ItrainOnline Concept Note
1 June 2007
ItrainOnline Concept Note
Background and Introduction
ItrainOnline achievements 2001-2007
Vision for 2007-2009
Information gateway and repository of learning objects
Multimedia Training Kit expansion
Methodologies and approaches and building knowledge
Community of trainers
Events
Conclusion
Background and Introduction
The goal of the ItrainOnline partnership is to empower the development and CSO sectors to take full advantage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to accomplish their development and social change objectives.
ItrainOnline was established in 2001 as a joint initiative of APC, Bellanet, IICD, IISD, INASP - six organizations bringing together and exception collection of resources and expertise in computer and internet training and CSO-related needs. The ItrainOnline partnership comprises two tiers: a core group of managing partners (currently APC, Bellanet, FAO, IICD, Inasp, OneWord, Telecentre.org and UNESCO) and a second tier of content partners. By pooling our resources we are able to reduce overlaps in online content and in training programmes and to provide a single entry point to resources.
We see ourselves as a partnership of organizations with a strong interest in ICT4D capacity building, with a core set of products and services in the following interwoven areas:
- A forum and a network – both online and off – for sharing any developing approaches to capacity building and supporting those in ICT4D capacity building.
- Development of learning materials in a variety of formats and via a variety of processes including both “expert” driven collaborative and peer production.
- A platform to support all our areas of activity, including a learning object repository and interactive spaces for trainers.
Some of these are embryonic, some fully developed.
Current activities include the maintenance of the ItrainOnline portal, development of the ItrainOnline Multimedia materials and the pilot Itrainers’ community of practice in Anglophone Africa.
ItrainOnline achievements 2001-2007
The ItrainOne portal was launched in 2001 in English, French and Spanish. It comprises two sections: first, an information gateway with annotated links to resources of the site and second, the multimedia kit, a modular set of materials using a comment for. The overall site has approximately 60 000 page views per month. Top sections by use are basic computer skills, open source, Networking and Databases (Spanish), Radio, trainers and web design.
Between 2001 and 2007 focus has lain with the maintenance of the portal, and with the development of content for the Multimedia Training (MMTK). The MMTK was evaluation – largely positively - during 2005. The new activities proposed in this concept note draw heavily on the 2005 evaluation. 2006 also saw the launch of the Anglophone Itrainers community of trainers in Anglophone Africa.
Vision for 2007-2009
Information gateway and repository of learning objects
There is a need to revisit the ItrainOnline gateway with a view to turning it into a fully-fledged Learning Object repository (specifically the MMTK components), and also to develop it into a fully interactive platform to support elements such as the community of trainers.Over five years ItrainOnline has built up a solid collection of resources, However, our technical platform has not been able to keep pace with our activities or provide support for new directions such as building online communities. Specifically, we need to
- Develop the ItrainOnline MMTK into a fully fledged learning object repository
- Make provision for user contributions and collaborative production
- Integrate the ItrainOnline information gateway and MMTK sections
- Develop spaces for community interaction and feedback.
We know that a number of existing open source platforms may be customizable to our needs; researching and testing these will be our first step.
Multimedia Training Kit expansion
Materials development through the MMTK and IMARK has been a key part of our work as individual organizations and as a partnership.
The MMTK is a collection of modular training materials using a standard set of templates. The MMTK offers a tried and tested approach to training materials. Current we have about 140 units in English, French, Arabic and Russian. We would like to see
- New units developed
- Existing units translated and updated where necessary
- Effective facilitation of peer production
Methodologies and approaches and building knowledge
We would like to do more as a partnership to harness our learning in capacity building, built knew methodologies and approaches. We want a holistic approach too learning with training as only one aspect of this while, and to explore what delivery and facilitation modes are effective for specific for specific contexts. The need for discussion in this area was highlighted by the recent consultation held with LAC partners to explore the community of trainers concept.
For various reasons we tend to be reliant on the “workshop” training format; we should explore the strengths and limitations.
We should also be looking at what others – particularly educationalists – are doing, both drawing on and building educational research.
Community of trainers
We believe that the networking of trainers has a major role to play in trainer capacity building. We also feel that a regional focus is needed for these networks; this has been confirmed by a recent consultation in the LAC region as well as research conducted by IICD during 2006.IICD launched the Itrainers community of trainers for Anglophone Africa in 2006.
Events
We see the facilitation of ItrainOnline events as an important part of our activities in future, including face-to-face and online events. Among the envisaged events:
- An international ItrainOnline conference
- A workshop of Web 2.0 in Africa
- A LAC workshop to launch the LAC community of trainers.
Conclusion
Overall, ItrainOnline should support trainers through the production of interactive online spaces, face-to-face events and the provision of a variety of learning resources ranging from basic tip sheets to MMTK units. We would like to be a forum for individuals and organizations in the ICT4D sector who want to do more effective training through a holistic approach to learning, and through systematically reflective practice.