New Modern Technologies and Their Impact on Education and Training inSouth-East Europe

A Conference Co-organised by the Romanian Ministry of Education

3-5 December 2000, Sinaia, Romania

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Educationand Training - the Route to an Inclusive Society

Edwyn James, OECD/CERI

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ICT and Connectivity

Less-developedregions

More-developedregions

Computers 120 2690

Internet hosts 3 470

Source: World Bank, quoted in OECD/CERI 2000

Computers and Internet hosts per 10 000 inhabitants in the different world regions:

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The Digital Divide

Africa: 11% world population2% world trade (1% excluding oil)

30 African countries: Less than one telephone line per 100 people

IMF, UN, World Bank, OECD - 2000: A Better World for All

July 2000 G8 Nations Dot (Digital Opportunity Task) Force

Task Force for Education (SE Europe Stability Pact)

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Mexican Telesecundaria

• Not necessarily state-of-the-art technology

• Adopted by other countries

• Suitability qualified tutors and persuaders

US Adult Learners

• New confidence to unemployed

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05

10152025303540

Students per Computer in Upper Secondary Education

(1988)

Source: Education Policy Analysis, OECD/CERI, 2001 (in preparation)

The relative disadvantage - maintained or even expanded

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Inequity Within the Population

-10

10

30

50

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Gross income decile

P er cent

1998-1999

1999-2000

Home access to the internet by gross income decile group in the UK:1998-1999 & 1999-2000

Source: Education Policy Analysis, OECD/CERI, 2001 (in preparation)

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Disadvantaged Groups

• Women in many societies

• Intergenerational gaps

• Workplace with/without ICT

• In short, many divides

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Learning to Bridge the Digital Divide

http://www.oecd.org/media/publish/pb00-17a.htm

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Matching Learning Opportunities to People

It is necessary but not sufficient to provide avenues toinformation and knowledge. What is more important is toempower people with appropriate educational, cognitiveand behavioural skills and tools to:

access the information avenues efficiently, effectively andwisely;

acquire knowledge and internalise it;

apply knowledge to better understand the changing world,to develop their capabilities, to live and work in dignity, toparticipate in development, to improve the quality of theirlives, and to make informed decisions; and

upgrade their knowledge continuously and systematically.

Wadi D. Haddad, quoted in OECD/CERI 2000

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Useful Learning Initiatives

• Public kiosks Turkey, Malaysia, Korea (games to serious study)

• Costa Rico Refurbished cargo container, & Malaysia LINCOS trained community member

• Mexican distance Farmers, mothers, parents, Learning youngsters, adult basic skills

• Distance learning to disseminate skills from the few to the many

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Teacher Importance

“The neglect of teacher ICT training, which tendsto lag behind physical investment, is oftenconsidered a major obstacle… In the UnitedStates, it is remarkable that expenditures ontechnology training for instructional staffincreased only slightly from 4% of the technologybudget in 1994-95 to 5% in 1998-99, given the highpolitical priority of the use of ICT in education andthe fact that many teachers lack ICT skills. Severalstudies have shown that an important barrier totechnology use in schools is simply lack ofteacher time to attend training and workshops,and to plan lessons using new materials ormethods.”

Quoted in OECD/CERI (2000)

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Bonuses from ICT Literacy

“Finland already has nearly universal access - it hasmore Internet hook-ups per person than anywhere onearth, twice the United States number, and will haveevery school in the country online by the year 2000.Electronic access is becoming an integral part of thedemocratic process in Finland, as much a guaranteedright as the right to vote.”

(Hammond, A., quoted in OECD/CERI 2000)

Overcoming the structural weaknesses within society

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Priority concerns, as a country seeks to exploit ICT in the search for a more equitable society, that is socially and economically at ease in the

modern world:

• Equipment available to all kiosks, schools open to the communityfor extended hours; low-cost on-line facilities

• Teachers empowered appropriate pedagogical and technical skills; curriculum matched to perceived needand what ICT makes possible; assessmentand qualifications in harmony;

• Partnerships encouraged educational suppliers and users, policy makers, the workplace, the community, the home, the individuallearner.

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Achievable outcomes, from the wise adoption of ICT:

• A more inclusive society that is economically flourishing with mutual respect between its different communities and interest groups

• An enhanced democratic process whereby the individual is in closer contact with the system and better able to influence it.

In short ICT has a world-scale potential to help in enhancing a more equitable quality of life for all.