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Report of the Southern Africa Regional Meeting on ICTs in Education 27-28 June 2017 | Harare, Zimbabwe

Report of the Southern Africa Regional Meeting on ICTs in Education

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Cover picture: ©UNESCO/Gertie Steukers

Report prepared by Gertie Steukers Editorial team: Carolyn Medel-Anonuevo Abdoul Wahab Coulibaly ©UNESCO ROSA 2017


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Modern societies are increasingly dependent on information and knowledge, with digital information and communication technologies as main drivers. This requires women and men who have Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills to handle information and are reflective, creative and adept at problem-solving in order to generate knowledge. Therefore, one of the basic requirements for education in the 21st century is to prepare learners for participation in a knowledge-based economy.

Since the introduction of ICTs, their integration into education and the associated financial investments have been policy concerns in many countries. Technologies can improve the teaching/learning process by enhancing the quality of learning, transforming conventional delivery systems, sustaining lifelong learning and improving institutional management. The importance of integrating ICTs is also recognized in the Global Development Agenda, more specifically in SDG9 on Innovation as well as SDG4 on Education. Global indicator 4.4.1 under SDG4.4 refers to the proportion of youth and adults with ICT skills, by type of skill.

To assist member states in responding to these demands for education, UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) organized the Southern Africa Regional Meeting on ICTs in Education. The meeting allowed country representatives to share their country experiences – achievements, challenges and opportunities – and to learn from each other.

It became evident that countries are gearing substantial efforts towards the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning and are implementing multiple initiatives at country level, with support from a range of partners. Countries share common challenges and urged UNESCO to facilitate sharing of information, practices and lessons learned among countries. This discussion resulted into the recommendation to develop a virtual sharing platform.


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Acknowledgements The UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) and the Zimbabwe National Commission for UNESCO would like to express their sincere gratitude to all delegates from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Uganda who travelled to Harare, Zimbabwe for the Southern Africa Regional Meeting on ICTs in Education, for their active participation in all the discussions, and for sharing their experiences.

ROSA would also like to thank the Zimbabwe Government for hosting this meeting and for their important efforts in making sure that this meeting could take place in a successful manner.

The organizers received positive feedback from the participants and hope that this report captures all reflections, discussions and recommendations.


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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 4

Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... 5

I Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 6

II Opening session ...................................................................................................................... 6

III Background and context ........................................................................................................ 7

IV Country Experiences ............................................................................................................ 10

A. Challenges ......................................................................................................................... 10

B. Achievements ................................................................................................................... 11

V Project Experiences .............................................................................................................. 13

VI Thematic areas of ICT integration ....................................................................................... 15

A. Unpacking ICT integration in Education ........................................................................... 15

B. Teacher ICT Competencies ............................................................................................... 17

C. Content Development and E-Schools ............................................................................... 18

VII Virtual Sharing Platform ..................................................................................................... 20

VIII Summary and way forward ............................................................................................... 21

ANNEX I: Programme ............................................................................................................... 23

ANNEX II: Attendance list ......................................................................................................... 25


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I Introduction Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play an increasingly important role in the way we communicate, learn and live. ICTs have transformed many aspects of our lives and offered unprecedented opportunities and challenges for education. The challenge is to effectively harness these technologies in a way that serves the interests of learners and the larger teaching/learning community.

Modern societies are increasingly based on information and knowledge, with digital information and communication technologies as main drivers. Hence there is an urgency to build workforces which have ICT skills to handle information and are reflective, creative and adept at problem-solving in order to generate knowledge.

UNESCO takes a comprehensive approach to ICTs in education. It considers that innovative approaches in the use of ICTs can contribute to universal access to education, equity in education, the delivery of quality learning and teaching and teachers’ professional development. ICTs can also improve education management, governance and administration provided the right mix of policies, technologies and capacities are in place.

The importance of integrating ICTs is featured in the Global Development Agenda, more specifically in SDG9 on Innovation as well as SDG4, which commits the international community to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Global indicator 4.4.1 under SDG4.4 refers to the proportion of youth and adults with ICT skills, by type of skill. In the Qingdao Declaration, signed by Ministers of Education at the International Conference on ICT and Post-2015 Education conference in Qingdao, People’s Republic of China (23 to 25 May 2015), it was stated that the full potential of ICT for education must be unleashed for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the vision of Education 2030.

II Opening session Mrs V. Mashangwa, Director ICT, Zimbabwe Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education officially opened the Southern Africa Regional Meeting on ICTs in Education on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango.


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The Permanent Secretary emphasized that ICTs are influencing all aspects of life and making dynamic changes in society, to which education needs to respond. She indicated that the Ministry has therefore recognised the importance of ICT and technological innovation in education. This regional meeting therefore comes at an opportune time, as we continue to explore ways of optimally harnessing the potential of technology.

III Background and context The Head of the Education Unit at the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, Ms Carolyn Medel-Anonuevo, explained the background and context of this meeting.

She emphasized the need to understand the difference between old and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). These ICTs have transformed teaching and learning and offered innovative approaches to education. The importance of integrating ICTs is featured in the Global Development Agenda, more specifically in SDG9 on Innovation as well as SDG4, which commits the international community to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Indicator 4.4.1 under SDG4.4 refers to the proportion of youth and adults with ICT skills, by type of skill.

SDG4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

At the regional level, the third strategic objective in the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25) emphasizes the need for “ICT to improve access, quality and management”. The overall strategy aspires to “create a new African citizen who will be an effective change agent for the continent’s sustainable development as envisioned by the 2063 Agenda”; the continent thereby puts forward a strong focus on ICTs.

In the Qingdao Declaration, signed by Ministers of Education at the International Conference on ICT and Post-2015 Education conference in Qingdao, People’s Republic of China (23 to 25 May 2015), it was stated that the full potential of ICT for education must be unleashed for achieving the SDGs and the vision of Education 2030.

She further outlined some of the main challenges for integrating ICTs in education:


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Rapid increase of student intake at both secondary and tertiary education; need to adapt higher education systems to the demands of a rapidly changing social, economic and technological order;

Lack of appropriate policies to support different stages/different needs (e.g. curriculum, resources).

Attitudes of administrators, teachers ( the use of computers for educational purposes might be a threatening step because there is often little expertise, and teachers and administration are reluctant to take the first step) and motivation;

Acquisition of necessary infrastructure (appropriate equipment, funding and approval from administration who are the financial controllers and decision makers);

Lack of capacities of trainers and teachers;

Electricity and connectivity;

Security and maintenance. To respond to some of these challenges, UNESCO has created an international benchmark which sets out the skills required to teach effectively with ICT: UNESCO's ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT). This framework is intended to inform educational policy makers, teacher-educators, providers of professional learning and in-service teachers on the role of ICT in educational reform, as well as to assist Member States in developing national ICT competency standards for teachers. UNESCO's Framework emphasizes that it is not enough for teachers to have ICT skills and be able to teach them to their students. Teachers need to be able to help the students become collaborative, problem-solving, creative learners through using ICT so they will be effective citizens and members of the workforce. The framework is holistic and addresses all aspects of a teacher's work. It is arranged in three different approaches to teaching:

1. Technology Literacy: enabling students to use ICT in order to learn more efficiently; 2. Knowledge Deepening: enabling students to acquire in-depth knowledge of their

school subjects and apply it to complex, real-world problems; 3. Knowledge Creation: enabling students, citizens and the workforce they become, to

create the new knowledge required for more harmonious, fulfilling and prosperous societies.

In November 2015, ROSA organized a Southern Africa Regional Meeting on Integrating ICTs in Teaching and Learning in Botswana. In this regional meeting, countries shared their experiences and current practices regarding the integration of ICTs in their education systems and strategized towards national and regional action plans. The participants identified challenges and concerns such as inadequate ICT readiness in terms of ICT infrastructure and basic ICT literacy; the need for teacher capacity building for ICTs; the negative mind-set connected to ICTs in education; the fragmentation of the ICT mandate and need for clear coordination efforts; and the need to explore mobile learning.

From this meeting, it was also evident that all countries in the region have a national ICT policy framework in place. The majority of the countries have worked on Education specific ICT policy frameworks. In many countries however, these are still draft frameworks which are awaiting endorsement. Policy implementation was reported to be slow or hampered, and not adequately monitored with lack of accountable entities. The lack of policy awareness and lack


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of funding and capacity were reported as additional concerns for adequate implementation, as well as the need for inter-ministerial collaboration in the area of ICTs.

The country representatives identified four priority areas (policy, curriculum, capacity and advocacy) for advancing the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning and corresponding action points for the national and the regional level.

PO

LIC

Y

National Action Points Regional Action Points • Review national policies with a view to integrate ICTs in

education/teaching and learning; • Develop an implementation plan to accompany the

policy, involving public private partnership; • Monitor and evaluate existing policies.

• Harmonize for a common policy framework;

• Support each other.

CU

RR

ICU

LUM

National Action Points Regional Action Points • Review the current national curriculum to be used as a

vehicle to enable the integration of ICT in teaching and learning;

• Ensure that subject syllabuses indicate integration ideas; • Ensure that school syllabuses include teacher support

guidelines such as lesson templates, examples of sites to access content;

• Design curriculum to include ICT as a subject; • Design Teacher training curricula to support teacher’s

ability to use ICTs; • Develop digital learning content to provide teachers with

learner support materials.

• Develop regional guidelines for adequately including ICTs in the curriculum.

CA

PA

CIT

Y

National Action Points Regional Action Points • Build/strengthen capacities of national trainers with

an inclusive perspective (curriculum developers, inspectors, in-service officers, policy developers);

• Build/strengthen capacities of training institutions with an inclusive perspective (facilitators, administration, subject lecturers);

• Build/strengthen capacities of teachers with an inclusive perspective (facilitators, administration, subject teachers).

• Develop an inclusive comprehensive Regional framework for capacity building.

AD

VO

CA

CY

National Action Points Regional Action Points • Sensitize management throughout the system (PS,

legislators, education managers) on the integration of ICTs to serve national sustainable development goals;

• Raise community awareness to target ICT mindset; • Sensitize private ICT companies/industry; • Incentivize integration practices.

• Mobilize all stakeholders and sensitize leaders/management;

• Share best practices and resources; • Sensitize private ICT

companies/industry.

Furthermore, ROSA is supporting the implementation of ICT in Education projects in the Southern Africa region. The UNESCO-China Funds-in-Trust (CFIT) Project and the UNESCO-Korea Funds-in-Trust (KFIT) Project are being implemented in multiple countries in Africa. These countries have different focus areas (such as Capacity building in ICT Literacy and ICT Integration, E-School models, ICT Centres of Excellence, ICT Policies for Education, ODL, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS), ICT Learning/Sharing Platforms) and are at different stages of implementation but all have valuable lessons to share with the other countries in the


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region, and in Africa. For Southern Africa, CFIT beneficiary countries are Namibia and Zambia, and KFIT beneficiary countries are Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Against this context and the background of the on-going work of ROSA in the sub-region, this meeting was organized with the following objectives:

To share country practices regarding the integration of ICTs in Education;

To share lessons learned from CFIT and KFIT project implementation in and beyond Southern Africa;

To progress towards the identification of ICT Teacher competencies in the Southern Africa region;

To establish strategic partnerships to effectively cooperate and collaborate on ICT in Education initiatives;

To identify action points for strengthened effective integration of ICTs in education systems in the Southern Africa region.

IV Country Experiences Through country presentations, participants shared their country practices regarding the integration of ICTs in their education systems. From their country perspectives they shared challenges and achievements.

A. Challenges

When introducing themselves, as well as during country presentations, participants reported some of the priority challenges they are facing regarding the integration of ICTs in their education systems. The following list consolidates these inputs:

Capacity:

Limited teacher/educator capacity for integrating ICTs – in-service and pre-service;

High turn-over of capacitated ICT teachers (deployed to better jobs);

Negative teacher attitude towards ICTs;

Limited use of ICTs in assessment;

Lack of awareness of benefits of integrating ICTs in Education. Policy/Planning:

Inadequate mapping of ICT initiatives;

Lack of coordination of stakeholders involved in ICT in education;

Lack of resources;

Limited transition from project to national initiatives;

Lack of evaluation of ICT interventions. Infrastructure:

Inadequate infrastructure and high cost (internet connectivity, equipment);

Lack of assurance that equipment in schools is used for teaching/learning purposes;

Low internet penetration;

High cost of assistive technologies;

ICT divide within countries (urban-rural, between regions, etc).


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B. Achievements

To respond to these challenges, countries are gearing efforts towards the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning and are implementing multiple initiatives at country level, with support of a range of partners.

Besides the infrastructure provision to schools and institutions, which is on-going, innovative (e.g South Africa’s mobile trolleys) and prioritized in all countries, an area that governments are focusing on is capacity building for ICT integration. This concept is however multi-layered as there is a need for experts to drive ICT initiatives at national level. This also entails ICT literacy as well as ICT integration skills. The training of ICT technicians and managers for schools is also required. Countries reported to be actively working towards developing/strengthening ICT competencies in teachers and educators.

In Namibia for example, the Ministry of Education has undertaken to certify the computer skills of all teachers and students in Namibian schools over the next 5 years using the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) certification programme. In South Africa, it is a policy requirement to provide every teacher, manager and administrator with the knowledge, skills and support they need to integrate ICTs in teaching and learning, and a draft Professional Development Framework for Digital Learning has been developed. The following guidelines for teacher development are being followed in South Africa:

In Swaziland, capacity building for teachers and workshops for education officers have been organized. The University of Swaziland (UNISWA) is also proposing to introduce a Bachelors of Education programme for ICT teachers. In Botswana, under the e-education project, an ICT Basics Training Manual was developed, tested, validated and shared. Trainings have started in the regions. Uganda is using the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition (SAMR) model to help educators integrate technology into teaching and learning.

Countries are also making efforts towards the integration of ICTs in the curriculum. In Swaziland for example, the education system is going through a curriculum reform and the new draft competency-based curriculum framework is waiting for cabinet approval. ICT is integrated as one of the core skills in this new curriculum. Also in Zimbabwe, ICT is integrated

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or embedded across all subjects of the curriculum. In Malawi, the subject of ICT studies has been part of Secondary School Curriculum for 10 years. Regarding ICTs in Higher Education, efforts in the area of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) were reported. The terms open learning and distance education refer to approaches that focus on opening access to education and training provision while liberating learners from the constraints of time and place and offering flexible learning opportunities to individuals and groups of learners. For governments the main opportunities provided by ODL are to increase the capacity and cost-effectiveness of education and training systems, to reach target groups with limited access to conventional education, to support and enhance the quality and relevance of existing educational structures and to promote innovation and opportunities for lifelong learning.

In Rwanda, the School of Open and Distance Learning (SODL) has been created in the University of Rwanda’s (UR) College of Education with the intent to promote and to lead Open and Distance Learning in all UR colleges. With partner funding, multiple programmes are being run. However, being at its initial stage, SODL faces challenges related to quality of content, infrastructure and low understanding of ODeL implementation.

When it comes to ICT in Education policies, most of the countries only have draft frameworks in place that are awaiting cabinet approval. Nevertheless, some countries like Uganda and Zambia have started implementing parts of their draft frameworks. However, from the country reports it became very clear that integrating ICTs in Education should be a coherent exercise inscribed into a clear national roadmap/plan. Such a plan serves as a coordination framework for all on-going ICT initiatives in the country while connecting them to a strategy with a goal and objectives. Mozambique sets a successful example with its comprehensive Technological Plan for Education (TPE), which aims to develop an integrated political vision for ICT in Education, completed by a sustainable financial strategy and an ecosystem that streamlines the plan and the Mozambican economy. South Africa’s Operation Phakisa ICT in Education Plan is another example. The plan aims to accelerate the implementation of the 2004 White Paper on e-Education of which the goal to make every South African learner ICT capable by 2013 has not yet been achieved. Operation Phakisa aims to accelerate progress towards this goal by leveraging on ICT to improve access, equity, redress, inclusivity, efficiency and quality of education. In Botswana, a coordinated approach to leverage the ICT sector in the country is found in the Thutonet Governance Structure as a critical component of the Education and Training Sector Strategies Plan (ETSSP).

It became evident that in order to successfully implement any initiative, strong political will is required. For example South Africa’s plan to accelerate ICT implementation in Education was a presidential initiative for which a substantial amount of time and resources (120 officials worked on this for 6 full weeks) were allocated. Also other countries like Botswana and Mozambique benefit from the strong political will at country level regarding ICT integration in their respective education systems. In Zimbabwe the President champions the use of ICTs in education by donating ICT equipment to schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities. Community information centres with internet connectivity are being established in all provinces.


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To accompany the element of political will however, all countries emphasized the importance of partnerships to execute ICT interventions. Development partners such as VSO in Malawi, the World bank in Lesotho, GIZ in Botswana, and KOICA, JICA and World Vision in Swaziland have played important roles in the provision of ICT infrastructure and capacity building for ICT integration. Private partners such as Microsoft in Mozambique and Intel in Lesotho have also made significant contributions. Partnerships with UNESCO for the implementation of ICT in Education projects such as the CFIT and KFIT projects are discussed in the next section.

V Project Experiences To accelerate progress and to respond to some of the challenges that countries are facing in the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning, UNESCO, through the extra budgetary contributions from its member states, has been supporting the implementation of ICT in Education projects in Africa.

The UNESCO-China Funds-in-Trust (CFIT) Project and the UNESCO-Korea Funds-in-Trust (KFIT) Project are extra budgetary funding mechanisms of UNESCO which are being implemented in multiple countries in Africa. These countries have different focus areas (such as Capacity building in ICT Literacy and ICT Integration, E-School models, ICT Centres of Excellence, ICT Policies for Education, ODL, MOOCS, ICT Learning/Sharing Platforms) and are at different stages of implementation but all have valuable lessons to share with other countries in Africa.

The CFIT project prepared within the framework of UNESCO’s South-South cooperation and drawing on a Funds-in-Trust contribution by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), addresses the capacity development needs of benefitting African countries in relation to teacher’s education and professional development. The overall objective of the project is to enhance the capacity of the target teacher training institutions in selected African countries to provide quality teacher education and training, in order to contribute to SDG4 on inclusive and equitable quality education and SDG9 on innovation. In a first phase (2012-2016) 8 countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Namibia, Tanzania, and Uganda) benefitted from the project. Two additional countries (Togo and Zambia) were added in a second project phase (2017-2018) bringing the total of implementing countries to 10.

The 10 CFIT countries have different focus areas:

Cote d’Ivoire

Strengthening the capacities of pedagogical supervisors in conducting distance continuous training through ICT

Congo Capacity building of teacher training institutions in providing in-service training for primary and secondary teachers

DR Congo Strengthening national capacities for in-service teacher training

Ethiopia Strengthening pre- and in-service teacher education through blended training

Liberia Enhancing teacher education programme through ICT pedagogy

Namibia Capacity development for quality in pre- and lower primary teacher education

Tanzania Strengthening ICT integration and use in Teacher Education in Tanzania

Togo Strengthening the capacity of trainers and teacher training institutions via ICT

Uganda Enhancing teacher quality through ICT integration in curriculum and capacity development of TTIs


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Zambia Equipping teacher educators and teachers with 21st century skills for enhanced and efficient education service delivery

CFIT Namibia and CFIT Uganda were represented at the meeting and shared their project experiences. In Uganda, 3 key teacher training institutions (TTIs) benefitted from the project (Kyambogo University, Nakawa Vocational Institute and Shimon Primary Teachers College). Successes were achieved in the area of reinforcement of ICT labs, capacity building of teacher educators, collaborative networking and partnership among the key TTIs, enhanced school-based CPD for teachers and effective Monitoring and Evaluation mechanisms.

In Namibia, the CFIT project was the first national (institutional) effort to address ICT integration at the pre- and lower primary phase. The project focused on ICT Literacy, Training of Trainers for ICT support; efforts at addressing e-content that is local; and building a virtual forum for support and community of practice. The project built on a continuous informed approach: activities were informed by an ICT school readiness survey, a questionnaire for the establishment of the virtual forum and the results of an action research initiative in 56 pre- and lower primary classrooms. In order to advance the integration of ICTs in educational practices, the project followed a triple layered approach by focusing on the teacher educator, the teacher and the learner. The project provided equipment (infrastructure) informed by the classroom needs, as well as advanced ICT integration skills (capacity) through varied trainings.

The KFIT project on ICT Transforming Education in Africa, prepared within the UNESCO-Korea Funds-in-Trust cooperation, is a 3-year pilot project launched in 2015 to foster human and social development in Mozambique, Rwanda and Zimbabwe, through the use of ICTs. Beneficiaries are teachers and students, primary and secondary public schools, higher education institutions, policy-makers, educational administrators and leaders.

The overall project aims to increase access and quality of basic education through innovative ICT solutions; strengthen higher education systems through ODL; facilitate the development of national ICT in education policies and master plans and knowledge-sharing, including supporting the Information for All Programme (IFAP); build a collaborative network of key education institutions.

The countries have just started implementation. Responding to national contexts, the country specific focus areas and objectives in the 3 countries are reported in the below table:

Mozambique Capacity development in distance education, Teacher training in-service, secondary education and ICT policy • Establish an e-school model to align learners’ competencies with the new

curriculum for primary and secondary schools; • Make information on management administration available on-line and

enhance communication between local community and schools, through strengthening of the ICT-enhanced EMIS;

• Transform the provision of ODL from paper based methodology to blended learning models;

• Create an ecosystem that enables knowledge societies and alignment with SDGs, also through improvement of the ICT in Education policy.

Rwanda ICT Transforming Education in Rwanda


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• Enhance the capacity of pre- and in-service primary and secondary teachers to provide quality education, by improving their skills to integrate ICT in education, and using electronic assessments;

• Strengthen the capacity of the University of Rwanda by expanding higher education through courses delivered via ODL;

• Facilitate policy development and share best practices to build knowledge societies.

Zimbabwe Transforming Zimbabwe into a Knowledge Based Society: Strengthening Quality Education through Integrating ICTs into Teaching, Learning, Research and Innovation • Strengthen e-education and ICTs in primary and secondary education, through

an ICT-enhanced school model aligned with the new curriculum (including the e-School strategy, teachers’ support, learning management systems, and e-Learning environment);

• Capacitate higher and tertiary education using diverse methodologies for lifelong and open and distance learning, including digitalization of materials, introduction of blended learning and innovative ICT solutions for ODL, etc;

• Create an enabling policy environment for the effective use of ICTs in primary, secondary, higher, and tertiary education.

While sharing experiences, participants emphasized the importance of project ownership to ensure sustainability. The need for institutionalizing project interventions during implementation was raised; this way the impact of interventions can be sustained. Participants also raised the need to involve the private sector more to increase opportunities for sustaining project interventions.

Participants also discussed the issue of equipment procurement and the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing locally or from outside. Another issue raised was the concern of warranties and equipment maintenance within and after project duration.

The sharing of experiences highlighted that countries share many challenges and can learn from each other. Participants noted the need to share modules/materials/tools amongst the different countries and urged UNESCO to facilitate the sharing of practices and materials between CFIT and KFIT implementing countries.

VI Thematic areas of ICT integration A. Unpacking ICT integration in Education

When unpacking the concept of integrating ICTs in teaching and learning, it is evident that it consists of many elements and happens through multiple areas and modalities. In a first exercise, participants examined ICT elements in curriculum, ICT integration in teacher training, evaluation/inspectorate of ICT in Education, and Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in Higher Education. The participants looked at main achievements in these areas, main challenges and corresponding recommendations to address the challenges.

The following table consolidates these inputs.


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CU

RR

ICU

LUM

Main achievements

1. Teaching of ICTs as a subject (e.g. Zimbabwe starts at ECD A; Namibia starts at Grade 1; Malawi and Swaziland start at Grade 3; SA, Uganda and Botswana start at secondary school)

2. Integration of ICTs across the curriculum (with implications for teacher training)

3. Integration of ICTs in Higher Education curricula (Teacher training)

Main challenges Recommendations for responding

1. Unsystematic integration poses monitoring challenges; Teaching of ICTs starts at late phase of system

Streamline policies in order to supervise and monitor

2. Curriculum delivery: Trainees/teachers intimidated by ICTs; Interpretation and Implementation of ICT usage policy; Training Competence among administrators and Teachers; ICT mainly taught in urban schools.

Re-training of in-service teachers and school administrators.

3. Absence of M&E tool for how ICT in curriculum is being taught/ teacher coverage of ICT

Use of a curriculum coverage tool (cfr SA)

TEA

CH

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RA

ININ

G

Main achievements

1. Infrastructure: Laboratories, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) (encouraged and mandatory in some cases).

2. Bandwidth: Most teacher training colleges connected

3. Availability of eResources and support mechanisms that provide information literacy

4. Continuous Teacher professional development in ICTs Teacher capacity development programmes – post graduate diplomas Introduction of ICT related Degree Programmes and courses

5. ICT Policies in Education - national and institutional

6. Creation of ICT Technical Support posts – in some cases training of ICT teachers to handle maintenance


1. Infrastructure and equipment maintenance (when donors leave)

Dedicated institutional Budget for ICTs Safety and security mechanisms

2. Staffing – teacher educators not competent, no posts for technical support personnel in traditional structures ICT teacher retention – most follow a different career progression path

Provide In-service skills development Incentivize performance, recognize achievers and introduce certification models to retain Need for ICT Policy (Development, dissemination and implementation plans and strategy)

3. Multiplicity of languages – Indigenous languages not supported with ICTs

4. Special Education needs – limited or no resources for assistive technologies

Dedicated institutional Budget for ICTs

5. Increasing need for Information Literacy Skills Training – Librarians limited readiness to support

EVA

LUA

TIO

N

Main achievements

1. Standard evaluation tools developed (e.g. lesson observation templates, ICT inventory, Student management information systems)

2. Setting up of advisory directorates in Ministries

3. Standard communication tools developed


1. Attitudes Sensitization; Change management

2. Inadequate resources (human capacity, finance, infrastructure)

Private-Public Partnerships Government Involvement


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3. Lack of real time data Development of real time data collection tools

4. Lack of Policy Development of Relevant Policies to create an enabling environment

OD

L

Main achievements

1. Increase of teacher quantity and quality through ODL (Upgrading skills)

2. Video conference system (Real time teaching reaching large groups of learners at a time)

3. Affordability of ODL through course management systems

4. Inclusiveness of ODL (Girl, women and physically challenged groups)


1. Connectivity, maintenance of infrastructure, high initial costs (Installation)

ICT policy should enable partnership with Internet service providers, and sustainability of ODL infrastructure

2. Political will; poor implementation; lack of comprehensive policies on ODL; inadequate gadgets needing frequent upgrade

Governments to increase investment in ICTs

3. Negative attitude; resistance to change; lack of Training of facilitator and teachers

Increase awareness; build capacities

When working on the evaluation/inspectorate element, a side-discussion about conceptual understanding emerged. Even though many countries are still using the terms inspector/inspectorate to refer to monitoring activities of educational programmes, the country representatives agreed that the terms might be outdated as they carry a certain sense of fear-induced authority. Countries reported that in certain regions/countries the term has transformed into quality advisor, support supervisor, standards officer or education development officer.

The discussion about ODL raised the importance of understanding the distinction between traditional Distance Learning (DL) and the new open variant of the concept (ODL). ODL increases openness and access to education and training through use of ICTs.

B. Teacher ICT Competencies

UNESCO's ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT) is an international benchmark which sets out the skills required to teach effectively with ICT. The framework is intended to inform educational policy makers, teacher-educators, providers of professional learning and in-service teachers on the role of ICT in educational reform, as well as to assist Member States in developing national ICT competency standards for teachers.

The Framework is organized in three different approaches to teaching (three successive stages of a teacher’s development). The first is Technology Literacy, enabling students to use ICT in order to learn more efficiently. The second is Knowledge Deepening, enabling students to acquire in-depth knowledge of their school subjects and apply it to complex, real-world problems. The third is Knowledge Creation, enabling students, citizens and the workforce they become, to create the new knowledge required for more harmonious, fulfilling and prosperous societies.


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South Africa, Namibia and Uganda reported to have benchmarked themselves vis a vis UNESCO’s framework and have developed/are developing their own frameworks. Mozambique will do this as part of the KFIT project. In Rwanda, a teaching module has been developed based on the framework; this has been implemented and is being evaluated. Participants further discussed the development of such national frameworks and emphasized the importance of contextualizing/customizing. Participants also highlighted the need to inform the development of ICT competencies with a baseline study. Identified anticipated challenges are the lack of resources (financial and human), resistance to change and the tendency of a policy conflict (“this is not my area”).

For the regional level, participants recommended to include ICT competencies in the Regional Teacher Competence Framework which is currently being developed with support of UNESCO and the SADC secretariat. This should be benchmarked against the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers.

C. Content Development and E-Schools

Development of content and learning materials is a significant part of integrating ICTs in Education. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) are an important example of this. MOOCs are online courses designed for large numbers of participants which can be accessed by anyone anywhere with an Internet connection, are open to everyone without entry qualifications and offer a full/complete course experience online for free.

Open and online education is seen as an innovation driver for improving education and transforming secondary and higher education systems. In this respect, MOOCs promote lifelong learning by enabling access to higher education for all; they contribute to the democratisation of higher education.

As an element of MOOCS, Open Educational Resources (OERs) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium, digital or otherwise, that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. Examples of teaching, learning and


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research materials are textbooks, syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, tests, projects, audio recordings, video recordings and animations.1

Participants identified the following key principles for the development of e-content: 1) Target group, user competencies

- Simple to comprehend (user friendly – language diversity, clear, contextualized) - Relevant

2) Accessibility – interoperability (accessible from all platforms) 3) Engagement – interactions at various levels

a. Student to Content b. Student to Student c. Student to Lecturer/Tutor/Facilitator/Teacher

Participants identified key steps for the development of learning content (see table below). The responsible entities for these steps are also indicated. Participants reported to anticipate challenges of lack of expertise, interoperability of content and the element of needing appropriate platforms. At the regional level, the need for regional collaboration for accreditation of the learning materials was recognized.

Development of content/learning materials

Key Steps Responsibility

1. Policy Formulation • Models / Standards • Review Criteria

Regional National (Ministries) Institutional

2. Resource Mobilisation Infrastructure Expertise Financial Support

Regional National (Govt – Public to Private Partnerships, Sponsors) Institutional

3. Content Design, Development, Implementation, Quality Assurance Mapping, Tagging and Curation of content

Institutional Subject Matter Experts

Furthermore, participants also discussed the development of ICT-enhanced school models or e-school models. Participants identified key steps for the development of e-schools (see table below). The responsible entities for these steps are also indicated. Participants reported to indicated challenges regarding teacher attitudes, developing e-content, accessibility and financial resources.

1 Relation between MOOCs and OERs: “The key issue here is that OER by themselves do not fully comprise education. Additional, complementary components are required. Important for now is that OER are only part of education and as such are just one element of a MOOC (i.e., only the learning materials). Along these same lines, OER do not comprise all aspects of open education — i.e., OER focus only on the removal of financial and legal barriers (by being free and openly licensed). Another distinct feature to retain is that learning materials in MOOCs can have an open or a closed licence. Although the definition of a MOOC does not require that the learning materials be OER, MOOC developers always have the option of making the learning materials available as OER. Moreover, (institutional) policy-makers may even set this as an important precondition for MOOC developers in the case of MOOCs developed with public money.” In: Making Sense of MOOCs: A Guide for Policy-Makers in Developing Countries, 2016 (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002451/245122E.pdf)

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002451/245122E.pdf


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Development of e-schools

Key Steps Responsibility

4. Develop, disseminate and own ICT policy and change management strategy

Community, school committee, decision making people, teachers unions

5. Build capacity at all levels Decision makers, headmasters, pedagogy directors, teachers, inspectors

6. Align the curriculum to 21st century pedagogic skills Government, curriculum development departments

VII Virtual Sharing Platform Throughout the discussions, participants emphasized the need and benefits of sharing information, good practices, learning materials, etc. among the countries in the (sub-)region. It became evident that countries share many of the same challenges and can therefore assist each other in working towards solutions. Especially during the CFIT and KFIT project presentations this came to the fore and participants urged UNESCO to facilitate the sharing of practices/lessons learnt amongst CFIT and KFIT implementing countries.

Further throughout the meeting this discussion further materialized and participants responded with the recommendation to develop a regional sharing platform for this particular purpose. The responsibility for coordination was proposed to lay with UNESCO.

The following key principles for the platform were identified by the participants:

Connectivity: to ensure the real-time and non-real-time communication/interaction;

Inclusivity: the regional platform should target both students and teachers in the region, especially the marginalized groups in society;

Technology: use of appropriate technology to maintain the platform and ensure security;

Human resource: ensure human resource for supporting the platform;

Sustainability.

The development of the platform should follow the following steps:

Establish a task team consisting of focal persons from countries in the region (6 focal persons responsible for technology, content and pedagogy from each country);

Develop TOR clarifying the task of the team;

Needs assessment of the content;

Develop a framework to manage the content;

Advocacy and dissemination;

Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework.

Participants indicated to anticipated challenges of diversity, language barriers, quality control; and technical problems related to the hosting of the platform.

The platform’s main objective will be to foster innovation by incorporating easy communication tools. Based on broad social networking capabilities, the platform will facilitate the sharing of information among stakeholders in the region.

UNESCO will further support the conceptualization, development and implementation of this platform.


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VIII Summary and way forward “We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.” – David Warlick

Modern societies are increasingly dependent on information and knowledge, with digital information and communication technologies as main drivers. This requires workforces which have ICT skills to handle information and are reflective, creative and adept at problem-solving in order to generate knowledge. Therefore, one of the basic requirements for education in the 21st century is to prepare learners for participation in a knowledge-based economy.

Since the introduction of ICTs, their integration into education and the associated financial investments have been policy concerns in many countries. Given the right conditions, it is believed that ICT can have a monumental impact on the expansion of learning opportunities for greater and more diverse populations. Technologies can improve the teaching/learning process by reforming conventional delivery systems, enhancing the quality of learning, sustaining lifelong learning and improving institutional management. The importance of integrating ICTs is also recognized in the Global Development Agenda, more specifically in SDG9 on Innovation as well as SDG4

To assist member states in responding to these demands for education, UNESCO ROSA organized the Southern Africa Regional Meeting on ICTs in Education. The meeting allowed country representatives to share their country experiences – achievements, challenges and opportunities – and to learn from each other.

It became evident that countries are gearing substantial efforts towards the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning and are implementing multiple initiatives at country level, with support of a range of partners. Countries prioritize infrastructure provision over the softer side of building/strengthening the needed capacities for ICT integration, which still requires additional investments. Other focus areas include the integration of ICTs in the curriculum, ICTs in teacher training, ODL and ICT in Education policies. Clear roadmaps and plans were considered important for achieving successes in ICT integration at country level. The importance of political will and partnerships was also emphasized.

The features for developing e-content and e-schools were also discussed, as well as teacher ICT competencies. Participants recognized the opportunity to benchmark against UNESCO's ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT). Some countries have already gone through this exercise. For the regional level, the recommendation was made to include ICT competencies in the Regional Teacher Competence Framework which is currently being developed with support of UNESCO and the SADC secretariat.

Participants shared lessons learned regarding the implementation of the UNESCO CFIT and KFIT projects in Africa. The main point discussed and emphasized was the importance of project ownership to ensure sustainability. Participants also urged UNESCO to further facilitate the sharing of practices between the project implementing countries as it is clear that countries share the same challenges and concerns.


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The discussion of the need to share practices further materialized into the recommendation to develop a regional sharing platform to foster innovation. UNESCO will further support the conceptualization, development and implementation of the platform.


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ANNEX I: Programme

Southern Africa Regional Meeting on ICTs in Education

Meeting objectives To share country practices regarding the integration of ICTs in Education;

To share lessons learned from CFIT and KFIT project implementation in and beyond Southern Africa;

To progress towards the identification of ICT Teacher competencies in the Southern Africa region;

To establish strategic partnerships to effectively cooperate and collaborate on ICT in Education initiatives;

To identify action points for strengthened effective integration of ICTs in education systems in the Southern Africa region.

Tuesday, 27 June, 2017

Session I: Opening Session 08:00 – 08:30 Registration UNESCO ROSA 08:30 – 09:15 Welcoming and opening session

Opening remarks

Introduction of participants

Background: ICTs in Education

Zimbabwe Ministry UNESCO ROSA

Session II: ICTs in Education 09:15 – 10:30 Country experiences on integrating ICTs

in Education Country representatives

10:30 – 11:00 Tea/Coffee 11:00 – 12:30 CFIT experiences CFIT representatives 12:30 – 13:00 Discussion Plenary 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 15:30 Group work: Challenges and opportunities

Group work

15:30 – 16:00 Report back Plenary Reception


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Southern Africa Regional Meeting on ICTs in Education

Wednesday, 28 June, 2017

Session III: ICT competencies 08:30 – 09:00 Recap Day 1 ROSA 09:00 – 10:30 KFIT experiences KFIT representatives 10:30 – 11:00 Tea/Coffee 11:00 – 12:00 Group work: ICT competencies Group work 12:00 – 13:00 Report back from group work

Discussion Plenary

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

Session IV: Action points and way forward

14:00 – 15:00 Group work: Action points Group work

15:00 – 15:30 Tea/Coffee

15:30 – 16:00 Report back from group work Plenary

16:00 – 16:30 Way forward and closing ROSA


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ANNEX II: Attendance list No Country Name Position Institution E-mail

1 Botswana Nicodemus Merafhe Education Officer Ministry of Basic Education [email protected]

2 Irene Tamado Principal Technical Education Officer responsible for ICT curriculum development for TVET

Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research and Science, Technology

[email protected]

4 Lesotho Kopano Tshehla Inspector - IT, Ministry of Education and Training

Ministry of Education and Training [email protected]

5 Molisana Molisana Expert on ICTs Education Ministry of Education and Training [email protected]

6 Malawi Noel Chikhungu ICT Director Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

[email protected]

7 Sungeni M. Maleta System analyst Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

[email protected]

8 Mozambique Kauxique Maganlal Adviser to the Minister of Education and Human Development

Ministry of Education and Human Development

[email protected]

9 Celestina Moniz National Coordinator- ICT Training

Ministry of Science and Technology, Higher Education and Vocational Technical Training

[email protected]

10 Namibia Raymond Simanga Chief Education Officer for Professional Development

Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture

[email protected]

11 Nhlanhla Lupahla Deputy Director: Innovation Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Innovation

[email protected] [email protected]

12 South Africa H Kavuma Acting Director – Curriculum and E-learning

Department of Basic Education [email protected]

13 Swaziland Leonard Mgcibelo Tsela

Senior Inspector of Schools for ICT

Ministry of Education [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


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14 Musa Thembinkosi Hlophe

Senior Curriculum Designer Ministry of Education [email protected]

15 Zambia Kaluba Shiliya Head of Computer Operation Ministry of General Education [email protected]

16 Zimbabwe M. Magava Programme Officer Zimbabwe National Commission for UNESCO

[email protected]

17 Chademana ICT Officer Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

0773549127

18 W. Muswera ICT Officer Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

[email protected]

19 M. Mafoti ICT Officer Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

0772936347

20 Mazula Elijah School Head Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

0775001007

21 Sibanda Siphiwe School Head Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

0712542526

22 Makahamadze Sigalile

School Head Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

0712750130

23 Manjere Simbarashe School Head Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

0778513799

24 Janga Paul School Head Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

0774643852

25 Standinkosi Malo ICT Officer Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

[email protected]

26 Patrick Ngandini Education Programme Officer Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education

[email protected]

27 Jasper Maenzanise Institute Librarian Harare Institute of Technology 741401 0712414298

28 Patrick Mutanga Department Chairperson, technology education centre

Harare Institute of Technology [email protected]

29 Keith Kambudzi IT Administrator Harare Institute of Technology [email protected]



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30 T. Magunda PMPDO Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and Technology Development

[email protected]

31 Chipunza Unity Director VODL Bindura University [email protected]

32 Crispen Bhukuvhani Senior Lecturer Bindura University [email protected]

33 Waite Kashumba webmaster Zimbabwe Open University [email protected]

34 S Ruzvidzo lecturer Zimbabwe Open University [email protected]

35 C Chirimuuta Lecturer Zimbabwe Open University [email protected]

36 Taregererwa Maforo Instructional Tech Zimbabwe Open University [email protected]

37 Rwanda Benjamin Karangwa IT Professional University of Rwanda-School of Open and Distance Learning

[email protected]

38 Irenee Ndayambaje Lecturer University of Rwanda-College of Education

[email protected]

39 Nduwingoma Mathias

Senior Lecturer University of Rwanda-College of Education

[email protected]

40 Jean Claude Desire Uwizeye

E-learning Officer University of Rwanda-College of Education

[email protected]

41 Uganda Andrew Tabura Education Officer – Secondary Teacher Education , Ministry of Education and Sports

Ministry of Education and Sports [email protected]

42 Ngobi Henry David Head of Curriculum Studies and Educational Technology

Kyambogo University [email protected]

43 UNESCO

Peggy Oti-Boateng Senior Programme Specialist for Science

UNESCO ROSA [email protected]

44 Carolyn Medel-Anonuevo

Head of Education Unit UNESCO ROSA [email protected]

45 Abdoul Coulibaly Education Programme Specialist







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46 Gertie Steukers Education Programme Consultant


47 Don Tererai KFIT Project Coordinator UNESCO ROSA [email protected]

48 Moses Mukabeta National Professional Officer UNESCO ROSA [email protected]

49 Patience Awopegba Education Programme Specialist


50 Alice Gundani Education Programme Assistant


51 Jesca Chikopa Education Programme Assistant


52 Sandelleh Pfukwa Education Intern UNESCO ROSA [email protected]

53 Real Pabwe Education Intern UNESCO ROSA [email protected]

54 Qiu Huiqiao Education Intern UNESCO ROSA [email protected]

55 Linnet Mutungura KFIT Project Coordinator UNESCO Maputo [email protected]

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