UpCoMiNg EvEnTs...
E-Learning Africa - May 28 -30, 2008 - Accra, Ghana
Background
In May 2006, the first “eLearning Africa – eLA” event took place in Addis Ababa. eLA 2006 enjoyed the Patronage of the Ethiopian Minister for Capacity Building, Ato Tefera Waluwa, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The event was further supported by the European Commission and a number of renowned foundations, associations, corporations and academic institutions and networks.
eLA in 2006 with five 5 parallel conference strands and 30 sessions covering all aspects of eLearning, attracted 830 participants, 250 expert speakers, major vendors from industry, development co-operation agencies, donors and associations. With these numbers of expert participants (70 % from African countries) from more than 80 countries, “eLearning Africa” became the largest international capacity building event on educational technologies and development ever to have taken place on the Continent.
eLA 2007 takes place in Nairobi in a partnership with the Kenyan Ministry of Education and enjoys the Patronage of the Hon. Prof. George Saitoti. It is expected that there will be more than 800 participants and 250 expert speakers.
The eLA Partnership framework
The eLA partnership is established between an African government, usually with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and/or with the Ministry for Telecommunications and ICT, and “ICWE, International Conferences, Workshops and Exhibitions” and “Hoffman & Reif Consultants - HRC” with the aim to organise jointly eLA in 2008.
In 2006 eLA was organised in a partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry for Capacity Building and enjoyed the Patronage of H.E. Ato Tefera Waluwa.
In 2007 eLA is organised in a partnership with the Kenyan Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and enjoys the Patronage of the Hon. Prof. George Saitoti.
- The “Ministry for Education, Science and Sports – MoESS” in Ghana is in charge of national capacity building and to promote and implement an “Education for All” programme that exploits the potentials of “Information and Communications Technologies – ICTs” as a means for accelerating development processes in the country and improve public service delivery at the national, regional and local level.
- ICWE is an international conference organiser with a focus on education and training and provides – with the support of the European Commission and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research - the world’s largest annual international eLearning conference since 1995, “Online Educa Berlin”: http://www.online-educa.com. In May 2006 ICWE together with HRC, organised “eLearning Africa”, the first Pan-African Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: http://www.eLearning-Africa.com.
- HRC have been involved in various flagship projects for the advancement of an eEurope since 1988. Since 1996 HRC have been helping to bridge the digital divide in developing countries. This includes the deployment of enabling applications and learning services as well as training and capacity building in African and Asian countries face-to-face and on the Internet: http:www.hoffmann-reif.com.
The MoESS, ICWE and HRC have been engaged in consultations in February and May 2007. All three parties have expressed their intention to jointly become engaged in the planning and implementation of eLA in May 2008, to combine resources, expertise and knowledge and to provide a high quality, state-of-the-art capacity building event for all the participants.
Benefits for hosting country
For the hosting country, eLA will:
- become a platform for the promotion and support of eLearning programmes;
- be used as a significant capacity building event by all stakeholders and projects in the field of technology based learning;
- promote national “ICT for Development” programmes as show cases internationally;
- mobilize further donor support and funding for ICT based capacity building initiatives specifically in the partnering Ministries;
- provide national capacities to access EU funded R&D programmes.
- eLA will bring high quality expertise and knowledge in a cost-efficient way to the hosting country through mobilizing more than 250 African and international expert speakers, who will come to Ghana and present, share and discuss their experiences in building eLearning capacities and services.
- Based on the achievements in 2006 in Addis Ababa, eLA in 2008 will attract more than 800 participants from Africa and abroad, thus making the conference again the largest capacity building event on educational technologies in Africa.
- The magnitude of the event and its features will provide an unprecedented opportunity for the hosting country’s professionals and stakeholders for benchmarking, learning, sharing, and networking, thus strenghtening the numerous educational technology initiatives and projects already initiated.
- eLA will foster Pan-African and international understanding and learning. The exchange on best practices and lessons learnt both in developing and industrialized countries will strengthen the emerging Ghanaian community of practitioners, and will forge co-operation between African and especially European stakeholders.
- The event will have a significant impact on academic Research and Development in the hosting country. European Commission R&D programmes and projects are supporting eLA and the event in 2008 will again foster the establishment of EU-African joint R&D projects.
- The conference organisers will have an office at the MoESS five months prior to the event. They will support the mobilisation for the event also within the country, and help to build awareness and capacities through a number of activities, such as nation-wide lectures prior to the conference and a seminar programme on joint EU-Africa R&D programmes for academic staff and advanced students. In addition four lectures (one per month) will be held for the MoESS on relevant issues of eLearning service development. Implementation processes, scope and content of the lectures in the universities and the MoESS as well as of the seminar will be agreed upon by the end of July 2007 and described in separate ToRs.
- eLA will have a “pre-conference workshop day” prior to the conference. In addition eLA will feature lectures at universities with a large students audiences, and break-out workshops in remote regions of Ghana shortly before and/or after the conference. These specific eLA features aim to create awareness and capacity building beyond the boundaries of a conference centre and intend to have an impact on all universities and important regional and rural centres. Implementation processes, scope and content of the lectures and the break-out workshops, will be agreed upon by the end of July 2007 and described in separate ToRs.
eLA features special events. Examples from the 2007 event in Nairobi are:
- the “High level policy maker and industry leader Round Table and Retreat – RTR” with the title „Accelerating the Building of Infrastructures and Capacities for African educational systems”
- the African TVET Summit “Access and Inclusion for TVET in Africa through new ICT based solutions”, organised by UNESCO-UNEVOC
- a convention of major donors and development agencies „ICT enhanced education and training in Development Cooperation”
Some of these special events have been organised in cooperation with other institutions. The conference organisers intend to continue this cooperation beyond 2007 and engage other important stakeholders with relevant contributions as well for the 2008 event in Accra. For each of these special events, separate ToRs have been
and will be established. eLA thematic sessions are
- Improving Quality and Outreach of Technical and Vocational Education in Africa
- Unleashing the capabilities of Universities through Information and Communication Technologies
- Empowering Women through ICT - with ICT based Capacity building
- Setting up and Implementing a sustainable eLearning Project
- Designing and Delivering Online Learning
- Localisation, Customisation and Content Development
- Introducing eLearning to the School System
- Building ICT Infrastructures to Provide Access and Connectivity in Africa
- Cutting-Edge Technology Developments for Africa
- eLearning in African Corporations
- Policy Issues and Large Scale Take-up of eLearning
- eLearning for Governments and the Public Sector
- Libraries as access providers to digital resources and distributed expertise
- Open Source, Open Content and eLearning
- eLearning in Development Cooperation
- The new Africa – Europe Partnership Framework
- Research in eLearning
- Quality Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation of eLearning
- eLearning in Medical Education and the Fight against HIV and AIDS
The themes always reflect the actual developments, achievements and issues within the context of ICT supported learning and training and will be adapted each year accordingly.
The Responsibilities of the Ministry of Education
The MoE shall be the Official Patron and Partner of eLA 2008, which will be shown through the MoE logo on the eLA website, posters, brochures and mailings as well as a link exchange between the eLA website and the MoE website. As Patron of eLA the MoE will
- cover the costs for the three day rent of the conference venue (one pre-conference workshop day, and two conference days), as well as the costs of the technical infrastructure (Internet access and usage, required audio-visual equipment in all rooms) on all three days;
- provide the facilities, including free Internet access, for the break-out workshops, if requested by the benficiaries;
- cover return airfares from the capital to remote centers within the hosting country and accommodation costs for altogether a maximum of 10 (ten) international experts for the two-days break-out workshops;
- provide the marketing such as posters, communications, and announcements for the two large-scale lectures on eLearning for students at the selected universities;
- provide for the attached representative of the conference organisers an assistant and an office with a PC, printer and fax for the conference organizers with high bandwidth Internet access in Accra, five months prior to the event;
- make the necessary arrangements for a nationwide lecture series four months prior to the conference;
- make the necessary arrangements for the seminar programme on EU-Africa joint R&D;
- set-up a Hospitality desk at the national Airport, implemented by a recognized tour operator;
- organise and covering costs of a free shuttle bus service between the conference venue and major conference hotels on the two conference days in the morning and the evening;
- provide an evening reception with drinks and finger-food for 300 speakers and VIPS in the evening before the conference starts;
- provide a cultural performance for all eLA participants, on the evening of the first conference day;
- engage a national institution to evaluate the event through a questionnaire and interviews with participants;
- provide a high level keynote at the Opening Session of “Online Educa Berlin” in November 2007 in Berlin, Germany, the world’s largest international eLearning conference with more than 2000 participants;
- have a country-booth free of charge representing national educational stakeholders at the 2007 “Online Educa Berlin” in Germany, the world’s largest international eLearning conference with more than 2000 participants;
- provide a high level keynote at a Plenary Session of the 2007 “eLearning Africa” conference in Nairobi, Kenya;
The Ministry will set up a “National eLA Committee” and appoint a MoE Director as “Committee Chairman” that functions as an interface between the MoE and ICWE and HRC, and helps to organize eLA (e.g. programme development, proposal assessment, fund raising, marketing, etc).
In addition to organising the activities falling under the responsibility of the MoE as listed above, the tasks of the Ghanaian eLA Committee will also be to ensure:
- that stakeholders of the national educational and training sector are aware of the conference and may participate;
- the active participation of “ICT for Development” projects in the country;
- that all African Governments will be informed and invited to come to eLA;
- the promotion of the sponsorship scheme to international donors;
- the establishment of partnerships between eLA and other relevant institutions in the country and abroad;
- and the organisation of a high-level key-note at the opening ceremony.
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PrEvIoUs TrAiNinGs/SeMiNaRs
REPORT ON WORKSHOP ON THE TRAINING OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL ICT TUTORS IN THE USE THE ICT SYLLABUS - 10TH-22ND SEPTEMBER 2007
INTRODUCTION
One of the key areas in the ICT in Education Policy is to incorporate ICT into the school curriculum. For this to be implemented the New Education Reforms stressed on the need to make ICT as a subject in all the Pre-tertiary levels of Education. As a result a new syllabus was developed for the implementation of ICT in schools.
The Ministry of Education Science and Sports (MoESS) in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) organised training for Senior High Schools tutors, especially ICT teachers who are already in the schools.
Purpose
The purpose was to the train teachers on methodology that would be applied in the teaching of ICT with special emphasis on the ICT syllabus
Objectives of the training
- Provide in depth study of the ICT Syllabus for Senior High Schools
- Develop lesson plans for ICT
- Develop appropriate methodologies for the teaching of ICT
- Provide professional support for the teaching of difficult topics in the ICT syllabus
- Provide in depth study of the ICT Policy
- Develop technology plan for school
- Budget for ICTs in schools – using the Total Cost of Ownership Approach
RESOURCE PERSONS
Four teams comprising of four resource persons in each Team were formed to facilitate the workshops in the eight training centres.
TEAMS |
REGIONS |
CENTRES |
A |
Western, Ashanti |
Takoradi Technical Institute and Kumasi Technical Institute |
B |
Greater Accra, Central |
National ICT & SRC, Accra and Aggrey Mem. Secondary Schl |
C |
Eastern, Volta |
Ghana Secondary School & OLA Secondary School. |
D |
Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East, Upper West |
Sunyani Secondary School and Wa Secondary School |
PARTICIPANTS
A total of ……. participants drawn from …….. (number of) Senior high Schools and technical Institutes took part in the workshop.
The table below shows the number of participants per venue for the first phase training.
S/N |
REGION |
NO |
|
Greater Accra |
25 |
|
Central |
30 |
|
Western |
23 |
|
Ashanti |
50 |
|
Eastern |
|
|
Volta |
|
|
Brong Ahafo |
45 |
|
Northern, Upper East, Upper West |
45 |
The Workshop Methodology
The methodology for the workshop was mainly an activity type where participants were made to work in groups and report.
Teaching Methodologies Used
There were a lot of methodologies which were adopted. These included, discussions, demonstrations, questioning and answering, brainstorming sessions, group work, peer teaching, group presentations using PowerPoint etc.
Participants were grouped to develop some lesson plans and presented them for critiquing based on the topics in the syllabus. Each group was given the chance to teach using the lesson plans developed.
OBSERVATIONS
Participation Of Participants.
Participants in all centres put in their maximum support in the workshop sessions especially during the peer teaching and various group presentations. Their co-operation made a lot of impact on the success of the workshop.
In most centers participants were very regular and punctual and stayed to the close of the day.
.
Evaluation of Workshop
Participants at the various centres rated the workshop as the very best of workshops attended. They particularly commented on the methodologies demonstrated by the resource persons, the rich and high quality workshop/educational resource materials which were burned on Compact Disks and given to every participant. They also commended highly the amount of research that was done to put together the resource materials together as well as quality of the training which they considered about the best in many years.
The formation of groups was very positive since it boosted some participants’ ego; it also improved their teaching skills etc.
The atmosphere was very friendly which allowed participants to feel at home and learn well. They all agreed that the workshop though with a short notice was very well organised.
Participants proposed that more of such workshop should be organised.
These and many others were said by both participants and those from the regional office in virtually all then centres which boils down to a successful workshop done.
CHALLENGES
Internet
Internet assess in Greater Accra, Western, Ashanti and Eastern regions was quite challenging, for example participants had to move to an internet café for the internet lessons and in Greater Accra and Western Regions GPRS modems were used.
Non-Professional Teachers in ICT
Many of the ICT tutors were not professional teachers and lacked teaching skills though they were good in the content.
Role of Private Vendors in Selected Schools
Some of the participants who attended the workshop are instructors on the payroll of the private vendors who operate in some of our schools.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Participants at all centres saw the following as a stepping stone to produce a way forward for them in the implementation of ICT as a new syllabus in the New Educational Reform.
- There is the need to hold discussions on the future of private vendor instructors in our schools and the tenure of the service of the private vendors as the schools get their consignment of the ICT package from Government. There will be the need for the Director –General to hold discussions with these private vendors
- Regional ICT tutors associations to be formed to maintain network between Tutors so as to promote effective implementation. Some of the regions had already started.
- Regional mailing list should be formed to facilitate easy communication.
- That lesson plans prepared during the workshops be polished and put on the Ministry’s website as samples to guide others.
- Modular courses in lesson notes preparation and teaching skills be provided for ICT Tutors.
- Sensitisation of Heads of Schools to stimulate their interest and discuss policy guidelines on key implementation issues.
- Action should be expedited in the supply of the ICT equipment package for the schools
- More education to be done for all stakeholders on the New Education Reform.
- A conscious effort has to be made to increase the number of women folk teaching ICT in schools.
- More of such workshops ought to be organised.
- Certain portions of the ICT Syllabus should be reviewed and where necessary, corrections made. A few of such are listed here.
- A group identified Term1, Section1:13, 1.1.5 “Discuss the history of Computer” as being directly linked to Identify the types of computers.
- Again under the same term, 1.2.4 Threats to computer and users. A concern was raised that there should not have been any comma (,) at the end of the “last” example given but rather an etc would have been more appropriate.
- Under Term 3, Section 1, Unit 1, 1.1.1. The example Linux given under Spreadsheet packages was wrong because Linux is an operating system and not an example of spreadsheet.
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REPORT ON TRAINING WORKSHOP ON THE USE OF SHS ICT SYLLABUS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 2007 EDUCATION REFORM (GREATER ACCRA REGION)
INTRODUCTION
For the purpose of the New Education Reforms, thirty-four participants were invited from second cycle institutions, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MoESS) and Ghana Education Service (GES) from the Greater Accra Region for a training workshop on the methodology and pedagogy of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) syllabus. Out of this number thirty-two reported.
COMMENCEMENT
The training started on Monday 10th September, 2007. There was a pre-workshop briefing. Mr. Maxwell Akornor, briefed participants on the workshop and promised that some officers especially Regional Accountant and Regional Director of Education will come later to give details of re-imbursement for accommodation, transportation and meals. The following participants were appointed as course officers
- Emmanuel Ahugah Course Prefect
- Robert Asante - Asst. Course Prefect
- Harry Ahulu Chaplain
- Anthony Ametefe Welfare Officer
Some officers from the MoESS and GES came to the workshop to encourage the participants and emphasise the importance for the smooth take-off of the new Ghana Education Reforms. They included Mrs. Rene O. Boakye-Boateng (Director Secondary Division); Mrs. Nancy O. Hooper-Opoku (Director of HRMD HQTRS); Mrs. Mary Quaye (Deputy Director of Education for Greater Accra); Mr. N. Peasah (Regional Accountant- GAR). Participants were put into four groups
WORKSHOP SESSIONS
Each day, the training started with a prayer, followed by a Plenary Session where one member of the four groups gave a summary of the previous day’s activities. The following sessions were held during the training period.
- Educational Reform Issues – Overview and Updates
- ICTE Policy Issues
- ICTS Syllabus/Teaching with technology
- In-depth Study of the ICT Syllabus
- Group Study of the ICT Syllabus and Group Teaching
- Demonstration Lessons and Critiquing
- Developing a Lesson Plan and Preparing to Teach
- Planning an ICT Lesson
- Developing the ICT Lesson Plan
- Peer Teaching
- ICT Educational Resources
- ICT Integration – Useful Attributes of the Project-Based Learning (PBL) as a Pedagogy
- Planning for Technology – Total Cost of Ownership Approach
- Planning for Technology – Developing a Simple Technology Plan
- Planning for Technology /Acceptable Use Policy/Role of ICTEP Unit
- Peer Teaching /General Implementation Plan
LOGISTICS
The following course materials were distributed to participants on the first day of the workshop.
- CDs containing all the educational resources needed for effective teaching and learning of ICT.
- Notebook for each participant
- Pens
- Timetable
OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS MADE BY PARTICIPANTS
a. Delivery of lessons by the two resource persons (Messrs Maxwell Akornor and Kwesi Owusu Afriyie) was good.
b. The CD containing the teaching syllabuses and educational resources given to the participants has been well prepared and will be very useful.
c. The meals were generally good.
d. The facilities in the computer laboratory were in good condition for the workshop.
e. One of the participants introduced Network Management software to participants.
COMMENTS ON THE SYLLABUS BY PARTICIPANTS
Under Section 1Unit 2: Introduction to computers
Participants were of the view that other higher computers such as Mainframe and Mini computers should have been included.
Under Unit 1.2 the Evaluation 1.2 should be under Unit 1.1
Under Unit 1.2.3 the booting process cold booting and warm booting should have been mentioned.
Under Section 2 Unit 1, there should be definition and difference between hardware and Software.
Under Unit 2.1: Content: the word ‘and’ should be deleted;
Under 2.1.4: the hard drive was not included among the examples of storage devices.
Under 2.2.3: Content ‘Base’ should be D-Base
CHALLENGES
a. The meals were planned without any suggestion from the participants.
b. There was a problem of punctuality. The sessions started after 8.00 a.m instead of 7.30 a.m.
c. The was no provision for generators to take care of any power outage This led to an early closure of the
last session of the workshop on Friday 14th September, 2007 when there was a power outage.
d. There was no Internet connectivity in the laboratory during the period of the workshop.
SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS
a. Letters of invitation to future workshops should be sent to schools early.
b. There should be Internet connectivity during future workshops.
c. Participants should be consulted before meals are planned.
d. There should be frequent workshops for ICT Teachers to upgrade their teaching skills.
e. There should be Hardware Training for ICT Teachers to facilitate maintenance of equipment
f. ICT Co-coordinators should be part of decisions taken in the use of fees collected from students for ICT purpose.
g. The existing staff quota system should be reviewed to take care of the increasing number of ICT teachers.
h. At least one Laboratory Technician should be employed to help with maintenance for effective and
efficient management of the computer laboratories.
i. An idea of forming an ICT Teachers Association was mooted and accepted. Leadership of the association was formed and the first meeting venue for leadership will be Labone Secondary School.
CLOSURE
The workshop finally ended successful at 1:40 PM after a closing address by Mrs. Mary Quaye (Deputy Director of Education for Greater Accra on Saturday 15th September, 2007.
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REPORT ON TRAINING OF SHS ICT TUTORS IN THE USE OF THE ICT SYLLABUS FROM THE 17TH – 22ND SEPTEMBER 2007 IN THE CENTRAL REGION
INTRODUCTION
The training of ICT tutors under the New Education Reform at the pre-tertiary level is a step in the right direction. This demonstrates the importance the Government attaches to ICT education policy under the NER. It is for this reason that we were privilege to be among the 23 second cycle institutions selected to benefit from ICTS and ICT training programme phase 1 of the grand plan.
COMMENCEMENT
The programme begun on the 17th of September, 2007 with an opening ceremony lead by Rev. Emmanuel Dadebo.
Present at the ceremony were:
1. The Central Regional Director of education - Ms Rosemond N. Blay
2. Head of the ICTEP unit of the MOESS - Rev. Emmanuel K. Gadebo
3. System Administrator attached to the CSSPS - Mr. K. Owusu-Afriyie
(Head of the Team)
4. Head of Technical Unit, GES - Mr. Maxwell Akonnor
5. The Central Regional Science Coordinator - Mr. J.E. Hayford
(Coordinator for the Training)
6. Regional Budget Officer, GES - Mr. Robert Mensah
7. GES Headquarters Rep. - Mr. Frimpong Yeboah
8. Headmaster of AMZSS - Mr. Appiah Dankwa
Twenty-three (23) participants comprising one (1) female and twenty-two (22) males drawn from various Senior High Schools took part in the workshop.
WORKSHOP SESSIONS
Participants were taken through the following topics
- Educational Reforms, ICTE policy issues, implementation strategies etc and planning and delivery of ICT lesson
- In-depth study of the ICT syllabus
- ICT-Integration-project-based learning and many others.
- Major highlights the New Educational Reforms
- The use of technology in the classroom
- In-depth study of the ICT syllabus, ICT lesson planning
- Technology in Education
- Planning for Technology: Total cost of Ownership approach
- Policy guidelines – Role of ICT coordination among others
- Challenges that the ICT tutor faces and many others.
- Peer teaching and Critique
GROUP ACTIVITIES: REPORTING AND PEER TEACHING
Participants were put into four groups to perform tasks, research, study and report on their findings on issues such as
i. identification of suggested teaching and learning methodologies and unfamiliar
ii. Developing a lesson plan and preparing to teach
iii. Peer-teaching (six participants demonstrated), etc.
Participants made the following suggestions as part of teaching methodologies to be employed in their ICT lessons.
Brainstorming approach Discussion
Demonstration Interactive
Field trips Discovery/inquire and
The use of resource persons
PUNCTUALITY
On the whole, participants were punctual and regular for lessons throughout the training periods.
ATTITUDE AND CONDUCT
Participants attached serious importance to the training and conducted themselves responsibly. They were frank, co-operative, shared ideas and materials on ICT freely and willingly.
POWER CUTS
On the third day of the workshop power cut disrupted activities for more than three hours.
VISITATION
The session was visited by a four – member delegation from Microsoft Organisation, who briefed participants on the collaboration between the government, MOE and Microsoft in the field of ICT in Education. After the visit they took us to the other computer lab of AMZSS to see a robot which has been built by students of the robot club.
COMMENTS
The training program was a success. It promoted a platform for ICT tutors to refresh, upgrade and update their knowledge in ICT as well as acquire the skills of teaching ICT efficiently and effectively. However, we wish to suggest to the organizers of this training course to organize another training course which will help them gain some mastery in Programming proper and Networking since this is the core of the other activities which will surround the teaching of the ICT in the various schools.
Given the role of the ICT tutor in the school, we suggest that, heads of SHSs should be met and a briefing on the role of the ICT tutor in the new education reform given them to prevent any conflict of interest. This is in the light that ICT tutors are now being empowered to undertake a lot of activities which when care is not taken will bring them into conflict with their heads, especially with regards to procurement of ICTS, maintenance and others.
CLOSURE
The Regional Director was indisposed so her representative closed the workshop at 12.30 p.m. on Saturday.
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