Technology in education survey to be started 21 April

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On 21 April, 2010, the World Bank's Information for Development programme, infoDev, will launch a Survey of Information and Communication Technology for Education in India and South Asia. The launch in Delhi will be accompanied by an Oxford style debate on the motion: “Most investment in technology in schools is wasted.” Anyone can tune in to the live debate as it is web-cast around the world.

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• Image from World Bank of many people watching a single TV in India

The first draft of infoDev's Survey of Information and Communication Technology for Education in India and South Asia was commissioned from Price Waterhouse Coopers India. The report compares Indian and South Asian experiences and expertise on such topics as policy coherence in the use of ICTs for Education, use of ICTs in non-formal education and capacity building for effectiveness. The report includes detailed case studies of eight South Asian countries and several local surveys. It will be presented and discussed at the public forum and debate on 21 April, 2010.

The Oxford-style debate will line up discussants for and against the motion, "Most investment in technology in schools is wasted," and invite the audience to vote for the winning side. There is a general consensus among education practitioners that ICTs such as radio, TV, computers, the Internet, and mobile phones can be leveraged to increase the educational experience of learners. But is this opportunity being over-hyped?

Dr Tim Kelly, Lead ICT Policy Specialist at infoDev, will chair the discussion, which will be held around the following key topics:
- Are the educational systems South Asian nations ready for large-scale use of ICTs?
- If so, what are the organisational and financial preconditions for success?
- What changes are needed in systems, practices and oversight arrangements?
- How should we measure success?
- What are the existing good practice experiences in the region that can guide us?

Each discussant will start with only five minutes and the power of their arguments to sway the audience. There will then be a panel and audience discussion before each panellist gets a final three minutes to conclude their arguments. The audience will have the last word, voting for, against or undecided on the motion both before and after the debate. The side that swings the most votes during the course of the debate will be declared the winner.

Invited Discussants:
-Ashish Garg is the Asia Regional Coordinator for Global eSchools and Communities Initiative, and based in New Delhi;

-Atanu Dey is a noted speaker on ICT in education and an economist at Netcore Solutions in Mumbai, India;

-Benjamin Vergel De Dios is a Programme Officer for ICT in Education projects at UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education in Bangkok, Thailand;

-Nilaya Varma is Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers India which has written the Survey of Information and Communication Technology for Education in India & South Asia;

-Sam Carlson is a World Bank Lead Education Specialist and project team leader for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in India;

-Wayan Vota is an ICT in education consultant to infoDev, and the moderator of the online debate.

Sign in for the debate at http://edutechdebate.org/

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