ICT IN EDUCATION
In Search of Innovative Practices in ICT in Education
UNESCO ICT in Education Innovation Awards, 2007-2008
We asked two questions when we launched the UNESCO ICT in Education Innovation Awards in 2007:
- "Do you use ICT in your teaching or in your education work?"
- "Are you using it in an innovative way?"
The responses we received were a resounding "Yes" and "Yes" to both questions.
With funding from the Japanese Funds-in-Trust, the Innovative Practices in ICT in Education project aims to identify, document and share innovative ICT in Education practices because we believe that:
- Integrating ICT into education can help to bring quality education to everyone, everywhere.
- Using ICT in education effectively can bring 21st Century skills to all learners, helping them be active members of knowledge societies.
- Recognizing innovative practices in ICT use can encourage and enhance even more innovation.
The 146 responses to our call for applications were vetted by the four judges: Fumihiko Shinohara, Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan; Paulina Pannen, SEAMOLEC, Indonesia; Hyeonjin Kim, Korea National University of Education, Korea; and Miao Feng-chun, UNESCO Bangkok. Following the evaluation guidelines carefully, the judges based their decisions on six broad criteria:
- Objective/Achievement/Effectiveness
- Innovativeness
- Appropriateness
- Motivation
- Applicability/Replicability/Usefulness
- Copyrights
After months of anxious waiting, the results are finally out (see below). Congratulations to the winners!
At the same time, we would like to stress that there are no losers in our competition. It is clear to the judges that all the entries have elements worthy of recognition. Unfortunately, it is not possible to give due credit to them individually.
The organizers would like to take this opportunity to commend all the applicants for their efforts in using ICT to increase the quality of education, support inclusive education, provide equal educational opportunities to disadvantaged and marginalized groups and communities, and bridge the digital divide.
The winners will be invited to the Award Ceremony, tentatively planned for June 2008, to coincide with a UNESCO conference on Innovative Practices in ICT in Education.
Summary of Entries
A total of 146 applications from 19 countries were evaluated by a team of four judges. The number of entries (62) from India exceeded that of the other countries by far, followed by Pakistan (29) and Philippines (10) (Table 1). The majority of the entries (68.5%) are for the teacher and teacher educator category; 18.5% are under the education planners and administrators; and 5.5% under the non-formal educator group (Table 2).
UNESCO ICT in Education Innovation Awards, 2007-2008
Winner of the Teacher and Teacher Educator Category
- Fractured Fairy Tale cum ICT
Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School, Singapore
Certificate of Commendation for the Teacher and Teacher Educator Category
- E-tools for Teaching and Learning Geography
Suryaveer Singh, S.D. Public School, New Delhi, India - ICT Integration in Pre-service Teacher Training through Action Research, E-learning and Electronic Portfolio
M.U. Paily, Regional Institute of Education, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India - Project on Banking
Arunasree Ganti, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Public School, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, India - Student Peer Teaching Strategy
Debbie Tee-Hwa Tan, SMK Seksyen 5, Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Winner of the Education Planner and Administrator Category
- One Computer in Multi-grade Classroom
Julito Aligaen, Asuncion National High School, Davao del Norte, Philippines
Certificate of Commendation for the Education Planner and Administrator Category
- The Use of Film to Support Classroom Literacy Learning
Jill Reading, Western Metropolitan Region, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria, Australia - Smart Science Station: Computer Aided eXperience
School Learning Solutions, NIIT, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India - ICeXCELs: Instructional and Curricular Excellence in School Leadership and Management
SEAMEO INNOTECH, Quezon City, Philippines - From BIT to e-BIT: An Innovative Use of ICT to Produce ICT Professionals
University of Colombo School of Computing, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Winner of the Non-formal Educator Category
- Learning the 3Rs through Discovery, Interaction and Participation for Children of Nomadic Tribes
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
Certificate of Commendation for the Non-formal Educator Category
- Reducing the Digital Divide through Innovative After-school Programmes
Computer Training Center, Shanghai Children Palace, Shanghai, People's Republic of China - The eSkwela Project
Commission on Information and Communication Technology, Quezon City, Philippines