{"id":2236,"date":"2012-01-23T15:31:01","date_gmt":"2012-01-23T20:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/?p=2236"},"modified":"2012-09-27T10:39:01","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T14:39:01","slug":"top-world-bank-edutech-blog-posts-of-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/2010-ict4e-trends\/top-world-bank-edutech-blog-posts-of-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Top World Bank EduTech Blog Posts of 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Ed. Note: This <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/top-posts-2011\">post originally appeared on the World Bank&#8217;s EduTech blog<\/a> from Mike Trucano.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We have just completed three years of publishing the World Bank&#8217;s EduTech blog.\u00a0 As we did at the end of <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/top-posts-2010\">2010<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/2009-top10\">2009<\/a>, we have put together a consolidated list of &#8216;top posts&#8217; from the last year.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<div style=\"float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/berlin.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"berlin\" width=\"215\" height=\"228\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2243\" \/><br \/>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style\"><a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_1\"><\/a><a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_2\"><\/a><a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_3\"><\/a><a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_4\"><\/a><a class=\"addthis_button_compact\"><\/a><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/js\/300\/addthis_widget.js#pubid=wayan\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>The EduTech blog is meant to provide an informal way to share information about some of the things (projects, challenges, technologies, approaches) that we think might be of interest to a wider audience, especially in so-called &#8220;developing countries&#8221;, hopefully serving in some modest way to promote greater transparency related to some of the sorts of information, conversations and discussions that previously were accessible only to limited groups of stakeholders and partners with whom the World Bank is in regular dialogue.<\/p>\n<p>There is no shortage of\u00a0blogs\u00a0that focus\u00a0on educational technology issues.\u00a0\u00a0The vast majority of the ones available in English are written by and for people working in schools and education systems in the United States, Canada, the UK and other places in Europe, Australia, etc.\u00a0 While we are certainly happy when *<em>anyone<\/em>* reads our short weekly posts, this is decidedly *<em>not<\/em>* our target audience. (People interested in that sort of thing are directed to the lists of excellent educational technology blogs available <a href=\"http:\/\/edublogawards.com\/2010awards\/best-educational-tech-support-edublog-2010\/\">here<\/a>.) <\/p>\n<p>On the EduTech blog, our goal each week is to &#8220;explore issues related to the use of information and communication technologies to benefit education in developing countries&#8221;, and it is through this prism that we always try to view things. Most posts are actually extensions of, or complements to, on-going conversations that we are having with various groups about particular projects and, truth be told, we often write a post with an explicit target audience of just a\u00a0handful of people in mind.\u00a0 That said, we are quite happy that we seem to have found a pretty wide and dedicated weekly readership.<\/p>\n<p>International development institutions are often seen as notoriously traditional and hidebound institutions, especially in their embrace of new technologies, and by publishing (nearly) every week, we hope to demonstrate to various partners within the UN and international development community, as well as our partners in government around the\u00a0world,\u00a0that it <em>is<\/em> possible to share information quickly and cheaply with interested groups in ways that are a bit more idiosyncratic, and possibly more interesting, than via a press release touting the achievement of some milestone or a dense paper that goes through a lengthy review process before finding a wider audience.\u00a0 Both of those mechanisms obviously have their place.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>That said, based on personal experience with this blog,\u00a0I find that the immediacy and wide readership of some blog posts\u00a0prove\u00a0useful to advance dialogue on some topics in ways that other &#8216;traditional&#8217; publishing mechanisms is less suited to do.\u00a0(Yes, this may be <em>old news<\/em> to\u00a0many readers &#8212; this\u00a0paragraph isn&#8217;t directed at you.)\u00a0Whereas press releases and more formal academic papers often signal the end of a process of some sort, this blog is often used to spark conversation about starting something new, in places where some of the topics or ideas or approaches are not widely known.<\/p>\n<p><em>So<\/em>: That&#8217;s enough preface.\u00a0 Below is a collection of top posts from 2011.\u00a0 There were fewer posts to pick from this year, given that we suspended publication for three months due to other commitments (and from sheer exhaustion &#8212; maintaining the blog remains a largely &#8216;extracurricular&#8217; activity), but we hope that you found something of interest and relevance to your work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Top World Bank EduTech Blog Posts of 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>10. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/eLA2011\">Reporting back from eLearning Africa 2011<\/a> <\/strong>&amp;<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/makers-or-takers\">Education &amp; Technology in Africa: Creating Takers &#8230; or Makers?<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>&amp;<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/africa-china\">eLearning, Africa, and &#8230; China?<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>Collectively, these three posts about the use of ICT in education in Africa &#8212; all occasioned by 2011&#8217;s eLearning Africa event in Tanzania &#8212; were widely re-circulated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/innovations\">Crowdsourcing, collaborative learning or cheating?<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>The introduction of computers often challenges educators, parents, communities and educational systems in ways that are poorly anticipated.\u00a0 This post looked at how the ability to communicate instantaneously, and to cut and paste, highlights some of the issues at the core of what it means to &#8216;educate&#8217; someone in the 21st century.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/off-the-grid\">Using ICTs in schools with no electricity<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>In many places\u00a0in the world, the &#8216;digital divide&#8217; is as much about access to electricity as it is about access to the Internet and computing resources in general.<\/p>\n<p><em>extra<\/em>: <strong>Latin America<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen people ask about where educational technologies are being widely used in &#8216;developing countries&#8217;, many instinctively look to Asia for answers.\u00a0 The fast pace of changes and initiatives in Latin America &#8212; like in Uruguay&#8217;s Plan\u00a0Ceibal &#8212; is attracting greater interest around the\u00a0world, and was the subject of many blog posts in 2011, including <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/planceibal2\">What&#8217;s next for Plan Ceibal in Uruguay?<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/1-to-1-lac\">One-to-one computing in Latin America &amp; the Caribbean<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/caribbean-barbados\">Educational Technology Use in the Caribbean<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/TIC-Educacao-2010\">Surveying ICT use in education in Brazil<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/aakash\">The Aakash, India&#8217;s $35 (?) Tablet for Education<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>Interest in\u00a0a cheap computing device for students shows no sign of abating.\u00a0 The latest gadget to grab\u00a0headlines is India&#8217;s\u00a0Aakash &#8212; this post described a visit to the World Bank by the head of the company that makes it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/failfaire-internal\">Running your own FAILfaire<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>No one gets promoted for failing. So why talk about it?\u00a0 And even if you do want to talk about it:\u00a0How can you do it without getting fired?\u00a0 This post draws on lessons from a number of FAILfaire events that have been held at the World Bank to help share lessons about what hasn&#8217;t worked in the past, in the hope that this might provide some useful guidance and perspective for people contemplating similar things in the future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/sstc\">When students are in charge of maintaining the computers in schools<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>Few education systems provide sufficient budgets to ensure that computers in schools remain in working order. This post\u00a0looked at\u00a0an interesting\u00a0initiative that\u00a0enlists the help of students to keep everything running.<\/p>\n<p><em>extra<\/em> <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/costs-of-not-investing\">What Are the Costs of Not Investing in ICTs in Education?<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>Whether one agrees with such a question, it is\u00a0commonly asked (if not rigorously considered) as an important part of considerations of large-scale investments in ICTs in the education sector in many countries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/korea-digital-textbooks\">What happens when all textbooks are (only) digital? Ask the Koreans!<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0&amp; <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/e-learning-in-korea-in-2011-and-beyond\">e-Learning in Korea in 2011 and beyond<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>The bold decision by educational leaders in South Korea to introduce digital textbooks in all subjects at all levels by the middle of the decade is being closely watched around the world.\u00a0 This is a topic that we will continue to revisit over time, especially given the close partnership between the World Bank and Korea exploring how best to support the effective and relevant\u00a0use of ICTs in education in developing countries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/sms-education-pakistan\">SMS education in Pakistan<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0&amp; <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/sms-pakistan-2\">More on SMS use in education in Pakistan<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>There is much hype about potential uses of mobile phones in education.\u00a0 A lot of this excitement is related to\u00a0the potential for applications running on high-end smartphones.\u00a0 What about the types of low-end phones most people in the world actually use?\u00a0 These two posts looked briefly at one World Bank-sponsored initiative in Pakistan.<\/p>\n<p><em>extra<\/em> <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/thought-experiment\">Education &amp; Technology in 2025: A Thought Experiment<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>This short blog post tried to turn\u00a0a common\u00a0discussion held at ministries of education about\u00a0the use of educational technologies on its head, asking <em>If costs weren&#8217;t an issue, what would you be seeking to do with technology to support learning? Would this change your perspective on the role of ICTs from what it is now?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/computer-labs\">School computer labs: A bad idea?<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>Sometimes it\u00a0is useful to take a step back and ask: Do we need to change some of our fundamental approaches to how and where we consider the use of educational technologies?\u00a0The concept &#8212; and reality &#8212; of a <em>computer lab<\/em> is central to the\u00a0use of new\u00a0technologies in most schools in developing countries. Should it be? This short post ignited a lot of discussion in a number of places.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/mlearning2011-whatsnew\">Mobile learning in developing countries in 2011: What&#8217;s new, what&#8217;s next?<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>As in past years, the topic of mobile phone use in education continued to draw lots of readers to the EduTech blog.\u00a0 Will 2012 finally be the year where this topic breaks into the mainstream in some new places?<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While blog posts are often meant\u00a0by their very nature to be rather ephemeral, a number of EduTech posts from earlier years enjoyed strong readership in 2011, including <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/worst-practice\">Worst practice in ICT use in education<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/10-global-trends-in-ict-and-education\">10 Global Trends in ICT and Education<\/a>, and pretty much anything about <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/category\/tags\/mobile-phones\">mobile phones<\/a>.\u00a0 The lists of top posts from <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/2009-top10\">2009<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/top-posts-2010\">2010<\/a> may also be of interest. An easy way to be informed of new posts on the\u00a0EduTech blog is to follow us on Twitter <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/WBedutech\">@WBedutech<\/a> and\/or to subscribe to our <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/edutech\/rss.xml\">RSS feed<\/a> (we put the complete text in the feed,\u00a0to make it easy to read off-line and\/or to re-publish on other sites).<\/p>\n<p>Finally, an end-of-year &#8220;shout-out&#8221; to our sister site, the <a href=\"http:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/\">Educational Technology Debate<\/a>, which continues to spark interesting discussion through regular contributions from a wide variety of people from different backgrounds;\u00a0the main World Bank\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/education\/\">education sector blog<\/a> (where EduTech items are occasionally cross-posted) and <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/ic4d\/\">IC4D blog<\/a> (not sure where the &#8220;T&#8221; got lost); and a general thank you to a number of international development-themed blogs,\u00a0from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ethanzuckerman.com\/blog\/\">one-man-shows<\/a> to collective\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org\/\">endeavors<\/a>\u00a0of <a href=\"http:\/\/olpcnews.com\/\">various<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.cgdev.org\/globaldevelopment\/\">sorts<\/a>, from which I continue to draw inspiration, and which regularly provoke me to think about things I often don&#8217;t think about it &#8212; or which challenge me to about things I <em>do<\/em> think about but in <em>different ways<\/em>. <em>Happy New Year!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Note<\/em>:\u00a0The image used at the top of this blog post of the celebration of the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin (&#8220;lots of people celebrating another happy birthday&#8221;) comes from the German Federal Archive <a href=\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-1987-0704-015,_Berlin,_750-Jahr-Feier,_Festumzug,_Geburtstagstorte.jpg\">via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> and is used according to the terms of its <a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/de\/deed.en\">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license<\/a>. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1987-0704-015 \/ Schindler, Karl-Heinz \/ CC-BY-SA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ed. Note: This post originally appeared on the World Bank&#8217;s EduTech blog from Mike Trucano. We have just completed three years of publishing the World Bank&#8217;s EduTech blog.\u00a0 As we did at the end of 2010 and 2009, we have put together a consolidated list of &#8216;top posts&#8217; from the last year.\u00a0 . The EduTech [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[316],"tags":[1211,1210,1208,1209,1212,1213,517],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2236"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2673,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236\/revisions\/2673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}