November edition of Bilgi Cagi Magazine looks over the relationship between education and technology. The magazine takes the issue of the vicious cycle and the strategies which can not be applied on the intersection fields of education and technology. According to the experts, we are neither learning technology nor using technology to learn. So the priority has to be changing our approach to the technology as a society.
Educational technologies have slowly entered our lives. But these developments are not at desired level. According to The Global Gender Gap Report which has been prepared by World Economic Forum since 2006 Turkey was the 110th order in education criterion, 93rd order in health criterion and 107th order in political participation criterion among 134 countries in 2008. It is obvious that technology has a positive effect in all of these fields (education, health, politics etc.). November edition Bilgi Cagi magazine draws attention especially to positive effect of relationship between education and technology.
Faruk Eczacibasi, the chairman of Turkish Informatics Foundation, states that the content of education requires innovation and modernization of education is going through technology. But this transition requires content. Also he points out the continuity of education policy and application.
The manager of Sebit education and information technology Inc., which has created interactive training support program Vitamin, Ahmet Eti answers the questions about Vitamin. He states that Vitamin supports students in their education life and offers teachers an important educational resource and tool. Bilgi Cagi takes Vitamin as an exemplary implementation which is a very successful way of bringing together education and technology.
Bilgi Cagi magazine made an interview with the Prof. Dr. Tahir Ozgu, the President of Turkey Community Services Foundation (TOVAK) which is an example of providing equal opportunities in education with technology. Ozgu states that they are aiming to make experimental studies to protect education difficulties by new and technological solutions and TOVAK will integrate internet to the education system by means of their new projects BITE and Yenikampus. Through BITE project information transferring from city schools to rural schools will be provided. Also Yenikampus project will implement as a kind of on-line public house application.
In her November article Leyla Arsan, the CEO of TAGES, states that we have to move our e-learning efforts to European level. Arsan points out that Europe has discerned that information and communication technologies is not used enough in the education field and Europe has started to renew the current policy. She continues that according to this new policy Europe has created ‘Education and Training 2010’ Work Programme and in this context it has opened new funds for use. But she emphasizes that Turkey’s policies do not coincide with the EU policies.
Also Arsan states that in the promotion of educational technology; lifelong learning, innovation and ICT is a very important triple. In the European Commission’s 2008 Progress Report which is supporting the use of ICT for lifelong learning and innovation, following findings are emerged:
- The use of ICT in education and training has not been as much as expected until now and public services with ICT has not received sufficient level in teaching and learning
- Involving ICT in education and training system requires changes in technological, organizational classroom environments and business areas and in learning arrangements
- Continuity of official, unofficial and workplace learning have not been provided yet
Arsan continues as since the beginning of 2007, Turkey has participated with 2 institutions to only one of 24 technology enhancement projects within the 7th Framework Program to which even China, Russia and USA have participated. Arsan gives the example of a successful project, ELEVATE, which is supported by the European Commission. ENOCTA is a technology provider partner and Okan University is a academic partner of the project fromTurkey..
Arsan gives the information of the national conference ‘3rd International Future Learning Conference on Innovations in Learning for the Future 2010: e-Learning’ which will be organized between 10 and 14 May 2010 in Turkey. The organizers of the conference are Istanbul University, Turkish Informatics Foundation, Istanbul Kultur University and Turkish Informatics Association and call for papers has already been opened. Finally, Arsan offers that it is very important to turn the national events into international level, to integrate with the EU projects, to put more effort for participation in the EU framework program projects and take place in research network, to encourage the collaboration of governmental institutions, NGOs, private sector and universities with research institutions.
TAGES is one of the main contributors in Bilgi Cagi magazine which is published monthly with a vision to watch R&D and innovation processes of Turkey where the target mass is public organisations, NGOs, private sector, universities and all parties responsible for the R&D and innovation improvement of Turkey.
To read more on ‘Education and Technology’ you may look at Bilgi Cagi Magazine:
