Difference between revisions of "A Professional Learning Community Approach for Teacher Development and OER creation - A toolkit/Establishing ICT infrastructure"
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=== 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. | ||
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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]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | === No teacher left behind === | ||
| + | It is important to encourage every teacher to also have access to a computer, to support professional development. Having anywhere and any time access to a computer will provide more opportunities for development to teachers. The department should enable teachers to acquire personal digital devices through attractive loan schemes to allow teachers to buy personal digital devices such as laptops, tablets, e-book readers etc. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Case - Kerala laptop loan scheme | ||
| + | |||
| + | One benefit from teachers having own devices is that many more teachers would integrate ICT in their teaching, using their laptop for demonstrations in the classroom, (apart from using the ICT lab in the school). There are many instances of this from the Karnataka Subject Teacher Forum program. | ||
| + | [[File:Scaled TCOL - Integrating ICT in teaching TurtleArt, using personal device.jpg|thumb|Teacher using a personal device to teach students TurtleArt application, for creating patterns, using algorithms]] | ||
=== 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]] | |
Revision as of 09:06, 4 January 2018
The ICT infrastructure component has two components - establishing teacher training ICT labs in teacher education institutions at state and district levels and establishing labs in schools.
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 '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.
Hence while maintenance could be outsourced, the ownership over the infrastructure should be with the institution, as is the case with any other core curricular infrastructure.
Technology infrastructure in schools
An ICT Lab needs to be seen as a part of the basic infrastructure of the school, to provide opportunities for teachers and students to integrate ICT for their learning. Providing adequate infrastructure that will allow access to students and teachers to create and learn using ICT is necessary. Desktop computers or laptops are preferred hardware as these will support resources to be developed using many applications. Only FOSS applications should be used, in line with National ICT Policy and National ICT Curriculum of NCERT. This has been the case in both Karnataka and in Telangana. The advantages of a FOSS environment are listed separately.
The setting up of an ICT Lab in the school requires initial investment for creating the lab covering civil, electrical works and furniture. It is suggested to keep wiring to the minimum to reduce maintenance costs. Wireless LAN can be set-up to avoid traditional LAN with wiring. Wiring will be required for providing electricity to each lab. Dependable power supply is an important criterion for success of the program. Solar power costs are rapidly reducing and this should become a model to consider seriously and invest in. The scale of electrifying schools will allow further reduction of solar energy costs due to economies of scale.
The lab requires furniture to allow for the learners to use the devices comfortably and to allow the devices to connect to power and internet sources. Securing and storing the devices safely and providing ‘charging’ access for devices with batteries is another requirement.
Hybrid configuration
As the above table indicates, desktop computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones are in a spectrum of capabilities with the initial costs and recurring costs (mainly power consumption) reduce from the first to the last, and so do the processing capabilities of the devices. Hence, while desktop computers have been the mainstay of ICT infrastructure in schools, with the increasing use and popularity of the mobile phone, it may be useful to think of a hybrid set-up with desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.
Intensive learner activities will need students to share computers, supporting collaborative learning; but when they are accessing information, each can have access to one access device like a tablet or a phone. However, a hybrid environment would put additional pressure on the maintenance front, since different kinds of devices would have different maintenance issues/ requirement. Hence, the extent of hybridisation can be a function of the level of sophistication of use in the school / institution. Where the sophistication is very low (first time access to ICT), providing one kind of devices may make the maintenance simpler / easier.
Server
In all cases, the lab must have a ‘software and content server’ which provides services to all the other devices including file storage and access, internet connectivity etc. CIET, NCERT is developing a school server using the components of a normal desktop computer CPU, which can provide the services mentioned. There are also simpler computing devices such as the Raspberry PI, which could be considered by more sophisticated environments, these can act as servers or as regular clients.
Cloud architecture is becoming popular, where the software and data are remotely hosted. Cloud architecture enables easier management and maintenance, however it has two demerits – the need for connectivity and reduction in the local location and ownership of the data and software components. Hence, local hosting on of the software and data the school / institutional server should be preferred.
School MIS (Management Information System) and PIS (People Information systems) for supporting the regular transactions of the school and providing information to parents and community members is to be done using the school server, using simple available free software tools. Kerala has customized the free software ‘Fedora’ and adopted it in all government schools. The school server should also house the OER repository for providing content to support learning opportunities for teachers and students. Communicating with parents and other stakeholders using relevant software tools1 is another school requirement.
Peripherals
Apart from the computers and hybrid devices, each lab should have at least one digital camera, a printer and a web cam if required. The peripherals would be available to all devices through the server. If the lab has desktops, then power back is essential, consisting of UPS and battery. Annexure A (spreadsheet) provides details of the physical lab set-up and rough set-up costs.
Software
This note assumes the use of FOSS and hence does not provide for licence fees towards proprietary software. It is possible that applications will need to be developed for many new areas. These should be purchased by the government and licensed as FOSS, so that there are no constraints on its distribution.
Connectivity
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 Telangana ICT teacher handbook
No teacher left behind
It is important to encourage every teacher to also have access to a computer, to support professional development. Having anywhere and any time access to a computer will provide more opportunities for development to teachers. The department should enable teachers to acquire personal digital devices through attractive loan schemes to allow teachers to buy personal digital devices such as laptops, tablets, e-book readers etc.
Case - Kerala laptop loan scheme
One benefit from teachers having own devices is that many more teachers would integrate ICT in their teaching, using their laptop for demonstrations in the classroom, (apart from using the ICT lab in the school). There are many instances of this from the Karnataka Subject Teacher Forum program.
Technology infrastructure at teacher education institutions at state and district levels
The education department should provide for adequate infrastructure for training at the state and district level. Having district level labs (in the DIETs and CTEs) will also allow the state to structure and implement training programmes, based on the needs and requirements throughout the academic year.
Every teacher education institution requires an ICT lab to support ICT integrated teacher education. It is important to envisage the use of ICT in all teacher education programs, not only in ICT teacher training. In every teacher training program, there must be access to an ICT Lab for teachers and teacher educators to use, for activities connected to the training itself (accessing resources, interacting with one another during the program, writing and submitting assignments digitally etc.). Each institutional ICT lab should have at least 20 desktops/ laptops.
There is a need to also integrate ICT across teacher education system, so that educators working in teacher education institutions are able to use ICT meaningfully in pre-service and in-service teacher education. Making available a functioning ICT Lab in every teacher education institution can support the integration of ICT in both pre-service and in-service teacher education. In Karnataka and in Telangana, this has been done through the regular in-service teacher education program (RMSA) of the government.
ICT also has an huge potential in strengthening education administration, by improving efficiencies as well as transparency and participation in the management of the system at school to state levels. Hence, there is a need to provide a personal digital device to each teacher, teacher educator and education administrator. Providing a personal device is necessary to allow the person to create and store digital materials/content and use this subsequently, as a personal digital library. The provision of a personal device also allows for use whenever required. Teacher educators should be encouraged (through interest free loans) to purchase their own laptops / devices (BYOD), which they could use for their own professional development as well as in teaching and teacher support.
Sustainability
ICT programs in schools often have not sustained beyond an initial period where the infrastructure has been provided / developed. The design of ICT programs must consciously aim for sustainability, where the schools and other institutions can continue the integration of ICT beyond the initial investment period.
- Developing in-house capacities of teachers and teacher educators to appropriate ICTs for their work can support the sustainable use of ICT, freed from vendor lock-ins.
- Using ICT to build peer networks of teachers can support continued learning and professional development and serve as a sustainable method of TPD as well as sustain the ICT implementation.
- Making the school and teachers owners of the ICT infrastructure would also support the sustainability of the program. As evidenced in Kerala, when the teachers own the program and the infrastructure, in many cases, they take special care of the assets, not only in terms of maintenance, but also its renewal and enhancement.
- The use of free and open technologies also avoids vendor lock-ins, these lock-ins can affect continuity of the program, if the vendor stops their support. FOSS applications can be periodically upgraded without licensing constraints, which would enable the use of more relevant applications or versions.
Free and open technology architecture
The public ownership of ICT infrastructure and resources can enable universal access and equitable participation. Since the government school system is huge, its choice of free and open technologies could support the building of the ecosystem for free and open technologies as well. This is seen in the IT@Schools program of Kerala.
The ‘public’ nature of education aligns strongly with free and open ICT architectures. It is recommended by the National ICT Policy on education, 2012 that the ICT implementation in school education use free and open technologies, including FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) and OER (Open Educational Resources).
Unlike their proprietary equivalents, both FOSS and OER permit free use, re-use, revision and re-distribution, creating a sharing environment. Promoting FOSS and OER can help create a rich digital learning environment. It also reduces or avoids software piracy, which is an unethical and illegal but not uncommon practice. ICT resources that are free and open, can be freely accessed, shared, modified and re-distributed. The use of FOSS software applications is essential to support universal access to software. In addition, since FOSS allow modification by all, this allows possibilities for interactions between teacher communities and free software communities and helps teachers and learners move from being ‘consumers’ of ICT to participants in its creation, enrichment and sharing.
In the area of ICT, the ‘private’ often becomes ‘proprietary’ by which the owner of the ICT becomes the sole arbiter for its design and use, constraining and limiting the role of teachers, learners and the education system, with legal and technological constraints. Use of software that cannot be shared freely, constrains its distribution and use, limiting the digital environment. Use of copyright content, constrains its free sharing and modification / enrichment. This can become inimical to the larger role of education.
The specific benefits of using FOSS platforms and applications in the PLC-OER program are listed below
- Since FOSS is freely shareable, it can be downloaded free of cost. It can be installed on all the computers in the ICT lab without restriction or needing to pay license fees to vendors. Teachers and students can take the software and install on their home computers, at no cost.
- The GNU/Linux FOSS operating system is virus-resistant. This avoids any need to procure anti-virus software and also avoids downtime when virus affected computers have to be formatted. This saves time and effort.
- A FOSS operating system like GNU/Linux allows 'custom distribution'. This means all the required software like Office suite, web browser, educational software applications can be bundled with the GNU/Linux operating system and can be installed on the computer at one time. On proprietary operating system, such as Microsoft Windows, each software has to be separately installed, which makes it cumbersome and complex.
- Ubuntu GNU/Linux used in both the Karnataka and Telangana programs is customised in Kannada, Telugu and many Indian languages. Ubuntu GNU/Linux has the IBUS software in-built which allows us to type in all major Indian languages, so it can be used in our schools for other languages also. Note that Ubuntu uses UNICODE standard for fonts, which is accepted internationally and also by Government of India policy
- There are numerous free and open vocational educational tools for desktop publishing, video editing, animation etc.
- Many states use FOSS applications in their school programs. The Kerala IT@Schools program, Subject Teachers Forum program of Karnataka and Telangana use FOSS platforms and tools.
- Teachers and students can study the software and customise additional software packages for their own use. They can also share the tools with others
- Government of India has issued the '[http://egovstandards.gov.in/sites/default/files/Policy on Open Standards for e-Governance.pdf open standards in e-Governance'] policy in November 2010, which requires government departments to use only open standards. The OpenOffice document standard (ODF) has been notified under this policy, while the MS Office format .doc is not open and hence not notified under thus policy
- FOSS is available in all subjects, which allows us to integrate computer into regular teaching learning. The table below provides some popular FOSS subject tools.
| Subject | Public Software | Description |
|
SCIENCE |
Kalzium | Kalzium shows the periodic table and the properties of elements. It is an encyclopedia, explaining states of matter, evolution of elements. Basic equations can be balanced using this tool. |
| KStars | Desktop planetarium-Astronomy with over 130000 stars, all planets, etc. | |
| Stellarium | This is a desktop planetarium software that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars. | |
| PhET | Fun, interactive simulations of physical phenomenon | |
| KTechLab | Can be used to build your own circuits and explain various components | |
|
MATHS |
Geogebra | An algebra and geometry package providing for both graphical and algebraic input, very versatile to create lesson plans and resources for maths learning |
| Tux Math | A fun game through which children can practise their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. | |
| KBruch | This tool can be used to explain fractions as well as for the children to practice arithmetic problems. | |
| LOGIC | TurtleBlocks | TurtleBlocks can be used to create exercises to learn logic. |
| History | Timeline | Timeline can be used to represent events across time to create a simple presentation |
| Geography | KGeography | Political geography tool. |
| Marble | This acts as a dynamic desktop atlas to explain physical geography. | |
|
ENGLISH |
KHangman | Guess the correct work with a certain number of guesses allowed |
| KAnagram
IndicAnangram |
Unscramble the word for vocabulary development. IndicAnagram supports complex words in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada | |
| KLettres | Identify the alphabets by recognising the sound | |
| Tux Typing | Tux Typing" is an educational typing tutor. |
In addition, the generic software applications used for creating resources in text, image, animation, audio and video formats are available as FOSS tools. Including these in the school software environment provides much greater opportunities to teachers and students for both digital literacy as well as for creating resources for teaching-learning. Some of these tools (they are too numerous to list) are provided in table below:
| Area | FOSS | Popular proprietary Software |
| Operating system | Ubuntu GNU-Linux / Bhartiya Open Source System (from CDAC) | Microsoft Windows |
| Office Applications | Open Office / LibreOffice | Microsoft Office |
| Email client | Mozilla Thunderbird / Evolution | Microsoft Outlook |
| Internet Browser | Mozilla Firefox / Chrome | Internet Explorer |
| Vocational Educational tools | ||
| Desktop Publishing | GIMP, Inkscape, Scribus | Page Maker, Corel Draw |
| Video editing | PiTiVi, Kdenlinve, Openshot | Adobe photoshop, Final Cut Pro |
| Animation | Blender | Adobe Macromedia |
| On-line FOSS platforms | ||
| Web platform for OER publishing | MediaWiki | |
| e-learning courses Learning Management System (LMS) | Moodle | |
| Digital resources authoring and publishing | H5P | |
Resource - For more information on how teachers can use these tools, please refer to the on-line user manual.