The Age of Information Technology

Before computerization era becomes a mandatory for commerce, employees used to enter and maintain information in books then they had to look up the required information and perform any calculations and designs. Such critical tasks are definitely prone to human errors that any employee could perform any miscalculation. Given the importance of information processing in the commerce, it is not surprising that business of any types was among the earliest adopters of automated information processing technology.Historically, daily operation in commerce requires high accuracy and reliable process that only a small group of staff can handle such tasks. For this reason, the use of computers in commerce or trade in any industries has deliberately increased year by year since they are designed to handle sophisticated tasks like storing and retrieving large amounts of information and at making calculations and designs at highest accuracy. 1. 2 The Coming of Convergence Era In general, communicat ion refers to exchange of ideas between two people or more and it is slightly different from that of telecommunication.According to National Telecommunication and Information Administration in United States, telecommunication relates to any transmission, emission, or reception of signs, signals, writing, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems. In fact, telecommunication supports the way people communicate and vice versa, especially in digital era. The coming of digital technology, known as the representation of two binary digits: ‘0’ and ‘1’, few decades ago has enabled us to convert any kind of information (voice, data, and video) into other forms.This advantage of digital age, in turn, enables us to experience the era where people can communicate in many forms: voice (through telephone, handy talky etc), data (short message services/SMS, facsimile etc), and video (video streaming, video con ference etc). This situation refers to the era people call as the convergence in digital technologies. The convergence of digital technologies including television, telephony, and computers has stimulated the reach of the innovations of the Internet that grew from inter-university computer networks in United States.Furthermore, the growing popularity in those multimedia services, in fact, has increased the demand for Internet bandwidth. However, there has been no convergence on either the economics or the future policy framework of the Internet. While emerging information and communication technologies have strengthened the Internet community, we lack of economic and policy issues that must exist to sustain the growth and expand the scope of the Internet. I. 3 Why A Company Need Broadband Access? I. 3. 1 Definition of BroadbandBy definition broadband is a high-speed transmission. This word is nowadays common in telecommunication and internet industry to describe Internet access via cable modems or DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), which provide faster connection than dial-up connection can do. Although, the terminology of broadband has been around for years, however, we will encounter different standard concerning the speed limit that the broadband provides. According to Answer. com, there are scholars that define broadband as connection with T1 (1. 5 Mbps) as the threshold.However, others might refer broadband as high-speed connection up to T3 (45 Mbps). For instances, after the turn of the century, South Korea refers broadband Internet as DSL connection that provides up to 50 Mbps while they call 1. 5 Mbps service as light â€Å"connection† although other countries might consider the 1. 5 Mbps connection as broadband access. In short, we might provide analogy for broadband vs. dial up connection likes a brand new sports car and a horse drawn carriage implying the distant difference between the two connections in terms of speed.I. 3. 2 Benefits of Having Broadband Access Although the term of broadband has been widely used in telecommunication and computer industry, we might entice to find out what the real benefits of using broadband connection for both individuals and corporations. In an article titled â€Å"why do I need broadband? †, there is at least five obvious benefits for both individuals or corporations in relation to the use of broadband. They are as following: ? Broadband refers to â€Å"always on† connection.Unlike dial up connection services that demand users to wait some time to get their costly modem connected into Internet, broadband provide more comfortable services since they should not wait for connections or invest in costly multiple modems ? Since broadband is an â€Å"always connected† services, the charging method for subscribers of broadband access is fixed price per month. This situation benefits both users and service providers since they are able to budget their expense every month ? B roadband connection is also relatively easy and simple to install (depending on how many PCs require broadband access)? Broadband connection has no relation with the use of telephone lines so that individuals or corporations can employ the lines more effectively for other purpose ? At minimum, broadband connection provides users 40 times faster than dial-up. In addition, subscribers can choose the broadband option best suited to their business I. 3. 3 Broadband, What for Once an individual or corporation has broadband access, they might question what the high-speed connection for if they do not have specific need for such high-speed connection.Therefore, as broadband connection likes DSL is only a medium or a pipe, we should first consider what kind of information that they can deliver through the pipe. A good example of the use of broadband access is the Marriott, a famous hotel chain. They employ broadband connections for the benefits of communications between hotels within the ch ain and for the customers as well. Their objective in relation to broadband access is to meet the inflexible demands of today’s meetings and business travel. Depending upon customers’ needs, they offer high-speed Internet connections, superb sound and lighting systems, LCD projectors, and printers.Moreover, Marriott provide an extraordinary level of connectivity and productivity with their high-speed wired Internet access. Perfect for real-time, interactive training sessions, rearrangement event schedules, and carry outing safe chat sessions, high-speed Internet gets 50 times faster than dial-up modem services (â€Å"Onsite Services†). In this manner, we can view what the Marriot do is match the customers needs. This is true since for some people, wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or WLAN connection will make business travel more productive.It possible to gaining the flexibility and freedom to work and play on the go with excellent mobile performance and wireles s LAN ability with the new Intel ® Centrinoâ„ ¢ mobile technology Mutual with limitless mobile positions, a Satellite Video Conference can present us: ? Capability to communicate in real time – without audio or video delay ? Infinite location flexibility ? Protected data broadcast through encryption services ? Television-quality production and distribution ? The alternative to distribute live or prerecorded programming? Two-way communication when grouped with audio conferencing services (â€Å"Onsite Services†) II. J. MILOPOYLOS LTD In this section, we will provide the use of Broadband for the benefits of a Greece company named J. MILOPOYLOS LTD. Things to be discussed including consideration in implementing broadband and mobile network within the company’s network and its strategy to employ the broadband into full potential. II. 1 Background of the Company J. MILOPOYLOS LTD was founded in 1984. The company is the exclusive or sole representative and import er of the Swiss ice creams named Movenpick.Nowadays, Movenpick are in the category of premium ice cream, they are prepared from materials of high quality and are addressed in all the consumers primarily of high incomes. The distribution includes the market catering (packing of 5 liters) in selectively hotels, restaurants and cruiser ship and the retail market in certain supermarkets. Movenpick range includes also the homonym coffee that is imported and distributed in the same channels as the ice cream. II. 2 Consideration of Implementing Broadband for J. MILOPOYLOS LTDIt is quite to tempting to associate â€Å"right technologies† with sophisticated new machines, robots, or any interactive holographic assistants. It turns out that the right technologies for small business might be merely a desktop computer or simply a digital voice recorder, depending on the type of business we compete. Lisa Kanarek (2004), the founder of HomeOfficeLife. com and the author of some books on hom e office business, offers six ways for home or small business in deploying appropriate technologies that will increase productivity effectively and efficiently as follows:In this situation, therefore, technology will help J. MILOPOYLOS LTD to save time while increase the company’s efficiency. More importantly, once J. MILOPOYLOS LTD finds out the benefits of broadband for the company’s business, they should define what things can be customized by broadband connection for their needs. Therefore, they should learn how to benefit the broadband connection and take time to use it. Equipping office of J. MILOPOYLOS LTD with the right technology will help the company to increase their productivity.However, the technology in like broadband connection, PC, printer, fax, or any other electronic equipment, is only tools. The person using them determines whether the tools effectively and efficiently help completing tasks or just become expensive and cute decoration on our workstat ions. Furthermore, users are responsible for maintaining their data and desktop computers while IT department, if any, are responsible to provide and create any supporting applications that helps users completing tasks efficiently and effectively.Under such circumstances, the most important consideration of subscribing broadband connection for J. MILOPOYLOS LTD is to ensure that the company knows what the technology can benefit them, define and create value added services based on the broadband connection, and make sure that all employees know how to operate them. II. 3 Broadband Strategy for J. MILOPOYLOS LTD The advancement in communications and internet technologies has spawn a new model of the world’s economy, borderless economy. The terminology refers to the existence of cross-nations or even cross-continents trade, commerce, and other economics process.In internet era, companies need to remember that the Web is inherently global – when a company launches a Web si te, it is accessible by a worldwide audience. Jennifer Lawton from the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, reminds that Once we look at an e-commerce solution, we will need to consider the flow of information from our Web site into back-office operations. For instances, what we want when a customer pushes a button on our website whether it bring the customer into a client database, send shipping instructions to a warehouse, or charge a credit card.Therefore, Lawton suggests that E-commerce is just a part of how we run business. The success of your online business lies on how attractive our products are. Under such circumstances, we suggest that J. MILOPOYLOS LTD create an attractive website in order to increase the sales volume from the increasing use of the distribution channels including the market catering (packing of 5 liters) in selectively hotels, restaurants and cruiser ship and the retail market in certain supermarkets.The web site also benefits the company since prospective buyers can find useful information regarding the company’s products ranging from the imported homonym coffee to ice cream from the company’s website. The condition suggests that J. MILOPOYLOS LTD should have sustainable Supply Chain Management in order to reduce inventory, referring to assumption that products are available when needed. Therefore, it will improve the time-to-market of products, reduce costs, and allow all parties in the supply chain to manage current resources and plan for future needs.In typical Japanese manufacturing, the idea of having the time-to-market of products is done through Just in Time (JIT) system. In addition, to obtain successful SCM, O’Brien and Springman (2004) suggests that companies should balance supply and demand since focusing entirely on the supply side may result in unnecessary capital expenditures, inventory investments or suboptimal solutions. Therefore, to best optimize the total supply chain, supply chain managers must have a detailed understanding of customer demand and then to manage this demand patterns of their customers.Above all, to provide reliable internet access for prospective buyers in looking at information of the company’s product and to sustain a large quantity of supply chain, therefore J. MILOPOYLOS LTD should subscribe broadband connection in order to prevent error in connection. Above figure is typical broadband connection for J. MILOPOYLOS LTD with connection speed up to 45 Mbps. The fast connection is important for the company in order to provide their customers with comfortable connection like being in a highway so that any transactions.In the picture, we use fiber optics as transmission medium since it provides greater reliability than coaxial or satellite. In the server, the company might place several pages of websites that are related to the company’s business like a page for conducting online transaction, pages for showing pictures of the comp any’s product, and a home page that navigating customers to browse over the websites’ contents. Bibliography Arnold, David. 2004, ‘Strategies for Entering and Developing International Markets’, InformIT, [Online] Retrieved June 2, 2005, Available at http://www. informit. com/search‘Broadband’, [Online] Retrieved June 1, 2005, Available at http://www. answers. com/topic/broadband Greguras, Fred M. ‘How is Electronic Commerce Changing Global Business? ’ [Online] Retrieved June 1, 2005, Available at http://www. fenwick. com/docstore/publications/corporate/Changing_Global_Business. pdf. Kanarek, Lisa. ‘Make the Most of Technology in Your Small Business’, SCORE. [Online] Retrieved June 2, 2005, Available at http://www. score. org/om_8. html Lawton, Jennifer. ‘E-commerce: Is It Right for my Small Business? ’ SCORE. [Online] Retrieved June 1, 2005, Available at http://www. score. org/eb_10. html McKnight, Lee W. and Joseph P.Bailey. 1995, ‘An Introduction to Internet Economics’, University of Michigan Press. [Online] Retrieved June 2, 2005, Available at http://www. press. umich. edu/jep/works/McKniIntro. html O’Brien, Kevin and Brian Springman. 2004, ‘Optimizing Supply Chains, Understanding Demands’, CRM Buyer. [Online] Retrieved June 1, 2005, Available at ‘Onsite Services’, 2005, [Online] Retrieved June 2, 2005, Available at http://marriott. com/meeting/meetings/onsiteServices. mi? WT_Ref=mi_left ‘Why do I need broadband? ’ Retrieved June 2, 2005, Available at http://www. startups. co. uk/YUAsx-poP66y3A. html

Ict in School Education

Information and Communication Technology for Education in India and South Asia Essay II ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Executive Summary The essay on use of ICTs in school education provides a study of trends and dominant features of the use of ICTs for school education as profiled in different initiatives captured in the country reports. The essay highlights the spectrum of experiences from high-end technology solutions to low-end TV/radio-based initiatives that have been successful in different countries at the K12 level.The paper also examines the key issues and challenges in the effective implementation of ICTs in school education and provides suggestions to address these challenges and aid the implementation of ICTs in school education. An observation of international trends in application of ICTs in schools indicates that it is directly related to the development of schools and the teaching and learning envir onment. It is observed that new and emerging technologies are being integrated with the older technologies to make ICT applications in education more effective.Educators are also showing an increasing tendency to use mobile technology to enable access to education. There is a great deal of effort being expended around the world on the development of systems that will standardize the development of resources, catalog them, and store them. These include learning objects, which are digital Web-based resources created to support learning and can function as discrete entities or be linked in order to relate to explicit concepts or learning outcomes.Repositories are libraries where these digital resources are stored and provide teachers, students, and parents with information that is structured and organized to facilitate the finding and use of learning materials regardless of their source location. ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) The United Nations’ Millennium Deve lopment Goals (MDGs) two and three are about achieving universal primary education and promoting gender equality, respectively.The MDGs in education are defined in terms of participation and completion of primary education by all children and the elimination of gender discrimination in education. Despite the continued efforts of the various Governments on universalizing the primary and elementary education, through a wide range of programmes and schemes, access to quality education continues to be an obstacle in the achievement of the education goals. For instance, in India, during 2004 – 05, while the Gross Enrolment Ratio for children enrolling in classes I to VIII was 97 percent, the Drop-out Rate for the same classes was as high as 46 percent.The situation is more worrying at the secondary education level (classes IX and X), where the enrollment is recorded at 53 percent and the Drop-out Rate is as high as 60 percent1. Efforts so far have addressed to a considerable degre e, the concerns of equity as well as that of regional parity, however concerns of quality have not received adequate attention. Recognizing this, the Government of India’s flagship education programme at the primary level – the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) – has streamlined its focus on ‘quality’. The situation is similar across the South AsiaSelected Educational Statistics 2006 – 07; Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi 1 2 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 region. With the target timelines for universalizing of primary and secondary education nearing, there is a sense of urgency in accomplishing the goals set therein. As is being increasingly articulated, if after spending large sums of money on programmes and schemes, countries have not become fully literate, it is time that innovative and cost effective methods be put in lace to address the problem of education in these countries2. While this is a larger problem and points to the need for reform in the educational systems of these countries at various levels – pedagogical, curricular, as well as institutional, the emergence of various Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their increasing acceptance and adoption by society provide unique opportunities and could potentially promote education on a large scale.While there is no conclusive research to prove that student achievement is higher when using ICTs in the education space, either in the developed or developing countries, there is a general consensus among practitioners and academics that integration of ICTs in education has a positive impact on the learning environment.It is understood that in diverse socio-economic and cultural contexts ICTs can be successfully employed to reach out to a greater number of students, including those to whom education was previously not easily accessible, and help in promoting learning, along with exposing students to the technical skills required for many occupations. ICTs act as and provide students and teachers with new tools that enable improved learning and teaching. Geographical distance no longer becomes an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining an education.It is no longer necessary for teachers and students to be physically in proximity, due to innovations of technologies such as teleconferencing and distance learning, which allow for synchronous learning. 3 ICTs in schools provide an opportunity to teachers to transform their practices by providing them with improved educational content and more effective teaching and learning methods. ICTs improve the learning process through the provision of more interactive educational materials that increase learner motivation and facilitate the easy acquisition of basic skills.The use of various multimedia devices such as television, videos, and computer applications offers more challenging and engaging learning environment for students o f all ages. 4 A study conducted by the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) indicated that 80 percent of its participants felt more aware and empowered by their exposure to ICT in education, and 60 percent stated that the process of teaching as well as learning were directly and positively affected by the use of ICT. Twenty-first century teaching learning skills underscore the need to shift from the traditional teacher-centered pedagogy to more learner-centered methods. Active and collaborative learning ‘Using Technology for Education’, Guilherme Vaz, IL & FS Educational Technology Services, Discussion Paper on National Policy on ICT in School Education 2 Victoria L. Tinio, ICT in Education (New York: UNDP-APDIP, 2003). Wadi Haddad and Sonia Jurich, â€Å"ICT for Education: Potential and Potency,† in Technologies for Education: Potentials, Parameters, and Prospects, eds.Wadi Haddad and A. Drexler (Washington, D. C. : Academy for Educat ional Development), 28-40. 5 International Institute for Communication and Development, ICTs for Education: Impact and Lessons Learned from IICD Supported Activities (The Hague: IICD, 2007), http://www. iicd. org/files/icts-foreducation. pdf (accessed March 14, 2009). 3 4 3 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 environments facilitated by ICT contribute to the creation of a knowledge-based student population.Education leadership, management, and governance can also be improved through ICT by enhancing educational content development and supporting administrative processes in schools and other educational establishments. 6 ICT in School Education in the Developed World In the developed countries, and the urban elites of advanced economies, twenty-first century education integrates technologies, engaging students in ways which were not previously possible, creating new learning and teaching possibilities, enhancing achievement and extending interactions with local and g lobal communities.Students live in a world that has seen an information explosion and significant and rapid social and economic changes. ICT in School Education in the Developing World In the developing world, ICTs are used largely to increase access to and improve the relevance and quality of education. ICTs have demonstrated potential to increase the options, access, participation, and achievement for all students. The unprecedented speed and general availability of diverse and relevant information due to ICT, extends educational opportunities to the marginalized and vulnerable groups, among the other disadvantaged.ICTs in the developing world have the potential to enhance the education experience for children who: ? ? ? ? ? live in rural and remote-rural locations have special learning needs have physical disabilities constraining their access to schools have dropped out and/or have kept themselves out of school for various reasons. aim for excellence and fail to get satisfied in the current system Teachers and learners in the developing world are no longer solely dependent on physical media such as printed textbooks which are often times outdated.With today’s technology, one even has the ability to access experts, professionals, and leaders in their fields of interest, around the world at any given time. 7 In India, various ICTs have been employed over the years to promote primary and secondary education. These include radio, satellite based, one-way and interactive television, and the Internet. However, there have been enormous geographic and demographic disparities in their use.Some states in the country currently have an enabling environment in place that allows for a greater use 6 7 Haddad and Jurich, â€Å"ICT for Education: Potential and Potency† Ibid 4 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 of ICTs for education, whereas other states lack such an environment making the use of ICTs for this purpose very sporadic. 8 It is a lso important to keep in mind that ICTs in education are a potential double-edged sword— while ICTs offer educators, tools to extend education to hitherto naccessible geographic regions, and to deprived children and empower teachers and students through information, there is also the danger that such technologies may further widen the gap between the educational haves and havenots. However, technology is only a tool and the success of ICTs in enhancing the delivery of quality education to the needy, without widening the gap, will depend largely on policy level interventions that are directed toward how ICTs must be deployed in school education.The Governments in each of the countries in the South Asia region are now keen and committed on exploring the uses of ICTs for school education. Therefore, Government policies lately reflect their realization of the importance of integrating ICT use and the promotion of quality education enabled through ICTs. The creation of educational networks offer substantial economies of scale and scope, when attempting to improve the quality of education and seek to standardize quality across the system.Hence, Governments are investing in infrastructure facilities that link schools/educational institutions and resource centers. However, despite administrators and experts alike recognizing the potential of ICT in improving access to quality education, the utilization of ICTs in school education in the South Asian countries is still not at a very advanced stage. The following table classifies countries in the Asia Pacific region based on their appreciation of ICTs and the availability of ICTs. It shows that while appreciation of ICTs is high in the South Asia region, their actual availability for utilization is low.Countries Appreciation of Availability of Technology Technology Afghanistan Low Low Australia High High Bangladesh High Low Bhutan High Low Cambodia High Low China High Low Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, High No available data Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) Democratic People’s Republic of High No available data Korea India High Low Indonesia High Low Iran High No available data ‘Promoting the Use of Information and Communication Technologies for Primary and Secondary Education: The Case of the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Karnataka in India’ Discussion Paper by Amitabh Dabla, Educational Development Centre, Bangalore India. 8 5 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) Countries Japan MalaysiaMaldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal New Zealand Pacific Islands Countries Lao PDR Republic of Korea Sri Lanka Thailand Vietnam Appreciation Technology High High High High High High High High High High High High High of Availability Technology High High Low Low Low Low High Low Low High Low Low Low 2010 of Source: Strategy Framework for Promoting ICT Literacy in the Asia–Pacific Region, UNESCO Bangkok Communication and Information Unit, 2008 http://www2. unescobkk. org/elib/publications/188/promotingICT_literacy. pdf South Asia is yet to harness the potential of ICTs in creating, constructing, capturing, managing, and sharing information and knowledge. India is rated high on appreciation because it has gone beyond policies that merely recognize the strategic role of ICT for growth and development and is already institutionalizing concrete measures that support ICT initiatives.However, it has been rated low on availability of technology due to data reporting that access to computers is â€Å"limited,† the cost of Internet connections is relatively high, ISPs are described as â€Å"limited,† and the ratio of number of computers per student stated as â€Å"insufficient. †9 These observations point to the need to frame appropriate policies, build adequate infrastructure, and set aside adequate funds in order to support the deployment of ICTs in furthering the education levels of the country. Although ICTs do offer m any beneficial opportunities for education, they are no substitute for formal schooling. The role of technology is to support school education and not replace it, though the technology may play an appreciable part in meeting the needs of children who cannot go to a conventional school.Access to ICTs ensures enhancement of traditional or formal education systems, enabling them to adapt to the different learning and teaching needs of the societies. ICTs in school education initiatives that focus on the following areas are most likely to successfully contribute to meeting the Millennium Development Goals10: ? Increasing access through distance learning Strategy Framework for Promoting ICT Literacy in the Asia Pacific Region, Elena E Pernia, UNESCO Bangkok Communication and Information Unit, Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, Thailand 2008. 10 The World Bank. 9 6 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010ICTs can provide new and innovative means to bring education al opportunities to greater numbers of children of all ages, especially those who have historically been excluded, such as populations in rural and remote-rural areas, girl children facing social barriers, and children with disabilities and other compulsions. In almost all the developing countries of South Asia, distance learning has been an important component of the education policy of these nations. It is probably in this domain that traditional ICTs like radio, television, and audio cassettes were first deployed in the education space. In India, distance learning offered by institutions like National Institute of Open Learning (NIOS) and Indira Gandhi National Open University have used a combination of print and audio-visual material as well as traditional face-to-face interactions to deliver their content. Enabling a knowledge network for students With knowledge as the crucial input for productive processes within today’s economy, the efficiency by which knowledge is acq uired and applied determines economic success. Effective use of ICTs can contribute to the timely transmission of information and knowledge, thereby helping education systems meet this challenge. ? Training Teachers Large numbers of school teachers will be needed to meet the MDGs for education. The use of ICTs can help in training teachers to accomplish the targeted tasks on a mission mode. Moreover, ICTs provide opportunities to complement on the job training and continuing education for teachers in a more convenient and flexible manner. The use of ICTs for teacher training has been recognized by the governments of most South Asian countries and eacher training programmes like Intel Teach across India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka; Microsoft Shiksha in India; and several other initiatives in Nepal and Bhutan are focused on using ICTs for training teachers. This includes training in applying ICTs in their teaching practices as well as using ICTs as a mode of delivery for these trainings. ? Broadening the availability of quality education materials Development of relevant, good quality content is perhaps the biggest challenge and opportunity in the educational technology space. While infrastructure, capacity building, monitoring, and evaluation are critical support structures without quality content, the learning experience of students will not be significantly improved by the mere presence of ICT.To that end content development is being focused on in many of the focus countries in our study. In India, several initiatives are ongoing for creating digital repositories and learning objects; the Sakshat Portal of Government of India, initiatives like National Program of Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning & Online Teaching (MERLOT) seek to create quality digital content for different levels of education. 7 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) ? 2010 Enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of educational a dministration and policy New innovative technologies can help schools’ improve the quality of administrative activities and processes.The Government of Afghanistan’s articulation of the policy for ICT in education focuses on the need to provide access to ICT for all Ministry of Education administrative staffs, teachers, and students. The policy further envisages that through the use of information management systems, ICT will be extensively used to automate and mechanize work such as human resource management, financial management, monitoring and evaluation, the processing of student and teacher records, communication between government and schools, lesson planning, assessment and testing, financial management, and the maintenance of inventories. The Ministry of Education has developed GIS-based spatial data with detailed maps for better management of the education system in the country.More than 35 maps have been produced showing the location of schools all over Afgha nistan, including the number of students and teachers by province. The Government of Delhi, in India, has been a pioneer in using ICTs for better administration of the education system. The Department of Education, Government of Delhi, with 40,000 employees, 928 schools, and more than 120,000 students under its administrative jurisdiction has developed a comprehensive and functionally effective Web-based and GIS-based Management Information System (MIS). All the schools, zonal offices, district offices, regional offices, and various branches at the headquarters can share information using the Web-enabled software.Information for all stakeholders—students, teachers, and administrators—is available online through the Directorate’s Web site (edudel. gov. in); this includes information on admissions, mark sheets, teacher attendance, transfers, pay slips, and so on. International Trends in ICT in School Education An observation of international trends in application of ICTs in schools indicates that it is directly related to the development of schools and the teaching and learning environment. For instance, changes to pedagogical practices in classrooms require that teachers should have access to infrastructure and are given the opportunity to develop the expertise to use the machines and software tools.The trends also indicate policy-makers, administrators, and teachers are using a variety of tools and strategies to improve access to learning opportunities, improve the teaching and learning experience for teachers and students, and make effective use of limited resources. This section presents a select few international experiences that have been observed in ICT applications in primary and secondary education across the globe. 11 Integrating New Technologies with Existing Technologies in Use A discussion on global trends in ICTs and Education in 2010 can also be found at the Education Technology Debate Forum of the World Bank http://edutechdeb ate. org/2010-ict4e-trends/10-global-trends-in-ict-andeducation-for-2010-and-beyond/. It highlights trends like Mobile Learning, Cloud Computing, Gaming, Ubiquitous and Personalized Learning. 11 8ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Older technologies such as print, radio, and television are more common in most part of the world, unlike the recent technologies such as Internet, e-mail, and wireless communications. This is largely due to the state of infrastructure development that had not allowed the adoption of newer technologies as extensive as the older technologies. In recent times, however, it has been noticed that these newer technologies are gaining prominence and are being integrated with the older technologies to make ICT applications in education more effective. Radio Sagarmatha in Nepal is one of the first community radios in South Asia.It is a radio-browse model wherein Internet is broadcast over the radio. It discusses public issues, conducts training fo r public radio journalism, and provides a venue for local ideas and culture. In 2000, the station added a weekly 25-minute Internet radio programme featuring local and international ICT-related news, and ICT glossary, radio web browsing, and interviews with relevant ICT resource persons. This program has been successful among the rural areas of Nepal. Increased Use of Mobile Technology In the developing countries of South Asia given the almost ubiquitous presence of mobile phones in some geographies, there is an increasing interest in the opportunities offered by this technology.Several initiatives using mobile phones for English language learning, for facilitating educational administration tasks, and other support informational and educational services are being widely offered. In India, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), one of the largest telecom service providers with the widest reach in the country has launched â€Å"Learn English,† a spoken English mobile learning pr ogram. The program aims to teach spoken English through common everyday stories and situations that are familiar to most people. It is currently available in nine regional languages for two levels, namely basic and advanced. The service can be subscribed to at a nominal cost of Rs. 0 per month and a call browsing charge of 30 paise per minute. Other service providers have also entered the arena. IL&FS Education & Technology Services Limited (IL&FS Education) in collaboration with Tata Indicom have launched an â€Å"English Seekho† Program, which uses the mobile phone to teach English through simple 5 minute lessons that can be accessed at the learner’s convenience. Another common usage of mobile phones is also found in support services for education, such as providing alerts and retrieving and sending EMIS reports. The Virtual University in Pakistan makes use of SMS to provide updates to students, schedule appointments, and so on.However, as articulated by educationist s and experts, the small screen size, limitations on the amount of data exchanged, and so on are problems that limit the usage of mobile phones (the models most commonly available) in actual content delivery in education. 12 Content Development through Learning Objects and Repositories 12 For a debate on the use of Mobile Phones vs PCs in Education refer to Edutech Debate at http://edutechdebate. org/mobile-phones-and-computers/ 9 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Learning technologies have been evolving over the last many years, starting from early mainframebased programmed learning systems, microcomputer software packages, bulletin boards, CBT systems, authoring systems, and more recently after the Internet explosion, Web-based systems and Learning Management Systems.Development of content has largely been done on an individual basis, resulting in a scenario where the content software is not compatible with the latest technology. Moreover, there is no establishe d system for cataloging and classifying virtual learning materials, leading to many excellent online learning materials remaining underutilized. This scenario calls for the need for a standardized system for cataloging, storing, and retrieving content in ways that enable users to access and organize resources for their particular purposes as well as sharing it institutionally, nationally, and internationally. There is a great deal of effort being expended around the world on the development of such systems—ones that will standardize the development of resources, catalog them (metadata) and store them.Learning objects are digital assets that can be as diverse as a chapter in a book, a piece of text, a video or audio clip, or visuals on an overhead transparency or PowerPoint slide, and can be used in a variety of teaching settings, by course designers, managers, trainers, content writers, and learners. 13 Learning objects can be identified, tracked, referenced, used, and reused for a variety of learning purposes. They are developed to function as discrete entities or to be linked in order to relate to explicit concepts or learning outcomes. Content requirements are determined through communication with educators across the target audience and then the learning object is developed by independent contractors.Learning objects may be self-contained, reusable, and capable of being aggregated. Repositories may be described as libraries where learning object databases are stored and provide teachers, students, and parents with information that is structured and organized to facilitate the finding and use of learning materials regardless of their source location. Most repositories contain a Web-based user interface, a search mechanism, and a means of retrieving a learning object. While the initial leadership for learning object repositories has tended to come from the university sector, the interest and activity in the school sector is increasing rapidly. An Over view of Developments and Trends in the Application of Information and Communication Technologies in Education’; Glen M Farrell, Commonwealth of Learning; UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education, October 2003. 13 10 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Open Learning Exchange, Nepal: E Pustakalaya and E Paath OLE Nepal is engaged in creating content at two levels. The E Paath consists of interactive learning modules, mapped to the topics in the curriculum as prescribed by the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) of Nepal. Subject matter experts work closely with the OLE Nepal developers to create these interactive learning activities. This easy to use software, rich in multimedia elements including text, audio, video, and animations is then used by teachers and students to understand concepts as prescribed in the curriculum.The content contains lessons, exercises, as well as assessment tools to enable teachers to effectively teach and evaluate students. E-Pustakalaya is an electronic library which is a repository of reference material for the students, consisting of full text documents, images audio, video clips and software that are relevant for students. E Pustakalaya deploys a simple child friendly user interface that allows children to navigate, search, and link different documents including reference materials, courserelated content, magazine, and newspaper content. Students can download the content as well as read it online. The repository is also accessible on the Internet to other users at http://www. pustakalaya. org.Content creation in the E Pustakalaya is an ongoing activity and OLE Nepal has collaborated with several national and international organizations to source materials, these include Room to Read, Rato Bangala Foundation, Madan Puraskar Library, Save the Children, World Education, ELearning for Kids and Azim Premji Foundation. OLE Nepal continues to work with other organizations to supplement this data base. (www. olenepal. org/) eGyankosh, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India eGyanKosh, developed by IGNOU and launched in 2008, is a National Digital Repository created to store, index, preserve, distribute and share the digital learning resources developed by Open and Distance Learning Institutions in India. The repository contains all course material of IGNOU in print and video format and allows users to download this material free of cost once they have registered themselves. www. egyankosh. ac. in/) As learning repositories are developed, there emerged a need for international standards for these repositories, with the aim of achieving interoperability among various learning repositories. The development of easily accessible and sharable learning repositories is perhaps the most significant trend of all because of the potential it holds for reducing one of the largest single costs in the use of ICT in education—the cost of developing content. This develop ment offers not only the economy and flexibility that comes with reusability but also allows content to be developed independently from the form of its delivery.It offers benefits across the spectrum of learning venues, from the remote learner in some form of distance education, to the teacher and learners face-to-face in a classroom. 11 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Teachers and Online Learning Activities ICT is an important source, which teachers may use to keep themselves abreast of emerging issues, share knowledge, and reach out to students. Several portals are being developed where teachers can network and share information including best practices. In India, the Sakshat portal developed by the Government of India provides teachers an opportunity to connect with each other and share experiences.The Teachers of India, an online portal developed by the Azim Premji Foundation and the National Knowledge Commission, was created with the objective of providing a forum for teachers to freely interact with each other across languages, facilitate the sharing of insights and best practices of teachers across the country and provide access to resources, information, and new experiments in education from all over the world in all Indian languages. Key Issues and Concerns There are many challenges in implementing ICTs effectively in existing schools. Policy-makers need to give ICTs adequate priority and attention so as to reap the benefits of deploying ICTs in school education.Students from rural locations or impoverished communities often tend to slip under the radar so that they do not have even basic access to ICT. Given that a number of schools still do not even have appropriate classrooms, computers, telecommunication facilities and Internet services, ICT continues to be a distant dream. The existing shortage of quality teachers further compounds the problem. In developing countries, budgetary allocations for deploying ICTs in school educat ion are typically limited, and given the high initial costs of setting up ICT systems, the cost factor works as a further deterrent. Shifting the existing focus from traditional educational models to an ICT-based education system is bound to be met with constraints and roadblocks.Some key issues and concerns that need to be addressed in order to create an ICT friendly environment in schools, especially in countries in the South Asian region, are identified later. Availability of Infrastructure to Support ICT A country’s educational technology infrastructure sits on top of the national telecommunications and information technology infrastructure. Availability of adequate infrastructure to support the deployment of ICTs in schools is a tremendous challenge that schools in the region currently face. Apart from the high initial cost of purchasing and setting up the requisite infrastructure, the maintenance and upgrade costs, as well as the cost and effort of supporting such infra structure are also roadblocks to the successful usage of ICTs in schools, especially in poor and remote areas.Before any ICT-based programme is launched, policy-makers and planners must carefully consider the following: ? In the first place, a basic requirement is whether appropriate rooms or buildings available to house the technology? In countries where there are many old school buildings, extensive retrofitting to ensure proper electrical wiring, heating/cooling and ventilation, and safety and security would be needed. 12 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) ? 2010 ? ? Another basic requirement is the availability of electricity and telephony. In countries within this South Asian region, large areas are still without a reliable supply of electricity and the nearest telephones are miles away.Power situation in rural and remote-rural areas even in some advanced countries in this region is undependable, and this affects the functioning of any ICT initiative. Power cuts wi th different power cut schedules each week play havoc with the timetables. Power outages and fluctuations add to the high maintenance costs of computer hardware. Policy-makers should also look at the ubiquity of different types of ICT in the country in general, and in the educational system (at all levels) in particular. For instance, a basic requirement for computer-based or online learning is access to computers in schools, communities, and households, as well as affordable Internet service. Insufficient access to computers is one of the main obstacles to the spread of ICT usage in school education.This is more so in the case of rural areas where the school is often the only access point for computers. Moreover, system software is expensive and prone to upgrades and requires resources put aside for new versions and upgrades. Operating System (OS) itself adds to the cost burden of the hardware. Although this will require massive investments in the infrastructure, it is nevertheless essential in order to guarantee equal access and to overcome the digital divide. 14 Strong, sustainable partnerships between the Government, private sector and civil society must be built to offset costs and mitigate the complexities of the integration of ICT in education systems (refer Annexure II for details on Public-Private Partnerships [PPPs]).Availability of Funds to Implement ICTs Given the current budgetary and resource constraints of various Governments, a widespread investment in ICTs in education is probably not possible in most developing countries. It is, therefore, critically important to better understand the cost-benefit equation of the wide range of ICT options and uses in order to effectively target-spend the scarce resources. Economies of scale are achievable in distance education, although such Programmes typically require large up-front investments. Some of these costs may be shifted from the public sector to the individual users, but this in itself raises sign ificant equity and access issues.Capacity Building of Teachers In most of schools in the subcontinent, the teachers are overloaded, less motivated and inadequately trained, and often deal with inconvenient working conditions. The use of ICTs in the classroom or in distance education does not diminish the role of the teacher; neither does it automatically change teaching practices. In such an atmosphere, building the capacity of teachers so that they are equipped to deal with using ICTs in classrooms is a challenge. Resistance to Change International Institute for Communication and Development, ICTs for Education: Impact and Lessons Learned from IICD-Supported Activities. 14 13 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010Resistance is commonly witnessed while attempting to introduce ICTs into schools, very often from the teachers themselves, since they may be of the opinion that they shall become redundant once technology comes in or due to their perception that it is too lat e for them to adapt to a new environment. Educators themselves may be skeptical about the effectiveness of using ICTs in school education. Lack of Awareness There is a general lack of awareness about the utility of ICTs in education, as well as about the ICTs at our disposal and how they can be accessed and utilized economically and effectively. This lack of awareness and knowledge about ICTs and their use in education, even on the part of policy makers, administrators and educators, makes it particularly difficult to deploy ICTs in the field of school education.Another critical issue with the usage of ICT in schools is the implementation of new technologies without having analyzed their appropriateness, applicability and impact on various environments and contexts. In most countries, particularly the least developed ones, they must learn from the experiences of others, but must also use technology to respond to their own needs and not just follow trends. 15 Internet Usage While the Internet contains tremendous potential for education, as described in the sections earlier, it also has its own pitfalls. For one, providing all the students with Internet access is a very expensive proposition for most Government schools. This is more so in the case of rural centers and remote areas, where Internet connections are bound to be erratic, if available at all.A different challenge altogether when it comes to Internet usage is the effort involved in monitoring the students usage of the Internet to ensure that they do not visit educationally irrelevant and socially undesirable sites, thus detracting from the intended objective. Language Barriers English is the dominant language of the Internet. An estimated 80 percent of online content is in English. A large proportion of the educational software produced in the world market is in English. For developing countries in the South Asian region where English language proficiency is not high, especially outside metropolitan ar eas, this represents a serious barrier to maximizing the educational benefits of the World Wide Web.Monitoring and evaluation Many of the issues and challenges associated with ICTs in education initiatives are known by policymakers, donor staff, and educators. However, data on the nature and complexity of these issues remains limited because of the lack of good monitoring and evaluation tools and processes. Where evaluation data is available much of the work is seen to suffer from important biases. Another Patti Swarts, â€Å"Main Issues, Possible Solutions and Opportunities for ICTs,† Global e-Schools and Community Initiatives, http://www. gesci. org 15 14 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 problem in this area is the lack of a common set of indicators for ICTs in education.And, where data has been collected, it is often quantitative data related to infrastructure (number of computers, for example) rather than data that can help policy-makers gauge the impa ct of ICT interventions on student learning. 16 If ICTs are to become effective and integral tools in education, and if accountability is to be demonstrated to donors and stakeholders, monitoring and evaluation must be a priority area of focus (refer Annexure I for details on Monitoring & Evaluation). Key Learnings Although there is great opportunity for improvement in school education at many levels through the use of ICTs, the road to achieving it is not easy. It will take continued commitment from all stakeholders involved to make any kind of substantial and sustainable change.The following broadbased suggestions may act as a basis for building a long-term roadmap to bringing ICTs to schools, and students at large in the South Asia region. A key to succeed in this endeavor is to adopt a comprehensive, end-to-end, systematic approach, with a phased and learn-as-you-go strategy for implementation, that can be adjusted to adapt to the specific needs and a changing environment. Gover nment Support Government cooperation is necessary for ICT programmes to have substantial impact and be sustainable. In the attempt to reevaluate the education delivery system and curriculum of countries to include ICT, Governments have to consider the social context in which they are implementing this new phenomenon.The realities of individual countries and the disparities within and across their geographies, including their limitations say, the language barrier, should be considered and the availability of ICT should be made according to the needs and desires of the countries in order to facilitate appropriate learning and local ownership of knowledge. 17 As discussed in the essay on policy coherence, governments need to adopt a coherent national policy framework, an effective ICT for education ecosystem, not just within the education field but also encompassing other complementing and enabling domains, which could ensure a child’s overall development and the Country’ s larger objectives. Government policies must demonstrate political will and champion the integration of ICT purposes and be in line with national development goals and frameworks.In countries where implementation capacity is weak and misuse of resources can be a major problem, ICT can further enable the country to enhance its capacity building efforts and reduce the opportunity for corruption. 18 16 Trucano, Michael. 2005. Knowledge Maps: ICT in Education. Washington, DC: infoDev/World Bank. Available at: https://www. infodev. org/en/Publications. 8. html K. Toure, M. L. Diarra, T. Karsenti, and S. Tchameni-Ngamo, â€Å"Reflections on Cultural Imperialism and Pedagogical Possibilities Emerging from Youth Encounters with Internet in Africa† in ICT and Changing Mindsets in Education, eds. K. Toure, T. M. S. Tchombe, and T. Karsenti (Bamako, Mali: ERNWACA, 2008). 18 Muwanga, â€Å"High Cost of Internet Connectivity in Africa: How Do We Achieve Mobile Telephony Success Story? à ¢â‚¬  17 15 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010Not only are national policies necessary but the Government also should assist in building organizational and institutional capacity to effectively deal with the complexities of integrating and implementing ICT in school education. Ministries of Education need to reconsider how they institutionalize positions of responsibility for ICT. The ICT unit’s roles relate directly to improvement of teaching and learning using ICT, and the mix of skills required differs substantially from that of a traditional IT unit, providing infrastructural systems support. Therefore, appropriate considerations have to be taken to establish the right kind of institutions and positions to take the mission forward. In the longer term, the active participation of the Government is essential to ensure the sector-wide introduction of ICT4E.Government involvement is critical to source additional investments in the ICT infrastructure, to int egrate ICT in the curriculum, and to facilitate the widespread diffusion of materials. 19 Creating Community-Based ICT Facilities In 1999, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) undertook an initiative to improve rural communities’ access to ICT facilities. This involved selecting 800 Gonokendros (multipurpose learning centers) and equipping them with computers so that rural communities become familiar with usage of ICT and have access to a wide range of reading materials and resources, educational and non-educational. The concept of community-based ICT facilities may be expanded at the school level to increase school students’ access to ICT-based materials. For example, one ICT centre may be created for every ive schools in the village/block, and this centre may be equipped with computers, television, radio, or other technologies. A timetable may be allocated so that each school has access to the ICT centre for one day of the week. Within each school again, different classes may be allocated different periods for accessing the ICT centre. The challenges with implementing such a scheme, is that the distance of the centre from the various schools that warrant the need for firming up the mode of students’ mobility and the frequency of such mobility to access the ICT facility and others. Moreover, the cost of renting or buying land and a building for setting up the ICT centre is another deterrent.However, this concept of school communities using common ICT facilities is a feasible way in which to introduce students from rural communities to ICTs. Prioritizing and Planning Access to Remote Areas Special consideration should be given to ICT connectivity and accessibility for educational purposes. Bandwidth and spectrum of radio and television wavelengths should be allocated for education. Planning for connectivity infrastructure and regulations should promote and facilitate educational use of ICT. The trends toward convergence and ne w mobile platforms for InternetInternational Institute for Communication and Development, ICTs for Education: Impact and Lessons Learned from IICD-Supported Activities. 19 6 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 connectivity need to be fully exploited through innovative policies and partnerships that can help lower cost and expand access. Regional networks of collaboration among countries where language and cultural context are similar could serve as a platform to promote educational quality and equality in an effort to bridge the digital divide. Greater exchange and collaboration in the production and management of educational resources would lower expenses in the development of materials as well as increase the amount of educational content available to teachers and students across the region. 0 Adopting ICTs Suited to the Context Given that Internet access is a problem for most schools, especially in rural areas, educators and administrators needs to consider the p ossibility of establishing Local Area Networks (LANs) in schools. Content could be hosted on school LANs, instead of trying to make them available on the Internet. A digital library on a server on the LAN would be a valuable asset, as it can store all types of digital content. Interactive multimedia material can also be hosted on the LAN at a much lower cost than on the Internet. This also has the added advantage of enabling students to access Programmes at their convenience, instead of having to adhere to a scheduled telecast.Given that India has invested significantly in educational television and already has a commendable satellite television infrastructure, schools should focus on leveraging this technology. Some Indian educational channels are planning to switch to DTH soon, and it is very practical for them to do this. Due to the rapid fall in the cost of servers and storage, it is possible to record thousands of hours of TV programmes in digital form onto a server and make it available on demand from every PC on the LAN. 21 Focus on Capacity Building The use of ICTs in education calls for a fundamental shift in the way content is designed and delivered, as well as for teamwork and collaborative practices.New technologies cannot be imposed without enabling teachers and learners to understand these fundamental shifts. Ongoing training is necessary for the trainers in institutions and organizations who are engaged in the design of curriculum, teaching materials, and delivery of ICT-enabled education. At the same time, middle-level managers, both in the public service and the NGO sector, need to understand the pedagogy of learning through ICT and the management models that are required. Given that teachers themselves are not comfortable using ICTs for teaching purposes, it is critical that there is a focus on capacity building of teachers so that they are equipped adequately to use ICTs in the classrooms.A locally-accessible instructor/trainer may be hired to provide training to the teachers on the usage of computers and Internet, and other ICTs that are proposed to be used in ‘Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education for Development’, Global Alliance for ICT and Development, White Paper July 2009. 21 Srinivasan Ramani, International Institute for Information Technology, Bangalore, e-Discussion with Community of Practitioners at UN Solution Exchange (Communities of Education and ICT for Development). 20 17 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 the school. Further, the contracts of procurement of ICT products could include among other, a short-term handholding feature with respect to familiarization and effective usage of the facilities.It is also suggested that the Teachers Training Institutes (TTIs) shall ensure ICT-based teaching and learning methodologies be integrated into the educational streams and build capabilities to the next-generation teachers with the capacity to handle ICT facilities with ease. Support of school administrators and, in some cases, the community, is critical if ICTs are to be used effectively. In addition, teachers must have adequate access to functioning computers (or other technologies) and sufficient technical support. Shifting pedagogies, redesigning curriculum and assessment tools, and providing more autonomy to local schools all contribute to the optimal use of ICTs in education.Creative Solutions to Computer Shortages Computer-based ICT interventions require significant investment in hardware. In addition, the expected active life of a computer is about 5 years, and as the hardware industry develops more sophisticated products, the software adapts to the top-of-the-line products. Computer recycling is an ecologically sound alternative to this problem. A growing number of not-for-profit organizations are dedicated to the tasks of collecting, refurbishing, and finding new homes for old computers. 22 In most South Asian countries, i t has been found that computer usage is most cost effective when placed in common areas such as cyber cafes, community resource centers, and so on.Alternative Power Sources Given the situation of power shortages in rural areas, and the effect of power shortage on the usage of computers and other technologies in schools, the Governments should actively promote the usage of alternate sources of power. This ecologically friendly solution will also ensure a steady power supply to schools in rural areas. For example, the Bangladesh National ICT Policy 2009 highlights the imperative of providing access to ICTs to all schools and using alternate sources of energy such as solar panels if required. Financing ICT Investments Financing mechanisms for ICTs in education initiatives are quite varied. Due to the high up-front costs and large recurrent costs, countries and communities typically employ varied models of financing and cost recovery mechanisms.Public-private partnerships and user fees are important components of financing ICTs in education in many countries, although more research is needed to determine the impact and effectiveness of these mechanisms (refer Annexure II for details on PublicPrivate Partnerships [PPPs]). Wadi D. Haddad and Sonia Jurich ‘ICT for Education: Prerequisites and Constraints’, ‘Technologies for Education: Potentials, Parameters and Prospects’ UNESCO and AED 2002. 22 18 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Conclusion A carefully thought-out, integrated approach to introducing computers and the Internet into learning environments in developing countries can have a significant impact on teaching and learning.In countries where learning resources are limited and teachers never dream of having a fully stocked library, let alone the Internet, teachers and students have been introduced to a new world of learning. As a result, those with access to ICTs have been greatly empowered, and now believe they ca n compete in a global knowledge-based economy because they know that their knowledge, ideas, culture, and passions are as valuable as any in the world. In order to more effectively prepare students to participate in ICT-driven education, greater commitments and willingness to share and adopt innovative solutions are needed from all aspects of society—from Governments, the private sector, communities, donors, parents, and students.Schools should be transformed into active learning environments open to their communities; telecommunication and power infrastructure policies should focus on schools as starting points for rural transformation; teachers and students must be empowered to be creative agents for change in their schools; and leaders must embrace a vision that will prepare their youth for tomorrow’s challenges. 23 Despite the challenges outlined in the paper, ICTs are being increasingly used in education in both the developed and developing world, in order to reac h out to children from poor and remote communities, provide them with a quality education, and in general equip both teachers and students with a wider range of educational resource and enable them with greater flexibility. However, the growth and success of ICTs in education depends on the extent to which the issues and challenges outlined in this paper are addressed.There is a critical need to document every effort for the benefit of the various stakeholders— decision-makers, institutions, NGOs and civil society. It is necessary to know what works and what does not, and what the implications are for policy making, planning, and implementation. Specifically, it needs to be understood that any new technology comes not merely with hardware and software, but with a learning and teaching style and grammar of its own, and that management practices need to be adapted in order to use the technologies effectively. ICTs are, ultimately, only physical tools, which by themselves cannot bring benefits to students, teachers and communities at large.Therefore the unique contextual realities of this region, including, primarily, the initiative and impetus of the various countries and its constituents, the involvement of private companies and NGOs, and the level of infrastructure, play determining roles in creating enabling environments promoting the use of ICTs for primary and secondary education. 23 Robert J Hawkins ‘Ten Lessons for ICT and Education in the Developing World’, World Links for Development Program, The World Bank Institute. 19 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Bibliography ? Center for Knowledge Societies (2003), Rapid Assessment of ICTs for Education. EDC. Education for All: National Plan of Action, India http://portal. unesco. org/education/en/file_download. hp/9a2c6bbea059f70c23fd46a 98ae9096bEFANPAIndia. pdf Information and Communication Technologies in Educational Management: The Missing Link in Developing Countries http://unpan1. un. org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN012316. pdf Integrating ICTs into Education: Lessons Learned http://www. unescobkk. org/education/ict/v2/info. asp? id=16158 Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education in Asia and the Pacific 2003-2004 http://www. unescobkk. org/fileadmin/user_upload/ICTs/Metasurvey/COMPLETE. PDF Needs Assessment of ICTs in Education Policy Makers in Asia and the Pacific http://www. unescobkk. org/fileadmin/user_upload/ICTs/ebooks/ICTs_needassessmen t/assessmentfull. df New Technologies for Literacy and Adult Education: A Global Perspective http://ncal. literacy. upenn. edu/products/wagner_kozma. pdf ? ? ? ? ? 20 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Annexure I Monitoring and Evaluation in ICT The use of ICTs for school education as a result of the various programmes and projects implemented in the South Asia region has had an impact on educational access and quality, yet there are major issues pertaining to the measurement of these indicators. Monitoring and evaluation of learning gains, teaching practices, classroom environments, students’ participation, and other activities are required and necessary for addressing ICTs-enabled educational quality and access.However, one of the major hurdles in assessing these indicators was that the majority of the programmes and projects implemented did not have adequate quantitative or qualitative monitoring or evaluation activities. Further even if any monitoring and evaluation activities were conducted they did not adequately measure indicators pertaining to ICTs enabled educational quality and access. Monitoring and evaluating of programmes and projects are critical to ensure projects achieve their intended impacts and become sustainable in the long run. Appropriate indicators must be identified for every ICT project that can be monitored in order to effectively track progress.Stakeholders at all levels must be part of this process to e nsure transparency and to avoid potentially corruptive practices throughout the projects. Together with Aptivate, a UK-based NGO providing IT services for international development, Camfed, a NGO improving girls’ education in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana and Tanzania, has tested the efficiency and quality of personal digital assistants (PDAs) as a tool for monitoring and evaluation. This method is extremely time efficient. Data can be calculated within hours rather than weeks and through its ability to connect to the Internet it can be transmitted directly from the worker in the field to the headquarter. 4 Supply-side based development models which are based on centralized designs and make â€Å"top down† assumptions of people (â€Å"teachers are resistant to change† or â€Å"lethargy of management†) have been tried several times and have not been found to be successful. Hence, a â€Å"monitoring and evaluation† theme that does not situate itself on the needs for professional development of the teacher, based on principles of autonomy, an agency can end up emphasizing centralized databases that seek to â€Å"control† teachers work based on quantitative assessments of children performance, which can be counterproductive to meaningful education. 25 This is not to deny the importance of â€Å"infrastructure† or â€Å"content† or â€Å"capacity building,† except o state that these perspectives appear to reflect an dominant â€Å"ICTD† kind of thinking which is mostly â€Å"supply based. † â€Å"We have ICTs so let us see what we can do with them† such ‘Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education for Development’, Global Alliance for ICT and Development, White Paper July 2009. 25 Gurumurthy Kasinathathan, IT for Change, Bangalore, Solution Exchange for the ICT for Development Community, 31 July 2008. 24 21 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 201 0 approaches do not proceed from the identifications of the objectives to be met, or critical challenges to be faced, from the respective domain’s perspective.They seek to thrust some overarching technological world views on development domains whose enormous contexts and complexities, challenges, and goals are not given the prime positions as drivers of the policy. Some suggested evaluating parameters that may be applied to monitor the effective implementation of the policy on ICT in school education are as follows26: ? Are the ICT-based methodologies in sync with the existing traditional teaching? ? Does ICT facilitate the teacher in teaching better? ? Does ICT help in explaining abstract concepts? ? Does ICT make learning more exciting? ? Does ICT prod the student to know more, beyond the classroom? Does ICT make the student understand better and recall lessons taught during his absence or in manner alien to him or her? ? Does ICT make learning more participative and encou rage group learning? ? Does ICT support interaction? ? Does ICT ensure continued progress through enhanced learning? ? Is the ICT-based solution a textbook page turner and contains too much of textual content? ? Is there an excess on animations and cartoons? ? Are the animations too trivial or too complicated? Annexure II Public-Private Partnership in ICT Collaborative initiatives in the manner of PPP, to promote ICT for education may be most relevant at the implementation level, where select key roles and responsibilities may be outsourced in order to make them more viable and efficient.However, one needs to be vigilant about partner-institutions, which may have direct business interest in the value chain while the outsourced role on which they are inducted might enable performance of roles that may conflict the overall interest and purpose of the initiative. Moreover, there is also skepticism about the degree to which the ability of such partnerships under PPP arrangements will wo rk to reach interior rural areas and conduct operations on the scale required. 27 If the Ministry of Education has to solely take on this task of equipping the schools with ICT facilities, it would be an enormous task and will require funds in large sums.Therefore, M. V. Ananthakrishnan, Developmental Informatics Lab, KreSIT, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, Solution Exchange for the ICT for Development Community, 31 July 2008. 27 Binay Pattanayak, National Technical Support Group, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), New Delhi, Solution Exchange for the ICT for Development Community, 31 July 2008. 26 22 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Governments will invariably need to form appropriate strategic partnerships in order to succeed in this endeavor of implementing ICT in schools. The most common type of agreement is â€Å"seeding fund† partnerships with emphasis on front-end costs and mostly capital costs.However, such an approach tends to underestimate the total cost of owners hip (TCO) of computers and other ICT equipment, which includes recurrent costs such as ongoing hardware maintenance and upgrades of hardware and software in addition to initial capital outlays. Also, teachers have to devote additional time and effort to lear

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 28

Case Study Example The Repo 108 transactions pledged 108% collateralization. At the end of the second quarter reporting period in 2008, Lehman had over $50 billion in Repo 105 transactions and about $6 billion in cash and cash equivalents. The theoretical accounting justification that this treatment as a â€Å"sale† and a contract for repurchase is that the 5% extra of assets transferred is so much greater than interest for the short period that repurchase is obviously different from a pure loan. (Per the legal letter from theLinklaters law firm in London in 2001.) The crux of the E & Y argument is that SFAS 140 (adopted in 2000) in paragraph 98 states that such Repos â€Å"shall† be treated as a sale. Several amendments and changes to SFAS 140 were made prior to 2007 and 2008 when the Repos became a big problem for Lehman and SFAS 160 more recently. The SEC apparently does not have sufficient confidence to charge former Lehman executives with fraud, but is further investigating E & Y. The status of SFAS 140 indicates all conditions set by the letter of the law. SFAS also violates the principles of accounting set by FASB. Many potential investors offer false promises hence altering the accounting information. Rules set in accounting often offer misleading information as it is in the case of SFAS 140. The practice aids accountants remove the temporary liabilities from company balance sheets on temporary purchasing agreements. This is because the transaction is handled as a sale instead of a liability. The controversy of SFAS 140 did not arise in 2008. The standard was under controversy for amendment reasons. The amendment was to re-examine parts of the provisions set for SFAS 140 that may offer misleading information. The issue experienced with Lehman brought about the issue of fore front. SFAS 140 is used by accountants to move assets transfer in the form of sale under certain conditions. SFAS 1140 however has many controversies since its roll out. Investigations

Naloxone's Drug Profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Naloxone's Drug Profile - Essay Example Many greater doses are needed when using oral administration for any pharmacologic effect. Naloxone is absorbed in the liver, mainly through glucuronide conjugation, and eventually excreted from the body system in urine. Part Three Because of the penetrating biotransformation in the liver, Naloxone is ineffectual when taken orally, and because of this, it is dispensed exclusively for parenteral use (Robertson et al 512-5). Section 2 Part One Naloxone is available in both parenteral and oral formulations. In Australia, Naloxone comes as a sterilized solution for intramuscular, intravenous, and subcutaneous administration in three strengths (1milligram, 0.4milligram, and 0.02milligram) for every milliliter in the sterilized solution. Every milliliter of the one-milligram strength has 8.35 milligrams of NaCl. In Australia, Naloxone may be referred to by different brand names such as TARGIN or buprenorphine. They are offered in four strengths, which are 5/2.5 milligrams, 10/5 milligrams, 20/10milligrams 40/20 milligrams, and TARGIN tablets that come in boxes that have blister packs of 20 to 28 tablets. Packs of 20 tablets are only available until current stocks deplete (Kelly and Koutsogiannis 375) Part Two A Naloxone hydrochloride is injected either intravenously, intramuscularly, subcutaneously, or orally. Intravenous administration has proved to work faster than all the other forms of administration, hence its recommendation for use in emergency cases. As such, it is preferred in emergency circumstances. In intravenous infusion Naloxone, hydrochloride may be diluted in dextrose injection 5 per cent or sodium chloride injection 0.9 per cent (O’Malley-Dafner and Davies 212). Products from parenteral drugs ought to be examined visually for any complication such as discoloration prior to administration. Naloxone hydrochloride dose should not be mixed with any alkaline solution, preparations containing bisulfite, high-molecular-weight anions, metabisulfite, an d long-chain. There should be no addition of chemical agents or drugs to this solution unless one knows its outcome on the solution’s chemical and physical and stability. Section 3 Part One After a parenteral administration, Naloxone quickly disperses in the body system, freely crossing the placenta. The binding of plasma protein follows, but has been reported to be rather weak. Although the principal binding component is plasma albumin, plasma constituents also undergo naloxone binding. Part Two The drug’s distribution volume in plasma, which is 3litres per kilogram (this is more or less equal to 210 litres for a 70kilogram person versus five to six liters of blood in the same person, which would seem rather large). However, to get transported, the drug is usually bound to plasma proteins for transport (Martin 415). Naloxone is 61.5 per cent in fetal plasma and 54 per cent protein bound in adults. Part Three The usual adult dose is 0.4 to 2 milligram per dose of intra venous, and intramuscular, or subcutaneously administration and it may sometimes be repeated at two or three-minute intervals. Therapy is done if there is no response after accumulative dose of 10 milligrams. Naloxone is given intracisternally in loading doses. 0.1 milligram/kg/dose is given to children and infants who are less than or equal to five years or less than or equa

Leadership and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Leadership and Change - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that  strong and effective leadership is the vital aspect of HRM required to manage the recent changes. Defining what makes a great leader is not a simple task. Leadership is an exceptionally complex phenomenon: the recent explosion of scholarly literature covering various aspects of leading and managing people is one logical outcome of this complexity. Despite huge amount of books and articles dedicated to the issue, there is still a great deal of ambiguity surrounding the true meaning of effective leadership in contemporary organizational environment.This study stresses that  absence of agreement between the scholars is partially due to different methods utilised to explore the phenomenon. partially due to varied purposes of defining leadership. and partially due to the variations in theoretical approaches. There are several major approaches in leadership studies: leadership as the focus of group processes, as personality attribute, as the art o f inducing compliance, as an exercise of influence, as a particular kind of act or behaviour, as a form of persuasion, as a power relationship, as an instrument of goal achievement, as an emerging effect of group interaction (`leadership exists when it is acknowledged or conferred by other members of the group), as a differentiated role, as the initiation or maintenance of role structure, or as some combination of all these approaches.  ... Despite huge amount of books and articles dedicated to the issue, there is still a great deal of ambiguity surrounding the true meaning of effective leadership in contemporary organizational environment. In psychology the phenomenon of leadership has traditionally been associated with in-group dynamics of social interactions. In any group, regardless of its size, members differ in their degree of social influence over one another: ... the person who exerts the most influence on the rest of the group thus affecting group beliefs and behaviour is usually addressed as leader'' (Hollander, 1985: 14). Although this definition of leadership allows the reader to grasp the essence of leadership, it is only one of the numerous of definitions that have been proposed in the existing literature (Northhouse, 2004). Absence of agreement between the scholars is partially due to different methods utilised to explore the phenomenon. partially due to varied purposes of defining leadership. and partially due to the variations in theoretical approaches. There are several major approaches in leadership studies: leadership as the focus of group processes, as personality attribute, as the art of inducing c ompliance, as an exercise of influence, as a particular kind of act or behaviour, as a form of persuasion, as a power relationship, as an instrument of goal achievement, as an emerging effect of group interaction (leadership exists when it is acknowledged or conferred by other members of the group), as a differentiated role, as the initiation or maintenance of role structure, or as some combination of all these approaches (Bass, 1990: 6-10). These various approaches may be a way of

Homo Religiosus by Karen Armstrong, p. 22-38 The Minds Eye by Oliver Essay

Homo Religiosus by Karen Armstrong, p. 22-38 The Minds Eye by Oliver Sacks, p. 303-317 - Essay Example According to Sacks, in a society where people lack mind’s eyes, they are likely to associate themselves with some events such as idol worshiping or despotism even if they have the physical eyes. These side effects prevent human beings from achieving a factual understanding of who they are. The idea that Sack presents in his article â€Å"The Mind’s Eye† is that trauma, in this case, blindness results to loss of â€Å"sensuous, intimate being at one with world† or loss of self (Sacks 313). Karen Armstrong of â€Å"Homo Religious† connects with Sack’s ideas that blindness trauma leads to loss of one’s self or sense (Armstrong 23). It is essential that, human beings acknowledge the dangers posed by blindness and if they persist, being victims of this, there will be no way for them to go back to a life, which has self-knowledge. Like Armstrong, Sack inveighs blindness trauma against â€Å"idol worship†. â€Å"Despotism† of sight and claims the â€Å"task† blindness trauma as reminding human beings of their other deeper perception modes as well as their mutuality (Armstrong 24). The two authors argue that a blind individual has a good sense of taste, feeling, touch, and he or she can write and speak as a â€Å"gift of the blind individuals†. Therefore being blind does not mean that one is unable to carry out duties done by other people since they have mind’s eyes (Armstrong 25). For instance, Lusseyran is able to feel, blend into one fundamental sense, has deep attentiveness, has slow and prehensile attention, and a sensuous and intimate being in the world where sight, with is flicking, quick, quality, and facile continually distracts people from. According to Sack, this concept is extremely close to an individual whose has â€Å"deep blindness† as considerably more than simple compensation other than a unique type of perception, a special and precious mode of being (Sacks 314). One essential question that people should put in mind is

Community College Perception Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Community College Perception Paper - Essay Example This allows them at least 2 years before they finally have to decide upon what direction they truly want to take in college. Aside from undecided students, community college also works well for those students who can only afford to study on a part time basis due to financial constraints. Sources indicate that students who do not have an impressive GPA can also benefit from attending a community college as these schools normally have to accept everybody who enrolls. They have some criteria that students must meet in order to enroll but these are not as rigid as those in a regular college. In fact, some community college students use the opportunity to increase their GPAs to an impressive level before applying at the 4 year university of their choice. Finally, a student may opt for a community college degree when he is interested in pursuing a career that may not necessarily require the completion of a 4 year course (Chen Grace â€Å"What is a Community College?). There is a misconception that the quality of education at a community college is substandard and anybody can enroll and pass without a problem. Hence the reason why community college students are often thought of as slackers and the schools as diploma mills. The quality of education at a community college is actually comparable to that of a regular college. The students must still do the work in order to make the grade and pass his classes. There is a reason behind the standard of education at a community college. Most of their graduates have a tendency to continue to a 4 year degree course at any of the regular colleges that have an â€Å"Academic Passport Program† agreement with the community college. Keeping the above information in mind, the reason behind the mission and purpose of a community college is very clear. Theirs is a college system that is open to admission of anyone who wishes to earn a college degree but

Fault Tolerance Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fault Tolerance Paper - Essay Example Understanding the different components as a part of shadowing and mirroring as well as how it can be used to assist in databases can provide individuals with more alternatives for building the database security needed while creating higher levels of fault tolerance. The need to examine the benefits and disadvantages of the mirroring system is also required. This provides an evolution toward the main approach of mirroring and shadowing for more advanced technology that is currently being built for end users. Several types of technologies are available and used for the shadowing and mirroring fault – tolerance system. Each of these can work together to provide complete functioning within the system while allowing the backup system created to work more efficiently. The first technology used is from physical aspects of the system. The mirroring built through a hardware system is placed into the main drive of the computer. This divides by a coupled multi – processor with modules that carry dual paths. The cross - section and double paths as a part of the mirroring then create a way for data to move from one component to another. These interface with dual ported controllers and a disc subsystem that allows the data controlled with where it goes and how the information can mirror. The storage then takes place in the disc subsystem to provide complete backup to the system. Newer physical properties built from remote servers are also available. These specific options allow end use rs to immediately back-up data through an online portal connected through a remote server. The information moves into a storage space by connecting from one network to the computer so one can save all applicable information. The main hardware of this system built into a server provides a hosting company who has larger backup space on

The use of spinal immobilisation in the prehospital environment An Essay

The use of spinal immobilisation in the prehospital environment An investigative study - Essay Example Findings such as continuous oozing, subcutaneous emphysema and especially expanding haematoma were initially missed. Current literature does not directly address the indications, benefit and risk concerning so-called immobilization for penetrating neck injuries. This is true for both journals and major trauma textbooks. Most authors simply recommend that all patients with such injuries should be immobilized, or merely state that such is the practice in their emergency department and pre-hospital trauma care. Even the manual of the ATLS does not make a distinction between blunt and penetrating neck trauma, generally stating that "any patient with a suspected spine injury must be immobilized above and below the suspected injury site until injury has been excluded by roentgenograms". In addition it stresses that "cervical spine injury requires continuous immobilization of the entire patient with a semi-rigid cervical collar, backboard, tape and straps before and during transfer to a definite-care facility". (Sauerland, 2004) In depth analysis of the text following these statements reveals that the au thor is referring only to casualties from blunt injury! Although there is no proven benefit of spin... Immobilization has been demonstrated to cause back and head pain, resulting in an increased number of radiographs required to clear the spine in the emergency department (ED). Rigid spine immobilization can also cause pressure-related tissue breakdown, restrict respirations, and, if used aggressively, actually cause spinal cord injury. (Jones, 2004) Importance of Spinal Immobilization ED studies have confirmed the ability of clinical criteria to reliably determine the need for spine radiographs, although the majority of these have addressed only the cervical spine. Stevens reported that only a small number of patients with cervical spine injury escaped capture using clinical clearance criteria in the ED. Although the ED use of clinical spine clearance protocols has been reported, the validity of using a similar protocol in the EMS setting has not been fully addressed. The goal of prehospital management of SCI is to reduce neurological deficit and to prevent any additional loss of neurological function. (March, 2002) Therefore, prehospital management at the scene should include a rapid primary evaluation of the patient, resuscitation of vital functions (airway, breathing, circulation; the "ABCs"), a more detailed secondary assessment, and finally definitive care (including transport and admission to a trauma centre). Moreover, after arrival at the scene, it is impo rtant to "read" the scene and to appreciate the mechanism of injury in order to identify the potential for SCI. Prehospital management in general and the management of the airway and ventilation in particular should include immobilisation of the spine in suspicious cases to reduce the risk of a secondary SCI. (Hoffman, 2000) Cardiovascular

Becoming a Business Accountant Essay Example for Free

Becoming a Business Accountant Essay Business Accountant help to ensure that the country’s firms are run efficiently, its taxes are paid on time and its public records stay accurate. Accountants offer a wide variety of business and accounting services. Some of these services are: public, management and government accounting. Their main tasks are preparing, analyzing, and verifying financial documents in order to provide information to clients. Many accountants are required to have a lot of skill and knowledge. Most accountant work in an office, however those that are self-employed may be able to do part of their work at home. Accountants who are employed by public accounting firms and government agencies sometime have to travel often to perform audit at branches of their firm, clients’ places of business, or government facilities. Usually accountants work about a 40-hour week, but most work longer especially if they are self-employed and have many clients. Most accountant position requires at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field. Beginning accounting positions in the Federal Government requires 4 years of college including 24 semester hour in accounting or an equal amount of education and experience. Also practical knowledge of computers and their applications in accounting is a good thing to have for job seekers in accounting field. People who want a career in accounting should have a skill in mathematics and be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures quickly. They must be able to communicate the results of their work to clients.

Organizational Culture And Leadership Styles Education Essay

Organizational Culture And Leadership Styles Education Essay Human learning in the 21st century will be as different from human learning in the 20th century as the micro-chip and neural networks are from the valve. (Lepani,1994, p. 3). In this century the scope and pace of change seem to be accelerating in all areas of human existence. We have to move with it or ahead of it if we are not to be left behind. Academic institutions are feeling this tidal wave of change in ways that have left many educators consciously or otherwise confused, exhausted and disillusioned. (Deal, 1990, p.131) Change can be seen as evolutionary and dynamic with an emphasis on continuous learning and adaptation (Dixon, 1994; Fullan, 1991; Fullan and Miles, 1992). The challenge for academic institutions is to adopt change strategies that provide internal stability while moving ahead. This challenge may be able to be met in education and elsewhere by focusing on a change strategy where learning comes to be seen as the single most important resource for organizational re newal in the postmodern age (Hargreaves, 1995). The nations that lead the world into the next century will be those who can shift from being knowledge transformational bodies to those that will have the capacity to possess, renew and utilize knowledge successfully. The major issue that confronts educators is whether or not we can transform education and create academic institutions that can successfully prepare our nations students for life. This process calls for leadership at all levels, a good school culture and personal commitment of those who are responsible for these institutions. They must take the time to seriously consider the kinds of changes that are needed. They have to address the needs of students and teachers and then a fundamental transformation of education could happen. There are many routes for organizational development through change, which can be used to improve an organizations quality. Learning organization models provide one administrative method that can be used to provide direction for organizational achievement for both public and private organizations (Makasarnont, 1997). As Hoy and Miskel (2001) state, academic institutions are service organizations that are committed to teaching and learning. The academic institutions functions as a learning organization in order to continue to improve performance and build capacity to manage change (Corcoran and Goertz, 1995) in an environment where academic institutions are becoming increasingly borderless. Conceptualizing academic institutions as learning organizations is appropriate, given the new challenges of a fast-changing world. To be relevant in a knowledge society, new skills, capabilities and knowledge are required. The focus of each academic institution should therefore fall on the enhancement of individual commitments to continuous learning by creation of an enabling enterpreutionial culture and transformational leaders for the development and growth of academic institutions as Learning Organizations. Teachers have to be awake to these changes and must try to improve their skills all the time. They cannot stop their learning simply because they have graduated from school or the university and have been employed; if they would like to be successful, they must grow. They have to keep on learning from their experiences, environment, or their organization. As Lassey (1998) shows successful people are people who learn. Without learning, there is no improvement; and without improv ement the institutions stagnate. The institutions should be places where participants continually expand their capacities to create and to achieve. If academic institutions are to be effective learning organizations, they must find ways to create structures that continuously support teaching and learning and enhance organizational adaptation. Therefore the learning organization is the important thing that an administrator has to create in her/his school in order to give leaders, teachers and students an opportunity for learning continuously, based on the belief that the more people learn, the better they can perform when they go on in life. Need for the Study Many academic institutions are struggling to meet the requirements for academic performance. In this study academic institutions is narrowed down to only schools, as they are base in the description of an academic institution. Despite numerous promising initiatives from the government to promote student success in schools, overall gains in student performance have been disappointing. Some commentators have suggested that nothing less than a fundamental redesign of the educational system will begin to address the hurdles faced by students in succeeding at school (Boyd Shouse, 1997). Coleman (1997) noted that the highly bureaucratic nature of Government schools stifles creative problem solving and blocks receptivity to large-scale and transformative system reform. He described schools as administratively driven organizations with long feedback loops from the top of the organization (for example, the principal) to component subsystems (for example, teachers and students). Coleman consi dered schools with decentralized authority structures and norms of accountability and social support, which he labels as output-driven organizations, as having more promise than ones with traditional bureaucratic forms for increasing teacher and student performance. With growing concerns about the ability of the public education system to respond to the needs of students (Orfield et al., 2004), many voices in the school reform movement have discussed the need for schools to operate as learning organizations, which addresses the importance of faculty and staff working together to solve problems through networking and team learning (Senge et al., 2000). The degree to which schools function as learning organizations may not only influence the willingness of school employees to embrace new innovations for promoting student achievement, but also their personal well-being, their sense of efficacy in working with students, their work satisfaction, and their evaluation of the school as a hi gh-performing organization. A burgeoning number of empirical investigations offer support for these types of positive effects from schools functioning as learning organizations (Lick, 2006; Orthner et al., 2006). I believe that understanding schools as learning organizations offers the potential to unlock the creative and dynamic processes that schools require to undergo fundamental and significant change initiatives. Only then do we believe that schools will begin to address the challenges they face in educating children and youths and in closing the significant gaps in educational achievement and life success. The phenomenon known as the learning organisations has during the past three decades been discussed widely in the literature (Khadra Rawabdeh, 2006; Moilanen, 2001, 2005; Hawkins, 1991; Watkins Marsick, 1993; Senge, 1990; Pedler, Burgoyne Boydell, 1991). Unfortunately, the concept of the learning organization remains abstract and elusive for many school level practitioners, which reflects, in part, a strong leaning toward a constructivist approach in the study of organizational learning. School personnel also have relatively few tools available to examine this aspect of their schools, and assessment is the first step in the evidence-based practice planning sequence. During the past century much has been learned about how the brain works and how students learn. We have also learned that how schools can be organized in what that can enhance the quality of learning that students experience and we know a great deal about the kinds of conditions that are necessary for change to occur. The issue in Indian Educational system is to find a way to create the conditions that will encourage the learning organization concept which is needed to transform Indian academic organizations. What is also clear is that leadership is a critical component of the transformation of education. However, the kind of leadership that is needed is fundamentally different than what has traditionally been the case. Leaders must be able to transform their academic institutions. This has been widely discussed the literature (Jones Rudd, 2007; Reed, 2006; Bartling Bartlett, 2005; CASEL, 2006; Bamburg, 1997; West, 1999; Telford, 1996; Barnett, Marsh Carven, 2003; Stander Rothman n, 2009) and hence the inclusion of this as a variable in this study. As small schools become more autonomous, they create new identities and establish unique school cultures. It is also believed that the schools culture is inextricably linked to classroom culture. Many researchers have explored the challenges of building school culture (Silver, 2003; Zilwa, 2007; Ferreira Hill, 2008; Niemann Kotzà ©, 2006; Thomas Willcoxson, 1998; Raywid, 2001;). The researches explore various approaches to the issue of organizational culture, including techniques from the business world, the connection to physical spaces, and the use of traditions (Berg Wilderom, 2004; Fard.et.al, 2007;). A schools culture includes the obvious elements of schedules, curriculum, demographics, and policies, as well as the social interactions that occur within those structures and give a school its look and feel as friendly, elite, competitive, inclusive, and so on. Just as culture is critical to understanding the dynamics behind any thriving community, organization, or business, t he daily realities and deep structure of school life hold the key to educational success. Reforms that strive for educational excellence are likely to fail unless they are meaningfully linked to the schools unique culture and hence the inclusion of this variable in this study. Teachers play an important role in the success of any school. The personal commitment of the teacher has a very strong influence in the smooth functioning of the school and the school to develop into a learning organization. Personal commitment could be commitment for ones own development and commitment for the development of the school and students. Research on commitment has generally focused on either the antecedents or the consequences of commitment. Early studies of commitment explored the antecedents of commitment and found four general antecedents, namely: personal characteristics, job characteristics, work experiences, and role-related characteristics (Mathieu and Hamel 1989; Mowday, Porter and Steers 1982). Some of the earlier studies also explored the role played by demographic variables on commitment. The demographic variables found to have influence on commitment are: age (Mathieu and Zajac 1990), organizational tenure (Mathieu and Hamel 1989), position tenure (Gregersen and Black 1992), and education (DeCotiis and Summers 1987). Furthermore, Glisson and Durick (1988) identified skill variety and role ambiguity as predictors of satisfaction and leadership, and the age of the organization as predictor of commitment. The impact of commitment on organizational level outcomes has also been explored in a number of studies. However, it is the consequence of affective commitment which is more often studied in the literature. This is because high levels of affective commitment are shown to be related to a number of positive behavioral level outcomes and job attitudes (Hislop 2003; Cooper-Hakim and Viswesvaran 2005). Further Organizational commitment and professional commitment of teachers in schools have been researched on (Sood Anand, 2009; Karakus Aslan, 2009; Weber, 1990; Coladarci, 1992; Menep. I, 2010; Iqbal, 2010; Borgei. et.al, 2010;). Although the study of commitment has been advanced from a range of theoretical perspectives, it is interesting to note that very few attempts have been made by researchers to work on personal commitment. The belief is that an understanding of the relationship between leadership, culture and commitment is necessary. As a teacher educator I think that personal com mitment of teachers is very important in transforming schools into a learning organization and no researches have been done in this area, hence the inclusion of the variable in this study. Conceptual Framework Schools as Learning Organization To present a theoretical framework in which the school as learning organization can be grounded, the study is using The learning disciplines (Senge et al., 1996:4). According to Peter Senge (1990: 3) learning organizations are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together. While all people have the capacity to learn, the structures in which they have to function are often not conducive to reflection and engagement. Furthermore, people may lack the tools and guiding ideas to make sense of the situations they face. Organizations that are continually expanding their capacity to create their future require a fundamental shift of mind among their members.  For Peter Senge, real learning gets to the heart of what it is to be human. We become able to re -create ourselves. This applies to both individuals and organizations. Thus, for a learning organization it is not enough to survive. Survival learning or what is more often termed adaptive learning is important indeed it is necessary. But for a learning organization, adaptive learning must be joined by generative learning, learning that enhances our capacity to create (Senge 1990:14). The dimension that distinguishes learning from more traditional organizations is the mastery of certain basic disciplines or component technologies. The five that Peter Senge identifies are said to be converging to innovate learning organizations. They are: Systems thinking, Personal mastery, Mental models, Building shared vision Team learning Personal mastery According to Senge et al. (1996:194) the term mastery evolved from the medieval French, maitre, which meant someone who was exceptionally proficient and skilled a master of a craft. Maitre as it is used today means the capacity, not only to produce results, but also to master the principles that underpin the way an individual produces those results. Mastery is a commitment to be the best in whatever is done (Secretan, 1997:54). Educators who strive to become masters of their craft are often those who would be described as being committed to their work in their respective schools. According to Zecha (1994:6) and Kushman (1992:6), there are two types of educator commitment, namely organizational commitment and commitment to student learning which are effective ingredients for transforming schools into learning organisations. Mental models Research by Senge et al. (1996:235-236) indicates that mental models are subjective images, deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations and stories that people carry in their minds about themselves, other people, institutions and events that take place in the world. These mental maps act as a filtering system for our judgments and influence how we take actions based on these judgments. If these mental maps or models are not questioned they could become blockages to change. To succeed in transforming schools into learning organizations it is important that individual educators learn how to unearth their internal pictures (subjective images) of the world and bring these to the surface and critically scrutinize them. This can be done if meaningful conversations are encouraged in the school, where educators expose their own thinking patterns and also listen to other colleagues. These conversations can influence individuals to shift their thinking patterns and see the other side of the story. Shared vision A shared vision is an all-encompassing world view which provides focus for an individual and the team concerning what is to be learnt and what is to be valued (Bierema Berdish, 1996:6). This shared vision answers the question: What will success look like? This question acts as a motivating force for sustained action to achieve individual and school goals. It is a guiding image of success formed in terms of a contribution to the school. According to Johnson and Johnson (1994:9) a shared vision creates a basic sense of sink or swim together among the members of the school. A powerful vision binds educators to mutual commitments through collaboration to achieve individual and school goals. Team learning The discipline of team learning starts with dialogue, which is the capacity of members of a team to suspend their assumptions and enter into a genuine thinking together. According to Senge et al., 1996:352), team learning is the discipline that has to do with learning about alignment. Alignment means functioning as a whole or in a cohesive group committed to a common purpose. This alignment is achieved through sustained dialogue that may result in knowledge sharing and recognizing interdependencies among team members (Murgatroyd Morgan, 1993:73). The discipline of dialogue involves learning how to recognize the patterns of interaction in teams that undermine learning. The patterns of defensiveness are often deeply ingrained in how a team operates. Therefore, the impact of team learning is the establishment of shared values, vision, mission, and core strategies to achieve individual and school goals. The fifth discipline, systems thinking, incorporates the other four learning discipl ines. Systems thinking Systems thinking is based on system dynamics; it is highly conceptual and provides ways of understanding practical school issues. It looks at systems in terms of particular types of cycles and it includes explicit system modeling of complex issues. The discipline of systems thinking teaches that in any social phenomenon it is important to look at the whole picture. In systems thinking the school is looked at as a system that is interconnected to different parts of life that intersect and influence each other. These interrelated parts are bound together in such a way that they become coherent to one another (French Bell, 1995:93). The components of a school include learners, educators, context, student learning processes and any identifiable component that affects learning. Therefore, the essence of systems thinking lies in a shift of mind to one that sees:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ interrelationships rather than linear cause-effect chains; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ processes of change rather than sn ap shots. The discipline of systems thinking starts with understanding the concept of feedback: that is how actions can reinforce or counteract (balance) each other. In trying to build effective learning environments, educators have to learn to see the deeper patterns and interrelationships of change. Leadership Leadership is a described as being one of social sciences most examined phenomena (Antonakis, Cianciolo, Sternberg, 2004). Shoemaker (1998) suggested that leadership is difficult to characterize as the field is punctured by inconclusive definitions as to the role and function of leadership. The latest chapter in the almost 100 year history of leadership research is dominated by the development of transformational leadership theory embodied in the Full Range of Leadership Model (Antonakis, et al., 2004; Bass, 1998). This approach to leadership focuses on the charismatic and affective elements of leadership. Northouse (2004) described transformational leadership as a process that changes and transforms individuals. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals, and includes assessing followers motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings (p. 169). Furthermore, as Bass (1985) advocated, by engaging in transformational leadershi p behaviors a leader transforms followers. In reality this means that followers are changed from being self-centered individuals to being committed members of a group, they are then able to perform at levels far beyond what normally might have been expected (Antonakis, et al., 2004, p.175). The model of transformational leadership includes a continuum of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire forms of leadership. Each form characterizes aspects of the dynamic process of interaction between leader and follower but identifies certain patterns and features to distinguish transformational leadership from transactional and laissez-faire styles (Avolio, 1999). The transformational leader pays particular attention to others needs, which, in turn, raises followers levels of motivation (Avolio, 1999; Bass, 1998). Furthermore, a leader of this type encourages others to reach their full potential while also adopting a strong ethical characteristic. Whereas, transactional leaders, approach followers with an eye to exchanging one thing for another (Burns, 1978, p. 4), with the leaders use of either reward or punishment contingent on the followers completion or non-completion of assigned tasks. Laissez-faire leadership involves indifference and avoidance as a leader with this profile will avoid making decisions, abdicate responsibilities, divert attention from hard choices, and will talk about getting down to work, but never really does (Bass, 1998, p. 148). Senge proposes that in learning organizations the leaders new work should include a commitment to: being the organizations architect; providing stewardship; and being a teacher. For schools to become learning organizations, the schools leader(s) must accept responsibility for creating conditions that promote and enhance that learning. Principals must create opportunities for teachers to acquire information about what is occurring in the school and engage them in finding solutions to the problems that occur. A fundamental difference between the old view of leadership and that proposed by Senge is that the leader has a responsibility to create opportunities for teachers to learn about current research and apply that research in their classrooms in an environment that promotes learning. Perhaps most important of all, principals need to create a climate that promotes risk taking and eliminates the fear of failure. If these things can be done successfully schools will then possess the capacity to develop a shared vision about what needs to be done and engage in the kinds of activities that are needed to make their shared vision a reality. Organizational Culture Organizational culture has been defined from various perspectives (Carroll and Nafukho, 2006; Popper and Lipshitz, 1995; Shien, 1990; Alvesson, 2002; Cook and Yanow, 1993; Adler and Jelinek, 1996; Argris, 1999). According to Marguardt (2002), culture is an organizations values, beliefs, practices, rituals and customs. The culture of a learning organization habitually learns and works to integrate processes in all organization functions. In effect, the learning organizations culture is constantly evolving and travels along an infinite continuum in a harmonious learning environment. Ultimately, the goal is an exchange of useful knowledge leading to innovation, and improved learning public organizations. The various terms used in the context of organizational culture are: values, ethics, beliefs, ethos, climate, environmental culture. Ethics refers to normative aspects to what is socially desirable. Values, beliefs: attitudes and norms are interrelated. Interaction between beliefs and values results in attitude formation and then produces norms. Values and benefits are the core, while attitudes are the next layer, followed by the norms or behavior. Then these get institutionalized, or when they accumulate and integrate we have social phenomena. The eight important values relevant to institution building are openness, confrontation, trust, authenticity, pro-action, autonomy, collaboration and experimentation. Openness: openness can be defined as a spontaneous expression of feeling and thoughts, and the sharing of these without defensiveness. Openness is in both directions, receiving and giving. Both these may relate to ideas (including suggestions, feedback (including criticism), and feelings. For example, openness means receiving without reservation, and taking steps to encourage more feedbacks and suggestions from customers, colleagues and others. Similarly, it means giving without hesitation, ideas, information, feedback, feelings, etc. openness may also mean spatial openness, in terms of accessibility. Confrontation: confrontation can be defined as facing rather than shying away from problems. It also implies deeper analysis of interpersonal problems. All this involves taking up challenges. Trust: trust is not used in the moral sense. It is reflected in maintaining the confidentiality of information shared by others, and in not misusing it. It is also reflected in a sense of a assurance that others will help, when such help is needed and will honor mutual commitments and obligations. Trust is also reflected in accepting what another person says at face value, and not searching for ulterior motives. Trust is an extremely important ingredient in the institution building processes. Authenticity: authenticity is the congruence between what one feels, says and does. It is reflected in owning up ones mistakes, and in unreserved sharing of feelings. Authenticity is closer to openness. The outcome of authenticity in an organization is reduced distortion in communication. Pro-action: pro-action means taking initiative, preplanning and taking preventive action, and calculating the payoffs of an alternative course before taking action. The term pro-act can be contrasted with the term react. Pro-activity gives initiative to the person to start a new process or set a new pattern of behavior. Pro-activity involves unusual behavior. In this sense pro-activity means freeing oneself from, and taking action beyond immediate concerns. A person showing pro-activity functions at all the three levels of feeling, thinking and action. Autonomy: Autonomy is using and giving freedom to plan and act in ones own sphere. It means respecting and encouraging individual and role autonomy. It develops mutual respect and is likely to result in willingness to take on responsibility, individual initiative, better succession planning. The main indicator of autonomy is effective delegation in organization and reduction in references made to senior people for approval of planned actions. Collaboration: Collaboration is giving help to, and asking for help from, others. It means working together (individuals and groups to solve problems and team spirit. The outcome of collaboration includes timely help, team work, sharing of experiences, improved communication and improved resource sharing. Experimenting: Experimenting means using and encouraging innovative approaches to solve problems, using feedbacks for improving, taking a fresh look at things and encouraging creativity. Personal Commitment Mowday, Steers and Porter (1979, p. 226), defined commitment as the relative strength of an individuals identification with, and involvement in a particular organization. Although many definitions of commitment have been presented since the seminal work of Mowday et al. (1979), it is the conception of Meyer and Allen (1991), which identifies three distinctive dimensions affective, normative, and continuance that has been the cornerstone of extant theorizing in the area of commitment (Herrbach, 2006). Mowday, Porter and Steers (1982) Model Commitment (Attitudinal Commitment), to an organization involves three components: (a) a strong belief in and acceptance of organizational goals and values, (b) a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization, and (c) a strong desire to maintain membership in the organization (Mowday et al., 1982). Research on organizational commitment has been examined primarily in relation to labour turnover (Ferris Aranya, 1983; Hom, Katerberg Hulin, 1979; Huselid Day, 1991; Mowday, Steers Porter, 1979; OReilly Caldwell, 1980; Wiener Vardi, 1980; Steers, 1977; Stumpf Hartman, 1984). Meyer and Allen (1997) Model Meyer and Allen (1997) view organizational commitment as a three component concept. The three components in their model are Affective, Continuous, and Normative. The affective commitment describes the emotional attachment an individual has with the organization, their identification with the goals and values of the organization and the level of their involvement (Zanagro, 2001). Affective commitment is taken as a construct closely related to identification (Bergami Bagozzi, 2000). Continuance commitment is based on the cost that an employee associates with leaving the organizations, such as reduction in pay, pension, benefits, or facilities (Herbiniak Alluto, 1972). Normative commitment is associated with employees feelings of obligation to continue employment due to the work culture and other socially accepted norms (Weiner Gechman, 1977). The less common approach to viewing commitment is in terms of obligation. Of the three components least is known about the development of norm ative commitment (Meyer Allen, 1997). The three dimensions highlight commitment from the perspectives of attachment, obligation, and necessity respectively. From the above conceptual framework, a model is drawn for better understanding. Organizational Culture Openness Confrontation Trust Authenticity Proaction Autonomy Collaboration Experimentation Leadership Transformational Transactional Laissez-Faire Personal Commitment Own Development Student Institutional Development Learning Organization Personal Mastery Mental Models Shared Vision Team Learning Systems Thinking Review of Literature Schools as Learning Organization Bowen et.al., 2007-Assessing the Functioning of Schools as Learning Organizations: Using data from the population of employees in 11 middle schools in North Carolina and building on an earlier analysis, this study examines the reliability and validity of a new assessment tool for assessing schools as learning organizations: the School Success Profile Learning Organization. The results align with the conceptual model that informed the development of the measure, including support for the two hypothesized learning organization components: actions and sentiments. Kelleher Michael, 2007 Learning Organization: The author designed a model for a learning organization: The model of the learning organization, with its three dimensional approach, proposes strategies within the domains of individual, team and organizational learning. He concluded by saying if lifelong learning is to become a reality, it will become increasingly important to ensure that strategies and actions support the development of learning organizations. If overlooked, the world of work could well be that area of peoples lives where learning is not explicit, supported and developed. Moloi K.C..et al., 2006 Educators perceptions of the school as a learning organization in the Vanderbijlpark-North District, South Africa: This article outlines the principal findings of research that sought to provide a comprehensive understanding of schools as learning organizations in the Vanderbijl Park-North District of the Gauteng province of South Africa. The quantitative research methodology used was of major importance in obtaining data that were grounded largely on the theoretical framework of learning organizations as wel