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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><b><font color="#8aa740" face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(138, 167, 64); font-weight: bold;">A MESSAGE FROM THE TEAM</span></font></b><font color="black" face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"><br>
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This month we bring you the second article in our series of education and
technology trends, compiled by the Institute for Futures Research. In this
edition we focus on key technology drivers and how they are impacting
education in the developing context. We hope you find it as useful and
engaging as the last edition.<br>
<br>
We are in the process of upgrading our website so that it can more
effectively convey our new direction. If you have any comments on how the
website or this newsletter could be more useful to you - please do not
hesitate to email us at: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:info@shuttleworthfoundation.org"><font color="#88a343"><span style="color: rgb(136, 163, 67);">info@shuttleworthfoundation.org</span></font></a>
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</span></font><b><font color="#8aa740" face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(138, 167, 64); font-weight: bold;">TECHNOLOGY
TRENDS</span></font></b><font color="black" face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"><br>
<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">The One Laptop per Child Project</span></b><br>
<br>
Nicholas Negroponte, who launched the project at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology�s Media Lab two years ago before spinning One
Laptop into a separate non-profit organisation, had as the main design
motive the goal of stimulating education better than previous computer
endeavours have, and with an affordable PC.<br>
<br>
In November 2006 the first 10 units of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) XO-1
were hand-assembled to evaluate the system�s many custom components
and to perform systems integration testing. The machines are being made by
Quanta Computer Inc, and countries will get versions specific to their own
languages. Governments or donors will buy the laptops for children to own,
along with associated server equipment for their schools. The project has
so far received $29m in funding from companies including Google, News Corp
and Red Hat.<br>
<br>
The laptop has been developed to be as low cost, durable and simple to use
as possible. The aim is to sell the machine to developing countries for
$100 but the current cost of the machine is about $150. By July this year,
several million are expected to reach Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, N igeria,
Libya, Pakistan, Thailand and Palestine. Three more African countries have
expressed interest, and the Inter-American Development Bank is trying to
get the laptops to multiple Central American countries.<br>
<br>
India�s government originally expressed interest but backed out. Even
though Brazil plans to take part, it is hedging its bets by evaluating $400
�Classmate PCs� from Intel. To keep costs and power demands
low, the XO uses a slim version of the Linux operating system, a
366-megahertz processor and no hard disk drive. Instead it has 512
megabytes of flash memory, plus USB ports where more storage can be
attached. It has wireless connectivity, a built-in camera and a colour
display that converts to monochrome so it�s easier to see in
sunlight.<br>
<br>
The first children to try out the XO are expected to do so in February, and
when they turn on the small green-and-white computers they will be greeted
by a basic home screen with a stick-figure icon at the centre, surrounded
by a white ring. The entire desktop has a black frame with more icons. The
�neighbourhood� (not �desktop�) signifies the
student at the middle. The ring contains programs the student is running,
which can be launched by clicking the appropriate icon in the black frame.<br>
<br>
When the learner opts to view the entire �neighbourhood�, other
stick figures in different colours might appear on the screen. Those would
indicate schoolmates who are nearby, as detected by the computers�
built-in wireless networking capability. Moving the PC�s cursor over
the classmates� icons will pull up their names or photos. With further
clicks the students can chat with each other or collaborate on projects.<br>
<br>
Negroponte said he deliberately wanted to avoid giving children computers
they might someday use in an office. �In fact, one of the saddest but
most common conditions in elementary school computer labs (when they exist
in the developing world), is that children are being trained to use Word,
Excel and PowerPoint ... I consider that criminal, because children should
be making things, communicating, exploring, sharing, not running office
automation tools.� <br>
<br>
Folders are not the organizing metaphor on the XO, because folders force
users to remember where they stored their information rather than what they
used it for. Instead, the XO machines are organized around a
�journal,� an automatically generated log of everything the
user has done on the laptop. Users can review their journals to see their
work and retrieve files created or altered in those sessions.<br>
<br>
The open - source user interface, nicknamed Sugar, has received mixed
reviews. Some have said that even as Sugar avoids complexities inherent in
familiar operating systems, it just creates a different set of complexities
to be mastered. Wayan Vota, who launched the OLPCNews.com blog to monitor
the project�s development because he is sceptical it can achieve its
aims, called Sugar �amazing, a beautiful redesign.� Vota is
director of Geekcorps, an organization that facilitates technology
volunteers in developing countries.<br>
<br>
One Laptop plans to send a specialist to each school who will stay for a
month helping teachers and students get started. But Negroponte believes
that children ultimately will learn the system by exploring it and then
teaching each other. The OPLC XO-1 will be available to the general public
in 2008, but buyers will have to pay for two, with the second going to the
developing world.<br>
<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">UNHCR ninemillion.org education Campaign
for Refugee Children supported by Microsoft</span></b><br>
<br>
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ninemillion.org. global
campaign, launched last year to provide sports and education for 9 million
refugee children around the world, has received a boost from Microsoft. The
software giant has announced that every Internet search performed at
click4thecause. live.com using Microsoft�s Live Search facility will
raise $0.01 for the campaign. Microsoft will guarantee a minimum donation
of $100 000, with a maximum donation payable by Microsoft of $250 000,
equivalent to 25m search queries. Ninemillion.org was launched as a new
public and private-sector initiative. Two-thirds of the money raised will
be distributed by UNHCR to support education in refugee communities.<br>
<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wireless Technologies for Developing
Countries</span></b><br>
<br>
An examination of emerging wireless technologies for developing countries
by Gunasekaran and Harmantiz concludes that the network readiness of such a
country indicates the ability of its principal stakeholders (government,
citizens, businesses) to leverage the potential of information and
communication technology. WiFi and WiMax are not only revolutionizing
broadband communications in the developed world but they also offer to
developing countries the opportunity to bridge or even �leap-
frog� the digital divide that may exist in their communities and to
increase the number of people who are connected.<br>
<br>
A quick adaptation to such next-generation wireless technologies will offer
advantages over traditional wired infrastructures, and policymakers should
actively seek suitable strategies to promote these vital broadband
technologies. The review proposes a strategic wireless framework to address
challenges in three different economic sectors of a developing country: the
metro economy, which is well-urbanized and integrated with the global
economy; the sub-urban economy, which has niche economic or development
activities compared to the metro economy; and the rural economy,
characterized by informal economic activity and poverty.<br>
<br>
It is unfortunate that wireless connectivity (with the exception of voice
communication) is largely the domain of the formal business sector and the
well-off individual in South Africa, and that there appears to be no
strategic wireless framework in place for the sub-urban and rural
communities in South Africa.<br>
<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Need for Science and Technology Transfer
in Africa</span></b><br>
<br>
The executive director of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World,
Mohamed H. A. Hassan, says that developing countries must build world-class
universities to be serious players in the knowledge based global economy.
Traditionally, technology has always flowed from developed to developing
countries, with the scant resources and expertise in the developing world
used to address apparently more immediate concerns, such as increasing
agricultural productivity and providing greater access to safe drinking
water.<br>
<br>
But such thinking ignored the fact that many of these challenges could not
be met without first building indigenous capacity in science and
technology, and for the poorest developing countries,
�outsourcing� the development and assessment of technology and
innovation has been economically catastrophic, with policies designed to
alleviate poverty and to create wealth suffering as a result. <br>
<br>
Hassan says that developing countries are now changing course and seeking
to build their own scientific and technological capabilities, but if technology
transfer is to truly benefit those most in need and contribute to making
the global economy more equitable, much more effort is required. He calls
on universities across the developing world to play a central role in
technology transfer. They should provide not only training and research in
scientific disciplines, but also in science and technology management.<br>
<br>
Developing countries must also encourage internal technology transfer, from
universities to the private sector, by creating incentives for researchers
to apply their knowledge to technological and policy innovation.
Strategically, this means changing universities� culture from
institutions that exist apart from their societies to institutions that are
integral to them. Tactically, this means creating such mechanisms as
technology transfer offices within universities. Increasingly, technology
transfer aims to help alleviate poverty, create wealth, improve public
health and ensure long-term environmental well-being.<br>
<br>
Universities have an unprecedented opportunity to participate in this
effort. But they can only do so if they engage in fundamental reforms to
become, not only superior sources of information, but also unique
mechanisms for promoting innovation.<br>
<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Education and Technology in South Africa</span></b><br>
<br>
In South Africa today the majority of learners and schools do not have
access to ICT infrastructure. Only 3 in 10 schools (there are 26 000
schools for 12m learners) have access to ICT. Only 1 in 10 schools have
access to the Internet, and this is mainly through slow, inefficient and
expensive dial-up connections. The department of education has plans,
together with the provinces, to place ICTinfrastructure in all schools.<br>
<br>
The department of education is finalising an implementation plan for the
National Teacher Development Framework where all teacher development is
addressed, from initial training to continuing professional teacher
development. Within this, the department is developing guidelines for
teacher development in ICT so that teachers who wish to excel in the use of
ICT for teaching and learning will be able to do so. To date the department
has trained more than 22 000 teachers to use ICT in education. This has
been carried out through partnership agreements with Intel, CompTia and
Microsoft. A principal�s guide to implement and use ICT in schools
has also been developed and distributed.<br>
<br>
A quality science and mathematics education at the secondary level with
adequate numbers of successful matriculants with good passes in these
subjects is one of the prerequisites for a country�s ability to
compete in the technologically-driven global economy. The poorest pass
marks in South Africa�s 2006 matric exams have been recorded in
science and mathematics. According to newspaper reports, South Africa is
considering recruiting Zimbabwean science and mathematics teachers to
improve pass rates in the two subjects.<br>
<br>
A number of Zimbabwean teachers had applied for posts as science and
mathematics teachers. �We don�t have a crisis, but we
don�t have many trained maths and science teachers. We anticipate a
crisis. If we can�t get enough maths and science teachers, we will
look into this pool of Zimbabwean teachers,� said Education Minister,
Naledi Pandor. Critics have however said that South Africa should not
exploit the situation in Zimbabwe by taking advantage of its ability to
offer higher wages to lure its neighbour�s teachers. According to the
Progressive Teachers� Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Zimbabwe lost 4 000
teachers to neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Mozambique and
Namibia in 2005 alone.<br>
<br>
The department of education�s Thutong project aims to connect
schooling communities with theirteachers through the internet. Thutong is
an online education experience-based web portal and means place of learning
in SeTswana. Its purpose is to provide learners and educators with
information for use in the classroom and ideas for projects, providing
students and teachers with printable, quality-assured materials which
support the outcomes-based education curriculum. <br>
<br>
Specifically, the portal provides access to a range of curriculum and
learner support materials; professional development programmes for
teachers; and administration and management resources for schools. It also
provides education policy documents and general information related to the
latest developments in the country�s educational system. In total it
has 21 000 learning objects for use by teachers and learners. The portal is
interactive and is intended to be open to all. Priority is given to disadvantaged
and rural schools. Users can download curriculum materials, create their
own materials and share them with others, and interact with their peers
throughout the country and abroad. Thutong carries news supplied by
provincial departments of education, official news providers and
organisations involved in the education arena.<br>
<br>
All educational content contained in the portal has been cross-referenced
against the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). The online resources are
also designed to facilitate professional and lifelong learning. According
to the portal�s organisers, �The content is highly relevant to
the lives and learning contexts of South African learners, educators,
education managers/administrators and parents. The portal aims to expand
and become a representative of users� interests and needs.�<br>
<br>
A key partner to the Thutong portal is the Mindset Network, which provides
assistance through a satellite-based technology platform that distributes
high-quality multimedia educational content. Mindset provides educational
materials as well as training in the use of the associated technology. The
organisation has installed receiving equipment in more than 1 500 schools
and 250 hospitals and clinics. Content is also available in 1.5m homes via
satellite broadcast. In December 2006, Mindset Network was chosen from more
than 160 nominees as the winner of the 2006 Development Gateway Award on
the theme of youth. The award was presented at the International
Telecommunications Union Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong.<br>
<br>
The partners in the Thutong project include the Department of Education,
the South African Institute for Distance Education, Multichoice Africa
Foundation, the Gauteng Institute for Education Development, the Council
for Scientific and Industrial Research, SchoolNet South Africa, Mindset,
Reusable Objects, SABC Education and M-Web.<br>
<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Educational Developments in the United
States</span></b><br>
<br>
The SCALE-UP project at some American universities is an effort to create
studio classes that would be large enough to provide an effective, yet
affordable alternative to large classes taught via the standard
lecture/laboratory format. The Student-Centered Activities for Large
Enrollment Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) Project establishes a highly
collaborative, hands-on, computer-rich, interactive learning environment.
Research indicates that students should collaborate on interesting tasks
and be deeply involved with the material they are studying. SCALE-UP
promotes active learning in a redesigned studio- style classroom of 100
students or more.<br>
<br>
Class time is spent primarily on hands-on activities, simulations, and
interesting questions as well as hypothesis-driven labs. Students sit in
three groups of three students at a number of round tables. Instructors
circulate and work with teams and individuals, engaging them in
Socratic-like dialogues. Rigorous evaluations of SCALE-UP find that ability
to solve problems is improved, conceptual understanding is increased,
attitudes are improved, failure rates are drastically reduced (especially
for women and minorities), and performance in following (physics and
engineering) classes is positively impacted.<br>
<br>
For the past 10 years, the Loudoun County (Virginia, US) public school
system has been a leader in introducing the latest technology into
classrooms. One advanced-technology tool that Loudoun uses is the SMART
Board, a touch-screen white board that eliminates the traditional chalk and
erasers associated with teaching. A teacher writes on the screen with a
finger, and whatever is written is stored electronically. Students can
retrieve the information later by visiting the teacher�s Web site. <br>
<br>
Betty Korte, a maths teacher, said the technology has made it easier to
teach her grade 9 and 10 students. �In maths, where a lot of abstract
concepts need to be understood, I can use a lot of the features to make it
more real for the kids,� Korte said. �I�ve been able to
see the difference in their ability to understand these concepts before and
after using the tool. In my mind, there�s just no comparison.�
Loudoun has equipped each of its 45 schools with one or two SMART Boards
and aims to have a SMART Board in every classroom by 2010. Loudon offers
online courses through a partnership with George Mason University.<br>
<br>
Students who can�t complete classes because of long-term illness or
scheduling problems, may register for online classes. The classes are
self-taught and teachers answer questions via e-mail. The pass rate for
online courses has been exceptionally high and students have given the
service high marks. Loudoun believes the next big thing will be wireless
connectivity at its schools.<br>
<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Education Trends is compiled by the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.ifr.sun.ac.za"><font color="#88a343"><span style="color: rgb(136, 163, 67);">Institute for Futures Research.</span></font></a></span></b></span></font></p>
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