Deputy Minister for Education, Dr KIM, Gwang-Jo described the program of education reform for Korean Education. The reform would be based on four key elements:
1. Curriculum Reform
2. Deregulation and school governance reform
3. Increase in public financing (5% of GNP)
4. Incorporation of ICT into schools and classrooms.
What was impressive about his speech was the commitment and drive from the government to achieve significant change and to propel Korea to an economy based on knowledge rather than capital, raw materials and labour.
The next session focussed on quality assurance. Although in school education, we need to ensure that teachers and administrators are supported by quality content and services, the presentations were always from the ‘supply’ side and rarely acknowledged that teachers and students themselves could be contributors and even innovators in the use of technology. Do such master plans ‘stifle’ innovation. My view is that it does and mandating ‘top’ down approaches only encourages the end users to go ‘underground’.
The issue of standards/specifications to support interoperability of systems was highlighted but there is a need for evidence that the exhaustive processes undertaken to develop same can be done in a timeframe to provide real benefit in a rapidly changing environment. Industry needs to do this better, given that much of the technology is adopted well before it gets to being used in education.
In my presentation, I wanted to raise the challenge that given all this investment in technology, school systems were approximately 5 years behind adoption in society. Outside of school, students were spending more time on the internet than TV. They were increasingly savvy users of technology and in particular used Web 2.0 technologies for socialising and sharing information. The environment they use naturally has tremendous potential for education. Only a few teachers know or even used this to their advantage. Given Marc Prensky’s (see http://www.educationau.edu.au/jahia/Jahia/home/pid/202) warning that the ‘generation gap’ will get wider given the rapidity of change, then systems needed master plans which addressed what I call the ‘new digital divide’. I explained what would be key characteristics of these master plans.
Finally, two presentations from Om Sethy, Cambodia and QUACH, Tuan Ngoc, Vietnam, showed how developing countries were responding to the challenges to improve access to technology. They are particularly cognisant of the potential for the digital divide to widen. Both Vietnam and Cambodia are focussing on getting infrastructure and support for their teachers to ensure that integration of ICTs into classroom practice can happen in parallel to improving infrastructure
2 Comments
Yes but HOW did your presso go?
Did you get to show the mashup??
Fang
OK, the presso went really well and the content mashup was included and reinforced my argument that even though kids are already ‘mashing’ content, there was still a way to go to ensure that they were not unwittingly infringing copyright.
Garry
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