Indians learn to read and write with the help of ICT
28-06-2006 (Paris)
Learners use computers to gain literacy skills
© UNESCO
In a Community Learning Centre in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu state, India, a grandmother named Anu waits with a CD-Rom clutched in her hand. Visitors have gathered in the Centre for a workshop about a UNESCO project that uses ICT to enhance literacy education.
In a few minutes, it is Anu’s turn to speak. Her presentation is about what she learned in her literacy course at the Centre. She calmly inserts her CD-Rom into the computer and shows the audience how she is able to read and write in her own language.
Then the other members of her literacy course eagerly present what they have learned. The learners range from teenagers to elderly members of the community such as Anu, who is 65 years old. One of the workshop participants is Hameed A. Hakeem, Chief of the Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL) at UNESCO Bangkok. Well aware of the long history of efforts to improve literacy worldwide, Hakeem remarks, “the lack of successin many cases indicates that here is a clear need for improved delivery and better learning materials. ICT can help.”
“This is a good example of how ICT and multimedia can attract and empower learners and enhance non-formal education,” he adds. Creating local content Anu’s course is radically different from the usual literacy lessons provided in learning centres in India. Instead of using conventional “literacy primers” – which often contain content that is unrelated to the learner’s needs – Anu and other learners create personalized learning content using a digital camera and other ICT tools.
A personalized approach makes the learning process more effective and sustains the learner’s motivation. It also has the advantage of ensuring learning material in the student’s own language.
Anu is excited about her literacy and her ability to use new technologies. “I can read bus boards and travel alone to my relatives’ houses,” she says. “I’m able to count the money I earn doing farm work and look after my own accounts,” she explains. “I can also use the Internet now,” she adds proudly.She notes that literacy has made her more aware of what is going on in her village and the wider community.
Her new skills have also enabled her to continue to feel useful in her old age,since she can read medical instructions and other written material for her family members.
Meanwhile, the younger members of her literacy class benefit from their newly gained literacy skills in a variety of ways, from reading the Tamil-language subtitles of Hindi movies and surfing the Internet to embarking on courses in small-business management.
Sustainable solutions Anu’s Community Learning Centre is participating, along with four other Indian Centres, in the $20,000 “ICT Applications for Non-Formal Education Programmes” project,
which is run by UNESCO Bangkok. The most essential expenses are for digital cameras and computer systems with modem, telephone, a printer and software packages with touch screen monitor, which cost approximately $350 and $2,000 respectively.
The programme goes beyond non-formal education: it consists of an integrated mix of linked projects that promote relevant ICT as tools to enhance the reach and quality of teaching and learning in all educational contexts.
All five Centres are currently working with UNESCO to develop village-specific sustainability strategies for when the UNESCO programme is completed.
“Unless implemented judiciously, investing in ICT can be a waste of scarce resources,” says Cedric Wachholz of UNESCO Bangkok.
Source: Education today. The Newsletter of UNESCO's Education Sector (N°17 - June-September 2006)
Then the other members of her literacy course eagerly present what they have learned. The learners range from teenagers to elderly members of the community such as Anu, who is 65 years old. One of the workshop participants is Hameed A. Hakeem, Chief of the Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL) at UNESCO Bangkok. Well aware of the long history of efforts to improve literacy worldwide, Hakeem remarks, “the lack of successin many cases indicates that here is a clear need for improved delivery and better learning materials. ICT can help.”
“This is a good example of how ICT and multimedia can attract and empower learners and enhance non-formal education,” he adds. Creating local content Anu’s course is radically different from the usual literacy lessons provided in learning centres in India. Instead of using conventional “literacy primers” – which often contain content that is unrelated to the learner’s needs – Anu and other learners create personalized learning content using a digital camera and other ICT tools.
A personalized approach makes the learning process more effective and sustains the learner’s motivation. It also has the advantage of ensuring learning material in the student’s own language.
Anu is excited about her literacy and her ability to use new technologies. “I can read bus boards and travel alone to my relatives’ houses,” she says. “I’m able to count the money I earn doing farm work and look after my own accounts,” she explains. “I can also use the Internet now,” she adds proudly.She notes that literacy has made her more aware of what is going on in her village and the wider community.
Her new skills have also enabled her to continue to feel useful in her old age,since she can read medical instructions and other written material for her family members.
Meanwhile, the younger members of her literacy class benefit from their newly gained literacy skills in a variety of ways, from reading the Tamil-language subtitles of Hindi movies and surfing the Internet to embarking on courses in small-business management.
Sustainable solutions Anu’s Community Learning Centre is participating, along with four other Indian Centres, in the $20,000 “ICT Applications for Non-Formal Education Programmes” project,
which is run by UNESCO Bangkok. The most essential expenses are for digital cameras and computer systems with modem, telephone, a printer and software packages with touch screen monitor, which cost approximately $350 and $2,000 respectively.
The programme goes beyond non-formal education: it consists of an integrated mix of linked projects that promote relevant ICT as tools to enhance the reach and quality of teaching and learning in all educational contexts.
All five Centres are currently working with UNESCO to develop village-specific sustainability strategies for when the UNESCO programme is completed.
“Unless implemented judiciously, investing in ICT can be a waste of scarce resources,” says Cedric Wachholz of UNESCO Bangkok.
Source: Education today. The Newsletter of UNESCO's Education Sector (N°17 - June-September 2006)
Related themes/countries
· Information and Media Literacy: News Archives 2006
· India: News Archive 2006
· ICT in Education: News Archives 2006
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