faq
What does “TECH/NA!” mean?
TECH/NA! is a combination of English and local Namibian languages. TECH represents “technology”. NA is a commonly used term in Namibia meaning “very good”. The symbol “/” represents a click sound in Khoekhoegowab, an indigenous language of Namibia.
Why are ICTs important in Education and Development?
ICTs can raise the standard of education. According to research, ICTs can empower teachers and learners, promote change and foster the development of 21st century skills. They can also transform teaching and learning processes from being highly teacher-dominated to student-centered. This results in increased learning gains for students, allowing learners an opportunity to develop their creativity, problem-solving abilities, informational reasoning skills, communication skills, and other higher-order thinking skills.
How does TECH/NA! determine which schools get ICTs?
The implementation of ICTs in schools is determined in two steps. First is the prioritization of all schools using pro-poor School Selection Criteria. Second, educational institutions with the greatest needs are assessed to determine if they are “e-ready”. This final assessment considers both infrastructure and personnel motivation at schools. ICTs can then be introduced at these high priority, e-ready schools. Schools that are not e-ready are also provided support to become e-ready.
What is TECH/NA! doing about bandwidth and connectivity?
The Ministry of Education, XNET, and Global E-schools Communities Initiative are currently working on a plan to enhance and expand network access to address the connectivity issues which exist in the education sector. Key aspects of the plan include the following: all educational institutions should have access to reliable, affordable connectivity via the XNET structure; bandwidth requirements for all educational institutions will be aggregated in order to leverage economies of scale; and bandwidth to all institutions will be increased to realistic and useful levels (especially on the access network and national backbone level) to enable educational objectives to be fulfilled.
How does TECH/NA! provide curriculum for ICTs?
Curricular standards and training materials for ICT literacy, ICT integration for educators, and ICT as an examinable subject have been created and/or identified. Standards have been set for ICT literacy and ICT integration for educators. These standards provide the basis for the development of appropriate curricula and educational content for learners, teachers, teacher educators, and expert trainers.
How does TECH/NA! provide digital content?
To ensure that electronic content (or “e-content”) is available across the education sector, content will be adopted, adapted, and developed to cover all subject areas for all grades. Content currently available will be evaluated using a content evaluation tool. Content which meets this quality assessment review will be made available to all educational institutions. Where quality content is unavailable, content will be licensed from both proprietary and non-proprietary sources.
How does TECH/NA! ensure training is provided?
All ICT deployments through TECH/NA! are accompanied by comprehensive site based training for school principals, administrative staff, teachers, librarians, and learners. All users are also provided on-going support in the use of technology platforms, content, and applications.
How does TECH/NA! provide maintenance and technical support?
The National Education Technology Service and Support (NETSS) Centre has been created as a “one stop ICT shop” for the deployment and support of ICTs in all educational institutions across the country. NETSS is responsible for overseeing the sourcing, refurbishment, installation, and support of ICTs in educational institutions. Connectivity as well as maintenance and technical support will not be platform dependent.
For more information, visit our Press page and download the complete TECH/NA! Guide.
|
