Digital Literacy in the Education Sector

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• Digital Literacy in the Education Sector

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• Daniel Palmer
• Regional Manager Middle East Africa
• ECDL Foundation

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ECDL Foundation Overview Background

• A not-for-profit global governing body of the
  worlds leading computer skills certification
  programme
• Members - computer societies in Europe
• Established in January 1997 by CEPIS (Council of
  European Professional Informatics Societies)

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• Our Mission Values

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146 Countries
36 Languages
6.5 Million People
22 Million Examinations
20,000 Centres
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National development from technology

• ICT is the enabling technology par excellence.
  It is responsible for around half of
  productivity growth in modern economies. It
  drives improved efficiency and better services
  and products across the entirety of the private
  and public sectors.
• (EU Commissioner Viviane Reding, 2005)

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What enables IT adoption?

• Continuous development creates opportunity
• Hardware
• Software
• Connectivity
• Content
• But IT systems are not independent
• - the user enables the technology

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Interface between people and technology

• IT creators focus on creating more accessible
  systems
• We focus on User skills as the key interface

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Effective communication

• Person to person
• Requires language, literacy and numeracy
• Person to computer
• Requires a new literacy Digital Literacy

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What is Digital Literacy?

• Digital Literacy involves the confident and
  critical use of Information Communication
  Technology (ICT) for work, leisure and
  communication. Digital Literacy is underpinned
  by basic ICT skills the use of computers to
  retrieve, assess, store, produce, present and
  exchange information, and to communicate and
  participate via the Internet. Demunter 2006.

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Digital Literacy enables national development

• National development is enabled by technology
  adoption
• Technology adoption is enabled by Digital
  Literacy
• Investment in technology must be matched by
  investment in Digital Literacy

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Education sector role

• Leadership setting the agenda for development
  of national human resources
• Influence direct responsibility for
  capabilities of future generations
• Delivery starting point for investment in
  Digital Literacy development

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Investing in Digital Literacy

• Need for systematic approach
• Define a set of skills and knowledge requirements
• Provide training and certification

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Why Certification?

• Defines skill knowledge requirements
• Provides objective measure of learning
• Offers external validation
• Establishes consistent benchmark
• Benefits to Candidates, Organisations and Society

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Why ICDL?

• Proven track record
• Vendor neutral
• Not-for-profit ethos
• Endorsed by industry, govt and academia
• Worldwide recognition
• Quality assured

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Why ICDL for Teachers?

• The Education Reform should start with Teachers.
• High quality, relevant, and efficient
  opportunities well matched to their needs as
  classroom practitioners
• Handle the Technology with confidence rather than
  only one step in front or behind! the students.
• Difference to their teaching and a fundamental
  difference to childrens learning.
• Technical and Pedagogical Confidences in ICT make
  a major contribution to Learning.

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Productivity Studies

• Cost of Ignorance Study, Italy
• 10 reduction in time spent carrying out computer
  tasks
• 47 increase in competence from pre-training
  levels. 
• Return-on-investment of 2,261 per person per year

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Productivity Studies

• NHS, National Health Service, UK
• ICDL holders were saving approx. 38 minutes per
  day.
• This equates to over 3 hours per week or 22
  extra working days per year.
• With 150,000 staff qualified the NHS has the
  potential to achieve 3.3 million extra working
  days through efficiency !

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ICDL in Education

• The ICDL programme has an unparalleled reputation
  within the education sector in countries around
  the world an important validation of the
  academic rigour with which the programme was
  conceived and continues to be developed
• The ICDL programme is recognised and supported by
  Ministries of Education and Higher Education in
  Italy, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Chile, Egypt,
  Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Estonia,
  Poland, Norway, UAE, Kuwait, Romania, Jordan,
  Lithuania, Ireland and Great Britain amongst
  others, for Ministry staff, teaching
  professionals, teaching support staff and for
  students themselves.
• In UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Italy it is mandatory
  for all teachers to complete the ICDL before they
  can be considered fully qualified as teachers
• In Great Britain and the United States of America
  the ICDL is mapped into the national
  qualifications frameworks of those countries
  (called NQF and ISTI respectively) allowing
  universities and colleges the opportunity to
  offer academic credits for students who have
  completed the course or who gain the
  qualification whilst at university

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Italian Education System

• Ministries of Labour / Education and the
  Headmasters Organization of Italian Universities
  have signed an agreement for the universal
  recognition of ICDL.
• The agreement entails the implementation of ICDL
  in all schools (2600 secondary schools).
• 572,000 young people under 18 receive
  compensation for the purchase of PC, provided
  they acquire ICDL.

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UAE Education System

• Ministry of Education has made ICDL certification
  mandatory for all
• Year 10 Pupils
• Teachers
• Principals
• As the central part of a drive to improve digital
  literacy amongst public sector employees
• Supported by several decrees from HH Sheikh
  Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum

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Algerian Education System - Context

• MEN (Ministère de lEducation Nationale) has
  ambitious plans to integrate modern Information
  and Communication Technologies into the
  infrastructure and working practices of schools,
  and across the entire education sector
• An important part of this investment will be the
  provision of training in order to ensure that MEN
  employees have the capabilities to make the most
  of the new technology
• CNIIPDTICE will co-ordinate this activity and
  proposes to put in place a national programme of
  education and development in partnership with the
  international standard of ICDL

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Algerian Education System - Requirements

• 60,000 teachers plus 2,500 other staff
• Duration
• Preparation (7 months)
• Deployment (7 months)
• 340,000 further teachers and assistants can be
  processed by the same system once established

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Algerian Education System - Infrastructure

• Training 1500 training centres accredited to
  ICDL standards utilising school computer rooms
• Certification 200 centres accredited to ICDL
  standards and supplied with approved Automated
  Testing Software for examinations
• Organisation Project Management central
  project oversight, systems, support and transfer
  of skills provided by ECDL Foundation and its
  Licensee network, including UNESCO Office in
  Cairo
• Training and examinations available in Arabic and
  French

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Help desk
Certification Office
Administration Office
ATES
ELiSS
Approved E-learningContent
200 Test Centres
1500 Training Centres
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Benefits For Teachers

• Increase computer skills and gain a Recognized
  Qualification
• Maintain a Continuing Professional Development
• Maintain Professional Status with students and
  colleagues
• Improve classroom practice
• Progress in the depth and complexity of abstract
  thinking.

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Benefits For Teachers

• Be ready for the changes in their professional
  practice.
• Create Lessons Plan using a Word Processing.
• Search the Internet for lessons resources.
• Use a spreadsheet to demonstrate mathematical
  procedures and processes in the classroom.
• Use Graphs and Charts to visually show students
  facts and figures clearly and concisely

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Benefits For Teachers

• Add fun to a classroom while increasing the
  concentration level of the class using
  presentations
• Access the Internet to provide themselves and the
  students with a vast source of information in all
  subjects.
• Use the databases to access extensive reporting
  facilities, synchronize and communicate
  schedules, and collate detailed students
  information.
• Reduce workloads and raise students achievements
  levels by making better use of ICT in the
  classroom

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• Thank You