ICT IN EDUCATION POTENTIAL AND LESSONS LEARNT - INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

                                    

 

International Symposium

"ICT in Education: Potential and Lessons Learnt"

13-14 September, 2011
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

      
Organized by:

• Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of Mongolia
• Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan)
• UNESCO
• Mongolian State University of Education

Given that ICT has become an influential element creating new avenues for improvement of living conditions and broad opportunities, international community and individual countries have been putting more emphasis on creating conducive policy environment and setting wise investment strategy. Regardless of differences in social and economic development of nations, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays an increasingly important role in multiple sphere of human life. However, resulting from many factors, usage and its advantage of ICT is uneven not only between, but also within a particular country.

Especially, it is expected that use of ICT in education determines success in reducing the digital, economic, and social divides and it also has great implications in the process of learning how education sector is managed. Recognizing this great potential of ICT use in education, international donors and developing partners have committed themselves in assisting developing countries to improve accessibility to and utilization of ICT in teaching, learning, and sector management. Since this process consumes sizable investment and efforts of many parties involved develop with high paces, consultation and knowledge sharing with knowledgeable experts and periodical refinement of strategies have become imperative.

Recognizing effective and sustainable application of ICT use in education takes careful assessment of local condition, harmonization with national policy, readiness of teachers and learners as all as potential issues to be tackled, it is especially valuable to share experiences between systems that have commonalities, to learn from successful practices and best achievers for redefining, adjusting and executing national policies, strategies and specific activities.

Symposium Theme

Overarching theme of the symposium is "Transforming Education in Central Asia: Potentials of ICT". Under this overarching theme, the following two sub-themes are proposed:

1. ICT for Pedagogy: the first sub-theme will focus on the roles of ICT on improving teaching and learning, with specific attention given to the below 3 aspects.

a. Access to education

b. Quality of education

c. Teacher development

2. ICT for Management: the second sub-theme will focus on the roles of ICT on improving policy planning and management of the education sector.

a. Development and Implementation of ICT Master Plans

b. Using ICT for better planning (e.g., resource projection)

c. ICT for monitoring and evaluation (e.g., EMIS)

Purpose

To inform major national policy makers of Central and East Asian countries and their development partners on latest practices of ICT utilization in education

Inform and discuss about potential solutions of common issues and challenges faced by education systems of participating countries and implication of using ICT in tackling such issues

Contribute to refinement of ICT policies and practices at national, local and institutional levels

Dates and venue

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 13-14 September 2011

Languages of the Symposium

English with simultaneous Russian Translation

Intended outcomes

Identify policy options and potential solutions of common issues and challenges faced by education systems of participating countries including knowledge input in EMIS building and maintenance, use of ICT for teachers' professional development and improvement of learning, and creation of digital content

Achieve common understanding about next steps and strategies for improvement

Participants and contributors

Senior officials of Government agencies, 7 representatives of Aimag Education Culture Department Directors,  educational institutions, researchers, and development partners (UNESCO, Japan, ADB, World Bank, and relevant NGOs)

Representatives from Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and DPRK

Sponsors and Organizers 

• Government of Mongolia, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and Mongolia National Commission for UNESCO
• MEXT and JICA, Japan
• UNESCO Bangkok Regional Bureau and UNESCO Beijing Office
• Mongolian State University of Education

Speakers

• Dr. Otgonbayar Yondon, Minister of Education, Culture and Science of Mongolia
• Mr. Gwang-Jo Kim, Director, UNESCO Bangkok Office
• Vice President, Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Mr. Asai, Deputy Secretary-General, Japanese National Commission for UNESCO
• Mr. Gwang-Chol Chang, UNESCO Bangkok Office
• Ms Jongwhi Park, UNESCO Bangkok Office
• Mr. Ri Hung Sik, Secretary-General, DPRK National Commission for UNESCO
• Mr. Badarch, Director, UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education
• Delegation from Kazakhstan
• Delegation from Kyrgyzstan
• Delegation from Uzbekistan
• Delegation from Tajikistan
• Delegation from Turkmenistan

Date

12 September, Monday

Arrival Registration

13 September, Tuesday

Opening Ceremony Symposium session Lunch Conference session Cultural event-Mongolian National Song and Dance Ensemble or Museums

14 September, Wednesday

Conference session Lunch Closing of the Symposium Visit the Gandan-Tegchilen Temple Reception

15 September, Thursday

Departure

Preliminary Agenda of the Symposium 

Time	Session Theme		Content
13 September 2011
8:30-9:00		Registration
9:00-9:30		Opening	Welcome remarks (Minister, MECS, Mongolia) Opening speech (Vice-President, Tokyo Tech)
9:30- 10:30		Keynote presentations	"Transforming Education in Central and East Asia: Potentials of ICT" (Gwang-Jo Kim, UNESCO Bangkok) "Mongolia's Experiences in Using ICT in Education" (TBD)
10:30-11:00		Coffee/tea break
11:00-12:30		ICT for Management	Chair: Tokyo Tech Gwang-Chol Chang (UNESCO Bangkok) ADB (on EMIS - TBD)
12:30-14:00		Lunch
14:00-15:30		ICT for Management (cont'd)	Chair: UNESCO Bangkok Country presentations Q&A
15:30-16:00		Coffee/tea break
16:00-17:15		Discussion	Co-Chairs: MECS, Tokyo Tech
17:15-17:30			Wrap-up of the Day 1 (Tokyo Tech)
14 September 2011
9:00-10:30		ICT for Learning	Chair: TBD Jonghwi Park, UNESCO Bangkok Tokyo Tech
10:30-11:00		Coffee/tea break
11:00-12:30		ICT for Learning (cont'd)	Chair: UNESCO Beijing Country Presentations Q&A
12:30-14:00		Lunch
14:00-15:30		Country dialogues	"How can we harness the full potential of ICT in education?" Co-Chairs: MECS, Tokyo Tech
15:30-16:30		Key recommendations and closing	Co-Chairs: MECS, Gwang-Jo Kim (UNESCO Bangkok) Closing remark: Takashi Asai (Deputy Secretary-General, Japanese National Commission for UNESC)

Website of the Symposium: www.mecs.gov.mn , www.msue.edu.mn

Venue: Conference Hall, MECS No. 401

Please contact for information:

• Mr. L.Altanzaya, Manager of International Affairs Office of Mongolian State University of Education, diad@msue.edu.mn
• Ms. P.Purevzul, Specialist of International Affairs Office of Mongolian State University of Education, siad@msue.edu.mn
• Ms. L.Orgilmaa, National Project Officer, UNESCO, o.luvsandash@unesco.org
• Mr. D.Tsedevsuren, Chair of Bachelor Academic Affairs Office of Mongolian State University of Education, tsedevsuren@msue.edu.mn
• Mr. Dunjinnamdag, ICT Officer of Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, namdag@mecs.gov.mn

____________, ICT IN EDUCATION POTENTIAL AND LESSONS LEARNT - INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM, БСШУЯ, ----, [13 Sep 2011], http://www.mecs.gov.mn/article-667.mw