UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education and Intel convened the first-ever Asia-Pacific Ministerial Forum on ICT in Education or AMFIE 2010. Ministers of Education, Vice-Ministers and other high-ranking officials from 16 countries in the Asia-Pacific region participated in the high-level meeting for two days.

According to Director Gwang-Jo Kim of UNESCO Bangkok, this is to become an annual event to provide countries a regular platform to share experience between and among policymakers. In this year’s AMFIE, policymakers discussed common issues and challenges Ministries of Education face when integrating ICT in various aspects of education.

AMFIE covered a lot of ground in updating participants with presentations on the latest trends and best practices in ICT in education. Presenters coming from all over the globe were organized according to the five keynote sessions. These are: 1) ICT for Better Education Policies; 2) ICT for Better Teachers; 3) ICT for Better MOE; 4) ICT for Better Learning; and 5) ICT for Better Access to Education. Mr. Anjan Ghosh, Regional Director of Intel Asia-Pacific, who delivered the welcome address to the Ministers, stressed that ICT is only a tool and that focus must remain in education.

Countries recognize there is no one-size-fits-all type of solution to the challenges they are facing. But in an increasingly globalized and connected world, ideas, especially the innovative ones, can inspire a nation. Korea and Singapore presented their journey guided by their own ICT in Education Master Plans. United Kingdom, China and Thailand train their teachers using television. Australia and Portugal share their experience of putting in place a national ICT infrastructure.

Another highlight of the event was the Ministerial Dialogue, an entire afternoon reserved for policymakers to voice out their opinions, requests and visions for developing ICT in education in their respective countries. These are significant inputs to UNESCO and Intel to implement appropriate programs and provide relevant support to the countries. They also served as indicators as future agenda items.

AMFIE 2010 took place at Plaza Athenee Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand last 25-26 November 2010.

Picture Gallery

Opening Keynotes

• ICT in Education: Key Policy Questions and Lessons Learned
  Dr. Gwang-Jo KIM, Director of UNESCO Bangkok
  (pdf, 1.2mb)
• Education Transformation
  Dr. Martina Roth, Director of Global Education Strategy, Research and Policy Corporate Affairs Group, Intel Corporation
  (pdf, 1.7mb)

Keynote Session 1: ICT for Better Education Policies

• ICT in Education Policy of Korea
  Dr. Dae-Joon Hwang, Professor of School of Information & Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University
  (pdf, 2.5mb)

Keynote Session 2: ICT for Better Teachers

• ICT in Teacher Professional Development: Case from Thailand
  Dr. Sombat Suwanpitak, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Education, Ministry of Education Thailand and team
  (pdf, 400kb)
• Development and Implementation of ICT Competency Standards for Teacher: Case from China
  Dr. Zhiting Zhu, Dean of Distance Education College, East China Normal University, China
  (pdf, 1.2mb)
• Teachers TV
  Mr. John Richmond, International Development Executive, Teachers TV, United Kingdom
  (pdf, 1.7mb)

Keynote Session 3: ICT for Better MOE

• National Education Information System and Its Effects
  Dr. Boseon Kim, Senior Researcher for School Administration Team, National Education Information Service Centre, Korea Education & Research Information Service (KERIS)
  (pdf, 1.5mb)
• Paradigm and Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Management via Flexible Learning: The SEAMEO INNOTECH eXCELS eSolutions
  Mr. Pierangelo B. Alejo, Head of Flexible Learning Solutions Unit, SEAMEO INNOTECH
  (pdf, 1.8mb)
• Open and Distance Learning for Higher Education: A Case from Korea
  Dr. Tae Rim Lee, Korea National Open University
  (pdf, 4.4mb)

Keynote Session 4: ICT for Better Learning

• Impact of Assessment Changes and Introduction of ICT on Transforming Education in the Indian Education System
  Representative from Central Board of Secondary Education, India
  (pdf, 4mb)
• Digital Media, Content and Tools for the Next Generation of Learning
  Mr. Gerard Smyth, Skoool™ Programme Manager and Intel® Performance Learning Solutions, Intel Corporation
  (pdf, 1mb)
• ICT Masterplan 3: Student-Centred Learning
  Mr. Kwan Yew Meng, Assistant Director, Technologies and Design for Learning, Ministry of Education, Singapore
  (pdf, 2.2mb)

Keynote Session 5: ICT for Better Access to Education

• Investing in an integrated infrastructure: the Digital Education Revolution in Australia
  Dr. Evan Arthur, Group Manager of National Schools and Youth Partnerships, Department of Education, Employment and Work Place Relations, Australian Government
  (pdf, 760kb)
• ICT Solutions High-Quality Resources for Rural School: Case from China
  Dr. Ji-liang Shen, Deputy Director General of Department for Basic Education, Ministry of Education, China
  (pdf, 1.9mb)
• 1:1 Computing Solution: Case from Portugal
  Mr. Mario Franco, President of Mobile Communications Foundation eInclusion, Ministry for Public Works, Transports and Communication, Portugal
  (pdf, 2.6mb)