ICT ( INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY ) IN ALBANIAN SCHOOLS
National program realization of ICT in education
Prof,asc.dr. Ilir BOZGO
University of Gjirokastra - ALBANIA
The use of ICT in and for education is now seen
worldwide as both a necessity and an opportunity.
Abstract
This paper focuses on the educational reform development, in establishing an effective
application on ICTs in the overall educational process in Albania.
By 2000, as a response to the worldwide and regional development as well as the national and
community needs, the state authorities gave much consideration to the national strategy on ICTs. An
important role in this strategy, especially after 2005, plays the issue of ICTs application in all levels of
the educational process.
The paper deals mostly with the main aspects of the realization problems of this project on a
national level. Its application has started since 2006 and was monitored by the Ministry of Science and
Education in order to build the necessary infrastructure, its acknowledgment and application in schools
.
The paper treats the set objectives within the frame of ICTs application in education, which is
being gradually realized in all schools of pre- university education system of the Albanian Republic:
Teachers’ training on ICT bases, use of computers and new technologies, main internet
techniques... etc
Provision of all schools with computer labs, projectors and internet connection.
Acquisition of ICT teaching methodology which enables teachers and learners to improve the
educational process.
Creation of an interactive school atmosphere through ICT application
Presentation of an ICT educational level which enables students to be qualified in certifying
programs.
Organization of different qualification activities with teachers (seminars, workshops,) about the
use of ICT in different educational disciplines etc
Introduction
Nowadays, the concept and the implementation in the school practise of ICTs is highlighted by
the European and World educational policies. Many countries are giving a high priority to the use of
ICTs in education as a tools that can improve the quality of teaching, learning and management in
schools and so help raise standarts . for more equitable and pluralistic development in education.
Some of the general questions on which education specialists focuses are :
How we can use ICT to accelerate progress towards education for all and throughout life?
How can ICT bring about a better balance between equity and excellence in education?
How can ICT help reconcile universality and local specificity of knowledge ?
How can education prepare individuals and society to benefit from ICT that increasingly
permeate all realms of life ? etc.
There are same important principles on which must be based the use of ICTs in education :
First, ICT are only the part of a continuum of technologies, starting with chalk and books, all of
which can support and enrich learning.
Second, ICT , as any tools , must be considered as such, and used and adapted to serve
educational goals.
Third, computer sciences and new technologies we don’t have to understand and to treat only
as separate and necessary subject matter which is included in the curriculum , but as the tools that are
able and they have to integrate in the didactic process of every subject matter in the school.
Fourth, teachers remain central to the teaching- learning process
National program realization of ICT in education
1. The necessity of ICTs in the educational Albanian setting
The usage of ICTs during the last years has marked an obvious progress in Albania. The
number of users of ICTs, the internet users, the computer applications, the usage of ICTs from the
managing bodies of institutions etc. has increased.
The spreading of ICTs in the everyday life and activity of the Albanian society set the
conditions and also was considered necessary for the Albanian educational system to meet the demands
of the contemporary development in the relevant field.
The young generation grows up in a new reality; they play, learn and speak using the digital language.
That is why the school has the task to acquire this language in order to improve communication and
offer them an effective didactic methodology.
The highest governmental educational institutions paid much attention to the setting up of
proper facilities for the Albanian students to get introduced and use the ICTs in school.
In order to reach this objective, in 2005 there was launched the project: “ICTs in the Albanian
Schools”.
2. The main objectives of the project:
- The equipment of the schools with computer labs in accordance with the number of the classes
and the pupils.
- The internet connection in all public schools of the urban and rural zones.
- The training of the teachers on the basis of ICT, the usage of computers, the basic techniques of
the internet, the usage of ICT in teaching etc.
- The putting of ICTs as a subject in the curricula of the compulsory education (year 7-8-9).
- The introduction with the teaching methodologies through ICTs. This enables the teachers and
students to improve the teaching process in all subjects
- The presentation of a teaching level of ICTs, which enables the pupil to get qualified in
different programmes as: European Patent of Computer by the end of the High School. This will
provide them more opportunities to get employed and will ease their graduation in the
university as well.
- The creation of an interactive educational setting by the means of ICTs applications in the
management of schools and the creation of different bodies: headmaster, teacher, pupil, parents
etc.
3. Inclusion into the Program
a. Number of schools :
- Elementary Education ( Compulsory Education )
9-th grades schools ( 1- 5 and 6 - 9 grades ) : 1749 schools
- Secondary Education
( General secondary schools and professional secondary schools : 3 or 4 year )
376 schools
b. Number of students
- Students in Elementary Education ( 9-grades schools) 450 000
- Students in Secondary Education ( general / professional schools) 139.000
c. Number of teachers
- Teachers in Elementary Education System 25 000
- Teachers in Secondary Education System 7 700
4. Program duration and phases
The Program has spread over 3 year : 2006 – 2008 . This period has been divided into three
phases :
Phase I . At 2006 year the program has covered 65 – 75 % of secondary schools and about 10 %
of elementary schools.
Phase II At 2007 year the program has covered 90 % of secondary schools and about 40 – 50 %
of elementary schools.
Phase III. At 2008 year the program has covered all secondary schools and elementary schools.
5. The problems that should be resolved
In order to reach a successful application of the project, it was necessary to take into account the
difficulties that should be overcome and the problems to be resolved.
They were of various types: financial, technical, administrative, professional, educational etc...
Among the main problems encountered during the ICT implementation in schools were:
-Small number of graduated teachers to teach information technology or computer sciences
-Absence of information technology subjects in the 9-year level school curricula (computer was learnt
in private courses arranged by private computer centers)
-Difficulties of internet connections in far-away rural areas
-Absence of a library with software didactics in Albanian language, which would be necessary for the
subjects’ at different school levels
-Absence of school textbooks on ICT to adjust with the class and learners’ age etc…
6. Results of the project
The ICT project applied in the Albanian school realized the learners’ dream, which drifted to 4-
5 years ago. So, it’s been long time they had much desired to achieve it. The teachers and learners in
the whole country feel to be closer to their counterparts and colleagues in other countries. Nowadays,
they possess the possibility to keep abreast of the news and information in different fields and are being
qualified to gradually apply these modern information and communication technologies in their school
accomplishment.
The results are already noticeable as far the objectives of the project are concerned:
a. Information technology laboratories and the internet connection
At the end of 2008 the schools were supplied with computer laboratories as well as the internet
connection. There were installed over 1500 labs, comprising about 1800 PCs (their cost was about 16
million $)
Over 500 000 learners are by now using the computer and internet at their schools. The new set up
computer labs were supplied with a certain number of computers (15 or 17 according to the number of
learners), printers and scanners.
Big schools established 2 or more labs. Each school was supplied with virtual laboratories: video
projectors and laptops (almost 2000 laptops and 2000 video projectors)
Efforts were made to enable the internet connection in remote rural areas.
b. Teacher training and qualification on ICT teaching at schools
One of the difficulties faced during the implementation of the project was the considerable lack of
qualified teachers in the field of information technology.
The main reasons were:
The small number of teachers holding a degree in information technology or computer
sciences
The employment of graduated people in other sectors, outside education
The urgent need for a large number of teachers etc…
There were two alternatives opt for us:
1. It should be waited until it was obtained the necessary number of teachers specialized in
this field; and then the information technology and ICT infrastructure was to be installed.
2. The installation of ICT, the training and qualification of teachers should run in parallel.
The second alternative was chosen as the most appropriate. The process proceeded in parallel.
How did it all operate?
Initially, highly qualified teachers holding a university degree, or an individual
certificate in computer sciences were assigned to teach in different levels in schools.
A large company in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Education
carried out a project, which aimed at training and certifying the teachers in groups,
through attending qualification courses
The system known as” cascade” began to operate, in order to facilitate teachers
work during the ICT teaching process (training goes down to the school level
knowledge ;)
The “Bachelor” and” Master” program in the field of information technologies was
performed in all universities and institutions of high education in our country etc…
Anyway, this is still an existent problem.
c. The application of ICT in the teaching process
ICTs are seen as important tools to enable and support the move from traditional “ teacher-
centric” teaching styles to more “ learner – centric” methods.
Research consensus and the experience holds that the most effective uses of ICTs are those in
which the teacher, aided by ICTs can challenge pupils’ understanding and thinking, either through
whole-class discussions and individual/small group work using ICTs.
Naturally, the installation of information technology laboratories and the school provision with
the technical elements of ITC is a primary condition, in order to make use of these technologies during
the teaching process.
There are another important and necessary factors to make possible an effective impact of
ICTs in education process.
First , the usage of ICTs in education process is being gradually integrated in the didactic
practices, through the establishment of software didactic library in different subjects. The Institute for
the Development of Education (within the structure of the Ministry of Education and Sciences) has
prepared the relevant CD-s for all the subjects with different models of lessons. To the beginning of
next school year, the didactic experts’ groups will prepare the CDs with didactic models for all subject
matters and for all schools of Albanian pre-university education system
Second, there is an necessity to increase the level of the teacher’s qualification and
competencies in the use of ICTs in teaching . Teacher training and professional development is seen as
the key driver for the successful usage of ICTs in albanian schools.
There are three necessary phases of teacher training and professional development :
- pre-service, focusing on initial preparation not only on pedagogy, subject mastery ,
management skills , etc. but and on use of various teaching tools( including ICTs).
- in- service , including structured face–to-face and distance learning opportunities building
upon pre-service training and directly relevant to teacher needs
- on-going formal and informal pedagogical and technical support, enabled by ICTs, for
teachers, targeting daily needs and practices. “One – off training” is not sufficient. Teachers
require extensive, on-going exsposure to ICTs to be able to evaluate and select the most
appropriate resources.
Nevertheless, preparing teachers to benefit from ICT use is about more than just technical skills.
Teacher technical mastery of ICT skills is not a sufficient precondition for successful integration of
ICTs in teaching.
There are some teachers of all school levels and all subject matters , which make references in
his teaching only to textbooks .
Few teachers have broad “expertise” in using ICTs in their teaching. ( Even in the most
advanced school in european countries ).
Few teachers are confident in using a wide range of ICTs resources .
Students are more sophisticated in their use of technology than teachers. There
appears to be a great disconnect between student knowledge and usage of ICTs the
knowledge and abilities of teacher to use ICTs.
d. ICTs as a subject matter.
ICTs is included as an obligatory subject matter in the academic curricula starting from 7 -th
grade of elementary schools. Textbooks for this subject are prepared in conformity with the level of
education and the school ages of children.
The ICTs program in elementary school aim to develop the basic competencies in the use of
ICTs.
The ICTs program in secondary school aim to develop the student competencies in the use of
ICTs up to qualification in certification program as ECDL ( European Computer Driving License ) .
Conclusions
The use of ICT in and for education is now seen worldwide as both a necessity and an
opportunity. ICT can improve the quality of teaching, learning and management in schools and so help
raise standards. For this reason it is become a reality in schools of various countries.
ICTc use in education is a process, not an event, and as every process has the own
problematics.
Some of this problems have the global dimensions. There are some factors that influence the
level and the effective implementation of ICTs on education in different countries as the following:
- national policy to support strategy of ICT in education
- strategy of teacher training to use ICT in the teaching process
- the beginning time of ICT use in the schools
- the level of teachers’qualification
- the system of teacher professional development
- teacher technical abilities and knowledge of ICTs
- the variety of communication technology equipment in the schools
- the technical standarts etc.
There are the questions of the global pedagogical dimensions which need analyses, researches,
recomandations to more effective use of ECTs on teaching, learning and achievement as follows :
Impact on learning and achievement
It is generally believed that ICTs can impower teachers and learners, making significant
contribution to learning and achievement, but data to support these beliefs are still limited. The impact
of ICT use on student achievement remains difficult to measure and open to much reasonalble debate.
Studies have shown that even in the most advanced schools in industrialized countries , ICTs are
generally not considered central to the teaching and learning process. Standartized testing, for
example, tends to measure the results of traditional teaching practices, rather than new knowledge and
skills related to the use of ICTs. It is clear that more research needs to be conducted to understand
the complex links between ICTs , learning and achievement.
Teachers and teaching
The use of ICTs in the classroom or in distance does not diminish the role of teacher neither
does it automatically change teaching practices. Teachers remain central to the learning process.
Experience has shown that a variety of support and enabling mechanisms must be implemented to
optimize teacher use of ICTs. The existence of ICTs does not transform teacher practices in and of
itself. However, ICTs can enable teachers to transform their teacher practices, given a set of enabling
conditions. ICTs can be used to reinforce existing pedagogical practices as well as to change the way
teachers and students interact. A shift in the role of the teacher utilizing ICTs to that of a facilitator
does not obviate the need for teachers to serve as leaders in the classroom. Traditional teacher
leadership skills and practices are still important ( especially those related to lesson planning,
preparation and follow-up ). Teacher lesson planning is vital when using ICTs. Where little planning
has occurred, research shows that student work is often unfocused and can result in lower attainment.
Teacher training and continued professional development are essential if benefits from investments
in ICTs are to be maximized
Content and curriculum issues
“ Accessing information” is the main use of ICTs in education. It is considered to be one of the
most important benefits of the uses of ICT in education. Accessing information- not using ICTs for
communication purposes- is the most common use of the Internet in schools beyond providing a tool
for the development of basic computer literacy skills. Learning materials in electronic format are most
useful when they are directly linked to the curriculum The absence of educational content directly
linked to curricula is one of the key inhibiters of ICT use by teachers and learners . Simply importing
educational content through ICTs is fraught with difficulties. The questions of relevance to local needs
shows that unless electronic educational resources are directly related to the curriculum and methods
used to evaluate educational outcomes , intervention may not have positive educational impacts.
Bibliography
National Program of Ministry of Education and Science of Albania ( MES)
“ E - schools in Albania” Tirana December 2005
National Program for Researches and Development
“ The information systems and technologies “ Tirana June 2007
MES of Albania “ The system of Teachers Professional Development “ Tirana 2007
CARLSON ( 2002) Teacher professional development in the use of Technology
MUSAI B. “ Mjeshterite themelore te mesimdhenies “ ( 1997 ) Tirane SHBLU
MES of Albania “ National Strategy on Pre- university Education Development “ Tirane 2005
Textbooks in Albanian schools “ ICT” and “ Informatics”
Webliografia
Ministry of Education and Science of Albainia “ www.mash.gov.al”- “ e- schools in Albania”
http://www ICT and Education
http:// www TIC nel contesto scolastico italiano