Education Commission Best Practices Case Study 1 © VCILT 16/8/05 Alain Senteni, VCILT University of Mauritius co-chair of witfor education commission Innovative

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Education Commission Best Practices Case Study

© VCILT 16/8/05

Alain Senteni, VCILT University of Mauritius

co-chair of witfor education commission

Innovative Learning & Knowledge Communities for the integration of ICTs

in enhancing educationa comprehensive analysis of some training

initiatives in Mauritius

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What are Innovative Learning & Knowledge Communities ? { { learning, competencies,

skills, knowledge creation, tools, innovationactivity systems


What are we becoming ?

What is our experience, our

culture ?

Where do we belong ?community

What are we doing ?practice meaning

identityLearning

(freely inspired from Wenger, 2004)

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* knowledge is a process, rather than a product * knowledge forms part of dynamic processes of

innovation embedded in skills, emotions, and hunches of the people involved.

* knowledge creation is mediated by tools (mainly ICTs, in our case)

knowledge

What are Innovative Learning & Knowledge Communities ?

{ { learning, competencies, skills, knowledge creation, tools, innovationactivity systems


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• consider learning as indissociable of community, practice, meaning and culture • consider learning and knowledge advancement as a knowledge-creation process and emphasise the importance of going beyond information given.• criticise the classical conception of knowledge, as propositional knowledge only. • analyze how individuals act as participants in innovative processes of knowledge creation.• create a context in which members engage in a dynamic process of knowledge transformation


{ { learning, competencies, skills, knowledge creation, tools, innovationactivity systems

Innovative Learning & Knowledge Communities

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The Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies is an example of innovative learning & knowledge community


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The Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies was created in April 2001 by the University of Mauritius, to face the increasing number of students. Today, the centre counts about twenty permanent staff, blend of instructional designers, multimedia, web and infrastructure developers.

The VCILT implements new technologies and new methods closely related with the use of such tools. The VCILT aims at transforming mindset & pedagogical practices through the introduction of new working methods using ICT. The implicit assumption is that there exists a continuity between technology and society.

In 2003, the VCILT initiated the creation of the University of Mauritus Lifelong Learning Cluster (UoM-LLC) to answer emerging needs of the ITES/BPO sector.

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[Pedagogies & Communication]Creative & reflexive approaches supporting culturaldiversity, creativity & reflexivity.

[ Technologies ]• To add value to existing resources,• To create& maintain social link• To support emerging educational process.

[QA] Quality Assurance,Certification & Evaluation, IPR

[ Innovation & Social Impact ]Methodological issues grounding the relationshipbetween society & technology to allow for action.

{

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The VCILT provides professional & academic training for the incubation of other similar communities

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The VCILT produces & maintains platforms & tools, whether conceptual or ICT based

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The VCILT has produced & maintains a digital library platform (LOR) allowing the contextualisation of Open Educational Resources (OER)

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The VCILT supports the collaborative development of resource bases, in domains considered as priorities for the development of the country (e.g. Science & technology in Schools)

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The VCILT supports & monitor similar communities in the region (e.g. network & professional development for social workers in the indian ocean region)

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The VCILT develops meaningful contents supporting the formation of identity (e.g. mauritian history at Std 5 & 6 level)

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e.g. Aapravasi Ghat

The VCILT develops meaningful contents supporting the formation of identity

http://aapravasi/

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QuickTime™ and aGraphics decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

• Computer-Mediated Communication & Pedagogies (CMCP)

• Effective Use, Clustering and Interoperability of Open Educational Ressources (OER)

• Innovative Learning & Knowledge Communities linking Work, Training and Innovation Spaces

• Developmental intervention and Scaling up Initiatives (from Pilot to Scale: How to Scale Up?)

• to maintain and strengthen an international network of partners, the VCILT organises every two years the International Conference on Open & Online Learning (ICOOL), focusing on themes such as:

VCILT networking initiatives : International Conference on Open & Online Learning

etc...

Education Commission Project & Research Proposal

ICOOL 2003 in Mauritius [Community Development & Networking for Capacity Building ]

ICOOL 2005 in South Africa [Learning, Information Technology & Communication Hub of the Indian Ocean]

in the context of WCCE 2005, the 8th IFIP World Conference on Computers in Education

ICOOL 2007 in Penang, Malaysia@ Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

networking is also human !

VCILT networking initiatives : International Conference on Open & Online Learning

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e.g. the Computer Proficiency Programme (CPP) In the year 2000, the government of Mauritius formulated the vision of transforming the country into a cyberisland. One of the projects that was implemented as from late 2001 in an attempt to translate this vision into concrete action was the Computer Proficiency Project (CPP). This project has resulted in the mass training in two and a half years of more than 36,000 people up to proficiency level which in the Mauritian context was defined as the last stage to be attained before one actually becomes a producer of software products. This paper examines the CPP from a management perspective.

engages in meaningful national or regional projects for community development and capacity building

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The CPP consists in offering mass IT training to the population

The CPP uses existing resources (30 computer labs in state secondary schools = 600 PCs), 2-3 hour sessions

The CPP offers a 48 hours hands-on training on PCs at affordable price of Rs 700 (P100)

The CPP targets teachers, secondary school students, unemployed, working population (factory workers, hotel and service industry, civil servants, housewives and the retired people).

After 30 months of operation, the CPP has reached 36 000 persons, including some 6000 primary and secondary school teachers. ©VCILT

(3/5/2005)

the Computer Proficiency Programme (CPP)

delivery

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- Mgt, Empowerment & Collegial Support

- Academic Training & Professional devt

- Infrastructure & Delivery

- Contents & Pedagogy (VCILT)- Follow up, assesment, QA (VCILT)


components & organisational

strategy

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©VCILT (3/5/2005)

©VCILT (3/5/2005)


standard contents, empowered trainers,open pedagogy

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©VCILT (3/5/2005)

©VCILT (3/5/2005)


online evaluation,cumulative tokens

ICTs is usually considered as a priviledged entry point for innovation and development in developing countries. However, the integration of ICT as an engine of innovation and development in organisations requires effective sociocentric methodologies, particularly in the context of developping countries.

Developmental Work Research (Engeström, 1987)has been defined as an effective intervention methodology to help work transformation in organisations. So far, DWR has been applied in several large scale projects, but mainly in the context of developed countries.

Ongoing Research @

Developmental intervention for the integration of ICT, enabling innovation, capacity building & knowledge creation in developing countries’ organizations

Thank you for your attention...

Documents

Education Commission Best Practices Case Study 1 © VCILT 16/8/05 Alain Senteni, VCILT University of Mauritius co-chair of witfor education commission Innovative