Technology in School Education: To Outsource ICT or Not
This policy brief from IT for Change is based on our study of two large scale ‘ICTs in School Education’ programs for high school students (classes VIII-X) of two neighboring states of India, Karnataka and Kerala. The study specifically addresses the key question of whether to outsource major activities or to invest in developing necessary processes and competencies within the school system.
The Outsourcing Model
The state of Karnataka, like a few other states in India, has tried the outsourcing model for its ICTs in schools program, called Mahiti Sindhu. This model relied on private vendors who are primarily in the business of selling computer hardware/software or into computer training to run the entire program.
Typically, students learnt directly on the computers, facilitated by support staff provided by the vendors, with teachers playing a minimal role. One consequence of this was that the teachers themselves had limited opportunities to learn and hence were not able to guide the learning processes of the students in any meaningful manner.
Some methods typically followed in such models, and their outcomes, are discussed below.
Computer learning seen as a stand-alone activity
Computer learning is not integrated into the regular learning processes of the school student. The teachers of the school are not sufficiently involved with the computer learning processes and largely treat the entire program as something external to the school system. Teachers themselves mostly do not acquire basic computer literacy, though there are computers in their own schools. They are therefore neither motivated nor able to integrate possibilities of computer aided education in their teaching.
ICT Curriculum not linked to regular curriculum
With private vendors (who are mostly attuned to business contexts and uses of computers) driving the content and the processes, students learn applications that are often of limited use to them in their own contexts (office applications are themselves undoubtedly useful, but they require little time to learn, whereby it may not be justified to make these the major component of the ICT curriculum).
Limited competencies of staff provided by the vendor
The outsourced staff is also typically poorly paid3, which affects the profile of people who apply for these positions. They are treated as outsiders by the school, which can demotivate them greatly. As a result, in most schools, the real possibilities of learning and experimenting with ICTs are quite limited, both for the students and the teachers.
Dependencies on external vendors for core educational processes
A long term dependency gets built on private vendors for software, educational processes, content etc which, as ICTs become more and more central to the educational system, can cripple the latter’s independence as well as its broad public and community orientations. It should be remembered that in India, there are a number of high-level public institutions that meticulously work on every aspect of content/ curriculum, processes etc of the public education system.
Their role may largely get superseded by largescale private sector dependencies that will get built through the outsourcing model. Many eminent educationists in India have been highly critical of this process of privatising core educational processes of curriculum/content design and teacher professional development.
An Integrated Model of ICTs in School Education
The Kerala state’s IT@Schools model which integrates the ICT component from the start into the mainstream teaching-learning processes, appears to have been successful in building a good platform for leveraging the best opportunities that ICTs may have to offer in furthering various educational objectives. Some key elements of the IT@Schools model that are seen as responsible for its relative success are briefly described below.
Complete integration with existing structures and processes
The IT@Schools program is fully integrated into the existing educational processes. It relies on the elaborate teacher training structures within the public education system in India to train the school teachers on using ICTs, both in terms of computer learning and computer aided learning. There are a set of master trainers who first acquire sufficient expertise in using computers.
Since these trainers are themselves teacher educators, who have also taught in schools, they are much more likely to bring up the best possibilities of using computers for learning different subjects. Some examples include using specific educational software that is available for different topics, say electrical circuits (physics), or circles (geometry), or simply through access to the Internet for information on different areas etc.
The procurement of hardware, and its installation and maintenance, is also managed within the system. This allows significant cost advantages arising due to great quantities of hardware purchased. The program has created ‘mobile hardware clinic’ teams, which regularly visit schools for inspection, checking hardware and doing most of the required maintenance and repair work.
A policy of cannibalising computers that cannot be repaired has two benefits; it substantially lowers costs of maintenance while ensuring higher uptime. Teachers are trained to install software and also do routine software upgrades. The program disproves a commonly held belief that school teachers in India’s public education system are not capable of, and/or are unlikely to be interested in, engaging with ICTs beyond being simple users.
High investment in teacher capacity building
The trainers provide intensive training to teachers as a part of the regular teacher training, planned every year. The training is comprehensive in its coverage; every teacher receives an initial ten day training in the first year, and 2-5 days every following year, which refreshes and builds on the learnings of the previous years.
While the initial foundational training covers basic operating system and applications relating to the Internet, email, image editing etc, as well as ‘office automation’ applications, later programs focus on specific areas such as hardware troubleshooting, software installation and upgrading, content management systems for publishing and sharing content created by schools, as well as specific educational software/ applications for different subjects.
Such high investment in teacher training is reflected in the high levels of confidence and self-esteem that teachers display. This confidence is reflected in their interactions with students and it has considerable positive impact on student learning.
Focus on computer aided learning and not just computer literacy
The IT@Schools program team is quite clear that computer literacy though foundational is really a relatively trivial issue and the real benefit of ICTs in education come from learning to apply ICTs in the regular learning processes.
The program focuses on access to the Internet for supporting regular learning activities, and also special projects that students work on. The program has ensured availability of broadband Internet to all schools, which allows the schools to connect to the web6. Many teachers also spend time on the Internet to identify learning materials that they can use in their own lessons.
Several educational software and applications are provided by the program. The idea is to have a large set of such applications, from which teachers can choose what they find relevant and useful to their teaching. Computer aided learning also focuses on the teachers, many of who are now learning how to setup and manage ‘content management systems’ that can provide spaces for teacher collaboration in curriculum and content development, as well as for teachers’ own writings and reflections. These spaces are intended to provide meaningful opportunities of engagement and exploration for teachers’ professional development.
Constructivist educational approaches through use of free and open source software
The IT@Schools program initially began with proprietary software platforms but soon realized that for ICTs programs to be really effective in school education, moving to free and open source software (FOSS) platforms was necessary. The following advantages were found in using FOSS:
- FOSS applications can be freely modified and customized to suit local needs. The program created a custom package of the Debian GNU/Linux distribution, containing several educational software applications, as well as local language (Malayalam) features that made it valuable to the schools.
- FOSS being freely shareable, there were huge savings in implementing the program in the thousands of schools that are part of the state’s public education system. Kerala has more than 15,000 schools, each having anywhere between 5 to 50 computers, and using FOSS software enabled scarce public funds to be used for hardware and peripherals rather than on software.
This has enabled 100% coverage of schools by the program. Instead of restricting software to a few proprietary applications, the program has very large number of FOSS applications for a range of application areas including image, audio, video editing, photo editing, creating and editing documents in a variety of document formats including PDF etc. More importantly, several educational software applications, written specifically for different subjects are made available for teachers and schools to learn and use. The teacher training programs also cover such applications. - Installation of software became a simple one-step process. In case of proprietary software, each application has to be installed separately, while in the case of FOSS, all applications can be bundled into a single CD for easy single-step installation in each school. Installing the operating system can also include installation of all other applications. Teachers and students take the same distribution to install on their home computers as well.
The success of this program with such a large numbers of computers and users can address the misgiving among some policy makers that using FOSS may present difficulties like poor stability, difficulty in training or lack of support. Our interviews with teachers and students using FOSS showed that they found FOSS very user-friendly and training on it was like training on any other platform.
The issue of support got sorted out due to creation of a sufficiently large ecology of FOSS use, as happens with a system-wide implementation in public schools. This enabled sufficient in-house capacities, as it also encouraged local enterprises for FOSS support activities.
Directions for Policy on ICTs in School Education
ICTs have enormous potential for providing new educational experiences and in the organizing of these experiences9. Our research on ICT programs in schools in two states of India confirms what should be obvious; that the actual attainment of educational objectives largely depend on the guiding principles and design used in employing ICTs for creating these new experiences (curriculum or content) and for organizing the processes around these experiences (pedagogy).
Our research on the Mahiti Sindhu and IT@Schools programs respectively of the states of Karnataka and Kerala in India provides crucial insights regarding the important policy issue of what kind of models should be used for incorporating ICTs into public education systems.
The combination of the features of the integrated model, (1) integrating ICTs with regular school processes, (2) investing in teacher capacity building, (3) moving beyond computer literacy to computer aided learning and (4) use of FOSS platforms, has resulted in educational outcomes that appear superior to those of outsourced models.
In the latter model, on the other hand, the large resource outlays do not appear to cause similar systemic benefits and in fact weaken the system by making it dependent for its core pedagogical processes on actors, whose core competencies are not in school education.
“ Policy Brief – ICTs in School Education – Outsourced Versus Integrated Approach” was originally published by IT for Change (ITfC) is a non-profit organisation located in Bangalore, India
Interesting article… however I'm not sure this really reflects the whole picture…
Whenever a process is done either in house or outsourced a huge number of factors come into play. That ICT became it's own curriculum rather than a means by which to teach the entire curriculum more effectively is I would argue more down to how it's implemented instead of who implements it.
The two have an influence on each other. However in the developing world it is rare for the state to act as an innovative / creative entity, as well as rare for it to have the capacity to implement ICT projects well. Not to mention the challenges of doing so in the developing world due to infrastructure, human capacity and other factors make it more difficult than in the developed world anyway.
If the state were to issue an Request for Proposal to vendors to 'improve educational effectiveness using ICT" rather than just to carry out training and install software, then private vendors can use all their expertise and market forces make them compete against others to find the best value. If there is sufficient competition. Also relies on having either honest vendors or a well managed procurement process. Sometimes there is neither, then one will have a problem.
Interesting article… however I'm not sure this really reflects the whole picture…
Whenever a process is done either in house or outsourced a huge number of factors come into play. That ICT became it's own curriculum rather than a means by which to teach the entire curriculum more effectively is I would argue more down to how it's implemented instead of who implements it.
The two have an influence on each other. However in the developing world it is rare for the state to act as an innovative / creative entity, as well as rare for it to have the capacity to implement ICT projects well. Not to mention the challenges of doing so in the developing world due to infrastructure, human capacity and other factors make it more difficult than in the developed world anyway.
If the state were to issue an Request for Proposal to vendors to 'improve educational effectiveness using ICT" rather than just to carry out training and install software, then private vendors can use all their expertise and market forces make them compete against others to find the best value. If there is sufficient competition. Also relies on having either honest vendors or a well managed procurement process. Sometimes there is neither, then one will have a problem.
If the developing nations present an exceptionally difficult environment for the utilization of ICT in education then shouldn't it be proportionally easier to find success for the use of ICT in education in the developed nations?
Of course I know that the developed nations haven't managed to extract much if any of the assumed benefit in ICT so it's a rhetorical question.
Also, I'd be interested to know the specifics of the RFP. Generally, the scope of an RFP has to be carefully circumscribed to keep the vendors from flights of fancy. Consequently, phrases like 'improve the productivity of the corporation' aren't to be found in the business world.
Outsourcing brings results when we know what are we outsourcing and why.
From what we see, that maturity is missing in India's educational establishment.
So its someone who is able to muscle through and impose one generally useless solution or another becomes the winner. Then there are multitude of vendors with few standards, little quality, lesser experience of either pedagogy or technology and they continue to distort the system further.
Instead, if the education system promoted learning where outcome was the key driver, many of these questions will disappear.
What we may get is a sense of what is helpful years later. But when we do get it, we may be on a better point of assessment in terms of what works and people may decide as to which path to take.
As of now, there are many hurdles in even thinking about innovation, charting a new path or anything experimental, except those who can afford have the best gadgets and a killing educational load that is not designed to promote learning other than passing an exam.
OLPC can help the elementary children achieve in months what they achieve in years, saving them a great deal of time to begin learning what they may aspire to. Its not ICT, rather its part of an overall transformational learning experience. To see it as IT is to miss the point.
Interesting article… however I'm not sure this really reflects the whole picture…
Whenever a process is done either in house or outsourced a huge number of factors come into play. That ICT became it's own curriculum rather than a means by which to teach the entire curriculum more effectively is I would argue more down to how it's implemented instead of who implements it.
The two have an influence on each other. However in the developing world it is rare for the state to act as an innovative / creative entity, as well as rare for it to have the capacity to implement ICT projects well. Not to mention the challenges of doing so in the developing world due to infrastructure, human capacity and other factors make it more difficult than in the developed world anyway.
If the state were to issue an Request for Proposal to vendors to 'improve educational effectiveness using ICT" rather than just to carry out training and install software, then private vendors can use all their expertise and market forces make them compete against others to find the best value. If there is sufficient competition. Also relies on having either honest vendors or a well managed procurement process. Sometimes there is neither, then one will have a problem.
Well said!I There is also the cultural dimension.I have experienced a different culture in regard the use of educational technolgy in the developing world compared to the same in the developed world.This is exacerbated by the lack of proper infrastructure and affordabilty.For a decision to be taken whether to outsource ICTs or not it is imperative that a proper needsassesment is done.
ICT outsourcing does not need to be the two extremes that this report uses as examples. In fact, I would like to make the case that a middle path, where technical resources are outsourced, but pedagogical ones are kept in-house is a better way to deploy ICT in schools.Better Learning with Blended ICT OutsourcingMost teachers and school administrators don't have a clue about software kernels or Amp hours, nor do they want to. Yet most technologists don't know the difference between behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. So why mix the two skill sets? Let each focus on their specialty, creating a better learning environment for all.Role of the EducatorTeachers and school administrators should start the process of ICT integration (note, not acquisition) with a solid discussion and agreement on the educational goals they want to achieve and pedagogy & curricula that will get them to those goals. Then take these requirements to ICT companies to see which ones can provide a solution that achieves those goals. Note that in this formula, the goals are paramount – technology is only present to be a catalyst and should be as transparent to the educational system as possible.During integration and after, educators need to have patience – technology is a tricky beast and there are bound to be issues and failures. Like any system, it takes time to mature and its full effects often reach much father than its original intent. Still, educators need to step up and have ownership over the technology, forming the first level of basic support.Role of the TechnologistWe should first make sure that educators are clear int he goals they want to achieve and the way technology should accelerate the learning process – not be an end in itself or a subject to be taught. Then we should be sure to offer systems that fit the schools ecosystem (everything from human capacity to electrical power). And we should always have the technology subservient to the pedagogy and curriculum -fit the technology to the instruction, not the other way around.After implementation, technologists should be the secondary support and let go of the desire for control and user error blame. We need to actively push educators to master basic admin tasks and give them confidence and ability to change and modify the technology. Its only then that they will feel ownership and take technology to the heights it can achieve.Role of both partiesWe all must be open about the real investments required for ICT in education. Technology is not cheap – in money, time, or effort. Yet we all forget this when presented with the shiny, flashy, new thing.The middle path worksThe real take-away from this report is that when educators and technologists work together, as in IT@School, real success can occur. I would put forth that Mahiti Sindhu would be as successful as IT@School had these principals been maintained, no matter who did what. Its not the outsourcing model that's broken, but the way it was implemented.
I guess everyone has the two degree of view that they have and I am no exception. Just that I have been trying to make an effort to understand various views and see where the come from..
The tragedy of understanding school education in India is that the public school system is run by folks who have not had an opportunity to learn about schooling outside of the antiquated framework Indian university system has been teaching them.
Technology introduction is no different. Its about moving up the experience curve. We need to find parallels in other areas. Look at the city of Gurgaon- made more than half a century after similar cities came up in the West, it did not care to learn from their mistakes and even in 2010 has no roads for the cars it needs, little parking, little organization, not even proper laning and addresses ( if one made the mistake of finding the address of India's apex industry body's headquarters by number, it will require a totally different algorithm to figure it out).. In other words, learning is not an easy business. Skilling may be. But skilling requires management. When foreign companies outsource their work to India, they assign foreign managers (they may be of Indian orign, but they are trained, and successfully so, overseas in those companies!) and when they take local managers, they have to move up a steep learning curve. One ca go on and on..
The situation in education is no different. Educational system- from Minsiser to the teacher- is generations behind the thing it feeds on, sometimes. The system was handed down six decades ago and little has progressed there, a bit like the ambassador car that retains the shape of a fifty year old car and its engineering improved only after Suzuki began making small cars in India. In education there has been no Suzuki that can transform it.
Or the cell phone, for that matter.
What India needs is a cell phone of education and the discussion above comes from various perspectives without touching the core of its challenges.
To put it simple terms the core philosophy of outsourcing is that “do not do some thing if that is not your core competencey”. If we go by this guiding principle in our policies and procedures things will become much clearer.
Information Technology (IT) in education involves both hardware, software and associated services. Let us not forget the fact that IT in education is to be treated as an aid to facilitate effective education.
There are very many professional IT organizations that provide services in establishing and maintaining IT for private sector organizations using various business models. We should encourage such organizations to take over the IT in Educational institutions rather than reinventing another model etc. I am sure the state and federal governments can bring some regulations that for every X million dollars of business they do with private sector they should support a certain number of educational institutes in that Region / State through a cost-sharing model. This would ensure that the administrator and teachers in educational institutions are completely relieved of establishing and maintaining IT in educational institutions.