A Project to Promote Student-Centered Learning

Facilitating Effective ICT-Pedagogy Integration Project aims to create an environment for student-centered use of ICT using 1) project based learning and 2) tele-collaboration. This is a three-year project (2010-2012) of UNESCO Bangkok with financial support from the Korean-Funds-In-Trust (KFIT).

UNESCO Bangkok will select ten countries to participate in this project. At least two teacher education institutions (TEIs) from each country will act as UNESCO’s partners. Each TEI will coordinate a set of (10-15) primary/secondary schools to implement the activities. This will also build a stronger partnership between teacher education institutions (TEIs) and schools.

The project envisions three possible collaborations happening. These are:

Scenario A: Teachers from different subjects collaborating with a group of students within the same school to implement a “project” (inter-disciplinary)

Scenario B: Two or more schools from the same country collaborating with each other to implement one or more projects (inter-school)

Scenario C: Schools from different countries collaborating on a project of common-interest (inter-cultural)

Participating countries/TEIs/schools/teachers can participate in any or all of the project activities: 

1. Capacity-Building Workshops on Project-Based Learning and Telecollaboration
2. Intel Teach Project-Based Approaches
3. Local follow-ups and seminars from TEI
4. Thematic research led by TEI
5. Regional conference on sharing best-practices

Developing ICT in Education Master Plan 101

In just four days, it is possible to discuss all the elements you need to develop an ICT in Education Master Plan. However, you need two things to make this possible: i) Right participants -- especially people who are involved in the educational planning system of the government; and ii) Support from Ministry of Education (MOE) officials. Without leadership support, the participants have no incentive to seriously discuss the master plan. Here's an overview of the agenda:

Day One

Morning session

Opening ceremony. MOE officials express their support to this initiative and indicate some areas/ideas they would like to see in the master plan. A keynote presentation follows to outline the compelling reasons to develop an ICT in Education Master Plan including lessons and examples from other countries.

Afternoon session

Policymakers’ Essentials. Participants, most likely, have different understanding about “ICT in Education”. This session ensures that everyone is on the same page; otherwise group discussions get messy. Involves presentation and frank discussion during open forum.

Assessing the current situation. Participants identify key national issues and existing government priorities that will be relevant to the ICT in Education Master Plan. Three important government documents: i) national development plan; ii) national education plan; and iii) national ICT plan are used as reference.

Day Two

Morning session

Setting the Vision. The development of ICT in Education Master Plans in Singapore and Korea provides a very good example for this session. Both countries are now implementing their third or fourth master plan. Their first master plan started with basic things such as developing infrastructure, ICT literacy training and teacher training. 

For this session, the participants’ job is to find “vision” not just for five years (coverage of one master plan) but for fifteen years (three master plans). There are at least two advantages for doing this. First, you can show the “big picture” to the MOE officials and other stakeholders. Second, by looking at the big picture (long-term), you can see the role of each master plan.

To get the overall vision, the participants need to develop their vision for each of the following: students, teachers, schools, universities, NFE learning centers and MOE.

Afternoon session

Top Ten Priorities. Many government plans suffer from trying to achieve too much with too little resources. Thus, they become wish-list rather than priorities. This can be avoided by asking the participants to identify only Ten Priorities, which when implemented should achieve the (five-year) vision of the master plan.

Day Three

Morning session

Policies and Strategies. The task here is to identify a set of policies and strategies to help the MOE implement the master plan. The participants can learn a thing or two by looking at innovative practices from other countries. Still, nothing beats the collective wisdom and experience of government planners. They know which policies and strategies would work as they have the insiders' knowledge on the dynamics of institutions involved.

Afternoon session

Implementation, Monitoring and Coordination. The key to implementation is to assign a lead department or unit in the MOE for each of the Top Ten Priorities. The lead actors will be accountable to the MOE officials if they perform. Some activities require cooperation from other entities within and outside the MOE. Implementing partners are also identified.

Then, the participants discuss the pros and cons of creating an ICT in Education Office or Unit in the MOE to monitor progress and coordinate the different actors. Ultimately, the answer depends whether or not the MOE can afford to create such as office or unit and assign a permanent coordinator or staff solely to coordinate all ICT in Education-related activities. The general observation is that things move faster when there is a permanent coordinator and office.

Funding Mechanism. With meager resources available in the MOE, ICT in Education initiatives will definitely compete with other important education expenditure items (e.g. teachers’ salary, building and maintaining school building, printing books, etc.). Fortunately, MOE can look to other partners such as international donors, private companies, NGOs and even local communities willing to support ICT in Education investments. The participants’ task is to match activities that are likely to be supported by funding agencies and other partners (e.g. World Bank and Asian Development can fund establishment of computer laboratories in schools; UNESCO can help in curriculum development; Intel and Microsoft for teacher training; communities can subsidize cost of electricity in schools).

Day Four

Morning session

Budgetary requirements and time-table. To increase the chances of implementing the Top Ten Priorities, the participants need to have a good grasp of how much budget is needed and a good idea when to implement the different activities.

Work plan to finalize the master plan. After discussing all the elements needed to develop an ICT in Education Master Plan, the participants list actions and activities to: i) develop the first draft, ii) consult and get comments from stakeholders, especially lead departments that will be responsible for the implementation, iii) meet with potential donors, and finally iv) get approval from MOE officials.

Afternoon session

Closing ceremony. As a reward for their hard work during the last four-days, the participants get to present their group outputs to the MOE officials. Everyone will now realize that an ICT in Education Master Plan is now within their reach and soon to be a reality.

Will Philippines Update its Curriculum to prepare Next Generation of Teachers?

To begin the process of updating the curriculum to prepare the Next Generation of Teachers, the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) organized a “Consultative Meeting on the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Related Courses in the Current Teacher Education Curriculum” last 1 July 2010. This took place at CHED’s Auditorium in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

The consultative meeting gathered 75 participants representing experts in the fields of education and ICT. Deans and administrators of public and private universities and colleges throughout the Philippines also attended. It was a rare opportunity to share experiences and issues how the current ICT-related courses in the teacher education curriculum are being implemented.

At present, the national government, through CHED Memorandum Order No. 30, mandates all public and private teacher education institutions to deliver six ICT-related courses, namely:

i.    Computer 1
ii.   Educational  Technology 1
iii.  Educational Technology 2
iv.  Field Study 3
v.   Technology in Pre-School Education
vi.  Assistive Technology in Special Education

Teacher education institutions (TEIs) apparently have varied capacities. A few good institutions were able to comply with the nationally mandated courses and in some cases were offering more courses on top of the minimum requirements to make their students competitive. However, there were also indications that there are still institutions struggling to implement the nationally mandated courses due to lack of infrastructure and untrained faculty.

However, there are also shining examples in the country. During the last five years, many TEIs decided to strengthen their institutions through intensive faculty development and equipment upgrading. One path, exemplified by De La Salle University, is to hire experts to ensure ICT integration in all faculties. The other path, exemplified by Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, is to join the Intel Teach program.

 

The last curriculum update was made in 2004. According to CHED, this is the right time to review and update the courses in order to make teacher education in the Philippines comparable to other countries. UNESCO Bangkok and Intel, which has an on-going partnership to assist teacher education institutions in integrating ICT, will provide technical and financial support to CHED. 

Nepal takes 1st step to develop its National ICT in Education Master Plan

I have climbed my mountain, but I must still live my life. – Tenzing Norgay

Developing an ICT in Education Master Plan is like climbing Mt. Everest. It is daunting and a massive undertaking. This seems to be the general perception although this is bound to change after participating in a “National Seminar on Developing ICT in Education Master Plan”.

The Seminar has two basic objectives. The first objective is to “raise awareness on the importance of developing a National ICT in Education Master Plan”. As the ultimate owner and user of the plan document, the government needs to appreciate the purpose and importance of this activity. Interestingly, high ranking government officials in Nepal were receptive to the seminar. Their presence during the key moments of the seminar sent a powerful message to all participants that this is high in Ministry of Education’s agenda.

The second objective is to “guide the participants to consider the different elements needed in the ICT in Education Master Plan and put those in the national context”. The participants considered relevant national issues and priorities to ensure consistency with existing government plans. They formulated the country’s short to long-term vision for ICT in Education. They identified priorities which the government can implement in the next five years including policies and strategies needed to make them a reality. They also discussed implementation and coordination mechanisms including budget requirements and fund raising strategies. The 39 participants, who were divided into three groups, were given the rare opportunity to present their ICT in Education Master Plan ideas to ministry officials on the last day of the seminar. Most ideas put forward by the participants were well-received by their high-profile audience. Awareness raising and capacity building elements were noted as important foundation for future developments. The ministry official in charge of planning vowed to consolidate the outputs of the three groups. A technical committee will be formed to produce the first draft within six months.

By the end of the four-day seminar, there was excitement and optimism to produce the ICT in Education Master Plan. However, everyone was reminded that “developing” the master plan is just the first step. “Implementing” is just as important to reach the envisioned destination.

The National Seminar on Developing ICT in Education Master Plan was held at The Shanker Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal last 22-25 June 2010. This event was a joint collaboration between UNESCO Bangkok and Kathmandu offices. For more information and updates, e-mail Benjamin Vergel de Dios, b.vergeldedios@unesco.org

Developing 21st Century Teacher Education Curriculum in Vietnam

Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE) along with ten other universities and three teacher training colleges in Vietnam participated in the UNESCO Bangkok Curriculum Development Workshop. Thirty-six participants, mostly senior faculty members, received intensive training for five days. They reviewed and updated ICT-related courses in the existing teacher education curriculum.

After the workshop, the participants said they learned the “principles, models and steps to build an ICT-integrated curriculum” and the “relationship of technical skills, content and pedagogy in the curriculum development process”. For others, they have found the “roads to integrate ICT into the curriculum” or “how to develop the next generation curriculum”. Everyone agreed it was a useful workshop and met most of their expectations.

The Curriculum Development Workshop was held last 14-18 June 2010 at the HNUE Campus in Hanoi, Vietnam. UNESCO Bangkok and Hanoi offices in cooperation with HNUE officials made this workshop possible. VVOB Vietnam, an international NGO working in the areas of ICT and teacher education, sponsored the participation of additional participants including translators. Intel Vietnam and the Ministry of Education and Training gave interesting presentations to update the participants on existing initiatives on ICT in teacher training.

This is just the first step to develop the next generation of teachers in Vietnam. The institutions present in the workshops needs to make a decision whether to update their curriculum or not. Faculty also needs more training to better deliver the ICT-related courses. UNESCO, VVOB and Intel will continue to assist these institutions to achieve this objective.

Upcoming UNESCO Workshops

Back-to-back workshops in China (for details see banners above). Similar workshop also happening in Thailand but the banner is not yet ready. Here are the particulars:

Capacity Building Workshop on Project-Based Learning and Telecollaboration

17-20 August 2010, Burapha University

Chonburi Province, Thailand

Promoting Project-Based Learning in the Philippines

 









UNESCO Bangkok conducted a "Capacity Building Workshop on Project-Based Learning and Telecollaboration" in Manila, Philippines last 31 May to 3 June 2010. De La Salle University-College of Education hosted and coordinated the workshop. 

The definition of project-based learning (PBL) from Wikipedia is provided below:

"Project-based learning (PBL): best defined as instruction relating questions and technology relative to the students' everyday lives to classroom projects. Students form their own investigation of their own group which allows students to develop valuable research skills. The students engage in design, problem solving, decision making, and investigative activities. It allows students to work in groups or by themselves and allows them to come up with ideas and realistic solutions or presentations. Students take a problem and apply it to a real life situation with these projects.

Project-based learning (PBL) provides complex tasks based on challenging questions or problems that involve the students' problem solving, decision making, investigative skills, and reflection that include teacher facilitation, but not direction. Project Based Learning is focused on questions that drive students to encounter the central concepts and principles of a subject hands-on.

With Project-based learning students learn from these experiences and take them into account and apply them to their lives in the real world. PBL is a different teaching technique that promotes and practices new learning habits. The students have to think in original ways to come up with the solutions to these real world problems. It helps with their creative thinking skills by showing that there are many ways to solve a problem." (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Based_Learning)

Thirty-two teachers and principals from eight schools/colleges (see list below) participated in the workshop. One participant commented "I learned a lot from this workshop. It is an opportunity to enhance my skills in research, instruction, pedagogy and ICT application. As a teacher, this will improve my teaching-learning approaches and strategies that I apply in the subject that I teach. I think this will open a wider door for my students to develop 21^st century skills".

1. College of Immaculate Conception

2. Columban College - Olongapo City

3. Elizabeth Seton - Las Piñas City

4. Hope Christian Academy - Quezon City

5. Lasallete of Cabatuan

6. Lasallete of San Mateo

7. Marist School - Marikina City

8. St. Paul College of Parañaque

The eight schools were each given a partner, forming four groups. Each group designed a PBL activity (see below) gradually improving it during the course of the workshop. On the last day, the participants presented their outputs including the action plan they will implement after the workshop. 

a. Home and School Collaboration project
b. Personal and Social Impact of Online Gaming
c. Helping Street Children
d. Waste Management

UNESCO and DLSU will closely monitor the implementation of "projects"during the next six months. UNESCO also arranged two Intel follow-up trainings on project-based approaches (PBA) to strengthen the teachers’ skills on designing and implementing PBL. One training will be in Metro Manila and the other in the province.

ICT in Education Essentials

The term "ICT in Education" can be quite confusing. Is it about ICT, like promoting the use of computers in classrooms? What does ICT mean anyway? Or, is the focus really more on education? Thus, some people argue that it should be "ICT for Education".

If you not sure how to answer these questions and if you want to gain some confidence participating in future ICT in Education discussions, then I recommend UNESCO Bangkok's E-learning series on ICT in Education. It provides learners the essential information as it aims to provide a common understanding on the topic, especially among people working in the education sector.

Take the online course here, www2.unescobkk.org/ict/elearning and you will get a UNESCO certificate upon completion. You can also send your certificate to ict.bgk@unesco.org if you want to add your name in the list of people who have completed the course.