25 January 2012
Commonwealth of Learning, Commonwealth Secretariat, Microsoft and UNESCO lead efforts for the first ICT in Education Leadership Forum in Barbados
BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS – Championing the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education is the focus of an ICT in Education Leadership Forum being held here from 25 – 26 January, 2012.
The multi-stakeholder event, organised by the Commonwealth of Learning, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Microsoft and UNESCO, brings together almost 70 ICT in Education policy leaders, including 12 Permanent Secretaries, from across the Commonwealth Caribbean states.
COL President Sir John Daniel, who is speaking at the Forum said, “The Caribbean is beginning to make good progress in integrating ICT into education because it is now giving priority to training teachers to use ICT in their classrooms. Acquiring computers does no good without teachers who know how to use them with their learners. Teachers also need good materials, so part of the forum will be devoted to promoting Open Educational Resources (OER).”
Max Everest-Phillips, Governance Director at the Commonwealth Secretariat and a keynote speaker at the event, added, “The forum provides a unique opportunity to bring together key stakeholders to discuss pragmatic and tangible next steps to inculcate ICT in all aspects of the curriculum – a necessary task for any 21st Century knowledge economy. The partnership was previously instrumental in the successful implementation of the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework in Guyana and will be critical to subsequent implementations across the Caribbean.”
The Forum focuses on the theme ‘Teachers’ Creativity and Innovation: a Key to Success in the Caribbean’, and is exploring how ICT has been integrated into teaching and learning. It is specifically looking at how policies and practices need to respond to harness the potential of ICTs in teacher development. Participants will develop working solutions, with practical strategies on how governments and education systems can work together to deliver engaging, relevant and authentic education experiences through the use of ICTs.
Frances Correia, General Manager for Microsoft in Trinidad & Tobago, Eastern and Southern Caribbean, sees the potential benefits: “Microsoft’s early partnership with UNESCO to create the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers was driven by the belief that access to ICT is not enough and we need to shift Teacher Professional Learning to competency based models to truly see the transformative potential of ICTs in education. The partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth of Learning presents the impact that such a focus can have.”
UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Janis Karklin, also underlined the organisation’s long-term commitment to supporting states in incorporating the framework into their national curriculums, “The ICT Competency Framework for Teachers is aimed at helping countries to develop comprehensive national teacher ICT competency policies and standards and should be seen as an important component of an overall ICT in Education Master Plan. UNESCO stands ready to support national initiatives for the use of the ICT CFT to strengthen teacher education for the 21st Century.”
Delegates are discussing key barriers to the adoption of these techniques, access being primary among them, and are also meeting with multilateral agencies and donor-organisations to explore opportunities for collaboration and partnership.
A web site has been created to share information more broadly across the Caribbean: www.ictf2012.org
Press Contacts:
Sarah DiDonato
sadido@microsoft.com
T. +1-954-489-4915
Naveed Somani
n.somani@commonwealth.int
T. +44-796-22-32-151