INTRODUCTIONIn any society, educators have the ability to make a massive

positive contribution, making such contribution is a

challenge and teachers must willingly embrace new

technology and learning opportunities, educators are

beginning to recognize that they must teach students, the

future leaders and citizens of the society using current

technologies so that these students will be comfortable in

using future technologies.

Introduction continues…

Technologies and digital media are

everywhere and integrated into

every aspect of individual’s lives.

Today educators must provide

students with the skills they will

need to excel in a technology society.

SUB-HEADINGS

1.Knowledge society agendaWe need to realistically evaluate where our

deficiencies exist, both inside and outside the

classroom. Education is not a drop your child off

for 7 hours and they return educated. It involves

the parents backing up and supporting the

teachers at home, Requiring and helping with

homework to make sure it is done..

Knowledge society agenda continues

Not all parents are created equal, so we

need to make sure that the parents have

the resources to learn the material being

taught so they can help the children learn.

There seems to be a need for a study island

for parents who wish to help their children

but have been away from school for many

years

Knowledge society agenda cont..

Recognizing that not all children learn

in the same environment and realize

that other choices may be necessary.

Some may thrive under a more

difficult discipline setting, while

different children fade under the same

authority.

Knowledge society

agenda cont..Build programs that allow parents

the choice of where their child

should attempt to succeed. We are

not intended to repeat the past in

hopes of gaining an alternate

ending.

Knowledge society agenda cont..

• We are free to reinvent the

system, let us grasp this

opportunity and move both our

school district and our children

forward now. (Anderson, P., and

M. Tushman.)

2. Pervasiveness of technology

The task that individuals performs at work

and at leisure.

From the factory to the office to leisure time

activities, the tasks individuals perform

differ dramatically from the days of little or

no technology. Factory workers monitor

automated equipment instead of performing

manufacturing operation themselves

Pervasiveness of technology cont..

Thousands of college professors,

managers, and office workers are

their own secretaries,

keyboarding their own papers,

reports, memos, and

correspondence. Millions of people

download music from iTunes and

play it on their iPods.

.

Pervasiveness of technology cont..

Time and place of work

Technology makes it possible to change

the location of work for a large number

of people, and it enables work to take

place at any time during the day. For the

first time since the Industrial Revolution,

rural areas are gaining population.

Pervasiveness of technology cont..

Connectivity

electronic mail has dramatically changed the nature

of communications through its asynchronous nature

and our ability to communicate easily across time

zones. Cellular communications provide constant

phone access. In the near future, cellular and other

hand held devices will become a primary means for

connecting to the internet, especially when the user

is travelling.

Pervasiveness of technology cont..

The way in which we structure

organization

One of the most exciting

contributions of technology is the

way it enables organization to

develop innovative new structures.

Pervasiveness of technology cont..Companies can use Information Technology

(IT) to become practical, assigning projects

to task forces distributed around the world

who communicate electronically, a company

can easily concentrate on its core capability

and use technology to make it easier to

distribute work to partners

Education for All

Shared responsibility

From the supply side, the

government must guarantee

enough resources to make

education available and affordable

for diverse groups.

Education for all cont..

From the demand side, the

government should address and

fulfil the different demands from

specific groups, such as the poor

students and those from rural

areas. Education is a shared

responsibility between

government, community and

private sectors.

Education for all cont..

Teachers

The number one priority for improving

education should be a focus on

teachers. Additionally, increasing the

number of teachers and also improving

their education and thus, the quality of

teaching should be priorities..

Education for all cont..

In Ghana, increasing the number

of teachers has been successful

because it had mobilized its

resources, such as retired

teachers or teachers outside the

system or in other professions.

(Jacque Delors 1996) argues

Education for all cont..

Quality

Providing quality education goes

further than building a school.

Comprehensive curricula must be

developed, in order to eradicate

taboos and stereotypes leading to

conflict and discrimination.

Education for all cont..

Education will prepare the next

generations to contest the

ideologies preventing

marginalized groups from

participating fully and equally in

the social, cultural and economic

development of their society.

Education for all cont..

Funding

It is through education that the affected

communities will be able to make a stable and

inclusive transition to peace; and it is, indeed,

those educated children who will be tasked with

constructing a tolerant society capable of fostering

sustainable, inclusive and stable economic

development

Objectives of the Future national

strategies

Combating poverty

Efforts to combat poverty and vulnerability play

a key part in the Government’s strategic

approach to promoting social cohesion. They are

integral components of a policy that seeks, on

the one hand, to afford access for everyone to a

fair wage, goods and services and, on the other

hand, to provide specifically for people at risk.

Future national

strategies cont..Social transfers are one aspect of

this policy, which is illustrated by

the social inclusion indicators

showing the effectiveness of

social transfers in reducing the

poverty risk, as are tax-

adjustment and income-

redistribution measures. (Kay, R.

2006).

Future national strategies continues

(Tearle, P. 2003). Implemented

that the process of compiling this

report included discussions at

both ministerial level and with the

social partners, including NGOs.

Future national strategies cont..

Coordination of social inclusion and social protection

policies with policies pursuant to the strategy for

growth and employment, as well as national

sustainable-development policies, is ensured partly

by the inter-ministerial committee in charge of

preparing the national plan for innovation and full

employment, and also by the inter-ministerial

committee responsible for sustainable development

strategy.

Future national strategies cont..

Adapting day-care provision for children

with special needs

The system of childcare Centre’s is

designed to provide individual support for

those children who need it, in addition to

the normal care offered to all children.

Future national strategy

Using the Centre to make

available specific resources for

children with disabilities, to

ensure that at least one third of

all day-care can cater for children

with special needs, to increase

day-care resources and the quality

of care they can offer.

Future national

strategies cont..The Government has also begun

working to improve the care of

children outside day-care by

developing a system of support by

parental assistants and

cooperation between day-care.

Future national

strategies cont..Health promotion and empowerment

(Anderson, P., and M. Tushman 1990). From

2008 onwards the Ministry for Health and

Social Security, in cooperation with the

Union of Sickness Insurance Funds plans to

invest in public-health programs and health

promotion campaigns on a greatly increased

scale.

Future national strategies cont..

In pursuit of a policy based on keeping

patients informed, the aims are to make

people increasingly aware of how lifestyle

(diet, etc.) can impact on health and to

alert them to the financial situation of the

social security system generally in relation

to the use of generic drugs for example.

Future national

strategies cont..In the interests of an efficient and

effective policy approach, the

Government should develop a

mechanism for coordinating

sickness insurance benefits and

dependence insurance.

Future national strategy

cont..Gender- based pedagogy

Gender inequalities were closely related to

land ownership in southern African, and that

some countries were beginning to develop

policies to address the issues. Educational

materials were being produced that were

gender sensitive, and most curriculum were

sensitive.

Future national

strategies cont..There is also an increased awareness of

gender issues amongst parents. Success

factors political will, financial support for

gender based pedagogies, and gender

mainstreaming. There is a need to continue

efforts to mainstream gender into education

systems and the curriculum.

(Boakye,K.B.,&Banini,D.A.2008).

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of teachers with regard to teacher ICTs and professional aptitudes

Technology resources: physical and

practice

Clearly access to ICT as physical

technology is the primary access required

for use in teaching and learning. We note

that such considerations are disappearing

from investigations in some instances:

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of

teachers with regard to teacher ICTs and professional aptitudes

Two recent US higher education

studies (Jones 2002; Allen &

Seaman 2003) simply assume

physical access is in place. In the

local context, as described earlier,

this remains a burning issue. In

general, however, physical access

is at the forefront of all accounts

of access in the literature.

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of teachers with regard to teacher ICTs and

professional aptitudes

Resource of personal agency

In order for individual students or academics to

use ICT meaningfully for teaching and learning,

they need access to personal, collective and

contextual resources.

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of teachers with regard to

teacher ICTs and professional aptitudes

While we are committed to the

importance of context, it is

important to identify specific

resources which need to be

accessed by individuals in order to

give them agency. We found the

notion of an active orientation

useful.

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of

teachers with regard to teacher ICTs and professional aptitudes

The practice and professional development of

teachers

Teachers with a changed and extended role are

central to the way ICT is adopted and used at the

classroom and student level. The supposition that

teachers might be displaced by the technology has

been largely discounted, even though the media and

popular opinion seem still to characterize the

technology as valuable independent of teachers.

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of

teachers with regard to teacher ICTs and professional aptitudes

Not only does this fail to

understand the key role of the

teacher in using ICT in schools,

but by dis-empowering the

teacher and stressing the

technology, it undermines the

educational potential of the

technology itself (Biggs,J.2003)

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of teachers with

regard to teacher ICTs and professional aptitudes

LEARNING TO CHANGE – ICT IN SCHOOLS An optimum balance between operational skills and an understanding of the pedagogical implications is difficult to achieve. First, however, a starting low level of technical skill among student teachers must be remedied, both because it will be a barrier to classroom use and because the pedagogical implications will make little sense without some technical competence.

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of

teachers with regard to teacher ICTs and professional aptitudes

While initial teacher education

cannot go very far in equipping

teachers to evaluate educational

materials or to analyses learning

processes, beginning teachers

need some basic pedagogical

frameworks within which they can

readily and enthusiastically

accommodate ICT.

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of teachers with

regard to teacher ICTs and professional aptitudes

ICT Integration into the School Curricula

Information, Communication and Technology

has made tremendous advances which could

effectively be put to advantage to enhance

educational delivery. Many Ministries of

Education has recognized this potential and

have reformed their educational system take

advantage.

National and international initiatives regarding professional development of

teachers with regard to teacher ICTs and professional aptitudes

In a case study of some pioneer

schools in ICT integration (Boakyi

K & Banini, A.D, 2006) it was

discovered that some schools in

both the public and private sector

in the education industry had

taken advantage of the ICT

innovation and were making good

progress.

CONCLUSION

Indeed, the desire for certificates and the

extents to which both teachers and

students are ready to go to achieve this

desire has left very little room for the

school system to pursue the totality of the

national goals and objectives of education,

especially the non-examinable ones.

Conclusion cont..

This tends to limit education to the narrow

scope of learning to pass examinations and

be awarded certificates and not learning as

a basis for acquiring skills to continue the

learning process after school. Schooling

must equip pupils and students to grow

through life and not simply go through life.

Conclusion cont..

This concern, coupled with the need for putting

ICT integration to advantage in educational

provision provide the basis for a study into the

extent to which the education system is catering

for lifelong learning skills and also listing it to

appraise the relevance and use of ICT in the

development of these skills to meet the

continuing developmental needs and challenges

facing society.

Reference list

Allen, I.E. & Seaman. J. (2003). Sizing the Opportunity: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2002–2003. The Sloan Consortium.Anderson, P., and M. Tushman. “Technological Discontinuities and Dominant Designs: A Cyclical Model of Technological Change.” Admiration Science Quarterly 35, no.4 (December 1990): 604-633.Biggs,J.(2003). Aligning teaching for constructive learning. New York: The Higher Education Academy Press Boakyi K & Banini A.D. (2006); Integrating ICT in Teaching and Learning in West and Central African Schools: A Case Study of Pioneer Schools in Ghana

Reference list cont..

Boakye,K.B.,&Banini,D.A.(2008).Teacher ICT Readiness in Ghana.InK.Toure,T.M.S. Tchombe,&T.Karsenti(Eds.),ICT and Changing Mindsets in Education. Bamenda ,Cameroon: Langaa; Bamako, Mali: ERNWACA/ROCAREKay, R. (2006). Evaluating strategies used to incorporate technology into preservice education: Areview of the literature. Journal of Reasearch on Technology in Education 28(4),383-408 Jacque Delors (1996); Learning the Treasure Within, UNESCO Report, ParisTearle, P. (2003). ICT implementation: what makes the difference? British Journal of Educatonal Technology, 34(5), 567-583.