December 12th, 2013

“We are not Delivering as effectively as we could in using ICTs for education” says CTO’s Secretary-General

CTO’s Secretary-General identifies ten “must haves” for a more effective use of ICTs in education.

12 December 2013, London – Professor Tim Unwin, Secretary-General of Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, has warned that we are not delivering as effectively as we could in using ICTs for education at all levels, because of very explicit interests that are serving to limit this effectiveness. Professor Unwin was addressing an audience of over 350 education and learning experts at the Commonwealth of Learning’s Seventh Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF7) held in Abuja, Nigeria on 2 – 6 December 2013.

“ICTs increase inequalities unless very specific actions are taken to ensure that the poorest and most marginalised are able to benefit from these interventions, and there is an increasing amount of empirical evidence that the use of computers in education may not be enhancing learning as much as is often claimed.” Professor Unwin said.

In his keynote address, Professor Unwin highlighted ten key considerations for the effective use of ICTs in education:

1. Learning must come first, not technology
2. Teachers must be involved from the beginning
3. Sustainability must be built in from the start
4. Supporting infrastructure must be in place
5. Appropriate content must be developed
6. All learners must have equal access to technology
7. Assisting learning with technology must include continual monitoring and evaluation
8. Appropriate maintenance contracts must be in place
9. Technology must be used 24/7
10. Focus should be on good practices, rather than best practice

He suggested that “one way forward is to work towards new and effective models of multi-stakeholder partnerships for education, that address education as something much more important, much more complex, and much more exciting than merely as a vehicle for economic transformation”.

PCF7 was designed to enable participation, knowledge sharing, learning and networking on five key themes: “Girls’ and Women’s Education”, “Skills Development”, “Promoting Open Educational Resources”, “Innovation and Technology”, and “Institutional Development”.