Workshop Partner

Plenary
The points made by the panelists at the plenary are:

• Need for taking up capacity building of teachers
• Need for distance learning
• Need for holistic approach in taking education to the communities
• More emphasis on the use rather than on the technology
• Student as collaborator / partner and technology integrated into curriculum
• Technology to mature to become an out of box kind of thing
• Need for open source software if there has to be real impact of ICTs to reduce costs, piracy and increase affordability
• Need for liberal licensing policies to promote use of cheaper technologies in developing countries
• Need for decentralizing curriculum development

The views expressed by the panelists based on their experiences over the years and the various points that have come up for discussions during different sessions resulted in the following recommendations which are listed session-wise:

Content & Processes

• Content should take into consideration all formats or provide option to be convertible to any format
• Storage to be in standard format (Braille, audio, large print and e-text) and as part of central repository
• Need to modify copyright laws to enable people to share information across the borders to reduce illiteracy
• Focus to be on capacity building and facilitation in teaching
• Need to involve the community in content development rather than leaving to the corporates or organizations

Strategies

• Need for facilitating of sharing information through use of ICTs to minimize the damages during disasters
• Need for free flow of information change of traditional ICT paradigm to practical
• To make an impact in use of ICTs in education the technology has to be pervasive, user configurable and with clear visible growth path
• Need to address regulation issues, certification issues for educational evaluation and ensure self-generating growth, the relevant ICTs being radio, TV, Internet, conferencing and convergence
• Need for a shift from traditional approach to alternative deliver systems and creation of a third distinct sector i.e. partnership strengthened with necessary legislations, identified services, and clear delivery outputs
• In Public-Private Partnerships citizen should be at the centre of the process
• Need to use ICTs for building a new paradigm in education, that is inclusive of those who have been excluded by the present education systems

Gender mainstreaming and equity

• Government policy for recruitment of women and capacity building is required with institutionalization of the work already done
• Need to provide facilities that make women comfortable in participation
• Need for to open ICT sector to a gender perspective. Gender needs to be considered at the early stages of the diffusion of IT

Technologies and Systems

• Need for refurbishing old systems need to reduce costs and structuring the old PC markets and look at open source software technology
• Need for internetworking (Promote Thin Clients) than desktop (stand alone) to bring out economies of scale
• Research & Evaluation need to be a continuous process to reach the goals of DESD
• Need to recognize full range of alternatives such as self-paced learning (print, offline and online), group-based learning (asynchronous and synchronous) and learning systems
• Need to promote Open Universities and networking of institutions for knowledge sharing
• Technologies to be made affordable, easy to use, maintain and repair, environmental friendly and effective
• Technology to provide more and meaningful employment, not take jobs away
• Technologies to be scalable with respect to time and space
• Interface should adapt to people / technology and not otherwise
• Need to promote web based learning and need of distribution of Radio transmitter/receiver kits to students
• Need to incorporate existing technology into developments and delivery to be accompanied by capacity building
• Content developer should understand technology for education to be effective

Developing roadmap for the decade

• Content while being locale and context specific should also conform to Web Content Accessibility guidelines and DAISY standards to include the physically challenged in the loop of informed societies, strategic plans to be evolved for linking such communities in the frame work of MDGs
• Content to be standardized as per requirement and with due respect to indigenous knowledge
• Education through ICTs need to move from school to the community
• Need to set up interactive learning processes targeting women, people with special needs and marginalized groups
• Educators need quality training both at operator and concept levels
• Community and private sector to be involved in school systems
• Open source content and software to be promoted to reduce costs and necessity for licensing - facilitating free and open sharing of knowledge across borders
• Change in policy to make available the wireless spectrum and connectivity
• Need to improve Public-Private Partnerships for improved delivery systems in ICTs
• Need to look at e-waste generated by adopting various technology interventions on a large scale
• Networking to take into account integration of existing

Click here to view the concept paper that formed the basis for the workshop discussions...