ICT for Innovating Youth Education for 21st Century Skills

The society we live today was unimaginable 10 Years before. It’s not just examples of facebook, YouTube or mobile phones in every hand. Its the ICT innovations that changed the world. In 1970s we had little Tuition for weak students. It started to grow in 1980s, grew big in 90s and today Tuition has become a defacto where bright students takes most tuition. Societies Innovate when competition and resource limitations are faced. In World Telecentres appeared in 1990s, bubbled in 2005s now we see sustainable Telecentres growing in the in mainstream.

In the ICT4D arena many ideas have been bloomed. Some managed to become mature taking path finding approaches. ICT4D journeys which acquired mixed experiences. Some excelled, some got tired and vanished. The ones which matured, got kept moving, along the vision using the lessons learned from experiences to get further. All the insights may not be fore-sights, but one idea to be successful, it may be worth testing several. Then ICT for sights are become global examples.

From the experiences we understand that future can't be predicted. Future has more parameters than any scientific equation. Yet experienced human minds can process such complex equations to imagine shape of the things to come. Those who can build such scenarios will create novel ideas that would be paid back in future. They will excel when the time comes. Arthur C. Clarke imagined the shape of the new communication, he wrote it and others followed.

Last decade many developing countries had been focusing in using ICT as a tool to develop the society. When we look at experiences gained in a learned perspective, we will find that ICT is more than a tool, but a foundation which can be used to build futures. especially In the area of education, ICT has helped the word to progress much by connecting schools, introducing online education, setting up distance vocational training facilities, and introducing of ICT in to main stream curriculum. Where will we go from here in innovating education?

It’s clear that tomorrow’s world will test youth for 21st century readiness. Every nation will continue to compete in a global economy that demands innovation. As we are learning today's global education approaches seen as outdated and obsolete. People are talking of radical re-generation of education. Educators are more thinking what is more important in education? Whether it’s memorizing of the prime god of Mesapothemia ? or knowing why Messapothemia was demised? The latter knowledge will help a person and world in the efforts for survival?

Hence educators in the world over re-thinking of changing education paradigms to make education more contributing to innovation. Educators are thinking along new perspectives like four Cs, which is an education concept gaining high recognition in developed countries.

The four Cs are

• 1. Critical thinking and Problem solving
  
  
• 2. Communication
  
  
• 3. Collaboration
  
  
• 4. Creativity and innovation.

In United States leading schools are already following this idea by aligning education curriculum to 4Cs. Looking at 4Cs we can immediately tell that 4Cs are about new media skills like internet, social networks that have become dominant in shaping world. Hence ICT is a core 21st Century skill to align 4Cs for the educational curriculum. We need to train every youth to use ICT to solve problems effectively, and to communicate locally and globally using creative media, and collaborate with others for innovation. If the concept of knowledge society to become real, we need to find new ways to deliver knowledge to people more creatively, more efficiently using new channels like social networks and mobiles.

In time to come, nations will be measured how innovative they would be and what new knowledge they process and how they communicate such knowledge and collaborate creating solutions to problems. If we are to develop our youth to take 21st century challenges and win, we need to make them more innovative. We know that, Innovation is an output of creativity which can be enabled by ICT. Hence skills of using ICT for creativity matters as much as ICT literacy for daily life.

Adobe Youth Voices Program designed to supports young people to use of cutting-edge multimedia tools to communicate and share their ideas, demonstrate their potential, and create a positive social impact in where they live. In this initiative 2 educators were trained from Sri Lanka. Following is one of the creations of Adobe educator from Sri Lanka. Adobe Youth Voices Program will be initiated in Sri Lanka in 5 Schools, 3 Telecentres, a disabled school and a orphanage to train 100+ Youth and expand further to train creative media educators and youth more next year.

This media peice was created during Adobe Youth Voices Training conducted by Thinking IT Global 2011. This experimental video done as a digital story involved writing a poem, creating a story board, field photography, photo editing and video editing process, used a nikon professional camera, photoshop elements 9, premiere elements 9 and audacity software. The whole production was done in electronic medium including exhibition.

Niranjan Meegammana
Adobe Youth Voices - Educator
http://www.shilpaayura.org

Unsung Poem of Youth

I created this media peice during Adobe Youth Voices Training conducted by Thinking IT Global 2011. This experimenta; video involved writing a poem, creating a story board, photography, photo editing snf video editing using a nikon camera, photo shop elements 9 and premiere elements 9.

Youth Empowerment Soceity : Open New Doors to Future

Youth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people in a positive manner, thus include parents, teachers and professionals who would provide support, secure and safe environments for them to flourish

How do we encourage young people to do their BEST?

If we are able to create an environment to evolve their leadership and ensure that they can safely experiment and succeed in developing stronger skills and confidence in future?

Youth problems are not just youth problems,
they are community problems  which requires us to work with parents, teachers, schools, corporates, media and community organisations to address the problems faced by our youth today.

What Youth need to FLOURISH

1. Developing leadership skills

2. Effective communication skills

3. Learn to relax and manage stress

4. Deal with emotions and doubts

5. Increase focus and clarity

6. Better fitness, health and nutrition

7. Understand power and responsibility

8. Develop self confidence and inner strength

9. Develop trust and better interpersonal relationships

10. Problem solving and community building skills

What creates Youth Problems?

Today's competitive educational environment and lifestyles puts youth under pressures which were not experienced by previous generations. Academic competition, peer pressure, family problems and high expectations of parents including increased media exposure create stress and anxiety at an age when youth are undergoing physical and mental changes.  

As a result, stress and depression are widespread in today's youth, preventing them from realising their full potential and putting them at risk of a wide range of problems in the long run.

Our Challange ?

To develop a new empowerment model for youth to develops their academic, technical, personal and social skills including critical thinking and problem solving skills so that they can meet global standards required for success in post secondary education and quality employment in KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY evolving today - faster than NANO.

What many people
don't know about young people ?

1. They like to be cared

o They like to be cared and loved.

o They need to feel safe and secure.

o The more they are cared for, the more secure they feel.

o They need to be surrounded by people who care for, appreciate and accept them unconditionally.

o They need the positive influences of peers and adults to encourage them to do their best.

o They need to be encouraged to appreciate that they are more likely to reach their potential with clear targets they can reach

2. They like to be valued

o The more they are valued the more positive self-worth they experience.

o They need to be encouraged to feel they have some control over things that happen to them.

o Empowering them will be proof that they are valued, respected, liked and are regarded as valuable resources.

o They need fun time to interact with peers and adults, which involves the development of social skills.

o To know that life has meaning and purpose

o Their lives have significance.

o The more they understand that there is a reason for their existence, the more significant they will feel.

o They need encouragement to explore opportunities within and outside of school to learn and develop new skills and interests.

o They are encouraged to acquire a commitment to learning: education success and the long-term value of learning will enhance their self-worth as they discover their gifts and talents.

o They need to appreciate and understand how to make the tough decisions and choices; how to cope with new situations.

o They need guidance to develop a positive view of the future.

What else ?Simply ask them ...

What is needed?To motivate, inspire and encourage young people to reach their full potential.

How ?
Let us bring young people together; create a supportive and secure environment; enable peer to peer collaboration; provide encouragement and mentoring with guidance to realize their full potential in the society

The quality of our future will be the youth we develop today...

Give Youth the Skills and Tools
and They'll Change the World

Shilpa Sayura is a Social Change Maker at Telecentres

Local language e learning at rural Telecentres
An imperative of ICT for increasing access to education

Niranjan Meegammana, Shilpa Sayura Foundation
Keeragolle Dhammasara, Talakumabura Nenasala
Chaminda Samarawikrama, Siyambalanduwa Nenasala
Saman Sisira Kumara, Madagama Telecentre

Abstract
In the face of emerging global challenges, from climatic change, heath, economic crisis and cultural issues, education remains the foundation for innovation for the advancement of human kind. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) help us to find new ways to teach people and improve the quality of education to initiate social changes through life long learning. Hence it is important to know the future imperatives of ICT that can be used in developing people to face the 21st century challenges and to respond to crucial problems in access to education with scalable and replicable ICT innovations.

This research is done in rural areas of Sri Lanka where early school drop-off rates after secondary education ranges from 51.6% -66.9% creating an adverse effect in rural societies increasing unemployment and unrest among youth. The research studies cases of local language e learning at Telecentres in rural Sri Lanka, implemented by Shilpa Sayura – rural e learning project. This initiative created open learning environments in rural Telecentres by catalyzing the power of ICT for enabling of self and group learning of the national curriculum to increase access to education by the marginalized rural youth whose education has been hampered with lack education resources. Shilpa Sayura by creating a new means of access to education helped improving of quality and performance in rural education. This research involves four case studies of local language e learning at rural Telecentres and a survey done among rural youth to understand how local language e learning was deployed in rural Telecentres of Sri Lanka, the approaches for development, resulting social change, innovative uses of ICT, obstacles, challenges and mitigation measures in the process to initiate a learned discussion on how “local language e learning at Telecentres” can be used as an effective development instrument for social change of rural societies in the developing world

In conclusion, the research finds that Shilpa Sayura and Telecentre local language e learning model as an innovation emerged through information and communication for development for increasing access to education by marginalized rural youth which can hope to improve examination performances and reduce school drop-offs. The scaling up of this innovation can help us to bridge gaps created by disparities in access to education in rural communities to transform them as “learning societies” for engaging them with life long learning to face the challenges of the 21st century. In this context “local language e learning at Telecentres” is seen as an effective development instrument which can significantly catalyze the social change with increased access, improved quality and performance in rural societies of the developing world, hence suggest as a future imperative of information and communication for development for social change.

Keywords: Shilpa Sayura, Telecentres, education, development, social change

This paper on Shilpa Sayura Impact was presented at "Future Imparatives of Informtion and Communication for Social Change" conference held at UNESCO Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand on 22nd December 2010.

Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkBCIb5_V8U

Part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqmsfTmDpWg

Read the full paper is at
http://www.shilpasayura.org/papers

ICT in dissater response and recovery

Simple use of ICT , Social Media , Telecentres can help creating support networks that helps the disaster relief process. . ICT  brought a great capability in responding with infomation in Sri Lanka Floods 2011. When a disasters happen, people need information from top to bottom. The infomation needs comes from the policy, operational and ground relief actions.



Needs assesment, relief, recovery, resource allocation can't be done without adequate and corect information. Major policy decisions can be made on correct information recived from ground. Traditional media are more market driven and covers incidents that create suspence and thrillar. Hence there are many gaps left in dissaster communication. ICT and Social media can make a big difference in disaster rocovery and re-building as it comes from nuetral souces and community who are on ground close to the victims.

The first action is creating media to make awareness of the scale and impact of disaster. Providing large amounts of information on  gound condtions assesment can only be  done by visits and talking to the victims. Photos, videos, voice cuts are best information peices, including text. 3G and moibile connectivity help communicate through internet when all transpotation is distrupted. SMS and dual sim mobile phones are greatest tools. Making local contacts and connecting support directly can be done sharing information and enabling peer to peer communicartion. ICT can be used to initiate relief collecting processes, and telecentres could become nationa wide collecting centers.

A Simple example of ICT in dissater response and recovery is
http://childreninthefloods.blogspot.com/
which provides Field Reports from Sri Lanka Floods 2011

This web site using social media and web 2.0 connected many soicial workers and support organizations in Sri Lanka Floods 2011 can be good case of ICT in Disasaster Communication, yet we have to wait to learn how it progress and impact crearted in dissater recovery and re-building.