Perspectives on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to Benefit Education in Developing Countries

This document contains the top posts of 2009 by month from the World Bank’s EduTech blog site. According to the Introduction: "In 2009 the World Bank's education sector conducted a year-long pilot experiment to explore a variety of new methods and channels to disseminate its messages and engage with stakeholders in new ways..." to explore issues related to the use of information and communication technologies to benefit education in developing countries and attempt to highlight particular initiatives, studies, and emerging trends. "EduTech was also conceived as a way to initiate conversations on various topics with a globally dispersed group of experts and practitioners in a very open and public manner...."

Various entries on information and communication technology (ICT) in education include the following:

• Changes at the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation included down-sizing its staff and refocusing its mission. Amongst its new intentions: "Sub-Saharan Africa will become a major learning hub".
  
• The first Learning and Technology World Forum (LATWF), London, United Kingdom, featured both public and closed ministerial-level sessions examining topics related to ICT use in education. In the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) session, the head of Indicators and Analysis Division stated that that greater specialisation in the OECD markets will enable individuals to remain competitive in the new global marketplace and that the education of routine cognitive task skill sets was facing a challenge from computerisation. Thus, "policymakers must fundamentally alter their approach towards skilling through education". In a separate announcement, "Cisco, Intel and Microsoft will underwrite a multi-sector research project to develop new assessment approaches, methods and technologies for measuring the success of 21st-century teaching and learning in classrooms around the world."
  
• The British Educational Training and Technology Show (BETT), a trade show, included products designed for cyberbullying and truancy. These include products that allow schools to notify parents via text message (SMS) when their child is not in school and network monitoring tools designed to detect online communication that may indicate where bullying is occurring. Interactive whiteboard (IWB) use is increasing in developing countries. Devices for science teachers to extend the use of existing computing facilities for lab work include a sensor to insert into soil to measure pH levels.
  
• India introduced a low-cost laptop and with it, the Indian government committed "to provide subsidized connectivity for schools, colleges and universities, and a related large investment in the development of 'e-content', as part of a new "National Mission in Education through Information and Communication Technology (ICT)".
  
• "The Use and Misuse of Computers in Education: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Colombia" (PDF) looked at 97 schools and 5,201 children over two years of participation in the Computers for Schools programme, finding: "Although the program increased the number of computers in the treatment schools and provided training to the teachers on how to use the computers in their classrooms, surveys of both teachers and students suggest that teachers did not incorporate the computers into their curriculum."
  
• World Bank representatives from Africa participated in the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) India Leadership Forum, which brought together senior executives from India and around the world for presentations, some of which highlighted the development of education in information technology (IT) that has contributed to India's growth in IT. "One key point made repeatedly throughout the trip, by private companies, government officials and education institutions alike, was that ICT skills and employability are key drivers of this industry’s growth, but it is the simultaneous development and cultivation of the 'soft skills' that are the key differentiators for success. India has no shortage of technical people competent in ICT-related disciplines. What is more difficult to teach - and identify - are the 'soft' communication, management, cultural adaptation and sensitivity skills that don't necessarily have anything to do with ICTs."
• A report was made on progress in using mobile phones for data collection activities in developing countries. Tools include Nokia's free LifeTools and the free, open source FrontlineSMS tool.
  
• The E-Pustakalaya digital library in Nepal is an example of the ways that countries are exploring how to provide learning materials to schools in electronic formats.
  
• The February 2009 TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference highlights included: experiences of the Connexions project with 'open source learning and Hole -in-the-Wall project, an experiment from India in 'minimally invasive education'.
  
• A selection of new publications and resources on the use of mobile phones in the education sector is presented.
• A discussion of gaming in education offers what the 'mandatory' use of Nintendo DS portable video gaming devices in a set of schools in Osaka, Japan, might teach about education.
  
• Learning from Mexico and China about distance education in the age of pandemics covers their experiences.
  
• A report on Plan Ceibal, the education reform initiative that is aiming to provide one laptop for every student and teacher in Uruguay, includes data on possible increased school attendance.
• The Tanzania BridgeIT project is an extension and adaption of the “text2teach” project in the Philippines, which began in 2003 and is currently in its third iteration. "A key difference between the two projects is that text2teach initially utilized a hybrid mobile/satellite solution that allowed teachers to request video content via SMS; this request was then relayed to a satellite, which delivered education content to a DVR to be displayed on a television at the front of the classroom. The Tanzania project eliminates the satellite portion of the delivery system, allowing for request and delivery of video content entirely over local 2.5G/3G mobile networks, for display on a television in the classroom."
  
• The effect of e-readers on digital access to libraries and the emergence of cell phone novels, including exploration of mobile phone access to digital libraries, particularly children’s libraries, offer a look at new possibilities in literacy education.
  
• The national education portal "Enlaces" went from a pilot to formal acknowledgement as the national education technology programme for Chile and established a rough model that was realised later in many other middle income and developing countries, from Thailand to Uganda.
  
• The power of television to bring about societal change (for better and for worse) includes the history of such children's programming as Sesame Street and reviews the possibilities of viewing television via mobile phone.
  
• The Maine Learning Technology Initiative, offering one computer per student in grades 7 -12, differs in putting the learner at the centre of the decision on what tools to use in support of learning, based on its philosophy that it should be the learner (and not the teacher or school principal) who makes the decision to use her/his laptop in support of whatever s/he is learning, whenever s/he thinks it most appropriate or useful.
  
• A report is given on the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL).
  
• The 'Talking Book' is a low-cost audio device with recording capabilities (described as a rubbery MP3 player about the size of a grapefruit and engineered to meet specific needs and usage scenarios in economically poor communities in Africa). It is designed for use in local languages, using locally produced content, as tool to promote literacy among primary school children, called a 'small portable computer without a display'.
  
• A number of posts are listed on ICT in education evaluation, some specific to projects like Project Ceibal and some comparative among programmes across regions or around the world.