Focus IT in classrooms on teachers not students - Global IT Report
Published:Sunday | April 19, 2015 | 12:00 AM
A NEW report is arguing that the infusion of information technology (IT) in the classroom should be targeted at teachers rather than at students.
The 2015 Global Information Technology Report, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), has urged policymakers to focus information and communication technology (ICT) policy and resources on teachers in order to improve educational outcomes.
According to the report, titled 'ICTs for Inclusive Growth', there is no evidence that the move by many governments in developing countries to use technology to improve educational outcomes has produced much result.
The report went on to posit that the most effective use of technology to help improve educational outcomes lay not in pushing for getting technology into the hands of students, but rather in emphasising using the strengths of ICTs as integral elements in the development process of teachers.
The report has called for governments to redirect classroom technology to facilitate the improvement of teacher education and professional development.
Making the case that good teachers make good students, the report said: "Building teacher capacity will have a longer-term and sustainable impact on the education of all children."