Objectives

1. To support government ICT policy - It is presumed here that since most of the teacher training on ICT programmes reviewed are being implemented directly under government auspices, the suggestion is that one of the objectives of the training programme is to support the ICT for education policy and overall ICT master plan of the government.This is supported and confirmed by the fact that most of the administered questionnaires indicated that the countries concerned do indeed have a policy and master plan on teacher training in ICT.

There could be just a few of these training programmes which may operate on their own and conduct training programmes on an ad-hoc basis that are not necessarily linked to the government’s policy initiatives and master plan. This could occur if an external donor directly approaches NGOs whose teacher training programmes on ICT may not have any links to the government’s efforts.

A good example of an explicit goal in teacher training is the Malaysian Coca Cola eLearning for Life which very clearly states its support of the Malaysian Government in its effort to expand the K-Society and the K-Economy and to revamp the educational system to respond to the knowledge-driven demands of the new economy.

2. To develop/upgrade knowledge and skills in basic computer literacy and integrated use of ICT into teaching, but specific/concrete competencies to be improved among teachers and other professionals seldom articulated.

On the whole, the training programmes carry general objectives aimed at developing awareness, knowledge and skills in either the use of computers per se or the integration of computers into teaching. As to what specific competencies are being developed or strengthened in the various uses of ICT in teaching, these are most often not well articulated in detail or in concrete terms.

Most of the countries in the region are not guided by a set of official standards/benchmarks dealing with teaching/learning competencies both on the part of the teachers and students which can serve as a basis/guide for formulating objectives and expected outcomes in ICT training programmes.

Yet the inventory has found a few exceptions – those coming from the more advanced countries like Australia, South Korea and Singapore, for example, have formulated such ICT competencies required of teachers. Donor-funded training programmes such as those run by Intel or Coca Cola, among others tend to provide more concrete objectives and expected outcomes. A few examples of these are:

• To develop skills in using ICT to support student-centred, inquiry driven teaching and learning activities
• To undertake extensive research on differential learning experiences which will provide the appropriate pedagogy to ICT-based learning
• To encourage teachers to work in teams, problem-solve, and participate in peer review of their lesson plans
• To design ICT-based constructivist activities
• To develop skills in telecollaboration and working in teams and project-based lesson
• To engage teachers in hands-on learning and the creation of lesson plans and evaluation tools
• To develop models of learning using electronic performance support systems and knowledge management
• To develop skills in the use of productivity and communication tools

3. Training content thrusts generally support three major objectives as far as competency development is concerned - These include developing knowledge and skills on:

• basic computer literacy per se not necessarily linked to teaching;
• on the use of ICT hardware and software but linked to teaching and learning; and
• the effective use of ICT in teaching different subject areas, classroom management as well as in telecollaboration and online school activities.

Most of the countries in the region have learned from the mistakes of the past where teachers were first trained just on basic computer literacy, after which the knowledge and skills learned were never or rarely applied in the schools.

It was observed that more and more countries are now undertaking training to develop skills in the use of ICT in teaching and other school activities and classroom management to ensure that teachers bring their skills to actual classroom teaching. South Korea’s teacher training objectives, for example, are all directed towards developing skills of teachers to use ICT in teaching Korean, English, Social Studies, Science in 2002-2003 and Ethics, Mathematics, Music, Art, Gymnastics, and Technical/Home economics in 2003-2004.

Higher level teaching pedagogy is offered by Singapore’s teacher training programmes. Intel-funded countries start from planning an ICT-based lesson to be integrated into a subject.

The differences in training objectives or thrusts are not only found between countries, but also within a country itself. For example, while the cascade type of training usually starts on a holistic and more comprehensive manner during the training of trainers, the second level ends up with diluted objectives aimed at just training of teachers in basic computer functions and operations. The original training strategy gets watered down due to huge number of teachers to be trained, lack of time and resources.

4. The importance of developing teachers’ skills in computer configuration and trouble shooting is beginning to be realized by only a few programmes - In a very few programmes, training objectives go beyond developing teacher competencies in the use of ICT.

A few courses have seen the value of developing skills in ICT management and technical support, an aspect which a programme on ICT use in schools can not exist without, considering that many computers not well maintained in many countries (very often donated second-hand computers) dampen teachers’ enthusiasm. For example, Philippines’ Coca Cola Edventure and Malaysia’s eLearning for Life have objectives that focus on developing skills in managing ICT facilities, strategies in resolving technical problems or troubleshooting as well as tapping financial and resources issues.

5. Skills to undertake online collaboration are gaining grounds but require strong connectivity - More and more countries (especially those funded by  World Links and Intel) include in their training programmes a strong emphasis at elevating the teachers to use online tools to undertake collaborative activities, telecollaboration, chatting, discussion groups and building and maintaining online learning communities.

World Links also provides opportunities for online learning for the professional development of teachers in the use of ICTs apart from its face-to-face professional development. The issue of increasing bigger bandwidth is intertwined with online collaboration, a problem expressed by Australia as a big need to be met. Many developing countries may experience frustration over this type of skills to be developed if no adequate online facilities exist in support of it.

6. Reaching the community -A few training programmes also go beyond school-based training by offering training to the community through the school hubs (World Links, Malaysia, Intel-India) whereas the aim is to build ICT hubs and ICT community centres in selected schools to provide access to ICT training to other schools as well as the communities in the vicinity. World Links training programme is also aimed at encouraging the development of school-based Telecenters.

7. Providing technical advice and support - While some of the training programmes are one-shot activities, a few programmes (Australia, World Links countries) provide a continuing follow-up support to the countries through in-country technical advice and consultancies after the trainees go back to their countries.

Some organizations run school-based initiatives or Centre-based programmes meant to provide instant response to requests for technical assistance.

Follow-up services also include providing consultation in feasibility, connectivity, policy and strategy development, e-learning and curriculum development and others.

This objective is very rare but most imaginative, useful and practical and further enhances teachers’ mastery of skills, while promoting sustainability in ICT use in schools.