Having had the privilege to attend the Learning & Technology World Forum 2010 (11-13 January 2010) – one of largest gatherings of education and skills ministers in the world – I'm listing here my ten random thoughts about the event. Firstly, I do feel it is privilege to attend seeing as I am not an educator or a minister for any government! I chose to attend the ministerial strand in order to understand what plans countries have for imbedding technology at the heart of their country’s education system.
So, what I learn?
Of the 80 countries attending, every delegation had a good idea of where they were in terms of ICT for Education. On a scale of 1 to 100, Hungary is at about 77%, Yemen is at about 25% and Namibia at less than 5% (in their own "rough" estimation). Perhaps a Global Indicator of the subject would be useful for all? At least you can gauge where you started, where you are and where you can get to with the budget you have.Most countries are rightfully proud of their achievements on technology and, more importantly, see it as the primary wealth generator for the future. Nobody is going to be left behind – technology and what you can do with it is for EVERYONE.
ICT in education is a global race and most developed countries are willing to invest a high proportion of GDP into the area. Could education overtake healthcare, transport and infrastructure as the single biggest investment?
The lesser developed countries have greater basic challenges in adopting ICT for education like lack of electricity, books and teachers, but also the BIG ADVANTAGE of being able to "leap frog" ahead of those of still stuck with slow dial-up connectivity and heavy desktop machines. Speaker Dr Laurence Johnson of the New Media Consortium, in his presentation, showed a photo of a mobile phone mast on a trailer – many countries without hard-wire infrastructure are using just such tools to create instant Wifi connectivity in their country.
Everyone knows that kids learn faster with ICT than without it. Dan Lea, an award-winning UK school teacher had let his primary-age students loose with a video camera and they’d made a film for LATWF attendees.
ICT initiates, encourages and builds creativity. The 'Be Very afraid' exhibition allowed secondary school kids to show just how creative they were.
The future is NOW. In the twentieth century one might have considered the future to be some 15-25 years hence, in the early twenty-first century the future was some 5-10 years hence, nowadays the future is 1-3 years hence!
The ‘Beyond Current Horizons’ presentation to help attendees ‘Prepare for the future in school age education’ was one of the most fascinating. Suggestions like ‘open’, ‘flexible’, ‘unstructured’, ‘networked’, ‘collaborative’, ‘personalised learning’ and ‘interactive’ were being directed at a group of people, who by the nature of their work, inhabit the orderly, structured, controlled and less flexible world of government!
The future is mobile: handheld yes, but also the ability of humans to interact with machines will be mobile – the rise of touch screens has already seen greater interaction at bus stations, train stations, information kiosks etc Wearable technology, direct implantation of chips into the brain and other technological advancements will see the creation of new jobs for the future generation.
London is the best place for International Ministerial conferences, apart from having great venues, a fantastic transport network and all the grandeur of Britain’s finest builds like Lancaster House, Royal Horse Guards and of course, the House of Commons, House of Lords and the former London County Hall, interspersed with attractions like Westminster Abbey, The London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Thames. To come to London for the very first time and get the chance to visit all these places, as one Minster’s aide did, that is truly awesome. Perhaps London is as inspiring as ICT?!
ICT – Information Communications & Technology
GDP – Gross Domestic Product
