Recommendation given for national education network rollout by REANNZ

Policy Matters

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February 17, 2009

A six-month trial of a national education network (NEN) with 20 schools has been deemed to be so successful that a recommendation has been made to roll it out to all schools. The Research and Education Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ), which led the trial, also made the recommendation. It estimates that high-performance broadband can be delivered to every classroom in New Zealand for 'only' $150 million. Co-incidentally, that figure is exactly what the government has indicatively set aside to provide infrastructure to schools. It has already announced $34 million toward ICT infrastructure.

The trial was funded by the Ministry of Education, the Tertiary Education Commission and the National Library. Completed on December 15, it tested the architecture and explored the educational benefits. REANNZ chief executive Donald Clark says two reports into the trial show that it was a huge success. He explained that it proved the benefits of the open access NEN architecture and it allowed teachers to expose their students to the sorts of schools, techniques and experiences that will equip them to be the knowledge workers New Zealand requires to drive its future productivity.

School rebuilding programme hit by credit crunch

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 17, 2009

The National Audit Office says councils are struggling to borrow money under the Private Finance Initiative to build schools fitted with new ICT. In a report on Building Schools for the Future (BSF), the programme to rebuild secondary schools and equip them with the latest technology, the NAO says that during 2008 problems in the banking sector reduced the money available to lend. Of the

Varsity Students Take Lectures Through Internet

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 17, 2009

The inauguration of the International Information and Technology Resource Centre of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, in Abia State this weekend will set stage for students of the institution to take lectures from experts around the world through the Internet. Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ikenna Onyido, who disclosed this during a pre-convocation press briefing told that the National Universities Commission has accredited all the 29 programmes run by the school but expressed concern that space constraints would hamper the growth of the school. Apart from Computer Engineering which received interim accreditation, he said, the remaining 28 were fully accredited. According to Onyido who was briefing newsmen on plans for the third convocation of the university slated for tomorrow, the ICT centre, one of the seven newly completed projects since he assumed office three years ago, is equipped with more than 400 computer sets and a digitalised Video Conference Hall, from where students would be hooked to professors in foreign universities for lectures.

'From this hall, our students would take lectures from professors in the western countries. This is part of our efforts to make this university a Centre of Excellence,' said the vice chancellor. Other projects to be inaugurated are the Students Affairs Building; a 750-capacity Lecture Hall, a 1,200-capacity Lecture Theatre; the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology Complex, the College of Natural and Applied Science Annex and the Agribusiness and Financial Management Building. He said the projects were executed with government subventions, Education Tax Fund grants and internally generated revenue and that their commissioning would herald the convocation proper where over 45 graduates would receive Doctorate Degrees while more than 1,000 graduates would bag First Degrees.

ICT programme to benefit Dominican schools

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 17, 2009

Fourteen secondary schools and five primary schools in Dominica are set to benefit from the schools computer programme being funded by the ICT development programme of the Ministry of Housing, Lands and Telecommunications, and the European Union to the tune of $568,000. The ICT Development Programme is being funded by the European Union in collaboration with the government of Dominica. The construction firm of Francis Thomas has been contracted to undertake the site preparation works at the various schools including the provision of furniture, electrical, painting and security for the sites. By the end of his three-month contract in April of 2009, Thomas said that he is confident that the nineteen schools benefiting under the project will be ready to be retrofitted with new computers and other IT equipment.

The computerisation of schools and the implementation of an IT curriculum have been identified by the Ministry of Education as one of the priority areas for Educational development in Dominica. Acting ICT coordinator in the Ministry of Education Timothy Lavinier says the computer upgrade programme is a dream come true for his department and is a major step forward in the effort to computerise all learning institutions in the country. He is of the opinion that his goal can be met within the next few years if funding can be provided through local and private partnerships. Under the first phase of the ICT development Programme the Dominica State College, the Isaiah Thomas Secondary School and the Convent Preparatory School computer labs were upgraded.

Matrix, launches programmes in Artificial Intelligence

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 17, 2009

The new leader in ICT education in Sri Lanka, Matirx Institute of Information Technology (Pvt) Ltd. who currently offers several local and foreign Certificates, Diplomas, Advanced Diploma's and even Degree level qualifications in the field of Information Communication Technology and management, though with a comparatively small history of three years the company has reached enormous growth in the education sector and further intend to expand in numerous forms. The organization is headed by Viraj Pinto Jayawardena who is the chairman and managing director of the organization. For the first time in the institution, MATRIX launched a comprehensive set of programs in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) on the 14th of Feb. 2009. The Robotics and AI division is headed by an expert in the field of AI, who currently has his masters in computer science and AI and further intending to proceed to his doctorate in the same discipline. 'The field of robotics and AI is untouched in many curriculums and we dedicated to give our students and avenue to proceed with the new era in robotics and AI.' Stated the Chairman Viraj Pinto jayawardena. The programs in Robotics are mainly classified into several levels namely, Kids, Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma.

When questioned on what future benefits the students will gain as a result of the above programs in robotics and AI, the chairman stated that 'we are productively working on obtaining a affiliation from a leading foreign university which will enable the students who successfully complete the advanced diploma in Robotics and AI to continue with their final year of the B.Sc in computer science and Artificial Intelligence.' Stressing on the programs offered at MATRIX, the chairman stated that the British Computer Society (BCS) Professional Examinations offered by BCS – UK is one of the most recognized professional qualifications which is equivalent to a degree in Information Technology where MATRIX is one of the most popular registered course providers in Sri Lanka, offers the students all three levels of the program including extensive support to complete their final year project, 'I strongly believe that quality is the only tool in the field of education, and we do have an outstanding lecture panel who are one of the most experienced for BCS in Sri Lanka,' stated the Managing Director, where he himself is one of the few lecturers in Sri Lanka who has educated the largest number of students for BCS and may be the only lecturer who has taught the highest number of subjects for BCS in the country. The team at MATRIX is further strengthened by an outstanding panel of full time faculty members and several visiting faculty members who's combinative experience would be immense.

Reports on schools

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 16, 2009

The National Education Network (NEN) trial provided 20 schools with fast, unrestricted broadband drastically improving their access to information and communication technology tools. The trial was led by REANNZ and funded by the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education Commission and the National Library. The 6-month trial, successfully completed on 15 December 2008, tested the architecture and explored the educational benefits of a National Education Network. The reports show that the trial was a huge success in both respects: it proved the benefits of the open access NEN architecture and allowed teachers to expose their students to the sort of tools, techniques and experiences that will equip them to be the knowledge workers New Zealand requires to drive its future productivity.

Feedback from trial schools was overwhelmingly positive. One teacher commented, 'The benefits of connecting to KAREN are immense; students and staff can reach the resources of universities in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States; show maps and satellite footage to Geography classes using Google Maps; and collaborate via high definition video conferences with other students around the world.' The NEN trial was such a success that REANNZ are recommending a complete national network based on the principles of the NEN be rolled out to all schools. After running the trial, our estimate is that high-performance broadband can be delivered to every classroom in New Zealand for only US$150m.

Doeacc e-learning centre to open in Tripura

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 16, 2009

The Government of India will set up Regional Institute of e-Learning and Information Technology (Rielit) at Agartala. It is the fifth Department of Electronics Accrediation of Computer Courses (Doeacc) centre in the northeastern region. The institute would facilitate the youth of Tripura to have easy access to education and training in the field of computer science and information technology in a well equipped state-of-the-art training infrastructure with qualified and trained faculty members, resulting in generation of quality and employable manpower. The government has already sanctioned Rs 45 crore for setting up the permanent Doeacc centre. It is the 11th centre of Doeacc Society in the country. The other centres are located at Aizawl, Aurangabad, Calicut, Chandigarh, Jammu/Srinagar, Gorakhpur, Guwahati/Tezpur, Imphal, Kohima (Rielit) and in Kolkata.

The Government of Tripura has assured to provide to the Rielit, Agartala, an 8,000 sq ft of built up space to house the temporary training facility of the institute, besides providing 15 acres of land in Agartala for setting up of the permanent infrastructure. After commissioning of the permanent infrastructure, the facilities at the temporary training campus would be shifted and transferred to the permanent campus near Agartala. The institute will offer short- and long-term courses on ITES, software and hardware, bio-informatics and computer science to boost the skills of the youth of this region.

Rise in school applications hits council

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 16, 2009

Capacity at primary schools must be expanded as parents hit by the recession desert independent schools in favour of state education, it was claimed. The comments – by Lambeth Council in South London – are believed to be the first time a local authority has admitted services are being stretched by the downturn. It comes just weeks after the Audit Commission suggested as many as one-in-10 authorities was seeing increased demand for state school places. The public services watchdog said demand for desks was a particular problem in London which has the highest concentration of privately-educated children. In some parts of the capital only half of pupils currently get into their first choice secondary school because of the competition for places. Private schools claim pupil numbers may actually be increasing.

A study this week by the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, which represents 250 elite schools, said applications were up as much as eight per cent for September, although schools admitted hundreds of pupils were also being pulled out by parents hit by the downturn. Officials in Lambeth said they needed 600 extra primary places by 2015 – on top of the 840 additional desks being made available at four primary schools. But the authority said it was UK

Taxis Launched for Polytechnic Students

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 16, 2009

The Otago Polytechnic Students' Association (OPSA), in conjunction with Otago Polytechnic and Dunedin Taxis, will next week be introducing US$3 taxis for all Polytechnic students during Orientation. 'The main thing for OPSA during this time is to ensure that our students can enjoy the Orientation season safely,' said OPSA Co-President Ryan Ward. The taxis will be available for all Otago Polytechnic students as of Monday 16 February, running after 10pm and until 6am every weeknight until Friday 6 March, to take students from the CBD or Orientation events back to their own residence. 'We couldn't have done this with out the support of Phil Ker (Otago Polytechnic CEO) and the team from Dunedin Taxis,' said OPSA Co-President Meegan Cloughley.

'Students are encouraged to use these taxis when returning home from events at University Orientation or the inner city,' Ward continued. OPSA would also ask that students who don't use this service walk home with friends and classmates, rather than walking home alone. 'We are concerned about students during Orientation, but also want students to enjoy the events and culture that Dunedin has to offer,' said Cloughley. 'But OPSA encourages students to take their personal safety seriously during this time.' Conditions of the taxi service can be viewed at www.opsa.org.nz or by contacting the OPSA office.

Unesco e-Atlas of endangered languages available free

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 16, 2009

A team of linguists from across the world led by Australian Professor Christopher Moseley has prepared a unique interactive and digital language Atlas to be released on the eve of International Mother Language Day on February 21. The new edition of the Unesco Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing aims to answer questions like: Why do languages disappear? Which parts of the world are most affected? What can be done to save them? The Atlas contains updated information on over 2,500 languages and is available free of charge worldwide.

It will be continually updated and will allow users to produce their own maps, based on a country or region, or to conduct searches by language category

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