Create & Innovate

ICTs for Education?

Technology without Context lacks Purpose

The problem is not the technologyNOR IS IT THE STAND-ALONE SOLUTION

The real constraints are:

• Lack of focus on education objectives

• Failure to consider all the elements

of the end-to-end system

• Failure to consider long-term costs or

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

ICTs have no impact on teaching andlearning

ICTs break down frequently with no money for repairs

ICTs are too expensive for schools

How Do We Know? Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative

Transforming Education, Empowering Communities and Promoting Development

• What do we do?We provide end-to-end advisory support on the effective integration of ICTs into education

• To whom do we provide support?Developing countries seeking to transform education through ICTs

• What are our guiding principles?GeSCI acts on the premise that ICT initiatives must be demand driven. We act as guides, fostering country ownership of ideas, strategies and implementation.

Why Integrate ICTs into Education?

New Competencies are required to respond to a changing world

• Higher order thinking and problem solving skills

• ICT literacy

• Life skills (including lifelong learning skills)

PedagogyCurriculumContentAssessmentSpecial NeedsTeacher Professional Development

Teachers are agents of change – need to be defined as facilitators of learning

Learning needs to extend beyond the classroom walls

How do we address this challenge? GeSCI has identified 5 critical Work Streams/Thematic Areas through which we work

1.Policy – Problem: doesn’t exist or piecemealSOLUTION - FROM THE TOP - DOWNICTs must be integrated into regional and/or national policy. Piecemeal ICT integration and disparate ICT projects are unsustainable.

2.Strategic Implementation & Planning – Problem: lack of resourcesSOLUTION - FORESIGHT IS FOREKNOWLEDGEEvery stage of the process, from policy development to monitoring and evaluation must be anticipated for integration to succeed

3.Teaching & Learning – Problem: no training or contentSOLUTION - TEACHERS ARE AGENTS OF CHANGEChildren require new competencies to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world

4.Infrastructure & Connectivity – Problem: inadequate & expensiveSOLUTION - ACCESS, CAPACITY, AVAILABILITYLack of adequate infrastructure is probably the greatest obstacle to the effective integration of ICTs into the social fabric of developing countries today; debilitating the advancement of education, research, and the private sector

5.Monitoring & Evaluation – Problem: no feedback mechanismSOLUTION - CONTINUOUS LEARNINGMonitoring and evaluation is an integral part of the process of ICT integration. Without it the entire initiative is flawed, as continuous learning on different levelscannot be realised.

END-TO-END

–Common goals

–Partners

–Funding

Deployment of ICT platform

Content

User training and support

Technical support

Monitoring and reporting

Technical support

Monitoring and reporting

User training and support

An efficient ‘end-to-end’ system, being demand-driven and based on strong partnership and close co-ordination, is the key to achieving real impact:

Key Inputs System User

Collaborate Collaborate

& &

EnableEnable

Collaborate & EnableCollaborate & Enable

ResearchResearch

• Addressing Research GapsAddressing Research Gaps

• North South CollaborationNorth South Collaboration

Capacity BuildingCapacity Building

• Joint EffortsJoint Efforts

• Share ExperiencesShare Experiences

Contact Us …

• http://www.gesci.org

• 14 St Stephen’s Green

Dublin 2

• Tel. (01) 642 5006