COMISIÓN INTERAMERICANA DE EDUCACIÓN



FIFTH REGULAR MEETING OF THE OEA/Ser.W/XIII.6.5

INTER-AMERICAN COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION CIDI/CIE/doc.8/10

November 9-10, 2010 November 3, 2010

Guayaquil, Ecuador Original: Spanish

PROPOSED PROJECT PROFILE

PROJECT: “INTER-AMERICAN TEACHER EDUCATOR NETWORK (ITEN):

A COMMUNITY OF INNOVATIVE LEADERS IN EDUCATION”

(Document prepared by the Secretariat)

[Considered under point 3 of the Draft Agenda]

PROPOSED PROJECT PROFILE

PROJECT: “INTER-AMERICAN TEACHER EDUCATOR NETWORK (ITEN):

A COMMUNITY OF INNOVATIVE LEADERS IN EDUCATION”

(Document prepared by the Secretariat)

[Considered under point 3 of the Draft Agenda]

Given the project’s strategic importance to the CIE Work Plan, support from the Ministers of Education, acceptance of teachers from the Americas in general, and the interest shown by strategic partners, the proposal to continue the ITEN is presented for consideration to the CIE.

|[pic] |GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE OAS |

| |PROJECT EVALUATION COMMITTEE |

|PROJECT PROFILE |

|1 |Identification information |

| |1.1 |Code |

| | | |

| |1.2 |Name of the project |

| | |Project “Inter-American Teacher Educator Network (ITEN): A Community of Innovative Leaders in Education” |

| |1.3 |Beneficiary Country(ies) |

| | |All OAS member states (the budget specifies how the funds will be distributed) |

| |1.4. |Estimated duration: |

| | |12 months (January 2011-December 2011) |

| |1.5. |Estimated total (US $): 247,300 |

| | |OAS |Contribution from other donors |

| | |US$113,300 - requested from the CIE |CIDA: US$50,000.-(Up to June 2011. A new financing proposal will be prepared |

| | |(CP RES. 831 or another source) |for the period from July 2011 to June 2012) |

| | | |iEARN USA: US$ 2,000 (platform of online courses – in kind) |

| | |US$ 80,000 (in kind): |Fundación Evolución: US$ 2,000 (platform of online courses – in kind) |

| | | |IESALC: Budget to be determined by close of 2010 |

| | | |ECLAC: Budget to be determine by close of 2010 |

| | | |Teachers Without Borders: an in-kind contribution in the form of articles and|

| | | |publications the costs of which have already been incurred (sunk cost) |

| | | |PREAL: contribution in kind in the form of articles and publications the costs|

| | | |of which have already been incurred (sunk cost). |

| |1.6. |Identification of external donor(s) |

| | |UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) |

| | |Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) |

| | |Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) |

| |1.7. |GS/OAS Coordinator/Executing Unit |

| | |Department of Education and Culture of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development |

| |1.8. |Name and post of the person responsible for preparing the profile |

| | |Adriana Vilela, Specialist in Education. |

|2 |Background, justification (include a brief description of the problem/situation that the project is seeking to correct). |

| |Problem |

| |Although the coverage of basic and secondary education has expanded considerably in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years, the region |

| |is confronting a crisis in the quality of education, which will ultimately adversely affect the preparedness of millions of young people and thus|

| |their chances of finding a decent job and participating as active citizens in 21st-Century societies. |

| |The quality of education–measured by what people know and what they can do–has a significant impact on their earnings and on economic growth. |

| |Many studies, including a 2007 analysis by Hanushek and Wößmann, have found that the learning shortfall in the countries of the Americas is a far|

| |more serious problem than the shortfall in the number of students attending schools. There is growing evidence that “teacher quality has |

| |powerful impacts on student outcomes.”[1]/ However, in only five of the 29 countries of the Americas covered in a 2006 UNESCO study did the |

| |teachers have the minimum requirements to teach primary education.[2]/ To improve the caliber of teachers, it is vital that the initial teacher |

| |education they receive be strengthened. |

| |Background |

| |The project is based on the following events of the past: |

| | |

| |1) An international seminar on the policies and practices in teacher education, which the OAS (SEDI/OEC) and the Ministry of Education of |

| |Trinidad and Tobago held in September 2006, titled “New Approaches to Policy and Practice for Teacher Educators in the Americas.” The seminar |

| |consisted of a week of dialogue, research and planning on the trends in teacher education. It also featured a discussion of the findings of a |

| |survey conducted among teacher educators in the Americas. One hundred participants, from 25 countries of the Americas, met to work on plans of |

| |action that could help to reform policies in the field of teacher education. |

| | |

| |2) The four-year hemispheric project of the OAS-FEMCIDI (Special Multilateral Fund of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development): |

| |“Responses to the challenge of improving the quality of recruitment and selection, initial formation, professional development and evaluation of |

| |teachers in countries in the Hemisphere.” As a result of this project, two subregions (Central America and the Caribbean) have established the |

| |fundamental principles for the new models for teacher education. |

| | |

| |3) A seminar in which education policymakers, teacher education institutions and teachers unions participated, held in Trinidad and Tobago in |

| |October 2008. During this seminar the results of the FEMCIDI project and the first seminar were shared with the OAS member states. |

| | |

| |In 2009 and 2010, the project has achieved the following results: |

| |A course titled “Teacher Training for the 21st Century” was created, consisting of 12 weeks of interactive online learning. The course was |

| |designed to demystify the use of ICTs (information and communications technologies) in teacher education. Through active discussions and |

| |practical activities, participants from various countries learn how to incorporate 21st-century collaborative teaching tools and skills. The |

| |English-language version of the course involved 78 participants from Guyana, Jamaica. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, |

| |Suriname, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, St. Lucia, The Bahamas, and St. Kitts and Nevis. The Spanish-language version involved 179 participants |

| |from Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Haiti, Brazil, and Paraguay. |

| |After implementing the first edition of the course on “Teacher Training for the 21st Century”, an evaluation was done to identify possible ways |

| |to improve the course when held again. The purpose of the research was to determine which facts had been instrumental in making the project a |

| |success and what obstacles were encountered that made the course more difficult to implement. The evaluation suggested the need to determine |

| |whether the course had succeeded in improving the quality of education and determine whether the course helped to bring about changes in the |

| |participants about the basics of teaching and learning in the 21st century. |

| |A strategy was devised and a plan developed to make the course on “Teaching Training for the 21st Century” financially sustainable in the future,|

| |which included an opinion from those surveyed on the formative evaluation (see point 2). |

| |The online course for teacher educators was adapted so that it could be offered on the platform of the “Educational Portal of the Americas.” The|

| |portal brought to the project years of experience in online courses on a mass scale, opening up the possibility of expanding the reach of the |

| |course to include many more teacher educators in the Americas. |

| |In order to create an ITEN concept paper, an online survey was put together and administered, targeting the potential users of this network. A |

| |total of 530 survey questionnaires were completed, compiled and analyzed, and produced suggestions for the network’s components, its content, |

| |sections, and so on. |

| |The ITEN Web page was created and will be accommodated in the OAS, through the Department of Strategic Communication and Image. |

| |In cooperation with the OAS’ Department of Information and Technology Services, the Telligent platform was acquired and adapted for the ITEN |

| |Virtual Community. |

| |A project logo was created, as were descriptive brochures and promotional videos. |

| | |

| |Justification of the Project |

| | |

| |The present project is a continuation of the one approved by the Project Evaluation Committee under the nomenclature SID0622 and executed from |

| |2006 to 2010. The project proposes to build on the achievements made thus far, in order to act on the urgent need within the region to deal with|

| |the topic of the quality of elementary- and secondary-school teacher education with a view to ensuring that the teachers and professors have the |

| |preparation they need to deliver an education that is effective and relevant to the 21st century. This is one of the priorities that came out of|

| |the Fifth Summit of the Americas and the VI Ministerial Meeting in 2009. |

| | |

| |It has been suggested that an education relevant to the needs of the 21st century requires, in addition to the traditional courses, that students|

| |cultivate technological skills, innovative learning skills and life skills about cooperation and teamwork. As the world economy changes and new |

| |technologies are introduced, students must acquire critical skills that prepare them in such a way that they are able to meet the demands of the |

| |job market. Professors, too, need to receive proper training and support to develop and integrate these skills in the classroom. Specifically, |

| |an active, hands-on and innovative training that uses technology as a tool for communication and instruction may help to teach not just technical|

| |skills, but an appreciation of other educational innovations as well. |

| | |

| |The goal of this project is (1) to increase the exchange of experience and technical cooperation among countries on issues related to the |

| |professional development of working teachers; (2) to develop knowledge, skills and positive attitudes toward educational technology among the |

| |teachers who participate in the online courses and other activities of the project; and (3) through these measures, to have a positive impact on |

| |the development of effective policies and practices that improve the caliber of professors and, in so doing, improve the quality of elementary |

| |and secondary education in the region. |

| | |

| |Given this situation, the present project is an attempt to provide a way to improve the education that secondary- and elementary-school teachers |

| |receive, by training them in innovative practices such as using information and communications technology to create a horizontal cooperation |

| |network (the ITEN’s virtual space) and offer courses online to teach technological skills for innovative practices like collaborative online work|

| |in projects that focus on constructive methods. |

|3 |Specific mandate that the GS/OAS received to intervene in the search for answers to the problem/situation identified. |

| |“The Member States will cooperate with one another to meet their educational needs, to promote scientific research, and to encourage |

| |technological progress for their integral development. They will consider themselves individually and jointly bound to preserve and enrich the |

| |cultural heritage of the American.” |

| |Charter of the OAS, Article 48 |

| | “In order to achieve its various goals, especially in the specific area of technical cooperation, the Inter-American Council for Integral |

| |Development shall: |

| |c) Promote, coordinate, and assign responsibility for the execution of development programs and projects to the subsidiary bodies and relevant |

| |organizations, on the basis of the priorities identified by the Member States, in areas such as: |

| |2) Improvement and extension of education to cover all levels, promotion of scientific and technological research, through technical cooperation,|

| |and support for cultural activities” |

| |Charter of the OAS, Article 95 |

| |“The General Assembly RESOLVES: |

| | |

| |To reaffirm the determination of the member states, as reiterated in the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Fourth Summit of the Americas and |

| |embodied in resolution AG/RES. 2308 (XXXVII-O/07), adopted by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) at its |

| |thirty-seventh regular session, to take measures and pursue specific programs to achieve full literacy of the Hemisphere’s populations and |

| |improve the quality of education at all levels, as well as to overcome diseases that represent obstacles to integral development..” |

| |AG/RES. 2387 (XXXVIII-O/08) |

| |“TAKING NOTE of the commitments of the Summits of the Americas, in which the Presidents and Heads of State of the Americas identified education |

| |as the linchpin of hemispheric progress and human development, which impacts the political, social, economic, and democratic life of our |

| |societies; and highlighting the positive contribution ICTs can make to addressing the needs of the region’s education systems; |

| |RECALLING that the Ministers of Science and Technology, the Ministers of Education, and the Ministers of Labor of the Americas recognized, in the|

| |Declaration of Lima of November 2004, the Declaration of Scarborough and Commitments to Action of August 2005, and the Declaration of Mexico of |

| |September 2005, the fundamental role that ICTs play in implementing their respective agendas; |

| | |

| |DECLARE |

| |17. Their request to the Secretary General to continue, through the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) and the Inter-American|

| |Committee on Education (CIE), to support measures to increase access to schooling and the quality of education at all levels–essential factors in|

| |increasing human productivity–particularly for the most vulnerable groups, as well as efforts to ensure that inter-American action programs and |

| |horizontal cooperation strategies strengthen the quality of teaching processes in formal education and continuing and adult education, |

| |retraining, and lifelong learning, including the use of new ICTs.” |

| |AG/DEC. 46 (XXXVI-O/06) |

| | |

| |“Education is the foundation of economic growth, social inclusion, and the development of a democratic and productive citizenry. While the |

| |countries of the Americas have made significant strides in enrolling more children and young people in school, progress has been slow in |

| |improving the quality of education and in reducing disparities in access and quality between more and less advantaged groups. In this context, |

| |and in light of the mandates and priorities established by the meetings of the Ministers of Education and the Inter-American Committee on |

| |Education, efforts will focus on the following actions: |

| | |

| |Supporting member states’ efforts to achieve and evaluate educational equity and quality at all levels of the education system, including through|

| |the development of regional education indicators and by sharing consolidated experiences to improve educational outcomes for the less advantaged |

| |and most vulnerable groups, including strategies to combat school dropout and grade repetition; |

| | |

| |Strengthening the effectiveness of the teaching profession in member states, promoting cooperation and sharing successful policies and practices |

| |that help educational systems prepare, develop, recruit, and certify high-quality teachers; |

| | |

| |Supporting member states’ efforts to prepare people for work, including expanding and strengthening technical and professional training, and |

| |other means to provide greater opportunities for people to acquire the knowledge and skills that respond to the demands of a constantly evolving |

| |labor market;” |

| |CIDI’s Strategic Plan 2006-2009 |

| | |

| |“We underscore the importance of the forums for debating and exchanging experiences and proposals created by the nations of the Americas to |

| |generate a continuous process of education, assessment, training, and professional development for teachers, which will serve as a tool for |

| |meeting the challenge of interconnecting education policy with social realities, in order to promote equity, overcome the educational differences|

| |existing between rich and poor, and, with the help of modern information and communications technologies, devise pedagogical models that will |

| |afford teachers proper professional development. |

| | |

| |We agree to guarantee the continuity of the Summit projects currently underway: the Regional Education Indicators Program and the Hemispheric |

| |Assessment Forum. We also instruct the CIE to develop programs in the areas of equity and quality, education, training, evaluation, the |

| |professional development of teachers, and secondary and high-school education, using new information and communication technologies as their |

| |shared axis.” |

| |--- Declaration of the THIRD INTER-AMERICAN MEETING OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION |

| |August 13, 2003 |

| |Mexico |

| | |

| |“We recognize the fundamental role of teachers and we prioritize their professional development as a key factor for learning and the development |

| |of our societies. We therefore encourage countries to work together to ensure that mechanisms are adopted to assist developing countries in the |

| |training and retention of teachers. We strongly urge our Heads of State and Government or highest appropriate authorities as well as our |

| |legislators to continue to guarantee the conditions commensurate with the noble profession of teaching and the principles of the Declaration of |

| |the International Labour Organization on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. |

| | |

| |To support and strengthen the teaching force in the countries of our Hemisphere, and to examine and build upon the results of research and |

| |initiatives in the Hemisphere designed to provide such support, such as the Centers for Excellence in Teacher Training and the hemispheric |

| |project on teacher preparation, development, and evaluation. |

| | |

| |To determine ways to maximize the use of information and communications technology to improve learning, promote equity, and support |

| |cross-national cooperation in our Hemisphere, using strategies and tools such as: |

| | |

| |Considering the role that the Latin American Network of Education Portals can play in expanding high-quality educational resources available to |

| |schools, promoting the exchange of knowledge and experiences, and diminishing the costs of developing national portals. |

| | |

| |We ask the CIE to undertake the following: |

| |Explore with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other relevant organizations ways to augment information exchange and develop |

| |cooperative strategies in the area of educational finance and management. |

| | |

| |Explore ways to ensure that the recommendations presented at this meeting from consultation with civil society organizations can assist in |

| |developing partnerships with such organizations, in order to benefit from their experience, especially in educational areas pertaining to the |

| |most vulnerable sectors of society. |

| | |

| |We ask the OEST to support the implementation of these Commitments to Action and to support the CIE by: |

| | |

| |Promoting dialogue among education authorities and governmental institutions at the hemispheric, regional, national, and subnational levels, as |

| |well as with international and civil society organizations and others, aimed at meeting the challenges faced by education in the Hemisphere, both|

| |in person and by virtual means. |

| | |

| |Undertaking diagnostic studies and policy analyses to support the actions established in this Declaration. |

| | |

| |Supporting information exchange and other horizontal cooperation among countries regarding educational programs that have demonstrated their |

| |effectiveness or promise. |

| | |

| |Continuing to coordinate its activities with education-related programs and activities of other OAS offices to help meet Summit education goals. |

| |Examples include but are not limited to the Educational Portal of the Americas, the Institute of Advanced Studies for the Americas (INEAM), the |

| |Scholarship and Training Programs, the OPD, and education projects supported by the Special Multilateral Fund of the Inter-American Council for |

| |Integral Development (FEMCIDI).” |

| | |

| |--- Declaration of Scarborough and Commitments to Action from the FOURTH INTER-AMERICAN MEETING OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION |

| |August 10 to 12, 2005 |

| |Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago |

| | |

| |“WE AFFIRM the commitment of States or pertinent authorities to promote quality professional preparation and ongoing development for early |

| |childhood education staff, teachers, and technical personnel. We recognize the commitment of educators throughout the Hemisphere to the |

| |education of our children and young people;” |

| |--- Declaration from the FIFTH INTER-AMERICAN MEETING OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION |

| |November 12 to 14, 2007 |

| |Cartagena de Indias, Colombia |

| | |

| |“37. We reaffirm our commitment to achieving a gross secondary education enrolment rate of at least 75% by the year 2010 and we call on the |

| |Ministers of Education, with the support of the OAS, specialised international and regional institutions and civil society organisations, to |

| |develop strategies to make quality secondary education accessible to all our young people by 2015, especially the most vulnerable groups and |

| |those with special education needs. These strategies should be based on the principles of equity, quality, relevance and efficiency in education,|

| |taking into account the gender perspective and student diversity, and should also encourage innovation and creativity.” |

| |---Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain |

| |Fifth Summit of the Americas |

| |Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |

| |April 19, 2009 |

| | |

| | |

| |“Considering the fundamental role of teachers in education, we reaffirm the commitment to adopt cooperation mechanisms for the development of |

| |pre-service education and professional development of teachers that respond to the demands of 21st century education. We entrust the CIE to |

| |follow up on this issue through the Inter-American Teacher Educator Network (ITEN), to which we give our full backing.” |

| |--- Declaration of the SIXTH INTER-AMERICAN MEETING OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION |

| |August 2009 |

| |Quito, Ecuador |

| | |

| |Dialogue, exchange, and international cooperation can boost and enrich our national efforts, by generating the resources, knowledge and |

| |partnerships needed to achieve a genuine transformation of secondary education that will yield concrete benefits for everyone. Working with the |

| |OAS, through its Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE), and in coordination with international organizations and agencies, other donors, |

| |and civil society, we pledge to develop a regional cooperation plan to strengthen secondary education, with clear goals and the resources needed |

| |to foster exchange and cooperation among countries.. |

| |--- Declaration of the SIXTH INTER-AMERICAN MEETING OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION |

| |August 2009 |

| |Quito, Ecuador |

|4 |Brief description of the consultations with the authorities of the member countries involved, and identification of the counterpart institutions |

| |in the countries in which the project will be carried out. |

| | |

| |The concept of this proposal was put to the authorities of the Inter-American Committee on Education in February 2010, and got the approval of |

| |the representatives of the member states present at the meeting. Consultations were conducted and cooperative agreements concluded on the |

| |respective plans of action with the strategic partners iEARN, Fundación Evolución, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean |

| |(ECLAC), the International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), the Programa de Promoción de la Reforma |

| |Educativa en America Latina (PREAL) [Program to Promote Educational Reform in Latin America], Teachers Without Borders, Fundación Telefónica, and|

| |Editorial Norma. |

|5 |General purpose or objective for conducting the project. |

| | |

| |To assist the ministries of education in the member states to create or strengthen and implement policies that serve to enhance the quality of |

| |the education that secondary- and elementary-school teachers in general receive, thereby continuing with the professional development of |

| |secondary-education teachers. |

|6 |Specific purpose or objective of the project (identify one purpose per project) |

| | |

| |Promote seminars for those who make educational policy. The seminars will be on developing and implementing plans to integrate ICTs in the |

| |educational systems of the Americas. The project will continue to maintain and expand the virtual spaces (Portal of the Inter-American Teacher |

| |Educator Network) and online courses to encourage and support the hemispheric dialogue on improving initial teacher education and provide |

| |solutions that serve to enhance the quality of the initial education and improve the professional development of secondary-education teachers. |

| | |

| | |

|7 |Identification of the beneficiaries |

| |Direct beneficiaries |Indirect beneficiaries |

| | | |

| |Education policymakers |Students and teachers of the Americas in general, who will benefit by |

| |National Offices for Teacher Education in the Ministries of Education |having better trained educators. |

| |Directors of teacher education institutions | |

| |Teacher educators and in-service teachers | |

| |Teachers in initial education | |

| |Technical teams in charge of teacher education in ministries of | |

| |education and teaching institutions in the Hemisphere | |

| |Future teachers | |

|8 |Expected outcomes |

| |Specific Purpose or |Virtual spaces (ITEN) and online courses created for meeting and discussion. |

| |Objective | |

| |Outcome 1 |The ITEN virtual space and community, maintained on a regular basis. |

| |Outcome 2 |2. Internet pilot courses for secondary-education teachers created and conducted on the way that innovative teaching |

| | |techniques can be used in the classroom. The courses will focus on student-centered teaching techniques, collaborative |

| | |projects based on learning and integrating information and communications technologies in the curriculums. |

| |Outcome 3 |3. Two seminars for educational policymakers created and implemented. The seminars will focus on development and |

| | |implementation of plans to integrate ICTs in the educational systems within two regions of Latin America (Mercosur and |

| | |the Andean Region). |

|9 |Activities planned under the project |

| |For Outcome 1 |Maintaining and updating the ITEN portal. |

| |Activity 1.1. |Technical maintenance of the ITEN Portal in collaboration with DOITS. |

| |Activity 1.2 |Upkeep of the ITEN Website. Site redesigned and updated with the inclusion of secondary-education components, by hiring|

| | |a consultant working with the person in charge of the program at the OAS. |

| |Outcome 2 |Internet pilot courses for secondary-education teachers on how innovative teaching techniques can be used in the |

| | |classroom. |

| |Activity 2.1. |Adapt the course “Teacher Training for the 21st Century” for secondary-education teachers by hiring specialists in the |

| | |development of online courses. |

| |Activity 2.2. |Recruitment, hiring and training of tutors. |

| |Outcome 3 |Seminars for education policymakers. |

| |Activity 3.1 |Planning of the seminars, including the invitation to the education policymakers in the Americas and preparation of the |

| | |issues to discuss. |

| |Activity 3.2 |Holding of the discussion. |

| |Activity 3.3 |Preparation of the final report and its distribution. |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|10 |Timetable |

| |Activities |Months 2011 | |

| |

|11 |Other institutional partners involved and their specific role in the project |

| |Partners |Specific role in the project |

| |The Economic Commission for Latin |ECLAC is one of the United Nations’ five regional commissions. It was created to contribute to Latin |

| |American and the Caribbean (ECLAC) |America’s economic development, coordinate the measures undertaken to promote it, and build up the |

| | |economic ties among the countries themselves and with the other nations of the world. Its mission would |

| | |later be expanded to include the Caribbean countries and the goal of promoting social development was |

| | |introduced. |

| | |Talks got underway to develop an observatory on the state of the ICTs’ integration in teacher training |

| | |institutes in the Americas. ECLAC will begin the preliminary phase by designing and administering a |

| | |survey in Latin America. |

| |International Institute for Higher |IESALC is an organization of UNESCO devoted to the promotion of higher education, helping to implement in|

| |Education in Latin America and the |the Latin American and Caribbean region the higher-education programs that the UNESCO General Conference |

| |Caribbean (IESALC): |approves every two years. The OAS and IESALC will collaborate to create a Map of Higher Education in |

| | |Latin America and the Caribbean. The ITEN will begin the preliminary phase of the map by designing and |

| | |administering a preliminary study in five countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. |

| | | |

| | | |

| |International Education and Resource |iEARN has 20 years of experience in integrating information and communications technologies into |

| |Network (iEARN), and its independent |curriculums. It is active in 125 countries, which include centers in the Americas. iEARN works directly|

| |center for Latin America and the |with the ministries of education and other educational institutions to provide them with professional |

| |Caribbean, Fundacion Evolución |development for teachers in several languages, including its pioneering Internet courses in professional |

| | |development. These courses earned iEARN the Goldman Sachs Foundation Prize for Excellence in |

| | |International Education and the Tech Museum Laureate for “Technology Benefiting Humanity” in the |

| | |education category. iEARN and the Fundación Evolución adopted their courses to target teacher educators |

| | |and adapted them to fit UNESCO’s ICT Competency Standards for Teachers. |

| |Teachers Without Borders |Teachers Without Borders (TWB) is a nonprofit international organization specializing in teachers’ |

| | |professional development. The organization has staff and members in 180 countries worldwide. TWB will |

| | |collaborate with ITEN, in principle, by granting fellowships to teachers to enable them to participate in|

| | |ITEN’s online courses; it will share educational content and resources in English and Spanish; it will |

| | |assist with online discussions within the ITEN virtual community; and it will promote ITEN’s virtual |

| | |space in its English- and Spanish-language publications. Other opportunities for cooperation will be |

| | |explored. |

| |Programa de Promoción de la Reforma |PREAL is a joint program of the Inter-American Dialogue and the International Center for Education and |

| |Educativa en America Latina (PREAL) |Human Development (CINDE). The idea is to help improve quality and equity in education by encouraging |

| |[Program to Promote Educational Reform |informed discussion of issues in educational policy and reform; identifying and disseminating best |

| |in Latin America] |practices and monitoring educational progress in the countries of the region. In principle, PREAL and |

| | |ITEN will collaborate by sharing articles, documents, research and other resources related to education |

| | |and the introduction of technology in the classroom. Other opportunities for collaboration will be |

| | |explored. |

| |Other possible partners |Discussions have gotten underway with other potential partners such as the Fundación Telefónica, for |

| | |possible collaboration to convert the ITEN virtual space into a network of networks in the Americas, and |

| | |on the possible creation of an online course for education policymakers. Discussions have also been held|

| | |with Editorial Norma where the organization would commit to sharing educational materials, resources and |

| | |articles published in the virtual space and magazine “El Educador”. |

|12 |Related programs and projects of the Organization (if there are any); specify whether any cooperative relationship exists. |

| | |

| |The project works in cooperation with the Educational Portal of the Americas, which provides the platform for the delivery of online courses. |

| |The project also works with the Department of Information and Technology Services (DOITS) on developing the platform of the virtual community, |

| |some of the main components of ITEN. |

| |The ITEN web page was done in cooperation with the Department of Strategic Communication and Image. |

| | |

|13 |Identification of other institutions conducting similar or complementary projects and, if they exist, the cooperative relations with the GS/OAS |

| | |

| |Unaware of similar projects. |

| |IESALC has a number of projects in higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean. One of those projects, the Observatory on Higher |

| |Education, does complement this project. The latter will work with them to build the Map of Teacher Education. |

|14 |Please add any information that you believe may be relevant to the consideration of this profile. |

| |The massive introduction of netbooks in many countries of the Americas is not matched by systematic plans to ensure that teachers are able to use|

| |them efficiently and to good effect with their students in the classroom. There is no question that this technology has the potential to improve|

| |the teaching-learning process by making available to students a tool to connect with their world. The following are some of the National |

| |Programs: |

| | |

| |Plan CEIBAL (Uruguay): This plan is part of the “Inclusion and access plan to bring information and knowledge to society,” which is part of the |

| |government’s agenda and to be applied by the National Public Education Administration. The Plan has earned international renown since it was |

| |first introduced, as Uruguay was the first country in the world to complete such a plan |

| |Un Computador para Cada Educador [A Computer for Every Teacher] (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela): the premise of this plan is that teachers |

| |play a vital role in shaping new citizens, readying them to join the workforce and a world of ever increasing demands. |

| |Computadoras para Educar [Computers to Educate] (Colombia): This program in technology reuse is intended to give the country’s public educational|

| |institutions access to information and communications technologies by recycling, reconditioning, assembling and maintaining equipment and |

| |promoting its use in teaching, while implementing strategies in educational supervision and acquisition of ICTs. |

| |Plan Conectar Igualdad [Equality Connect Plan] (Argentina): Launch of the plan to provide all secondary-education students and students in |

| |teacher training schools with three million computers free of charge. |

| |Red Enlaces [Links Network] (Chile): The sustained effort on the part of Enlaces has given 93% of the students enrolled in the public education |

| |system access to the new technologies (more than eleven thousand schools and high schools now have labs with computers supplied by Enlaces; 60% |

| |have internet connection). With the implementation of the new program Ruta Digital the Ministry of Education plans to outfit 7,000 classrooms |

| |with notebooks and a projector, as well as one interactive blackboard per school. |

| |Internet for Schools (Trinidad and Tobago): All secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago will have computers with Internet access by the start of|

| |the 2010 school year in September. |

| |“Una laptop por niño” [A laptop for every child] (Peru): This is a project of Peru’s Ministry of Education, by way of the Office of the Director |

| |General of Educational Technologies (DIGETE) to level the educational playing field in rural areas. |

| |() |

| |“La Escuela Conectada al Siglo XXI” [The 21st Century Connected School] (Dominican Republic): A total of 12 thousand laptops will be supplied to|

| |the directors of educational institutions throughout the country. |

| |“Una computadora por niño” [A computer for every child] (Paraguay): This initiative, conducted through Paraguay Educa, plans to supply a laptop |

| |to every child in the first through sixth grades in Paraguay’s public schools. The project wants to create places on the network where children |

| |and adults of modest means can collaborate and practice citizenship, by promoting activities that encourage participation, creativity and freedom|

| |of expression. |

|15 |Budget file |

| | |

| |Attached |

|16 |Signature of the Executive Secretary of the area presenting the profile: |Date the profile is submitted: |

| | | |

To access the estimated budget for the project, please click on the following link:



CIDI03062E05

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[1]. Hanuschek and Wößmann 2007

[2]. UNESCO 2006, Teachers and Educational Quality: Monitoring Global Needs for 2015.

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ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

Inter-American Council for Integral Development

(CIDI)

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