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ICT Transforming Education in Africa
UNESCO-KFIT Project Update, February 2018
Welcome to the February 2018 update of the UNESCO-KFIT project ICT Transforming Education in Africa!
This periodic update aims to share experiences and best practices in the implementation of the project, with a view of increasing learning and cooperation among the three beneficiary countries: Mozambique, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
The KFIT project has reached half of its implementation period and is scheduled to end in June 2019. We are excited to share with you some of the major achievements to date, as well as the upcoming activities. We hope you enjoy reading this update and we look forward to continue working with you!
UNESCO-KFIT Team
About the project
ICT Transforming Education in Africa is a 4-year project launched in 2015 to foster human and social development in Mozambique, Rwanda and Zimbabwe, through the use of information and communication technology (ICT). Beneficiaries are teachers and students, primary and secondary public schools, higher education institutions, policy-makers, educational administrators and leaders. It is part of the UNESCO-Korea Funds-in-Trust cooperation and has a budget of USD6 million.
Stay in touch
Website: en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education/kfit Coordination: Michela Pagano ([email protected]) and Yongyeon Won ([email protected]) Zimbabwe: Donald Tererai ([email protected]) Rwanda: Pascal Rukundo ([email protected]) Mozambique: Linnet Mutungura ([email protected])
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Regional briefing Review meeting with the donor Seoul, Republic of Korea, 11 December 2017
A review meeting with the donor took place in the Republic of Korea on 11 December 2017. While accepting the progress report for the project, the donor acknowledged that spending rates have increased during the last quarter of 2017 and encouraged the continuation of this positive trend in 2018.
The donor invited the project coordination team to strengthen peer-learning opportunities for the beneficiary countries and facilitate the development of synergies and common strategies for the maximization of project achievement.
As a result, the coordination team committed to step up its efforts to share information on the project’s results and resources, including through the organization of face-to-face meetings where project beneficiaries can engage in formal and informal discussions about the progress of the project and upcoming activities.
Finally, the donor approved the request to extend the project from November 2018 until June 2019 at no additional cost, thus allowing countries to implement all activities foreseen in the work plan and the respective funding.
Second regional project meeting Kigali, Rwanda, 24-26 January 2018
UNESCO organized the second regional meeting of the UNESCO-KFIT Project in Kigali, Rwanda from 24 to 26 January 2018, supporting peer learning in Mozambique, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Following the regional meeting that took place in Harare, Zimbabwe in May 2016, this event was the first occasion for the three teams to come together and learn from progress attained in the
respective beneficiary countries. It also represented a chance to better prepare for the final implementation phase of the project, due to end in June 2019, with a view of enhancing collaboration among countries, engaging in joint activities and exchanging resources and learning experiences.
Showing the importance entrusted to the KFIT project by the host and donor countries, the meeting was opened by the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Rwanda, Mr Kim Eung-joong, and the Minister of Education of Rwanda, Dr Eugene Mutimura. Delegates from the
Figure 1: Group picture of meeting participants with Minister of Education of Rwanda and Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Rwanda (© UNESCO)
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three country teams had the chance to present the achievements, challenges and lessons learnt for the various components of the project. This includes e-school model piloting, e-assessment, teacher training on the pedagogical use of ICT, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and policy development, and UNESCO’s Information for All Programme. Various strategies and solutions were also identified with the purpose of ensuring continuous peer learning among the three countries and improving internal and external communication.
The engaging presentations and discussions that took place during the 3-day meeting in Kigali clearly showed the impact of the interventions of the KFIT project in the beneficiary countries and allowed to set up mechanisms for improved collaboration, knowledge and resource sharing for the future. At the same time, they boosted the motivation of the delegates to go back to their countries with a commitment to do better and do more during the final stage of implementation of the activities.
See media release: https://en.unesco.org/news/second-regional-meeting-unesco-kfit-project-ict-transforming-education-africa-0
Resource and knowledge sharing Rwanda:
ICT Essentials for Teachers Based on the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers
Certification Standards for ICT Teacher Training Initiatives – Based on the Rwanda ICT Essentials for Teachers
Monitoring & Evaluation Strategy for the Rwandan ICT Essentials for Teachers Course
Mapping of ICT for Teacher Training Activities in Rwanda
Rwanda Knowledge Society Policy Handbook
Resources and knowledge produced with the support of the UNESCO-project are also disseminated through:
The periodic project update
The project website: https://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education/kfit)
The UNESCO ICT in Education Policy Platform (https://www.ictedupolicy.org/)
Zimbabwe updates Development of the ICT Essentials for Teachers August-September 2017
The UNESCO-ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT) has been used as the basis for the development of a Zimbabwe-specific training course on the pedagogical use of ICT targeting in-service teachers in primary and secondary schools in the 20 e-school model pilot schools. The course is designed to provide teachers with competencies to integrate ICT into their teaching and learning and other education responsibilities and has been used to train over 400 teachers to date.
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A quality assurance workshop took place in Harare on 26-27 September 2017 with the purpose of eliciting feedback on the usefulness of the first draft of the Zimbabwe ICT Essentials for Teachers course materials developed with the assistance of a consultant. Representatives from the three ministries responsible for education - Primary and Secondary Education, Higher Education and Information & Communication Technology – reviewed the following aspects of the course: content/skills coverage of each unit; effectiveness of the offline distribution mechanism; how best to contextualise the materials for Zimbabwe teachers; assessment strategy; and gaps and omissions.
The finalized Zimbabwe ICT Essentials is an offline course with the materials and activities accessed via a USB stick. It
covers 12 units as follows:
1. ICT & policy
2. Hardware
3. Troubleshooting ICT
4. Educational internet
5. Email and social media
6. Basic Productivity Suite Skills (Word processing, Spreadsheets and Presentations)
7. Project-based learning
8. ICT and the physical environment
9. ICT to support traditional pedagogy
10. ICT and the curriculum
11. ICT to support assessment
12. ICT for professional development
Training on Zimbabwe the ICT Essentials for
Teachers October-December 2017
Following the quality assurance process and the finalization of the Zimbabwe ICT Essentials for Teachers course, a train-the-trainer workshop took place in Harare, training 40 teachers from the 20 pilot e-schools, with the aim of having two resident trainers per school. The workshop, facilitated by the consultant with assistance from representatives from UNESCO and the three Ministries responsible for education, allowed the trainers to:
Familiarize with the content and activities within all 12 Zimbabwe ICT Essentials for Teachers Course units;
Assess the level of proficiency of teacher participants in performing the desired ICT competency;
Acquire good facilitation skills to encourage and support teachers during the training;
Figure 3: Teachers from the pilot schools engaged in group-work during the train-the-trainer workshop for the Zimbabwe ICT Essentials for Teachers (© UNESCO)
Figure 2: Example of a unit of the Zimbabwe ICT Essentials for Teachers.
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Provide suggestions for improvements to the unit ahead of the materials being used at school level;
Set up a support channel on WhatsApp for the pilot linking all master trainers.
Following the principles of cascade training, each set of two trainers returned to their respective school and trained twenty teachers during a two-week face-to-face training. This teacher training, mandated by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, took place between 16 October and 16 December 2017. Over 400 teachers in 20 selected schools in Zimbabwe were trained on the Zimbabwe ICT Essentials for Teachers Course.
As next steps, it is expected that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education will use the trained teachers of the 20 e-Schools to train teachers from approximately 80 schools that are ready to adopt the e-Schools in order to organize teachers’ community of practice.
Procurement of equipment for e-school model August-February 2017
The e-school model for Zimbabwe was conceptualized in the course of a workshop that took place in Bulawayo in July 2017. The document established the following configurations:
Primary schools:
15 laptops (for the students) at an average ratio of 2 students per 1 laptop
1 laptop (for the tutor) with class management software
1 wireless router
1 Mobile Laptop Cart used for safekeeping, transportation and charging of the laptops
1 overhead projector
1 projector screen
Secondary schools:
15 laptops (for the students) at an average ratio of 3 student per 1 laptop
1 laptop (for the Tutor) with class management software
1 Wireless Router
1 Mobile Laptop Cart used for safekeeping, transportation and charging of the laptops
School for the blind:
15 desktop computers with APS UPS
3 Radio/Audio systems
School for the physically disabled:
15 laptops
Laptop cart for safekeeping, transportation and charging the laptops
1 projector and screen
The pilot e-schools will receive their equipment by the end of March 2018. An official ceremony with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is scheduled for mid-March 2018.
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ICT in Higher Education Policy development: first consultative meeting
7-8 November 2017
An internal, consultative meeting on the Development of Zimbabwe’s Policy on ICT in Higher Education was held on 7-8 November 2017 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Participants included representatives from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology Post and Courier services, Zimbabwe National commission to UNESCO and the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, based in Zimbabwe.
During the meeting, participants
Previewed the National ICT Policy;
Discussed key issues for alignment of ICT in HE policy to national ICT policy in Zimbabwe;
Proposed a design model for policy on ICT in HE in Zimbabwe;
Engaged in discussions on key policy elements: access; professional development; content, learning models, management& administration;
Mapped a way forward in the policy development process.
Following this meeting, consultations on the ICT in Higher Education policy development extended to the higher learning institution (i.e. universities, colleges, polytechnics).
Rwanda updates Training on ICT Essentials for Teachers November-March 2017 and December-February 2018
The UNESCO Rwandan ICT Essentials for Teachers course, developed based on the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT CFT), responds to the need of having a harmonized, quality, government-sanctioned programme for enhancing teachers’ abilities to integrate ICT in their teaching and learning practices.
Following the first pilot training implemented from November 2016 to March 2017, the course was reviewed and improved. A re-run of the training course took place from December 2017 to February 2018. A total of 118 teachers across Rwanda were trained employing a blended modality: a five-day face-to-face workshop was supplemented by online study over a 5-week period.
Figure 4: Group picture during the first consultative meeting on the ICT in Higher Education policy (© UNESCO)
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The training on the Rwandan ICT Essentials for Teachers will be rolled out nationwide with the support of a KOICA-funded project. The 118 teachers trained in the re-run of the course will be instrumental for such an endeavour, which plans to reach about 40,000 teachers across the country.
See media release: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/nairobi/about-this-office/single-view/news/piloting_the_ict_essentials_for_teachers_programme_to/
The experience of the ICT Essentials for Teachers was captured in a video:
Figure 5: Video of ICT Essentials for Teachers. Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N5tgj_x-TQ
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Development of policies for ODeL and OER at University of Rwanda
A workshop to validate the methodology for capacity building for staff of the University of Rwanda (UR) and the strategic plan based on the UR’s institutional ODeL policy took place at the Gikondo Campus of the University of Rwanda on 2 February 2018.
The ICT in Education Master Plan 2015-2020 mandates that participation rates in ODeL in higher education institutions should be doubled by 2018. The University of Rwanda also established a School of Open and Distance Learning (SODL) composed of four departments: Centre of African Virtual University (AVU), Educational studies, Pan-African Tele-Education Project, and Centre of Instructional Technology (CIT). Despite this conducive environment and the finalization of their institutional ODeL policy, the University of Rwanda is currently facing some challenges in promoting ODeL. These include the lack of teaching materials and qualified staff, proper infrastructure, and a persistent inequality between rural and urban citizens in accessing the Internet.
As a result of the workshop, the UR ODeL policy implementation strategic plan as well as the methodology for ODeL capacity building were validated subject to editing the documents in light of participants’ feedback. Also, the workshop helped clarify the roles of different institutions, organizations and individuals in the implementation of the subsequent activities.
Training on ODeL for University of Rwanda October-November 2017
In October and November 2017, UNESCO organized two face-to-face trainings targeted at e-learning officers at the University of Rwanda, with the aim of boosting their capability in administrating and enhancing the UR-wide Learning Management System Moodle.
Due to the variable knowledge level of participants, trainees were divided into two groups:
Under Moodle Administration:
1. Participants built their capacity to import data, such as users and course structure data as well as enrolment data to their local Moodle test environment.
2. Participants learned about how to create simple SQL queries and how these can be used to produce meaningful reports.
Figure 7: Capacity building of the University of Rwanda Staff on Moodle customization and programming
Figure 6: Cover page of the University of Rwanda ODeL Policy Implementation Strategic Plan 2018-2022
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Under Moodle programming:
1. Participants became familiarized with the Moodle programming interfaces. They implemented one simple plug-in for Moodle including the most relevant components Block and Access to the database.
2. Participants discussed the need for server migration due to the UR’s out-of-date hardware, which risks system shutdown.
Online coaching was provided between these two trainings, and after the second training until the end of February 2018. This training is part of a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening the capacities of lecturers and administrators to produce and use ODeL teaching and learning materials at the University of Rwanda. A first series of training courses on online module development targeting over 100 lecturers from the University of Rwanda took place in December 2016-January 2017. Shortly after, to respond to the need to further train lecturers on how to design e-courses using instructional design approaches, the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa in collaboration with the UNESCO-Institute of Capacity Building in Africa, supported the UR College of Education to conduct a workshop on e-learning content development using instructional design approaches. Finally, an assessment of ODeL facilities at the 16 Teacher Training Colleges, validated on 23 January 2018, will serve as a base for UR’s decision in infrastructure preparation.
See media release: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/nairobi/about-this-office/single-view/news/strengthening_capacity_of_the_university_of_rwanda_staff_to/
Support for electronic assessment in Rwanda UNESCO has started supporting the first ever electronic (e-)assessment development for the Rwanda Education Board (REB). This pilot e-assessment will focus on Primary 5 (Mathematics, Elementary Science and Technology, English Language) and Senior 2 (Biology, Chemistry, Geography) classes. It is expected that the e-assessment items and the system will be ready by April 2018. Piloting in 10 Rwandan schools will be conducted in June 2018, and a final pilot system will be ready by August 2018.
Mozambique updates Production of curriculum map for course on
pedagogical integration of ICT October 2017-ongoing
The Institute for Open and Distance Education (IEDA), with the support international and local consultants, is currently finalizing the development of a blended-learning course on pedagogical integration of ICT for teachers.
A 3-day curriculum-planning workshop was held in Maputo from 17-19 October 2017, with the aim to support the project country team, and specifically IEDA, to develop a training course on the pedagogical use of ICT. MINEDH invited head of departments from different sectors of Ministry of Education including the special needs school and curriculum development sector. The curriculum-planning workshop provided an overview of the latest trends in E-learning, the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (CFT) and Open
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Educational Resources (OER). The Mozambique ICT Competency Framework for Teachers and the curriculum for the Teacher ICT integration course were the outputs of the workshop.
Following the workshops, training materials from existing OERs have been adapted and translated to fit the needs of the Mozambican ICT CFT. They are currently being uploaded onto IEDA’s Moodle platform. A content validation workshop is scheduled for February 2018.
Training on ODeL multimedia content production
Maputo, Mozambique, 29 January-2 February 2018
A delegation of four experts from the Korean National Open University (KNOU) facilitated a second onsite training on ODeL multimedia content production for 22 technicians at the Institute for Open and Distance Education (IEDA) from 29 January - 2 February 2018.
The event, which followed the first onsite training in July-August 2017, aimed at strengthening the capacities of IEDA to produce multimedia content on the basis of the already-existing paper materials. The training focused on the production of lecture notes, the set-up of the studio, the organization of shooting for short video lectures and video editing.
The delegation of trainers from KNOU included tw o subject-matter experts, Prof. Ock-Tae Kim (Dept. of e-Learning) and Prof. Yong Kim (Dept. of Media Arts & Sciences), as well as the Head of Technical Department at Digital Media Center of KNOU, Mr Jintae Kim and a programme specialist, Ms Seulbee Lee. During the training, participants:
Became acquainted with the structure of multimedia lecture;
Familiarized with multimedia lecture development procedure and detailed activities;
Created multimedia lecture notes and power point presentation.
Trainees were divided into four groups (social science, natural science, Portuguese and Mathematics). Each group was tasked to organise their content subject according to topics and allocate period for each topic. Topics were further subdivided into lesson plans by individual participant. Each lesson plan included a 5-minute video and a lesson of 40 minutes. The lesson and video is 45 minutes in total. Two participants worked closely with Jintae Kim in the studio, specializing in studio setting, organization of shooting short video lectures and video editing.
Figure 8: IEDA trainee recording a video lecture in the studio (© UNESCO)
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Upcoming activities
Zimbabwe
Second workshop on the development of the ICT in Higher Education policy
7-9 March 2018
Handover ceremony of equipment to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education
March 2018
Installation of Computers at 20 schools and training of teachers on the HP school pack software
Mid-March to mid-April 2018
First training of college lecturers on pedagogical use of ICT End of March 2018
Rwanda
Validation of infrastructure needs assessment for the ODeL in the University of Rwanda (UR)
January 2018
Validation of action plan for UR's ODeL Strategy Q1 2018
Establishing e-assessment items and system with Rwanda Education Board
Q1 to Q3 2018
Develop a National Framework for MOOCs and OER in higher education and supporting the University of Rwanda to develop Anti-Plagiarism Policy and sharing best practices of Knowledge Societies in Rwanda
Feb – June 2018
Data analysis on Rwanda Media and Information Literacy (MIL) assessment tool
Q1 2018
Data collection and analysis for second ICT Essentials pilot training using the M&E Framework of the ICT Essentials
Q2 2018
Production of video to promote the ICT Essentials course October – November 2017
Supporting the National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) in developing work plan based on the Digital Talent Policy
October – December 2017 Validation in March 2018
Train UR staff on ODeL instructional design, develop and pilot e-modules
Q2-Q3 2018
Moodle training for UR staff September 2017 to February 2018
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Training for UR staff School of Inclusive and Special Needs Education on the UNESCO Guidelines
Q4 2018
Develop a strategic plan to match ICT skills with ICT sector industry needs in Rwanda
Q1-2 2018
Extra Rwanda Knowledge Society Policies Handbook training March 2018
Intellectual Property and Knowledge Society training TBC 2018
Transform Africa Summit 2018 9-10 May 2018
e-Learning Africa 2018 26-28 Sept 2018
Mozambique
Mozambique ICT CFT content validation workshop 23-24 February 2018
Stakeholders meeting 9 March 2018
Basic ICT equipment delivery to 3 teacher training institutes (TTIs)
Gaza: 14 February 2018 Sofala: 20 February 2018 2Nampula: 7 March 2018
Meeting to plan the development of EMIS 5 March 2018