UNESCO IITE and Cisco Joint Project

In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed on November 15, 2011, in view of improvement of quality of education at the UNESCO Associated schools by installation of the newest educational and information technologies, and assisting countries in developing gender-sensitive teaching and learning materials the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) in cooperation with Cisco Systems, Inc. organized a joint training course “IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software v4.0” for teachers of the UNESCO Associated schools of Moscow and Moscow Region.

The main goals of the training course were to promote ICTs applications in education for sustainable development with focus on education quality and innovative approaches to UNESCO ASPnet schools development, and to expand a partnership of UNESCO ASPnet schools for their sustainable development.

The training course contributed to the fulfillment of relevant UNESCO IITE strategic objectives and the priorities of Major Programme I, particularly with regard to capacity development and knowledge services in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education, through (b) provision of technical assistance and training for the capacity development of Member States on the application of ICTs in education, with particular emphasis on teachers. Moreover, the training course “IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software v4.0” strongly corresponded to theGender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) for 2008-2013 thematic areas for priority action, such as literacy; teachers; skills development for the world of work - by development gender-sensitive teaching and learning materials that promote the equal participation of women and men in society and at work.

The teachers’ training course consisted of 10 working days per 8 academic hours each: 5 days in distance and 5 days in face-to-face mode. Training courses were organized for seven groups preferably of ASPnet schools’ teachers from 5 December till 17 December 2011 and from 21 May till 22 June 2012.

Training sessions took place in the premises of IITE (Moscow) and three leading education organizations of the Russian Federation, which have vast experience in the field of ICTs usage in education: University of Management “TISBI” (Kazan), the State educational institution secondary comprehensive school № 1357 specializing in English language (Moscow) and the Autonomous nonprofit organization of secondary vocational education “The College of the economy, insurance and information technology CESI” (ANO SVE “College CESI”) (Moscow).

This course provided an excellent introduction to the IT industry and in-depth exposure to personal computers, hardware, and operating systems. Participants learnt the functionality of various hardware and software components and best practices in maintenance and safety issues. Participants who completed this course can describe the internal components of a computer, assemble a computer system, install an operating system, and troubleshoot using system tools and diagnostic software. They also can connect the Internet and share resources in a network environment. Hands-on lab activities were an essential element of the course. Through hands-on lab activities participants learnt how to assemble and configure computers, install operating systems and software, and troubleshoot hardware and software problems.

Finally 130 teachers from 45 secondary educational institutions (78 women and 52 men) were trained and obtained IITE Certificate and International Certificate of the Cisco Academy.

Knowledge and skills acquired by participants will help to all of them in future professional activity and will promote further development of the information educational environment for the different educational institutions, particularly the UNESCO Associated schools of the Russian Federation.