Project information
| Status | Finalist |
| URL | Go to website |
| Category | Education |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Operational areas | Urban, Rural |
| Target groups | Children, Youth, Women, Men, Seniors |
| Fixed connection | Dialup, Cable |
| Wireless connection | GSM EDGE |
| Access points | School, Telecenter |
| Interact | Landline Phone, Desktop Computer, Cellphone, Laptop, PDA |
| Software License Types | Open Source, Proprietary |
Project location
Random images Challenge 2008
Bangladesh Global Connections and Exchange Project
- Brief description
- The project is about more than just setting up hardware and teaching ICT skills -- it endeavors to transform the approach to teaching and learning at host schools using ICT, to develop training and learning projects for teachers, students and community members and to increase global dialogue and educational opportunities by installing Internet enabled telecenters in rural areas in Bangladesh.
- Vision, Objectives and Goals
- Instead of teaching narrow IT skills, the project would like to use technology to capture the interest of children in all of their lessons, and promotes an approach to learning that is more engaging and effective than the more traditional teacher-centric, one-way, memorization-intensive approach which dominates the educational landscape in Bangladesh. The multi-site nature of the project would like to lend itself to some creative educational applications such as cross-cultural programming between different countries, or regional discussions that compare and contrast local issues within a country. Students engaged in these projects gain a broader perspective on issues and a greater understanding of their global neighbors than would be possible through any other method. Along the way, they practice important communication and collaboration skills. While the project is located at schools it also would like to continue to offer ICT services to the community members, professionals, civil society organizations making it a community resource.
- How does ICT contribute to the organisational objectives
- A major thrust of our educational effort is to enable teachers to integrate technology into their own subjects. In order to achieve its objectives, the project utilizes information and communication technology including internet to advance education in the broad sense: education of students, but also of teachers and community members. Teacher education occurs first in breadth and then depth. We have found that the majority of computer teachers in Bangladesh lack practical experience with computers and require training to perform the technical aspects of the position. Consequently, we have developed a localized technical instruction curriculum for these teachers to improve their technical proficiency. During the training for teachers, they are introduced to the program’s educational goals and methods by example. They sit where their students will sit, and the training itself employs group-based and participatory methodologies promoted by our project. The predominant teaching modality in Bangladesh is didactic and authoritative, relying heavily on rote memorization and pattern replication. We supplement that strategy with methods designed to encourage creativity and analytic thought. During the week of training, teachers also receive instruction on preparation of lesson plans and how to build projects around available computer resources. Beyond the lessons developed by the teachers, RI-SOL facilitates collaborative lessons each month on local, regional and international scales . These lessons involve other internet-equipped schools within or outside RI-SOL’s own ILC network around the globe. Most of these are developed in Bangla, while English is the language of wider communication for international projects. Some international projects are within RI-SOL, others employ lessons developed by online resources such as iEARN and Global SchoolNet.
- Transferability
The project can be replicated in many developing countries where access to ICT is limited by the economic ability. The topics and contents of the collaborative projects are relevant to many developing countries whose population lack awareness about civic rights, having limited access to information and ICT.
We belive a small group of committed and ethusiastic people can start this project. We are running this project in Bangladesh with help of only 10 staff members. We have been able to do so because of the support provided by the schools and community we work with. The schools are moviated to take some of the burdens of management which has enabled us to run this project over the last few years.
- Project summary
- The project is operating 27 internet enabled telecenters throughout the country. Since each telecenter is often shared by neighboring school, the effective reach of the program is about 100 thousands students, plus their teachers and surrounding communities. Without these centers, these beneficiaries would have no access to computing technology or the internet. Till 2007, 1200 teachers have received computer fundamental training, 350 have completed intensive teacher professional development training, and five have participated in international teaching conferences in University of California LA as part of the program. Since the program spans both school and community, it is uniquely able to integrate the two, bringing students into closer contact with civil society. Many of the inter-school projects relate to local community concerns and encourage student activity that goes beyond the walls of the school, or which brings community members into closer contact with students. The structure of the project within Bangladesh allows it to work within this global program, yet retain a local flavor. Finally, this program has a commitment to sustainability unmatched by other projects underway in Bangladesh. Through economy of scale, sharing of costs and in kind services provided by the schools and their communities, each telecenter is established and run at a fraction of the cost of more traditional telecenters. From the very beginning, sustainability concerns are addressed with potential host schools and the full cost of ownership is presented. The program has attracted the active participation of other telecenter networks, the Ministry of Education, and numerous local partners.
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