Conceptual framework severin

Eugenio Severin -Education Specialist IDB-working paper
ICT4E Framework
v. 0.5α
Conceptual Framework
Projects for the use of Information and
Communication Technologies in Education
Eugenio Severin
Education Specialist
1300 New York Avenue NW, Washington DC 20577
Inter-American Development Bank
eugenios@iadb.org
Working Paper
PLEASE DO NOT CITE
Washington DC, June 2009
1

The Inter-American Development Bank Technical Notes encompass a wide range of best
practices, project evaluations, lessons learned, case studies, methodological notes, and other
documents of a technical nature that are not official documents of the Bank. The information
and opinions presented in these publications are entirely those of the author(s), and no
endorsement by the Inter-American Development Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or
the countries they represent is expressed or implied.
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Table of contents
I. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 4
II. Conceptual Framework definition............................................................................ 6
III. Students’ learning ................................................................................................... 7
IV. Impacts.................................................................................................................... 7
4.1 Intermediate impact ............................................................................................ 7
4.1.2 Change in practices...................................................................................... 7
4.1.3 Student involvement .................................................................................... 8
4.2 Final Impact ........................................................................................................ 8
4.2.1. Student achievements.................................................................................. 8
4.2.2. Student skills............................................................................................... 9
V. Development stages ............................................................................................... 10
VI. Inputs .................................................................................................................... 10
6.1 Infrastructure..................................................................................................... 10
6.2 Resources.......................................................................................................... 11
6.3 Training............................................................................................................. 11
6.4 Support.............................................................................................................. 11
6.5 Management...................................................................................................... 12
6.6 Sustainability..................................................................................................... 12
VII. Products and Processes........................................................................................ 12
7.1. Infrastructure.................................................................................................... 12
7.2. Resources......................................................................................................... 13
7.3. Training............................................................................................................ 13
7.4. Support............................................................................................................. 14
7.5. Management..................................................................................................... 14
7.6. Sustainability.................................................................................................... 14
VIII. Evaluation .......................................................................................................... 15
8.1 Baseline............................................................................................................. 15
8.2 Monitoring ........................................................................................................ 15
8.3 Final Evaluation................................................................................................ 16
IX. Sources of information ......................................................................................... 16
9.1 Qualitative......................................................................................................... 16
9.2 Quantitative....................................................................................................... 17
9.3 Analysis............................................................................................................. 17
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I. Introduction
This document presents a general Conceptual Framework to support the design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects where Information and
Communication Technologies have been incorporated to improve education
quality.
One of the main challenges in the use of ICT in education is the lack of indicators
that offer clear criteria and objective information to allow policy-makers to make
the proper decisions. Projects have not always considered rigorous evaluation
processes and in those instances where they have, ICT impact on learning has
not been the focus. Lastly, the project offering is so vast that there is no common
framework that can be both flexible and broad enough that would include the
diverse nature, contexts and different stages of projects.
The main hypothesis of the Framework is that the goal of all education projects is
to improve student learning regardless of whether they are children or adults.
The expected outcome should then be the impact(s) on learning, and the
conditions required to enable such learning.
By putting children in the center of learning process, learning outcomes can be
broad enough to consider improvements in students’ involvement and
compromise in learning as intermediate impact. This plays a direct role in the
curricular learning improvement and can be seen through the student’s
participation and permanence in the learning process, as well as with the
improvement in teacher practices and learning processes. The development of
either general or “XXI Century Skills” including an understanding of ICT skills
acquisition and overall improvement in the promise and involvement of students
in the learning process is reflected in their participation in the process.
The Framework includes the identification of components for each specific
project (inputs), its planning processes and products, and those processes that,
although not directly involved, can be affected by the development of the project.
Monitoring and evaluation processes must be incorporated as an integral part of
the process itself. The revision of key information before (baseline), during the
process (monitoring) and at the end of the project (final evaluation), are
fundamental in the proposed Framework.
Using diverse quantitative and qualitative methodologies for data collection and
observation will inform the processes and products and at the same time it will
allow for an adequate evaluation to be conducted. This evaluation will measure
the project’s efficiency by those carrying out the project and other stakeholders,
making it easier to determine best practices and promote the development of
new initiatives in the use of ICT in education areas.
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This Framework has been developed taking into account empirical information
available from past Inter American Development Bank experience and other
experts in the implementation of ICT projects in education.
Taking into account that every “ICT in education” project includes different lines
of action, the Framework is broad in nature, allowing for different variables to be
reviewed and selected, like a roadmap, where the different variables can be
selected depending on the direct or indirect involvement in the project and how
they could be affected by it.
Regardless of the variables and components that the project includes, the goal
(and objectives) should be linked to the improvement of learning and its
implementation should take into account monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
linked to the objectives. A good evaluation will allow results from one ICT
education project to be compared to other projects (ICT related or not) in order to
evaluate the efficiency of the investment.
This document should be considered a working paper of the conceptual
framework, which will be improved through the development of new products and
updated due to the constantly-changing nature of the ICT-education processes
and products.
5

II. Conceptual Framework definition
The Conceptual Framework for the design, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of ICT projects in Education (ICT4E Framework) is presented in the
following table:
Eugenio Severin (2009)
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As shown in the table, the framework includes the following elements:
• Student Learning, as the main goal of all project implementation.
Students must be considered the direct beneficiaries of any ICT4E
initiative, regardless if they are children or adults.
• The Inputs refer not only to project lines of action but also those factors
that could be affected by its implementation.
• The Processes and Products are those elements that will be modified by
the project and should show the results of the implementation.
• The projects’ Impact and the conditions that allow such outcomes are
measured broadly with different variables.
• Development Stages: four stages are described which will impact the
design, implementation and evaluation of the projects.
• The process of Monitoring and Evaluation includes different sources of
data and information.
The elements included in the Framework are described below:
III. Students’ learning
Once the goals and purpose have been established for each project and
students have been recognized as direct beneficiaries the expected results will
be linked to those learning processes (impacted directly or indirectly by the
project actions).
The project’s impact (positive, negative or no change) and its effectiveness will
depend on the evidence of change that can be demonstrated in students’
learning.
The link between the expected and actual outcome will define success in each
specific initiative.
IV. Impacts
4.1 Intermediate impact
4.1.2 Change in practices
The use of ICT in education implies the reasonable expectation that
modifications in teaching methodologies and student learning processes will
occur.
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ICT offer a unique opportunity for access and knowledge construction. In order
to have an effective and integral ICT use in education development of new
learning practices, strategies and methodologies have to be put in place. The
literature review indicates that in those examples where ICT has been
incorporated as an additional tool to ‘keep doing the same as always’, the
educational impacts are small or non existent.
This is an important field for innovation, where ICT4E play an important
catalyzing role. The link between teaching and learning practices and the
growing daily interaction of students with digital, multimedia and interactive
environments make this a key aspect of the Framework and an important
element to connect projects with expected impact.
4.1.3 Student involvement
One of the fundamental components of educational processes is student
involvement. Although it may be obvious, their motivation and ongoing
participation are necessary for the success of the project. Furthermore, students’
motivation and enthusiasm in activities have a positive impact, not only with
respect to possible learning results and development of new competencies but
also in the learning environment, in stakeholders’ expectations and the promotion
of student results from one level to another. These processes generate change
with respect to the motivation and expectations of parent and teachers. Both are
intertwined with students’ motivation and expectations resulting in the ongoing
development of learning,
The data for attendance, repetition, promotion and drop-out rates are usually
available and allow for the creation of a straightforward impact analysis.
Measuring motivation requires other instruments, which when applied correctly,
can provide important information about the effects of ICT4E projects.
4.2 Final Impact
4.2.1. Student achievements
A country’s education curriculum determines the knowledge and skills that
students should achieve for each grade as well as the tasks for teachers and
schools.
The first area where impact is evident in Information Communication
Technologies in education - ICT4E -projects is in the learning associated with a
specific school subject or topic, or how the curriculum content is divided
according to the learning aims or expected competencies for each student.
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Typically, this impact has been evaluated in subjects like language, mathematics
and science, since these are the subjects evaluated in most standardized tests
(focus groups or by census) and therefore, there are available data in many
countries (e.g.: standardized tests like TIMMS and PISA). Currently, studies have
found positive but moderate correlations between ICT projects and test results.
There are some challenges in those countries that do not apply or participate in
international standardized tests. In the case of these countries, the project could
develop ad-hoc standardized tests to be applied before and after the project
implementation (baseline and evaluation) or between groups that do or do not
participate in the project (control and compare groups).
The lack of rigorous studies in this area has made it harder to prove the
reasonable expectation that countries’ investment in ICT projects can improve
learning in different subjects. Therefore it remains to be seen if this impact is
significant and, if so, in which subjects.
This task is especially complex because the introduction of ICT in education
processes is often accompanied by modifications in teaching methodologies. In
fact, this is what is intended; with the introduction of ICT, old methodologies
could have no or little impact.
What is evident is that the reasonable expectations of both people and
governments are that the use of ICT in education usually a complex and
expensive process should improve students’ learning, which needs to be proven
empirically,
4.2.2. Student skills
It is fairly common to point out that ICT use in education has an impact on
students’ development of new skills and competencies. These competencies
have often been described as “21st
century competencies” due to their
importance in a knowledge society age.
There is extensive literature describing these competencies and is therefore easy
to consolidate a group of general competencies required by the students and that
eventually will develop fully with the use of ICT, they have been grouped in 3
major areas: critical thinking and problem solving; creativity and innovation; and
communication and collaboration.
This is exactly what is being considered in the projects: how much do ICT
influence the development of these skills and competencies?
Until now, the evaluation has not been rather exact and has been mostly done
through interviews or perception surveys that collect the information/data on
students’ vision, or through structured observation exercises. Nevertheless, with
time, more objective tools will be developed that will allow more strict evaluation
exercises.
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One of the components of the OECD New Millennium Learners Project is
developing ICT competencies for a working definition framework and tools for
evaluation the other initiative working towards similar objectives is the alliance
between CISCO, Intel and Microsoft with OECD and UNESCO: Transforming
Education Assessing and Teaching 21st
Century Skills.
Information and Communications Technologies are instruments that form part of
a range of work and development opportunities. Even a basic understanding of
ICT use can result in access and growth opportunities, both personally and
professionally, which can make the difference in a country’s development.
ICT skills and competencies are a clear objective in any project involving the use
of ICT in education and is therefore necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of
each project. For these tasks, standardized tests will be used alongside IDB’s
own validated test to evaluate students ICT skills before, during and after the
implementation of activities.
V. Development stages
It is evident that the type of projects to develop and evaluate as well as the
expected impacts will depend on the different stages of development in the use
of ICT in and the educational context where each project will be applied.
Following Morel’s Matrix (2001) 1
four project stages are described, which are
vital in the design, implementation, follow-up and evaluation steps.
Therefore by analyzing the indicators described in “Processes and Products”
column one will be able to determine the projects’ development stage (emerging,
applying, integrating, and transforming) and inform the expected outcome with
the results indicators.
VI. Inputs
The inputs that should be considered in project design and evaluation include the
following:
6.1 Infrastructure
a. Physical: Initiatives associated with the provision of infrastructure
linked to the use and access to ICT, e.g. laboratories, libraries and
furniture.
1
Named after Professor Raymond Morel from
Switzerlandhttp://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/ICTindicators/ICTinEDchap43.pdf
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b. ICT: equipment for the project or considered as part of the project
(even if it was not conceived as a direct part of the project) includes:
computers, printers, projectors and the conditions included with the
purchase and use of those items, e.g. guarantee and service support.
c. Connectivity: Access to Internet and networks that allow their use for
education purposes. Bandwidth access, connection stability and those
technologies that permit better online traffic and provide privacy protection
filters for content accessed by students. As well as putting in place a
reliable local network structure that is safe and accessible.
6.2 Resources
a. ICT Curriculum: Initiatives linked to the implementation and/or
adaptation of the curriculum content in ICT or other subjects, (in the use of
ICT).
b. Content: Digital or analog material aimed at teaching and learning with
technology tools, e.g. encyclopedias, manuals, textbooks, books, guides,
videos and hypertext.
c. Tools: Software development or support initiatives for the development
of teaching and learning processes; e.g. productivity applications, virtual
simulators and modeling.
d. Information systems: Aimed at supporting the implementation of
management and education information systems at school, country and
regional level, as well as those that allow monitoring of educational
projects and their stakeholders, including curriculum and pedagogies.
6.3 Training
a. Curriculum: Training related to adaptation and update of curriculum
content for ICT implementation.
b. ICT skills: Training activities for the acquisition and/or certification of
specific ICT skills, general education, and productivity and communication
tools.
c. ICT Education: Training initiatives for the specific use of ICT in
educational contexts. Particularly important here is UNESCO’s work in the
development of the use of ICT in education and its standards for teachers.
6.4 Support
a. Pedagogy: Those efforts aimed at providing pedagogical support and
follow up for those participating in the project, guiding students or
developing in-service tutoring for the implementation of planned activities.
b. Technical: Activities oriented at administration, maintenance and
repair of equipment as well as problem-solving related to project activities
and technical support for users.
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6.5 Management
a. Administration: structures and strategies for project management and
administration for all levels considered (school, province, country, and
region) as well as the relationship with other institutional stakeholders
related to the project e.g.: strategic allies and donors.
b. Information dissemination: activities aimed at providing information
about project results, strategies and actions and involve all potential
interested stakeholders and beneficiaries of the project.
c. Incentives: Plans and programs to highlight (negative or positive)
expected outcomes and participant involvement in the project.
d. Regulations: actions destined to adjust and modify existing regulations
and norms aimed at improving and promoting impact and minimizing
risks. Includes those measures aimed at improving security for underage
children, regulation of other industries in the field and the protection of
copyright laws.
e. Community involvement
Actions that promote (and allow for) the active participation of community
members and families in the development and as direct beneficiaries of
the project.
6.6 Sustainability
a. Political: The project’s priority in the context of other initiatives, plans,
projects or actions, including visibility (understood as the ownership level
with the success and objectives of those leading the project).
b. Financial: Long-term budget needed for the operational continuity and
the development of complementary initiatives required for the success of
the project.
VII. Products and Processes
The products and processes considered in the Conceptual Framework are those
that can be observed in order to understand the success of the project.
7.1. Infrastructure
a. ICT layout and technical specifications:
Specific references about the technical characteristics of the equipment.
Relationship between the product characteristics and the reasons why the
equipment was selected, distribution and the final characteristics of the
equipment as it is implemented. As well, the link with other existing
equipment indirectly related to the success of the project. Characteristics
and conditions of connectivity.
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b. Implementation process:
Description of logistics, location and equipment distribution of the project.
As well as specifics on the procedure for how equipment was selected,
purchased, distributed and integrated/implemented into the projects.
Includes also reference to the investment made in the project context and
which is necessary for its success like: classrooms or buildings (even
when they have not been a project specific component). Both calendars
and systems that are in use by ICT users as well as their availability.
c. Acess and Use
Determines the time, forms, and conduct of access and educational the
different stakeholders (direct and/or indirect) give to the equipment and
resources.
7.2. Resources
a. Curriculum development
Work developed to connect curriculum to the learning goals and the those
projects objective related to ICT4E. Includes the inclusion of ICT in the
curriculum at different levels, as a competency, as transversal or vertical
content or as those learning goals set specifically by the stakeholders.
b. Learning organization
Description of how learning activities are structured and organized,
including how the curriculum is developed (integrated or separated from
other thematic areas), how often and at what time of day ICT are
integrated into the curriculum, pedagogical approximations at the
institutional level as well as strategies for knowledge management.
c. Resources availability
Levels of access to educational resources from direct and indirect
beneficiaries; when possible they will highlight relevance and importance
with project objectives.
d. Systems use
The opportunity and simplicity to access the information and management
systems by the beneficiaries (direct or indirect), when possible provide
their pertinence and quality to the proposed objectives.
7.3. Training
a. Teacher performance
Describes teacher background information that is pertinent to the project:
e.g. performance, planning activities, student-teacher ratio, performance
evaluation and incentives.
b. ICT experience
Previous experience with ICT in educational use, both in the classroom
and outside.
c. ICT training
Characteristics of ICT training to stakeholders in order to take adavtage
of ICT use in educational contexts.
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7.4. Support
a. Helpdesk
Describes those systems put in place to support indirect and direct project
beneficiaries in case of technical and pedagogical difficulties. It will
provide the user rate, response time, mechanism used, most common
difficulties, the best-rated responses and other indicators that describe the
support for the participants.
b. Education system support
Those mechanisms envisioned to motivate and support the work of
different stakeholders involved in the project such as tutoring sessions,
individual curriculum plans, training, partner work and guides for families.
7.5. Management
a. School organization
The way the project is included in the overall institutional scheme of the
school, how many hours each teacher spends on it and those systems
aimed at organizing and supervising the project’s functioning.
b. Management systems
Institutional framework, those systems and mechanisms put in place by
the project, or that the project modifies and impacts and that allow for the
follow-up of project activities and objectives.
c. Incentives plans
Those program or incentive plans are associated with the project’s
beneficiaries and objectives
e. Legal framework
Description of regulation associated with the project’s implementation.
f. Community attitudes and expectations
Those actions involved in the projects’ implementation that aim at
including the initiative in its development context, participants introduction
to the project (direct or indirect), communication with those involved in the
project that facilitate the project’s implementation. It also describes how
the project considers the impact on the community, particularly in
relationship with students’ families.
7.6. Sustainability
a. Priority and Visibility
The position of those responsible for the project as well as project
objectives and the promotion of such activities.
b. Budget
Different budget sources and procedures that are directly or indirectly
involved with the project’s operations. Any difficulties with the procedure
should be described as well as future financing plans. The expenses that
the project entails should be noted, specifying one-time purchases as well
as those that are recurring and will therefore be part of the project in the
future. The mechanisms that should be used to secure funding in the
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future. For a long term implementation, the project’s strengths and
weaknesses and how the project itself plans to address them. It will
include the total ownership cost as proposed by GESCI2
.
VIII. Evaluation
The proposed Conceptual Framework is not an evaluation framework nor
should it be used to explicitly develop specific evaluation instruments. It
will function as a guide with elements to be considered which evaluators
will apply and use to develop evaluation models and or instruments
appropriate for each context.
8.1 Baseline
The data that inform the processes and products BEFORE the project’s
implementation and by which the project impact can be measured.
The baseline should consider at least that information that impacts the
project’s objectives explicitly, including, those linked to student learning. It
is advised, though, that where possible the information process is
considered because this will allow unforeseen impacts to be documented.
One reason why it has been hard to evaluate impact of ICT projects in the
past is the lack of reliable data related to education projects. For this
reason it is vital that future projects’ baseline information is correctly
collected. For those projects that have already started or are already
finished, the conditions before the project implementation will be
reconstructed where possible with available data.
The effort to set a baseline in place before the project’s implementation is
highly desirable and should be a condition for new project design, but not
essential. Where unavailable it will be “reconstructed” with ex –post
information.
8.2 Monitoring
Relevant data design, in the intermediate steps of the project’s
implementation, will inform progress and guide the project towards
objectives, allowing for early problem detection and correction in learning.
Technically precise periods can be defined for the development of the
monitoring phase, according to the specific project characteristics e.g.:
monthly, quarterly, bi-annually but also technological models can be
established that promote permanent feedback to project administrators
with pertinent information for control and decision-making.
2
Global e-school and communities initiative http://www.gesci.org/
15

8.3 Final Evaluation
The projects’ integral review process, including: its achievements,
progress, challenges and the identification of its impact in relation to the
previously established objectives. Impact should be considered broadly,
including all processes and products.
Evaluation is a key aspect of the project. It should be taken into account
from the beginning of the design process as a fundamental component
and where possible it should be designed by an external entity to assure
impartiality and objectivity. Where possible, experimental evaluation
methods should be used in order to complement other sources of
information so results are more solid and trustworthy.
IX. Sources of information
9.1 Qualitative
An important characteristic of the evaluation will be its contribution to
determining the role of ICT in education and the conditions where its
implementation adds value to teacher practices, students, schools and
communities.
Because of the heterogeneous nature of the countries in the region and
the ICT4E projects, a qualitative approach will complement data
contributed by the quantitative approach with available data, with the aim
of determining the impact and conditions, which explain project results.
This approach also includes individual, semi-structured interviews, focus
groups, structured observations in classrooms or other aspects of the
project, surveys of those involved in the project directly or indirectly and a
review of studies and reports concerning the projects components.
In this context, access is important (through interviews and surveys) in
order to collect participants’ opinions and perceptions. The self-evaluation
and self-perception processes are an important part of the ICT4E projects’
possible impact.
The qualitative analysis should contribute contextual information and
document the change or impact rendered by the project that cannot be
scrutinized with qualitative data such as changes in practices, processes
and attitudes, which occurred due to the project.
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9.2 Quantitative
The quantitative analysis relies on comparable and objective information
stemming from existing sources of data. Usually this kind of analysis
includes challenges of isolating variables in a way that the data does not
‘contaminate” other factors on being able to access clear results to
determine the impact produced by the project. The success of this task is
strongly determined by the range and depth of the available data for
analysis. Clearly more specific data allows for more options in the analysis
and for more reliable conclusions.
The construction of control groups (experimental) or comparison (quasi –
experimental) are an important part of the search for relevant information.
It would be ideal to have longitudinal data at the individual student level as
well as at the institutional levels in schools as this could be useful to
frequently explore the implementation processes of these types of
projects.
9.3 Analysis
Once qualitative and quantitative data have been collected and structured,
it is essential to carry out rigorous analysis which will establish linkages
between the gathered data and possible contradictions, recognize
significant differences and trends, and describe in detail the observable
impact and the expected results of the projects, which is described in the
following section.
The analysis serves mostly to obtain lessons learned which will put into
practice future changes and adjustments in order to improve, as well as to
obtain important and comparable data that helps policy and decision-
makers in other contexts.
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