Norway

USANetherlandsFinland

Germany

Singapore••••

•

•

Slovenia

$32,000average

high incomecountries

$50,000

< $12,000:

$9,000

$6,000

< $3,850: lower middle income countries

•

low income countries

> $12,000: high income countries

GNI p/c middle income countries

How to improve education in middle and low income countries?

< $ 980: low income countries

Gross National Income per capita: yearly total value of production + incomes divided by population

AlbaniaUkraine

ChinaIndia

Peru

Mexico

Serbia

NamibiaSurinam

Bosnia

Hungary

Slovakia

RussiaUruguay

Turkey

•

•••

••

•

•

•

•

••••

11 snapshots reveal broken promises of computer technology when

introduced too fast

Information Technology in Educationin high - middle and low income countries

billions s

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•

$110

:

$170

:

$225

:

A realistic policy is selective

The blessings of computer tech-nology are mixed. The digitallibrary and access to the worldwide web have changed a lot ineducation. But IT has hardly con-tributed to better teaching. Aftertwo decades this can be conclud-ed in rich countries.

Snapshots 5 to 11 reveal that it isidle to believe that what is failingin rich countries will succeed in middle and low income countries.

Information Technology (IT) thatworks has to be introduced. Whatis marginal or negative in effectson learning results can be post-poned until appropriate technolo-gy and didactics are developedand teachers are ready for it.Today much more effective formsof ICT can be used at lower coststo support their daily work.

Drs Jan Krol, director Visual Teach large screen presentations

In the last two years Jan Krol vis-ited many schools and ministries

in Africa and on the Balkans.

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ICT is more than IT

2

1

2

33

7

911

Upper-middle income < US$12,000

Lower-middle income < US$ 3,850

Low income < US$975 down to $110

GNI p/c World Bank 2008

High income > US$12,000 - av.$38,000

A pan-european EU study* reveales that thecomputer/pupil ratio is 1 to 9. Nordic countries, the UKand Netherlands score highest with 1 to 5. Computer labsare the starting point for most schools. 96% of the EUschools are internet connected, 67% via broadband.Many teachers have appliences in their classroom but 70to 80% rarely use them. Teachers who think that com-puters support teaching but not use it, complain mainlyabout the lack of computers. Even well equipped countriessuch as Norway are faced with a lack of technical support.

Typically on other continents also, most research on IT ineducation (as this investigation to support EU policies) is notdone by educationalist but by IT specialists, supportive of thegrand idea: computers boost education. The tone in reportsis promising - computers enrich education - but the learningresults of the investments are not measured. ‘Is thereenough?’ is the leading question. Monitoring success of ITimpementation follows a returning hierarchy of relevancies: 1 computer/pupil ratio: need for more?2 maintenancy, is support availability?3 is educational software available? 4 do teachers have enough IT skills? - their age

Impact assessment is rare, although this should be the basis for any policy.* Benchmarking Access and Use of ICT in European schools 2006,by Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Technologie Forschungfor the EU ‘DG Information Society and Media’

British teachers hold the EU top score inusing computers in class and interactivewhiteboards were nationwide installedafter 2002.

Nationwide study* concludes:vast spending on IT has little or no effect on learning standards Key phrases • ‘more entertainment than education’ • ‘utopian fantasies about the

transformation of education’• ‘superficial attempts to import

technology into schools or combine education with digital entertainment’

Interactive computers might harm learn-ing, other research confirms, due to theflow of information and distraction byvisual or sound effects. * Beyond Technology 2007, by DavidBuckingham, professor at the Institute ofEducation London, director at the Centre forthe Study of Children, Youth and Media

2 United Kingdomdid invest most in IT

Finland has according to each OECD Pisa Report thebest results and best educational system in the world.This quality is not related to the use of computers. Theuse of computers in the classroom in Finland is effec-tively declining since the late 90s.** OECD study on digital learning resources as systematic inno-vation - Country case study Finland, 30 dec 2008 p.6

In Norway: research shows that few teachers use avail-able computers for teaching. Teachers use computersfor lesson preparation (like they do in other Nordic andmost West European countries). The build up of portals and online sites, since the 90sharvesting useful teaching and learning materials, hasnot been as succesful as expected by teachers and stu-dents - the whole system will be reorientated. * OECD - Country case study Norway, 2009 p 6 + p 8

3 Nordic countries wealthy information societies

1 European Union policy without impact assessment

computer assisted teaching:

11 key snapshots across the globe

7 India and what is

Does IT contribute a reality check

6

Here, as for most parts of the world, there isno up-to-date and comprehensive documen-tation of the impact of IT and a lack of evalu-ation, with negative repercussions*:- on planning: countries and donors struggle

to keep track of projects over which they have no control and too little knowledge to draw lessons from.

South Asia actually happening?

to better learning results?

3

10

9

8

5

6

4

4 USA The quick fix:“enrich education with computers” (common IT phrase)

snapshots 8 to 11 see next pages

In no country so much money is spent on education as in the USA, 60% above theOECD average. Much is invested in IT - with poor results according to Pisa Reports,consistantly deep below average.

‘Oversold and overvalued’ warned Prof. Cuban of Stanford University already in2001, as do other independent studies on effects of IT on teaching and learning out-comes. ‘Are we there yet? Research on schools' use of the Internet’ is a US survey con-ducted in 2004 for National School Boards Foundation which reveals startling gapsbetween the promise and reality of technology use in schools. The pedagogy (strategyto achieve teaching goals) is fit to the technology - a trap: the technology is just tootempting, starts to take over and subject related teaching goals get vague or disappear.Teaching and learning becomes ‘edutainment’. Distraction affects poor pupils most. In ‘If it quacks like a duck. Emerging technologies for learning’ 2008, EmmaTonkin makes memorable statements: ‘There is no Google generation (able to learn viasearching) and no shortcut to understanding’ - ‘People are still people’ - ‘IT in educa-tion is evolution – not a revolution’ - ‘With every advance there is a rush of hope andhype’.

In the USA improving poor education with the quick fix of computer solutions seemscounter productive. Teachers’ routines get distorted, standards go down with theincreasing role of computers. A similar trend of declining quality parallel with theemerge of computers is apparent in Europe, e.g. in the Netherlands. Like in the USA,students in Teachers Training don’t know how to make simple calculations, how tospell and lack basic general knowledge e.g. in geography and history.

“A rush of hope and hype” is especially true for interactive whiteboards (IWBs)which in the USA after 2000 got placed on schools in waves, firstly by WashingtonState and Arizona. This inspired policies in other states and other countries likeGreat Britain and even Mexico in 2005. They have become a status symbol, yet theircontribution to learning is questionable.** ‘The Interactive Whiteboards, Pedagogy and Pupil Performance Evaluation’, University ofLondon 2007: Its pedagogy has to be developed - the value of the IWBs is not fullyunderstood; ‘Interactive Whiteboards: Real beauty or just “lipstick”’, EducationalDepartment Eastern Cape University Capetown, 2008 Advise: “Leap-frog” (skip) thisgeneration of IWBs until its pedagogy is developed.

A snapshot of low and lower middle income countries - from Thailand and Mongolia to Samoa.* The report emphasises the value of IT and ofsmall successes. It also shows the persistent enthousiasm of IT implementersbut inevitably describes a considerable range of “challenges”, including:- lack of electricity and internet access- organisational challenges constitute critical barriers- important follow up activities by the government are not implemented- ongoing costs are a major concern- teachers having developed basic computer skills are not able to use

technology to improve teaching and bring about pedagogical change.* ICT in teacher education: case studies from the Asia-Pacific region 2008, E. Meleisea, Eldis - Unesco Bangkok

5 Asia-Pacific regionIT in teacher education

“Investing in ICT is an expensive business”, concludes the Minister ofEducation of Singapore*, with a GNI p/c of $48,000 in the top 10 of highestincome countries. Although his claims of progress in IT use on Singaporian schoolsmight be (partly) justified*, as in Western countries, 70 to 80% of the teachersregularly ignore the expensive IT applications in their classroom and e-learning isdeclining.In Malaysia** courses for teaching how to implement IT fail: knowledge is notapplicable - teachers feel that they did not learn how to integrate IT in theirteaching. Even here teachers who try to use IT face malfunctioning of the com-puter, server and router, despite available technical assistance. * Opening address at the International Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology(Suntec Convention Hall - 1800 visitors) Aug. 2008, by Minister Dr. Ng Eng Hen

**Conditions and level of ICT integration in Malaysian Smart Schools 2009, by Wan ZWA,Hajar M, Azimi H in: International Journal of Education & Development using ICT - Vol 5 No 2

6 Asian TigersMalaysia and Singapore

4

- no information: data occur scattered andare often not accesseble, or out of date.

- Need for coordination of data collecting anduse as a minimal requirment for policy.

- Teachers and schools struggle to clarify roles- Lack of infrastructure, materials, know how* Survey of ICT in Education in India and South Asia2009, Dr. Tim Kelly InfoDev.org - World Bank

Does IT contribute 8 Mexico

interactive whiteboard disaster 2005 Mexico, a middle income country with oil revenues. The Foxgovernment installed 150,000 interactive whiteboards, firstly in pri-mary schools, with computers, digital projectors and nationwideteacher training, an investment of nearly a billion dollars. After thispilot the plan was cancelled to equip another 40,000 classrooms insecondary schools. Today most of the 150,000 whiteboards are notin use. A Harvard Study revealed that where they were used learn-ing results did not improve. As with all IT, a sound pedagogicalunderstanding is needed on how to use it to reach the curriculumgoals. Fraud, corruption scandals and political plots came with themultiple million dollar project.* Meanwhile on IT conferences, also in middle and low incomecountries, the possibly biggest educational mis-investment in recenthistory goes unmentioned while advisers persuade ministers with theendless possibilities of the IWBs to spend their limited budgets on. * The Mexican Digital Wave, Jo Tuckman The Guardian 6-5-2007. More on p 6.

10

4

9

8

9 ‘One Laptop Per Child’ OLPC - at US$200 per laptopHaiti 13,800 laptops so far, India 720, Rwanda 110,000, Uruguay 300,000. Visitingthe OLPC website gives a real positive impression of the laptop and its possibilities.Clicking through to a supporting website as in Uruguay shows that the digital cur-riculums to download by children, still are to be developed for each school year. Theknow how to do so seems limited. It leaves the teacher with a ‘monumental task’. Yet, for children it is great to get a laptop - a step towards a computer literate society.Children pick up IT skills amazingly fast.* “They can teach their parents, aunts,uncles and grandparents to use the machines”. This might be true if, as Rwandatries to at the moment, a solid internet infrastructure is provided to tap on to, free ofcharge. The Ministry also has started to sell the laptops at cost price - obviously a good idea.Or the OLPC approach can provide a basis for education in developing economies, is thenext question.* Hole-in-the-Wall. Lightning the spark of learning, Saguta Mitra / Hiwell

Peru “When a country tries to fly before it even knows how to walk” The Peruvian government is one of the low and middle income countries so far per-suaded by the founder of OLPC, Prof. Negroponte: “... to leap-frog decades of devel-opment ... Children in emerging nations will be opened both to illimitable knowledgeand to their own creative and problem solving potential”. In 2006/7 Peru purchasedand distributed 260.000+ of his ingenious laptops among children. In 2009 KikoMayorga identifies an “amazing non-connectness between reality and publici-ty”: The government claims that reading comprehension on primary level has beenimproved by 50% since introduction. In reality, at the ministry there is no e-mail listof teachers involved and no system to write them. Less than 5% of the laptops is con-nected to the internet. On the web there are virtually no OLPC communities, forumsnor blogs - there are no feedback or user reports. Nor can children get their softwareupdated. It is amazing how little communication teachers get or initiate. Laptops areisolated and deeply lost - many kids and teachers use them in trial and error style*. Now the discussion is on or the government should buy the new software ‘XO-2’for the laptops or stick to the old ones which they bought 260.000 times 3 years ago.* OLPC Peru is Still Far From Our Goals, 2009 Kiko Mayorga on Digete Esculab.

Ethiopia 2007, donor project of 5000 OLPCs for ‘self-empowered learning’

The Ministry of Capacity Building, GTZ(German) and EduVision (Swiss) coordinate theimplementation. Researchers find that, despitebeing introduced with care, many laptopsbecome little more than distracting toys in theclassroom*: Pupils tend to play with them,largely by taking photos with the built in cam-eras. Teachers are left frustrated because pupilsmaster the technology easier and play on theminstead of listening to them. Students need more content and teachers are not ade-quately trained which in itself is described as “a monumental undertaking”. MattKeller, director OLPC Europe, Middle East and Africa sees no danger in these problems.They are a part of this early stage of implementation: “Take a long term view andasses the impact of the project afterwards”. In Ethiopia (GNI p/c is $170) anOLPC approach for all 16 million children costs US$3 billion. “Ridiculous for sucha poor country” concludes David Hollow, “Better teach children good basic lit-eracy and counting skills”. * OLPC in Ethiopia, April 2009 David Hollow, Royal Holloway - on ICT4D Conference London.

© D

anie

l Dra

ke f

lkr Considering costs:

In poor countries, in the firstyear the OLPC ‘One Laptop PerChild’ at $200 per child, takesc20% of the total nationalincome plus 5% in each following year to maintain theprogramme. In effect, from thesecond year onward OLPC takes c50% of the budget available to the Ministries of Education torun the educational system with.

Typically, governments in lowincome countries receive c50%of their budget from rich coun-tries, directly or via other meansmade available for their policies.

4

to better learning results?

5

Despite vast progress south of the Sahara over the last 20 years, most schools in urbanand rural areas are still poorly equipped and lack the material infrastructure for IT appli-cations. Half of the schools have electricity; c20% of these have a running computer lab;c15% of schools are connected to internet - broadband is a rare novelty. Based on aNokia concept, the new hype is to use mobile phones to improve learning. Teachers earnup to US$300 a month and cannot afford a computer at home. To make students com-puter-literate, computer labs on each primary and secondary school are a necessity - in ter-tiary education computers are available, some lecturers use digital projectors. Ministries nor educational institutes have neither the capacity nor human resources tosupport IT projects. Most are busy with more basic activities, making education acces-sible for all in adequate buildings.

IT pilot projects come and go. Unknown amounts of money needed to improve schoolsare lost*. The impact of IT on the development of Africa’s primary and secondary edu-cation is - after 20 years experiences worldwide - predictable when policies are based onthe believe that IT will make up for the shortcomings of teachers and the lack of learn-ing materials. On no other continent however, expectations are as high that IT, and“ICTs” only, will improve education to lift Africa out of its abject poverty. By now donorcountries have become sceptical. But Africa’s IT community still rallies on it, stimulatedby IT specialists from near and far. See page 9: their aim is not simply integrating IT ineducation to achieve computer literacy and access to the digital library and web, but totransform education as happened nowhere else. The effect is counter productive: ITstrategies are not focussing on what is achievable, like first creating conditions to bringcomputer labs to schools, e.g. automatisation of the administration. And ICT oppor-tunities are missed: feasable ICT offering direct help to teachers, like School TV or theoverhead projector, are considered poor choices - out of date - inadequate.*“Nobody seems to want to learn from the other” is an observation in: Survey of ICT and Education in Africa” 570 pages Oct 2007, ICT4E - InfoDev.org - World Bank; Survey of e-learning in Africa 2008, Tim Unwin - Unesco

11 Africa’s untamed enthousiasm about IT potential

9

11

What can be learned?Computers are great research tools for students and teachers,

pushing up the level of education in e.g. North European countries. For teaching, IT only adds value when: a. teachers master the computer and

know well what to do to reach their teaching goals; b. the hardware is work-ing properly and the educational software is top quality. After 20 years investingheavily, these conditions are rarely met in rich countries. In conclusion: it will take another generation for e-learning and digital teaching to mature to its potential.

Computers damage teaching of the traditional school subjects until useful pedagogy and didactics are mastered. This is not well understood

in high and low income countries alike and widely under-estimated. In high income countries computers in the classroom often remain unused

or decrease quality of teaching: in middle and low income countries nothing islost when the introduction for teachers is postponed. On the contrary.

Hawky’s Law gains force in middle and low income countriesAccording to Hawky’s law, confirmed by accountants in the 90s, from all moneywhich governments invest in computer technology 50% is wasted at the start,

30% during implementation and only 10 to 20% yields output. Lower incomecountries perform worst case scenarios. Collateral damage by undermining

effective teaching traditions lures. Therefore: creating conditions to introduceIT first and start the evolution via computer labs seems the safest approach.

10 Caribbeans typical for low and middle income countries

Promising reports, in which computers enrich education, foresee success after critical challenges are solved*. These are, to list a few:- organisatorial infrastructure fails, material infrastructure lacks, human resources fall short- running costs/maintenancy problems e.g only 40% of the computers function- access to IT on teachers training institutes is small, significantly lower than in other

tertiary education institutes- from small and high profile “failures” so far is not - but should be - learned. * Critical Review and Survey of ICT in education in the Caribbean, Dr. Tim Kelly InfoDev.org - World Bank

Regarding OLPC for schoolsA 20 dollar version of the e-reader might

have better chances - as the contribution ofcomputers on teaching and learning resultsis marginal or negative, see rich countries.

Upper-middle income < US$12,000

Lower-middle income < US$ 3,850

Low income < US975 down to $110

GNI p/c World Bank 2008

High income > US$12,000

e-readers can hold2000+ books

6

The ‘interactive whiteboard’ or ‘smartboard’: a digital projector projects

on a large touch screen connected to acomputer. Possibilities are infinite.

Total price €3000 to 5000 per classroom.

Placed in classrooms IWBs remain oftenunused because of their complexity forteachers and the supporting digital infra-structure is not well developed nationwideand on schools. The newness of the technolo-gy is initially welcomed by pupils, but anyboost in motivation seems to be short-lived.*

When used, the effects on learning prove tobe disappointing, although 85% of teachersthink otherwise. More often than not thesmartboard leads to entertainment and over-kill of information, not to systematic teaching:its pedagogy has not matured yet. Neither isits complex and fragile technology. Nonetheless, the reports of IWB producerswhich dominate the internet whether you

interactive whiteboard

‘Edutainment’ Research on IT and learning standards

Photo Interactive boards are outdated much faster than these computers. They are just replaced by newer ones in this computer

lab of a gymnasium in Serbia.

hunt for research in Korea, Hongkong orMexico give - understandably - the com-plete opposite picture. Close monitoringreveals, that for most teachers the inter-active pencil provides hardly any benefitabove using the digital projector only(without the interactive whiteboard).

Countries considering to put money at riskby following the IWB hype, are warned: touse the interactive whiteboard a teacherneeds to be a good presenter to beginwith. Secondly, as with all IT, a sound ped-agogical understanding is needed on howto use it to reach the curriculum goals. Anyschool is blessed to have a handfull ofthese teachers - even on teacher trainingcolleges this new type of professionals israre.

Most purchases happen centrally, so regu-larly huge investments are (partly) lost,which middle and low income countriescannot afford. See also next page.

the first and only seenon the Balkans,

is placed way too high

* ‘On interactive whiteboards (again!)’, Scott Thornbury/British Council, 2007. Based on experiences and reports: “The delivery capability of IWBs while impressive, is of only marginal utility” - “The introduction of (this) technology ... does not necessarily lead to a more interactive pedagogy”. This has to be developed first.‘Doubts over hi-tech whiteboards’, BBC News 2007/1/30. Summary of a study commis-sioned by the Department for Education and Skills, mentioning “...relative mundaineactivities being over-valued” - “IWBs can even slow the pace of the whole class learning”- “Physical interactivity with the IWBs was seldom harnessed to produce significant shiftsin understanding” - “Tech-savvy children feel frustrated when they see their teacherstruggle with simple taskes”- See also notes snapshot 4: USA The quick fix.

Regularly nationwide studies confirm marginal role IT on learning standardsdescribed by Prof. Buckingham as ‘more entertainment than education’ (snapshot 2: UK)

For instance, in 2004 two American reports on effectiveness of billions invested in internet access in deprived schools concluded similarly: access to the worldwide web did not enhance the achievent of teachers’ goals. The e-programme ‘Fast For Words’ gives already within 10 to 15 hours spectacular results, reported two neuroscientists in the authoratative Science Magazine. Used by hundreds of thousands of pupils to increase their reading skills, two American economists completed a vast statistical survey and came to a completely different conclusion: no positive effects on learning outcomes.The same became evident in that year in Israel after the introduction of thousands of new computers: the money would have been better invested in smaller classes or extra teachers.

Many teachers ignore the IT provided. “If teachers do not use the computers in their classroom, parents should be happy: non-use increases learning results” concludesOosterbeek (Cito) in the Netherlands. Computers bring to much distraction. Heresearched a specific computer project on ‘black schools’ and found a negative effect onexam results.

The outcomes of these studies is challenged by IT believers and promoters, calling this research poorly conducted and shallow.

7

High income countries av. $38,000 (in TOP 10: GNI per capita av. $50,000)

Norway $56,000 Netherlands $46,000 Germany $43,000 Singapore $48,000

Slovenia: pop. 2 mln $21,000 (first to translate kits)

Middle income countries av. $2800Reference: Latin America GNI p/c av.$5500

Croatia 4.4 mln $10,500 Romania 22 mln $6150

Bosnia 3.9 mln $3800 Ukraine 47 mln $2550

Serbia 7.4 mln $4730 Russia 143 mln $7200

Albania 3.2 mln $3300 Belarus 10 mln $4400

Macedon. 2 mln $3460 Slovak. 5.4 mln $9619

Bulgaria 8 mln $3990 Poland 38 mln $9800

Hungary 10 mln $11,600 Baltics av GNI p/c $11,000

Low income countries av. $578 Most sub-Saharan countries GNI p/c c$300

Ethiopia 70 mln $170 Tanzania 40 mln $350

IT in education is expensiveWho can afford to take risks by investing

heavily in computer-based teaching?

GNI p/c Gross National Income per capita as indicatorTypically Countries reaching a GNI p/c of€10,000 are tempted to take hugeWorld Bank loans or sacrifice stretchedEU budgets on IWBs. But research on use and learningresults indicate that it is wise to ‘leap-frog‘ (skip) this generation of IWBswith its immature pedagogy and tech-nology. The advise is: let the experi-menting (to get from abuse, poor useand entertainment to effective teach-ing) and further technical developmentfor high income countries.

Strengthening traditional teaching withmodern didactics and appliances costsonly a fraction and is a safe investment.This improves quality of education andlets teachers develop a sound peda-gogy to use computer technology andIWBs as soon as they are matured,ready to support teaching.

Visual Teach offers a highly effective plan:achievable, effective and at low cost

Who gets in the Trojan horse?

The more countries I visit and the more situationsI get to understand, the picture emerges that IT,computer-based teaching, is driven by senior politi-cians and a consensus in society believing thatcomputers will help, but this does not follow ademand from teachers nor schools. By now aware-ness of the complications has deminished the ent-housiasm although regularly IT still means status.

What becomes apparent is: ministers get chieflyadvised by IT consultants, not curriculum specialistsor subject didacticians, and they inform one anoth-er at international meetings in inspirational settingswhere leading educational computer suppliersdemonstrate the latest technologies. Critical remarksabout complications, failures to implement and poorresults are not heard.

An example is the conference in Tunis for Africanministers in December 2008. Here the interactivewhiteboard was demonstrated for days withoutreference to the disaster in Mexico nor to indepen-dant reports revealing negative results of IWBs.Consequently a mindset is created which especiallyaffects decision makers of middle and low incomecountries, because here the desire to develop andmodernise education is most urgent. Implementing computer-based teaching in schoolsin a weak socio-economic setting – a proven failure,or at best, controversial in results – becomes the norm.

Yet, today it makes more sense to go for the timeproven overhead projector and our innovativeVisual Curriculum Kits of undisputed quality. They filla void in what in education is needed to modernise,especially as support for teachers. See next pages.

Hungary Pop. 10 mln GNI p/c US$11,600

€200,000,000 for interactive whiteboards

“Entertainment without learning,a financially costly affair and no way back”

Teachers don’t feel comfortable with it and regularly don’t use it.Lots of software bought and prepared by the government are notdownloaded. This looks like a financial drama. From a didacticalpoint of view the picture is not much better: ineffective use andtoo much entertainment without learning.In China, Lázló says, a new law forbids teachers to use the interactive whiteboard for longer than 10 minutes per lesson - in the entire country!

Digital education has become the priority inHungary and also in Slovakia this is the trend.Traditional time proven teaching aids are sud-denly outdated, and will continue to be so fora while. In the UK it took until 2004 beforeextra budgets of c£60 mln were made avail-able to bring non digital tools back again inschools and resource centres.Lázló Z., former school director and nowdirector of Meló-Diác, the largest teaching aidsupplier in Central Europe, is cynical on IWBs:

Lázló:“Excellent

teaching toolsremain

4

False expectations on IT (computer assisted teaching)Claim

The intermediate stepIn June 2008 I was on my third East African tour vis-iting high schools with electricity and able to use ICTto improve teaching. I also visited an IT (“ICT”) con-ference in the Novotel Kigali with highly motivatededucators from 15 African countries. See on theright for an impression of a similar event in Dakar. The contrast with reality was striking and alarmedme: can this high tech approach really work in chalkand talk schools like on the picture above? This I hadtaken for granted as computers continue to createmiracles around us as they have for 20 years.

The deeper cause to have a second look at IT forimproving teaching in Africa stems from the‘Nationwide Visualisation Project’. My firm devel-oped this low tech innovation: the introduction inAfrican classrooms of the time proven overhead pro-jector - the most used ICT in education ever -together with complete Visual Curriculums as devel-oped over the last 15 years. With an alternative inmind (and there is no other) this allowed me to stepback and take a critical look at widespread expecta-tions, hopes and misconceptions about IT.

My conclusion is a step in between: IT belongs incomputer labs to make students computer literate. ITcan be applied in classrooms in a later stage whenteachers and computer technology are ready toimprove teaching. We need an intermediate step.

Drs Jan Krol director Visual Teach large screen presentations

Structural problems occur in modernisation of teaching with three misperceptions of ICT - a worldwide phenomenon:

• ICT reduced to IT (digital: computers, digital projectors, interactive whiteboards, e-learning, laptops, mobile phones etc)

• IT is able to improve teaching even if introduced to teachers in a 'chalk and talk’ situation

• analogue ICT’s (overhead projectors, school radio and TV, video) are omitted from the policy of the ICT Department.

Problem 1

IT: Information TechnologyICT: Information and Communication Technology

8

Emerging ICT in African classrooms

IT better not yet in classroom

blocks the modernisation of education in Africa

Threats of IT subject teaching in the classroom: side effects visible in rich countries Problem 2

“About the use of the vast potential of ICT to empower future generations of African children”

The usual pep talk rules supreme on the 4th International Conference in Dakar and excites the educators and desicion makers from all over Africa.

No lessons seem to be learned.However: 66% of participants agree with the statement*:

'Over the past decade the eLearning situation in Africa has hardly changed for the better'

Not yet separate: INTEGRATING IT in education and IMPROVING teaching

Unrealistic ambitions result from unreal expectations of computer technology toimprove teaching school subjects. In middle and low income countries costly IT

applications for teaching should be be avoided in favour of improvements neededprior to bringing IT in the classroom as effort to increase learning results.

“A Brilliant Mix of People,Opinions and Solutions”

“Three conference days filled with action,

excitement, passion, heated debate and even controversy”

“Birthplace of numerousfruitful collaborations”

Photo “INTEL launches a technology-based

programme that willsignificantly improveteaching in Kenia”.

In red: some quotes, typical for this IT hype, from the official press release after three days of “sessions with world-class experts”“eLearning Africa Conference Shows How ICTs Empower Education for All in Africa”

“Highlighting eLearning: Africa's innovative approach and setting the tone for future conferences”

Naive and potentially damaging optimism of IT community and industry

4th International Africa Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training, May 2009, Méridien Président Hotel Dakar: 3 days organised by ICWE GmbH, a specialised private firm in Berlin sponsored fistly by NComputing plus

Intel, SMART, Nokia and 16 more IT firms. These annual conferences are attended by 1300 to 1500 visitors. Half of them are educationalists and decision makers flying in from all over Africa - the others are IT specialists from elsewhere.*

* 32 issues checked on the previous congress in Accra, May 2008, in ‘eLearning 2020’ by Mike Trucano - InfoDev World Bank & Han Fraeters GDLN

According to OLPC: 21% believe the ‘One Laptop Per Child’ project will be rolled out all over Africa within a decade; 71% do not think so.

© ICWE© ICWE

Problem 3

• on top of what regularly goes wrong with PCsit increases the general costs to run a school (researced for African schools at 63%: electricity, cartridges, paper, backup maintenance, internet connectivity)

• ongoing losses of investments - 40 to 80% is proven - due to immanent system failures (network breakdown, crashed hard disks, internet failures, theft) continuous updates of software and hardware - not to mention the teachers who fail to apply these.

• loss of skills like counting, proper writing and basic general knowledge

• ignoring the need of social learning (relevant group processes)

• Emphasis on computer based teaching tends to lead to quality loss in teachers’ capacities and their authority. This tends to undermine the quality of the educational system in the future.

Today quality decline in education in rich countrieslike in the UK and the Netherlands is badly felt.

The last generation of teachers highly trained in theirsubject on semi or academic level in the 70s and 80s areretiring and leave the schools. This is a great loss for edu-cation. A new generation of teachers takes over, ‘able toteach any subject’. 85% of them feel happy in what theyare doing, is reported in the Netherlands (SociaalCultureel Planbureau SCP, Aug. 2009). These teachersare unaware of any problem, although some complainabout their lack of knowledge.Exceptions are Korea and Hong Kong - both high in Pisaratings: here work discipline and teachers’ professional-ism lead to high results. Teachers’ professional know-ledge is key for using computers as tool.

In many middle and low income countries teachers keepup surprising high standards considering their situation.On the other hand, many teachers need really toimprove their knowledge and teaching methods asmuch as they need teaching resources. Here computer learning is not a solution as we can seein rich countries: not only but especially on deprivedschools it lowers the results even further.

Not yet separate: INTEGRATING IT in education and IMPROVING teaching

9

A computer lab as below can be realised for c$20,000A country with 300 schools can achieve this nationwide for $6 mn

Healthy IT policyto make students computer literate

DO’s• set up of IT school administrations

• computer labs (computer skills, digital library, e-learning)

• broadband internet nationwideand supporting education website

School organisation has to be made ready and this can be expected from the schoolmanagement: this can be “PUSH”

IT for teachers: only “PULL”

DON’Ts in classrooms:• computers and digital projectors

• interactive white boards

• e-learning

Do not push IT onto the teachers:

• no compulsary training nor laptops (proven failure)

• postpone olpc and pilot projects on e-learning

IT only works with teachers who were raised with computers. So: that is for the generation you now will train in how to use a computer.

Computer literacy for students

In computer labs pupils are able to gather informationfrom the web - have their own e-mail address and storage space on the server. Here they learn the officeskills needed today. They can follow e-learning programmes advised by the teacher or animations and audio programmes. They might do exercisesand repetitions on educational sites also from abroad,especially when broadband is available.

A teacher confident with computers, can take his/herclass to the computer lab after reservation. A teacherdoing so regularly, might be ready for IT in the classroom.

Specialist IT-departments best concentrate on the immensetask to make the country and the schools ready for computerlabs, as the basis of computer litercy and for e-teaching in thefuture. Prepare a solid basis for when the time is ready. Important is the set up of portals, well structured with quality teaching and learning resources. Purchases and ploads ofteachers should be highly selective, managed by a team of cur-riculum specialists that fits new resourses in a logical teachingstructure: the ideal lesson. These portals have to be harmonisedwith government websites into a simple management and infor-mation system as achieved by f.i. Austria.Developing a flexible model to be implemented in any country,could be a task for UNESCO. A tested model can provide a solidbase to many countries and save a lot of money in the future.

Today one computer can serve 4 learning-stations

Achievable IT today

For World Bank monitoring: InfoDev, Information for Development Program (www.infodev.org/ict4edu-Africa) For more about what can go wrong with IT see also: “Knowledge Maps: ICT’s in education: What Do We Know About the Effective Uses of Information and Communication Technologies in Developing Countries”, more specifically chapters: “Impact of ICTs (read ‘IT’) on learning and achievement” and “School-level Issues”.

10

Bridging the digital divide systematically

Achievable ICT today

specify - expandadd information

make notes

screen AND blackboarda perfect combination

silt

visualisation

interactivityquestiondiscover

What will bring the Nationwide Visualisation Project in traditional classrooms?

ALL in ONEfor each topic in the curriculum at all levels:

better understanding visual reminders for better results- a solid basis for further study -

- activate interest with clear visual clues- make students think backward and forward- save a lot of preparation and teaching time

encourage class discussion

facilitate sociallearning

proper visual cluesinteractivity

Geography • History • Biology • Physics • Chemistryat your fingertips: world’s top illustrations

Visual Curriculums for 5 key subjects

Modernise teaching with large screen presentationsto instantly help teachers

In this Visual Teach Project 5 Visual Curriculum Kits plus 2500 clean sheets and markers to also make ownvisuals plus 15 large screens (160/160 cm) and 15 strong 400 Watt projectors are the basis for implementingvisualisation as nationwide teaching strategy - including trainings and institutionalising at all educational levels.

Strong points: • easy implementation - no extra schooling needed • an one-off investment - a lasting improvement

ready to use transparencies

achievable ICT

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New by Visual Teach: The Nationwide Visualisation Project Visual Curriculum Kits for 5 key-subjects plus 15 large screensand 15 strong 400 Watt projectors per school are the basis forimplementing visualisation as nationwide teaching strategy,including trainings and institutionalising at all educational levels.

For reactions or more: Visual Teach large screen presentations Gorterplaats 16 Nijmegen Netherlands - www.visualteach.info

Tel +31243553-777 fax -180 e visual@visualteach.info

Drs Jan Krol direct: e jantjekrol@gmail.com m +31(0)653166714

IT policy suggestions for middle and low income countriesfor high schools - emerging from the big picture*

• First advise: prioritise the automatisation of school administrations and internet access. Ensure that websites of the ministry of education, the curriculum development centre and other key educational institutes are functionally designed and run properly - follow the WC3 guidelines. Clear warnings come from snapshot 3, Norway and 9, Peru. Internet has to support any step forward.

• Set up computer labs on all primary and secondary schools, and integrate these as digital libraries in the learning experience. Teachers who like to, can take their class here for ‘e-lessons’. The fewteachers who proof to be able to teach with computers can be provided with digital projectors.Do not expect other miracles from IT in your schools for the time being. Bringing computers into the classroom in this stage causes more problems than they solve - see snapshots 2 to 11.

• Provide pupils with e-readers to compensate the lack of learning materials. 2000+ books fit in this simple, non distractive format. Prof. Negroponte is the right person to develop the low cost version.Features: A4 writeable touchscreen / multiple windows / uploads via USB or via bluetooth by the teacher.(An alternative for the ”One Laptop Per Child”: didactics are not far enough developed yet to base edu-cation on computer technology. This will take another generation - a lesson drawn from the rich countries)

• To improve the work of teachers use low cost ICT solutions like School TV and the overhead projector with ready-to-use transparencies. By the time technology and didactics of computer assisted teaching are matured, your teachers are better prepared and already used to visualisation. (You don’t want to buy technology in development now, but purchase later what performs and lasts)

• Be happy to miss the digital wave which in rich countries floods many teachers in their classes. So far the impact of IT on classroom teaching is questionable or even damaging on learning results. Even the assumption that Finland, the land of Nokia, has the best educational system in the world because of clever use of IT proofs to be a myth (snapshot 3): it is because of their good teachers. Invest first of all in your teachers, not in their digital abilities but in their status and professional qualities.

* ‘Information Technology in Education in high - middle and low income countries. 11 snapshotsreveal broken promises of computer technology when introduced too fast’, Jan krol Visual Teach, Sept. 2009

Government

Pedagogical supplies

IT I C Tvisual education

large screen presentations

overhead projector

software for projector

Chalk & talk

audio visual

film video

dvd

school TV

the new Visual Curriculum Kits

Achievable ICT for teachers

- solving the schoolbook problem -e-reader version,

to develop for pupils:no distraction but learning

The intermediate step (model) ICT Information and Communication Technologyto modernise education today and to support teachers

IT (computer based) safe in computerlabs for computer literacy, office skills,

e-learning and as digital library audio

audio-tape

cd/mp3

schoolradio

IT Information Technology,

computer based ICT

- in the classroom -

ICT appropriate

to support teaching

IT, sensible to apply now when a school is (made) ready for it:- automatisation administration & internet- computer lab / digital library