Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage and audiovisual, that enable users to access, store, transmit, understand and manipulate information.
The New Partnership for Africa's Development E-School Program is included as a means to provide ICT equipment such as computers and internet access to all schools in member nations within The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) program. NEPAD parents the E-School Program and is an economic program that aims to bring economic and social development to African nations and ensure 'Africa's Renewal'. The E-School Program began with Demonstration Projects and has developed further yet remains a work in progress in many countries, facing both criticism and support.
The National Grid for Learning (NGfL) was a UK government-funded gateway to educational resources on the Internet. It provided a curated collection of links to resources and materials of high quality. The NGfL was established to support schools in England, while separate grids were created for schools in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is a pedagogical approach wherein learning takes place via social interaction using a computer or through the Internet. This kind of learning is characterized by the sharing and construction of knowledge among participants using technology as their primary means of communication or as a common resource. CSCL can be implemented in online and classroom learning environments and can take place synchronously or asynchronously.
Canada's SchoolNet was a federal educational technology project in partnership with provinces, school boards, non-profit organizations, and the private sector, funded primarily by Industry Canada and developed by Ingenia Communications Corporation to promote the effective use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in libraries and schools across the country. Many important early Canadian ICT programs fell under the SchoolNet umbrella, including Computers for Schools, LibraryNet, First Nations SchoolNet, and Canada's Digital Collections. By 1997, SchoolNet brought internet access to all 433 First Nations schools under federal jurisdiction. Microsoft founder Bill Gates praised the program in the Edmonton Journal on November 26. 1995, stating that "SchoolNet is the leading program in the world in terms of letting kids get out and use computers."
European Schoolnet or EUN is a network of 34 European Ministries of Education, based in Brussels. As a not-for-profit organisation, it aims to bring innovation in teaching and learning to its key stakeholders: Ministries of Education, schools, teachers, researchers, and industry partners.
Openmind Projects (OMP), in Nong Khai Province, Thailand is a developmental aid organisation focused on helping communities in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Nepal through the creation and management of grass roots projects in the areas of e-learning, education, and environment. The focus of the organisation is using information and communication technologies (ICT) to educate individuals in schools, orphanages, national parks, and villages. Projects rely on volunteers to promote changes in local communities.
Design for All in the context of information and communications technology (ICT) is the conscious and systematic effort to proactively apply principles, methods and tools to promote universal design in computer-related technologies, including Internet-based technologies, thus avoiding the need for a posteriori adaptations, or specialised design.
The Marchmont Observatory conducts academic research in support of local government policy formation concerning skills, employment and education for adults through networking, the development of learning programmes and research.
Online communication between home and school is the use of digital telecommunication to convey information and ideas between teachers, students, parents, and school administrators. As the use of e-mail and the internet becomes even more widespread, these tools become more valuable and useful in education for the purposes of increasing learning for students, and facilitating conversations between students, parents, and schools.
The Valencian International University (VIU) is a private university in Spain with an international remit. It was founded by the regional government of Valencia in 2008. 70% of it was later acquired by the Planeta publishing house. The university is officially recognized by the Spanish Ministry of Education. It is headquartered in Valencia, Spain.
The digital divide is described as the characterisation of the gap between individuals or countries that have access to information and communications technologies, primarily telecommunications and the Internet, and individuals or countries that do not. This also includes, but is not limited to: access to computers, broadband, information literacy and digital skills.
MERLOT is an online repository and international consortium of institutions of higher education, industry partners, professional organizations, and individuals. MERLOT partners and members are devoted to identifying, peer reviewing, organizing, and making available existing online learning resources in a range of academic disciplines for use by higher education faculty and students.
The Politeknik Brunei is a polytechnic school situated in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, founded in 2008. The institution is dedicated to developing, up-skilling, and re-skilling stakeholders to meet industry demands, adapting to increased student populations, digital advancements, and job market needs by continuously enhancing its workforce, infrastructure, and partnerships to ensure its training programs remain relevant and effective.
Afri Twin is an international school linking initiative that facilitates mutually beneficial partnerships between students and teachers at schools in the United Kingdom and South Africa. It was founded in 2001 by Jayne Martin, a South African then living in the United Kingdom who has since returned to South Africa. Afri Twin provides support for the programme by matching schools with suitable partners, providing guidance to participating schools and arranging workshops and other networking events. The benefits of Afri Twin partnerships include global learning, greater cultural tolerance and the improvement of learning facilities in disadvantaged schools. In 2010, there were over 250 schools in the United Kingdom and South Africa participating in the initiative.
21st century skills comprise skills, abilities, and learning dispositions identified as requirements for success in 21st century society and workplaces by educators, business leaders, academics, and governmental agencies. This is part of an international movement focusing on the skills required for students to prepare for workplace success in a rapidly changing, digital society. Many of these skills are associated with deeper learning, which is based on mastering skills such as analytic reasoning, complex problem solving, and teamwork, which differ from traditional academic skills as these are not content knowledge-based.
The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to "classroom", but it typically refers to the context of educational philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy. In a societal sense, learning environment may refer to the culture of the population it serves and of their location. Learning environments are highly diverse in use, learning styles, organization, and educational institution. The culture and context of a place or organization includes such factors as a way of thinking, behaving, or working, also known as organizational culture. For a learning environment such as an educational institution, it also includes such factors as operational characteristics of the instructors, instructional group, or institution; the philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy in learning styles and pedagogies used; and the societal culture of where the learning is occurring. Although physical environments do not determine educational activities, there is evidence of a relationship between school settings and the activities that take place there.
Information Communications Technology is usually included in the Home Economics and Livelihood Education program in grade school and taught through the Technology and Home Economics program in high school. The recent status of ICT education in the Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian countries, was surveyed by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in 2011. Using the UNESCO model of ICT Development in Education, the countries were ranked as Emerging, Applying, Infusing or Transforming. The Philippines were ranked at the Infusing stage of integrating ICT in education, indicating that the country has integrated ICT into existing teaching, learning and administrative practices and policies. This includes components such as a national vision of ICT in education, national ICT plans and policies, complementary national ICT and education policies, professional development for teachers and school leaders, community or partnership and teaching and learning pedagogies. A 2012 study reported that public high schools in Metro Manila had a computer to student ratio of 1:63. While 88 percent of schools have internet connections, half of the students claimed not to be using it.
Educational technology in sub-Saharan Africa refers to the promotion, development and use of information and communication technologies (ICT), m-learning, media, and other technological tools to improve aspects of education in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the 1960s, various information and communication technologies have aroused strong interest in sub-Saharan Africa as a way of increasing access to education, and enhancing its quality and fairness.
Virtual exchange is an instructional approach or practice for language learning. It broadly refers to the "notion of 'connecting' language learners in pedagogically structured interaction and collaboration" through computer-mediated communication for the purpose of improving their language skills, intercultural communicative competence, and digital literacies. Although it proliferated with the advance of the internet and Web 2.0 technologies in the 1990s, its roots can be traced to learning networks pioneered by Célestin Freinet in 1920s and, according to Dooly, even earlier in Jardine's work with collaborative writing at the University of Glasgow at the end of the 17th to the early 18th century.
