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TechKnowLogia #2

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November 3, 1999: This message was distributed by Papyrus News, a free e-mail distribution list on the global impact of information technology on language, literacy, and education. Feel free to forward this message to others, but please include this introductory paragraph. For information on subscribing or unsubscribing to Papyrus News see http://www.lll.hawaii.edu/web/faculty/markw/papyrus-news.html.

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Here's the table of contents of TechKnowlogia, Issue 2. In order to read it, you'll have to register at the following site: http://www.techKnowLogia.org

Mark Warschauer

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ANNOTATED TABLE OF CONTENTS- TechKnowLogia ISSUE 2, Nov/Dec, 1999

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EDITORIAL

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If technologies have the potential to significantly improve the teaching/learning process and revolutionize the education enterprise, how come we have not experienced such drastic effects?

FRONTLINE

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The author sketches out five main fields of interest: knowledge- information society, globalization, lifelong learning, ICT in education and training, and investments and costs.

This article is an excerpt of a paper commissioned for the 1999 Education Summit in the USA. The main thesis is that IT can vastly improve the uses of data, for both policy and practice. This can best be seen in technology's potential to strengthen accountability for students and adults.

Educational programs cannot operate without textbooks, teaching materials, vocational and scientific equipment, educational software, videos, multimedia, and school furniture as well as school supplies. This article provides an analysis of the international market potential, size, and trends for educational technologies.

Without a Leach Å Video Email Connects Indian Villages Å SUN CEO Calls for Web-based Educational Programs Å Developing Country Internet Education Provided by Cisco and UNDP Å Canada's Online Learning Feature Å Home Computers Help Homework Completion

TECHNOLOGIES AT WORK

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This is a success story from Paraguay that demonstrates the use and sustainability of Community Learning Centers.

Telecurso, aired for more than 15 years, has been considered a major success. This article describes Telecurso's history, content, approach, users, economics and effectiveness.

This article discusses various ways in which developing countries can make good use of existing research and evaluation to improve their planning and management of education and training. It introduces several search tools that are particularly helpful for finding these resources on the Web. It also explains how to avoid problems and errors that can arise when using existing research and evaluations.

This article describes the Computers in Secondary Education program and analyzes implementation issues, cost, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Despite the issues and uncertainties about using computers for the learning process, the long-term economic and social payoff of the Costa Rican program could well be significant.

UNDER OBSERVATION

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The debate regarding the effectiveness of computers in the classroom is critical, particularly for developing countries, due to the magnitude of the investment involved in buying and maintaining computer hardware and software, and providing adequate training for teachers and school staff. This article summarizes four research reports on this subject.

This article summarizes an overview report prepared by the Commonwealth of Learning. The Report provides a snapshot of the trends, advances and challenges of virtual education in different regions of the world. This summary focuses on five dimensions: major findings, driving forces, opposing forces, emerging models and recommendations.

PLANNING FOR TECHNOLOGIES

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This article explores the successes and failures of information technologies in education. It points to their great potential: the tangible dream of using them to bring serious education to a vast number of people. But it also points to the difficulties of fulfilling this dream, due to modes of utilization that fail to adapt the potential offered by the vast array of technological innovations in existence to developing countries.

Interactive Radio Instruction, a methodology developed to turn a typically one-way technology into a tool for active learning inside and outside of the classroom, continues to be an attractive educational strategy in developing countries twenty-five years after it was first used. This article provides helpful pointers regarding program development, implementation and sustainability.

TECHNOLOGIES TODAY

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This article describes electronic whiteboards, what they do and what the benefits are from using them.

This article describes computer-based reference software such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, and world atlases. It describes their advantages, where you can get them, and what you need to know when purchasing them.

This article introduces web sites of organizations that are major resources for research and evaluation studies applicable to education development policy and planning in developing countries.

TECHNOLOGIES TOMORROW

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What is DVD? Can DVD videos be played on a computer? What are the advantages of DVD? How much does it cost? Is DVD the video storage technology of tomorrow?

Research on nanotechnology is pointing in the direction of constructing things the size of few hundred nanometers, or billionths of a meter. That is the span of few atoms lined together. As a result, by the year 2020 we may be able to use the Internet to download not just software but hardware also.

PROFILES IN DEVELOPMENT

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This article tells the story of the development of video technology by a group of individuals from diverse nationalities, working in different periods.

UNESCO, the organization responsible for education and communication within the UN family, has long been advocating the use of new technologies in education. This article profiles the activities and approach of UNESCO in this field.

GINIE provides 'one-stop shopping' for busy education professionals working in nations in crises and transitions. It is organized by country and theme web sites related to relief and development education. Users can browse for free materials, contribute their own documents and links to share with the profession, ask questions, and make professional contacts across international agencies, NGOs/PVOs and universities.

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Last updated: January 12, 2000