Bridging the Within-Country Digital Divide in Education: Improving Education in Western China through Innovative Use of ICTs
Run as part of the larger project, Bridging the Within-Country Digital Divide in Education: Improving Education in Western China through Innovative Use of ICTs is a Joint Innovative Project (JIP) which aims at bridging the within-country 'digital divide' in education between the under-developed western and the developed eastern regions of China and at enhancing equal access to basic education by disadvantaged groups, as well as at improving the quality of education in poor and remote communities through capacity building, policy change and model development for the effective use of ICTs.
Project organisers are searching for innovative, practical models and pedagogies that will work in disadvantaged schools/communities where infrastructure for ICT application remains underdeveloped. The project is coordinated by the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO through Gansu Provincial Education Commission. The main strategies for action are in six activity areas:
- In-service training for teachers and headmasters;
- The renewal of school curriculum and the development of innovative locally relevant textbooks and teaching-learning materials;
- Active community participation and support;
- Research-based advisory services and new assessment of learning achievements in ICTenabled environments;
- Dissemination of innovative experiences within and outside China;
- Networking to share resources and expertise among schools in the project provinces and partner institutions in other regions.