Improving Teaching and Learning

Kosovo Basic Education Program

The Kosovo Basic Education Program is a cooperative agreement with USAID designed to modernize and strengthen the Government of Kosovo's education reform efforts by targeting the critical elements the country needs to establish and sustain a 21st Century education system. As part of this work the project works in close partnership with the government of Kosovo's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to:

  • enhance school management capacities in Kosovo's decentralized environment;
  • strengthen the assessment of learning outcomes; and
  • improve in-service teacher training.

Through this work, the Basic Education Program will continue to align program activities to USAID educational reform priorities as well as to global trends and European Union objectives.

For more information about the Kosovo Basic Education Program please visit the program website.

 

Macedonia – Primary Education Project

Under this five-year USAID project, ITAC is focusing on increased access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in primary and basic education; increased development and use of digital content; improved math and science curricula and teaching methodologies; improved school-based assessments; increased quality of pre-school/kindergarten; and green renovation improvements in selected primary schools. This project builds on ITAC's highly successful MK Connects program, which made Macedonia the world's first all-wireless broadband country and connected every school to the Internet at affordable rates.

PEP StoryFeature: Lights, camera, action: Teachers make videos to help improve learning in Macedonia


For more information and project highlights, visit the websites for Primary Education Project: USAID Primary Education Project - Macedonia and Macedonia Connects, MK Connects.

The Global Learning Portal

GLP Logo

The Global Learning Portal (GLP) is a multilingual learning network for educators worldwide. More than 5,500 members in over 130 countries share teaching materials and quality educational resources through user-friendly portal tools. The portal is a global alliance composed of regional groups, international organizations, private sector entities, and non-governmental organizations.

The portal supports country-level and regional education projects to link teachers, ministries, and educational organizations by creating online content libraries, space for virtual collaboration, and distance learning modules. Members can store and share resources, and participate in online learning and communities of practice.

Article: Rwanda: Education Portal Unveiled - All-Africa.com, June 29, 2010

Article: Rwanda - First Education Portal to Be Launched - All-Africa.com, June 23, 2010

GLP’s recent projects include:

1) Making available professional development courses for district education officers in Kenya
2) Hosting a project-based learning event in Arabic in Morocco and Jordan

For additional information on the Global Learning Portal visit www.glp.net.

GLP Web Communities

Macedonia ICT for Education and Workforce Learning (eWorld)

This project increased youth employability by facilitating innovative information and communication technologies (ICT) – informed education programs. eWorld improved the quality and relevance of instruction at the primary and secondary school levels. A key focus of the activity was to assist the Macedonian government in creating an environment among primary schools that fostered students' comfort and facility with ICTs, installing hardware and software to support reform in the secondary schools, and raising public awareness of the value and importance of the Internet and other ICTs in improving workforce development.

Collaborative Project to Develop Strategies for Sustaining and Expanding Computer Clubhouses

This AED-led project has invested project funds to collaborate with Intel Computer Clubhouses in Brazil and South Africa to design and test strategies and business plans that will enable these Clubhouse and other types of public access centers to become sustainable enterprises.

Intel Corporation established three Computer Clubhouses in both Brazil and South Africa. Through working with partner NGOs in both countries, the Clubhouses offer a creative and safe after-school learning environment where young people from under-served communities work with adult mentors to explore their own ideas, develop skills, and build confidence through the use of technology. (More)

Initiative for Namibian Education Technology (iNET)

Designed to speed the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) within the Namibian education system, iNET worked both at the school and Ministerial level to stimulate an environment that promoted grassroots advocacy and improved ICT policies throughout Namibia. The AED-implemented dot-EDU initiative for iNET follows on from USAID/Namibia’s previous ICT support to the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture (MBESC) in the establishment of physical, online, and human resources within the Ministry, as well as policy development in relation to ICT, education and training.

iNET accomplished three main activities that strengthened teaching capacity in Namibia:

1. Revamped the existing Teacher Resource Centers housed in teachers colleges, (TRC's) in the towns of Windhoek, Ongwadeva, Rundu, and Katima.
2. Networked all 13 regional offices of the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport, and Culture, (MBESC), in order to increase access to educational data used to inform policy development and planning.
3. Established network computer labs in the Colleges of Education. These labs included peripherals and Internet connectivity. (More)

UNESCO ICT in Education Toolkit

ICT in Education ToolkitThe primary objective of the information and communication technologies (ICT) in Education Toolkit is to serve countries and educational institutions as they face the challenge of introducing and integrating ICTs into educational curriculums and policy. The UNESCO information and communication technologies (ICT) in Education Toolkit, funded in part by AED, provides education policy makers and planners, as well as practitioners with a systematic process to formulate, plan and evaluate education development programs that are enhanced by ICTs.

The Toolkit contains 19 tools, including interactive instruments and guidelines which allow users to:

1) Map the National, Educational, and Technological situation
2) Formulate and access ICT enhanced programs
3) Plan for physical and human requirements
4) Plan for ICT-enhanced content
5) Generate program costs
6) Create a master plan
7) Monitor implementation, effectiveness and impact

The Toolkit also contains a Reference Handbook that summarizes worldwide knowledge, research, and experience on the effective use of ICTs for Education.

For additional information on the ICT in Education Toolkit, visit www.ictinedtoolkit.org.

Ukraine UPS eSchool Revitalization Project

AED partnered with the United Postal Service (UPS) to help train teachers and students in ESL (English as a Second Language) and computer literacy using a state-of-the-art telecenter the team developed in Nizankowice, Ukraine. The eSchool Revitalization Project (eSRP) is now helping over 600 teachers and students gain ESL and computer literacy skills. As part of this project, AED has established the country’s first Parent Teacher Association (PTA). AED’s Global Learning Portal is exploring the opportunity to link the school with schools in neighboring Poland. (More)

India - Technology Tools for Teaching and Training

AED’s India dot-EDU project, in partnership with Education Development Center (EDC) is a multi-state project serving millions of children in India. The project develops information and communication technology (ICT) based tools to improve the quality of primary education, with a special focus on girls and other vulnerable populations. This project is being implemented in India in the districts of Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

The Academy for Educational Development was awarded a subcontract to fulfill the role of monitoring and evaluating the learning impacts of the dot-EDU India, Technology Tools for Teacher Training (T4) initiative. The primary goal of the T4 project is to improve primary school education and reach groups and areas that are currently underserved, with a particular emphasis on girls.

The program has sought to mobilize the talents of Indian educators in both the public and private sectors. Through an extensive consultative and planning process amongst the dot-EDU T4 team and other stakeholders, from the State governments of India, to NGOs both local and international, it was determined that Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) and Instructional Television Instruction (IVI) would form the core of the multi-channel learning approach. (More)