{"id":2687,"date":"2012-11-15T15:11:54","date_gmt":"2012-11-15T13:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oeb.global\/OEB_Newsportal\/?p=2687"},"modified":"2016-11-21T18:39:43","modified_gmt":"2016-11-21T16:39:43","slug":"the-future-of-education-is-in-the-content-not-the-container","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oeb.global\/oeb-insights\/the-future-of-education-is-in-the-content-not-the-container\/","title":{"rendered":"The future of education is in the content, not the container"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"\"<\/a>Technology\u2019s evolution and increasing prevalence is opening up new realms of possibilities for educators all over the world. Ahead of his ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN keynote speech on Friday 30th<\/sup> November, the ONLINE EDUCA News Service<\/strong><\/strong> caught up with Mike Trucano,\u00a0 the World Bank’s Senior ICT and Education Policy Specialist, to find out his thoughts on the future of education and ICT around the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What does the World Bank do for education and ICT?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In general, the World Bank helps provide development assistance, including assistance relating to ICT or technology. \u00a0We get an increasing number of requests from countries who are either seeking large-scale investments in educational technologies or feel that the World Bank can expose them to experience in other parts of the world and put them in touch with people who have been doing the things that they want to do.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other places have had long-standing challenges, be it finding, recruiting, retaining, or supporting teachers. We find this especially in the developing world, where there have been huge gains in the number of kids going to school, but they find that the quality of education hasn\u2019t improved that much. You can build lots of schools, but making sure you have qualified, supported, experienced teachers is more of a challenge, and this is particularly true in rural areas.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just a case of buying a computer. That computer has to have the right sort of content on it that is linked to a curriculum, it has to be used in support of learning in and out of school and it has to be supported and enabled by a teacher who understands the value, relevance and use of what they\u2019re using it for. There are a whole lot of specific things that need to happen at once.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So how do you go about setting up successful education and technology initiatives in developing countries?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, there\u2019s a pretty long record of projects that have cost a lot and haven\u2019t achieved much!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You have to focus on the content, not the container. Often, the focus is on the technology itself- you can become so enamoured with the technology that you don\u2019t think about how to use it to its full effect. As we move to a greater proliferation of devices, combined with the fact that we will be accessing more content from multiple places, it really just puts a greater value on the content and how we use it, as opposed to the importance of particular devices.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why is there such a disconnect between how people approach content outside and inside the classroom?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most schools or school environments are comfortable doing what they\u2019ve done before. There are all sorts of processes and procedures that have been in place for a long time. Outside of school, we don\u2019t have that same inertia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also, inside of school, there is a very real and very important need, namely equity of access; making sure that all children have access to the same tools in the same ways. Outside of school, this is a decision made by individual families for the benefit of their own children, but we have to accept the reality of budgetary restrictions in schools- these are long slow investments, over time, and there\u2019s just not the same flexibility.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The other big thing in the way we approach content is the need and desire to assess outcome. Assessment models are based on certain types of practices. When you introduce lots of technology into learning environments and schools and then you assess that the old-fashioned way, with pencil and paper, there may be a disconnect in what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In light of OEB 2012\u2019s theme \u201cReaching Beyond Tomorrow\u201d, what challenges do you think might the future hold for ICT and education?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Education, just like the rest of our lives, will be increasingly suffused with technology. It\u2019s not a question of \u2018should it happen\u2019 or whether it will happen \u2013 it will happen. As educators and as parents, we have a duty to figure out how that can happen in useful, cost-effective ways to benefit student learning. It\u2019s coming at different speeds in different places, of course, but there\u2019s no doubt that it will happen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a question of being responsible in both how we utilise technology for education and how we think about educating our kids to live in a technology-rich world. This responsibility is lying with parents, families and communities, but schools have an important value in loco parentis<\/em> in teaching children how to use these new tools sensibly and safely.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As more technology is used in school, there is an opportunity (if not an obligation) for schools to think about how they can educate students to not only survive and stay safe, but to use these tools to prosper, whatever they decide to do with their future lives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What can we expect from your keynote speech at OEB, <\/strong>The ‘F’ Word, Worst Practices and a Bunch of Things About Computer Use in Schools You May not Want to Hear (But I’ll Say Them Anyway)<\/strong><\/em>?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are some things that we\u2019ve seen at the World Bank that we think might be interesting for the audience. I\u2019ll be challenging some hypotheses or basic ideas that, from our experience, don\u2019t quite play out how people imagined them to in practice. I\u2019ll also touch on how to identify factors that might lead to wasted investments or failures, as well as how to find a silver lining in some of those.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This year will be the first time that you\u2019ve come to ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN. What are you most looking forward to? <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m looking forward to the whole experience- I\u2019ve known about OEB for a long time, and I know lots of people who\u2019ve really enjoyed it in the past, so I\u2019m really anticipating just being there and soaking up what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also, I spend a lot of my time focusing on the experiences of medium and low income countries, so it will be interesting for me to see what\u2019s happening in Europe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike Trucano will be speaking at the plenary session <\/em>Learning Futures: Over the Horizon<\/a> on Friday November 30th<\/sup> from 9.30 to 11.00. For more information about OEB 2012, please click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Technology\u2019s evolution and increasing prevalence is opening up new realms of possibilities for educators all over the world. Ahead of his ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN keynote speech on Friday 30th November, the ONLINE EDUCA News Service caught up with Mike Trucano,\u00a0 the World Bank’s Senior ICT and Education Policy Specialist, to find out his thoughts on […]<\/p>\n

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