9 November Pre-service Teacher Training In ICT Use: the Case for Namibia ( Presented at an ICT Workshop “Networking Africa’s Teacher Training Institutions through ICT” organized by SchoolNet Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa: 9-10 November 2004) Presented by Messrs. Geoffrey N. Shakwa & Willie January National Institute for Educational Development (NIED)

9 November Overview of the Presentation 1. Context and Background 2.Namibia’s Teacher Preparation Institutions 3. ICT Policy for Education 4. Current ICT Training Initiatives for Pre- service Teacher Education 5. Conclusion

9 November Context and Background Namibia became independent in 1990 Today the country is sparsely populated with over 1.8 m According to recent assessment of e-readiness (Hesselmark & Miller, 2002), Namibia is in the upper bracket of e-readiness Currently ranks 5th on the index of preparedness to provide ICT within SSA (Chilsholm, Dhunpath & Paterson, 2004)

9 November Context and Background (cont.) ICT in the curriculum exists as follows: –Basic Information Science: Grades 4-7 –Computer Literacy: Grades 4-7 –Computer practice: Grades 8-10 –Computer Studies: Grades –Integrated Media & Technology Education: For Pre-service Teachers in Colleges of Education. –Educational Technology: for For Pre-service Teachers at UNAM.

9 November Namibia’s Teacher Training Institutions Namibia’s teacher training institutions include: UNAM: prepares teachers for grades through IGCSE and HIGCSE Four colleges of education: prepares teachers for grades 1-10

9 November ICT Policy for Education A multi-sector group called the ICT Steering Committee for Education was constituted in early The main task of this group currently chaired by NIED, was to provide an updated ICT Policy for Education. This policy was first developed in 1995, then revised in 2000 and updated during

9 November The Educational Goals of the ICT Policy for Education To produce ICT literate citizens To set up criteria for and targets to help classify the different development levels of using ICT in education Ensure educators can utilize ICT towards improved educational outcomes and, Identify ICT integration and opportunities in each subject area and across all educational levels

9 November Current ICT Training Initiatives for Pre- service Teacher Education Provision of ICT infrastructure in colleges of education –Working with iNET, NIED has enabled all colleges to receive a student lab with 20 thin-client workstations and 10 a staff center with 10 PCs. –Each center hosts 24/7 Internet Connectivity. –The Linux-based thin client centers have proven economically viable yet stable for the colleges

9 November Current ICT Training Initiatives for Pre- service Teacher Education Partnership with Harvard Graduate School of Education through online professional development in ICT integration into teaching is being supported by iNET and NIED. –So far up to 70 Namibian Teacher Educators and Education Officers have graduated from the Harvard “Teaching to Standards with New Technologies” –100 by end of this year Partnership with William Patterson of New Jersey through online ICT learning.

9 November Current ICT Training Initiatives for Pre- service Teacher Education (cont.) Integrated Media and Technology Education course for pre-service college student teachers. Course developed in 2003 and is currently being offered in colleges as a core. Course seeks to prepare pre-service teachers in technology integration into the curriculum

9 November Conclusion Need to strengthen ICT in teacher education Need to develop National ICT Standards/benchmarks to guide integration ICT Implementation strategy to guide policy implementation once policy is approved Consolidate ICT activities in curricula Trainers of trainees in ICT Expand access to match demand & supply For more info visit NIED at: