Marathi Tutor Motivating Language Learning

Magazine

By

-

July 1, 2008

With the advent of Internet and computer technology there is more and more demand for computer based tutoring systems for language learning. Language tutoring systems should not only use technology to deliver content but also build in relevant pedagogical component, for effective instruction. This article discusses the design of a constructive learning environment for teaching spoken Marathi

There are various approaches available for language learning. The traditional approaches for language learning include resources such as books, magazines, etc and private courses where a particular language is taught to aspirants by a native expert. Such courses normally start by teaching script of the language and pronunciations of syllables.

The course then proceeds to grammar, introduction of pre-defined subset of vocabulary, common expressions and simple everyday conversations to conversations in specific domains.

The traditional approach, however, does not adequately address demands such as anytime and on-demand learning. Web-based educational systems, which to a large extent overcome the challenges posed by traditional classroom learning and textbook learning, are becoming increasingly popular. These systems exploit various advantages of the Internet technologies such as anytime anywhere access, sharing of learning material and online collaboration. One of the major charms of e-Learning is to provide any-pace learning. This necessitates the system to adapt the pace This necessitates the system to adapt the pace–level of detail of instruction, time per topic, etc – of presenting course
content based on the student’s current profile. Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) make use of adaptive technologies o bring in aspects of a human-teacher
delivering personalised tutoring to a student, into online computer-based learning environments. The use of a eb-based educational system (whether intelligent or not) for language learning has been a major area of research and has evolved into a full discipline known as Computer Assisted Language earning (CALL). This paper discusses a constructive learning environment for teaching an Indian language (Marathi) in colloquial form.

Related Work
Our proposed system builds on ork in areas of CALL, Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS), Intelligent Computer Assisted Language Learning (ICALL) and Constructive Learning Environments (CLEs). This section discusses the key aspects of each of these.

Computer Assisted Language Learning
Based on the teaching methodology, CALL systems can be classified into: Grammar oriented CALL system, where the target language is taught using grammatical components and structure as the base. Situation based CALL system, which attempts to let the learner learn the language through its use in various commonly occurring practical situations such as at a shop, post office, etc. Immersion based CALL system, which borrows from the way children learn their first language and avoids the use of a supporting language for instruction.
Collaborative CALL system, which represents and guides the interaction between the student and the system as an interaction between a small group of learners.
Intelligent Tutoring System
In a traditional classroom setup, a teacher employs various mechanisms to sustain the student’s attention, and provides appropriate guidance to the student based on his weaknesses and strengths in a particular subject. Though
web-based educational systems have a lot of advantages, they still lack the presence of a teacher. An Intelligent Tutoring System (ITSs) attempt to simulate a teacher, who guides the student’s lesson flow, based on the student’s level of understanding in the subject. In order to give intelligent instructional
feedback and guidance to a particular student, ITSs typically rely on three types of knowledge, usually organised into separate modules:

Expert Model:This model represents the domain knowledge or expertise in the subject being taught.

Student Model: This model
represents the understanding of the student in the subject, interms of what a student knows and does not know.

Instruction Model:
This model, which is sometimes called the pedagogy module, consists of teaching strategies and essential instructions. The strength of ITS is usually in its deep domain model enabling it to analyse student responses in depth and provide intelligent intervention. Constructive Learning Environments (CLE)
CLEs are learning environments builtn a constructivist learning model. These systems provide effective playing grounds for learners to try out what they learn and get constructive feedback. The playing ground can take a variety of
forms from simple descriptive proble solving to simulated building of a device. Examples of such CLEs are the chemistry lab simulation [http://www. chemcollective.org/vlab/vlab.php] and the practice environments provided in
the www.w3schools.com for learning scripting languages like HTML, DHTML, Javascript, etc. CLEs hold substantial promise of taking e-Learning to a wider audience and increasing its effectiveness, and hence is an important field in instruction design. Intelligent Computer Assisted Language

Learning (ICALL)
Traditional CALL systems lack the intelligence component which would adapt instructions to a student based on his knowledge level in the language and to analyse student responses in depth to provide effective feedback. ICALL (Intelligent Computer Assisted Language Learning system, which emerged to overcome this drawback of the traditional CALL systems, is a combination of ITS and traditional CALL, often following a constructivist approach. ICALL characterises language teaching and learning as essentially a problem solving process, where the learner seeks to master a task or goal. Three general features of ICALL systems can be identified that serve to distinguish these systems from more traditional CALL programmes: a problem solving approach to teaching
and learning; the dynamic nature of processing; and explicit representation of domain knowledge.

Language Tutoring in Indian Languages
Tutoring systems available for Indian languages are very few. Some of these are freely available over the Internet, while others have demo version and/or limited access over the Internet. We tudied two such web-based systems in
detail viz. ‘Marathi Mitra’ and ‘LILA’ Marathi Mitra [http://www.marathimitra.
com] is a web-based system which attempts to teach spoken ‘Marathi’ language, using English as supporting language of instruction. It introduces a separate pronunciation key for Marathi. The course content covers vocabulary in various categories (general and advanced), basic grammar, day to day expressions and a few conversations. lmost all the language constructs have
associated audio files. The Learn Indian Language through Artificial Intelligence (LILA) is an Intelligent Tutoring System for Hindi [http://lilappp.cdac.in]. The system attempts to teach Hindi language, in
written as well as spoken form while taking into account pedagogical issues as well. For example, a student can attempt some lessons only after
completing pre-requisite lessons. The course content is classified into sections which introduce alphabets, vocabulary and then sentence constructs. All of
the constructs are supported with language scripts, images, audio and video at places.

Lesson Structure
The course content is presented in the form of different lessons. Each lesson in turn consists of various subtopics and/or evaluation sessions. The sequencing is based on the information set by the faculty. After an introductory lesson on the pronunciation key for the language, there is a lesson to introduce basic vocabulary from various categories followed by a lesson on expressions concluding with full-fledged conversations. The system facilitates change of lesson sequence as well as addition of new lessons as required. At the end of each lesson there is a final quiz for evaluation. The students can get familiar with the format and methodology of the final quiz by attempting the corresponding sample quiz. The student is deemed to have completed a lesson only when he clears the associated quiz. He clears the quiz if he scores more than the specified threshold of marks. The system allows each construct that
is introduced to be associated with one or more images, audio file(s) and pronunciation key. While the images are used to depict the language construct in a situated context, the associated audio clip and pronunciation key is used to
pronounce the language construct in the target language. At places the images can also be supplemented with short video clips to demonstrate certain items
in the vocabulary, particularly for verbs. In the ‘Vocabulary lesson’, wherever
relevant, multiple images are used to depict the word it represents, to reduce the ambiguity. Sometimes a single image may not clearly indicate what concept
it represents. However if we display multiple images in the similar context, the exact meaning of the word that these images represent becomes evident. Pedagogy The system addresses a number of pedagogical principles for second
language learning as follows: Iterative Learning: An iterative practice phase of the course material is necessary for learning in terms of long-term memory. In vocabulary lesson, for example, the student can listen to the audio clip multiple
times till he/she gets comfortable with the corresponding construct and then moves to the next or 1. previous a construct. He can also revisit any given examp le construct multiple times. Learner Focus: Keeping in mind the low attention span of the online student, language constructs and vocabulary are presented to the student one at a time rather than presenting all of them at once. Learner Motivation: As specified earlier, the system adapts itselfo the level of understanding of the student in the course. Thispersonalised attention to a student plays an effective role in his motivation and receptiveness to learning.

Situation-based Learning:
A learner being immersed in a particular situation leads to effective grasping of language constructs. Our system immerses the student in common situations/places such as a post office, bank, etc, while teaching expressions and conversations, thus attempting to let the learner learn the language through its practical use.

Navigation and Learner Support
A good navigational support is necessary for the student to feel comfortable in an e-Learning environment. The menu on the left side of the screen comprises the list of topics and its navigation mechanism is based on the intuitive traffic light model. A Red cross icon signifies the sessions that 2. 3. 4. the student is ot urrently eligible for, Green tick icon signifies the sessions that the student is urrently eligible for and Blue flag icon signifies sessions that the student has lready completed. In addition to the above icons, an arrow icon indicates the esson he is currently viewing.

System Architecture
The system follows a 3-tiered architecture, with separate layers for presentation logic, business logic and data store. The system also adheres to the Model View Controller (MVC) architecture [http://www.javaworld.com/ javaworld/jw- 12-1999/jw-12-ssj-jspmvc. tml]. This not only makes the system modular, but also facilitates adaptation to changes in the system. For example, if we want to switch to some other database, changes will be limited only to the data storage tier. The business logic tier and presentation logic tier would not see any changes. In terms of the MVC model, ‘View’ and ‘Controller’ need not change as long as the ‘Model’ used to represent the data remains the same.

Module Design
Based on the functionality, we dividedthe system into various logical modules.
Each module puts together a set of related functions and interfaces with the rest of the system as a single logical chunk. In the 3-tiered architecture of the system, these modules sit in the business logic tier.

Extending the system
Adding new phases of learning (likegrammar, advanced vocabulary, etc) can
be done by manipulating the “Lesson Data” and making corresponding changes in the “Instruction Data”. Data storage and representation is designed and structured in a generic fashion so that it can be easily extendable as well as represent data of other languages. So mplementing a tutor for other Indian languages would require just changing the Lesson Data as long as English is the
language of instruction.

Current Status
The first version of the system is ready and is currently open for evaluation among a controlled set of audience. After an introductory lesson on the pronunciation key for Marathi, there is a lesson to introduce basic vocabulary
from various categories followed by a lesson on expressions concluding with full-fledged conversation. As of now, there are about 15 different categories
in “Basic Vocabulary” lesson (like direction, anatomy, etc) covering over 200 words, along with associated audio files and images wherever required. Expressions are categorised in general categories like “Business”, “general
expressions”, etc. Each category is further classified into 2-3 subcategories. Each expression subcategory consists of around 10 expressions each. Most of he expressions consist of 2-3 clusters, the cluster in turn consisting of 4-5 variants of the original expressions. There is a question bank of around 30-40 questions for each quiz in a particular lesson. The “Conversations” lesson consists of 5-6 full-fledged conversations.

Future Work
The framework is being improved in many dimensions for a richer and more comprehensive learning experience. We plan to extend the framework to support the concept of pre-test, which the student can appear before going
through the course content. Based on the performance of the student in the pre-test, the system would allow direct entry to specific lessons. Currently the
default extent of the lessons is upto conversation level. We plan to take it further by incorporating appropriate pedagogy ideas for effective instruction
and investigating various pedagogy schemes for the same. Instruction module can be extended to give more intuitive feedback to the student after every exam, which will help him identify his weak areas in the course. We are also exploring ways to automatically generate variants of a single expression.

Computer Curriculum in Elementary Schools

Magazine

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 1, 2008

With e-Learning and digital adaptive learning becoming buzzwords in the recent
years, the age of integration of ICT in school education seems to have truly arrived. But the moment one looks eyond the urban centers, the rural areas throw up hundreds of thousands of schools just beginning to wake up to the idea. In the absence of a clearly defined computer science curriculum, omputers could just get relegated to entertainment devices. A systematic curriculum can be instrumental in developing algorithmic thinking and organisation skills. This will not only lay a foundation for future programming skills, but develop important life skills.

In this article we share the learnings of a pilot project on implementation of computer sciences curriculum carried out for 10 months from class 1 to 5 at a private school in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Computer education provides a unique opportunity for boosting natural ways of learning. Integration of ICT into the school curriculum is instrumental in developing a culture of thinking, lifelong learning and social responsibility.

For developing countries, investing in computer education can be instrumental in building indigenous technological capability and autonomy.

Addressing digital divide
Given the support for ICT in schools under government schemes such as Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), computer education has got a thrust in the past five years [1]. However, compared to developed countries and even deve-loping countries like China, the figures of computers in schools are quite low.

In India, less than 10% of all schools have computers, and even this is also heavily in favour of urban areas (26.41%) while the rural areas (6.66%) are marginalised. Amongst the urban areas, six Indian states of Chandigarh (73.65%), Sikkim (55.56%), Delhi (55.40%), Kerala (48.19%), Andhra Pradesh (43.48%), Nagaland (39.41%) have more than 35% penetration of computers in schools. On the other hand for the rural areas, only three states Delhi (51.18%), Chandigarh (40%) and Kerala (36.87%), have more than 35% penetration of computers in schools .

Except for Delhi, there is a wide gap in computer penetration in schools in rural and urban areas of each state indicating the rural-urban digital divide.

Even when computers are available in schools, the emphasis is largely on acquiring the skills for its usage. There is little deliberation on the course content and the methodology best suited to teach it. Private international schools have been the major frontrunners in computer assisted learning and other private and government schools are slowly catching up.

Defi ning a curriculum
Computer science curriculum of the national and few state boards take the societal approach – computers being rvasive in present times, focus on acquiring basic technical skills and vocational approach – prepare for a career in computer science, or application of technical skills in different vocations – to the curriculum. Private companies that market educational software to the schools consider the pedagogical approach and focus on computer assisted learning for different subjects. However, in all the approaches to the curriculum -societal, vocational and pedagogic – only the behavioral aspect is considered and students are groomed to become ‘expert users’. On the other hand, the catalytic approach focuses on teaching information handling and problem solving skills. Curriculum based on this approach aims to develop computer fl uency amongst the students and mentor them to participate actively in constructing the technology. To address this issue, a team at Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, adopted an eclectic (combination) approach to the computer science curriculum with the goal of developing computer fl uency at the end of school education. The computer curriculum for each standard is broadly divided into three groups: Concepts: Learning computer science concepts that are generally
useful in many areas as well as some concepts that are specifi c to computer usage/functioning. Usage Skills: Developing hands-on skill in the use of various hardware/ software and programming packages/languages. Social Aspects: Understanding ethical and security related issues of computer and Internet usage. The emphasis is on understanding the concepts behind various computer-based of specific tools. For each standard, the syllabus is defined by giving the topics that should be taught, the reasons for doing so and a schedule. There is a spiral organisation of the curriculum so that students can continually build upon their existing knowledge. This curriculum was reviewed by experts and modified appropriately. The detailed syllabus is available at http://www.cse.iitb. ac.in/~sri/ssrvm/

Development of teaching material
At the outset it was decided that the curriculum will be OS independent and eventually provide an exposure to both the platforms – open source (edubuntu) [4] and proprietary (Windows). We begin by focusing on the behavioral aspect and later widen the scope to cognitive aspects, refining mental capacities (through step-wise reasoning and logical thinking exercises) and teaching fundamental computer science concepts. A positive attitude towards computer technology is inculcated in the students through the various
computer based activities and teaching methodology. Ergonomic aspects such as posture, exercises are covered at each level to emphasise health values.After deciding on the content to be taught, teachers’ handbooks were written for the first four levels. Each chapter n the handbook included a lessonplan, worksheet and website references for further reading. The course was implemented in a pilot school located in Mumbai. In light of the field experience, the curriculum was modified and the teacher’s handbook was upgraded to a textbook. Each lesson in the textbook includes aim, lesson outcome and the content tied by a loose story with three characters, a mouse (Moz), a boy (Tejas) and a girl (Jyoti). This is supplemented by worksheets, computer based activities (using open source applications), points to explore by the students, a lesson plan for the teacher and suggested web resources for further reading. At present, teaching material for four levels are available. Levels I and II focus on skill acquisition (e.g. keyboard/ mouse skills) while Levels III and IV concentrate on building algorithmic thinking, reasoning and organizational skills using real-life experiences, computer applications and multimedia programming language (Scratch) [5].Practice of specific skills is through open source educational games such as Educational suite Gcompris [6], Childsplay [7]. These activities not only provide opportunities for building the computer skills, but also sharpen the cognitive skills such as classification, similarities, differences, speech/audio/ colour/pattern recognition, etc. The book is available freely for educational use, under the creative commons license, at http://www.cse.iitb. ac.in/~sri/ssrvm/

Delivering the curriculum
The teaching methodology adopted in the project followed a four stage model
that is outlined as follows: a) Exploration: At the initial stage there is no direct teaching, but students are asked to explore a particular application by themselves. The teacher’s role is to provide positive reinforcement – appreciation, stars, etc for every right move by the student. It is essential that the students are motivated to learn and they are able to focus attention on the task at hand. In some cases, students are asked to observe the teacher doing a particular task and then explore the application on their own. Dividing the class into groups of four/ five students allows for collaborating and sharing resources
amongst peers. b) Motivation for self learning: At this stage, the learner is actively involved in constructing new ideas/concepts based upon their current/prior knowledge. Computer based activities such as multimedia programming (e.g. Scratch) provide students opportunities for experimental learning. These activities re intrinsically interesting to the students and they discuss alternative strategies with their peers. The teacher’s role is to work as a mentor/facilitator and ask probing/open-ended questions instead of ‘teaching’. For example, after demonstration of basic features, students wrote programmes in Scratch on their own. They had healthy disagreements wherein different team members tried their way of writing the script.

Computer Curriculum Challenge or Change !

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 1, 2008

Integration of ICT into the school curriculum is now increasingly being recognised as a critical area of focus to convert technology into workable tools for basic learning in the formative years of an individual.

While the new communication technologies have provided answers for longstanding issues of infrastructure, costs and diversity, regional and spatial, the need to weave ICT into the existing teaching curriculum, without undermining the existing advantages, is a significant challenge that will have to be addressed.

A concern or caution that needs to be highlighted in this context is that mere presence of computers in a school, without a clearly defined usage and appropriate content, is likely to be reduced to recreational devices.

It is clear that integration of computers and information technology based curriculum not only needs high quality research for evolving pedagogy, but more importantly also ground level testing and application.

In this issue, we have attempted to bring to our readers some of the many promising initiatives towards class-room level application.

The cover story ‘Implementing Computer Science Curriculum in Elemenatry Schools’ shares insightful findings from a school pilot project for implementing computer sciences curriculum among the primary level students. It also builds up a case for not simply imposing ideas but blending them within the existing teachers’ handbooks.

It needs to be reiterated that computer fluency amongst students and teachers should come through an active participation in constructing the content and nature of the process itself.

The feature on Marathi Tutor addresses an issue that is very topical for a diverse nation like ours, which have 18 official languages, by detailing how theories of linguistics and pedagogic practices are being re-interpreted for creating a vernacular computer-based tutor.

We hope these stories will draw us closer to a democratised exchange by informing larger policy debates about learning from steps being undertaken by both the government bodies and private players for integration of ICT into the schooling process at the primary and middle levels.

We hope to take these debates and discussions further and will try to widen the policy aspects for all our readers in the upcoming Digital Learning India 2008 conference in New Delhi. Lets all make it a success!

Lyon unites UN cultural network of cities

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 1, 2008

Lyon has become the first French city to join a United Nations network of cities set up to help promote their cultural, social and economic development in diverse fields ranging from literature and cinema to gastronomy and folk art.

The director General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) stated that Lyon has been selected as the tenth member of the Creative Cities Network. It is also the first in the network to be designated as a 'City of Media Arts.' Lyon's long-standing experience with digital media and culture, particularly digital games, was critical to the decision by a panel of experts from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to accept the French city's application. Another 20 cities around the world have applied to join the Creative Cities Network and are awaiting for the evaluation.

UN agency and Microsoft plan increased collaboration

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

June 27, 2008

The head of the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Hamadoun Tour

Intel unveils digital education content in Ghana

Corporate Updates

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

June 27, 2008

As a part of its World Ahead programme and in a line of its continued effort to provide students with the crucial tools to succeed in the global arena, Intel has announced its collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MOESS), as well as the Ministry of Communication (MOC), Ghana to launch its localised digital education content platform, skoool.com.gh., an interactive teaching platform.

The software is a student based approach that offers open-ended learning tools to help them in exploring new concepts. The software also provides advanced learning and teaching technologies to educators. The technology offers Math and Science modules tailored to the new Ghana Education Service Curriculum, and can greatly benefit all junior and senior high schools in the country. The new education software include multimedia learning objects (Learn Steps), interactive simulations (LearnSims), an award-winning math tool kit, exam centre study notes, exam guides for Math and Integrated Science as well as study and revision tips. This will create knowledge and the capability to advance social and economic well-being in Ghana. The first release of skoool Nigeria supported the successful Classmate PC proof of concept and deployment last year.

NIIT partners with Infospectrum to offer educational resource planning tool

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

June 25, 2008

NIIT School of Learning Solutions has signed an agreement with Infospectrum, a software product development firm to market, sell and support the latter's customisable Educational Resource Planning solutions, in schools.

The alliance will offer an Educational Resource Planning tool, called 'Quick School' that spans functional requirements and departments of educational institutions. The solution will allow the schools to manage information on academics, staff, students, examination, attendance, fees, schedules, payroll, recruitment, library, hostel, transport and inventory among others, on a real time basis. The implementation of the tool in schools would enable parents to monitor real time progress of their wards and effectively address their needs to identify improvement areas for better academic performance. Currently, QuickSchool is being offered by Infospectrum in over 140 schools. Soon it will become a part of the NIIT eGURU Solution offering. Under this alliance, NIIT will bring its expertise and reach in schools, while Infospectrum will offer exclusive development and customisation of the school ERP solution and modules for varied needs.

ECSU professor receives HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Award

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

June 24, 2008

Elizabeth City State University received a 2008 HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Award. The awards recognise instructors who use technology in such an innovative manner that it transforms the teaching and learning process. Only 10 campuses in the US and Canada received the Teaching Leadership Awards that provide a cash award and equipment to expand their classroom instruction.

These awards are reserved for universities as reinvestment grants awarded to HP Technology for Teaching grant recipients whose projects have demonstrated success in their first year of implementation. Dr Kuldeep Rawat, an associate professor in the ECSU Department of Technology, is the project director for the HP Technology for Teaching programme at ECSU. This programme was selected for its successful use of HP technology to enhance instruction; demonstrate a measurable, positive impact on student achievement; and expand the programme to cover other disciplines in science, technology, engineering and math.

During the 2007-2008 academic year, Rawat implemented HP mobile technology in two electronics engineering technology courses affecting 33 students. In the 2008-2009 academic year, the award will impact students in up to five courses–approximately 120 students. Specifically, students will use HP Tablet-PCs— small, hand held, mobile computers and related software. Those devices allow students to record classroom notes as digital files. The device also allows students to relay their work as digital files to the instructor for additional classroom discussion. The HP Tablet-PCs can be used from any location, during field trips, to allow students and instructors to interact on classroom assignments. The devices are scheduled for use this year with marine biology students who will conduct research from area waterways. On field trips, several students may collect water or soil samples from different locations yet relay their findings via the HP Tablet-PCs to an instructor who is based at a central location.

Rawat received a cash and equipment award valued at US$151,000. In addition to the award, a representative from ECSU will attend the annual HP Technology for Teaching Worldwide Higher Education Conference in San Diego, California in February 2009. During the conference, grant recipients will gather to exchange various uses of HP technology, such as the HP Tablet-PC, into the classroom.

Through a series of hands-on workshops, poster sessions and lectures at that conference, recipients from around the world will be invited to share their project details with peer educators across all disciplines such as mathematics; medicine and chemistry; and geological, physical, biological, and agricultural sciences. Many teachers and professors will also demonstrate their use of a variety of software solutions to support their course redesign efforts. Rawat says HP technology is invaluable for classroom instruction.

'This project will open the doors to endless instructional possibilities through the use of mobile technology in both classroom and field-based activities. I can now share classroom lectures and comments from attending students at a later time with distance learning students,' said Rawat. 'Students attending a lecture can use the HP Tablet-PC to relay their questions to the instructor and their classroom peers without interrupting the instructor as he/she speaks. An instructor can use the device to instantly poll students for responses. Then, the instructor can determine if students fully understand the topic being discussed before advancing to the next topic.'

North Cotabato mentors in Philippines to benefit from computers

K-12

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

June 23, 2008

Modern computer technology is being used by more than a hundred teachers from four public elementary school districts in the mentioned town to compose their lesson plans, create better and richer teaching materials, and compute their students' grades. This is the result of the recent turnover to their Department of Education (DepEd) districts of 32 computers installed with Microsoft Office, Encarta, and anti-virus software and 18 printers by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills (EQuALLS2) Project. The turnover of the computer equipment and software came less than a month after the project trained the teachers to use the software through a partnership with Microsoft Philippines, in support of DepEd's strategic plan for ICT-enhanced professional development activities for teachers and school officials.

The teachers eagerly attended the five-day training, arriving early and refusing to go home at the end of the day. More training was demanded on other relevant softwares pertaining to teaching, documentation and data gathering. The trained teachers will practice using the computers for the next three to six months, after which, each of them will train one to two other teachers. USAID's EQuALLS2 project, through its implementing partner, Save the Children, will check on the teachers' progress quarterly. The computers will be maintained by their respective DepEd district offices, which are expected to institute policies that will require local teachers to submit lesson plans in electronic form. While nine other municipalities in Mindanao will also receive the same computer training and equipment from the project.

US$15 million WB credit for Basic Education Project in Burkina Faso

Policy Matters

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

June 16, 2008

The Executive Board of the World Bank today approved an International Development Association additional credit of US$15 million for the Basic Education Sector project in the Republic of Burkina Faso.

The original Basic Education sector credit in the amount of US$32.6 million was approved in January 2002 and became effective in October 2002. This additional financing will continue to support the Government's ten-year Basic Education Sector Development Program and build on the results achieved under the first phase, progressively expanding and improving the basic education sector.

The construction of schools under the project will further contribute to improve the gross primary enrollment rate currently at 67%, the gross intake rate at first grade of 78% and the primary achievement rate of 39%. The building of school canteens will support vulnerable children in poor families in rural areas and girls by providing a nutritional safety net. By strengthening the sector's management and monitoring, the program will provide management improvement which will strengthen the foundation for a sustainable education sector program in the context of decentralisation. Finally, it will provide training, curriculum enhancement, and pedagogical materials that will contribute to greater learning outcomes.

The Basic Education Sector project and the additional financing are entirely consistent with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) priorities for the period 2006-2009 as they aim to increase the educational level of rural population and to incorporate cross-cutting issues of capacity building, gender and decentralisation.

LATEST NEWS

EDITOR PICKS

Top Trending News

POPULAR POSTS

Top Trending Categories

POPULAR CATEGORY

Latest Articles