecommunication services will shortly be opento rural and outlying islands through projects currently beingundertaken by TFL. 8 These include:ICT in teacher training for secondary teachers isalready in place in USP’s degree programmes forsecondary teachers. Next year similar informationtechnology streams will be included in primaryteacher training at Lautoka Teachers College andUSP.Train the Trainers for ICT Skills in SecondaryEducation is an ongoing project that funds overseastraining in information technology for teachers.Beneficiaries have formed networks and associationsfor knowledge-sharing, capacity-building andempowerment.General training by Telecom and ITC, in the formof short courses and workshops, is run for differentclient groups. For example, to make the telecentreswork, training will be provided for the communities.Constraints onthe use of ICTAn expansion of the current EasyTel service, awireless local loop telephone service that is deliveredby the CDMA technology.A FJD 45 million satellite project that will, over thenext 10 years, see rural people receive the fullcomplement of services and solutions available tocustomers in the urban centre.Lack of infrastructure and facilities: Many schoolslack infrastructure and facilities to support ICT. Poorclassrooms, limited electricity supply and poortelecommunication links are major problems.High costs: The cost of computers and peripheralsas well as maintenance and transmission are borneby school committees. It is an expensive exercise.A joint effort with government will see telecentresprovide “public” access for learning. (Three centreswill be operational by December 2003 and will be inplace by the end of the initiative. As far as possible,the centres will operate from schools but will beaccessible to communities.)Computer Studies CurriculumA project to evaluate the current Computer Studiescurriculum was recently completed. The report providedimportant information that the MOE can use in its revision.The recommendations for the revision include these needs:greater practicality, provision of appropriate laboratory andInternet access, incorporation of the needs of industry andongoing training for teachers.Capacity-buildingEducation and training in ICT are being offeredby many institutions including USP, FIT, and TPAF.This is a competitive area of training and there is awide range of courses at all levels. The quality ofcourses is very high.Lack of knowledge and skills: ICT knowledge andskills are in demand in schools. Currently, only 40per cent of those teaching Computer Studies have anICT background or qualification; most are eithermathematics or accounting majors. A related problemis the lack of expertise for repair and maintenance oftechnology connections.AnalysisThe government has a strong national ICT plan that willunfold over the next 10 years. However, the plans toliberalise the telecommunications sector and make it moreefficient and affordable for users must come sooner ratherthan later. Exorbitant Internet charges by the monopolisticpower of the telecommunications industry have neithercommercial reason nor educational sense. The charges putthe technology beyond the reach of ordinary citizens,including schools and small businesses, and deprive peopleand the country of the benefits of the cyber world. There isa very strong feeling nationwide on this issue.Capacity-building is another important element of theproject. The development, upgrading and provision of167

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationinfrastructure and technological hardware go hand in handwith ongoing training for potential users. While it isexpected that schools will be able to sustain ICT use, it isthe non-formal sector that will need monitoring andsupport. The fast pace of technological advance makes thisurgent. Government (in collaboration with other providers)needs to establish new units or restructure other servicesfor this. Otherwise, the burden will continue to fall onschools to serve as the primary agency of support.The MOE needs a comprehensive plan to provide theroadmap for a more systematic development of ICTs inEducation. 9 The plan, which should cover policies andstrategies that relate to issues such as inequality, ICTliteracy, costs, software, teacher training and rewards,needs to be holistic. How soon the ministry wants to getinto distance education is also an important factor in thisdevelopment. The government-telecom initiatedtelecentres, expected to be operational soon, may wellprovide the impetus for the MOE’s planned informationtechnology and distance learning centres. Indeed, thetelecentres could provide a “home” for such services. Coordinationof strategies and sharing of resources will beimportant to avoid duplication, save unnecessary costs andspeed up the processes – to benefit schools and the widercommunities.APPENDIX 1Glossary of acronymsATH: Amalgamated Telecom HoldingsCDMA: code division multiple accessCETC: Community Education Training CentreEFA: Education for AllFIT: Fiji Institute of TechnologyFCAE: Fiji College of Advanced EducationISDN: integrated services digital networkICT: Information Technology and CommunicationITCS: Information Technology and Communication ServicesISP: Internet service providerJICA: Japan International Cooperation AgencyMOE: Ministry of EducationNGO: Non-government organisationPCIT: Pacific Centre for Information TechnologySBU: Schools Broadcast UnitSME: small and micro enterpriseSPC: Secretariat of the Pacific CommunityTFL: Telecom Fiji LimitedTVET: Technical Vocational Education and TrainingUSP: University of the South PacificTPAF: Total Productivity Authority of FijiNOTES1 “Strategic Developmental Plan: 2003–2005,” Parliamentary PaperNo. 72 of 2002, www.itc.gov.fj/publications.html#sdp.2 “eGovernment Strategic Plan,” Working Document, www.itc.gov.fj/docs/Data3eGovtStrategicPlan.pdf.3 “ICT Capacity-Building at USP,” www.usp.ac.fj/jica.4 For information on courses offered, see www.spc.int/cetc/CourseOffered.htm.5 See Fiji TV, www.fijitv.com.fj.6 E. Williams, M. Kato and N. Khan. “Evaluation of ComputerScience Curriculum in Fiji Secondary Schools” (USP: 2003).7 “Education for All: Country Report Fiji” (UNESCO, 2000),www2.unesco.org/wef/country reports/fiji/contents.html.8 See “More Rural Areas Connect,” www.telecomfiji.com.fj.9 E.B. Williams, “Information Technology and Distance Education”in Learning Together: Directions for Education in Fiji. Report ofthe Fiji Islands Education Commission/Panel (Suva: GovernmentPrinter, 2000).168

KiribatiICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONKiribati is situated across the equator, north of Fiji. It consists of 33islands spread over 5 million square kilometres of sea with a totalland area of 717 square kilometres. Of the 33 islands, 21 areinhabited with a total population of 91,985 (2002) that is primarilyI-Kiribati. The islands are low-lying and many enclose a lagoon.Kiribati is a member of the Commonwealth and was originally underBritish rule until it gained independence in 1979. There is a

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationlegislative assembly (called Mangeaba-ni-Maungatabu) of36 members, elected every four years. Official languagesare I-Kiribati and English. The main island is Tarawa, whichhas the seaport and airport, with the main commercial centreand government services headquarters located in the districtknown as Bairiki.The country’s economy is based on revenue from fishinglicenses, fish and lobster farming, manufacture ofhandicrafts and boat building, and remittance from I-Kiribatiworking overseas. The currency is the Australian dollar.Kiribati is one of the 12 member countries of the Universityof the South Pacific (USP), and therefore it has access tothe facilities of the university, including the USP Centre onTarawa and, through it, to the USPNet satellite system.National policies, strategiesand programmesThere is limited policy and regulatory activity in Kiribati. 1Indeed, there is currently no written policy on informationand communication technology (ICT) for the educationdepartment in regard to providing computers for primaryand secondary schools, although there is agreement withthe Regional Forum Country Members policy on ICT.However some initiatives do exist in which the Ministry ofEducation supports some ICT activity in co-operation withthe government-owned company, Telecom Kiribati Ltd(TKL).Current level ofICT access and useCurrently, the only Internet service provider (ISP) isTelecommunication Services Kiribati Limited (TSKL),which is 100 per cent government owned and a monopoly.TSKL has 2,000 main lines operating at full switch capacity.As yet, there is no Internet culture and very limited Internetaccess, with only 40 dial-up ports and about 400 Internetsubscribers. 2 Christmas Island has one dial-up modemoperating through Telstra.TKL has provided eight computers in the National Library,five of which are connected to the Internet. Users arecharged US$ 2.80 per hour for general computer use andUS$ 5.60 per hour for Internet access. The service is moreor less a business venture. TKL is planning to set up morecomputers in other locations as the room restriction preventsexpansion of the current lab in the National Library. 3There is one Internet cafe in the whole of Kiribati, and it islocated at the main office of TSKL in Bairiki, Tarawa.Elementary EducationThere are 90 primary schools throughout the country witha current enrolment of about 14,000. None of them havecomputers yet.Secondary EducationWhile several high schools have computer labs, the onlywell-supplied school computer labs are at the governmentownedhigh school and the Moroni High School which arelocated in South Tarawa. The government school isconnected to the Internet, but the connection is onlyavailable at certain times in order to reduce the high cost ofthe connection charge. An increasing number of students atthese schools later enrol in the USP Centre of continuingeducation computer course, or they enrol at the TarawaTechnical Institute (TTI).Some other high schools have computer labs as well, butwithout Internet connectivity. They get computers fromsecondhand dealers overseas (Australia and New Zealand)on the initiative of particular school administrators.Computer awareness programmes in some schools followthe external examination syllabus based in Fiji, while othershave made up their own programmes.Post-secondary EducationUSPNet. A satellite system for distance education isprovided through the USP for its students. The USP Centrein Kiribati (on Tarawa) provides degree, diploma andvocational certificates through both distance education andonsite courses to all eligible students throughout the country,including those from Christmas Island. Distance educationstudents on Tarawa have access to interactive instructionthrough USPNet, the communications network of theuniversity. This enables students to complete a largeproportion of the courses for the university programmeswithout having to attend classes on other campuses.In addition, the Centre has a continuing educationprogramme that is open to the general public. Theprogramme aims to increase the number of computer literatepeople in Kiribati. The programme is in three stages andthe course content includes hardware familiarity,compulsory keyboard skills, word processing, spreadsheet,database, file management and Internet. Students graduatingfrom the three-stage programme should be able to type at60 words per minute with 98 per cent accuracy. Graduatesare issued a Certificate in Basic Computing Skills. Thecourse is heavily subscribed and it has an average enrolmentof at least 50 students for each stage – a significant increasesince its inception in 1998. The main constraints at themoment are insufficient number of computers and a lack ofcomputer space.170

KiribatiPacific Island CountriesTarawa Technical Institute. The Tarawa Technical Instituteis the only other institution that teaches a certificateprogramme on computers. Their computer labs have about20 computers each and there is Internet connectivity in onelab for four computers with the charges being picked up byAusAid. However, the connection is usually turned off toreduce costs – not an uncommon situation across allgovernment offices.Broadcast TechnologiesRadio. Communications to the 17 outer islands is throughhigh frequency radio, grouped in six substations with 20–80 mile hops. Table 1 outlines an initiative to use radio forteaching at the primary level. 4In addition to the primary schools programme, there arenon-formal education programmes broadcast over radio bythe Health and Agriculture departments.The Agriculture Department’s weekly programme broadcastcovers small farming techniques and proper animalhusbandry. It has a good audience and the evidence of thesuccess of the broadcast is seen in the small farming projectsin Tarawa. There are reports that people in the outer islandsare also engaged in small farming for cash crops.The Public Health Department broadcasts information onnutrition, prevention of communicable diseases, particularlyAIDS. It backs up its information with posters on AIDSthat are set up in strategic locations around Tarawa.Television. There is no local television service yet, althoughthere is speculation that the Publishing and BroadcastingCorporation (another government company) will initiate aservice. The St. Louise High School is the only high schoolin South Tarawa that has a satellite dish and can connect toTV channels, mainly from Australia.Major initiativesAn initiative 5 has been launched by TSKL in which all eightsecondary schools, the tertiary training schools and the onenursing school with the Ministry of Health are to be providedwith two computers each that connect to the Internet. Thecomputers and all the connections are to be provided byTSKL and the schools are then to be charged for an Internetconnection at US$ 2.80 per hour. The other 32 juniorTable 1: Radio Broadcast to Primary SchoolsSubjectscovered in broadcastsEnglish, Math, Environmental Science, Vernacular LanguageT ime of broadcastsFour days a week (Mondays– Thursdays) for two hours from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.TargetgroupClasses 1-6P reparation siteBroadcast studio in the CDRC compound (funded by the British government)S ervice providerPublishing and Broadcasting Corporation (BPA)EquipmentProgrammebudgetRadios given free to all primary schools but funded by UNESCO• 2003: US$ 15,400 to cover expenses for radio air time and wages of the two officer s• 2004: US$ 42,000 to cover additional air time and costO bjectives• Provide an additional teaching mode – listening and understanding.Programmeuse by primary schoolsConstraintsProposaland plans for the future• Help reduce the pressure of teaching multiclass school situations that are commonin the outer islands.• Provide an additional source of information for teachers –schools have librariesvery few primaryRecent surveys conducted by the Education Department and presenters of theprogramme revealed that many schools in the outer islands are making use of it, butvery few schools in Tarawa are doing so• Not enough air time to include other subjects• Budget allocation is just enough to barely cover expenses for what is being done• The programme still cannot reach the remote parts of Kiribati• Different time zones mean that the eastern Kiribati group is ahead of Tarawa andthe rest of Kiribati, which means that synchronous broadcasting is impossible• The plan to have a radio link via TSKL satellite is currently too expensive• Constraints can be eliminated if the department has its own broadcasting unit inTarawa and Christmas Island. The initial establishment cost may be high but thebenefits would outweigh it.• There are plans to use the Internet, but the major constraint is the high charge ofthe Internet fees.171

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationsecondary schools (Forms 1–3), which are funded and runby the government and located in the outer islands, are notincluded in the project due to their isolation.Another initiative is the World Health Organization’straining of medical personnel. This involves theestablishment of a 10-PC computer lab that will haveInternet access, and will be used for training of healthworkers. It is being managed by the USP Centre and therewill be technical support provided by USP until the end of2004. Two workshops are to be provided by USP for healthtrainers to gain ICT skills. The facility will also be used fordistance education studies of Kiribati health workers.Examples of trainingTraining is weak in Kiribati. Most of the people skilled inICT are graduates from USP and other overseas institutionsand there are not very many of them. The USP Centre andTarawa Technical Institute (TTI) offer computer courses thatare mainly geared for software applications such as wordprocessing, spreadsheet, database and use of the Internet.The number graduating from these courses is increasing sothat the bulk of computer operators in most ministries, andin the private sector, are graduates of these two institutions.The government is showing support for the computercourses by sponsoring civil servants to take TTI computercourses, and refunding fees paid by teachers and other civilservants who successfully complete the USP computercontinuing education programme. 6Constraints onthe use of ICTThe main constraints are a lack of infrastructure (e.g.,telephony connections and a lack of computers) and the costof Internet access. Just getting a telephone in a private hometakes about three years.AnalysisRadio appears to be utilised well for primary educationalthough there is room for extending the programmes toother subject areas. The constraint is likely to be the cost. Alikely area for assistance would be to support an independentand dedicated radio station for the Education Departmentto expand its radio broadcast programmes.There is a serious deficiency based on the lack of appropriateinfrastructure and hardware. A follow-on effect is the lackof access to ICT, and with a major constraint being the chargeof Internet access, the increase in telephone connectivityand increasing ownership of PCs in homes will not havemuch effect unless this is addressed. The monopoly of TSKLdoes not help the problem. The following are areas that couldbe considered for further assistance to Kiribati:NOTESProvide more PC sites and more PCs in schoolsincluding primary level.Continue the incentive sponsorship programme toencourage educators and students to enrol incomputer courses. A good system would be to refundfees to those who successfully complete the courseof study. There is a lot of interest in computers butfees are a constraining factor to the majority –particularly to students whose parents do not haveregular source of income.Formulate regulations and support initiatives thatwould compel and help the government to givepriority to ICT use.1 See the Asia Development Bank’s report on information andcommunication technologies in the Pacific (Vancouver: COL,2002).2 See note 1 above.3 Information provided by Permanent Secretary of Education (TakeiTaoaba), Kiribati National Librarian (Kunei Etekiera) and RakeiTamati (collector of charges for TKL computer use from generalpublic).4 Information provided by Rubennang Taukoriri, Acting SeniorEducation Officer.5 Information provided by Pinto Katia, Manager of Internet Servicesfor TSKL.6 See note 5 above.172

Marshall IslandsICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa 1 , Ph.DINTRODUCTIONThe Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) lies north of the equator,southwest of Hawaii. It consists of a double chain of coral atollsand over 800 reefs spread over 2 million square kilometres of sea.The atolls have a total land area of 181 square kilometres. Of the 34atolls, 25 are inhabited with a total population of 56,000 (2002figures) who are primarily Marshallese. The official languages areMarshallese and English. The main atoll is Majuro, one of the twomain population centres, and the main commercial centre, withseaports, airports and government services headquarters. The othermain atoll with a population concentration is Ebeye.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationPolitically, RMI is associated with the USA through acompact of free association. There is a legislative assemblyof 33 members, elected every four years. The electedpresident is the head of state and leads a cabinet of appointedstate ministers.database development;network design;systems analysis;The country produces fish, trochus shell, oysters, black pearland clam, as well as some copra. Marshall Islands is one ofthe 12 member countries of the University of the SouthPacific (USP) and therefore has access to the facilities ofthat institution including the USP Centre in RMI and throughit, the USPNet satellite system.National policies, strategiesand programmesThe RMI has recently endorsed a national strategic plan,Vision 2018, to guide the development of the country forthe next 16 years. The plan strongly emphasises the need todevelop its human resource potential through improvededucation and specific human resource developmentinitiatives. The report proposes to “establish a knowledgebasedeconomy by equipping Marshallese citizens withinternationally competitive skills, qualities and positiveattitudes to work and society.” The resulting resourcedevelopment plan is broad and recognises the wide rangeof development required but does not specifically detail anapproach to the co-ordination of information andcommunication technology (ICT) and ICT programmes.A report of the National Training Council, Labor MarketReport, produced in October 2002, discusses ICT issues. Itindicates that ICT skills:...are increasingly important in all RMI governmentand non-government enterprises, as they are togovernments and enterprises worldwide. It isimperative that RMI increases the ICT skills of itsworkforce in order to communicate effectively bothwithin RMI and to the world outside. It is importantthat RMI has a pool of multi-skilled young ICTexperts to manage its ICT systems. There is currentlya worldwide shortage of ICT employees and suitablyqualified RMI citizens will be able to competeinternationally for work in this field.There are eight major job categories in the ICT sector.These categories comprise database development andadministration, digital media, network design andadministration, programming/software engineering,systems analysis and integration, technical support,technical writing, web development and design.Through interview, RMI managers indicated that theyneeded people with skills in:technical support;web development.The report indicated a need to produce about 50 new ICTgraduates per annum for the foreseeable future. This targethas not yet been met nor has the labor market expandedsufficiently to create the full demand. It is expected,however, that the demand will eventually develop.Current level of ICT accessand useThe RMI has 78 public schools and 25 private schoolsspread over 25 atolls. Only five of the atolls have regularpower, although some have access to solar power for radioand lighting. As a result only a small number of sites havethe infrastructure to allow the use of ICT.Elementary EducationThe major population centres of Majuro and Ebeye havesome computers available. Most computers in RMI schoolsare in Majuro. The eight public elementary schools havecomputer laboratories that are networked (tenuously) toprinters within the laboratory. The majority of the computershave been supplied under the After School Care programmeand are intended for student use to build language, mathand computing skills after school hours, but they areavailable for school use during the day.A plan to link these schools to the Ministry of Educationoffice in a wide area network using wireless links is underinvestigation and a donor for the service is being sought.Secondary EducationThe high school in Majuro has a computer laboratory, whichis used to teach general computing skills. Very little use ismade of it as a medium for teaching the broader curriculum.The high schools in Jaluit and Wotje both have computerlaboratories. Satellite links to these two atolls allow Internetconnections for these high schools.Post-secondary EducationCollege of Marshall Islands. The College of the MarshallIslands (CMI) has the largest education-related computer174

Marshall IslandsPacific Island Countriesfacility. It serves three purposes at the moment and a fourthis in development.The first and major purpose is to provide computing servicesto college staff. Regular turnover of key staff has meantthat the network processes have been extremely limited andused mainly for print services. Using Peacesat for linkingto the Internet has been irregular and thus the use of servicesexternal to the RMI has been very low.The second purpose is to provide access to students bothfor studying and writing. For business studies students, itbecomes the vehicle for development of ICT skills. Thelevel of ICT skills being targeted is at the lower end of theemployment market. High-level networking and softwaredevelopment are not regularly taught, although an adjunctprogramme in basic networking has begun in conjunctionwith the Bank of the Marshall Islands.Students are also able to use the college intranet where theycan access notes posted by faculty and submit assignments.Essentially it is application of distance education processeson the college intranet that allows staff to observe projectdevelopment and provide more intervention opportunitiesbefore projects are completed.A third purpose is hosting a satellite service linked to thePeacesat, which provides a teleconferencing connection toany outside link. Connection is made mainly to Hawaii,Guam and other Micronesian islands. The satellite stationis linked by landline to a second satellite managed for theEmergency Services Center. Together these two satelliteshave the potential to provide teleconferencing, Internetaccess and 10 voice links channels. The Emergency Servicessatellite has emergency service as its first priority, so thenetwork is secondary.A network of landlines connects the college, the EmergencyCenter, the Ministry of Health, the Majuro Hospital andthe Pacific Regional Education Laboratory (PREL) Officein the Ministry of Education. The teleconferencing serviceis used regularly by PREL for staff training. It is beingfurther developed at the hospital for use in telemedicine toenable remote medical consultations.A consortium of local agencies (college, hospital, Ministriesof Education and Health) has been established in partnershipwith the Telecommunications and Information Policy Group(TIPG) at the University of Hawaii to manage the Peacesatconnections to ensure there is an appropriate managementprocess for the RMI Peacesat arrangements.A gateway to the Internet has been provided for educationpurposes. While it is only a 64K link it provides the collegeand health services with an alternative link to the currentInternet service being provided by the NationalTelecommunications Authority (NTA), the nationaltelephone carrier. These current services are providedthrough a rather narrow bandwidth and at a high price ofUS$ 3.60 per hour or US$ 2,000 per month for a 128K 24/7 link – although the NTA has waived fees for officialeducational Internet use.A fourth purpose of ICT functions at the college is to providea base for students to engage in distance education for thecompletion of four-year degrees and to provide analternative source for any specialist subject for two-yeardegrees not covered by the college. An Internet cafe fordistance education students is in development. Internetconnections for this service are still under review. Thisarrangement will reduce training costs since students canremain on island and, in many cases, in their current placeof employment.The USPNet. A complimentary satellite service for distanceeducation is provided through USP for its students. The USPCenter in the Marshall Islands provides degrees, diplomasand vocational certificates through both distance educationand on-site courses to all eligible students throughout theMarshall Islands. Distance education students have accessin Majuro to lecturers and instructors through USPNet, thecommunications network of the university. This enablesstudents to complete a large proportion of the courseworkfor university programmes without having to attend classeson other campuses.Institute of Vocational Education. An Institute ofVocational Education is being developed by the RMI,supported by an Asian Development Bank loan, to caterfor early school leavers. It will provide programmes toenhance general development skills and to provide initialvocational training. A computer laboratory has beenprovided as part of the plan, with a major part of the trainingprovided through interactive use of computers, allowingan individualised training programme for each student. Asearch for appropriate interactive programmes is currentlyunderway.In-house Education in the Ministry of EducationThe PREL office in the Ministry of Education is linked tothe office in Hawaii through the Peacesat satellite network.This facility is used for teleconferences that involve RMIbasedpersonnel in programmes conducted by PREL.Ministry of EducationThe RMI Ministry of Education has received computersfrom various donor grants but does not yet have anoperational network linked to a server. The delay is due toa lack of personnel with technical knowledge. Currently,the Bank of the Marshall Islands is providing support serviceto complete the installation of the Ministry network and willthen provide ongoing support to in-house staff once recruited.175

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationBroadcast Technologies.Radio and television have been operating for a while in bothMarshallese and English. Majuro, that has about half thepopulation, has access to television, one government AMradio station and three FM stations. Majuro also has a largenumber of video shops. Some of the atolls close to Majurocan also access the AM radio station. The main focus ofgovernment radio is music, news and reporting theproceedings of the Nitijela (the local parliament). The radiois not currently used for school or educational broadcasting.Television relays of a number of satellite stations (CNN, BBC,movies, etc.). There are slots for local events, but the mediais not used for educational purposes.Major initiativesMajor initiatives using ICTs have been previouslydescribed. Briefly, they are:Intranet for tuition use at the college;Satellite links through the USPNet;Internet cafe for off-island distance education;Wide area network for teleconferencing in healthand education;Planned wide area network to link schools inMajuro, to provide links to the Internet and cachingof popular websites;Vocational education using computer-assistedtraining to develop basic language and math skillsas well as provide information about vocationaloptions.Examples of trainingSo far training has been limited to the CMI and USP. Whilelarge numbers have been enrolled in ICT training degrees,very few have graduated. The most qualified graduates aresnapped up by the major ICT employer, the Bank of theMarshall Islands, which is building the best pool of ICTexpertise in the country.The Ministry of Education paid for a small number of internstaff (students who were assisting in the installation ofnetwork arrangements in the ministry office and schools)to attend network-training programmes in Hawaii, but dueto an inability to promptly offer employment, the internschose to work with the bank instead. This has, however,had a serendipitous benefit because the ministry hasestablished a computer support arrangement with the bank.The PREL office in Hawaii provides a regular series of ICTawareness and skills development programmes on island.In summary, the long-term need for trained staff will not bemet from current arrangements, particularly those relatingto networking, systems administration and softwaredevelopment.Constraints onthe use of ICTA major constraint is the lack of a focus for ICT developmentin the country. Each arm of government is developing itsown vision with little or no co-ordination. The Ministry ofFinance, because it needed to allow online access in majordepartments of government, has set up a wireless wide areanetwork with US technical support.General use of ICT outside of the four major centres in thecountry will be limited until sustainable power sources andinnovative uses of technology can be explored. Designs forlong-distance radio-supported low-band e-mail are underdiscussion.ICT access for elementary students is limited to Majuro andEbeye. This is exacerbating the disparate nature ofeducational offerings among children in the RMI. Technicalsupport is very limited even on the sites with large numbersof computers.AnalysisThere is a need to provide a more co-ordinated and focusedtraining initiative in order for the crucial aspects of ICTtechnical support to be available. Furthermore, follow-onemployment opportunities at the Ministry of Education needto be created in order to maintain trained personnel so theexpertise is more readily available for education initiatives.Broadcast technologies appear to be underutilised foreducation and much potential exists with this medium,particularly given that the atolls are spread over such a wideexpanse of water. For instance, the use of radio for deliveryof educational programmes as in other Pacific islands couldbe considered, particularly for schools at the elementarylevel, while television could be utilised for delivery ofdistance education programmes. The constraint here is likelyto be the cost.NOTES1 This paper does not represent an authorised government view. Theauthor, Leatuaolevao Ruby Vaa, co-ordinator of the Pacific reports,provided context and analysis (vaa_r@samoa.usp.ac.fj). Other viewsin this report are of Martin Caust (mkcaust@fastmail.fm).176

Federated States ofMicronesiaICT USE IN EDUCATIONPRELNational policies, strategies andprogrammesThe responsibility for education in the Federated States ofMicronesia (FSM) is shared between the national government andthe individual states of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap. The FSMhas a strategic plan to provide overall guidance for improvingeducation in the country. However, the states have the primaryresponsibility for instruction with the national government providingsupport and assistance. As a result, the individual states also havetheir own plans for the improvement of education and for the use ofinformation and communication technologies (ICTs).

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationFree public education is provided for children in the FSMthrough the completion of grade 8 or age 15. High schoolattendance is based on passing a high school entranceexamination.Funding for education in the FSM is primarily providedthrough Compact funds provided by the USA with asignificant amount also provided under US federal educationprogrammes. The US regards the FSM National Departmentof Education as a state education agency (SEA) and eachof the state departments of education as local educationagencies (LEAs). The majority of funding under theseprogrammes is delivered directly to the individual states.The country has experienced a reduction in the amount offunding provided during the past several years, which hashad a negative impact on their ability to meet the educationalneeds of students.The FSM supports one institution of higher education, theCollege of Micronesia – FSM (COM-FSM) with a nationalcampus in Pohnpei and state campuses in each of the states.COM-FSM offers associate’s degrees and also has a thirdyearprogramme in education. The University of Guamworks with COM-FSM to provide the additional coursesneeded for a bachelor’s degree in education on its campusin Guam and via distance learning. In addition, San DiegoState University (SDSU) and other universities providedistance learning courses in the FSM.Well-trained teachers are essential for the development ofan effective education system in the FSM, and the nationalgovernment has recognised the need to improve teachertraining. Currently, approximately 85 per cent of theteaching staff have less than a bachelor’s degree and asubstantial percentage have only a high school diploma.Significant efforts have been made to increase professionaldevelopment opportunities for teachers through distancelearning technologies. PRELSTAR: A Pacific IslandsDistance Learning Program and the Pacific RegionalTechnology in Education Consortium (PR*TEC), fundedby the US Department of Education and managed by PacificResources for Education and Learning (PREL), haveprovided both distance learning and face-to-face inserviceand pre-service training for teachers as well as training offaculty at COM-FSM in the development and delivery ofdistance learning courses. However, substantial additionalfunding will be required to meet the needs of the country. 1The FSM has recognised the importance of data-drivendecision-making in education. One of the goals in itsstrategic plan is to develop “appropriate assessment andevaluation systems for all levels of education and will usethose systems as the basis for decision-making, resourceallocation, and planning and development.” 2 Through theUS-funded Freely-Associated States Educational GrantsProgram (FASEGP), staff from the states and the nationalgovernment have developed a database of information oneducation in the individual states as part of this effort.The national and state governments also recognise the needto improve telecommunications access throughout thecountry and to develop effective information managementand communication systems. However, the costs ofupgrading this access and extending it to schools throughoutthe four states will require substantial outside funding bothfor the initial infrastructure investment and for ongoingrecurring costs. Until this funding is identified, thegovernments will not be able to significantly improvetelecommunications access to schools.The strategic plan specifically addresses the need to developa technology literate population. The main goal in this areais “to develop a technology literate population to rapidlyrespond to changing conditions in the world economy”through the following five objectives:Provide quality mathematics and scienceprogrammes to form the basis for understanding andusing current and future technologies;Develop student computer literacy forunderstanding and use of information technologies;Develop operational plans for effective use of theInternet and other information technologies forimprovement of instructional support staff trainingand programmes;Provide for repair and maintenance and upgradingof technological resources;Allocate financial and technical resources forinformation and communication technologies 3.Current level ofICT access and useA total of 195 schools located on islands and atolls acrossan ocean expanse greater than the area of the continentalUnited States serves approximately 34,179 children in theFSM. Of these schools, 74 have fewer than 100 studentsand 43 have fewer than 50 students. Most of these smallschools are located in remote outer islands.Telecommunications and power are not available on allislands or to all schools (see Table 1).The FSM Telecommunications Corporation (FSM Telecom)became an Internet service provider (ISP) in December1996. Phone and Internet services are available to schoolson the major islands of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yapand on the outer island of Ulithi in Yap State. However, thecost of bandwidth is high and not all schools are connected.178

Federated States of MicronesiaPacific Island CountriesTable 1: Schools and accessibilityStateSchools withpower (%)Accessible fromDOE by auto (%)Accessible fromDOE by boat (%)Accessible fromDOE by oceanship (%)Accessiblefrom DOE bysmall plane (%)Kosrae87.5087.5012.50----Pohnpei75.0082.505.0012.50--Chuuk17.3018.4051.0031.60--Yap40.0040.00--60.0031.00All schoolsin FSM (%) 37.6039.8029.3031.506.10FSM Telecom operates a reliable fibre/copper ring systemand NORTEL digital switch on the four major islands.Internet service is also provided on these islands and thecompany has steadily increased the bandwidth available.Long distance phone calls to and from states in the FSMcurrently cost US$ 1–2 per minute; and direct Internet accessis available at a cost of US$ 19.95 per month for 10 hoursof service, with additional hours charged at US$ 1.95 perhour.Flat-rate symmetric and asymmetric leased circuits are alsoavailable on the main islands. The cost of these servicesranges from US$ 1,150 per month for 64 kbps of dedicatedbandwidth to US$ 18,350 per month for 1536 kbps.Unfortunately, the high cost of on- and off-island serviceslimits the abilities of the departments of education to provideInternet access to students in schools. Where such access isprovided, the schools must restrict use due to limitedbandwidth.COM-FSM has a 512K connection to the Internet throughFSM Telecom that provides access for the national campusand all four state campuses. It manages the bandwidthamong the campuses through CISCO routers. PREL,through its PRELSTAR programme, and the University ofHawaii, through its Peacesat project, have collaborated toprovide a 128 kpbs videoconference network serving COM-FSM and each of the state departments of education. Thisnetwork connects with the Peacesat bridge in Honolulu,Hawaii, and is available for use by the education, healthand government sectors.Outer islands with schools and health dispensaries generallyrely on high frequency/single sideband (HF/SSB) radios.In Chuuk, for instance, 75 per cent of students attend schoolswith only this type of access. Future plans to serve the outerislands include the installation of a very small apertureterminal (VSAT) network attached to a wireless local loop(WLL) directly connected to FSM Telecom’s digital switch.At the school level, ICT access varies widely. Computerlabs are operating at the main schools in Weno, Chuuk,including Iras and Sabok Elementary and Weno, Chuuk,and Xavier High Schools. In Kosrae and Pohnpei, computerlabs are also operating in most schools. On the main islandof Yap, all schools are connected though the Yap StateEducation Enterprising Department’s (SEED) wide areanetwork (WAN). This network uses microwave technologyto connect all schools. Yap SEED also deploys wirelessconnectivity at some schools and maintains a computer labat its offices for use by students and teachers. Computerlabs are available at most schools on Yap and on most ofYap’s outer islands including Ulithi, Wolei and Satawal.Distance education is increasingly being used byorganisations in the education and health sectors. COM-FSM, departments of education, PREL, SDSU, theUniversity of Guam, the University of Hawaii and othereducational businesses are using distance education toprovide teacher training in the FSM. The US Army usesdistance technologies to provide medical diagnosis,evaluation and training, and the Center for Disease Controland the Health Resources Services Administration use theinfrastructure to deliver programme updates. Thetechnologies used range from online courses designed forlow bandwidth access to courses using synchronousvideoconferencing, videos, traditional print and varioushybrid forms of media.Major initiativesDespite the high cost of telecommunications access, the lowlevel of teacher training, the lack of funding and the differentapproaches developed by the four states towards theintegration of technology into the curriculum, the past fiveyears has seen an increase in the local telecommunicationsinfrastructure and in the use of technology in the schools.For example, Yap has made significant progress in providingteacher training in technology integration. Through theefforts of the former Director of Education and his Directorof Technology, computer laboratories were installed in mostschools, a WAN was developed connecting schools on themain island, a state-of-the-art “smart” classroom was179

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationinstalled at Yap SEED headquarters for use in teachertraining and Internet access was extended to Ulithi. LocalSEED staff leveraged the resources provided by PREL,Peacesat, and various private and federal grants to engageboth students and teachers in using technology. Learningmaterials, including early childhood books in Yapese, weredeveloped, as well as art education and web design coursesfor high school students. Despite this progress, however,the lack of a strategic plan integrating technology into thecurriculum has prevented Yap SEED from realising the fullpotential of ICTs in education. Curriculum developers andtechnology staff often worked independently of each other.Some of the curriculum developers lacked understandingof educational technology or even basic technologyapplications and some of the technology staff lackedunderstanding of curriculum development.COM-FSM has also made significant progress in integratingtechnology into its curriculum and in extending educationalopportunities by forming strategic alliances with othercolleges and universities to improve and extend courseofferings through distance learning. It is currently workingwith SDSU to provide courses for students and with PRELand other institutions of higher education in the region todevelop a series of six basic 300- and 400-level courses forteachers with an associate’s degree who are working towarda bachelor’s degree. The college has also been providingprofessional development to teachers in local schools undera grant from the United States Department of Education.From 2001 to 2003, PREL, in collaboration with WesternIllinois University, offered a master’s degree programme ininstructional technology and telecommunications. Theprogramme was designed to train a cadre of educationalleaders from the region in instructional technology. Onestudent from each of the four state departments of educationand the manager of COM-FSM’s technology departmentparticipated. Three of these five participants completed thecoursework and earned their master’s degrees (one wasforced to drop out due to a serious health problem and onewas unable to handle the heavy course load). These leadersare now working within their local departments of educationin the integration of educational technology into thecurriculum.For the past two years, the University of Guam has receivedfunding from the Sasakawa Pacific Island Nations Fund(SPINF) to assist the FSM states in developing distancelearning plans. Each state has developed a distance learningplan to address the needs of education, health andgovernment. (These plans are available atwww.demicro.org.) The University of Guam has coordinatedits activities in this project with those of PRELand the University of Hawaii to provide co-ordinatedassistance and training in the development of these plans aswell as regularly scheduled teacher training workshopsthroughout the FSM.A major initiative is currently being tested to improvetelecommunications to remote islands through the use ofsatellite broadcast. This system has been designed to providelow-cost telecommunication links to islands with only HF/SSB radio communications. Using a combination of solarpoweredreceivers, computers and printers, the link provideslow speed (9,600 bps) data broadcast throughout the FSM.If the initial tests are successful, this network will allowFSM departments of education to deliver printed materialto some of their most remote schools.Examples of trainingIndividual departments of education, COM-FSM, PREL,the University of Hawaii, the University of Guam and otherorganisations have provided training to teachers in the FSM.The individual departments of education have provided anumber of workshops, often in collaboration with aninstitution of higher education or one of the regional serviceproviders. COM-FSM has developed basic ICT training forinclusion in its degree programmes.PREL is working closely with each of the departments ofeducation in training trainers and teachers in the integrationof technology into the classroom. This training focuses onintegrating application skills into the curriculum and linkingthe National Educational Technology Standards (NETS),developed by the International Society for Technology inEducation (ISTE), to local curriculum standards. Thesestandards use an integrated, problem-based approach todeveloping unit and lesson plans incorporating technology.The step-by-step instructions and examples provided in theISTE materials are particularly useful in working withteachers in the FSM who have little or no experience indeveloping lesson plans.Ongoing ICT training is being provided through a 21stCentury Community Technology Center grant to departmentof education staff in Pohnpei and through PREL and theUniversity of Hawaii in all four states. A CD and othersupport materials are being developed and delivered tooperators of the videoconference network in an attempt toimprove the availability of the network. Training is providedface-to-face, through videoconferencing and online.Constraints onthe use of ICTThe lack of affordable telecommunications access is a majorconstraint on the use of ICTs in the FSM. Each of thedistance learning plans for the individual states highlightsthis as a barrier to the integration of ICTs into the curriculum.The costs of providing telecommunications access in theFSM are among the highest in the world because of thecountry’s geographical remoteness and small population.180

Federated States of MicronesiaPacific Island CountriesThe market is just not large enough to bear the initial andrecurring costs of providing the service.Second, the departments of education within the FSM arefacing severe financial pressures. The reduction in fundingunder the Compact of Free Association with the US hasresulted in a lack of funding for basic hardware and softwareas well as for required improvements in classrooms orcomputer labs. Some departments are unable to providepower on a continuous basis to schools. The poor physicalcondition of many schools results in damage to computers.In addition, the high humidity and salt air of these islandssignificantly reduces the life of computers unless they arekept in a controlled, air-conditioned environment.Third, the level of teacher education in the FSM is low. Asnoted earlier, 85 per cent do not have a bachelor’s degreeand more than 30 per cent have only a high school diploma.With the current pay scale and physical conditions of theschools, it will be difficult to attract qualified teachers or torequire current teachers to continue their formal education.Finally, all of the training materials available are in Englishand designed for use with teachers who have a higher levelof education, access to a wide variety of resources and highproficiency in English. As a result, it is often difficult forteachers in the FSM to relate to these materials or tounderstand the language used.AnalysisThe past five years has seen a marked increase in the use ofICTs in the FSM. However, significant further improvementdepends on the expansion of the ICT infrastructure, areduction in bandwidth costs, additional funding foreducation and improved education and training of teachers.The FSM cannot afford major investments in ICTinfrastructure to remote regions or sustain the ongoing costsof providing that service. Unless bandwidth costs aresubstantially reduced, students will continue to have verylimited, if any, access to ICT. The technology to maximisethe efficient use of bandwidth is already being deployed byCOM-FSM and Yap SEED, but there still remains a needto increase the bandwidth available for their users.A small amount of assistance to schools fortelecommunications access would greatly increase the useof ICT in the FSM. In the United States, the e-rateprogramme provides a subsidy for telecommunicationsaccess to schools and has greatly increased the use of ICTby making access more affordable. A similar programme,funded by outside sources, would facilitate the use of ICTin the FSM.The increased use of ICTs will also require additionalfunding for education for physical improvements to schools,hardware and software purchases, and teacher training. Thephysical condition of computer labs must be upgraded toprotect and extend the life of the equipment. Teacher trainingin the integration of technology into the curriculum shouldbe ongoing using both face-to-face and distance learningtechnologies. A training plan should be developed for eachof the departments of education to provide for this ongoingtraining of teachers. However, the plan can only succeedwith dedicated funding.NOTES1 Catalino Cantero, “Strategic Plan for Improvement of Education inthe Federated States of Micronesia” (Pohnpei: FSM NationalDivision of Education, 1997), 8.2 See note 1 above, p. 37.3 See note 1 above, p. 71.181

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NauruICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONNauru is located south of the equator, southwest of Honolulu,Hawaii. It is a single raised coral island with a land area of 21square kilometres. The population (2002) is 11,845 with a growthrate of 2.05 per cent.The economy was based on phosphate mining but that has now runout leaving the nation dependent on investments and aid. There isno income tax or direct tax.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationEducation is free and compulsory for ages six to 16 years.There are four primary schools: Aiwo (junior primaryattached to Nauru College), Yaren Primary, Kayser (togetherwith primary and secondary) and Nauru College (seniorprimary). There are also four infant schools: Menen Infant,Nibok Infant, Boe Infant, Anen Infant (part of the KayserCollege complex). Kayser College (Catholic missionestablishment) includes infant, primary and secondaryschools in one location. It is helped a little by thegovernment but mostly it is a private educational institution.There are only two secondary schools: Kayser College andNauru Secondary.National policies, strategiesand programmesIn 2002, the Telecommunication Act came into force andresulted in the establishment of the RONtel Corporation.RONTel stands for Republic of Nauru TelecommunicationCorporation. The Act establishing RONTel sets out, amongother things, the telecommunication services to be providedand the rates, charges and licensing system. At present, thecorporation is working on strategies to implement itsmandate.Current level ofICT access and useGeneralA telephone system comprising twisted pair copperwire telephone lines was installed by a Japanesecompany in the 1970s. However, most of the lineshave rotted away due to soil and water corrosion.LAN line Internet connectivity uses the Japanesetelephone lines. This is operated by RONTel for thewhole island. Because of the status of the telephonelines, only half of the island (Menen, Aiwo, Yarenand Boe districts) are able to use the connection.There is a joint venture by Central Pacific Group(Cenpac) and RONtel to operate an Internet cafe thathas five PCs for public access.There is also a joint venture by Nauru PhosphateRoyalty Trust (NPRT) and RONTel to operate anInternet cafe with nine PCs using a dial-upconnection.Cenpac has 16 modems for local subscribers. It hasbeen in operation since 1998 and one of its roles isto market the domain name “.nr.” Cenpac has a newlyestablished website at www.www.nr for local onlineEducationmarketing and other notices, announcements andinformation, in addition to its first website,www.cenpac.net.nr. Cenpac is holding discussionswith Telstra Australia and Pacific IP (New Caledonia)on the possibility for better Internet access.Plans for a Telecom-GSM Mobile service are on hold. Nauru College is currently equipped with 26working personal computers to cater to theeducational needs of both school children andteachers. Educational software in all key subjects isbeing used to aid the major areas of the curriculum.Programmes are also utilised to produce creativeprojects beside the usual papers and research requiredby regular subjects. The inkjet printer, CD-writer andscanner are used to create posters, postcards, businesscards and newsletters that are designed and printedby the pupils in the computer lab, and lesson plansand teaching aids worked on by the teachers. For thepast two years even the annual school magazine hasbeen produced through desktop publishing in the lab.At present only five PCs are networked for Internetuse. Members of the staff pay a fee for this serviceevery month so they can have the liberty of using e-mail, keeping track of world news and doingeducational research.Kayser College has only had computers for one year.There are 16 PCs networked with a printer, but nonehas an Internet connection. Basically they are usedto familiarise the students with computers. There isonly one teacher responsible for all computer trainingfor school children and teachers. This teacherattended PC training with a Japan InternationalCooperation Agency (JICA) programme.Aiwo Primary, Yaren Primary, Location Schooland Nauru Secondary all have computer labs with12 PCs for student use.Nauru Secondary has a lab with 20 PCs also forstudent use.As well as the above, four district infant schools all receivedone PC each for staff use. Other schools have received PCsas a donation from Taiwan.Other ICTThere is an FM radio station, 888 FM, which broadcastsonly news and music from 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. sevendays a week. Nauru TV broadcasts news, sports and dailyeducational programmes from ABC Asia Pacific on how to184

NauruPacific Island Countriesspeak English properly and from China TV on how to speakChinese. There are no locally produced programmes as yet.Nauru TV and Radio Nauru are part of the Department ofEconomic Development of the government.Major initiativesUSPNetNauru belongs to the regional University of the SouthPacific (USP) which is owned by 12 member countries:Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue,Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu andVanuatu. The university has a privately owned satellitesystem that was upgraded in 2000 and is fully functionalfor all 12 countries. It operates under strict conditions agreedto with the national telecommunication carriers. The systemallows audio, data and video interaction.For Nauru, USPNet is the most successful initiative to dateand is the system that the USP Centre depends on forcommunication with other parts of the university. TheCentre has a six-PC computer lab dedicated to student use.There is also a PC for audiographics in the audioconferencing studio, and another PC in the library for onlinesearches. As part of the regional university, Nauru benefitsfrom this regional network through which university coursesare accessed by video broadcast supported by the WebCTInternet programme. Law courses can be studied online andprint-based courses are supported via audio and videoconferencing. The Centre is able to participate in regularregional staff meetings as well. In a recent development,university centres and campuses have been linked up sothat an “internal” telephone system is accessed.USP Community Outreach ProgrammesUSP Nauru Centre also accesses the continuing educationprogrammes that are co-ordinated from Suva, such as thepreschool teacher certificate, disabilities studies andcommunity nutrition. Students of these continuing educationprogrammes are mostly women. Before 2001, the Centreconducted computer awareness and training programmes,but these were stopped due to the daily power outageproblems. These will recommence once a generator ispurchased or the power problem is fixed.It appears that most women and young people of Nauru arebeginning to utilise and see the potential of the ICT servicesprovided by USP. Records kept since March reveal thatstudents using the computer lab for e-mail, research orassignment preparation are 51 per cent female and 49 percent male. It appears, therefore, that there is no genderimbalance.Examples of trainingVery little is done in the way of training. Indeed, there is noongoing training programme organised by the EducationDepartment to develop computer literacy among teachers.However, some teachers, on their own initiative, have takensteps to improve their computer skills in three ways:By enrolling in basic computer courses at the USPNauru Centre or through correspondence viaEducation Direct;By participating in short-term workshops/seminarson software applications whenever these are offeredon the island;By self-learning.It has only been two years since computer studies were firstintroduced at Nauru Secondary and Nauru College, and oneyear since lessons started at the Aiwo and Yaren primaryschools.There has not been any external assistance exceptUNESCO’s contribution of some resource materials for thedevelopment of the inclusion of computer studies in theschool curriculum. Each individual teacher has had todevelop his or her own programme based on the resourcesavailable and the needs of the students.The newly established Nauru Telecom Corporation has notundertaken any training as yet, but Cenpac has plans toprovide training in the future.Constraints onthe use of ICTGenerally there is a serious financial problem in Nauru andthis has halted major plans for training and upgrades. Effortsto improve the situation have led to the Nauru TelecomCorporation being established, but this is only recent andits budget is constrained by many old debts inherited fromgovernment. Cenpac’s budget and funds are also limited.The following are the notable constraints:The ICT infrastructure is substandard. There is onetelecommunications centre on the island and it wasonly recently privatised.Telephone access/usage is very limited and cellulartelephones are rare. Thus, a few businesses andindividuals have invested in private satellitedishes.185

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationThere is a lack of human resources. ICTprofessionals and computer technicians can rarelybe found.There are no computer shops or computer repaircentres and all units and parts have to be orderedand shipped from overseas.Power outages have affected access and limitedtraining.Training programmes are minimal.AnalysisThe financial situation of the country has had a significantimpact on ICT development and use and there is a greatneed for ICT training on Nauru.There is a serious lack of ICT specialists to providemaintenance and training. For instance, at Kayser College,there is a need for a specialist to teach advanced computerusage, and the PCs donated by Taiwan are apparently underutilisedbecause there is no qualified tutor and no curriculumfor teaching/learning about computers.Broadcast technologies could be further developed foreducation and Nauru TV and Radio Nauru would like to getsome training to do this.186

New ZealandICT USE IN EDUCATIONMr Tom Prebble, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONIn 1989 the governance of the New Zealand education system wasradically reformed. From being a relatively centralised system, itbecame an extremely devolved one. Responsibility for the deliveryof education at the institutional level was devolved to locally electedboards of trustees, in the case of schools, or each being responsiblefor just their local school. The Ministry of Education retreated frommost of its former service delivery and quality assurance roles andrestricted itself to policy formation and funding, devolving evenquality assurance to an independent agency.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationNational policies, strategiesand programmesHowever, experiences of the 1990s indicated that there werecertain issues requiring stronger “steerage” at the nationallevel. Particularly, it became clear that the governmentneeded to provide some leadership to encourage thedeveloping use of ICT in the nation’s school system.This chapter explores the developing use of ICT by boththe schools sector and the technical/vocational and teachereducation sector against this context of the competing valuesof local governance on the one hand, and the nationalaspiration to participate in the international knowledgeeconomy on the other. The experiences of the two sectorshave been quite different, mostly because technical/vocational education and teacher education are bothimportant parts of the tertiary system, which the governmentalso recognised as needing support with respect to the uptakeof ICT. For this reason, these two sectors are discussedseparately.ICT in the schools sectorNational Policy, Strategy and ProgrammesWhatever the reforms in institutional governance may haveachieved in terms of institutional autonomy andresponsiveness, they posed some serious challenges to theuptake of ICT in the education system, particularly by theschools sector. During the early 1990s, each school met thechallenge of ICT in the best way it could and generallywithout much support or guidance from the ministry.Schools struggled to increase their ownership and use ofcomputers, and there were a few research projects thatbrought small groups of schools together with their localuniversity or college of education. But in an era whenschools were realising that their survival depended on theirability to compete with neighbouring schools for pupils andfor community support, there were few inducements forlocal or regional collaboration in the use of ICT.There were some noteworthy exceptions. Some of thesewere in response to the challenge of distance. During theearly 1990s, several regional clusters of schools began trialswith teleconferencing and computer-based conferencingsystems. Networks in the Canterbury region of the SouthIsland and the central and east coast regions of the NorthIsland enabled students to study subjects that could not bestaffed from their own schools. In the case of the latterregions, schools with a large proportion of Maori studentswere able to form supportive learning communities withothers wanting to strengthen their knowledge of Maorilanguage and culture. These projects were funded by theMinistry of Education. 1In 1998 the Ministry of Education sought to draw on thelessons of these and other early leaders by developing a coordinatedvision and strategy for the use of ICT in schools.This statement 2 proposed two focus areas: developinginfrastructure and improving school capability. In the areaof infrastructure, the strategy made commitments to developan online resource centre to allow schools to accessmultimedia resources, to encourage businesses to recyclecomputers for use in schools at low cost and to encourageschools to access the Internet and regions to create localarea networks. In the area of improving school capability,the strategy proposed three programmes: one forprofessional development for principals in the use of ICT,another whereby schools already making successful use ofICT would be contracted to work with clusters of schoolsand another whereby clusters of schools would be fundedto organise their own training and development in ICT.The ministry published a new strategic statement for thenext four years. 3 The document proposed a three-waypartnership between government, schools and business: thegovernment’s role is to provide strategic leadership, trainingand support for teachers, as well as a digital infrastructure;the schools are responsible for determining their owndevelopment priorities but are encouraged to do so by wayof a whole-school approach and in collaboration with theircommunity and neighbouring schools; and business isencouraged to share their experience and expertise and toprovide links with the outside world.Major Initiatives, Training and DevelopmentThe 1998 strategic statement proposed the ICTSchools Cluster Programme, in which clusters ofschools would support each other to incorporate thenew technology both at a classroom and a wholeschoollevel. Clusters are selected through acontestable process. The lead school in each clusteris contracted to take on this role for three years andreceives NZ$120,000 a year payable on thecompletion of key milestones. In 2003 there were71 clusters operating across New Zealand, and sofar about one-third of New Zealand schools are eitherinvolved or have been involved in the programme.As the primary vehicle for training and supportingteachers and school administrators in the use of ICTin schools, the programme represents a creativedeparture from the traditional model of in-servicetraining whereby teachers are taken out of the schoolfor short periods of training and then expected toapply their new skills and knowledge on their return.The ICT Cluster Programme is being activelyevaluated. 4188

New ZealandPacific Island CountriesICT professional development and support is alsoavailable from the School Support Services, anetwork providing a range of advisory, consultancyand training services. An ICT help desk is alsoavailable both by phone and web. 5The Ministry of Education has also sponsored thedevelopment of several major online supportresources for schools, students and staff. Te KeteIpurangi – The Online Learning Centre 6 – deliversbilingual (Maori and English) access to all material.It is targeted at teachers, and curriculum materialsare made available in all seven of the school system’s“essential learning areas” as well as in crosscurriculumareas such as literacy, numeracy and ICT.The Principals’ LeadSpace 7 is a portal directed atschool principals, senior staff and boards of trustees.It provides ready access to a set of professionaldevelopment materials, all the key policy documentsaffecting the management of schools, the onlinecommunications tools for reporting to the ministryand other oversight agencies, and a series ofcommunication forums for school managers.While government policy commits state agencies tomeet the needs of both Maori and pakeha (non-Maori), there have been a number of interventionstargeting Maori. Kaupapa Ara WhakawhitiM’tauranga (KAWM) 8 brings a number of schoolimprovement initiatives together under one umbrella.One is Te Kura Hiko, a videoconferencing networkto broaden the range of specialist subjects availableto senior students in predominantly Maori schools.Two others are Project Rorohiko, an initiative thathas supplied nearly 2,000 recycled computers topredominantly Maori schools on the East Coast ofthe North Island, and the Wharekura ExpertTeacher Initiative, which provides itinerant expertsubject teachers to support both online and schoolbasedteaching.ICT in technical/vocationaland teacher educationNew Zealand does not have clearly differentiated sectorsfor either technical/vocational or teacher education. TheEducation Act of 1989 recognises polytechnics, collegesof education, universities, whare wananga and privatetraining establishments as distinct categories, but none ofthem has a monopoly on the provision of any type ofprogramme, and institutions are free to offer anyqualification for which they meet the accreditation standard.In practice this means that many polytechnics offerpostgraduate as well as undergraduate degrees, manyuniversities deliver teacher education programmes and allcolleges of education offer programmes targeting groupsother than teachers.Given the overlapping mandates of the various types oftertiary institutions, the government has chosen to addressthe ICT needs of the tertiary sector at large rather than thespecific needs of any sub-sector. On the other hand, therehave been some important developments in the use of ICTin technical/vocational and teacher education, which arediscussed in their own right below.National Policy, Strategy and ProgrammesUntil quite recently, New Zealand did not have a nationalstrategy for the application of ICT in tertiary education,either vocational or non-vocational. In the newly devolvedsystem of educational governance of the 1990s, eachpublicly funded tertiary institution was forced to competewith its neighbouring institutions for students and funding.Institutions developed their own ICT strategies, and thesetended to reflect the scale of their own operations and theirneed to resource these within their annual budgeting cycle.There was a marked reluctance to embark on capitalintensiveICT projects, or on high-risk collaborations withother institutions or with industry.The election of the current Labour Government in 1999heralded an important shift in the governance andmanagement of higher education. The incoming governmentannounced that unfettered competition among educationproviders was not producing either the most efficientoutcomes, or outcomes that were serving the wider publicinterest. Instead, it signalled an intention to exercise greater“steerage” over higher education. The various reports ofthe Tertiary Education Advisory Commission 9 indicatedhow this steerage might be exercised. In summary, a TertiaryEducation Commission was to be established to makedecisions about the kind and quantity of educational outputsrequired by the country, and institutions would be contractedand funded accordingly. (ICT is just one area of educationalactivity where the government indicated a wish to exercisegreater steerage.)In 2001 the Minister of Higher Education set up a group toadvise him on the development of e-learning. The finalreport of the group 10 represents a balance between the needfor clearer direction for the sector and the reality of NewZealand’s highly competitive tertiary environment. Thegroup was representative of the whole tertiary sectorincluding the colleges of education, the polytechnic sector,industry training organisations (ITOs), and whare wanangaas well as the universities. The report recommended thefollowing:A strong role for the new Tertiary EducationCommission in developing a national strategy forICT in tertiary education;189

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTargeted initiatives to use ICT to ensure Maoriparticipation in higher education;Development of a national e-learning portal to beginto draw together the various e-learning opportunitiesavailable in New Zealand;Use of central funding to encourage the developmentof ICT through collaboration across the tertiaryeducation sector and with industry; andDevelopment of national “quality mark” in e-learningto which institutions could subscribe.programmes available in subjects as diverse as journalism,construction, graphic arts and design, and accounting,Very few tertiary institutions have made extensive use ofbroadcast media. In part this has been because broadcastinghas been unable to offer a flexible alternative to the moreconventional media used by distance education institutions.But more importantly, New Zealand lacks the scale neededto make broadcasting economically viable. In the early1990s, a series of trial courses were delivered by televisionbroadcast in collaboration with a number of polytechnicsand the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. None ofthese trials survived its first review.Since the publication of the report, the ministry has beendrafting an e-learning strategy that draws equally from thereports of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission(2000/2001) and the E-Learning Advisory Group (2002). Ithas also launched the Tertiary E-Learning Portal, 11 and atthe time of writing it was seeking applications for the firstround of grants from the ICT Collaborative DevelopmentFund.Major InitiativesThere are, as yet, relatively few programmes leading to fulldegrees that are delivered wholly online. It is noteworthythat several of these are in teacher education. Since the late1990s, Massey University, Christchurch College ofEducation and Waikato University have developed onlinestreams for their pre-service undergraduate teachereducation degrees. In each case these were designed to meetthe needs of mature-aged students living remotely from acollege of education and prevented from studying on campusby family and work commitments.The External Delivery Option (EDO) offered by Masseyhas placed greatest reliance on online media, setting upvirtual groups for most of the study and assignment tasks,and making few if any requirements for students to comeon campus. The Mixed Media stream at Waikato combinesonline communication and tuition with occasional blockcourses, while the Primary Open Learning Option (POLO)offered by Christchurch College of Education supports theironline teaching and learning with regional study groups. Inall three cases, the programmes are notable for the qualityof the interaction that takes place between the tutorial staffand the students rather than for the sophistication of theonline resource material. Students continue to expresssatisfaction with this mode of professional preparation, asdo the schools employing the graduates of theseprogrammes. 12Working in partnership with ITOs, many polytechnics andcolleges of education are delivering vocational trainingprogrammes wholly or partially online. A quick scan of theMinistry of Education’s new e-learning portal 11 found onlineTeleconferencing, both audio and video, has not been a lotmore successful. The line costs, the challenge of maintainingregional centres, and the limitations of a real-time medium,have all kept teleconferencing as an auxiliary rather than aprimary delivery or support medium for education.There has been a less integrated approach to training intechnical/vocational and teacher education. Individualpolytechnics and colleges of education offer their ownprogrammes of staff development and, for most institutions,the application of ICT to teaching and learning has becomea significant emphasis of these programmes. Several of thelarger institutions offer credit-earning programmes availableto students beyond the employment of the host institutions.The E-Learning Advisory Group recommended thatinstitutions collaborate to ensure more cost-effective trainingfor their staff.Current level ofICT access and useReading the professional literature on the development ofICT can sometimes leave the impression that the majordeterminants of progress are infrastructure and theavailability of end-user interfaces. While there may beprojects that have been delayed through shortcomings inone or other of these, for the most part infrastructure andaccess have kept up with the demands of students and theaspirations of institutions.The Ministry of Education has actively worked to provideall schools with access to the Internet. By the end of 2002,all but a handful of New Zealand schools had Internet accessand were on track to achieving broadband connection. Therewas at least one computer for student use in 81 per cent ofclassrooms, with secondary schools having an average ofone computer for every six students and primary schoolsone computer for every 10 students. 13 .In the generalpopulation, 75 per cent of New Zealanders had direct accessto an Internet connection, and there were 3.5 million cellphone connections from a population of 4 million.190

New ZealandPacific Island CountriesInstitutions in technical/vocational teacher education tendto carry out their own surveys of access levels among staffand students. Almost without exception the access rates oftheir students from home or work equal or exceed nationalaverages. Institutions delivering their programmes at adistance seldom encounter significant numbers of studentwho experience difficulty in securing access.Access to computers has been assisted in recent years bythe Laptops for Teachers Scheme, where teachers workingwith year 7–13 school students are reimbursed forapproximately two-thirds of the costs of leasing a laptop.As part of the programme, teachers are expected toundertake professional development aligned to theirschool’s ICT development plan. Laptops have also beenprovided to principals during 2002 and 2003.Another initiative, Computer Access New Zealand, has beenset up to provide cheap, warranted, recycled computers toschools. And yet another project has been set up to providerecycled computers, training, support and Internet accessto students in low decile schools for the use of the students,their families and their community. 14 At the tertiary level,most tutors will have access to an individual work stationand issues of access tend to focus on bandwidth or thecapacity of their computers.Maori are a group that has traditionally faced problemsaccessing high-quality education in their areas ofconcentration. Several iwi (tribal groups) and runanga(Maori tribal authorities) are using ICT both to enrich theeducational offerings in their rural rohe (tribal region), butalso to maintain links with their iwi diaspora, generally inNew Zealand’s northern cities. One example is a series ofinitiatives by Te Whanau a Apanui, an iwi whose roheextends along a stretch of remote coast on the East Cape ofthe North Island. 15 Sixty-three per cent of its members areunder thirty and 80 per cent lie outside the tribal rohe. Theiwi is using e-learning programmes as a means of up-skillingits members and allowing them pathways into the ICTindustry. Links have been forged with Cisco Systems, andacademies have been established at several low-decileschools in urban areas with large concentrations of iwimembers. The aim of the project is to deliver online trainingopportunities to iwi members wherever they are located.Other groups that may have limited access and familiaritywith ICT include senior citizens and those leaving schoolwithout a tertiary qualification. SeniorNet, 16 a communitybasedinitiative that began in the USA in 1986, has beenoperating in New Zealand since 1992. There are now 77SeniorNet Learning Centres throughout New Zealandoffering a range of Internet-based learning andcommunications services. While the organisation wasinitiated by Telecom New Zealand, the Learning Centresare managed and largely funded by the local membership.The needs of the younger group have begun to be met onlymore recently. Several regional polytechnics have begunoffering entry-level programmes in computer and Internetliteracy at no cost to the students. The institutions find thatby scheduling these classes outside normal teaching hoursthey are able to take advantage of existing facilities andmeet their costs from the government fee subsidy alone.They also hope that these courses will attract a proportionof young people back into tertiary education, and someinstitutions offer pre-employment and bridging coursesthrough this means. 17At a national level, the government is committed to “closingthe digital divide” through co-ordinating the activities ofgovernment and public agencies. 18 While many of theseactivities are initiated by education agencies pursuingeducational objectives, others are providing an educationalservice in support of some other objective. For example,the Community Employment Group strategy combines theefforts of eight government departments to use ICT tosupport disadvantaged communities and build employmentopportunities. 19Constraints on the use of ICTEarlier it was claimed that infrastructure and end-user accesshave not been the most significant blocks to the developinguse of ICT in the New Zealand education system. Thereare a set of challenges that pose a greater risk to thisdevelopment if they are not managed successfully:The first challenge is posed by classroom teachersand their ability and willingness to embrace the newtechnology. If ICT is viewed as a technology tobypass the teacher and to “teacher-proof” thecurriculum, it will be resisted by teachers andultimately fail. In general, policy-makers are awareof this danger, and implementation strategies at bothnational and international levels recognise the centralrole of teachers as active managers of the e-learningexperience.A second challenge is to encourage greatercollaboration and sharing among educationalproviders at all levels of the system. This is necessaryto take advantage of the economies of scale that areavailable through ICT and the shortage of specialisedtalent and resources in the area. It will not be easy toachieve in an educational system that has beendeveloped in an environment of competition.A third challenge is to achieve an appropriate balancebetween central steerage and institutional autonomyin the exploitation of ICT. As with the previous factor,there are a number of opportunities that can best beaddressed by a well-resourced central initiative.Government and other funding agencies need to be191

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationcareful that such unilateral initiatives do notcompromise the level playing field that successivegovernments have insisted on.A fourth challenge will be to ensure that the effortsof the educational sector to make the best use of ICTare taking place in a context of supportive publicpolicy and infrastructure. The deregulation of theeconomy, and the telecommunications industry inparticular, that took place during the 1990s hasprovided an efficient infrastructure to support agrowing ICT industry. A national ICT taskforce hasbeen set up to encourage investment in ICT projects. 20Another important contextual element is thegovernment’s e-government strategy. 21 The aim is tostructure and deliver government services onlinewherever possible. The early work on systemarchitecture, metadata standards, interoperability andsecurity is proving important to the widening use ofICT within the education system.AnalysisFrom the point of view of the ICT enthusiast, thetelecommunications industry and sometimes even the NewZealand Government, the developing use of ICT by the NewZealand education sector may appear less than dramatic –even timid. The sector has used it adaptively and within thecontext of existing structures of institutional provision,rather than as a spur for revolutionary change in the waysin which educational services are structured and delivered.The technology has not displaced the classroom teacher asthe key manager of the learning process. Teachers andinstitutions still retain control over when and how thetechnology is employed and frequently continue to play amajor role in developing ICT courseware. The challengefor the next few years will be introducing a greater degreeof steerage in the developing use of ICT, encouraging greatercollaboration and resourcing a few projects at a nationallevel without alienating the present very high level ofcommitment and sense of ownership of institutions andteachers.NOTES1 T. McMahon, “Establishing distance education networks in NewZealand: Policy parameters” in Learning Technologies: Prospectsand Pathways (Canberra: AJET Publications, 1996),www.aset.org.au/confs/edtech96/mcmahon.html.2 “Interactive Education: An Information andCommunicationTechnologies Strategy for Schools” (Wellington:Ministry of Education, 1998).3 “Digital Horizons – Learning through ICT” (Wellington: Ministryof Education, 2002), www.minedu.govt.nz>Information Technology.4 “What Makes for Effective Teacher Professional Development”(Wellington: Ministry of Education, 2002), www.minedu.govt.nz/>Schools>ICTin Schools>Research.5 ICT Helpdesk (Wellington: Ministry of Education, 2003)www.tki.org.nz/r/ict/helpdesk/.6 Te Kete Ipurangi – The Online Learning Centre (Wellington:Ministry of Education, 2003), www.tki.org.nz/e/tki/.7 The Principals’ LeadSpace. (Wellington: Ministry of Education,2003), www.leadspace.govt.nz/.8 The Kaupapa Ara Whakawhiti M’tauranga Project (KAWM)(Wellington: Ministry of Education, 2003),www.tki.org.nz/r/school_improvement/kaupapa_ara_e.php.9 “Tertiary Eduction Reforms” (Wellington: Ministry of Education,2000-2002), www.minedu.govt.nz/ > Topical Issues > TertiaryEducation Reforms.10 “Highways and Pathways: Exploring New Zealand’s E-LearningOpportunities” (Wellington, 2002), www.elearn.govt.nz/index.jsp>Tertiary Educational Organisations > Policy.11 Tertiary E-Learning Portal (Government of New Zealand, 2003),www.elearn.govt.nz/index.jsp.12 B. Anderson and M.G. Simpson, “Distance Education in NewZealand: A case study from Massey University,” in Globalisation ofOpen and Distance Learning: Challenges in the new millennium(New Delhi: Kogan Page 2002).13 “Digital Horizons – Learning through ICT, A Strategy for Schoolsfor 2002-2004” (Ministry of Education, 2002),www.minedu.govt.nz > Schools > ICT in Schools > Strategy.14 Computers in Homes Project (Wellington: Ministry of Education,2002), www.computersinhomes.org.nz.15 “Maori and E-Learning,” from The Report of the E-LearningAdvisory Group (Wellington, 2002), www.executive.govt.nz/minister/maharey/highways/maori1.htm.16 SeniorNet (New Zealand, 2003), www.seniornet.org.nz/index.html.17 UCOL Online Training (Palmerston North, New Zealand: UniversalCollege of Learning, 2003), ecampus-ct.ucol.ac.nz/.18 Steve Maharey and Paul Swain, “Closing the Digital Divide: Whatis Already Being Done” (Wellington, 2000), www.executive.govt.nz/minister/maharey/divide/02-02.htm.19 Community Employment Group (Wellington: Department ofLabour, 2003), www.ceg.govt.nz/connecting-communities.asp.20 “Information and Communication Technology in New Zealand”(Wellington: Investment New Zealand, New Zealand Government,2003), www.investnewzealand.govt.nz/common/files/ICT.pdf.21 “E-Government in New Zealand” (New Zealand: State ServicesCommission, 2002), www.e-government.govt.nz/.192

NiueICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONNiue is a raised coral atoll northwest of New Zealand. It has a landarea of 260 square kilometres and a population of 2,113 (2002), whichis mostly bilingual (English and Niuean). It is a self-governing nationthat is part of the Commonwealth and is in free association with NewZealand. The main administrative centre is Alofi where the parliamentsits and where the government ministries, shops, government secondaryschools and the USP Centre are located. The Niue economy is basedon fish, agriculture, some tourism and remittance from Niueans livingoverseas. The currency used is the New Zealand dollar. Niue is a memberof the regional University of the South Pacific (USP), and hence it ispart of the university’s privately owned satellite system called USPNet.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationNational policies, strategiesand programmesThe Government of Niue states the following as its informationand communication technology (ICT) policy vision:The government envisages a Niue where every member of thecommunity has affordable access to the information economyin order to enhance quality of life. Greater access and familiaritywith the information and communication economy willcontribute to economic development through the learning ofrelevant ICT skills, protocols and opportunities. Concomitantwith government initiatives to up-skill Niue’s workforce [is]Niue’s growing ICT-related labour market [to] provide one ofthe prerequisites to the creation of an indigenous ICT industry.Over the medium term, an indigenous ICT industry will createa significant level of economic activity, as well as [provide]employment opportunities of the necessary profile to assist inretaining residents in Niue. 1The policy goals relevant to education are as follows:Telephones and facsimile are widely used for both internaland external communications. However, the infrastructureis unable to fully support ICT. At present, Internet accessin the outer villages is limited due to limited trunk linesmade available by Telecom Niue for Internet access. Also,the outer villages are operating on a cell phone system thatis not really compatible with Internet connection. Thus,upgrading of the existing services is an economic issue.Video Broadcast and Conferencing TechnologyVideo broadcast and conferencing technology is availableto USP students only. Students of the distance and flexiblelearning courses of the university can communicate directlyfree of charge with their lecturers and other students by e-mail or through the two types of teleconferencing: videoand audio. In addition to print courses, USP students canalso enrol in the video broadcast courses and join in thelectures that are being delivered on Laucala campus. Thereare also Internet courses that are currently limited to theLaw School and are taught from the USP Campus in PortVila, Vanuatu.Structure educational policy to contribute to thecreation of an ICT workforceTrain and retrain the workforce to benefit from theopportunities presented by the ICT economyTapes of video broadcast sessions and audioconferencetutorials are available on request by the Niue Centre to theSuva headquarters of the university.Computer Use, Internet, E-mailOther policies relate to investment incentives for the ICTindustry. 2A National Information Technology Committee was formedin June 1999 to advise the cabinet on strategies to create anICT industry in Niue.Current level ofICT access and useConnectivity, Telephones, FascimileThe Internet Users Society Niue (IUSN) was set up in 1997to provide free Internet services to the people of Niue. Itlinked Niue to the World Wide Web through a server inNew Zealand by a 64 MHz telephone connection leasedfrom Telecom Niue. Over the years, usage has increaseddramatically and there is at present a need for an increasein bandwidth to cater to the demand.WiFi (Wireless Connection) was launched earlier this yearby IUSN. This increased bandwidth to about 256 MHz, butat the time of writing, IUSN and the government were notin agreement over the legality of the operation and theInternet connection had been severed. (See alsowww.wifination.nu.)All schools, seven primary and one secondary, aregovernment operated. Students have access to computertechnology although it’s more for the secondary students.Computer studies is a part of the syllabus at the secondarylevel from year 7 through to year 12 (forms 1 to 6). Internetaccess is still very limited, however, with only a few PCsconnected, but a proposal has been submitted to enable allPCs in the school to be networked, which should at leastimprove connection capabilities.With the inclusion of New Zealand form 7 studies in 2004at the Niue High School, the need for Internet access is apriority to access materials from New Zealand QualificationAuthority, and for general student research.Broadcast TechnologiesRadio and television stations operate daily services. Bothradio and TV are operated by the state-owned BroadcastingCorporation of Niue.Television licences are about US$ 40 every quarter.Programmes on TV are received via satellite from TVNZand either broadcast live or recorded for later showing.Programmes are also received via satellite from theAsiaPacific Network in Australia. There are no speciallymade educational programmes, but there are twoeducational programmes from the AsiaPacific Network: the194

NiuePacific Island Countries“Y” which is science-oriented and looks at science conceptsand theories through experiments, and a programme thatlooks at major historical events and explains what happened.Satellite TV has just recently been offered in Niue by aprivate business that goes by the name of nuSatTV. Thereis talk that online learning will be made available to Niueanssoon through the private sector, but as of the time of writing,that seems no more than rumour.Consultants and experts conduct workshops andtraining courses on ICT. They are usually sent to theisland by aid agencies on the request of government.An IUSN volunteer is attached to the InformationSystems Office of the Niue government to assist indeveloping software and databases. He is alsoresponsible for training local staff in programming,website creation and maintenance of PCs.Major initiativesUSPNetThis partnership is between the university and Niue throughthe exemption made by the telecommunication organisationto allow the system to operate privately. USPNet is a 12-country satellite system and its current capacity has madeit possible for Niue students to complete programmes whilecontinuing to work and without leaving their families. Henceit offers economic advantages.Satellite LinkIn the 1980s to the early 1990s, some training courses wereconducted using audio conferencing on a satellite linkbetween Niue Agriculture/Fisheries Department with Samoaand Hawaii. This satellite system, however, is no longer inuse.Examples of trainingIn the non-formal education sector:Niue teachers are trained in New Zealand collegeswhere ICT training is incorporated into programmes.IUSN produces Internet training videos that areavailable to the public free of charge.Short-term courses are offered to the general publicthrough the USP Centre. The courses include trainingin MS Word, MS Excel and PowerPoint. Othercourses on databases are planned to be available soon.Government-run workshops on web design, as wellas other software matters, are also usually availableto the public.Continuous training and development needs wereidentified at a workshop held in July 2001 onNational ICT Strategy. Staff development is a toppriority, utilising existing institutions like the NiueHigh School, USP Centre, and government.Constraints onthe use of ICTThe following are some of the constraints on the use ofICT in Niue:The infrastructure is unable to fully support ICT.Limited trunk lines are made available by TelecomNiue for Internet access.Outer villages operate on a cell phone system that isnot really compatible with Internet connection.People with ICT expertise are difficult to attract toNiue due to a lack of incentives in their workenvironments.There is a lack of government funding and othersupport and limited institutional capacity.ICT equipment and services are expensive.AnalysisIt appears that the desire to develop ICT, and the vision that“every member of the community has affordable access” areat odds with the infrastructure capacity and the costs involvedin setting up computers and Internet access. While there canalways be more emphasis on training, this does not appear tobe as significant as many of the other constraints mentioned.Thus, if any assistance is to be given, there should be someemphasis on reducing those constraints regarding theavailability of PCs and reducing the cost of Internet access.NOTES1 From the “National ICT Strategy Workshop Report, 2001”. Theofficial report on ICT in Niue is yet to be completed and most ofthe information in this paper is based on this report from the“Workshop for National ICT Strategy, 23-27 July 2001”, held inAlofi, Niue. This workshop was facilitated by Taholo Kami, who isan IT consultant with Kami Communications. The participants wereheads of department and senior management staff, cabinet ministersand members of the legislative assembly, representatives from thechurch and the private sector.2 See note 1 above.195

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PalauICT USE IN EDUCATIONMr Andrew KerrNational policies, strategies andprogrammesThe Republic of Palau is an independent island nation located 500miles southeast of the Philippines and 900 miles west of Guam. Aformer UN Trust Territory of the United States, Palau gained itsindependence in 1994, entering into a Compact of Free Associationwith the United States. As a result of the Compact, Palauan citizensuse US currency and have unrestricted travel privileges throughoutthe United States and its territories.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationAlthough Palau is a 400 mile-long archipelago withhundreds of islands (most uninhabited), the bulk of its19,000 populace is located on the capital island of Koror.Because Palau has a dispersed population over several islandgroups, however, communication options can be limited forthose living outside of Koror and the immediate area. WhilePalau is a young nation, it has a strong ICT infrastructureand several telecommunication options, although these arelimited due to the remoteness of the island groups and lackof satellite availability. As part of the national technologyplan of Palau, every person is to receive universal access totelecommunication, regardless of their location. Thenational telecom company, Palau National CommunicationCorporation (PNCC), has aggressively pursued this goal,resulting in the highest per capita penetration rates in thePacific with services including phone (landline and cellular),Internet and television.The two languages of Palau are Palauan and English.Japanese is widely spoken as well, as Japan administeredPalau until the end of World War II and has a large tourismand fishing interest in the country. Public education ismandated from the age of six through 16. Grades aremodeled after the American system with primary schoolconsisting of grades 1 to 8, and high school consisting ofgrades 9 to 12.Throughout the islands of Palau there are 22 publicelementary schools, one public high school, two privateelementary schools and five private high schools. There isalso one institution of higher education, Palau CommunityCollege (PCC), which offers two-year associate’s degreesand a variety of vocational education and adult educationopportunities. PCC is also partnered with severaluniversities, including San Diego State University (SDSU)and the University of Guam (UOG), which allows studentsto pursue bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees withouthaving to leave Palau (or leave for limited amounts of timeduring the summer).Current level ofICT access and useIn 2001, Pacific Learning Services (PLS) reported that Palauhas a high level of computer penetration in all of its 23public schools with an average of 11 students per computer.Technology and technology literacy are considered highpriorities of the Ministry of Education (MOE), and as aresult every school has at least one computer lab and acomputer lab manager. Teacher training in technologyliteracy has been ongoing and mandatory for all teachers.However, computer labs remain underutilised and many arelimited to use for drill-and-practice programmes or games.In response, the MOE has been aggressively pursuing newtraining programmes for teachers and has drafted aneducational technology plan designed to address teacherdeficiencies in technology literacy and basic technologyskills, as well as provide guidelines for technologyprogrammes and integration into curriculum. Theseinitiatives have resulted in increased usage of computersand technology integration across multiple disciplines, butlow-bandwidth Internet access continues to pose a problemfor schools.The majority of computers in Palau schools use the AppleMacintosh platform. Windows platform computers aremostly limited to MOE administration staff, PCC and highschool business classes. The MOE has videoconferencingcapability and utilises the system to communicate withHawaii and other US affiliates on a regular basis forprofessional development and administrative meetings. Twovideoconferencing units are also in remote schools, but asthey work through PNCC instead of the MOE’s satellitebasedsystem, operating costs are too prohibitive to warrantusage. To date the two units remain functional but not inoperation.Remote schools also have computer access. Most of theremote island groups have at the minimum semi-regularpower that allows for the operation of computers labs. Thevery remote island groups rely on solar power for computeraccess. Internet and other telecommunication services,however, are limited or non-existent in these islands.Major initiativesTeaching, Learning, Technology Training ProjectThe Teaching, Learning, Technology Training Project wasdesigned not only to bring technology to the students andteachers of Palau, but also to bring new strategies forteaching and learning. Building on the Palau 2000 MasterPlan for Education Improvement, the project used acurriculum integration model that encourages student-tostudentand student-to-teacher interactions, a model inwhich the mimetic approach to education gives way to aconstructivist approach. The expectation was that throughthese changes a learning environment would be created thatprepared students to deal with uncertainty, complexity,information resources, new technologies and differentcultures.The training was designed and conducted by a consultantfrom Guam and required a significant commitment fromthose who enrolled. Initially, participants took part in anintensive weeklong programme in Koror, followed bymonthly day-long sessions over a period of six months orlonger. Through the training teachers were exposed to abroad overview of computer operation, maintenance anduse in the classroom. Content addressed included theoperation of specific software products (e.g., Hyperstudio,Kidpix) and various strategies related to integration and use(e.g., lesson planning, co-operative learning).198

PalauPacific Island CountriesUnder the Teaching, Learning, Technology Training Project,a framework for professional development for teachers andschool principals was developed as a process intended toimprove skills, attitudes, understanding and performance.The process was structured around a series of courses/institutes designed for teachers to acquire identified skillsand then apply and evaluate them using a problem-solving/sharing approach. The courses/institutes were used, andcontinue to be used, as opportunities for teachers to discuss,think about, try out and hone new practices. This form ofprofessional development was key to the successful use oftechnology in education for improved student achievement.The following technology competencies were identified ascritical components of this professional developmentprocess: technology awareness, technology identificationand operation, applications, academic skills development,cognitive skills development, acquisition of information(research), presentation/production skills, interpretationskills, ethics and technology in the community.These technology competencies were aligned with fivestages of technology application, derived from the AppleClassroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) research studies, throughwhich it was hoped all of Palau’s teachers would pass.Entry stage: Teachers struggle with the changeseducation technologies bring to the classroomenvironment. They are required to rethink teachingand learning styles, develop a new technologyvocabulary and investigate new tools for learning.Initial experiences with technology characterise thisfirst stage of technology awareness.Adoption stage: The struggle to accept newtechnologies is replaced by the struggle to masterthem at the most rudimentary levels. Fear is replacedby experimentation with electronic applications thatclosely imitate existing classroom activities, such asdrill-and-practice and tutorial environments.Adaptation stage: Teachers recognise the potentialand power of technology tools to the extent that theyuse them for personal productivity and begin toadvance student usage of these same tools. Examplesinclude the usage of word processing in writingassignments, database in social studies research anddata collection and spreadsheet integration into themath and science curriculum.Appropriation stage: Teachers master specifictechnology applications and seamlessly integratethem into daily instructional and managementactivities within the school environment. Teachersat this stage are a valuable resource to theircolleagues. They help implement the “teachertraining-teacher”and mentoring models forprofessional development activities.Invention stage: Teachers are technologicallyproficient and provide students with necessarytechnology skills and access to these powerfulresources. Teachers at this stage can develop sharablecourseware and materials that link technologies tocurrent curriculum or education reform componentswhile they teach technology to others.Each of these stages was linked to curriculum integrationso teachers could select appropriate instructional activitiesrelative to their existing skill set and professional growthplans. As professional development took place and teachersbegan integrating technology, they were expected toprogress through each stage over an extended period. Thephasing-in of the professional development offerings at allstages of integration was expected to result in the majorityof teachers reaching the invention stage. Structured teachertraining programmes continue to be regularly offered bythe MOE and teachers are encouraged to enroll.PRELStar: US Federal Star Schools ProjectThrough PRELSTAR, the MOE and Emergency ManagementSystem were able to connect to the Peacesat satellitenetwork with 128 MB videoconferencing capability. Thisallowed the MOE to connect (free of charge) to a multitudeof other sites across the US-affiliated Pacific (includingHawaii, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and AmericanSamoa). This system also allowed Palau to connect to anyother videoconferencing system throughout the world via arelay system in Hawaii (at a cost). PRELSTAR also providedtraining.PR*TEC: US Federal Regional TechnologyConsortia ProjectPR*TEC provides technical training and support throughPREL and assists the MOE in a variety of technical training.Major initiatives included providing support and guidancein the formalisation of a Palau Technology Education Planto include technology standards and benchmarks forstudents, teachers and administrators, and creating a basicteaching credential that teachers can receive via distancetechnology. A current problem for the MOE is the lack ofqualified teachers. This programme, a collaborative effortwith PCC and other public institutions of higher learningin the US-affiliated Pacific, allows teachers to stay employedand on-island while taking courses towards certification.Sasakawa Peace FoundationThe Sasakawa Peace Foundation of Japan has funded anumber of technology and distance learning studies throughthe University of Hawaii and the University of Guam. Grantawards have allowed both universities to convene meetingsfor the former Trust Territories of the United States (Palau,Micronesia and the Marshall Islands). These meetings and199

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationvarious reports have resulted in technical infrastructure data,needs assessments and distance learning plans for eachisland nation.University of Guam: US Department of AgricultureChallenge GrantThrough a grant from the US Department of Agriculture,the Univeristy of Guam, in partnership with local institutionsof higher learning and Florida A&M University, have createda series of distance learning programmes designed to assistagriculture teachers across the former Trust Territories ofthe United States. A series of modules were produced inboth online and CD-ROM format and offered for universitycredit. The result is for participants to be trained in scienceand agriculture methods to improve both curriculums.Examples of trainingAs part of its Compact of Free Association with the UnitedStates, Palau is entitled to participation in many US federalgrants and programmes. These have allowed the MOE tovastly expand their services to teachers. Two majorprogrammes are provided through Pacific Resources forEducation and Learning (PREL), a Pacific-based, non-profiteducation corporation.The first, PRELSTAR, is a distance learning programmedesigned to build telecommunication capacity in the USaffiliatedPacific. PRELSTAR has provided distance learningtraining to teachers, administrators, government and healthworkers for more than five years. Areas of training haveincluded how to set up and maintain satellite earth stations,Internet usage for education and health purposes,videoconferencing training, educational and health distancelearning programmes, and computer/media troubleshootingand repair. The result has been an increased capacity ofeducation and health workers to access ICT services.PRELSTAR also funded a distance learning master’sprogramme for the US-affiliated Pacific in instructionaltechnology. The result was two professionally trainedinstructional designers to assist MOE and PCC teachers withtechnology integration.The second programme provided through PREL is thePacific Regional Technology in Education Consortium(PR*TEC). Like PRELSTAR, the PR*TEC offers distancelearning training and support, but also provides technologyliteracy training for teachers and students, technology policyassistance and computer repair programmes. Work for thepast three years of the PR*TEC in Palau has resulted incomputer lab managers trained in integrating technologyinto the curriculum and repairing computers, a drafttechnology plan for the MOE and technology standards forteachers, students and administrators of the MOE.Constraints onthe use of ICTLimited Access to InternetThe MOE’s current telecommunications infrastructure islimited by the high cost of telecommunications within Palauand by the capacity of that infrastructure to supportbroadband services to schools. While schools have accessto computers and other technology, only some have dial-upInternet access. They dial in to the MOE through a sixmodemmodem bank. From there, the MOE is connectedvia a 64 kbps dedicated connection to the PNCC. This levelof service limits each school to no more than threeconcurrent users. As a result, technology use in schools islimited to those activities that do not require Internet access.According to Pacific Learning Services, these activitiesinvolve the preparation of lesson plans by teachers andpapers and reports by students. Only a relatively smallnumber of teachers are using computers, laser discs orprojectors as part of their instruction. Thus, few teachershave integrated technology into their instructional practicesand rely on the computer for drill-and-practice programmesor for classroom management activities, such as grade booksand class lists.Limited Bandwidth CapacityPNCC is currently the only provider of telecommunicationsservices in Palau. It has an Internet link that provides only2 mbps downlink and 768 kbps uplink capacity. Althoughthe company has installed a caching server, traffic on thelink runs at 80 to 90 per cent capacity. At peak periods ofthe day, the link appears to be completely saturated, resultingin the inability to access services or very slow response timeswhen service is available. Although a fibre ring connectingKoror with the largest island of Babeldaob providesincreased service, it too is running near capacity.To increase bandwidth capacity, Palau is currently pursuingfunding for a fibre cable to link Palau with the state of Yap(in Micronesia) and the US territory of Guam. High-levelagreements are in place and preliminary planning is beingconducted by NTT, a Japanese telecommunicationscompany. The estimated costs for laying the cable begin atbetween US$ 50–60 million. Cable maintenance costs areestimated at US$ 750,000 per year plus US$ 35,000 for eachday the cable maintenance ship is at sea. In addition, thereare considerable start-up costs. No funding for this projecthas been secured to date and PNCC estimates that operatingcosts alone would require a six-fold growth in the company’srevenue base.200

PalauPacific Island CountriesBandwidth for SchoolsThe use of ICT to support education requires broadbandInternet access. A full T1 access would best serve the needsof the MOE, but the cost of such access would requiresignificant outside funding. The most cost-effective designfor providing Internet access to schools involves thecollaboration of the MOE with PNCC and/or other Internetservice providers (ISPs) to establish a wide area networkconnecting schools with the MOE, a caching server at theMOE and dedicated Internet bandwidth of at least 512 kbpsfrom the MOE to the ISP. The use of a caching server willlessen bandwidth demands and provide for higher speedresponse times for Internet sites accessed by multiple users.This architecture will allow for future upgrades in Internetconnectivity as additional bandwidth becomes available.AnalysisWhile Palau is far above the norm for computer access ineducation for the Pacific, the MOE would still like increasedInternet access, a smaller computer-to-student ratio, highertechnology literacy for teachers and students and technologyintegration into the curriculum. To accomplish these goals,the following recommendations may be considered.ICT AccessPalau telecommunication infrastructure is currently underthe monopoly of the PNCC. Under the current universalaccess plan, the high rates of the PNCC for subscribersactually subsidises the very high operating costs of providingservices to remote areas of Palau. Because of this, a privatecompany is considering offering ICT services with its ownteleport to bring additional bandwidth to Palau andconcentrate on the main population centre of Koror. Thiswould provide lower-cost, high-speed Internet access to thelargest portion of the populace. If this were to happen, thecurrent model of universal access to Palau would bedisrupted, as many customers would opt for the higher speedand cheaper cost of the private company.A benefit for the MOE, however, would be better Internetaccess for the administration and schools. The lower costswould also allow them to purchase more computers underthe same budget, as the money previously spent on Internetaccess could be redirected to equipment.Technology Literacy for Teachers and StudentsUnder the current technology plan for the Palau MOE,technology literacy has been defined and categorised.However, to implement a plan that will ensure technologyliteracy for all students and teachers, time must be allocatedfor staff development and benchmarks must be assignedfor students at each grade level. Technology literacy is abuilding process and should be consistent for students andteachers. Teachers must have a clear understanding of whatis required to be technologically literate and be providedample professional development opportunities to achieve it.Technology IntegrationTechnology integration differs from technology literacy: thelatter refers to specific skills, while the former refers to theapplication of those skills in different disciplines.Professional development opportunities for teachers shouldbe provided on how to integrate technology into differentsubject areas, such as Math, Science, Palauan and English.Computer access should also be provided.201

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Papua New GuineaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONPapua New Guinea (PNG) lies north of Australia. It comprises theeastern half of the island New Guinea as well as many offshoreislands, with the main ones being New Britain, New Ireland andBougainville. It has a total land area of 461,690,33 square kilometresand a population of 5,100,000 (2002 figures). 1Politically, PNG is an independent state and a member of theCommonwealth of Nations. The administrative centre is Port Moresby,

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationlocated on the southern coast of the main island.Economically, the country produces copra, cocoa, coffee,vanilla, sugar, timber and fisheries as well as oil, copper,gold and natural gas. It has a small but growing tourismindustry. The monetary currency is the Papua New GuineaKina.There are more than 800 known languages but English isthe official language of government and business.Melanesian Pidgin and Police Motu are also used widely.Through recent legislation, all the 800 languages of PapuaNew Guinea have become official languages of instructionat the elementary school level.National policies, strategiesand programmes“PNG needs as much help as possible otherwise itwill get lost.” 4PNG has multiple Internet service providers (ISPs), whichinclude Daltron Electronics, Datec, Global, Online SouthPacific and High Tech Industries. There are 10,000 Internetsubscribers and connectivity is affordable with excellentservice in the urban areas. 5 There is still a monopoly overthe licensing of ISPs by Telikom PNG.The major centres of population, Port Moresby and Lae,have access to computers and the Internet either throughwork stations or through education institutions. There areover 10,000 public servants in PNG, a third of which are inPort Moresby, but with the exception of a few departments,the level of computer literacy is generally quite low.PNG is home to the following educational institutions: 6The PNG government has a centralised information andcommunication technology (ICT) budget, 2 and there havebeen some attempts to develop and launch an ICT policy inthe country. However, these have all been unsuccessful due,in part, to the ad hoc way of mounting projects which hasresulted in incompatible appliances and applications beinginstalled, as well as different ICT approaches on the part ofmany donors. 3 There has been a copyright law passed byParliament that is now in effect, and there are plans todevelop a government intranet and to put key dates andstatistics and library material onto CD-ROM.There are two government websites (see www.gov.pg andwww.pngonline.gov.pg) as well as the prime minister’s ownwebsite (see www.pm.gov.pg). Other governmentdepartments and statutory bodies also have their ownwebsites.Current level ofICT access and useOver 3,000 primary schools (800,000 students);170 high schools (56,000 students);Nine technical colleges (9,000 students);124 vocational schools (7,000 students);Eight teachers’ colleges (4,000 students);Six universities (10,000 students), comprisingUniversity of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) in PortMoresby, University of Technology in Lae, PacificAdventist University in Port Moresby, Divine WordUniversity in Madang, University of Vudal in Rabauland University of Goroka in the highland town ofGoroka; andThe College of Distance Education (CODE), a largedistance education institution for the school-agepopulation.Telikom PNG is a government-owned organization and hasa monopoly on telecommunication services, with 66,000customers in 2002. As well, a high-capacity, 11-megabitprivate sector wireless telephone network has beenintroduced for government services.A survey conducted in 2002 revealed that five organizationsused telephones, facsimiles, and Internet on a daily basisas well as some audio conferencing at least once a month.Here are some of the views of the organizations surveyed:“ICT development is ad hoc and there needs to be ablueprint for ICT development so that change isuniform and not staggered.”UPNG and University of Technology both providepostsecondary and bridging-type programmes, and alongwith Divine Word, UNPG also offers tertiary programmesthrough the distance mode. UPNG is also partnering withTelikom PNG in a venture through which the university ismoving into multimedia distance education through 14regional centres. The demand for further education is highin regional areas where learners are unable to go beyondthe grade 12.In 2002, the education sector had 2,000 telephones, 50mobile telephones, and the following breakdown ofcomputers, of which 100 were over three years old and 30were not functional: 7“In PNG we do not really have an ICTinfrastructure.”300 production computers;204

Papua New GuineaPacific Island Countries160 administrative computers; and80 Internet computers.UPNG has computer labs in each of its five regional opencampuses based in Mount Hagen, Madang, Kokopo, Buakand Port Moresby. Each lab has 20 computers networkedto the UPNG intranet system. Furthermore, on the maincampus at Waigani, the university has three computer labswith 200 networked computers in each lab. The labs arehoused in the Michael Somare Library and the MathematicsStrand of the School of Natural and Physical Sciences.Almost all academic staff at UPNG have networked PCs.The Department of Education plans to increase its existingcomputer network systems, develop a website, providespecialist training for information technology staff andprovide audio and video conferencing to some remoteschools on a trial basis. There are also plans to develop agovernment-owned network on Education and ResearchNetwork (ERNET) that will encompass and link all of theuniversities and major tertiary education and researchinstitutions throughout PNG.Broadcast TechnologiesRadio. Radio plays a major developmental role in PapuaNew Guinea with its difficult terrain. There are four typesof radio services with the main one being the governmentownedNational Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). TheNBC operates the two national services on the AM and FMbands with the FM service being its commercial arm, KalangFM. The AM service is the government’s public servicestation through which all basic education schoolprogrammes are broadcast every morning. For some of theremote students in the country, this is the only form ofcontact with the outside world.The NBC also operates 19 provincial radio stations that airprogrammes ranging from news to government extensionservices and community awareness. They use the localdialects as well as Melanesian Pidgin. Most provincial radiostations are old and the equipment needs replacing. TheJapanese government has assisted with the replacement ofradio stations in some provinces.There are also four private radio stations that broadcast onthe FM band using a mix of the three main languages ofPapua New Guinea. The latest addition is PNG ChristianBroadcasting Network, a Christian radio station.Television. Papua New Guinea has only one TV station,EMTV, which is a subsidiary of Channel 9, Australia. Mostprogrammes are imported from Australia, although there issome local content with news and locally produceddocumentaries. Other overseas TV stations can be receivedby satellite with the proper satellite receiving dishes. Mosturban centres have cable TV providers for people who canafford it. These include overseas channels as well as others.The Papua New Guinea Education Department uses EMTVto broadcast primary and secondary school subjects duringnon-peak hours each day. The Department’s EducationMedia Centre, funded by the Japanese funding agency(JICA), produces these programmes using actual classsituations in schools. The Centre is currently supported byJapanese volunteers who work in a support role, providingtraining to local staff.Major initiativesJapan International Cooporation Agency (JICA) fundedsolar power for 350 schools that started in 1998 and arestill operational. These came with lights, TV, VCR and aPC.The Media Centre, described above, is another majorinitiative.Examples of trainingTelikom staff have received basic, intermediate andadvanced computer training and 500 are now confident withICT and computers.In the Department of Education, 150 of 733 staff areconfident in using ICT and computers. One hundred havebeen trained recently, and 300 are learning computer skillson the job. 8Constraints onthe use of ICTThe following constraints were identified at the start of2002: 9High cost of equipment;High cost of domestic and internationaltelecommunications;Unreliability of power supply, poor quality of Internetconnections and the high cost of telecommunicationsfor communications nationally and internationally;Poor access to telephone networks;Lack of skilled support services; andLack of bandwidth.205

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationAnalysisObviously, the broadcast media are of vital importance forPNG education. Both radio and television are being usedand the Media Centre, installed by the Japanese, is asignificant resource that needs to be maintainedappropriately along with adequate staffing resources.Priority areas identified are introducing distance learningon a large scale at K-12, technical vocational and tertiarylevels; accessible and affordable rural telecommunicationsservices (which could be included under the newCommunity Services Trust Fund which is to address theprovision of services to remote communities); and crosscuttingICT policy for government. The last would be veryhelpful in the area of education as it would facilitate thedevelopment of the Education and Research Network aswell as support telecommunications and ICT policy andregulatory development and overall capacity building.The initiative by JICA that supplied schools with solar poweralong with other equipment could be considered as a modelto increase connectivity and access for schools in the ruralareas.NOTES1 “Internet Infrastructure and e-Governance in Pacific Islandscountries” (UNESCO, 2002), Appendix 15. This information wasobtained from a survey of the Department of Education, NationalCultural Commission (NCC), Pacific Mobile Communications(PMC), South Pacific Post Ltd, and Telikom PNG.2 See note 1 above.3 “Information and Communication Technology in the Pacific,”Report TA REG 5990 (Asia Development Bank, June 2002).4 See note 1 above.5 See note 3 above.6 See note 3 above.7 See note 1 above.8 See note 1 above.9 See note 1 above.206

SamoaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONSamoa comprises seven islands of volcanic origin, with a land areaof 2,860 square kilometres. The population of 179,466 (2002) isPolynesian and largely bilingual (Samoan and English). Five of theseven islands are inhabited. The main island of Upolu is where thecapital Apia is located, as well as the parliament and governmentministries. Apia, with a population of about 38,000, is also thecommercial centre and the location of the campuses of twouniversities (University of the South Pacific (USP) and the NationalUniversity of Samoa), Samoa Polytechnic and two theologicalcolleges. Most of the country’s schools are also on Upolu.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationThe other major island is Savaii which has a population ofabout 41,000. A number of secondary and primary schoolsare located on this island.The Samoan economy is based primarily on fish, somemanufactured goods, tourism and remittance from Samoansliving overseas. The currency used is the Samoa Tala.Samoa is a member of the regional University of the SouthPacific (USP), and hence it is part of the university’sprivately owned satellite system called USPNet.National policies, strategiesand programmesSamoa National ICT Policy 1Samoa has a national information and communicationtechnology (ICT) committee chaired by the CEO of theMinistry of Post and Telecommunications. Members of thiscommittee include key ICT experts and representatives ofeducational institutions. The committee has established awebsite (see www.e-samoa.ws) which outlines policies andstrategies for Samoa.The Samoa ICT Policy Vision is “information andcommunication technologies for every Samoan.” It followsthe guiding principles outlined in the Pacific IslandsInformation and Communication Technologies Policy andStrategic Plan – a regional ICT strategy agreed and signedby the Ministers of Communication of each Forum membercountry. The Vision for Samoa includes statements ofguiding principles in each of four areas of development.Policy statements have been developed within each areawith respect to implementation. For example, the guidingprinciple statement and related policies in the area of humanresources are as follows:ICT will be used to inform and connect the population ofSamoa and ensure that it benefits from flexible andappropriate education, training and experiences.Policy 1.1: Awareness of ICT and the need forcomputer literacy at all community levels will bepromoted and developed.disadvantaged, the disabled, under-representedminorities and those in rural and remote areas].Policy 1.4: Samoa will promote and encourage itspeople to contribute to the global economy throughICT.The other three statements of guiding principles are asfollows:Infrastructure Development: Appropriate ICT infrastructure[will be developed] to support development for Samoa.Co-operation Between Stakeholders: Easy access toinformation through ICT will strengthen co-operationbetween stakeholders while advocating the Statement ofEconomic Strategy (SES) championed by the Governmentof Samoa to ensure good governance, development in theprivate sector and improvement in service delivery.Appropriate Policy and Regulation: Easy access toinformation through ICT will strengthen co-operationbetween stakeholders while advocating the Statement ofEconomic Strategy (SES) championed by the Governmentof Samoa to ensure good governance, development in theprivate sector and improvement in service delivery.Further, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture(MESC) has developed an Information TechnologyStrategic Plan 2000–2003 2 which looks at managing ICTto ensure the ministry properly meets the needs ofstakeholders. This plan includes the management andoperation of an ICT system, not only for ministry functions,but also for the schools system. It has been developed around19 issues that include Internet access for both the ministryand the schools, hardware/software, an ICT steeringcommittee and staff training. Thus there are strategies toimplement the ICT policy that include promoting greaterawareness of ICT; developing and retaining aknowledgeable workforce in ICT; developing andmaintaining training policies and programmes to ensure ICTresources are properly managed; providing equal access toICT, bearing in mind that there must be measures in placeto reduce inappropriate use; developing ICT infrastructureto promote universal access; addressing affordability of ICTtechnology; and continually evaluating ICT plans and theirimpacts.Policy 1.2: Samoa will attract, develop and retain aknowledgeable ICT workforce that will be able tocontribute to the maintenance and furtherdevelopment of ICT and in the process reduceprofessional isolation of Samoans at all educationallevels.Policy 1.3: Everyone will have opportunities toaccess ICT [with special regard to women, theCurrent level ofICT access and useConnectivity, telephones, facsimileSince 2002, the telecommunications corporation haschanged from Samoa Communications Ltd. (SCL) toSamoatel. The new management has made changes that have208

SamoaPacific Island Countriesincreased the number of connections. The Samoa telephoneinfrastructure is extensive in the Apia urban area and fibreoptic lines have begun to be laid to enhance connectivityfor the national university and Samoa Polytechnic. Faxcommunication is extensive.Wireless communication is provided by Telecom SamoaCellular. In September 2003, their service was extended toSavaii. The prepaid mobile telephone is their latestdevelopment. This means of communication is very popularin Samoa and it was used in a trial by the Ministry ofEducation in 2002. The trial involved the provision ofmobile telephones to School Review officers to allowcommunication during the times of national and externalexaminations. The trial revealed the need for telephonecommunications as confirmed by the officers, and provedto be of great use during this important time in the educationcycle.Computer Use, Internet/World Wide Web forEducation, E-mailThere are 205 schools in Samoa, 166 of which aregovernment operated. Of these, 141 are primary schoolsand 25 are secondary. The others are mission or privateschools, both primary and secondary. Until 2002, mostgovernment schools had limited access to telephones and,consequently, very limited access to the Internet. However,as part of its ongoing institutional development programme,MESC recently assessed the use of mobile telephones fordistrict School Review officers and has also been negotiatingwith Samoatel for more landlines. It is expected that schoolswill have telephones installed during 2004.A few schools have acquired computer labs through whichpupils have Internet access, but these are only on the mainisland of Upolu. In January 2003, there were 336 computersin all mission, private and government secondary schools.Another 160 PCs were received from the ANZ Bank andthese are being distributed to government secondary schoolsand a mission school, Chanel College. The AsiaDevelopment Bank (ADB) is providing another 54 PCs thatwill also be distributed to secondary schools, making foran average of 12 computers per secondary school. Fifteenof 43 secondary schools are currently offering computerstudies at various levels. One primary school has a computerlab donated by JICA. 3 However, the majority of Samoanschool children have still to see a PC at their school.The newly opened Teachers’ Resource Centre in Savaii (inthe Salelologa public library) is equipped with five PCs, afax machine, telephone and other office equipment. Thisresource centre is open to teachers, USP Savaii studentsand the public at large. In the same complex, the USP Centrehas established an office for its students in Savaii, and thereare plans to install at least three more PCs for use by studentsfor both preparation of assignments and Internet access oncethe connection is made, expected to be by the start of 2004.Samoa Polytechnic, National University of Samoa, and USPAlafua Campus all have computer labs for formal coursesand training programmes. Other computer labs that are notschool-based are those of the South Pacific RegionalEnvironment Programme (SPREP), and the recentlycompleted training lab for the Ministry of Health (see“Major Initiatives” below). All have Internet access.Three ISPs provide services: Computer Services Limited,I-Pasifika, and Le Samoa. E-mail has started to become apopular means of communication, particularly in urbanApia. Hotmail and Yahoo accounts are the most popularbecause of their ease of access, even for USP Centrestudents.Samoa also has a vibrant Internet cafe industry. These cafesare very busy with clients ranging from students to touriststo the general public.Video Broadcast and Conferencing TechnologyVideo broadcast and conferencing technology is availableto USP students on Upolu only. Students of the distanceand flexible learning courses of the university cancommunicate free of charge directly with their lecturers andwith other students using e-mail, or through the two typesof teleconferencing: video and audio. In addition to printcourses, distance and flexible learning students can alsoenrol in the video broadcast courses and join in the lecturesthat are being delivered on Laucala campus. There are alsoInternet courses which are currently limited to the LawSchool and that are taught from the USP Campus in PortVila, Vanuatu.The university has devised a strategy by which studentswho miss a satellite tutorial/lecture are able to request tapesof video broadcast sessions and audio conference tutorialsthrough the Centre. Indeed, video broadcast lectures canbe re-broadcast and video recordings are also available atthe Centre.Broadcast TechnologiesRadio and television stations operate daily services. Thegovernment corporation, Samoa Broadcasting Corporation,runs the television station, SBC1, and the AM radio station,SBC2. There are several privately owned FM radio stationswhich offer music, news and programmes of general interestsuch as interviews with visiting high-profile people.The SBC1 television station has non-formal educationprogrammes and recently ran a series on the use of ICT tocommemorate the 25th anniversary of Computer ServicesLimited (a government corporation). SBC2 radio stationairs a schools broadcast programme that has been inoperation since the 1950s. This is a one-hour programme,targeted mainly at the primary level, and covering all subjectareas.209

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTeachers’ Distance Learning Via RadioIn 2002, a Ministry of Education project on distance learningwas mounted for primary (year 4 to 8) teachers on thenational radio station. The duration of the programme washalf an hour, after school, for one year. The course was onmethodology of teaching the core subjects and focused onparticular areas of difficulty that teachers had identifiedthrough a needs analysis. There has been very positivefeedback on the programme’s usefulness and funds are beingsought for further programmes of this nature.Major initiativesNational University of Samoa VideoconferencingThrough a PEACESAT link, the National University ofSamoa (NUS) has been able to receive distance learningcourses for its nursing faculty and has also been able toprovide courses on teaching mathematics to students inAmerican Samoa.World Health Organization/Ministry of HealthProjectThis involved the establishment of a computer lab for thetraining of medical personnel, beginning with distancelearning for nurses. Completed in September 2003, the labhas 10 state-of-the art PCs, a server, web filter, printer andhas been set up to be compatible with the existing computingfacilities of the ministry. Two training workshops have beenbuilt in as part of the project. The first one covered the basicsof Windows 2000 and Office 2000. The second trainingworkshop on Advanced Applications will be undertaken inthe near future.Teachers’ Resource CentreThe newly opened (September 2003) teachers’ resourcecentre in Savaii has increased opportunities for teachersto use computers, though not yet for Internet access. Thecentre is the initiative of the Ministry of Education,Sports and Culture with funding from NZAid. It isexpected to provide support to teachers in their teachingpreparations and the location in the same compound asthe library and the USP sub-centre provides an integratedsupport service to all users.USPNetThis partnership is between USP and Samoa through theexemption made by the telecommunication organization toallow the system to operate privately. This 12-countrysatellite system and its current capacity has made it possiblefor Samoan students to complete programmes whilecontinuing to work and without leaving their families, byaccessing the university programmes through the USPCentre in Samoa. As mentioned elsewhere, the multimodalfacility of the network provides different modes of learningexperiences for the students including text, videoconferenceand audio tutorials with the lecturers in Fiji or Vanuatu.There are also online courses for the law programme whichis based in Port Vila, Vanuatu. A recent development of theUSP Centre in Samoa has seen the establishment of a subcentrein Savaii, the other main island. It is envisaged thatSavaii students will receive access to USPNet if plannednegotiations with Samoatel are successful. This will allowstudent access to e-mail and teleconferencing, as well asInternet and videobroadcast courses.Examples of trainingFormal training programmes include those offered at theSamoa Polytechnic, NUS and USP which offer a certificateand diploma in computing. There are also short-term courseson Microsoft applications at Samoa Polytechnic, runningin the evenings over five weeks. In 2002, NUS commencedthe offering of CISCO training on technical aspects ofcomputing.Some training on computer awareness and basic andadvanced applications of Windows and Office programmesare offered by some computing companies at a feecomparable to that charged at the Samoa Polytechnic.There are plans by the ministry to provide computer studiestraining for teachers given that a curriculum on ComputerStudies is being developed. To date, teachers have receivedshort-term workshops on computers and their use. Somegovernment departments and commercial organizations alsooffer short training workshops when the need arises.In March 2003, a small computer company was set up inthe commercial centre of Savaii to offer training to thegeneral public. Unfortunately it was moved to Apia inSeptember due to dwindling business prospects.Teacher training is being co-ordinated by the Ministry ofEducation, Sports and Culture, in line with the plannedschoolnet. Other teacher training for ICT is provided by theNUS where two core groups of up to 15 teachers will betrained in the use of computers in the classroom and ininteractive learning materials design. 4Constraints onthe use of ICTThe following are some of the constraints on the use of ICTin Samoa:Limited institutional capacity: Apart from thetertiary educational institutions and some secondary210

SamoaPacific Island Countriesschools in urban Apia, there is very limited computerand Internet access throughout the country’s schools.The vast majority of students therefore have not hadmuch exposure to computers and what is offered byway of communication – and the main reason is thelack of facilities.Expensive ICT equipment and services: PCs andaccessories are still very costly in Samoa. Not onlyare institutions unable to afford teaching facilities,but ownership of PCs is limited to those who canafford them. It is also not a priority when comparedto the other more pressing and basic needs of a family.In addition, labour costs are high.Infrastructure: Recently the telephone system hasseen improvements in its service and infrastructure;however, access is still very limited. More landlinesare being laid, providing the opportunity fortelephone connections for rural schools. Until theseare completed however, schools have no accessdespite a desire to be connected.Cost of educational programmes for broadcast:The USP Centre and other institutions could use bothradio and television more to support students;however, the cost is a major constraint.AnalysisWhile a computer culture has developed in leaps and boundsin Apia, this is not the case outside the town area. The costof hardware remains one of the major constraints. Schoolsespecially have not been able to catch up because of thesecosts, as well as because of the lack of telephoneconnectivity.The development of a computer curriculum is a positivemove forward but it needs to be accompanied by theprovision of facilities in schools, more trained teachers andgreater availability of maintenance service providers. Henceif ICT use is to be encouraged, there needs to be facilitiesto allow for exposure and regular practice by students.Broadcast technologies are at present underutilised foreducation programmes. It is an opportunity that could beexploited particularly given the availability of educationalprogrammes on video and audiotapes. There are local videoproducing companies that could record educationalprogrammes for broadcast. However, cost is the majorlimitation.Given the success of the radio-based teacher trainingprogramme described earlier, a particular priority shouldbe given to raise the funds needed to allow it to continue.NOTES1 See Samoa Information and Communication Technologies (SICT)website, www.e-samoa.ws/.2 “A Path for Change,” Information Technology Strategic Plan 2000–2003 (Samoa Department of Educational InstitutionalStrengthening Program, December 2000).3 Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture Report, IT Desk,“Computer Studies Stock-take in Secondary Schools” (2003).4 “Technical Assistance for Samoa Schoolnet and Community AccessPilot Project” (Asian Development Report, 2002).211

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Solomon IslandsICT USE IN EDUCATIONPRELNational policies, strategiesand programmesThe Solomon Islands have been plagued by internal strife and unrestin the past few years. National governance and policy have beenfragmented and inconsistently implemented as a result. Developmentefforts have been hindered by ongoing ethnic tensions. Internationaldevelopment agencies, such as the UN and AusAid, have beeninvolved in efforts to resolve conflict and restore peace to the nation.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationThere is currently no national ICT policy in place for theSolomon Islands for any sector, including education. Toaddress this, a workshop was held in February 2003,bringing together stakeholders to discuss the developmentof a national policy. People from the Solomon Islandsgovernment, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), theprivate sector, donor agencies and civil service organizationscame together and an ICT working group was formed as aresult. The workshop report contains details on the strategiesand plans mapped out at this meeting. 1A key body involved in the development efforts in theSolomon Islands is the People First Network (PFNet). Ithas spearheaded the most significant ICT effort in thecountry, an innovative e-mail–based communicationnetwork reaching rural areas of the islands. Initiated by theUnited Nations Development Programme/United NationsOffice for Project Services (UNDP/UNOPS) SolomonIslands Development Administration Planning Programme(SIDAPP), PFNet is part of the Rural Development Division(RDD) of the Ministry of Provincial Government and RuralDevelopment and has been operating since 2001. Thisinitiative is detailed in the following sections of this report.The Ministry of Education is currently operating under anEducation Strategic Plan that was put together for 2001–2004. This plan has not been implemented due to a lack offinancial resources. In an October 2003 strategic planningworkshop, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry ofEducation, Dr. Derek Sikua, assured participants that theplan is being reviewed and continues to be supported bythe government and donors. Funding for education is slatedto come from the European Union and the New ZealandAid Program (NZAid). Bilateral donors such as the Republicof China and Japan are slated to continue supportingeducation efforts in the islands.Current level ofICT access and use“Applying Information and Communication Technology toEducation in Rural Solomon Islands,” co-authored by keyplayers in the Solomon Islands ICT and education efforts,provides recent and up-to-date information. 2 It is acomprehensive and detailed overview, containing in-depthanalysis and recommendations for future ICT planning.The report states that not many statistics are available onthe penetration of ICT in education in the Solomon Islandsand identifies the need for baseline data collection. A fewsecondary schools in urban areas have computer labs andcomputer-related courses. The use of computers in theseschools seems to be guided more by far-sightedadministrators rather than an informed strategy for use anddevelopment of technology in education. Only three schools(one an elite international school in Honiara) were identifiedas having computer access and related curriculum.The two institutes of higher education operating in theSolomon Islands are the University of South Pacific (USP)Centre and the Solomon Islands College of HigherEducation (SICHE). There are plans to open a USP campusin Honiara and the university has identified the need topromote ICT usage and education for its students. The USPCentre is linked to a satellite system that offers Internetlinks, videoconferencing and other facilities, though a lackof available PCs for students renders these resourcesunderutilised. SICHE currently has no computer lab and isin a challenging financial state since the economic collapsethat followed the ethnic conflict of the past few years.The greatest use of ICT for education has been in a distancelearning project between USP and a rural community school(see below).Major initiativesPFNet is a unique project that includes a systematicevaluation effort that provides insight into the successesand challenges of bringing ICT to the Solomon Islands. Theproject was a finalist in the Stockholm Challenge 2002 andwas entered in the InfoDev ICT Story Competition 2002,two competitions that seek out the most ingenious uses oftechnology for the development of human life. It isconsidered an exemplary effort to bring ICT to rural areasto empower, educate and provide access and informationto people.Conceived and implemented by the UNDP/UNOPS project,PFNet is maintained in partnership with SIDAPP and ispart of the RDD in the Ministry of Provincial Governmentand Rural Development. PFNet has been established as anon-profit organization.The PFNet project includes three main areas: theestablishment of remote e-mail stations creating a ruralcommunication network around the islands, a related pilotproject to provide distance learning courses to rural areasand an Internet cafe in Honiara.PFNet has set up a short wave (HF band) wireless e-mailsystem aimed at promoting equity and access to rural areasin the Solomon Islands. The system has successfullyconnected islanders in remote areas and provided economicopportunity. It has promoted communication betweendispersed families, increased access to health and educationresources and created the opportunity for rural islanders toconduct business and commerce with urban areas such asHoniara. The low cost to the end user of the system makesit more accessible to the average villager than radiotelephones, which are more commonly used in remotePacific islands. Research and evaluation conducted on the214

Solomon IslandsPacific Island Countriesusefulness and sustainability of these remote e-mail stationsshow a steady growth in usage and revenue. 3 Studies showan increasing demand and adoption by the rural islandersfor this type of access to ICT resources.From June to October 2002, PFNet piloted a distancelearning project at one of the remote e-mail stations. TheRural Development Volunteers Association (RDVA) inconjunction with the USP Centre in Honiara implementedthe project to train a small group to use distance learningand to evaluate the success and scope for distance educationefforts in the future. The Sasamungga Community HighSchool site was equipped with two laptops to conduct thistrial. Nineteen students were trained in using the computersfor basic productivity skills and for online communicationpurposes. RDVA assisted with training and supervision atthe site and collected data on the project’s effectiveness.E-mail was the primary means of communication, allowingstudents to interact with tutors immediately rather thanthrough the unreliable mail system. Students submittedassignments and sought assistance from tutors via e-mailand used Wavemail (an e-mail–based interface for searchingfor information on the World Wide Web) to conductresearch. The overall results of the trial were positive, withstudents successfully completing their courses and feelingenabled to use computers for distance-based education. Adetailed analysis of participants’ experience can be foundin “Applying Information and Communication Technologyto Education in Rural Solomon Islands.” 4A major goal of the project was to determine whether thismodel would indeed lead to better access to distancelearning courses. The intention was to provide informationthat would allow the USP to develop courses designedtowards delivery via e-mail. Researchers tracking the projectto collect evaluation data on its effectiveness presented theirresults at a September 2003 National Education Conference.Overall, the project was judged successful and there arehopes of being able to broaden it to a national level iffunding can be secured.The third prong of PFNet is an Internet cafe based inHoniara. This cafe provides access to computers and theInternet as well as training classes for the general public(see below). Though the cafe generates a steady income, itis not yet self-sustaining, partly because of the high cost ofoverseas-sourced technical support. The operating costs aredefrayed by donor funding, which has been inconsistentdue to a lack of international confidence resulting frompolitical instabilities in the nation.Examples of trainingAlong with access to computers, the Internet cafe providesnon-formal computer and Internet training courses tointerested individuals and organizations. These classes aregeared towards those who want to learn practical computerskillsand are open to people without previous computerexperience. Classes include Introduction to BasicComputing, Introduction to Microsoft Word and E-mail andInternet Training.Additionally, PFNet provides training to people in the ruralareas where the e-mail stations are set up. Research studieshave been conducted to see how these remote stations areused by communities. In a random sample of those surveyed,64 per cent said someone in their families had used thestation and 38 per cent had used the system themselves.Both men and women use the system, with the percentagebreakdown being fairly balanced between genders in asociety where women may traditionally have less access tothese sorts of initiatives.The ICT working group, formed as a result of the February2003 ICT Strategy Building Workshop, has obtainedfunding for a Youth Focal Point and Computer ResourceCenter. Trainings at this centre will be targeted towardsstudents who need access to computers and the Internet,especially those who need these resources to access tertiaryeducation opportunities. The centre will provide affordableaccess and computing facilities where students can doresearch and complete assignments, learning computer andtechnology skills in the process.Details on computer training for government ministryofficials, RDVA volunteers, PFNet staff and rural operatorsof e-mail stations are available in a 2003 report. 5 Computertraining was provided as appropriate on a range of skillsfrom basic computer to e-mail usage to web page designand website maintenance.Constraints onthe use of ICTThe greatest challenges faced by the Solomon Islands areinternal instability and unrest. The related economic crisishas left the islands in dire straits financially to proceed withdevelopment efforts in all sectors.The lack of a national strategy is identified as one mainchallenge to the development of ICT in education. Withouta national strategy for ICTs, the Solomon Islands have nomeans to systematically build the local capacity or humanresources needed to lead, implement and support the growthof ICT. A vicious cycle of a lack of awareness of ICT in thedevelopment of the nation leads to a lack of policy andprogress in this arena. In turn, this perpetuates a gap inunderstanding of how to create policies towards ICTinfusion in educational curriculum at all levels.Experts are disappointed that a recent draft of the NationalEconomic Recovery and Development Plan (NERDP) does215

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationnot include a blueprint for a national informationcommunication technology network. In a September 2003interview for Radio Australia’s On Location Pacific show,David Leeming, technical advisor to PFNet, discusses theneed to see ICT more integrated in the existing draft of theNERDP, to make it a strong force in rural access anddevelopment.Other constraints to setting up ICT are the isolated natureof villages scattered over large geographical distances. Muchof the population is far from urban centres, where they mightget access to and training on technologies. Utilities such aselectricity and telephones are not to be taken for granted. Inaddition rural ICT requirements differ from urban ICTrequirements. Providing and maintaining equipment to ruralareas will require special attention.AnalysisPFNet’s extensive work, experience and evaluation of usingICT in rural areas for distance learning and practical trainingprovide the best base on which to plan future ICT efforts inthe Solomon Islands.PFNet’s reports on results of trials show an enthusiasm anddesire on the part of participants in their various projects touse ICT to gain access to education and consequently tomore opportunities. Distance education is both a practicaland necessary means to build capacity in the SolomonIslands. Recent experience with PFNet’s trial efforts showsthat the outlook for using this means of education is positiveand possible.A study to keep track of in the upcoming year is the USPledproject that will conduct further in-depth research onthe impact of the PFNet system. The project aims to studythe existing five e-mail stations and identify the factors thataffect the uptake of services and the appropriation of thesystem by the community. The result of the study is slatedto be available in early 2004 and will likely inform futureexpansion of the ICT in rural areas of the Solomon Islands.This research and related developments will be key lessonsto heed in extending ICT efforts for rural schools and forproviding ICT training to school-aged youth in the SolomonIslands.In September 2003, a workshop on distance education coordinatedby a European Union consultant brought togetherall major stakeholders and funding sources that will havean impact on the development of ICT in education in theSolomon Islands. The aims of the workshop were to fosterdialogue on distance education and develop co-ordinationof distance learning initiatives for the nation. Onerecommendation of this workshop was the creation of theNational Co-ordinating Committee for Distance Educationto be established by the Ministry of Education.While there are many challenges to creating a sustainablefuture for ICT in education in the Solomon Islands, therehave been successes worth pursuing. ICT can supportdevelopment efforts, providing income-generatingopportunities to those who live in rural and poverty-strickenareas. The Solomon Islands will also benefit from buildingits local capacity and training youth to become future leadersand policy-makers in a globally connected marketplace.Future efforts to develop ICT in education and training inthe Solomon Islands will be well served by leveraging thelessons learned and consensus built by the ICT-relatedstakeholder groups already operating in the SolomonIslands. The PFNet and now the newly formed NationalCo-ordinating Committee for Distance Education are twoimportant groups to collaborate with in bringing ICT intoeducational efforts for the Solomon Islands.NOTES1 E. Stork, D. Leeming and R. Biliki. “Electronic Journal onInformation Systems in Developing Countries” (Solomon IslandsICT workshop report, 2003) 1-18.2 D. Leeming, R. Biliki, M. Dennis et al. “Applying Information andCommunication Technology to Education in Rural SolomonIslands” (2003), www.peoplefirst.net.sb/downloads/SICHEPFnetSept03.zip.3 See note 2 above.4 See note 2 above.5 D. Leeming and R. Biliki, R. “People First Network, the SolomonIslands’ Rural E-mail Network for Peace and Development: Finalreport” (2003), www.undp.org.fj/documents/ICT4DEV/PFnet_Final_Report.pdf.216

Democratic Republic ofTimor - LesteICT USE IN EDUCATIONPRELNational policies, strategies andprogrammesTimor-Leste is the newest nation of the 21st century, formed whenits people voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesiain 1999. In the months that followed the independence vote, theIndonesian-backed militia that had occupied East Timor left thecountry, destroying 90 per cent of the existing infrastructure.This state, borne in conflict and torn apart by violence, is in thenascent stages of rebuilding. Development of national policy and

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationreconstruction are happening in all public and private sectorswith the aid of international organizations. The UnitedNations Transitional Administration in East Timor(UNTAET) has played a lead role in the development ofnational policy and governance since the birth of this nation.The year 2002 was an important one for the country, as itadopted its first constitution, elected its first president andmade the transition from United Nations rule to completeindependence.ICT in Timor-Leste - still in its infancy as a self-governingnation – is reflective of the emergent steps being takentowards building capacity and infrastructure in all sectors.Currently, Timor-Leste is operating under a NationalDevelopment Plan, which emphasises poverty reduction andeconomic growth as its top priorities. In a May 2002 meetingof the transitional government, international financialinstitutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UNagencies, a three-year budget framework that included a 48per cent allocation of funds towards health and educationwas discussed. 1The first Ministry of Education was re-established by thetransitional government in 2001. One noted achievement ofthis government was the return to school of 240,000 studentsand 6,000 teachers in October 2001, a process aided andadministered by the United Nations. While no policy oninformation and communication technologies (ICTs) isaddressed by publications and press releases regardingTimor-Leste’s education sector, investment in technical andvocational education for older students is listed as a highpriority. The Ministry for Transport, Telecommunications,and Public Works has an information technology divisionthat is responsible for national policy on communication andtechnology. Efforts being made by this agency are detailedin the section “Major Initiatives.”Current level ofICT access and useIn the destruction that took place in 1999, public institutionssuch as schools, hospitals and offices were destroyed; 90 percent of primary and secondary schools and the entire highereducation system were demolished. Rebuilding schools hasbeen a priority of the Ministry of Education since its inceptionin 2001.There is very little proliferation of ICTs in K-12 education inTimor-Leste. With pressing challenges such as a lack ofpencils and textbooks and a shortage of people qualified toteach, technology is not seen as a priority.The US-based non-profit Fund for East Timor, anorganization involved in the rebuilding of Timor- Leste, statesthat while the school system is being rebuilt and re-establishedas compulsory for all students through grade 9, nothing isestablished to provide student training in informationtechnology. However, the desire appears to be there, asevidenced by a struggling technical school in Dili that teachesEnglish and computer skills and has 3,000 applicants perquarter for 150 openings. 2 The organization identifies howvital it is for East Timorese youth to be trained in ICT tocompete in the world market.An existing satellite radio network provided by Equal Access,a US NGO, does reach districts around Timor-Leste atcommunity centres established in the schools. At the time ofwriting, no information was available on what, if anything,this is being used for.Local universities and colleges in Timor-Leste provide aglimmer of ICT infrastructure and training in highereducation. Details on these educational initiatives are outlinedbelow.Major initiativesGovernment-related InitiativesThe Ministry for Transport, Telecommunications, and PublicWorks is spearheading the efforts to have ICT reach thepeople. Efforts are being made to set up a nationwidetelecommunication infrastructure in the 13 districts that makeup Timor-Leste. The website for the ministry describes theplans for setting up this satellite-based telecommunicationinfrastructure, noting that its main goal is to link schools andhospitals to the Internet to provide telemedicine and distancelearning opportunities. Their website also mentions plans foran Internet Academy intended to train people in using suchresources.University-level initiativesThe National University of Timor Lorosa’e (UNTL) openedfor classes in November 2000. When the university firstopened “there was no accessible library, no administrativeinfrastructure, no phone network, no IT system, no Internet,no photocopiers, no fax machines, no audiovisual equipmentor other basic teaching equipment; each faculty shared a bareclassroom with a few old tables and chairs and a singlesecondhand computer.” 3The university has plans to set up a computer lab with Internetaccess, so that students can learn some rudimentarycomputing skills that will help them get jobs and aid them intheir research. Currently, UNTL does not offer courseworkin the information technology field, but in their long-rangeplans they plan to offer media and communications courses.UNTL is also building the nation’s first library. The universityand its library are seen as vital to the reconstruction of Timor-Leste, providing training to the nation’s future teachers, publicservants and leaders. The library houses 35 computers, twoservers and other information technology equipment. Its one218

Timor-LestePacific Island Countriesuninterrupted power supply is inadequate to protect theequipment from power surges and electrical failures; thus,the UNTL is soliciting donations for various hardware andsoftware. They are also seeking help from qualified ICT staffwho may be willing to train local staff to maintain and managethe network. 4NGOs and Other Aid OrganizationsSeveral international organizations are working oneducation efforts and partnering with local agencies inTimor-Leste, including UNTAET, the United NationsChildren’s Fund (UNICEF), Asia Pacific DevelopmentInformation Programme (APDIP) and the previouslymentioned Fund for Timor-Leste. UNICEF is looking atgender equity issues in addressing girls’ education, tryingto ensure that curriculum does not relegate girls to onlyhave access to predetermined roles. APDIP and UNTAETare working with government ministries to set upeducational infrastructures that include planning for ICTs.the future. For instance, along with teaching andclassroom management skills, teachers requestedlessons in computing skills. 5Swineburne University of Technology. In 2002, agroup from Swineburne University of Technologyin Victoria travelled to East Timor to find out how toset up a communication project geared towardsproviding Internet access for students with thesupport of rotary organizations in Australia. 6The group visited the teachers college in Baucau toget an understanding of the existing scenario.According to Amiguet, “the project may be delayeduntil communications in the country are properlyestablished.” While no follow-up information wasavailable on the web about the progress of this effort,one person in the group planned to return to Timor-Leste to train nuns at the Catholic school to usecomputers so they could in turn teach students.The Fund for East Timor is exploring the most effectiveways to create a core of experts who will be able to guidethe efforts toward ICTs in education. The hope is that thiscore group will train others, see to the wiring of the schoolsand assist in the other ICT needs of the country.Examples of trainingAlong with the UNTL, several international aidorganizations, NGOs and universities are playing a role intraining and developing Timor-Leste’s teacher capacity andeducation system. Some of these initiatives include ICTfacilities and intentions of building capacity in this area. Teachers College in Baucau. A Catholic teacherscollege in Baucau has been in formation since late2000. This college is an initiative of the MaristBrothers in Australia. Australian Catholic University(ACU) is a part of this project, providing staff toassist in the development of the college and in onsitetraining. The teachers college houses a trilinguallibrary and computer centre.A teacher trainer from ACU describes her experienceworking with teachers in each district to provideclasses and work with local committees associatedwith the opening of the college. She describes thedifficulties of reaching teachers in remote schools,the legwork necessary to bring teachers together(without the benefit of telephone and fax to reachthem at their schools) and the adjustments she learnedto make when she realised the irrelevance of someof her assumptions about teaching in this new culturalcontext. She concludes that there is definiteenthusiasm amongst teachers to learn things that theymay not immediately use, but that they may use inTechnical Colleges. According to the UNTAET PressOffice, more than 700 primary schools, 100 juniorsecondary schools, 40 preschools and 10 technicalcolleges are currently functioning in Timor-Leste. 8If the technical school in Dili that has 20 times asmany applicants as it can accept is indicative of thecountry’s interest in information technology, it seemsthese technical colleges are logical places to placeICT efforts geared towards training secondary-levelstudents.Constraints onthe use of ICTThere are four categories to the constraints on the use ofICT in Timor-Leste: resource allocation issues,infrastructure issues, human resource issues and languageissues.The most obvious challenge of using ICT in Timor-Lesteis that of resource allocation. In this poverty-strickendeveloping nation, just beginning to rebuild and recreateitself from the recent decimation that took place, thegovernment’s main focus is on addressing basic needs.Funding provided by international organizations and donorsis most often focused on essential services and basic needs.The ravaged infrastructure is the second issue. As in manydeveloping nations, utilities cannot be taken for granted.The electric power system is unreliable and has caused manydonated computers to break down, and few people knowhow to repair them. 9Another challenge is the difficulty of finding qualifiedteachers who can learn how to use ICT resources and infuse219

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationthem into education. Many teachers are under-qualified andnot formally educated. The pressing need is to train teachersin basic teaching strategies and content. The difficulty isthat teaching is not viewed as an honourable or lucrativecareer in Timor-Leste. People who do complete a high schooleducation, and even those who attend college, do so only tofind jobs abroad. The lack of a trained workforce ineducation adds challenges to training and retaining thosewho would have the language skills, technical skills,motivation and ability to use and integrate ICTs intoeducation.Finally, the existence of multiple languages createschallenges in teacher training efforts and materialsdevelopment. Timor-Leste’s national language, Tetum, hasthree different forms. Additionally, there are 17 indigenouslanguages and Portuguese is re-emerging after 25 years.UNICEF is advocating for local language instruction withthe introduction of Portuguese and English as foreignlanguages later in a student’s education.AnalysisIn reports on Timor-Leste and in narratives written by aidworkers and volunteers who have travelled there, a commonthread emerges: the East Timorese place much value oneducation and the enthusiasm of teachers to obtain training.A visiting faculty member who spent a semester teaching atthe teachers college in Baucau states, “Some [Timor-Lesteteachers] have worked for many years in schools with hardlyany training at all. But they have plenty of enthusiasm forlearning and improving the quality of education in their newlyrestored country.” 10 Another visiting teacher trainer writes ofthe engagement and enthusiasm of teachers who came to hisworkshops on science and math strategies, eager to absorbwhatever information they could get. These anecdotes indicatethat teachers will likely be eager to learn and use ICTresources, given the opportunity.Some recommendations follow on where ICT developmentefforts in East Timor may be well placed.Reaching teachers through existing centres oflearning: A logical place to focus ICT efforts is thecentres where teachers are trained, such as the NationalUniversity and the teachers’ college. These places area nexus – where funding, services, and infrastructureare currently more available or part of long-rangeplans. Bolstering existing infrastructure and providingtraining for staff who will in turn support educatorswill lend itself to more sustainability than diffuseefforts that are harder to follow up and support.Training technical staff in key locations: The UNTLLibrary Project identifies the need for training ICTstaff to maintain and manage a network, establish aNOTESmultimedia centre and train other local staff to createa sustainable network. 11 Its website is definitive onwhat skills and supports are needed to develop localICT capacity.Needs assessment on most useful areas for ICT intraining: A needs assessment on the key areas thateducators could use ICTs in their skills developmentwould inform planning. For example, teachers areapparently eager to develop English language skillsin hopes of increasing their access to further educationeither at the university in Dili or at the teachers’ college.Technology and telecommunication can be vehiclesto provide these sorts of training, using interactivemultimedia and distance learning resources/courses(when the communication and computinginfrastructures allow).Reaching East Timorese youth: Schools in Timor-Leste seem to face many challenges, and introducingcomputers into schools will be a difficult task giventhe current realities. Providing exposure and access tocomputers for Timor-Leste’s youth today will requirecreative strategies that extend beyond the school.Programmes that give students the opportunity to learnand use computing resources should not place theburden of maintenance and training on alreadyoverextended teachers who do not themselves havethe adequate resources or training to properly introducestudents to computing. After-school or communitybasedprogrammes using mobile labs and trained staffdedicated to the project may be a first step in exposingTimor-Leste’s youth to the computing resources thatthey will one day be expected to use proficiently aspart of their citizenship in the global society.1 “Donors Applaud East Timor’s National Development Plan” (EastTimor Government, UNTAET and the World Bank, 2002), http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/eap/eap.nsf/Attachments/DDM+final+press+release/$File/DDM+-+PR+-+15-05-02.pdf.2 See Fund for East Timor, www.fundforeasttimor.com3 “Post Independence: East Timor’s new national university is seen asthe country’s hope for the future” (UNTL Library Project, 2002),www.untl.labor.net.au/university_history/post_independence.html.4 “What Supplies UNTL Needs Most – Index” (UNTL LibraryProject, 2003), www.untl.labor.net.au/need/.5 M. Beck, “Sharing Teacher Education in East Timor – Crossing theboundary and walking the walk” (2002), www.aare.edu.au/02pap/bec02221.htm.6 V. Amiguet, “Swineburne Makes a Difference, Rotary Down Under433 (2002): 10-11.7 See note 6 above, p. 11.8 UNTAET Press Office, “Fact Sheet 14: Education” (2002),www.un.org/peace/etimor/fact/fs14.PDF.9 See note 6 above.10 M. Kerjean, “Conversation: Teaching teachers in a land of optimism- Frances O’Keeffe, teacher,” The Catholic Weekly, (30 June 2002),www.catholicweekly.com.au/02/jun/30/16.html.11 “Training and Support Needs: An ongoing training and supportprogram is needed to assist the UNTL librarians in Dili.” (UNTLLibrary Project, 2002), www.untl.labor.net.au/training/needs.html.220

TongaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONSituated north of New Zealand, Tonga comprises about 150 islandswith a land area of 748 square kilometres. Only 36 of the islandsare inhabited. The main islands are Tongatapu (location of thecapital Nukualofa, seat of Parliament and main commercial centre),Vava’u, Haapai and Eua. The population of 102,321 (2002) speakTongan and English. Politically the country is a monarchy with aParliament that comprises nobles and representatives of the people.The currency unit is the Tonga Paanga.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationTonga has over 100 primary and secondary schools thatprovide compulsory education between the ages of 6 and14years. Tertiary institutions include the Teachers’ College,the University of the South Pacific (USP) Centre and AtenisiUniversity. The Community Training Centre providescommunity vocational training programmes. Tonga is amember of the regional USP, and hence it is part of theprivately owned satellite system called USPNet.National policies, strategiesand programmesThere does not seem to be an information andcommunication technology (ICT) policy in place, either fornational purposes or for education, even though Tonga is amember of the Pacific Islands ICT Policy and Strategic Plan(PIIPS) accord signed by the ICT ministers of the regionrecently. However, there have been discussions on this issuebetween the Ministry of Education and the Central PlanningDepartment. Under the Tonga Government StrategicDevelopment Plan 2001–2004, the following ICT itemsrelate to education:Development of ICT curriculum for secondary andtertiary education levels – a planned pilot ICT projectat the primary level was not implemented due to alack of funding;Computer training programmes – planned but notimplemented due to lack of funding; andICT strategic plan – implementation beingundertaken with AusAID funding.Current level ofICT access and useTelecom Infrastructure and ConnectivityThere are two telecommunication organizations in Tonga:Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC) and ShorelineCommunications (Tonfon).TCC consists of two components: terrestrial lines (copper)and wireless (U-call mobile). The copper wires coverTongatapu and some parts of Vava’u, Ha’apai and ‘Eua. U-call covers the whole of Tonga, mainly Tongatapu, Vava’u,Ha’apai and ‘Eua. U-Call had about 4,000 subscribers inApril 2003.The local Internet service provider (ISP) is under TCC andat one stage was a monopoly (Kalianet). It covers mainlyTongatapu with a dial-up subscriber base of around 1,500at present. The ratio of the number of dial-ups per modemis around 16:1.Tonfon is a mobile service that competes with U-call. Ithas over 10,000 subscribers.Internet AccessThere are other Internet cafe services available inNuku’alofa now, due to the cheap rates offered by TCC.However, local telephone call charges still apply. Tonfoncompetes for the service to businesses but is not competitivein the home market. The Internet cafes offer access atdifferent rates depending on the ISP used. A few of thecomputer/office equipment suppliers/distributors alsoprovide Internet access to the public at competitive charges.Most of the high schools have Internet access for studentsand are connected via dial-up. One high school has adedicated line to its Internet connection. Only one primaryschool is connected.At the tertiary level, the USP Tonga Centre, which is partof the USPNet satellite network, is linked to other USPmember countries. Through this link the distance andflexible learning programme of the university enablesstudents to access courses by video broadcast and Internet,as well as being supported through audio conferencing andvideo conferencing sessions that use WebCT. Some of theprogrammes taught through USPNet are at the vocationallevel.Many people, particularly expatriates, use privately ownedsatellite dishes to receive television signals.Broadcast TechnologiesRadio is probably the technology that has the mostubiquitous effect in the community as a whole. Nearly everyhousehold has a radio, and those that do not listen to theneighbour’s. There are school programmes (at the primarylevel) that reach the rural areas. Target groups range fromprimary schools to churches, women’s development groups,sports groups and some disadvantaged groups. However,these latter programmes (except the primary schoolprogrammes) are mostly non-formal.Television is less available. There are three stations, TongaTV, OBN and Tonfon TV (a religious station). In addition,Mormon churches receive satellite TV in their churchcentres throughout Tonga. There are no educationalprogrammes broadcast via TV, as yet. However, t heUNITEC Royal Tonga Institute, scheduled to open inFebruary 2004 as an affiliate of UNITEC Auckland, plansto broadcast tertiary education programmes via TV nextyear. (UNITEC is a tertiary institution in Auckland, NewZealand, that offers certificates, diplomas and degrees.)222

TongaPacific Island CountriesTable 1: Internet access and use in educationPrimarySecondaryVocationalTeachers' CollegeAccessUsageVerylimitedVerylimitedMost schools have ICTaccess but to what extentneeds further investigationMost schools use ICT but theextent needs furtherinvestigation• Government-owned Community DevelopmentCentre has access• Tupou High School (THS) has a diplomaprogramme in affiliation with a New Zealandtertiary education provider• Usage is very limited at both THS andCommunity Development CentrePoor –labno computerUsage is limited –probably due to lack ofICT trainingMajor initiativesA major success is the founding of the National ICT Society(NICTS) – the first and only independent non-governmentICT body in the Kingdom. NICTS has just received itscertificate of registration with the Ministry of Labour,Commerce and Industries, as a non-governmentalorganization (NGO). This enables it to become operationalalong the lines of its constitution and should therefore beable to offer its services for the improvement of the ICTsituation in the country.NICTS aims to improve the use of ICT in education bybrokering partnerships with government in terms of aligningICT curriculum with local ICT needs and internationaltrends, and by brokering partnerships with teachers so thatthey share their experience and resources and use the NICTSas a hub for accessing ICT resources they do not have. Infact, this project is being looked at and there are talks offorming a teachers’ ICT association (perhaps under NICTS).Currently, NICTS is seeking funding for conducting studiesof ICT training gaps. One of NICTS projects for 2004 isthe development of ICT resources based on the studiesconducted. Also, NICTS plans to have participativepartnerships with private businesses to provide employmentthrough meeting local ICT requirements. In turn, NICTSintends to liaise with the Education Department and promotethe alignment of current ICT curriculum with those needs.It is also planned that NICTS will train people in the villageson how to run a telecentre and the technical side ofmaintaining computers and other electronic equipment.They would also get training in web surfing, e-mail, MSWord, Excel, etc., so they can teach villagers and helpstudents in the village with their homework.Central Planning Department is pushing forComputer Science to be a compulsory subject in thenational secondary school syllabus.In the past three years, the Peace Corps hasestablished telecentres in Tongatapu and Vava’u, butsustainability is a major problem.The Tonga Royal School of Science is operating inits new location at the Touliki navy base. Thisprovides Internet access as well as access to PCs forgeneral use. Because of its distance from the vicinityof the town centre, the main users of that service arepeople in the military.Examples of trainingICT training on software usage is provided at TupouHigh School. This involves para-professional trainingin computing (database, spreadsheet, informationsystems – software and web development).At the USP Centre, there are short courses (12-weekduration) on Microsoft application packages.Teachers’ College provides training for teachers toteach ICT at the secondary level.ICT in Teachers’ College was only introduced in2002. According to one ICT teacher there, the majorconstraint is the lack of facilities as there is nocomputer lab in place. There is also a great need fortraining. Despite these limitations, teachers havebegun to teach ICT at form 4 and above.Other initiatives include the following:Radio is being used for non-formal educationalprogrammes particularly in rural areas.223

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationConstraints onthe use of ICTPolicy-makers are not ICT experts and lack theknowledge and insights on ICT matters that shouldbe considered in shaping ICT policy.AnalysisAccess and affordability on Tongatapu appears to be partlyaddressed by the ISPs now operating. However, in theschools, there appears to be a need to provide a guidingpolicy, and with that, an ICT curriculum for teachingthroughout the different levels of education.The cost of access impedes ICT development.The lack of training is a further constraint, as are theunco-ordinated efforts of providers.Access to and usage of ICT in rural areas is low asindicated in the low usage of Peace Corps telecentres.There is a lack of information about the state of ICTaccess and usage not only in education but also atnational level.The cost of hardware in the first instance remains aninhibiting factor – thus the initiative of telecentres seems tobe a positive move. The placing of some equipment in onelocation for the access of village dwellers will provideaccess. However, perhaps the low usage is due to the lackof skills so some training is certainly needed and NICTSseems to be moving along these lines.With the establishment of the NICTS, there seems to be aconscious effort to address the ICT situation in Tonga. Thelack of national and educational policies seems to be adrawback that the NICTS plans to address.224

TuvaluICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONTuvalu comprises nine coral atolls with a land area of 26 squarekilometres. The islands are spread over 1.3 million square kilometresof sea. The population of 10,838 (2002 figure, growth rate of 1.41per cent) is Polynesian, and largely bilingual (Tuvaluan andEnglish).Eight of the nine atolls are inhabited. The main atoll is Funafutiwhere Parliament sits, and which has the government departmentheadquarters, the main primary school, the one hotel, the only

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationairstrip and the main commercial centre that comprises thebank, the co-operative wholesale society shop and a fewother shops. The other major island is Vaitupu where themajor secondary school, Motufoua, is located. The othersecondary school, Fetuvalu, is owned by the Tuvalu churchand located on Funafuti. There are 10 primary schools, twoon Funafuti (one of which is operated by the Seventh DayAdventist church) and one on each of the other islands.Tuvalu is an independent state and a member of theCommonwealth. The Tuvalu economy is based on licensingof fishing vessels, remittance from Tuvaluans livingoverseas and, recently, the selling of the domain name “.tv”to a US-based company. The currency used is the Australiandollar. Tuvalu is a member of the regional University of theSouth Pacific (USP), and hence it is part of the university’sprivately owned satellite system called USPNet.National policies, strategiesand programmesThe Tuvalu National information and communicationtechnology (ICT) policy is in draft form. Negotiations withstakeholders are still underway. It is anticipated that whensufficient information has been collected, endorsement ofthe policy will be sought with implementation expected by2004. The Tuvalu Policy Vision is “Information andCommunication Technologies for every Tuvaluan Citizen.”It follows the guiding principles outlined in the PacificIslands Information and Communication TechnologiesPolicy and Strategic Plan – a regional ICT strategy agreedand signed by the Communication Ministers of eachrespective Forum country member. For Tuvalu, theseprinciples are:ICT will be used to inform and connect Tuvalucitizens and ensure that they benefit from flexibleand appropriate education and training.Appropriate ICT infrastructure will supportdevelopment for Tuvalu Islands.Easy access to information through ICT willstrengthen co-operation between stakeholders toensure good governance, to develop the privatesector and to improve service delivery.ICT policies and regulations will be appropriateto the people and culture of Tuvalu.Strategies to implement the aspects of the ICT policy whichare relevant to education include promoting greaterawareness of ICT, developing and retaining aknowledgeable workforce in ICT, developing andmaintaining training policies and programmes to ensure ICTresources are properly managed, providing equal access toICT, developing ICT infrastructure to promote universalaccess, addressing affordability of ICT technology andcontinually evaluating ICT plans and its impacts. Table 1shows specific strategic plans relevant to education.Other planned strategies include consultation with a widerange of stakeholders, developing exchange and vocationalprogrammes by the education sector, incorporating genderissues and developing community awareness programmesto maximise benefits and minimise adverse social impacts.There are also plans to review communication tariffregulations to maximise benefits to communities.Current level ofICT access and useConnectivity, Telephones, FacsimileThe Tuvalu telephone infrastructure at the moment is a cablenetwork. Subscribers with Internet accounts dial in forconnection. Since there is a limited number of 32 linesavailable for home Internet connection, this system operateson a first-come, first-served basis. This is insufficient andthus most people go back to their offices after working hoursto surf the Internet.Table 1: ICT plans for educationActivitiesIdentifiableactorsDeadlineBuildICT into school curricula at all levelsTrainteachers/trainersInstallICT in schoolsCreateInternet cafésEducationMinistry2004Institutions2003EducationMinistry2003Governmentand business2003226

TuvaluPacific Island CountriesFax communication is available and very efficient foroverseas services. However, within Tuvalu, there is alengthy wait for connections to the outer islands because ofthe limited number of available lines (two to four per island).Vaitupu has the most lines available, but even these are notsufficient to meet the needs of the public.Computer Use, Internet/World Wide Webfor Education, E-mailExcept for the USP Tuvalu Centre, all schools at all levelshave only a couple of computers for teachers to use inpreparing their teaching materials. The Internet is availablein Funafuti, but the two primary schools there have no accessdue to the high connecting fees. Most children have beenexposed to computers and the Internet, but there are nofacilities for hands-on experience on a daily basis. However,there is a general understanding that UNESCO will provideassistance to help connect schools throughout the country.USP students in Funafuti have access to e-mail and Internetfacilities through USPNet.Video Broadcast and Conferencing TechnologyVideo broadcast and conferencing technology is availableto USP students in Funafuti only. Students who are enrolledin the distance and flexible learning courses of the universityare able to take advantage of the USPNet system forcommunications with their lecturers and other students.Video broadcast courses enable Funafuti students to join inthe lectures that are being delivered on Laucala campus.Tapes of video broadcast sessions and audio conferencetutorials are available for Funafuti and outer island studentson request to the Suva headquarters of the university.Broadcast TechnologiesRadio is the only broadcast technology in the country andthere is only one educational programme that is aired oncea week. This is mainly a lesson taken at the biggest primaryschool in Tuvalu (the Nauti Primary School on Funafuti),recorded and aired over Radio Tuvalu at the mentioned time.There is also an awareness programme on the coursesoffered at the USP Centre that airs fortnightly.video conference tutorials and audio tutorials with thelecturer in Fiji or Vanuatu. There are also online coursesfrom the Law programme which is based in Port Vila,Vanuatu. The next phase for Tuvalu is to make thetechnology work in the outer islands so that the USP studentsthere will benefit from the same experience as the studentsin Funafuti.Other initiatives include a survey of stakeholders by thegovernment in 2001–2002 conducted to obtain informationon public awareness and usage of computers and theInternet. Responses to the questionnaire were analysed andresulted in the formulation of the strategic plans outlinedabove.In 2002, the IT Department set up two PCs with Internetaccess in their office for the public to use for a small fee.Government civil servants also use these since not all ofthem have access to the Internet in their own offices. Aswell, the IT Department has established an onlineinformation site for Tuvalu updates. Tuvalu citizensoverseas have commended this initiative (seewww.tuvalu.tv).Examples of trainingAn ICT Expo Week was organised for the general publicbut attendance was not as high as anticipated. Again, beingunderstaffed, the IT Department was unable to fulfil theobjectives. At the moment, there are only two qualified ICTstaff assisted by an expatriate expert and a local trainee.The department also conducts basic training programmesbut their work revolves around installing and maintainingcomputers, faxes and printers.The USP Centre offers courses on computing, which isanother, albeit limited, avenue for training.Constraints onthe use of ICTThe following are some of the constraints on the use ofICT in education in Tuvalu:Major initiativesThe main initiative is USPNet, the partnership between USPand Tuvalu through the exemption made by thetelecommunication organization to allow the system tooperate privately. This 12-country satellite system has madeit possible for Tuvalu students to complete programmeswhile continuing to work and without leaving their families.The multimodal facility of the network provides differentmodes of learning experiences for the students includingLimited human resources with ICT qualificationsand limited training opportunities;ICT qualified Tuvaluans emigrate overseas due tothe lack of incentives in their work environments;Lack of government funding and other support todevelop ICT and broadcast technologies;Limited institutional ICT capacity;227

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationHigh costs of information management systems;Expensive ICT equipment and services in Tuvalu;Isolation and remoteness of the islands; andIn education, the low level of access is a great concern. Fora country that is spread over a large expanse of water,communication through modern technology must be apriority in order for the population to access informationon the Internet.Understaffed IT Department.AnalysisOnly government departments and corporations on Funafutihave access to ICT services. The outer islands as well asthe private sector cannot afford the expensive Internetconnection fees. Even most government ministries utiliseonly one or two accounts for Internet access.It is apparent, also, that there is an urgent need for adequatelytrained and more experienced personnel, as well as forfinancial assistance in the form of facilities and equipment.There are high expectations, therefore, that UNESCO willassist in improving access; this must occur if the country isto benefit from ICT.Given the scattered nature of the atolls, educational radiobroadcasting from Funafuti could be explored further.228

VanuatuICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Ruby Vaa, Ph.DINTRODUCTIONVanuatu lies northeast of Sydney, Australia, and was known as NewHebrides until 1980 when it gained independence from France andBritain. It consists of a Y-shaped chain of some 80 islands spreadover 848,000 square kilometres of sea and a total land area of 12,190square kilometres. There are active volcanoes on Tanna, Ambrym,Lopevi, and Gaua. The indigenous people are known as ni-Vanuatu.The total population of close to 200,000 (2003 estimate) speaksBislama (the national language), as well as English and French

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationwhich are the official languages and also the languages offormal education. Vanuatu has around 113 indigenousvernacular languages in current usage and the governmentrecently introduced a policy to teach the early stages ofbasic education in vernaculars, especially in rural Vanuatu.The main island is Efate where the administrative centrePort Vila is located. Other large islands with populationconcentrations are Santo (the largest), Malekula (secondlargest), Tanna, Pentecost, Erromango and Ambrym. Thecountry produces copra, fish, beef, cocoa, coffee, kava,timber and other wood products, and a limited number ofmanufactured goods. Tourism is a vibrant industry. Howeverthe subsistence sector continues to play an important rolein the overall mechanics of the economy. The nationalcurrency is the Vatu.Vanuatu is one of 12 member countries of the University ofthe South Pacific (USP), and therefore has access to thefacilities of that institution including the USP Centre onthe Emalus campus in Port Vila, Efate, and through it to theUSPNet satellite system.National policies, strategiesand programmesThe 1999 Education Master Plan identifies, in broad terms,the need to integrate technology education with generalsecondary education. It further stipulates as Action 3 inAnnex 3 the following:The government will introduce a comprehensivetechnology education programme in years 9 to 12(grade 3 to 6) of general education. The technologyprogramme should be holistic in its consideration ofmaterials, processes and systems applied totechnologies such as food, graphics, design,information and communications.Furthermore, the plan makes reference to some previousexpert consultations with New Zealand, and also to thepossibility of seeking funding assistance for furtherinformation and communication technology (ICT)developments as follows:Because of New Zealand’s experience with technologyprogrammes in its general education system and itsearlier involvement in technology issues in Vanuatu,the government will approach NZ to determine itsinterest in the programme.It is nonetheless also generally acknowledged that otherpartners, including the European Union (EU), support theidea of assisting the introduction and use of ICT in theeducation sector. This is demonstrated by a recent studyfunded by the EU to develop an “Education: Informationand Communication Technology Strategy Plan” (May 2003).Up to March 2002 there was no clear national ICT policy,but there was legislation that covers access rights, copyrightand ICT misuse. However, there was no centralised budgetfor ICT, and, according to a statement from the VanuatuBroadcasting and Television Corporation (VBTC), thegovernment is not promoting e-governance. Nevertheless,the government’s Telecom development plans aim to“increase customer access and [the] number of customers.”However, here too VBTC is skeptical stating that “thegovernment is not organised at a fiscal level to produce adevelopment plan for Internet services. Things may notdevelop in the next two years.”There is, however, some activity in government that includesbuilding up computerised services, digitising governmentdocuments, providing subsidies for computer purchases,training government officials in ICT and reinforcing ICTtraining in schools, training institutes and universities. 1,2.Current level ofICT access and useThe infrastructure in place supports telephone, facsimile,Internet access, e-mail and data transmission services.Telecom Vanuatu Ltd (TVL) (see www.tvl.net.vu), a privatesector monopoly, had 4,500 customers in 2002 and 1,020Internet customers. But with increased awareness of theneed for technology for business and education, thesecustomer numbers more than doubled in 2003. 3 TVL, jointlyowned by government, Cable and Wireless, and FranceCables et Radio, provides some regulatory services. It hasexcellent infrastructure, extensive use of solar power andprovides very good and affordable Internet connectivity. 4With its effective rural telecommunication developmentprogramme, TVL has so far equipped most major islandsof Vanuatu with telephone facilities.Wireless (mobile) telephony was introduced in 2002 anddemand for it is expanding in urban Port-Vila andLuganville. It will soon extend to other outer island centres.The rural electrification programme of the French-ownedprivate company, UNELCO, also plays a catalytic role instimulating the expansion of telecommunicationinfrastructure and, hence, the ICT development.Vanuatu has 405 primary schools, 65 secondary schools anda handful of tertiary institutions that include the Teachers’College, the Vanuatu Institute of Technology (VIT), theSchool of Nursing, the Maritime College and USP. A newCollege of Agriculture is currently being built on Santo,funded by the Peoples’ Republic of China.In 2002, between 25 per cent and 50 per cent of thepopulation had access to the Internet at home or throughtelecentres, while more than 75 per cent had access throughworkplaces, Internet cafes and government institutions.However, access through schools and public libraries is230

VanuatuPacific Island Countriesmuch lower. Again through its education-friendlyprogramme, TVL is offering the “Lagoon School” Internetpackage to schools that request it. Internet access is freeduring specified official working hours where it isavailable. 5Primary EducationThe major population centres of Port Vila in Efate island,Luganville on Espiritu Santos, Isangel on Tanna, Lakatoroon Malekula, and Longana on Ambae, have some computersavailable for administration. Primary schools are slowlyintroducing computers at the initiative of their schoolcommittees, as the meagre funding allows.Secondary EducationTo date, all government-owned and some other secondaryschools have computer laboratories, and most schools (bothprimary and secondary) use ICT facilities for administration.Post-secondary EducationThe USPNet. A satellite service for distance education isprovided through USP for students studying there. Theuniversity’s Emalus campus in Port Vila comprises the USPCentre in Vanuatu, the School of Law, and the PacificLanguages Unit. University degree, diploma and vocationalprogrammes, through both distance education and onsitecourses, are available to all eligible students throughoutVanuatu. Distance education students have access to thetele-instruction in Port Vila and it is anticipated that thesame facilities will be provided to the two subcentres inLuganville, Santo, and on Tanna, with instruction throughUSPNet (the communications network of the university).This will effectively enable Vanuatu students to complete alarge proportion of the courses for the universityprogrammes without having to attend classes on othercampuses. Negotiations between the university and TVLare underway to enable this extension of USPNet to Santoand Tanna.Meteo ICT project. A project is currently being developedfor funding by the US authorities through the meteorologyoffice to provide Internet facilities through schools andcommunities, with the aim of assisting the latter to monitorthe weather and meteorological conditions, and to providepreparedness measures in times of natural disasters.Police Crime and Disaster Management Project. Asimilar proposal, manned by the police authorities anddesigned to help maintain law and order, is in place incommunities in provincial areas with access to schools,which assist with monitoring activities.Broadcast technologies. Radio and television are widelyused in Vanuatu, but there is currently very little in termsof distance education using these modes. This is an areaneeding further study and assistance for effective use ofthese technologies for education.Major initiativesOne major initiative was the World Health Organization(WHO) project on training health workers. This involvedestablishing a computer lab to train medical personnel,beginning with distance learning for nurses. Completed inOctober 2003, the lab has 10 state-of-the art PCs, a server,web filter, and printer. Two training workshops have beenbuilt in as part of the project, the first one covering thebasics of Windows XP and the second covering intermediateapplications.Other initiatives include the following:Satellite links through the USPNet;Internet cafe available in Vila, and Luganville(Santo); andUSP Centre with its own computer labs in Vila andLuganville with Internet access. (A new lab is beingdeveloped on Tanna in collaboration with the TAFEAprovincial government council.)Examples of trainingTelecom staff have received basic, intermediate andadvanced computer training while VBTC staff haveattended journalism training workshops.The USP Centre has provided continuing educationcomputer courses for the public at large. The coursesoffered range from basic computer awareness to theuse of e-mail and Internet, PowerPoint and Publisher.More advanced professional training forprogrammers and systems administrators was alsooffered last year.The VIT also provides computer courses to the publicas part of its adult education programme.Constraints onthe use of ICTThe following constraints were identified at the start of2002: 6Lack of locally qualified technicians and systemsadministrators;Limited technical support;231

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationCost of equipment;Unreliability of power supply, poor quality of Internetconnections, high cost of telecommunications,internally and externally;Technical support for the government broadcastingsystem;Standardised technical training for government staffin applications and systems; andLack of access to telephone networks;Lack of skilled support services;Limited bandwidth; andHigh access charges.AnalysisPriority areas for Vanuatu have been identified as capacitybuildingin distance education, strategic planning for ICTin government and government-wide applications trainingin ICT. 7 A comprehensive training programme for localexperts and technicians would be helpful, as well asassistance in the following areas:NOTESCapacity-building in distance education for theMinistry of Education.1 “Internet Infrastructure and e-Governance in Pacific IslandsCountries” (UNESCO, March 2002), Appendix 15. Thisinformation was obtained from a survey of the VBTC, TelecomVanuatu Ltd, and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.2 See the Asian Development Bank report TA REG 5990“Information and Communication Technology in the Pacific”, June2002.3 See note 1 above.4 See note 2 above.5 See note 1 above.6 See note 1 above.7 See note 1 above.Community radio systems for basic skills andeducation for remote villages;232

MaldivesIndiaSri LankaNepalBhutanBangladeshmap of South Asia

South AsiaBangladesh • Bhutan • India • Maldives • Nepal • Sri Lanka

BangladeshICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Usha Vyasulu Reddi, Ph. DMs Vineeta SinhaINTRODUCTIONBangladesh is a country of deltas and rich alluvial plains in theeastern part of the Indian subcontinent. Farming, fisheries and otheragro-based industries form the backbone of the economy. Amongthe poorest of the world’s nations, Bangladesh is neverthelessgrowing steadily, and despite some instability in the political system,it has always provided a free environment for education anddevelopment.Bangladesh receives support from a large number of donor agenciesand non-governmental organizations (NGOs), some of which havepioneered the use of information and communication techonologies(ICTs) for poverty alleviation.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationThe first PCs were introduced in Bangladesh as early as1983, but there was slow growth until the 1990s when thepresence of a large number of computer dealers broughtthe technologies to mainstream society. 1ICT policies in BangladeshBangladesh has an ICT policy formulated for humanresource development (HRD) that states that the countrymust prepare itself to compete effectively in the global ICTmarket. As the demand for skilled manpower in ICT isgrowing worldwide, the country needs to produce a largenumber of ICT professionals.Specifically, policy statements endorse the need forwidespread introduction of ICT training in public andprivate educational institutions as a prerequisite forproducing skilled ICT manpower. Facilities are to be builtto promote ICT education and computer-aided educationat all levels including primary schools and madarsahs(religious schools). Donor agencies, NGOs and otherpartners will be encouraged to help build the necessarycapacity.The policy envisages that universities, institutes oftechnology and colleges, both in the public and privatesectors, shall be strengthened to produce ICT graduates fromfour-year Computer Science and/or Engineering courses.Necessary resources will be allocated to these institutions.Out of the three science and technology universities to beestablished in the fifth Five-Year Plan, one will beearmarked as a centre of excellence in ICT by giving it ahigher allocation of resources.The policy also proposes establishing multimedia institutesup to district level that will produce skilled human resourcesto exploit the opportunity offered by the growing multimediamarket. Diploma and trade courses in ICT will be offeredin both public and private institutes including polytechnics,while inservice training programmes will target theupgrading of professionals now employed in the public andprivate sectors.The policy also identifies the shortage of trained andqualified teachers and trainers for ICT education andtraining as an impediment to the HRD plan. It proposesbuilding capacity in teacher training institutions throughspecial certification and inservice programmes to upgradeskills that will create a pool of skilled trainers.Initiation of programmes that will develop quality ICTprofessionals and skilled personnel to ensure success in theglobal software and ICT-enabled services market are a partof the ICT policy too. The formal and informal sector willbe encouraged to adopt internationally accepted standardsfor training programmes.Distance education is recognised as an importantmethodology to extend the country’s limited teachingresources and to ensure quality education. To achieve itsgoals, Bangladesh proposes to invite international facultyin fields where qualified local teachers are not available.Current level of ICT accessand useThere are currently 750,000 fixed lines operated byBangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board (BTTB), witha projected demand for fixed-line service over the next fiveyears of about 3.5 million. There are now more mobile thanfixed line telephones in Bangladesh. While there are fourcompanies providing service in the mobile telephoneindustry, Grameen is the major player with a subscriber baseof 730,000. The company expects to expand this number to2 million by 2004.Utilization of ICTs in education is related to access to ICTinfrastructure and services. At present, ICT penetration isvery limited in Bangladesh, with Internet use estimated atabout 1.4 per thousand, 2 and restricted largely to the capital,Dhaka, and its surrounding suburbs. The potential forexploiting wireless-based technologies and the opportunitiesthat exist with them are great, given the ever-increasinguse of wireless telephones in the country.Major initiativesBangladesh has a high level of international donor fundingto support its developmental initiatives, with about US$1.1 billion secured in 2001. 3 There has been minimal use ofbroadcast media for education, other than the supportprovided for distance education programmes. Some of thefollowing examples of ICT use are in partnership withexternal donors.Grameen Bank 4A number of Grameen Bank (GB) members are poor womenfrom the rural areas of Bangladesh. If they choose they aregranted a revolving loan of BDT 15,000 (US$ 310) for aVillage Phone (VP) package containing a cellular phone,battery, fast charger, sign board, calculator stopwatch, userguide in Bangla and a price list for calling differentlocations. The contract requires that the loan be repaidwithin two to three years through weekly payments whileairtime charges are to be paid monthly. After being trainedto use the equipment, the women are known as VP operatorswho begin their own business enterprise by renting out themobile phones to anyone in the village who would like tomake or receive a telephone call.236

BangladeshSouth AsiaNearly 50,000 Bangladeshi women make their livingserving as Grameen “phone ladies.” The income derivedfrom the VP by the women was reported to be about 24 to40 per cent of the household total. A VP operator earns anincome of about BDT 14,400 (US$ 300) per year providingtelephone services that exceeds Bangladesh’s average percapita income of around US$ 286. 5Grameen Bank has targeted 39,346 villages to be recipientsof the Village Phone initiative.Grameen Telecom and Grameen PhoneGrameen Telecom (GTC), a non-profit organization, owns35% of the shares of Grameen Phone Ltd. (GP), a privatesector, urban cellular telephone company that was awardeda nationwide cellular licence in November 1996. GTC buysbulk airtime from Grameen Phone and passes on most ofthe savings to its Village Phone (VP) operators. GTC isusing GSM (global system for mobile communication)cellular telephone technology at the village level, takingadvantage of the GP-installed urban capacity. GP leases andoperates a 1,800 kilometre fibre-optic cable fromBangladesh Railroad, effectively providing a parallelnationwide network to the one operated by the statemonopoly, BTTB.Grameen Cybernet Ltd. 6Grameen Cybernet Ltd. commenced operations in July1996, and is currently the largest Internet service provider(ISP) in Bangladesh. It is a joint venture between theGrameen Fund and CITech Ltd., a well-known privatecomputer and information technology distributor. Thecompany boasts over 6,000 clients in various sectors,offering dial-up Internet access, technical support, webconsulting and a help desk.Grameen CommunicationsGrameen Communications is a not-for-profit organizationthat aims to increase awareness and use of the informationavailable on the Internet for improving education, research,social welfare, health and sanitation in Bangladesh. Toaccomplish these goals, Grameen Communicationsorganizes regular seminars, workshops, trainingprogrammes and projects utilising the Internet. Educational,research, social, non-governmental and governmentalinstitutes are able to exchange academic, statistical andresearch information at affordable prices.A pilot Village Computer and Internet Programme waslaunched by Grameen Communications on June 1, 1999,in Madhupur village, Tangail district. This project provideslow-cost computer training to villagers in order to improvetheir skills and employment opportunities. GrameenCommunications rents one room from the Grameen Bankbranch and has equipped it with several computers, a modemand dial-up Internet connection using a Bangladesh RuralTelecommunications Authority (BRTA) phone line.Customers are able to send e-mail messages overseas andreceive e-mail printouts. Using a scanner, customers maysend original handwritten letters or documents, and a digitalcamera is available to send photographs. Farmers havebecome interested in how the technology could help themgain information about the market conditions. The majordisadvantage at present is a very slow Internet connection.The EMIN Project 7The ICT Development Group of RADARSAT International(RSI-Canada), Versatile Mobile Systems (VMS-Canada)and Bangladesh’s Center for Environmental and GeographicInformation Services (EGIS-Bangladesh) have designed andimplemented the Environmental Monitoring InformationNetwork (EMIN) project that aims to improve planning andmanagement of water and land resources by strengtheningtwo-way information flow between local and nationalstakeholders. Improving the linkages and tools within watersector organizations will enable delivery and exchange ofrelevant information to specific users, benefitingmanagement of resources, especially at the local level.Water is central to life in Bangladesh. There has not been acentral communication channel to enable the multiplestakeholders in the water sector to be collectively involvedin the management of the resource. The EMIN projectprovides a common platform to facilitate co-managementof water resources helping to mitigate poverty through abetter understanding of the complex relationships betweenwater resources, flooding and erosion management.Community Development Library 8The Community Development Library (CDL) strives todevelop a knowledge network to facilitate the sustainable,effective, appropriate and affordable exchange of informationat local, national, regional and global levels; to provideaudiovisual services and training to NGO workers and otherbeneficiaries; to develop a video resource centre ondevelopment issues; and to bridge the communication gapthat exists between policy-makers, social developmentactivists, programme implementers and people working atthe grassroots by providing information on ideas andexperiences of innovative and sustainable developmentefforts.CDL has been providing development information servicesat the grassroots level through 25 Rural Information ResourceCenters (RIRCs). The RIRCs have library facilities and canorganize seminars, workshops, study circles, discussionmeetings and video shows to enrich people’s knowledge ondevelopment issues. RIRCs maintain a news-clipping serviceand network with local NGOs and people in the community.237

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationEach centre has an advisory committee comprised ofrepresentatives from NGOs and public bodies, as well asteachers, journalists, local government officials and culturalactivists. The committee identifies the resource materials,policy matters, priorities, potential topics and organizationswith which they would like to link. It meets monthly andprovides management support on the basis of the guidelinesto enable people in the community and NGOs to be involvedin decision-making and programme implementation. As wellit attempts to bring the centre towards self-reliance.Center for Development CommunicationA group of media activists established the Center forDevelopment Communication to facilitate communicationbetween the government and other developmentorganizations. The objective of the organization is to raiseawareness through radio, TV, printed publications,workshops, seminars, study circles and networkingactivities. To achieve their objective, the Center encouragesproduction of innovative and creative films or TVprogrammes related to children’s rights, social development,the environment and gender or development issues. Theteam is comprised of journalists, TV anchors, producers,professional photographers and graphic designers. TheCenter also provides consultancy services on publicawareness programmes for print and audiovisual media.Amader Gram 9Amader Gram is a model project of integrated ruraldevelopment achieved through capacity-building ofdisadvantaged people, conservation of biodiversity,sustainable use and mobilisation of natural resources, andencouragement of environmentally sound incomegenerationactivities.The project was founded in 1996 by a group of developmentactivists who believed that poverty could be eliminatedthrough capacity-building of poor people and sustainableuse of natural resources. Amader Gram originated out ofthis vision and is a project of the Bangladesh FriendshipEducation Society (BFES), an organization that providestechnical know-how to poor grassroots people to assist inpoverty reduction. Since 1996, Amader Gram has helpedimprove the lives of disadvantaged people in 20 villages ofthe Bagerhat (Rampal) and Khulna (Paikgacha) districts inBangladesh.Amader Gram’s programme includes creation of a villageinformation, communication and knowledge centre; acomprehensive database to preserve, update and ensurelong-term use of village resources by the community;guidelines and simple village-level monitoring indicatorsfor analysing data and information by the villagers; resourcemanpower through skills development training in ICT usesfor youth groups and adolescent girls; behavioural and skillsdevelopment training to underprivileged people through arural training programme; micro-credit support forundertaking viable income-generating activities; provisionof environmental education; homestead gardening trainingaimed at providing nutritional support; health education;and monitoring, research, publication, demonstration andreplication of its projects in other parts of the country.Examples of trainingNetwork Learning of BangladeshNetwork Learning of Bangladesh was awarded a projectfunded by Pan Asia Networking (PANASIA). The approachwas initially concentrated on a village network that had beenestablished by The Learn Foundation. The Foundation’snetwork, connected to the Shahjalal University, wascomprised of 10 schools situated in the rural area aroundSylhet, some 200 miles northeast of Dhaka. The first stagewas a feasibility study that was conducted by a team led byDr. Shahidul Alam (DRIK Multimedia, Bangladesh), andseveral international experts. As well as conducting thefeasibility study, the team was asked to considerrecommending up-to-date ICT tools and networkingsystems.Private Sector InitiativesThere are a large number of private sector computer andICT training institutes in Bangladesh, many of which arefranchises of similar institutes in India. These institutesprovide training in basic and advanced computing skills.Alumni seek employment in the industry at home or moveabroad to enter the global ICT market. Market demand fortrained personnel is great but the ability of governmentalinstitutions to meet it lags behind. The amount of allocatedpublic funds available does not match the actual costs oftraining. As well, the private sector does not findinvolvement in ICT projects an attractive investmentopportunity.Constraints on theuse of ICTConstraints affecting the use of ICTs in Bangladesh arepartly technological, but to a larger extent they result froma lack of policy formation, implementation and inter-agencyrole definition and collaboration. Constraints also exist as aresult of the variance between the need for access and theactual access, and between market demand for trainedpersonnel and the actual courses being offered.ICT penetration at primary, secondary and postsecondarylevels is very limited, with only a limited number of urban238

BangladeshSouth Asiaschools having ICT facilities available for education.Initiatives for increasing penetration are generally hamperedby a paucity of funds, as are many initiatives for creatinginformation networks in educational institutions. Take, forexample, the case of the Bangladesh National Scientific andLibrary Information Network (BANSLINK), which is notworking because of a shortage of funds.There is a huge discrepancy between market demand andthe ICT training courses being offered. On-the-job trainingis provided to a small extent, but given the limited presenceof software companies in the country, long-term training isdifficult to provide. Because of the many limitations in thesystem there is an alarming trend towards outward migrationof ICT specialists and students. 10There is exponential growth in private ICT traininginstitutions in Bangladesh. It would be an advantage to thecountry if these institutions could cater to the demand forICT training, but instead they are concentrating their effortson software development. Graduates from these institutionsprefer to seek employment outside the country, largely inthe Middle East.AnalysisInteresting opportunities for development exist inBangladesh as a result of the rapid advances in the ICTsector. For instance, if the GSM mobile phones of the“phone ladies” were replaced with a Global Packet RadioService (GPRS) system, added to a low-end computer,linked through a partnership with an ISP where connectivitycould be provided at a minimal rate, then the benefit of theconvergence of wireless technologies with the power andpotential of the Internet could be brought to villages for afraction of the current price. Add the income-generationpossibilities of e-governance or e-post activities, and aninteresting model of applying ICT for all kinds ofdevelopmental activities emerges from simple e-mail tosophisticated mobile learning.Similarly, if the technological and content developmentcapacity of the Bangladesh Open University were combinedwith the distributed transmission capabilities of BangladeshTelevision, equally innovative possibilities for usingbroadcast technologies for education could emerge.To take advantage of the synergy of such possibilities,Bangladesh requires support at all level; assistance in thedevelopment of policy frameworks, plans and blueprintsfor deployment of ICTs in education; and demonstrated bestpractices and pilot projects within the country that can bescaled up (but with sustainability as a major factor built into reduce dependence on donor funding and support).ICT infrastructure needs to be built up or created to providethe springboard for further use. There is also need for acomprehensive regulatory, financial and environmentalpolicy to support the use of ICTs. Currently, the lack ofhigh-speed Internet access, the poor telecommunicationinfrastructure, the lack of a legal and financial environmentto support e-commerce and the inexperience in catering tothe global software market all limit use of ICTs in thecountry. At the same time, a clearer role definition of thepublic and private sectors in development, including publicprivatepartnerships should be developed. Recognition ofthe importance of the private-sector role has to be given sothat its contribution becomes greater. For example, privatesectorrepresentation is allowed on the BangladeshTelecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) asoutlined in the original plan and intent, but somehow thishas been overlooked. Currently, there are ninecommissioners on the BTRC who are all retired BTTBemployees or government officials.There is also a critical need for intervention at the policylevel through a series of policy dialogues among legislatorsand parliamentarians who are responsible for effective andproactive legislation. Bureaucrats and government officialsneed to become familiar with the potential of ICTs forserving educational needs through exposure to best practicesin other similar countries. As important as exposure to thetechnologies is, exposure to governance practices in an ICTenabledsociety is perhaps more so, so that there can be abetter balance between the potential of technologies andtheir actual application and implementation.NOTES1 From UNDP Human Development Report, 2003.2 See note 2 above.3 See www.telecommons.com/villagephone/gbfamily.html.4 See www.grameenphone.com.5 See www.citechco.net.6 See www.ictdevgroup.com.7 See www.cdlbangladesh.org.8 See www.bfes.net/projects/projects.html.9 See www.bfes.net/projects/projects.html.10 From Tech Bangla Survey 2000.239

240UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education

BhutanICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Usha Vyasulu Reddi, Ph.D.Ms Vineeta SinhaINTRODUCTIONBhutan has only recently emerged from a long self-imposed policyof isolation from the rest of the world. King Jigme Singye Wangchukrelinquished absolute power in 1998 to rule in tandem with thegovernment, an assembly and a royal advisory council (includinglocally elected members). Now under a policy of limitedmodernisation, Bhutan is tentatively acquainting itself with outsideinfluences in all areas of activity in general and information andcommunication technologies (ICTs) in particular.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationIncreased globalisation has been a double-edged sword forBhutan as the government faces the problem of risingunemployment for Bhutan’s well-educated and youngpopulation. Education has meant that the young Bhutaneseare no longer satisfied with the traditional engagement withagriculture, and the need for new avenues of developmenthas assumed importance.Bhutanese radio broadcasting, begun in 1973, is owned andoperated by the state-owned Bhutan Broadcasting Service(BBS). BBS radio broadcasts 12 hours per day and gives adaily news bulletin in four languages. First introduced in1999, television is aired to the Bhutanese via BBS (twohours per day in Dzongkha and English) and through anumber of competing cable operators. BBS television iscurrently limited to residents of Bhutan’s capital Thimpu,but it has plans to become a national service. Bhutan hasno private terrestrial television or radio services.that trained people are needed to do that. The policystates that all the communication would be doneelectronically, and to provide e-governance servicesto the people, information management and contentdevelopment is required. The plan therefore calls forcapacity-building with a priority for employees, highschool dropouts and unemployed youth. The ICTtraining centres and schools are the main providersfor this type of training. The Royal Institute ofManagement (RIM) and Sherubtse College havebeen producing ICT graduates, but the number is stillnot sufficient to meet the public and the privatedemands.Regulations, guidelines and legislation: It isimportant to institute a system of e-government andto enact legislation to enable the necessary changesto the way the government operates.Internet came to Bhutan in 1999. Druknet, Bhutan’s onlyInternet service provider (ISP), was initially conceivedpurely as a domestic e-mail service, keeping Bhutan sealedoff from the rest of the world; but the king then decided togive Bhutanese citizens limited access to the World WideWeb.Master planThe ICT master plan for Bhutan was prepared soon afterthe introduction of Internet in 1999. The Department ofInformation and Technology (DIT) was set up under theMinistry of Communications. The master plan, known asBITS (Bhutan IT Strategy), 1 takes several key issues intoconsideration:Public access and awareness: Public access pointsshould be established throughout the country,accompanied by a promotional and awarenessprogramme to inform the public about the benefitsof ICT.Private sector development: The governmentshould encourage the establishment of ICTcompanies, computerisation of private businesses,export of ICT services and the development of e-commerce.Current level ofICT access and useInfrastructure: Infrastructure development toimprove national telecommunications and establishdata networks in all government departments isneeded. A sound infrastructure is also necessary toenable ISPs to increase in number and improveservices. Currently teledensity is only 2.2 per cent,lower than the average for low-income countries. Asurvey in 2001 reported that there were 2,550computers in total, the majority of them owned bycorporations. 2Institutional arrangements: Government bodiesmust co-ordinate and regulate ICT-related activities.The DIT was established to promote ICT in thecountry, while the Bhutan Telecom Authority hasresponsibility for telecommunication services. Thepolicy planning division of the ministry providespolicy guidance and directions.Human resources and training: The RoyalGovernment of Bhutan wishes to facilitate electroniccommunications for all citizens, and it recognisesICT access and use is still very limited in Bhutan. Bothradio and television are limited to the capital and itssurroundings. Teledensity figures show Internet access at amere 7.4 per 1,000 in 2000, 3 showing that there is much tobe done. Despite the aim of DrukNet (Bhutan’s major ISP)to provide access to all of Bhutan’s Internet users with thehope that more schools, businesses and government officesgo online, access has been limited by the high cost ofInternet usage. Consequently, the use of the Internet in theschool system is negligible. Clearly, the primary challengefor ICT use in education is to create an enablingenvironment.Major initiativesProviding access and capacity-building among potentialproducers and users of content are the two areas in whichinitiatives and interventions in ICT can be categorised.242

BhutanSouth AsiaBuilding a Networked NationE-mail and e-post: A project supported by theUniversal Postal Union, InternationalTelecommunications Union and Bhutan Post andTelecom is intended to bring e-mail and e-postservices to post offices. The project envisages theestablishment of simple kiosks in 38 postal outletswith about half of them in remote and isolated areas.Each household or individual will be issued a uniquee-post address that will enable them to walk in toany of the 38 post offices to send and receive mail.Since printing of messages is done at the local postoffice near the point of delivery, e-post messages canbe delivered quickly. Bhutan Telecom will providethe communication access from local exchanges. 4PAN Bhutan: The main objective of this project isto build a national intranet infrastructure and provideinternational e-mail access. Both intranet andinternational e-mail will be provided as publicservices alongside the existing telephone servicesprovided by the Division of Telecommunications.The project will develop a national intranetcomprising a central server and gateway point inThimphu with local points of access in initially twoother locations in the country. Intranet services atthe domestic level will include e-mail, computerconferencing and document-handling based on theWorld Wide Web technology. The international e-mail gateway will be accessible to users of thenational intranet service. The project will buildtraining capacities within the Division ofTelecommunications on networking technologies tomanage and expand the network. It will also buildtraining capacities within the Royal Institute ofManagement to provide training in intranet and e-mail services to the wider community includinggovernment, research and business. It will providedirect assistance to certain research and developmentinstitutions to become connected with the network,and will establish a content-development functionto serve the needs of those institutions in line withthe Pan Asian Networking (PAN) Program of IDRC. 5Multipurpose Community Telecentre (MCT) atJakar: Bhutan Telecom established a telecentre atJakar in central Bhutan with ITU and United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) assistance in1998 as a pilot project. The telecentre has beenparticularly successful in providing basic informationtechnology training to over 450 people. The secondphase of operations envisages the support ofUNESCO in converting the Jakar telecentre into acommunity multimedia centre where Internet accessis coupled and integrated with broadcastingprogramme production to maximise the informationservices accessible to the local community. Themedia production centre will take advantage oftelecommunication facilities available at the MCTto deliver locally produced content for daily radioand television broadcast offered by the BhutanBroadcasting Service (BBS). Combining the mediaproduction centre and the MCT would enable BBSto offer more participatory programmes, besidesusing content based on the regular field visitsconducted in central Bhutan. The media productioncentre is expected to eventually introduce localbroadcasts through its own transmitter. Suchbroadcasts would include regular radio-browsingprogrammes to promote rural access to the Internetthrough the Jakar MCT.Radio-browsing programmes: Bhutan is served bythe state-sponsored Bhutan Broadcasting System(BBS). Its main objective is to inform, educate andentertain the public. With low literacy and a smallpercentage of electrical grid coverage, radio is a verypopular medium. Internet was introduced to Bhutanin 1999 but it has been restricted to urban areas. In2000 UNESCO sparked the idea of radio-browsingprogrammes to provide information from the Internetto the disadvantaged and illiterate people and toincrease awareness of new ICTs.Building Capacities and CompetenciesSeveral initiatives have been undertaken, with support fromvarious donors, to increase the pool of people in Bhutanwho have the requisite skills to bring the government’s planto reality. The following are examples of these initiatives:UNITeS programme: The United NationsInformation Technology Service (UNITeS), incollaboration with the UN volunteer service, has beenproviding support for the integration of ICT withingovernment, part of which involves the provision ofinformation to the public. The volunteers are part ofthe UNITeS team and work in the context of anoverall project sponsored by the Government ofJapan, focused on institutional strengthening andtraining. In addition to the work they do inimplementing systems, they also train master trainerswho train others in ICT-related skills and knowledge. 6Building capacities in intranet and Internettechnologies: The long-term objective of this projectis to capture the potential of modern ICTs forsustainable development and poverty alleviation bybuilding capacities in information management andoutreach capabilities in government, academicresearch and non-government organizations inBhutan. The short-term objectives are to build thecapacity of the Royal Institute of Management(RIM), Bhutan, to enable it to provide short coursesin intranet and Internet technologies, train up to 10243

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationtrainers from RIM and elsewhere who will in turntrain others and to create a modern computerlaboratory at RIM that will serve as a resource centreand facility for training others. 7Training at schools and tertiary levels: Given thesevere lack of properly trained ICT specialists inBhutan, the Division of Information Technology(DIT) has developed guidelines for ICT traininginstitutes and ICT training courses at school andtertiary levels. These guidelines help the developmentof ICT specialists in the country by ensuring highand consistent training standards. Institutes have tofulfill minimum requirements to ensure qualityinstruction. Moreover, a number of standard coursesare being developed to provide clients with theappropriate knowledge for their needs. Thesestandard courses also make it easier for employersto gauge the knowledge of their (potential)employees. 8Constraints inthe use of ICTShortage of ICT personnel is a big issue in the RoyalGovernment departments. There are volunteers andconsultants who are helping through different trainingactivities. However, the local technical capacity needs tobe built for establishing networks of MIS systems for e-governance issues.Besides the lack of trained people, there are the predictableconstraints faced by most developing countries. Theseinclude lack of adequate infrastructure, cost of accessingthe infrastructure that is in place, lack of content, particularlyin the local language and, perhaps most significantly, lackof capital to invest in the development of ICT.AnalysisGiven that both policy and political will seem to be in place,support for ICT initiatives in Bhutan could include capacitybuildinginitiatives that would demonstrate and support thedevelopment of ICT professionals and computer literateemployees. In the short term, capacity-building must takeplace for officials involved in governance and policyimplementation processes. In the longer term, ICT needs tobe included in the regular school curriculum with a parallelemphasis on teacher training initiatives. What appears tobe essential for education is that ICT initiatives focus bothon infrastructure development such as satellite and wirelesstechnologies in order to make connectivity possible and onthe development of content that is appropriate for Bhutaneselearners.NOTES1 See www.dit.gov.bt.2 See www.undp.org.bt.3 From UNDP Human Development Report, 2003.4 See www.upu.int/coop_tech/bhutan_bridging_the_digital_divide.pdf.5 See www.idrc.ca/pan/pr03398_e.htm.6 See www.unites.org/html/projects/bhutan.htm.7 See www.apdip.net/projects/cisco.asp.8 See www.dit.gov.bt/training/index.htm. This site lists thegovernment and private ICT institutes in Bhutan and providesinformation on ICT workshops and training conducted by DIT.244

IndiaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Usha Vyasulu Reddi, Ph.DMs Vineeta SinhaNational policies, strategies andprogrammesIndia is a country of grand contradictions. While it is a global leaderin the knowledge economy, it is also home to more than half theworld’s poor and illiterate people, most of whom are women. UrbanIndia has problems of excess, while in the rural areas there isdeprivation. The challenge that the country faces is to arrive at apolicy that maintains its global position while also providingopportunities for access and services to the rural hinterland.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationThe confusing but rich picture of the Indian educationsystem becomes clear when it is recognised that in the Indianfederal system of governance, education is a subjectaddressed by both the central and state or provincialgovernments. The result is that there are both centralgovernment departments and state and district authorities,all working in tandem or independent of each other. Thereare also private sector educational initiatives in India.India actively promotes the use of information andcommunication technologies (ICTs) in education in theformal education sector today, as it has in the non-formalsector for more than 40 years. From the use of radio tospearhead the green revolution, to satellite-based, one-wayand interactive television for rural development in some ofthe most backward districts, 1 to today’s thrust for the use ofopen and distance learning models to serve the largerpopulations, India has tried it all, with varying degrees ofsuccess. In fact, since the early 1950s, Indian policydocuments have identified the need to use all media forpromoting development and, implicitly, for education. Thesubsequent policy and plan documents on education,prepared from time to time, have chalked out a role fortechnology applications, especially in the non-formaleducation sector. 2Today, the country’s decision-makers, at both the centraland state levels, have chosen to explore the use of newercomputer and Internet based ICTs for education, along withbroadcast ICTs, and have been promoting the use of openand distance learning for both the formal and non-formaleducation sectors. The launch of a dedicated broadcasteducation satellite, EDUSAT, is scheduled for early 2004,with capacity for specialised educational channels and upto 5000 FM community broadcasting stations for use byeducational institutions. This infrastructure will be availableto all sectors of education, but primarily to publicly fundedand implementing agencies that will be responsible fortransmission and programming for their defined audiences.For instance, a state government will be able to use thechannel capacity for governance, an open school fortransmission of its own programmes, agricultural agenciesfor agricultural extension, etc.As a result of a policy announcement made by the PrimeMinister of India in the First National Conference ofInformation Technology Ministers, the Task Force onHuman Resource Development in Information Technologywas set up under the aegis of the Ministry for HumanResource Development. Through a process of consultationamong different stakeholders and institutions, the task forcereport set out major recommendations to develop the corecompetencies and expertise of the country and to developinnovative technologies. This represents the master planthat India has in place for the use of ICTs in education,human resource development and in the capacity-buildingof institutions.The task force made a number of recommendations designedto create a sustainable competitive advantage in order tomaintain India’s global leadership position in knowledgeledbusinesses. 3 A re-engineering of the technical educationand training system of the country, with a focus on ICTeducation, was proposed under the umbrella of a NationalProgram for Human Resource Development in IT (NP-HRDI). Actions emerging from the policy include creatingpublic awareness; documenting best practices through aclearinghouse; identifying and developing institutions ofexcellence; promoting technology-mediated learning;supporting capacity-building initiatives for faculty,curriculum and content development, research; andpromoting private-public partnerships.The interventions proposed focus on the most cost-effectiveoptions with short gestation periods and with an emphasison critical infrastructure such as computer and networkingfacilities, faculty training, curriculum and coursewaredevelopment, promotion of innovations and initiativesthroughout the educational system by an open exchange ofideas and a system of recognition through awards andrewards for innovative practices among educators.It is very difficult to accurately determine the government’sfunding allocations and expenditures for ICTs, since themoney comes from both the overall educational allocationof 4.1 per cent of the GDP 4 in the national budget and fromministries dealing with different subjects. For instance, theinvestment for technology may come from the budget ofthe Indian Space Research Organization, allocations for theagricultural channel are likely to come from the AgricultureMinistry’s budget and funding for content for the broadcastchannels will come from the Ministry for Human ResourceDevelopment.Overall, India’s policy and strategies have been to build aself-reliant indigenous capacity. There has been a strategicshift from being a country seeking external assistance in itsinitiatives to one that is driven internally while stillcompeting in the global marketplace and providingassistance to other countries.Current level of ICT accessand useThere has been a dramatic shift from the 1980s to the presentday in terms of access to technology by the population ingeneral. Deregulation of the airwaves and thetelecommunication industry has spurred the revolution inbasic telephony and Internet services. Technologies likeWireless in Local Loop (WLL) and Very Small ApertureTerminal (VSATs) are being used for Internet and intranetpurposes. Data on teledensity reported in the UNDP HumanDevelopment Report, 2003 5 can no longer be consideredaccurate. The current annual rate of growth in the telephonesector is at 48 per cent for mobile telephony. 6 Radio has a246

IndiaSouth Asiapenetration of 100 per cent in the country while satelliteand terrestrial television cover nearly 80 per cent of thecountry. 7Theoretically, availability of ICTs is widespread in largeparts of the country, with pockets of saturation. In otherareas, availability is lower due to terrain or extremedeprivation. With the availability of cyber cafes, people canget access to government documents (such as birth and deathcertificates, land registration and government schemes) foronly INR 15 (US$ 0.3) each. Farmers can get daily updateson market prices of locally produced food grains andvegetable crops from around the district for INR 5 (US$0.1).However, access to ICTs is still limited because of physicalinfrastructure constraints such as lack of electricity, poormaintenance of telephone lines and distance from the kioskor cyber cafe; economic constraints such as extremepoverty; educational limitations such as illiteracy and thelack of relevant content in the local language; and socialconstraints of gender, class, community and caste. Data arenot readily available to indicate the extent to which socialconstraints limit access to technology.India has extensive experience in the use of broadcasttechnologies for both formal and non-formal education. Thisincludes using radio and television for agriculture and ruraldevelopment, for non-formal education and out-of-schoolchildren, and school telecasts from 1983 onwards in nationaland regional languages. Satellite-based teleconferencing(one-way video, two-way audio) for formal and non-formaleducation has been operational since 1992 at a national andregional level.These efforts have culminated in the launch of GyanDarshan, 9 a dedicated satellite-to-cable educationaltelevision channel, and Gyan Vani, 5 a dedicated educationalradio project. The launch of EDUSAT will add a 70-channelcapacity for use by all state governments and publiclyfunded educational institutions.Although deregulation of the airwaves has taken place inthe country, the Indian government retains its role as themajor player in the use of broadcast technologies foreducation, holding control over allotment of frequencies.Thus, community radio is nascent and has not had any effectbeyond a few localised interventions. Private sectorbroadcasting has not ventured into education.Application and models ofICT useThere are many projects across the country that address thedigital divide and gender issues. Other projects cater to thepoor and try to reach the unreached. There are examples ofaudio-video conferencing and the use of multimediainstructional materials as well as examples of e-learning,e-governance and e-services. The projects also cover thecountry’s geographical spread. There are a variety ofapplications, from an intranet e-governance portal to anonline teacher’s forum where teachers are able to plan theirclassroom sessions and share and learn through each other’sexperiences. 10Two aspects of these projects stand out, particularly in termsof assessing effectiveness. First, there is little or no data onthe extent of use that enables any effective analysis of thesituation on the ground. Second, there is the question of theextent to which such projects, which are often “one-off,” aresustainable in the long term after donor funding is over.The various projects and initiatives tend to cluster into twocategories insofar as their use of ICT is concerned: broadcasttechnologies and digital technologies. Given the range ofapplications in India, it is impossible to discuss any of themin detail, but the examples provided in Tables 1 and 2 providean overview of the kinds of activities that are underway.Broadcast TechnologiesExcept in a very few instances, broadcast technologies areowned and operated either by the government directly orby publicly funded institutions established for the purpose.Table 1 provides some illustrations of the various ways thebroadcast technologies are being applied across all sectorsof education covered by this report. Note the importance ofthese technologies in the non-formal education sector.Digital TechnologiesTable 2 shows that some of the initiatives using digitaltechnologies are spread across the country and not restrictedto any one region:The Government of India’s efforts in providingmultipurpose community information centres in thenortheast of the country has parallels to a similar jointeffort by the Uttaranchal state government in cooperationwith the Indian Institute of Technology. TheGyandoot Project is a district-level effort, which seeksto provide intranet services in one backward district,Dhar, of Madhya Pradesh.Madhya Pradesh is also home to the HeadstartProgramme, which provides computers along withmultimedia learning kits for students and teachers inrural community schools that are set up under theEducation Guarantee Scheme. The Government ofGoa is also involved in an initiative to provide Goaschools with computers for use by students.Public-NGO (non-governmental organization)partnerships include the COLLIT, India project, apartnership of an international agency, the state247

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationresource centres in Indore and Jaipur and an NGO inTamil Nadu engaged in applying ICTs for livelihood.(Baatchit, Infothela, and Sari projects), seek to provideaccess and content to rural populations.The Government of Andhra Pradesh is actively engagedin a partnership with Tataliteracy.com, a portal designedto provide literacy in some of the poorest districts ofthe state. Similar initiatives with MediaLab Asia, onthe outskirts of Delhi, and in the interior of Tamil NaduProject Vidya, a partnership between the governmentof India and Intel, seeks to improve the quality ofeducational input in selected government schoolsthroughout the country by providing both ICT accessand training to students and teachers.Table 1: Broadcast technologies in IndiaProjectProjectPartnersOutcomesRemarksContactsCountrywideclassroomSchoolTelevision inIndiaGyanDarshanGyanVaniNammaDhwani(Voices)GujaratCommunityRadioUniversity GrantsCommission (UGC),Consortium for EducationalCommunication (CEC) and17 universities where mediacentres are locatedCentral Institute ofEducational Technology & 6state Institutes of EducationalTechnologyMinistry of Human ResourceDevelopment, Information &Broadcasting, the PrasarBharti and Indira GandhiNational Open University(IGNOU)Boodikote community inKolar district, UNESCOKutch Mahila VikasSangathan, Bhuj and DrishtiMedia Collective,Ahmedabad10,000+ programmesproduced and telecast onNational Television from1984 to dateProgrammes produced andtelecast on NationalTelevision from 1984 todateAlso broadcasts theprogrammes of NationalOpen School and CentralInstitute for EducationTechnology, NationalCouncil for EducationalResearch and TrainingReaching the backwardrural communities by radioBrings the voices of themarginalised from theperiphery of informationand awareness and givesthem the opportunity tomake informed choicesand decisionsNon-formal education andsocial issues, especiallythose concerning womenA programme of UGC-CEC, which is involvedin the educationalprogrammes for telecaston Doordarshan,India’channels national TVGeneral non-formal andcurriculum-basedprogramming for schoolchildren and schoolteachersIGNOU had the nodalresponsibility fortransmission; today theprogramme runs 24hoursMixed content ofprogramme, both non -formal and distanceeducation curriculum-based programming andcounsellingUnique partnershipbecause of the skill setsof each of theorganisations; content islargely non-formaleducation anddevelopment orientedwww.consortiumeducomm.org/Index.htmwww.ciet.nic.in/www.ignou.ac.inwww.ignou.ac.inwww.voicesforall.org/communityradio/namma_dhwani.htmwww.vub.ac.be/apps/board/koccc/messages/181.htmlJhabuaSpace Application CenterFive years ofContent consists ofwww.mcbsintl.com/booklet/Development(ISRO), Government ofnarrowcasting for NFE andliteracy, health, non-drs/jdcp1.htmlCommunicati-Madhya Pradeshcapacity-building of districtformal education,on Programfunctionaries engaged inwatershed managementrural development throughteleconferencing248

IndiaSouth AsiaNGO initiatives include the TARAHaat, a project ofDevelopment Alternatives. Private foundations likethe Azim Premji Foundation are undertaking similarefforts in Karnataka.Among the most successful of private industryinitiatives is the Hole in the Wall project of the NIIT.This is an attempt to explore access to and use ofInternet-based technologies in urban slums. Theproject, started in Delhi, has been scaled up to coverseveral locations in the country.Despite all the activity, there are parts of India that are notparticipating in these initiatives. Orissa and Bihar, bothbackward states, and the interior of Maharashtra still lagbehind. As well, Kashmir still has serious problems of accessto telecommunications and its consequent benefits.Table 2: Digital ICT applications in IndiaProjectpartnersObjectivesOutcomesIIT-RoorkeeU NDP and IIT-Roorkee:picaa@iitr.ernet.inCOLLITremarks:Project has just kicked off; for more information contact project through e-mail IDE-servicesEstablishment of 1,000 Suchna Kutirs forinformation access.remarks: Project ended in December 2002 but the partners are sustaining the project through their owneffortsCOL (Commonwealth of learning):www.col.org,andCEMCA (CommonwealthEducational Media Centre for Asia):www.cemca.org;implementing partneragencies in India were M.S. SwaminathanResearch Foundation, and state resourcecentres of Rajasthan and Madya PradeshTARAHaatNational InformaticsCenter-CLCLiteracyproject integrating ICTsremarks:http://tarahaat.com/tara/homeLiteracy through ICTs; quality education ataffordable prices right at the learner’doorstep; TARAHaat learners range from 8-35 years of age, school and collegestudents, unemployed youth, professionals,womensEnhanced knowledge of appropriate andsustainable use of ICT in literacyeducation; a cadre of tutors who areknowledgeable in terms of using ICT inliteracy educationICT-enabled education has helpedtremendously in learning, creating andmaintaining interestremarks: The programme is reaching the unreached; ICTs are becoming part of the daily lives in thenortheastDepartment of Information Technology _Ministry of Communications andInformation Technology and stategovernments of northeastern states:www.cic.nic.in; cic@cic.nic.inOperation HeadstartA joint UN-Government of Indiac ollaboration: www.education.nic.in/htmlweb/janshala/madhyapradesh.pdfTataLiteracyTata Group and Tata ConsultancyServices, state government. of AndhraPradesh, Maharashtra, UP and MadhyaP radesh: http://tataliteracy.com/contactus.htm;webmaster@tataliteracy.comE-governance, e-services, e-learning, e-medicine, e-consulting, e-employmentremarks:The training of teachers under the Janshala programme –ICT awareness, training, cadre-building,human capacity-buildinga joint UN-GOI programme thatincludes imparting quality teacher training through Headstart, including computer-based interactivetraining and development of TLMEnhancing empowerment through computerliteracyremarks:The curriculum has been taken from the National Literacy Mission’Computer-Based Functional Literacy programme (CBFL)FunctionalliteracyThe programme also aims to developcomputer-enabled (CD-based) self-learning approach in a peer situations primers to develop theLiteracy to be achieved in 40 hours249

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education250+partnersrojectPsbjectiveOsOutcomeinAccessSustainableIndiaRuralcommunities.theofupgradingeconomicformodelsbusinessremarks:DevelopsofInstituteMassachusettsIIT-Madras,Asia,LabMedia(MIT)TechnologySociety,andInternetforCenterBerkmanI-theandLaw School,UniversityHarvardFoundation:yanG .http://edevelopmentmedia.mit.edu/SARI/mainsari.htmlmicroeducation,agriculture,forE-servicesconditionsmarkethealth,finance,areasruralinupsetbeenhaveTelekioskstheempoweringNadu-forTamilofcommunitiesProjectyandootGssoochnalayasystem throughuniqueainredressedgrievancespublicremarks:OnlineofMinistryCenter,InformaticsNationalInformationandCommunicationsofgovernmentstateandTechnologyPradesh:adhyaM ;http://gyandoot.nic.ingyandoot@rediffmail.comthroughe-governanceE-services,soochanalayas.ofestablishmentassuchinformationtoaccessProvidingpricesmandiregistration,records,landaatchitBnadministratiolevellocalthePanchayats,thethroughdoneisremarks:E-governanceAsiaLabMediaJIVA Institute,www.jiva.org/outreach/baatchit/index.htm;www.jiva.org/baatchitwww.jiva.org;access,informationforE-servicescommunicationdevelopedbeenhassoftwareBaatchittoe-conversation,forusedbeingisandeducationneeds,communityaddresspurposesLeveraging ICT throughtribalforCentreMarketcommunities40wheremarketweeklyahasPradeshMadhyainDistrictBetulofvillageSawalmedharemarks:Theoperationaliscentretheaspeople10,000tooutreachingproduce;theirmarkettoassemblevillagesdaysmarkettheduringICT R&D GrantsNetworkingAsiaPanrogram-4D initiatives:P .www.panasia.orgsg/grants/awards/0201a5.htmaccessinformationfor-servicesEtagri-foreseducationmedical,toAccessmarketsproduceCentersMobileInfotheladiagnosingforfacilitieshasbattery;thechargetoenergygeneratesunitmobiletheofpedalremarks:ThelevelssugarbloodandpressurebloodUP:IIT Kanpur,Asia,LabMediawww.iitk.ac.in/MLAsia/infothela.htmunit-Internet,mobilethroughE-serviceseducation,conditions,weatherTelephony,serviceshealthserviceshealthbasicPCO withMobileSame language subtitlingmass literacyon TV forbenefitsenormoushavecanprojectssuchofreplicationremarks:TheIndianInnovation,EducationalforCenterAhmedabad,inManagementofInstituteOrganisation,ResearchSpaceIndianBank:orldW /http://web.wprldbank.orgofusethroughlevelsliteracyIncreasingprogrammesofsubtitlingthroughtelevisiontelecast.arethatdeafthetocatersalsoprogrammeThemakingbypeoplehard-of-hearingandprint-literacy.tothem exposedCLC inKarnatakaInitiativeSchoolsprimaryofcompletionandratesretentiontheimprovetoreplicatedbeenhaveremarks:ProjectseducationofGovernmentFoundation,Azim Premjiarnataka:K .www.azimpremjifoundationorg/index.htminitiatives,technologythatdemonstrateToreinforcetosoftwareofusetheassuchgeography,mathematics,ofaspectscertainhaveKannada,andsciencesenvironmentaloflevelsinteresttheonimpactpositivealearningtheirincreaseandchildrenlevelsachievementtheincreasetoablebeenhasprojectTheschools;inchildrentheofretentionincreased;havelevelsmotivationbeenhavecentreslearningcommunityestablishedShiksha-ProjectLiteracyComputerimprovedhavechildrentheseoflifeofremarks:Qualitydepartment:EducationStateandMicrosoftwww.vjti..edu/shiksha.htmbyliteracycomputeracceleratetoAimswhichsolution,end-to-endanprovidingtrainingcomprehensivesoftware,includesICT curriculumstudents,andteachersforteachersforscholarshipsanddevelopment,studentsandmillion3.5andteachers80,000OveranhaveschoolsgovernmentinstudentsICTtheirstrengthentoopportunityyearsfivenexttheoverproficiency

IndiaSouth AsiaProjectpartnersObjectivesOutcomesGoa Computers inSchools Project (GCSP)Goa Government:www.goasudharop.org/gcspProject Vidyaremarks:To improve the levels of computer literacyand computer access to students in Goa,while training teachers to use them to teacheffectivelyHelps all secondary schools obtain a labof at least eight Internet-ready computerswith the help of the government, industryand the community, relying on teamworkand networking among volunteers.remarks:Internet is having a profound impact on education worldwide; the project had three partners:Intel, Jiva and ERNET taking up this effortMinistry of Human Resource Development,GOI, and Intel Corporation:www.ipan.com/press/97feb/1802in.htmTo catalyse the use of leading edgecomputer technology in schools as a tool foreducationTeachers and students in selected schoolstrained at specially developed cyberschoolsTrainingTraining has been an important element of Indian efforts indeploying technologies for education. Implementation of allprojects has involved training of trainers, producers ofcontent, field level facilitators, etc. Generally, training hasbeen provided either in-house or by other publicly fundedtraining institutions, such as All India Radio and the Filmand Television Institute of India; the Central Institute forEducation Technology and the Development and EducationalCommunication Unit of the Indian Space Organization.Experts come from within the country, and training takesplace on location.A large percentage of the training is skill-oriented, helpingexisting staff to upgrade and acquire skills needed for thetask at hand. Where large numbers of people have to betrained, such as in the District Primary Education Project,or in-service training of agricultural extension workers,teleconferencing (one-way video, two-way audio) is thepreferred mode of delivery.Broadcast technologies have been used extensively forteacher training. A massive effort in training primary schoolteachers through teleconferencing has been underway in theDistrict Primary Education Project for more than five years,and agricultural extension workers and government officershave also been trained through teleconferencing. There havealso been examples of teacher training and NGO staffcapacity-building throughout the country through differentICT pilot projects. 11The capacity-building efforts have also percolated down tothe grassroots through these catalysts. Training in the useand applications of ICT has been the major contribution fromall the projects, as sustainability of donor-funded projectsafter the project life is seen as dependent upon the capacitybuildingof institutions and individuals involved.Constraints onthe use of ICTsA variety of constraints dog India’s efforts to deploytechnology for education. Policy exists, as does governmentcommitment. However, such policy and commitment is oftenlost on the road to implementation. Educational projects,set up by conventional governments as part of a broadeducational agenda, tend to reflect the conventionalism ofexisting institutions with their hierarchical and bureaucraticsystems of administration when the need is for creative andinnovative management.Access and availability of technology also becomes patchysince a piecemeal rather than a co-ordinated effort bydifferent implementing agencies is followed. Lack of stableelectric power, non-existent or unreliable telecommunicationlines and a mismatch between funding allocation and actualneeds all add to the problems. Sustainability is also a majorobstacle, with many initiatives failing because donors havenot anticipated the cost of maintenance and upgrading oftechnology and services.Central models of management and development that arelinguistically and culturally relevant to local communitiesare next to impossible when projects are being implementednationally or from state capitals in ways that fail to takelocal needs into consideration. The result is a constant tusslebetween local requirements and the need to develop localmaterials with the economies of scale that are possiblethrough more centralised models.A very large number of local and regional initiatives havefailed to increase the knowledge base regarding what worksand what doesn’t. There is not enough documentation andsharing of knowledge of interventions of ICT in education.Replication and up-scaling of efforts becomes difficult in theabsence of such information. Institutional collaboration is alsonoticeable by its paucity. Thus, it is possible to have efforts in251

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationthe same region working independently and unwilling tocollaborate or pool efforts for greater effectiveness.Economies of scale make India an ideal location for largescaleexperimentation. But given its size and cultural andlinguistic diversity, solutions need to be specific to location,problem and time. The politics of monopoly and centralcontrol do not favour decentralisation and provide theautonomy needed by implementing agencies.However, there are various dimensions to these issues. First,it is impossible in a country like India to address thesechallenges through centralised planning and decisionmaking.Second, central control makes for a cumbersomeand slow process of hardware and software acquisition andproduction and response to problems and issues. Third, adecentralised educational system with multiple playerscannot expect to continue to operate with a central monopolyover the control and operation of the delivery of education.Fourth, there is increasing evidence of local effortssucceeding, where nationwide efforts have failed, for thesimple reason that local efforts have addressed local needs,local culture and local language. Initiatives such asGyanDoot and the Jhabua Development CommunicationProject are just two examples of local efforts succeeding.Finally, many local efforts cannot be up-scaled, for the simplereason they address local problems and succeed because theyare local.AnalysisThere is a great potential to learn from India’s experimentswith the application of ICTs in education. There are fewcountries that can match India as a test bed for determiningwhat works and what doesn’t. The country has all thesituations and conditions of developing countries.The Indian government has, as a policy, decided todiscourage international donor assistance, especially that ofa bilateral nature, and to support development and educationrelatedprojects within the country. But there is room forsupporting Indian efforts.As a first step, there is a critical need to document Indianefforts for the benefit of its own decision-makers, institutions,NGOs and civil society. It is necessary to know what worksand what does not, and what the implications are for policymaking,planning and implementation. A second step wouldbe to inform the capacity-building and training provided tostaff in Indian institutions. Specifically, it needs to beunderstood that any new technology comes not merely withhardware and software, but with a learning and teaching styleand grammar of its own, and that management practices needto be adapted in order to use the technologies effectively.As an example, the use of ICTs in education calls for afundamental shift in the way content is designed anddelivered, as well as for teamwork and collaborativepractices. New technologies cannot be imposed withoutenabling teachers and learners to understand thesefundamental shifts. Ongoing training is necessary for thetrainers in institutions and organizations who are engagedin the design of curriculum, teaching materials and deliveryof ICT-enabled education. At the same time, middle-levelmanagers, both in the public service and the NGO sector,need to understand the pedagogy of learning through ICTand the management models that are required.India has the policy and technology to implement both smalland large ICT interventions in education. What is missingand what fails is in the translation of policy and technologyinto good practice.NOTES1 Indian Space Research Organization. Jhabu DevelopmentCommunications Project, ongoing. Ahmedabad: Space ApplicationCenter.2 Government of India, “National Policy on Education 1986 withModifications Undertaken in 1992,” (New Delhi: GOI Press, 1992).3 See: www.education.nic.in; www.gipi.org.in/state_policy/action_plan_3.pdf; and www.mit.gov.in.4 From “UNDP Human Development Report, 2003,” www.undp.org/hdr/2003/indicators.5 Telephones at 38 per 1,000 and Internet usage at 6.8 per thousand donot reflect user patterns; where usage at a public kiosk or cyber cafemay be much higher as the mobile phone and WLL industry isgrowing at the rate of 48 per annum. See www.indiachina.org/sectoral_info/pdf/report-telecom-cii.pdf.6 See www.indiachina.org/sectoral_info/pdf/report-telecom-cii.pdf.7 See www.indiantelevision.com.8 See www.ignou.ac.in/gyan_sch.htm.9 See www.ignou.ac.in/gyan_sch.htm.10 See, for instance, www.vidyonline.net, a portal designed to provideonline support to teachers in India.11 See www.ignou.ac.in and www.depdpep.org.252

MaldivesICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Usha Vyasulu Reddi, Ph.DMs Vineeta SinhaINTRODUCTIONSouthwest of the Indian subcontinent, the Republic of Maldives isone of the most attenuated countries in the world, with 1,196 islandsin 26 distinct coral atolls spread over a total area of 90,000 squarekilometres. Less than 0.5 per cent of this area is land, and some 200of the islands are inhabited.Until the arrival of tourism, fishing was the main occupation in thisnation of seafarers, and the relaxed pace of life seems to have carriedover into the 21st century. The graceful sailing dhoni (local boats)of old may have given way to motorised versions, but fishing withpole and line is still a common site throughout the islands.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationThe Republic of Maldives is today making rapid progressin national development. There is no doubt that significantgains have been secured in various fields, the result of givingpriority to social development, education and healthservices. As an indicator, life expectancy has increased from46 to 71, and functional literacy has increased to nearly100 per cent. Yet the country faces many challenges uniqueto small island states with dispersed populations.National policies, strategiesand programmesThe Government of Maldives appreciates the potentialbenefits of information and communication technology(ICT) to a rapidly growing country. Hence the Ministry ofCommunication, Science and Technology (MCTS) has beenmandated with issues such as ICT policy formulation, ICTmanagement, strategic ICT planning, formulating ICTstandards and improving public sector service deliverythrough ICT.Accordingly, the ministry has developed a Science andTechnology Master Plan 1 which gives priority to issues suchas formulating a national ICT policy along with strategiesand an action plan for the Government Network of Maldives(GNM) to connect all the public sector organizations in thecapital Male’, form a National Computer Center as a supportstructure for GNM, oversee the implementation of ICTpolicy, define ICT standards and establish communityownedtelecentres.The National Computer Center (NCC) 2 is to play a centralrole as it is expected to work with government agenciesand the private sector to ensure that information technologypolicies, strategies and programmes are consistent withnational development priorities and requirements. Morespecifically, the NCC is to:Promulgate policies, programmes and projects thatwill exploit ICT for economic and socialdevelopment, especially in addressing the needs ofthe poor sectors of society;Carry out policy and technological reviews, studies,and research and development projects to acceleratethe development of the local ICT and alliedindustries;Facilitate the development and implementation of agovernment information systems plan to acceleratethe application of electronic governance;Develop and promulgate minimum standards andbenchmarks for computerisation and other ICTrelatedactivities in government;Review (and possibly approve) proposed informationsystems plans of national government agencies,government-owned and controlled corporations, andgovernment financial institutions;Provide ICT advice and related services to othergovernment agencies and institutions;Conduct periodic information systems surveys tofoster integrated development, implementation andmanagement of computer-based information systemsand networks in government;Assist, as requested, government ministries andagencies concerned with the review and design ofICT education and training curricula; andDevelop and implement a continuing national ICTpromotion programme to improve public awarenessand understanding of the national plan and vision.Two NCC committees have been created: an InformationTechnology Advisory Committee to give guidance on policyissues relating to ICT and an Information TechnologyStandards Group to work on ICT standards.Current level ofICT access and useIn Maldives, as elsewhere in the developing world, there issignificant inequality in terms of access to ICT appliancesand connectivity. But these island dwellers are particularlyisolated because of the distances and sea between the manyislands and atolls. Most islands are still economicallydependent on the capital, Male’ and islanders must travelby boat for many hours to get there. Currently, inhabitantsphysically travel to Male’ to initiate transactions, which isan expensive undertaking. Further, as there is less travelbetween islands, local trade and small businesses have littleinformation about the available resources, products, servicesand needs in other atolls and islands. Telephone callsbetween the islands are expensive. Internet connectivity isnot readily available in the islands, and even in Male’Internet prices can reach up to US$ 3 an hour. Islanddwellers have few avenues to advertise their smallenterprises. The time schedule of transport can beproblematic, as information about dhoni is oftendisseminated only by word of mouth. Information aboutother private sector services, education activities and eventsin the neighbouring islands and atolls is not readilyavailable.The availability of telephone lines is 121 per 1,000inhabitants, reaching up to 293 per 1,000 in Male’. Waitingtime for a line is nearly two years. Despite a fibre opticbackbone, access to Internet remains at around 36 users254

MaldivesSouth Asiaper thousand population. Patterns similar to otherdeveloping countries persist, with much of the usageconcentrated in the capital city and at workplaces andinstitutions. While there are computers in schools providedfor by the government, much of their use is restricted tolimited office automation with very few schools providingcomputers for use by the students.Integration of ICT use in education is stated in the policy,but there is very little that has been done. The country is inits infancy when it comes to ICT use and applications. TheMCST, in co-operation with the Ministry of Education andUNESCO, has embarked on a programme to foster basicscience concepts among the country’s primary andsecondary school children. 3 Under this programme, MCSThas procured a wide range of science and technologyprogrammes and materials designed and produced byprofessional organizations and institutions. The resourcematerials include video and audiotapes, interactive softwareand books. Priority will be given to atoll schools in thedistribution of these resource materials.Major initiativesDigitally Empowered Development in the IslandCommunities of Maldives 4The purpose of this partnership project between MCST andthe United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) isto empower island communities by sharing knowledge andinformation among islands through a community portal. Itwill provide information about products and services of theislands to a much wider audience by establishing acommunity portal and websites in the local language,Dhivehi, as well as English. The project will give nationaland international exposure to local businesses, enhanceaccess to markets and create awareness of ICT to improvetheir social and economical life. The project is an add-on tothe National ICT Policy Project.Multipurpose Community Telecentre 5The multipurpose community telecentre (MCT) conceptinvolves the creation of community telecentres where avariety of ICT services such as telephones, fax, voice mail,Internet (including e-mail), TV and radio for informationand recreation can be provided. The ICT policy project willalso formulate business models to ensure the sustainabilityof the telecentres and provide information packages. A morecomprehensive content development initiative is to becarried out later on.ICT Standards – Thaana 6Thaana has been included in Unicode 3 in closecollaboration with MCST, NCHLR, Microsoft and theprivate sector. The result is that Windows XP is the firstoperating system to be released that supports Thaana.E-governance – Information TechnologyDevelopment Project 7The government views e-government as one of theinitiatives to deliver a better quality of life to the people ofthe Maldives and to bring the services of the governmentcloser to the people.The Information Technology Development Project (ITDP)will establish a network that will connect government andparastatal agencies (including Vilingili and Hulhule islands)in Male’ and 20 atolls. It will enable sharing of informationelectronically. Portals will be set up to enable public accessto government information and services through theInternet. The project will also install Internet kiosks in Male’as well as on the atolls to provide public access to thegovernment network and World Wide Web sites.Telecommunications sector reform, which will beimplemented as part of the project, will lower the Internettariff, making access more affordable.Examples of trainingThe country has succeded in achieving near total literacy.There are primary schools up to seventh grade on all theinhabited islands, and primary education is both compulsoryand universal. There are a few secondary schools of highquality, and existing secondary schools in the atolls have aboarding facility for students to come and learn.To improve educational access and quality, the governmentis establishing learning hubs, called atoll education centres(AECs), in a phased manner. Three are being establishedimmediately. These AECs, similar to multipurposetelelearning centres, will be fully equipped and connectedthrough the use of ICTs.Technology is seen as an essential support and supplementfor improving the learning inputs for school education;however, teaching is likely to remain a face-to-face activityfor some time to come. But improving the quality ofteaching is a major priority and ways and means have to befound to provide professional development and capacitybuildingfor the teachers, half of whom are currentlyuntrained. It is here that ICTs are seen as being able to playa role in the educational process.The UNDP Digitally Empowered Development in IslandCommunities project, described above, includes asubstantial training component that is focused on thecommunities involved. It is recognised that such training isrequired if the people of the communities are to make useof the facilities and the technologies. However, there is noevidence of ICT training for staff in education per se.255

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationConstraints on theuse of ICTInternet access is very expensive and access to telephonesis not widespread. Few households have access to atelephone service even if they can afford it, and paytelephones are heavily used.A means of easy transmission of written information couldsignificantly streamline the operation of the atoll officesand provide more timely information to the variousministries. In some cases, such as with the collection offines and fees, existing legislation requires that allinformation be kept in a physical account book.Automation without procedural amendments to facilitate theuse of information technology would serve only to increasethe effective workload. The atoll offices are provided withpersonal computers, which are generally used for wordprocessing, spreadsheets and, occasionally, graphics. Themachines are used as standalone devices, however, asInternet access is prohibitively expensive.No ministries have yet deployed applications that wouldenable the atoll offices to submit information online. In fact,current legislation often requires a written report, thuslimiting the gains from the use of the technology. Betteruse of information technology, coupled with communicationcapability, would improve the abilities of the atoll healthclinics to gather and report health information.In education, one of the major constraints to the use of ICTs,once deployed, would be integration into the classroom.There is a distinct lack of awareness of the potential of eitherbroadcast or computer-based technologies to assist thedistant teacher in the school. Distribution of materialsproduced at the facility in the Educational Resources Centreof the Educational Development Centre of the ministryremains inadequate. At the same time, there is need toupgrade the skills and competencies of the teachersthemselves, many of whom are matriculates and have comeinto teaching immediately after completion of their highschool examinations. Tertiary education is limited, as areresources for education abroad. Thus, skills and knowledgeupgrading among the teachers is limited.AnalysisThe needs are great in the Maldives in terms of policy,infrastructure development and institutional capacitybuilding.Inservice teacher training is critical, both in contentand in the application of ICTs for education. The trainingof people to implement the e-governance projects is alsocritical.Maldives is another example of a country with a nationalpolicy, but not enough resources to implement their policiesand work plans. There is a need to work towards ICTpenetration. The country requires intensive help in policyand master plan development, in strengthening infrastructureand connectivity and in teacher training and use of ICT inthe classrooms. While the most common problems still relateto infrastructure and telecommunications development,further challenges include language difficulties (most ICTrelatedsoftware and contents are in English), disparity inthe accessibility of ICT between urban and rural areas, lackof motivation and technophobia among teachers, and acritical shortage of trained teachers.NOTES1 See www.mcst.gov.mv/New/TTF%20project%20document.pdf.2 See www.mcst.gov.mv/ITD/ncc.htm.3 See www.mcst.gov.mv/New/resourcemat.htm.4 See www.mv.undp.org/projects/propoor/internet.htm.5 See www.mcst.gov.mv/ITD/mct.htm.6 See www.mcst.gov.mv/ITD/itstandards.htm.7 See www.mcst.gov.mv/ITD/egov.htm.256

NepalICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Usha Vyasulu Reddi, Ph.DMs Vineeta SinhaINTRODUCTIONAgriculture is the mainstay of Nepal, and this is evident east to weston the southern slopes of the Himalayan mountain range.Geographically, the country is landlocked, lying between the twoAsian giants, China and India. The problems of poverty, deep genderdivides, unemployment and underemployment are compounded byintermittent violence and strife by Maoist guerillas.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationNational policies, strategiesand programmesNepal has recently accorded priority to the development ofthe information and communication technology (ICT)sector. Nepal’s vision is to place this small Himalayankingdom on the global map of information technology by2005. With this vision in mind, a series of legislation hasbeen enacted to regulate the ICT sector: theTelecommunications Act, 1997; TelecommunicationsRegulations, 1997; Communication Corporation Act, 1972;and the Intellectual Property Act.The Information Technology Policy of Nepal, 2000, aimsto build a knowledge-based society and establishknowledge-based industries. The plan is to make ICTsaccessible to the general public and to provide employmentin the ICT sector. The government has developed a strategyand action plan that includes private sector participation,infrastructure development, provision of technology to ruralareas and the creation of an enabling environment for privatesector investment in ICT-related service industries, such ase-commerce, e-education and e-health.Current level ofICT access and useOnly 3.5 million out of 24 million Nepalese have access toelectricity, and these people are mainly in urban areas. Inthe country as a whole there are three PCs per 1,000 people.There are16 Internet service providers (ISPs), 290 Internethosts and 50,000 Internet and e-mail users.The telecommunications infrastructure is good in urbanareas, and because it has been installed recently, it is mostlydigital. Though the use of ICTs in public administrationand government is limited, its potential for drivingdevelopment and economic growth has prompted theMinistry of Science and Technology to include strategiesin its ICT policy of 2000 to further develop its use in thepublic sector.Major initiativesAlthough Nepal has lagged behind others in the use ofcomputer-based ICTs, it is one of the countries in Asia wherethe concept and practice of community radio has beensuccessfully tested and tried. Nepal’s experience is quotedworldwide as an innovative and successful model, especiallyin countries with the similarities of a difficult terrain and adispersed and isolated population.Community Radio and Television 1Of the 22 independent radio stations operating in Nepal, fourare community stations. One is in Kathmandu (RadioSagarmatha) and the other three are in western Nepal (RadioMananpokhara in Palpa district; Lumbini FM, close to theindustrial and commercial town of Butwal; and SwargadwariFM in the town of Ghoral). Most of the commercial stationshave a strong public service content in their programming.While the community radio stations are largely selffinancing,support is essential for specific programmes. Themajor block to continued growth of community radio is thelengthy licensing process. Currently, there are more than25 licence applications waiting for approval before thegovernment.FM radio has increased the amount of “everyday life”information it broadcasts including information aboutspecial events, traffic reports in the city, weather forecasts,flight schedules, bus schedules, market prices for vegetablesand fruits, air pollution readings, health tips and horoscopes.FM radio also provides live information on events such aselections, religious gatherings and national celebrations. Italso interacts with government officials and politicians,which has added to the collective knowledge of urbanitesregarding governance in Nepali society. Similarly,discussions with professional practitioners have helped todemystify specialist knowledge.More and more radio programmes are becoming availableon the Internet, and for those without access, radio hostsare bringing Internet content to listeners.Radio Sagarmatha. Of the four community stations, RadioSagarmatha is the most successful. An independent publiccommunity radio established in 1997 with a 100-watttransmitter in Nepal, it is the first of its kind in South Asia.It was initially financed through UNESCO grants, and iscurrently self-supporting but receiving donor assistance forspecific projects.Radio Sagarmatha started its FM broadcasting two hoursdaily to the Kathmandu Valley. The station’s goal is to createawareness and involve the public in daily issues. The licenceholder of the station is the Nepal Forum of EnvironmentalJournalists (NEFEJ). A board of directors appointed byNEFEJ from its executive committee governs the station.Radio Lumbini. Radio Lumbini, MS Nepal(Mellemfolkelight Samvirke, the Danish Association forInternational Cooperation) and the Danish InternationalCooperation Agency are collaborating to expand the radiostation’s programming. Under the agreement, RadioLumbini will continue to cover local development andconstruction work, women’s empowerment, ecology andgood governance. MS Nepal will make available physicalassistance, financial assistance and expertise for institutional258

NepalSouth Asiadevelopment and capacity enhancement. DANIDA (TheDanish Development Agency) has provided a grant forestablishing a second studio and to buy a new transmitter.Radio Madanpokhara and Radio Swargadwari. Both ofthese stations are owned by villages or co-operative societiesand have broadcasting committees to oversee their work.Start-up funding and donor support has been necessary forspecific projects and activities. Advertising support has sincetaken care of the issue of sustainability and the stations arenow doing well with expansion very likely in the future.LI-BIRD Ko Chautari radio programme – Nepal. InOctober 2001, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Researchand Development (LI-BIRD) initiated a rural participatoryradio programme that focused on biodiversity-related issues.The programme was meant to complement the government’sagricultural radio programmes and form part of a widerpackage of efforts to increase local awareness about theimportance of agro-biodiversity.The programme used materials based on local knowledgeand practices collected from farming communities.Technologies developed by the farming community and theresearch outputs of university and research stations werealso used.Digital Broadcast Initiative-Nepal. 2 Equal Access, aninternational non-governmental organization (NGO), isworking in conjunction with the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) on a comprehensiveinitiative to provide critical information on a range ofdevelopment issues important to the people of Nepal. Outof this, the Digital Broadcast Initiative (DBI) was created.It is a broad partnership of several groups working with thecontinuing support of government through three projectteams: Content Development, Outreach and Assessment.The teams work collaboratively on determining theinformation needs of underserved communities; writing andproducing relevant and engaging audio and multimediaprogrammes to address these needs; broadcasting theseprogrammes directly to communities via satellite and FMrebroadcast; integrating broadcast programming intoexisting outreach work being done by partner communityorganizations; collecting ongoing feedback and inputdirectly from communities and including it in programming;and monitoring and assessing the overall impact andeffectiveness of the initiative.A wide range of programmes are broadcast, including aNepali Language Service, a 136-episode serial dramaaddressing HIV/AIDS prevention, women’s and girls’empowerment and related health and development issues,and “Chatting with My Best Friend,” the first Nepali radioprogramme produced for young people involving issuessuch as sex, love, relationships, peer pressure and conflictwith parents. Soon the Initiative plans to launch a newprogramme focusing on human rights, women’sempowerment and sexual and reproductive health, as wellas a programme designed to educate women of childbearingage about important issues in early childhood development.The Initiative also involves capacity-building for local staff,including facilitator training, local radio digital productiontraining and equipment training. The practical and inclusiveapproach of the project ensures that local needs aregenuinely addressed, while Nepalese organizations and localstaff are fully involved, creating a sense of local ownership.Ratna (Srihagar) Cable Television. 3 Ratna CableTelevision of Palpa is a local programming and broadcastingfacility that arose from the efforts of Mahesh and BouddhaShakya in their VCR and TV repair shop. The residents ofTansen, a town in the lower Himalayas, watch a two-hourlong locally produced programme every Saturday. Theservice continues because of local volunteers. With sometechnical and financial support, this service could make agreater impact in promoting the flow of information in thecommunity. Ratna Cable’s experience could be replicatedin other areas of the country.ICT Interventions in NepalThere are a few, but diverse, initiatives of the applicationof new ICTs in education. A brief description of some ofthe more innovative projects follow.ICT Project 2000. 4 The objective of this project is to bridgethe digital divide among the haves and the have-nots. Itprovides education on computer and Internet technology tostudents and youths wherever a dial-up Internet connectionis available. Each participating school is given Internetaccess and one teacher from each school is provided trainingon software applications and computer hardware. Theschools run free classes for students during school hoursand for other community youths and interested peopleduring non-school hours and on weekends. This project hasenabled students and people in rural communities to benefitfrom Internet technology.Nepal Internet Exchange. 5 This is a project of theComputer Association of Nepal. It is designed to addressthe problems associated with routing local computer trafficwithin Nepal. The exchange also provides a “looking glass”facility for researchers to ascertain the size of Internetinfrastructure in Nepal.Women Empowerment through ICT. 6 Having identifiedthe root cause of social crime as poverty and lack ofeducation, the group Advancing Girls and Women in Nepal(AGWN) initiated this project with the belief that byworking with women as learners the family will ultimatelybenefit. In the first phase the goal was to achieve 10,000computer literate women in Nepal. After one week ofcomputer training, self-help groups were established to259

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationenhance the women’s learning with the hope they mightdesign instructional materials or set up their own businesses.Computer Association of Nepal. 7 Established by a diversegroup of professionals and industries in the computer andinformation technology sector in December 1992, the mainobjective of the Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) hasbeen to encourage and assist in the utilisation of computersand information technology by developing strategies topromote computer skills in the population.Nangi Village School Project. 8 This project is a grassrootsinitiative by an individual educational pioneer, Mahabir Pun,to try to break the cycle of poverty in his mountain villageof Nangi by taking it into the computer age. Having foundedHimachal High School, he sees the Internet as the way toimprove children’s education.To connect the village to the Internet, Pun installed two smallhydro-generators in the stream near his village for a powersupply to the school. Then he had computers donated fromAustralia, Singapore and Malaysia and used parts from theUnited States. From the parts, Pun assembled the firstcomputer while the students and teachers assembled theremaining ones after his demonstration. At present thereare 15 computers in the school for 300 students from sixneighbouring villages.The village got a telephone in 1998 with the intention ofobtaining Internet access. However, it was found that thequality of the line was not good enough to carry the signal.Since then the villagers have been attempting to rectify thesituation. In the interim the only option is to walk down fora full day to the nearest city where Internet service isavailable.TrainingWhile there have been some early initiatives of humancapacity-building in ICTs in education, for NGOs aroundusing ICTs for communication purposes and for thecommunity radio’s non-formal community educationprogrammes, there has been little activity in training.Constraints onthe use of ICTThe fact that there is little demand for ICT in Nepal is notsurprising considering the number of constraints existingin the country. These include the lack of infrastructure, highup-front costs, widespread illiteracy, language barriers,absence of local content, poverty and the lack of publicawareness about the Internet and its use.Other constraints, of lesser importance include inadequatehuman resource development and the brain drain of qualifiedspecialists, lack of sufficient funds needed for the hugeinvestment required to create a telecom infrastructure andinadequate numbers of computers in schools.AnalysisNepal’s experience in community broadcasting, enhancedwith the use of ICTs, could be leveraged so that convergenttechnologies could become the factors that are the criticalinput to telescope decades of change into a short span oftime. Instead of proceeding with traditional ways of buildingline-of-sight and terrestrial systems, and high-cost mediainfrastructure, a combination of wireless and satellite-basedtelecommunications with low-cost Very Small ApertureTerminal (VSAT) apparatus for downlink of data and imagescould transform Nepal. However, all of this would need tobe supported by a coherent and comprehensive policy,collaborative mechanisms between all stakeholders and localcapacity-building by indigenous institutions.NOTES1 See www.nepalmedia.org/radio/interview_bd_koirala.htm.2 See www.equalaccess.org/programs/nepal/index.htm.3 See www.nepalmedia.org/tv/community_tv.htm.4 See www.interconnection.org/coppades Current_Projects.htm.5 See www.can.org.np/.6 See www.lbef.org/we.htm.7 See www.can.org.np/.260

Sri LankaICT USE IN EDUCATIONMs Usha Vyasulu Reddi, Ph. DMs Vineeta SinhaINTRODUCTIONThe first country in South Asia to liberalise its economy, Sri Lankastands out as an interesting example of a developing nation tryingto incorporate information and communication technologies (ICTs)into an overall development and educational policy.The country has faced formidable challenges. It has a powerfulcontinental neighbour, India, and the society has been ravaged bycivil war for nearly two decades. Despite these challenges, thecountry’s literacy exceeds 90 per cent, and the gender divide is anon-issue, thanks to the country’s consistent investment in healthand education.

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationHowever, the war has retarded economic growth, resultingin high levels of poverty, unemployment, unrest, and crime.Thus, despite steady growth in educational indicators,problems of poverty, access and equity continue to dog thisisland nation. On the bright side, since the peace initiativesof 2002, there are definite signs of recovery andreconstruction in the island nation.National policies, strategiesand programmesPolicies, Strategies and GoalsIn 1983, the first-ever Computer Policy for Sri Lanka(COMPOL) was formulated. The recommendations of thepolicy committee were accepted by the Government of SriLanka, and the Computer and Information TechnologyCouncil of Sri Lanka (CINTEC) was established by an Actof Parliament (Act No. 10 of 1984). The Act recognisedpolicy recommendations and implementation as a majorstatutory function of CINTEC. The COMPOLrecommendations, together with the recommendations madeto the government by CINTEC from time to time, now formthe current ICT policy.In 1994, the Science and Technology Act was passed, andit became active in April 1998. This act repealed theCINTEC Act and replaced the Computer and InformationTechnology Council of Sri Lanka with the Council forInformation Technology (although the well-knownacronym, CINTEC, was retained). The 1994 Act providedfor policy recommendations to be made by CINTEC to thegovernment through the National Science and TechnologyCommission (NASTEC).With the change of government in 1994, CINTEC beganworking on policy recommendations, and by 1996 it hadcompleted most of the groundwork. It initiated a round tableon ICT with the participation of all key agencies, whichresulted in the formation of the National Working Groupfor the Exploitation of IT.A draft of a national ICT policy was placed before thegovernment for approval through NASTEC and the Ministryof Science and Technology. 1 The main objectives stated wereto use ICTs for efficient administration and management,create a competitive advantage and attract a significantportion of the global software and ICT services market toSri Lanka, provide information on the country to the world,and use ICT as a tool for the acquisition of informationneeded for the society.In 2002, Sri Lanka went through yet another review andrealignment of national policies related to ICT andtelecommunications. The current policy envisions thegrowth of the country into a financial and service hub forthe South Asian region with connectivity to the rest of theworld. Colombo, under the vision, would become a multifacetedservice centre co-ordinating development at theprovincial level. 2Key Action PlansKey action plans include the development of physicalinfrastructure, deregulation of the telecommunication sector,mobilisation of private sector investment, introduction ofmeasures to protect intellectual property, capacity-buildingand provision of e-governance services.Current level ofICT access and useSri Lanka has near total literacy, and access to educationfor all Sri Lankans is free up to the secondary school level.Gender disparities are not an issue in this island country.However, teledensity in Sri Lanka is low, with about 44telephones per 1,000 people in 2001 and Internet useestimated at eight per 1,000. 3 Judging by mushroomingcomputer vendors and training centres in Colombo andprovincial capitals, computer usage seems to be spreading.Computers are used widely in the private sector for businessapplications with varying degrees of Internet connectivityand speed.While a significant number of affluent upper- and middleclassfamilies now own a computer, the cost remainsprohibitive for most Sri Lankans. There is little access tocomputers in Sri Lankan schools and colleges and less inrural areas.Internet access on a commercial basis became available forthe first time in 1995. However, Internet use remains verylow due to the high cost of computers, low bandwidth andlow computer literacy. It is mainly the urban elite, businessesand private sector corporations who use the Internet. Thereis also an acute urban/rural disparity with respect to accessto the Internet, and public Internet facilities are also limited.Major initiativesThere are two dimensions to the use of ICTs in Sri Lanka:the extensive experience with community radio as adevelopmental tool and, more recently, the use of computerbasedtechnologies and the integration of both kinds ofapplications in innovative ways.Using Broadcast TechnologiesProactive government support and funds from internationaldonor agencies enabled Sri Lanka to successfullyexperiment with community radio two decades ago. The262

Sri LankaSouth AsiaMahaweli Community radio project from 1981 to 1989served as the precursor for later applications of technologiescoupled with participant communication techniques.Community radios were used as a means to mitigate theproblems of relocation of local people into new areas ofthe country. 4Kothmale Community Radio Project. 5 The KothmaleCommunity Radio Project (KCR) was a UNESCO pilotprogramme put into place to assist people living in ruralSri Lanka to make the most of new communicationtechnologies and to create avenues to reduce the digitaldivide at the national level.The project combines radio and the Internet to address theproblem of rural access to computers and connectivity. Itwas set up as a mini-ISP (Internet service provider) withleased line connection to the Internet. It uses a 300-watttransmitter for a listening area of a 20 kilometre radius thatcomprises 52 villages, two large towns and a total populationof 230,000 people.The broadcasters use the Internet in research and productionand local people access the Internet from the facilities atKCR. Internet-browsing by a presenter on behalf oflisteners, called radio-browsing, also uses a communitydatabase and hosted websites as additional sources ofinformation. Resource people from the community (lawyers,doctors, etc.) interpret the information.Initial training programmes were implemented with theassistance of foreign experts. Now local people have pickedup the skills and pass them on to each other.Computerised community radio operations in remoteSri Lanka. Riding the wave of the experience with theKothmale Community Radio Project, the Government ofSri Lanka established Uva Community Radio in Badulla,one of the most underdeveloped districts in Sri Lanka, withsupport from UNESCO and the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP). The purpose of thecommunity radio is to facilitate increased communityparticipation in designing, implementing and evaluating anarea-based growth and equity programme that has povertyreduction as a major focus. 6 As part of the project, ruralbroadcasters have been trained in using computer-aidedprogramme production.The Sri Lanka Environmental Television Project. 7 TheSri Lanka Environmental Television Project (SLETP) offersthe country’s television broadcasters and video users a broadrange of factual programmes on subjects such as theenvironment, development, health, social justice andscience. As the Sri Lanka Video Resource Centre affiliatedwith the International Television Trust for the Environment(TVE), SLETP has had access to some of the best factualprogrammes produced around the world.SLETP was started in 1995 by TVE and the Open Universityof Sri Lanka as a non-profit service to use the audiovisualand electronic media to raise awareness on environmentaland development issues. As a non-formal educational effort,all SLETP programmes are scientifically accurate,journalistically produced and use engaging, non-technicalformats.The project’s strength has been in forming partnerships withtelevision stations, universities, government agencies,training institutes and non-governmental organizations(NGOs). Television producers and programme managersturn to the SLETP for complete programmes as well as videofootage that is not easily or commonly found elsewhere inSri Lanka.The Science and Environment Video Library provides nonbroadcastusers with access to nearly 500 video films thathave come from TVE along with a multitude of othersources. The videos are regularly borrowed for screeningsin schools and universities, community gatherings, publicseminars, training programmes and for private viewing. Forthose interested in buying videos, SLETP sells high-qualitytapes containing those programmes for which copyright anddistribution rights have been cleared (usually SLETP’s ownproductions and all TVE titles).Using Computer and Internet-Based ICTsSecondary Education Modernization Project. 8 The firstinitiative has come from the World Bank and the AsianDevelopment Bank, which recently launched two separateplans to introduce computers to schools and teach computerskills to high school students. Together the plans willprovide computer centres each with 10 to 20 computers for2,300 schools during 2001–2006. The project will improveaccess for an additional 5,000 poor students annually byupgrading 100 existing schools.The project is comprised of three components. The first isthe modernisation of secondary schools through modernteaching methods coupled with evaluation to improvequality. The focus is also on developing computer literacyto narrow the digital divide. The second component willexpand educational opportunity for poor students byincreasing the number of full-time schools in the rural areas,and the third component will improve the delivery ofeducational services by providing training for relevantagencies.International Childcare Trust. 9 The InternationalChildcare Trust is working in Sri Lanka to enhance thecapacity of partner organizations through informationsharingand training opportunities. Its objective is to helppartners in designing, implementing and managing projectsin co-ordination with local people. In Sri Lanka, the projectsinclude supporting children in local schools.263

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationKnowledge and Information Systems of the UrbanPoor. 10 The aim of this research project, Knowledge andInformation Systems of the Urban Poor (KIS), is toinvestigate how the urban poor access the information andtechnologies they need to improve their livelihoods, and tostrengthen their knowledge and information systems.Poor men and women living in urban informal settlementsneed knowledge and information to cope with risks and toimprove their livelihood. Not knowing about their rights,the services they could access, plans for their areas or whatoptions there are for tackling certain problems puts them ata disadvantage and increases their vulnerabilityThe Pan Asia Networking Program Initiative. 11 The PanAsia Networking Program Initiative (PAN), a project of theInternational Development Research Centre (IDRC), hasbeen designed to provide the physical electronicinfrastructure for networking in the Asian region. A jointventure company was set up to operate Internet-relatedservices in the country. It is registered with the Board ofInvestments in Sri Lanka and is jointly owned by severalpartners including IDRC. The joint venture companyprovides competitive and affordable Internet services in thecountry. It promotes networking between research andeducational institutions, government bodies, the privatesector and national government and internationalprogrammes that are concerned with economic and socialdevelopment.TrainingThere is evidence of utilisation of ICT in various sectors ofthe economy in Sri Lanka, but not much for instructionalpurposes. One project, the Training of Teachers inInformation Technology, co-ordinated by the Ministry ofEducation and supported by UNESCO and the NationalOpen School of India, seeks to bring together students,teachers, ICT professionals, research and developmentinstitutions and private sector organizations to upgrade theknowledge and skills of teachers and facilitators and tointegrate educational technologies in their work. Morebroadly, it also aims at tapping the potential of new ICTs(including distance education methods) to provide moreeasily accessible and better teacher education andprofessional development. 12Constraints onthe use of ICTLack of awareness, resistance to using ICTs, inadequatecommunications infrastructure and limited collaborationbetween different regulatory and educational organizationsare some of the constraints on the greater use of ICTs foreducation.There is an urgent need to establish a government intranetand to provide Internet access to it. At present the LankanEducational, Academic & Research Network (LEARN)provides an Internet and e-mail service to universities anda few research institutes, but does so with much difficultyowing to the lack of funds and the difficulties in obtainingstable communication links.Appropriate changes to the existing legislation, introductionof new legislation and the development of the necessaryinfrastructure are urgently needed to obtain maximumbenefits from technology. For international players to enterthe Sri Lankan market, it is also necessary to enact laws forthe protection of personal privacy and intellectual property.AnalysisThere are two dimensions to the use of ICTs in Sri Lanka.One is that small individual projects, such as the KothmaleInternet Radio in Sri Lanka project have serious bottlenecksthat hamper sustainability. Initial funding for infrastructuredevelopment has to be sustained by a parallel investmentfor the upgrading of capital equipment and for operatingcosts. Thus, initiatives enabling local partners to developprivate-public partnerships and business models to ensuresustainability are essential.Capacity-building of teachers is critical if the currentinitiative to upgrade secondary school education throughthe use of ICT is to succeed. Faculties in the universitiesare computer-literate and are capable of providing theleadership for a sustained effort for the rest of the country.But often they are working in isolation from each otherbecause of inter-institutional competition. Thus, anyinitiative undertaken should be spearheaded by a nationwidecollaborative effort of several partners and should focuslargely on providing teacher education to improveawareness, access and use of ICT by teachers.NOTES1 See www.esrilanka.lk/eg-policy-prel-draft-may06-03.pdf.2 Malaka Gunawardene and Chanuka Wattegama, “Sri Lanka” (2003)Digital Review of the Asia Pacific 2003/2004 (Orbicom, 2203),www.digitalreview.org.3 From UNDP Human Development Report, 2003, www.undp.org/hdr/2003/indicators.4 M.J.R. David, “Mahaweli Community Radio” in A Passion forRadio: Radio Waves and Community (Bruce Girard andCommunica, 2001), www.comunica.org/passion/pdf/.5 See www.cbonline.org.au index.cfm?pageId=12,39,3461.6 See www.apnic.net/mailing-lists/s-s-asia-it/archive/2003/03/msg00008.html.7 See www.sletp.org.8 See www.adb.org/Documents/News/2000 nr2000.9 See www.ict-uk.org/srilanka.html.10 See www.itdg.org/html/shelter/kis_research.htm11 See www.idrc.ca/research/index_e.html.264

Integrating Information and CommunicationTechnologies in Education in Asia and thePacific: Trends and ObservationsContextMr Glen Farrell, Ph.DandCédric WachholzThe socio-economic diversity among the countries of theAsia-Pacific region is extreme. The region includescountries such as Australia, Japan and the Republic ofKorea, all with comparatively mature economies,competitive ICT infrastructure and solid human resourcebases, as well as countries in Central and South-East Asiathat are at hugely differing stages in their development,and are facing far more daunting challenges. Thesevariances are reflected in the country reports on the statusof ICT applications in education that collectively form themain body of this report. The purpose of this concludingchapter is to provide the reader with an overview of thosedifferences, as well as a summation of the challenges andopportunities that confront educational policy makers,managers and teachers who are striving to use thesetechnologies in ways that will add value to the current stateof practice.The picture that emerges from the reports is one of acontinuing process of change. In the first instance, it isapparent that leaders in all countries recognize the growingimpact of ICTs on their societies and economies. Most areaware of the need for a labour force that has the skills andknowledge to enable their country to function in a global“e-economy”. Differences become apparent when oneexamines the actions different countries have taken in termsof applying and integrating ICTs into their educationsystems to help achieve this target. For example, countriesare at different stages of both development andimplementation in the areas of policy formulation, ICTinfrastructure development and access to it, contentdevelopment, programme initiatives and the trainingprovided for education personnel. While many factorsaccount for these differences, few will be surprised to learnthat, primarily, they are related to the available fiscal andhuman resources. However, they also result from differencesin the perception of the role of ICTs in the teaching-learningprocess. On one hand, it is obvious that if a country is tohave a technically skilled workforce, it is essential thatstudents in schools and post-secondary institutions aretaught to use ICTs as part of their course of study. On theother hand, however, the role of ICTs in enhancing pedagogyin all parts of the curriculum is less obvious, and therefore265

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationless frequently embedded in policy frameworks andimplementation strategies.Policy frameworksPolicies are an important ingredient of any leadership andmanagement process. If properly developed, a policyframework provides a vision of desired end outcomes, itdefines the results that need to be achieved in order to reachthose ends, and it provides guidelines for how the resultsare to be achieved. As such, a policy framework has multiplelevels, ranging from general “vision” statements definingoutcomes, to specific results, with timelines and measurableoutputs 1 . In practice, the process of policy development isusually iterative and often described in cycles. For example,a policy may be developed and promulgated only to findthat there are constraints which make it difficult toimplement, making it necessary to revise the policy, or toadd another phase. This can be seen in the case of theRepublic of Korea. This country is in its second policy planstage, which includes standardising ICT skills, revisingcurricula, closer monitoring and other dimensions. Yet thecountry report shows that not enough software is availableto meet the excellent hardware provision in schools, andthat there is a lack of standardisation of existing materials.Other countries can learn from this and might be able toleapfrog this stage by planning and earmarking early fundsfor a standardized content development. This lesson willalso apply to experiences at much lower scale, for lessprivileged countries which are exploring the integration ofICTs into teaching and learning.Suffice it to say that there is no “best” way to go about theprocess of policy development – a point that is underscoredby the variety of approaches that have been described inthe foregoing country reports.The following observations, distilled from the reports,provide an overview of the differences among the countriesof the Asia-Pacific region in terms of their progress to dateregarding development of policies to guide implementationof ICTs into their education systems:All countries have given some thought to the presentand future impact of ICTs on their economies andcultures and accordingly have promulgated, as aminimum, some statement of vision regardingdevelopment goals. These might remain general, ITcentred and not specifically relating to the educationsystem.There are remarkable differences among countriesin their “visions” for the role of ICTs in economicdevelopment. For example, Sri Lanka has developeda comprehensive strategy to position the country asa “hub” for ICT development in the sub-Asian region,including for open source software 2 ; the DemocraticRepublic of Korea has committed to the developmentof excellence in science and technology and isfocusing on the training of gifted students in orderto develop the necessary expertise; and others, suchas Mongolia, have a vision for a “knowledge-based”society in which people have access to ICTinfrastructure, and the skills to use it, to enhance allaspects of their lives.Countries are at differing stages in terms of having apolicy framework that goes beyond the “vision”level. Some, like Nepal, have a national vision butno detailed policies. Malaysia and the Philippines,on the other hand, have developed comprehensivepolicy frameworks for the application of ICT ineducation that are nested within an overall nationalICT development policy.Those countries that have the most mature policydevelopment processes in place are, not surprisingly,those with more mature and robust economies suchas Australia, the Republic of Korea and Japan. Thesecountries not only have comprehensive policyframeworks, but also implementation strategies andmechanisms, measurement indicators, and havecommitted resources to such matters as infrastructureaccess and connectivity, training and learningsoftware development.Countries also differ in the processes used fordeveloping policy. For example, several of the Pacificisland countries are participants in a regional ICTpolicy development initiative called the PacificIslands Policy and Strategic Plan. Others aredeveloping policy with assistance from variousagencies such as UNESCO and UNDP. Others, suchas India, have quite adequate internal resources tomanage the task.The forces that influence policy also differ amongcountries. For example, the ICT policy in theDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea was decreedby the national leader. In contrast, the process in theRepublic of Korea is iterative in that it is informedalong the way with information from formativeevaluation and research, with adjustments made inthe policy as necessary.One of the most striking differences among thepolicies of countries relates to differing perceptionsregarding the role of ICT in education. These fallinto three categories – one is that ICT must be taughtin upper-secondary institutions as a subject, in orderfor the country to have a labour force with essentialskills; another is that ICT must be part of specificareas of the curriculum to improve subject teaching,e.g. to simulate experiments in physics; the thirdcategory aims at creating knowledge societies with266

Integrating Information and Communication Technologies in Education inAsia and the Pacific: Trends and ObservationsICT-savvy citizens and skilled workers, in which,potentially, anyone can learn anytime, anywhere.As is being realized in most of the countries, writingpolicy is the easy task! Implementing it is what isdifficult and costly. As Green describes in the paperon gender issues, policy needs to be developed intandem at multiple levels. For example, policiesregarding access to infrastructure, connectivity,content development, training, etc. need to bedeveloped and implemented concurrently forinitiatives to be successful. Furthermore, it is notsufficient for policies to exist only at the nationallevel. They need to be articulated with those at state/province and school levels to ensure that ICTadoption is encouraged and supported.In summary, the countries are arrayed along a continuumof stages with regard to policies pertaining to the integrationof ICT into their education systems. While all of them havestated that the development of ICT capacity is important tothe future of their countries, fewer have grappled with thepolicy questions as they relate to ICT applications ineducation – and many of those that have lack the resourcesto implement their strategies, a recurrent theme throughoutthe reports. This “lack of resources” reflects, however,weaknesses of existing policies and the need to improvethem.The first and most overlooked aspect in many policies isthe question of scope: realistically, what can and what cannot be achieved? Secondly, there is little alignment witheducational goals; ICTs remain an add on. Thirdly, thereseems to be little planning for educational change.Successfully integrating ICTs into education systems meansoften radical shifts in teaching and learning, shifts that arelittle acknowledged or planned for. Lastly, we learnt thatpolicies were developed by outside consultants orindividuals/units in the Ministry of Education, often withoutstakeholder participation. Nevertheless, broad consultationand ownership are crucial to sustaining momentum duringthe often difficult implementation stage.From vision to reality – thestate of accessAs mentioned previously, there is a great deal of varianceamong the countries regarding ICT applications ineducation. In some countries, such as Australia, NewZealand, the Republic of Korea and Japan, the availableresources have enabled a degree of ICT integration ineducation that is exemplary in world terms. Others, of whichMalaysia, the Philippines and China are examples, havecomprehensive policy frameworks in place and are devotingconsiderable resources to implement their plans byincreasing the availability of ICTs, including computers,connectivity and training at the institutional level. Mongolia,Viet Nam, and many of the Pacific Island Countries areexamples of countries that have articulated policies for theuse of ICT in education, but where implementation isoccurring primarily through projects that are donorsponsored.In addition, there is a sizable group of countriesstill at the stage of dealing with ICT development at a macrolevel and have not yet defined application goals for theeducation sector. Yet even here there are typically somedonor-sponsored projects that are attempting to providedemonstrable evidence of how ICTs can be applied tobenefit education in that country.The following points illustrate the various ICTs being used,the level of access to them among different user groups,and the factors that appear to be influencing levels of access:In general terms, the adoption of ICTs in educationis following the chronology of their development.In other words, the use of broadcast technologies,such as radio and television has been followed bythe introduction and use of computers as stand-aloneappliances, followed by networks that enable e-mailand file sharing, which then leads to Internetconnectivity. Now we have the emergence of wirelessnetworks and the advent of mobile or “m-learning”.The examples of ICT use described in the countryreports reflect this evolutionary pattern, with the rateof adoption in a country being primarily influencedby the level of ICT infrastructure development inthat particular country. The education sectorgenerally follows the private and communicationsector in their degrees of ICT integration; it seemsthat anything else would not be sustainable.There is a degree of “appropriateness” in the patternof ICT usage in the Asia-Pacific region that standsin contrast to that seen in North America and westernEurope where the tendency to adopt the “latest andgreatest” of the newer ICTs has been rampant, withthe old being discarded in favour of the new. Incontrast, radio and TV are widely used in countriessuch as Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, China, and partsof Central Asia, to reach large numbers of peoplewith non-formal education programmes. Even incountries like Japan and the Republic of Korea, withworld class ICT infrastructure, both radio and TVare used extensively. The lesson here is not to “throwthe baby out with the bathwater” when it comes tomaking decisions about appropriate use of ICTs ineducation.We also see a creative “mixing and matching” of theold and new technologies in countries such as Nepal,the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Bhutan where radiois being combined with information retrieval usingthe Internet. This is referred to as “radio browsing”and is being used to provide both non-formaleducation, as well as support for classroom teachers.267

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in EducationExamples of dedicated networks strictly foreducational purposes are also emerging. The paperon India describes the imminent launch of a satellitethat will enable the provision of several televisionchannels and dozens of radio channels foreducational use. Many of the Pacific Island Countriesare members of the University of the South Pacificconsortium that uses a satellite-based communicationnetwork (USPNet) to deliver university courses andsome non-formal education, using teleconferencing,e-mail and the web. Indeed, USPNet provides a goodexample of successful regional cooperation.Wireless networks are starting to appear. Bangladeshis arguably one of the world’s more active examplesin using wireless technology to support the manyfacets of development education. The Philippines isthe site of an innovative mobile m-learning projectthat incorporates wireless technology.There are also examples of web portals, such as thosein Mongolia and the Maldives that have beendeveloped as a means of sharing teaching resources.But in spite of these burgeoning, and ofteninnovative, developments, access to ICT appliancessuch as computers, communication networks, andInternet connectivity remains low or nonexistent forthe vast majority of educators in all but the mostdeveloped of the Asia-Pacific countries. Even whenaccess is available, the staff of educationalinstitutions typically lack the skills, knowledge andcomfort level to make use of them. A Pacific IslandCountry report shows that the little existinginfrastructure is actually being underutilized.Research has shown in other cases that access couldbe tripled, just by using existing resources to theirfull capacity.The issues of the “digital divide” are more complexthan a simple comparison between the so-called“developed” and “developing” countries. There aremany intra-country factors creating barriers. In manycountries, with the exception of Japan and theRepublic of Korea, access to ICTs by girls andwomen is a major concern. While there areprogrammes in some countries that are vigorouslyaddressing the issue of lower ICT-relatedparticipation by girls and women, equity issuesremain an important concern. Intra-country digitaldivides are also rooted in socio-economic issues suchas: differences between rural and urban areas,differences within urban areas and age groups,language barriers, caste differences, lack of accessto electricity and lack of access to ICT infrastructure.The authors’ analyses of country realities are sometimesmeasured with an implicit hierarchy of the best set-up: froma fully Internet-connected classroom, down to the radio usein community learning centres. Despite this fact, the mainquestion remains, which is the most (cost-) effective solutionfor the educational purpose, and which is not: how can weget our school online and what will it cost? In manycountries, one can find a strong focus on technologies andon connectivity, e.g. giving benchmarks on what the pupil- (connected) computer ratio should be by 2005, etc. TheRepublic of Korea requests their teachers to use ICTs forteaching and learning for 10% of total classroom time. Yetspecifying the degree of curriculum integration, as well asmaking explicit indications and training on how exactly thecomputers and online information/communicationpossibilities should be integrated effectively remains theexception. In addition, many claimed “online experiences”in learning environments can be had with only a minimal(or no) connection to the Internet 3 , with the same learningoutcomes. Some learners are therefore much better servedby a systematically integrated Interactive Radio Instructionprogramme, than by a rarely or badly used Internetconnectedcomputer set-up.Current initiativesThere appears to be a common pattern of developmentamong the countries regarding the adoption of ICTapplications. It is sequential and somewhat linear,necessitating that each phase be completed to some minimallevel before the next can be undertaken successfully.The first phase of this adoption process typicallyinvolves ICT applications in the area ofadministrative functions such as finance, studentrecords, and personnel. While these types ofapplications are not the focus of this report, it isinteresting to speculate about the necessity ofaccomplishing this phase in order to getadministrators “on side”, and to have the supportsystems in place when applications that are moredirectly related to the teaching/learning process cometo fruition.The next adoption phase involves teaching about ICT.Here we see a wide variety of initiatives that rangefrom setting up computer labs to developing ICTcurricula. In turn, these curricula include subjectsranging from how to operate a computer, to how touse software, to learning programming languages.Indeed, if one examines the content of the policystatements extant in many of the countries, it is clearthat the development of ICT skills and competenciesin the labour force is the top priority for manygovernments.The “teaching about ICTs” phase has two effects thatprovide the platform for the next phase: the use ofICTs by teachers to develop and acquire materials268

Integrating Information and Communication Technologies in Education inAsia and the Pacific: Trends and Observationsthat support their teaching in other subjects. The firstof these effects is that the school or institutionbecomes equipped with some ICT appliances andnetworks along with some level of Internetconnectivity. The second is that one or more teacherswith ICT skills become available to colleagues forsupport and collaboration. Thus teachers can beginto visualize how they can use the technology tosupport their teaching, and they have access to themeans to do it. While it is often the case that thisphase begins through the innovative efforts of a fewteachers, it must, in the end, be championed andsupported by governments and donor agencies. Thereports are rife with examples of this. The “SmartSchools” programme in Malaysia, the emergence ofportals for sharing materials among teachers as inMongolia, and the growing emphasis on teachertraining are examples of wider initiatives to helpeducators use ICTs as part of the pedagogy in allparts of the curriculum. Countries such as theRepublic of Korea, Australia, Japan and New Zealandare much further along in their development of thisphase.The next phase is more opaque because there are veryfew examples mentioned in the reports. Nevertheless,the initiatives that are underway are transforming thetraditional role of “teachers” who are becomingfacilitators of learning. As ICTs are employed toenable learners to access information on their own,the teacher’s role shifts from being primarily aninformation provider to that of helping learnersmanage and interpret information. Many authors ofcountry reports have identified this type of teachertraining as being of crucial importance in thecontinuing evolution of ICT applications in formaleducation. Little space was left in the reports toanalyse the important “teaching culture” changes thisimplies and the challenges this represents, even fortechnologically advanced countries 4 . The imminentchanges of teacher roles re-emphasises the need forthe participation of all stakeholders, includingteachers, in the planning and policy process, to findfeasible solutions and applications.The area of non-formal education presents a totally differentpicture. First of all, the target learners in non-formaleducation are different from those in the formal system.They are often out-of-school youth and adults whoselearning needs are the development of functional skills inbasic literacy, health education, food production or humanrights, and they live in communities where applications ofthe digital ICTs are difficult to implement in a sustainableway. Meeting these needs requires technologies that canreach mass audiences, while not increasing existingdisparities by ever-increasing the “digital divide”. Here too,there is a pattern of ICT applications that emerges from thecountry reports:The country reports on Nepal, Pakistan, India andAfghanistan document a wide variety of radioprogramme initiatives covering topics such as health,food production, literacy, and human rights. Aparticularly interesting and seemingly effectiveexample, begun by the BBC some years ago inAfghanistan, continues today. It is called “NewHome, New Life” and uses a “soap opera” format todeal with such topics as repatriation, reintegrationof returnees to the country, awareness of land mines,health, hygiene and sanitation, and conflictresolution.Television also plays an important role in manycountries. Pakistan uses television extensively in nonformaleducation, as does Mongolia.While the traditional broadcast technologies willcertainly continue to be used on their own as the mainmeans to reach large numbers of learners, suchtechnologies present a one-way form ofcommunication, lacking the interactive capacity thatenriches any learning experience. This, however, ischanging with the trend to use the broadcasttechnologies in conjunction with telephone, e-mail,the web and the Internet. For example, in Bhutan,Nepal, and Sri Lanka listeners can use whatevermeans are available to inform the broadcaster ofinformation they are interested in, and the broadcasterthen “surfs the web” and broadcasts the informationover the radio. This is referred to as “radio browsing”.Certainly the most ubiquitous innovation regardingthe use of ICTs in non-formal education has beenthe development of telecentres at the communitylevel where people can access ICT appliances as wellas learning opportunities – both formal and nonformal.While this is well documented in many ofthe papers, two are particularly noteworthy. Viet Namhas established a network of such centres withsupport from the Coca-Cola Company – a somehowastonishing example of what can be accomplishedthrough partnerships, which would be interesting tostudy in more depth at a future date. Meanwhile, theSwaminathan Foundation has establishedpartnerships with dozens of villages in the south ofIndia to empower people to manage ICTs for theirown purposes. That may vary from obtaining marketinformation, health education, marketing locallyproduced products, or literacy training.Many of the initiatives described in the reports involvedevelopment of new organisational arrangements that aredesigned to foster and support the use of ICTs in education.One example is the growing number of SchoolNetsthroughout the region that are providing support forteachers, facilitating the development and sharing of269

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationlearning materials, and helping to create and sustaine-mail and Internet access for schools.Another is the emergence of research anddevelopment bodies with mandates to undertakeformative evaluation projects, establish benchmarksand standards, and monitor policy achievements.Examples of such bodies are described in the paperson Australia and Republic of Korea.Much more recent is the work of organisations suchas EdNA in Australia that works across all educationsectors to support the use of ICTs. As a result,Australia is at the vanguard of countries working onthe development of online learning objectrepositories.While there are a great many initiatives underway in thecountries of the Asia-Pacific region, the majority of themin developing countries are made possible by support fromdonor agencies. This raises the question about theirsustainability when the donor- funded stage is completed.Much more troubling, however, is the apparent lack ofattention paid to assessing and sharing results from theseprojects. There are some cases of evaluation assessmentscurrently being undertaken. In Sri Lanka, for example,research is underway on how urban poor access ICTs, whilein the Solomon Islands, factors that affect the use of facilitiesby rural populations are being explored. However, thecountry papers are notably silent about initiatives of thissort, not because the authors have ignored the question, butbecause examples of the kind mentioned above are so rare.This may, of course, be due to the fact that so many of theinitiatives are new, but it does underscore the importanceof initiatives such as the portal on the use of ICT in educationthat has been created by UNESCO. This is one of the few“one stop shopping centres” for information about the useof ICTs in education (www.unesco.org/bangkok/education/ict/).Constraints andchallengesThe factors that constrain the adoption of ICTs in educationcan be grouped as follows:National PrioritiesMany countries in the Asia-Pacific region, among themthose in Central Asia, the Pacific Islands, Myanmar,Cambodia, and Lao PDR, face difficult choices when itcomes to making policy decisions regarding the increaseduse of ICTs in their education systems. On one hand, thereis the reality that there are too few teachers with even basicteaching qualifications, too few schools for the numbers ofstudents, and insufficient teaching materials to support themost conventional of learning environments. It seems thatin many countries, ICTs have not been explored enough toface the severe Education for All (EFA) challenges. ICTsare often immediately linked to expensive high-techsolutions and low-tech but effective open and distancelearning options, opportunities for effective multi-classteaching; to include those with special needs etc. remainsunexplored. On the other hand, governments are acutelyaware of the importance that the new ICTs play in the globaleconomy and are therefore driven to acknowledge thisimportance in some way too. Thus, we have the situationdescribed in so many of the country reports, where a nationalvision, sometimes along with a detailed policy framework,promulgates the importance of, but does not implement theuse of, computers in schools, except in the context of donorsponsoreddemonstration projects.ICT InfrastructureObviously there must be access opportunities if educatorsare to make use of ICTs. This is highly variable amongcountries in terms of such issues as access to ICT appliances,Internet connectivity, connectivity speed, reliability ofelectricity, and cost of service. These are the ingredients ofthe “digital divide” that is manifest most profoundlybetween countries such as the Republic of Korea, Japanand Australia on one hand, and those that are less affluenton the other. However, the gaps in access to ICTs are alsointra-national. They exist between rural and urban areas,between the wealthy and poor areas, and among social stratabased on gender and, sometimes, on caste.Policy GoalsAs noted earlier, policy statements regarding the role ofICTs in education vary widely in terms of goals that havebeen set. For instance, the policy goals of the DemocraticPeople’s Republic of Korea have resulted in a focus ontraining gifted students in specialised institutions. Incontrast, the policies and practices in the Republic of Koreaencourage all citizens to become ICT literate, with the resultthat there is ready access to ICT infrastructure as well asopportunities to learn about applications. Between thesepolar examples are national policies that define ICTs as anessential subject in the curriculum, in contrast to others thatcall for the integration of ICTs into pedagogical practiceacross the curriculum – a difference that clearly influencesboth the numbers of teachers being trained, as well as thecontent of the training itself.The reports identify a number of language-related problems,which stem in part from a lack of appropriate policies orstrategies. Difficulties displaying local-language scripts ona screen persist, for example in Afghanistan, Cambodia andLaos. There is also a lack of quality, local-language contentin many countries, both in terms of software/learningmaterials, as well as training manuals. This is, in part, aknock-on effect of the script issue, but it also extends tomany other countries in the region: Bhutan, India, Indonesia,270

Integrating Information and Communication Technologies in Education inAsia and the Pacific: Trends and ObservationsLaos, Maldives, Mongolia, Thailand and Viet Nam, to namebut a few.Teaching PracticeThe reports showed the multiple dimensions necessary fora successful ICT integration in the classroom, to whichteachers remain the key. Teachers are more likely toincorporate ICTs into their teaching if they feel confidentin using the technology, and if they perceive that doing sowill be of some benefit as opposed to just adding more workto an already busy schedule. They need a supportiveenvironment and general guidance, individual incentives,clear policies, curricula, instruction and training, and theybenefit from peer support and interaction in networks. Thelack of ICT-based instructional materials, and morespecifically, the lack of such materials in the local languagesis one reason mentioned why teachers are sceptical aboutthe value of ICTs in their classrooms. Even those that dohave access to the Internet are constrained in terms ofmaking use of it because so much of the content is inEnglish. Some country reports mention, however, that morethan half of the teaching workforce has never benefited fromany pre- or in-service training. Some examples show howICTs can well be used to do both, familiarize teachers withICTs and to offer training in content, pedagogy and a broadrange of skills.Money and PeopleThe lack of funding and the dearth of trained staff are thetwo most cited constraints to ICT application in education.The lack of funding for the development of infrastructureand the purchasing of hardware and software are the mostobvious. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) could bepromoted to address this problem, but remain an underexploredoption in the region. While several examples ofPPPs are mentioned in the country reports, few are at scale,and many remain at the pilot project stage. Some reports,specifically those on Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar,mention the need to create a more amenable climate forpromoting and attracting greater private-sector involvementin all areas of ICT development, from upgradinginfrastructure, to NFE and TVE, to establishing moretraining institutes and Internet cafes.However, the lack of human expertise is equallyconstraining in that it impacts on everything from policydevelopment, to infrastructure servicing, to the provisionof training for teachers and the development of instructionalproducts.The constraints and challenges teachers and pupils face ofcourse differ from the above described development stages.Yet one report shows that even a perfect infrastructure andICT literate teachers and students do not guarantee that thesetechnologies are really being used to help pupils to think,to analyse critically, to learn how to solve problems, tointeract and communicate, evaluate information resources,synthesize etc. New challenges have arisen, such as the“Internet addiction” of pupils who spend their lives playinggames, visiting porn-sites, chatting, breaking copyright lawsetc. The country reports also rarely mention the ongoingchallenge of working in line with EFA goals towards genderequality, and of using ICTs systematically for this purpose.Few projects promote the active enrolment of girls in ICTprogrammes, provide incentives in the form of, say,scholarships, or include awareness-raising activities. Oneexample of an NGO actively involved in promoting ICTeducation to girls, however, can be found in Pakistan. SinceNovember 2000, the Ma’arif Education Society (MES) hasbeen aiming to promote access to, and quality of, ICTeducation for women. MES also works to increase femaleparticipation in ICT education, in particular through theMa’arif Institute of Information Technology, as well as byeducating young girls, especially, about the appropriatenessof women working in ICT-related fields. 6Again countries exploring a higher degree of ICT integrationcan learn from these experiences, addressing early ethicalquestions in an effective way, also stressing the need forother social interaction in real life.Most importantly these experiences show that even fullyequipped classrooms and technically skilled teachers arenot a solution in themselves. The main questions on learningremain: what should the pupils know, be, be able to do -and how exactly can technologies assist in this individualand social development?Strategies and opportunitiesThe country reports describe a wide variety of strategiesthat are being employed to introduce ICT applications intoeducational systems. The authors also offer their ownanalysis of the lessons learned and new approaches thatmight be tried. The following summary provides anoverview of the points made:All authors identified training as a criticaldeterminant of successful ICT applications. Whiletraining for teachers is an obvious need, many authorsalso stressed the importance of training foradministrators and support staff.The content of training programmes needs to covermuch more than simply how to operate a computer.Teachers also need to learn how to incorporate ICTsinto the teaching of all subjects in curriculum, andto develop appropriate instructional materials.Some innovative models for providing training andsupport for teachers have been developed. Forexample, New Zealand has introduced the idea of“cluster schools” with a “lead” school in each cluster271

UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Educationthat has the resources to provide training for staff atother schools in the cluster. Thailand uses the strategyof “peer-to-peer” training, and others are accessingonline courses. Strategies such as these are moreconducive to the provision of training on a “just-intime”basis, and are therefore more likely to helpteachers feel supported in their efforts to change howthey practise as teachers.Palau, a country that is well above the norm in termsof ICT integration in education, has initiated the“Teaching, Learning, Technology Training Project”.This uses a professional development frameworkbased on a number of critical ICT competencies suchas being able to operate ICT appliances, use softwareapplications and develop academic skills. These arethen aligned within five developmental stagesranging from entry-level teaching skills to ones atmore advanced levels.The reports describe a variety of strategies forintroducing ICTs into education systems, rangingfrom ones that are initiated from the top down tothose that begin at the grassroots level. While thereis no “right way” to do this, one of the lessons learnedis the importance of multi-level policies and supports– from national to school levels – if the innovationis to succeed.The important role that partnerships can play infacilitating the use of ICTs in education is clearlyevident in many of the reports. Partnerships thatmight include non-government organisations,government, private sector companies, donoragencies and/or international institutions can helpschools solve infrastructure access problems, trainstaff, produce materials, and pilot test innovations.The “adopt-a-school” project in the Philippines, thelearning centre development programme in VietNam, the BBC-produced radio soap operas broadcastin Afghanistan, and the US-China collaboration toteach English online, are but a few of the examplesdescribed in the country reports.Within countries, more collaboration among schoolsis needed in terms of resource sharing. Training,materials development and infrastructuremaintenance are costly and therefore difficult foreducational institutions to afford. Finding modelsthrough which to share investments, risk andexpertise is therefore of critical importance.While the rapidly emerging use of wireless networksand mobile learning in countries like Bangladesh andthe Philippines may create the impression that thebroadcast technologies are giving way to the Internet,the evidence is contrary. Indeed, the use of radio andtelevision remains important, and in the case of radio,it is used in ways that expand access to the Internet.In summary, the vast majority of countries in the Asia Pacificregion are still at an early stage in the process of adoptingICTs into their education systems. For most students andteachers, using a computer to send an e-mail or surf theweb is still in the future. However, this situation is changingrapidly, and as it does, policy makers and education leadersneed assistance as they make investment decisions. Theyneed to know more about what is being learned from themany projects currently underway in the region and aroundthe world. They need valid indicators by which to measureprogress and better models for evaluating ICT options thatare available in order to maximise the benefits for theircountry. Unfortunately, the state of development of thesedecision tools is still quite primitive. In 2003 UNESCOlaunched, however, twelve ICT in education projects 5financed by Japanese Funds-in-Trust, to assist MemberStates in Asia and the Pacific in meeting key challengesdescribed and analysed in this survey.NOTES1 The authors used the UNESCO terminology of Results-BasedProgramming, Management and Monitoring (RBM), as defined byUNESCO‘s Bureau of Strategic Planning in the RBM guide 2001.2 See the Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2003/2004 by Chin Saik Yoon(Ed.), p. 13, published in Nov. 2003, also with more information one-commerce, e-health, e-government etc. in the region at: www.digitalreview.org.3 Local web servers, CD-ROMs, proxy cashing servers, e-mail serveron the local network can also save often downplayed operating costs.For more information see http://www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/technologies or read the Planning for Technologies section in theTechKnowLogia Jan-March 2002 publication atwww.techknowlogia.org.4 See for example the Japan country report.5 Please visit www.unescobkk.org/education/ict for more information.6 ‘www.123freehost.co.uk/sites/maarif/; Also, see: ICT Education forWomen in Pakistan: A Political or Economic Issue?, Ahsiya Posner,research paper: www.gse.harvard.edu/~views/VIEWS_posner.pdf272