Hi Ken, I agree that the needs identified in my previous post address different communities as it would also concern different units inside UNESCO.
As a first step we could envisage to undertake a separate detailed needs analysis for each one, i.e. for:
- Use of ICTs for school and university administration
- Use of ICTs for ODL
- Computer literacy (Mapping of FOSS applications with the Open Source ICDL such as the COL Computer Navigator Certificate)
- Basic teaching of computer applications or programming
- Use of ICT as a pedagogical help (UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers, structure of a Training Syllabus ).
The detailed needs analysis would:
- determine the type of applications currently in use, determine system requirements and the future modules needed;
- investigate the existing FOSS applications that might be used;
- establish cooperative links with existing FOSS projects;
- determine the potential partners;
- undertake limited evaluation of selected FOSS applications that might be of use;
- report on finding, make information available on FOSS applications that can be used and make recommendations on the next phase to undertake.
This is a huge work, however, UNESCO already initiated some activities r elated to the five items above:
- Collaboration with COL for producing a UNESCO/COL Computer Navigator Certificate based upon FOSS (item 3).
- Elaboration of a generic Training Syllabus called “UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers”. i.e. the training syllabus focus on the concepts and is independent from the software applications to be used that may be FOSS or proprietary.(item 5). We could probably go one step further by doing a mapping exercise that would associate a FOSS application to each item of the syllabus.
- An activity aimed at producing an “Open Distance Learning (ODL) Project Binder / Toolkit”, that is based upon FOSS and OER was also started. (item 2).
In the future, it may be envisaged to undertake an activity for (item 1) which was in fact my suggestion in the first posting.
UNESCO will also continue to facilitate awareness development and capacity building in Member States through the UNESCO FOSS Portal.
Best wishes, Jean-Claude
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