Changes

=== ICT Lab as integral infrastructure in the school / teacher education institution ===

=== ICT Lab as integral infrastructure in the school / teacher education institution ===

It is essential to establish ICT infrastructure in-house, so that the access to the infrastructure and use is not constrained or limited. In the BOOT model, the ICT lab is owned by an external vendor, who has vested interest in keeping its use minimal (to extend life of the infrastructure) and in not expanding the assets in the lab (to keep running costs low). In ICT@School programs in most states, where the BOOT model has been adopted, the actual use of the ICT equipment by teachers has been low. At the end of the BOOT period, the schools have not been able to successfully take over the lab, which was the original intention. Given that during the BOOT period, the infrastructure is not renewed or upgraded, the assets handed over at the end of the period  usually have very low usability. In contrast, Kerala, which adopted an '[http://itforchange.net/policy-brief-%E2%80%93-icts-education-outsourced-versus-integrated-approach in-house]' model instead of the BOOT model (from 2002), has seen the ICT labs maintained well by the schools and in many cases, the schools have managed to get support of the local community and from philanthropies and other donors, to enhance and upgrade the assets in the lab.  

It is essential to establish ICT infrastructure in-house, so that the access to the infrastructure and use is not constrained or limited. In the BOOT model, the ICT lab is owned by an external vendor, who has vested interest in keeping its use minimal (to extend life of the infrastructure) and in not expanding the assets in the lab (to keep running costs low). In ICT@School programs in most states, where the BOOT model has been adopted, the actual use of the ICT equipment by teachers has been low. At the end of the BOOT period, the schools have not been able to successfully take over the lab, which was the original intention. Given that during the BOOT period, the infrastructure is not renewed or upgraded, the assets handed over at the end of the period  usually have very low usability. In contrast, Kerala, which adopted an '[http://itforchange.net/policy-brief-%E2%80%93-icts-education-outsourced-versus-integrated-approach in-house]' model instead of the BOOT model (from 2002), has seen the ICT labs maintained well by the schools and in many cases, the schools have managed to get support of the local community and from philanthropies and other donors, to enhance and upgrade the assets in the lab. Often, community members are keen that their children should benefit from digital literacy and can provide donations to the school to increase the number of devices in the school ICT lab.  

It is also essential to establish ICT infrastructure for teacher training within the DIETs and other teacher education institutions in the state, so that these are available without constraints for use in the pre-service and in-service teacher education programs. In Karnataka and Telangana, the availability of ICT Labs in the DIETs supported the PLC program. Relying on external providers of ICT Labs whether from private companies or from colleges tends to be both expensive as well as make its availability unreliable.   

It is also essential to establish ICT infrastructure for teacher training within the DIETs and other teacher education institutions in the state, so that these are available without constraints for use in the pre-service and in-service teacher education programs. In Karnataka and Telangana, the availability of ICT Labs in the DIETs supported the PLC program. Relying on external providers of ICT Labs whether from private companies or from colleges tends to be both expensive as well as make its availability unreliable.   

It is essential to look at learning with and through ICT, not only as interacting with a device, but as learners interacting with one another and with the world wide web. Hence, connecting the devices to one another in the lab and to the internet is essential. The former can be by enabling Wi-Fi functionality in the school server, so that all devices can connect to the server and to one another through the server itself, avoiding the internet for this. In addition, through the server, the devices can also connect to the internet. It is recommended to connect through the server, for keeping a track of the actual use of connectivity. Also, as a practice, if the regularly used/required content is stored in the server and accessed locally, it will reduce the need for internet connectivity. For this, every state should consider the data that will be provided as a part of such school content repository.

It is essential to look at learning with and through ICT, not only as interacting with a device, but as learners interacting with one another and with the world wide web. Hence, connecting the devices to one another in the lab and to the internet is essential. The former can be by enabling Wi-Fi functionality in the school server, so that all devices can connect to the server and to one another through the server itself, avoiding the internet for this. In addition, through the server, the devices can also connect to the internet. It is recommended to connect through the server, for keeping a track of the actual use of connectivity. Also, as a practice, if the regularly used/required content is stored in the server and accessed locally, it will reduce the need for internet connectivity. For this, every state should consider the data that will be provided as a part of such school content repository.

  Resource - Detailed guidelines for managing the ICT lab at the school level are available in the [[ICT teacher handbook/School level implementation guidelines|Telangana ICT teacher handbook]]

  Resource - Detailed guidelines for managing the ICT lab at the school level are available in the [[ICT teacher handbook/School level implementation guidelines|Telangana ICT teacher handbook]]

=== Technology infrastructure at teacher education institutions at state and district levels ===

=== Technology infrastructure at teacher education institutions at state and district levels ===

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  Resource - For more information on how teachers can use these tools, please refer to the [[Explore an application|on-line user manual]].

  Resource - For more information on how teachers can use these tools, please refer to the [[Explore an application|on-line user manual]].

  [[Category:A Professional Learning Community Approach for Teacher Development and OER creation - A toolkit]]

  [[Category:A Professional Learning Community Approach for Teacher Development and OER creation - A toolkit]]