ICT in Education
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play an increasingly important role in the way we communicate, learn and live.
The challenge is to effectively harness these technologies in a way that serves the interests of learners and the larger teaching/learning community.
UNESCO considers that ICTs can contribute to universal access to education, equity in education, the delivery of quality learning and teaching, teachers’ professional development as well as improve education management, governance and administration provided the right mix of policies, technologies and capacities are in place.
UNESCO takes a comprehensive approach to ICTs in education. It is through the Organization’s Intersectoral Platform that it focuses on the joint work of the Communication and Information, Education and Science Sectors where the issues of access, inclusion, equity and quality in education can be addressed.
UNESCO - its country and regional offices as well as institutes ––in collaboration with its partners, develops resources that can help countries elaborate effective ICTs in education policies, strategies and activities. This includes ensuring that strategies meet the challenges caused by the digital divide and the most disadvantaged populations.
Its programme includes:
- Capacity building and policy advice for the use of technologies in education, particularly in emerging domains such as mobile learning
- Ensuring that teachers have the skills necessary to use ICTs in all aspects of their professional practice through tools such as the ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT CFT)
- Supporting the use and development of multilingual educational resources and software which are available for use and re-use as a result of open licenses (open educational resources – OER; free and open source software – FOSS)
- Promoting ICTs for inclusive education, including for persons with disabilities and gender equality
- Collecting statistics and developing indicators on the use of ICTs in education
- Providing policy support to ensure that the potential of ICTs are harnessed effectively throughout the education system.
The UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE), based in Moscow, specializes in information exchange, research and training on the integration of ICTs in education.
UNESCO’s Bangkok office is notably involved in ICTs for Education in Asia and the Pacific.
UNESCO works with the educational community worldwide – Ministries of Education, specialised institutions, teachers, and of course learners - to effectively leverage the potential of ICTs in order to benefit quality teaching and learning.