Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] What Are the 'Right' Resources to Foster Professional Development?
On June 7, 2004, GKD Moderator wrote: > 5. Are there gender consideration issues related to using ICTs for > professional development? The gender problem is that even if women get training through ICTs they usually have difficulty getting jobs. This is true even in the area of the media and communications part of ICT, which I know best. It is a vicious cycle. We do not have many women in the media. Therefore, women do not feel emboldened to enter those fields. In my own country, Uganda, very few women become journalists. I believe the statistic is only about 25% of those working in journalism are women. This is one area that is not much better in Europe. Women have better educations than men but have a harder time getting press cards, making the same level of salary, and getting into positions of power. The big TV and radio networks are mostly run by men. Therefore, we have to ask whenever we have a new training program: What is the use of giving women more and better training if we cannot get better paying and more powerful jobs? So, first, training has to be linked up with good jobs. All the training in the world will not help women if they cannot get good jobs. Therefore, I believe that there should never be ICT training programs without some part of the program that will help the women who are receiving the training to get jobs after they have completed the program. Second, the training programs have to help professionals see the gender issue, to understand sexism and how subtle it is in ICTs and media. There are many more professional women in media today than a few decades ago. But we still usually see women in certain roles. Often women are called by their first name in the media while men are called 'Mr.' One study revealed that less than 1/5 of the people shown in the news are women. ICT-delivered training has to address this gap in understanding of sexism among both women and men. Otherwise, we will continue to build more professional women into media and ICT but not have an impact on overall sexism. This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] What Are the 'Right' Resources to Foster Professional Development?
"Global Knowledge Dev. Moderator" asked: > 3. What role should ICT training programs play in developing countries? > Can ICT-based training take the place of teachers and the social > environment of classrooms? > > 4. How can we ensure ICT-based training responds to the needs of the > society? Are there community-based approaches to using ICT for > professional training? Does the policy environment matter? If so, what > kinds of policies are needed? One problem we face in Peru is that the best people tend to leave the country for better jobs in the US or Europe. Our experience in trying to solve this problem of "brain drain" is that we need good quality formal training for those in the country, but that informal training through networking is just as important as formal training. One way that ICT has helped is by making it possible for us to run scientific and technical networks that bring together expatriate experts and those that stay in the country. Through these networks we have the means to bring science back to the country and keep ongoing communication between those who went abroad and those who stay home. We have these professional networks all over the region. For example, Red Caldas links up thousands of Colombian scientists and science students. These professional networks do not work automatically. They have to have certain resources for them to continue to operate. One of the most important is to have a big enough online science and technology community at home. Without that critical mass at home, the scientists and technology experts lose interest in communicating regularly with experts at home. So there have to be enough resources to build a sizeable community of experts in the country. The second important resource is support from those who make policy. If the political environment is hostile to those who have left the country, or repressive to those who stay, the atmosphere of open sharing of knowledge and information is poisoned and stifles communication. The third important resource is simply money. There has to be enough financial resources to pay staff who will administer the network and help to keep it alive. Technology can help train professionals in our country. But technology may also lead those professionals to leave the country for better jobs and futures. With this kind of network, which technology makes possible, we can keep many experts in the country and benefit from those who leave. This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] What Are the 'Right' Resources to Foster Professional Development?
Hello everyone, Thank you for expanding the focus to a broader range of professionals. I think most of the issues faced are quite similar whether the target audience consists of educators or other professionals... A few thoughts in answer to the key questions below KEY QUESTIONS: > 1. What are the latest advances in using technology to provide effective > training at cost-efficient prices? There was a online discussion a couple of weeks ago on the latest advances in ODL, sponsored by the Commonwealth of learning. A key point that was made was that the latest advances in technology are not necessarily the most appropriate to use in developing country contexts. What is more important, and somewhat implied in the phrasing of the question above, are advances in our understanding of best practices in using all kinds of technologies, old and new, to address specific in-service training needs for professionals in various fields. > 2. What resources do we need to provide effective ICT-enhanced > professional training? What technologies? Tools? Human resources? > Infrastructure? Incentives, etc.? What level of financial investment > should we be making? What are the most effective pedagogical approaches? > 3. What role should ICT training programs play in developing countries? > Can ICT-based training take the place of teachers and the social > environment of classrooms? I think blended learning, where part of the training takes place in traditional classrooms and part is ICT-based is probably best. However, ICT-based training can mean a lot of different things. It's one thing to study on one's own with a CD-ROM and a computer and it's another to take part in a collaborative online project with fellow professionals who are scattered around the country or the world. To some extent the social environment of a classroom can be reproduced through online spaces and communication tools. It's not easy, though, and it certainly requires a skilled facilitator/instructor, especially if the learners are new to this type of computer-mediated learning and to online communities. I would also argue that even in traditional classroom training, there is a lot of learning that occurs outside of the social environment of the classroom. > 4. How can we ensure ICT-based training responds to the needs of the > society? Are there community-based approaches to using ICT for > professional training? Does the policy environment matter? If so, what > kinds of policies are needed? Because of the sometimes poor image of distance learning and the volume of ICT-based training now being offered worldwide, official recognition of courses and training program is important. Accreditation, certification... whatever is necessary to 1) make sure the training is of high quality and recognized; 2) provide added motivation for the learners. > 5. Are there gender consideration issues related to using ICTs for > professional development? 5a. Gender differences in access to ICTs obviously have an impact on who is able to participate in training that requires access. 5b. Gender differences in communication styles have an impact on the dynamics of online discussions (if online discussions are incorporated in the training). Some of this is positive (no one can interrupt you online, you can write your message and post it without interference) and some of it is not so positive (men may still tend to dominate discussions and some women may still feel uncomfortable posting messages). Again, skilled facilitation is necessary to address potential obstacle to participation by all. 5c. Time is a big problem. Women generally have much less free time, are more likely to be distracted by family emergencies (or regular family-related activities). This certainly puts women at a disadvantage.Much of this isn't unique to ICT-based training. However, if the training is asynchronous (often advertised as learning anywhere and anytime), there is a perception that because it is ICT-based and the students don't have to go to a classroom on a specific schedule, it is easier for busy professionals to handle. This often leads to underestimating the difficulty in finding the time to actually study and complete ICT-based courses. > 6. Do different ICTs have different "scalability requirements"? Yes... I think there's a big difference between scaling up a radio program, where the technology costs won't increase with scale and cost per learner decreases with increased numbers of learners, and a computer-based training program where initial technology costs and ongoing maintenance can be substantial and do not decrease much with scale. I don't have solid numbers to back this up. In any case, this should not be taken to imply that only radio programs can or should be scaled up. The nature of the technology in terms of its complexity (in use and maintenance) may also have an impact in terms of scalability. It may be possible to find the three or f
