Workshop: Facilitating SchoolNet Telecollaboration and Evaluation Activities in Southeast Asia
© UNESCO/Tinsiri Siribodhi
UNESCO workshop trains teachers in SchoolNet telecollaboration activities
As part of the UNESCO SchoolNet project “Strengthening ICT Use in Schools and SchoolNet”, UNESCO convened a five-day workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 12 to 16 December 2005.
The workshop, titled “Facilitating SchoolNet Telecollaboration and Evaluation Activities in Southeast Asia”, was held at the Information Technology Service Centre at Chiang Mai University.
The workshop built on the first round of “Learning Circles”, which are telecollaboration activities associated with the UNESCO SchoolNet project. The Learning Circles activities were conducted over a period of eight weeks, between 13 June and 15 August 2005. The workshop addressed the recommendations made by the facilitators and participating teachers of the first Learning Circles round, who reported that there was a need to build teachers’ knowledge about telecollaboration in order to enable them to successfully facilitate online collaboration.
At the workshop the participants, teachers from schools involved in the UNESCO SchoolNet project, gained a better understanding of telecollaboration and learned to coordinate online SchoolNet activities more effectively. In addition, the participants were introduced to content on pedagogical approaches for integration of ICT into education, and were provided with examples of various scenarios. The participants also learned about evaluation and peer coaching concepts. This peer coaching knowledge was useful in enabling the participants to be able to share what they had learned about Learning Circles with their colleagues when they returned to their schools.
The peer coaching session was conducted by a trainer from Microsoft, using materials and content provided by the Microsoft Asia-Pacific Public Sector team. This support is part of on-going collaboration between UNESCO and the Microsoft Partners in Learning programme.
Upon completion of the workshop the participating teachers and national coordinators were able to:
- Better understand the need to develop pedagogical approaches for integrating ICT into the teaching and learning process.
- Facilitate student participation in the next round of Learning Circles (which began in January 2006).
- Understand the evaluation process and know how to monitor the activities in the SchoolNet project.
Related links:
- UNESCO SchoolNet project
- Telecollaboration and Learning Circles
- Results from the final session of the Workshop
http://www.shambles.net/schoolnet/workshop/index.htm
- Other information relating to the Workshop
http://www.shambles.net/schoolnet/index.htm