By IANS
Paris : The United Nations (UN) has developed new guidelines to help instructors utilise better Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, saying it takes more than having a computer for teachers to pass on the skills to students, WAM news agency reported Sunday.
The new guidelines, called ICT Competency Standards for Teachers, have been developed by Unesco in cooperation with technology giants Cisco, Intel and Microsoft as well as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech).
Unesco Director General Kochiro Matsuura said the guidelines “which will be presented to education ministers from more than 100 countries at the Moving Young Minds Conference in London this week” will provide a tool that will help policymakers and teacher-training developers plan their use of ICT.
“These standards consist of modules that will help trainers prioritise their needs and design training curricula adapted to specific requirements and resources, reflecting Unesco’s conviction that countries must occupy the driver’s seat of educational planning,” he said.
The agency noted that the standards go beyond just addressing ICT skills, and takes into account the specific needs of teachers, curriculum and school organization. They should “contribute to the education of a better-informed citizenry able to advance economic and social development”.