Technology Proposal     Technology Proposal (File Size: 203 Kb)

The Container Project's Interactive Teaching and Learning Solution for Sustainable Development


Introduction 

     The members of the Jamaica UNESCO Rural Technology Initiative have again made practical suggestions for extending the Container Project's reach beyond its physical boundaries.  The recommendations from UNESCO are timely and have resulted in the development of this technology proposal.

     The Container Project's (http://www.container-project.net) goal of providing "Computer related technology to grassroots communities, empowering the youths and long-term unemployed in developing and improving their ability to successfully interact with the new and emerging technologies," is as practical and noble as it has always been.  The influx of new students is however, presenting a challenge for the organization to maintain this promise to underdeveloped communities.  The current growth of the Container is unsustainable with the institutions technology and limited availability of qualified instructors locally.  A strategy to use the power of the modern internet to offer administrators, teachers, and learners proven pedagogical strategies in an engaging, interactive online environment will address these fundamental challenges.

     The examination of current resources, modern teaching, and learning practices, as well as cost considerations indicate the Container is best suited to develop a comprehensive online school to address its unique challenges.  Online considerations included solutions that offered a virtual environment in which teachers share lesson plans, meet remotely, and plan academic calendars.  Teachers should also have the opportunity to share experiences in private forums, conduct lessons dynamically, and administer assessments that are graded in real time.  Multimedia also featured as a prominent part of any solution to be adopted as researchers including Mayer (2003) contend, “by combining pictures with words, we will be able to foster deeper learning in students."  

     The Container Project has identified ITAL (Interactive Teaching and Learning) Education online software as meeting all of our goals.  ITAL is an Internet school portal driven by an innovative interactive concept in online education.  Educational practitioners and technologists consulted during program analyzes indicate that a comprehensive interactive online software solution could be used to significantly improve student performance and increase student participation.  ITAL's approach employs the most contemporary techniques in online teaching and learning by combining new online software components with an impressive multimedia platform. 

Goals and Technology Vision 

     The Container Project has an environment rich with technology.  The Container needs to provide access to technology but more importantly to incorporate the type of technology that will provide the greatest benefit to our staff and student population.  One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to use an effective online teaching and learning system.  Currently, the Container's limited seating capacity adversely affects the organization's ability to grow.  Instructors being based overseas also limits course offering.  The introduction of online courses will offer more opportunities to current and prospective students.  Providing online access for instructors and remote users to the Container's educational content will reduce overhead, provide a more structured approach to pedagogy, introduce modern teaching and learning techniques, and offer more courses to a larger population. 

Current Technology and Resources 
     ITAL will require little structural change in the Container's inventory.  All computers and the printer in the inventory are networked and connected to the WAN (Wide Area Network).  The Container will have access to the ITAL site capabilities through the following directly or indirectly networked equipment:

The equipment has been serviced and is in good repair.  Halo Computers provides service for the equipment except the Internet connection, which is serviced by Cable and Wireless.  The 5-year contract with Halo Computers expires in 2014 while Cable and Wireless Internet service will expire February 15, 2010.  ITAL's advanced multimedia capabilities will require additional bandwidth for the total number of computers that are networked.  Additionally Cable and Wireless will provide a new modem and instructions for minor repair and maintenance included in the cost for upgrading to a higher bandwidth.  An assessment of installations for higher bandwidth and current technology does not indicate any additional resources and training of staff and students will be limited to the ITAL interface and educational content usage.

Technology Needs for this Proposal

     Students and teachers should have the ability to communicate ideas freely, review, and discuss relevant information using modern technology that affords the greatest opportunity for learning.  The challenge is to accommodate an increasing student body with limited access to qualified instructors.  Another challenge is to maximize the Container's physical resources to create an expandable virtual learning environment in which accountability as well as student and instructors needs are met.  An inexpensive, flexible, comprehensive, LMS (Learning Management System) is required.  The Container requires capabilities that lend to our unique organizational structure in which 80% of the primary instructors are based outside of the country.  While there are many such learning management systems the Container requires a system with a high degree of flexibility and growth potential.  Additionally, The Container requires a solution that provides resources capable of addressing specific weaknesses in our curriculum design in the following manner: 

With increased enrollment, training requirements and the need for more qualified instructors over the last year, the ability to maintain the high academic standards, which the Container is noted for, is being jeopardized.  The current technology will not sustain current growth patterns for more than 3 months.  ITAL will meet and exceed The Container's technology requirements for at least 18 months 

Solutions 
     The Container currently users a hodgepodge system of unrelated local software to meet student and instructor needs.  ITAL offers the best set of solutions to address these needs.  The Container is uniquely posed to take advantage of this type of modern online educational technology because it has computer hardware with high capacity computing, completely networked with modern updated firewalls, and staff and students that are intimately familiar with online technology.  The ITAL system compliments the organization's current technology and fully supports all requirements.  The Container's technology is therefore suited for solutions being sought through ITAL.  These solutions are consistent with the specific requirements determined from the needs assessment completed November 3, 2009.  

     A three month evaluation of ITAL compared to 6 other leading LMS solutions revealed that ITAL was 23% more responsive the organization's inquiries and 10% more likely to make suggestions to address the institutional goals provided to them.  The ITAL interface is intuitive and attractive.  Considerations in the design and layout of the site appear to focus on creating an ideal virtual space with accessibility, and learning modality concerns addressed.  The Container may develop its own interface or have one developed at no additional cost.  The core components of the software platform rely on drag and drop multimedia technology.  Students who also evaluated the software noted this as significant feature in addition to the ability of the platform to prescribe remediation and complement classroom activities with self-study.  An unlimited subscription for students and staff will allow access to the site via Internet connection at any time.   

     Based on the aforementioned it is recommended that a subscription to ITAL for an initial period of 12 months be acquired and integrated within 3 months.  Implementation should occur in a manner to accommodate training and certification for instructors prior to exposure to students. 

Timeline 
Online registration: December 10, 2009

Initial payment: December 15, 2009

Container site visit: December 20, 2009

Onsite training (Trainers and instructors): December 27, 2009 - December 30, 2009

Online training: January 25, 2010 - February 29, 2010

Field site support: March 1, 2010 - March 5, 2010

First class: March 2, 2010 

 

Budget Summary

Hardware Required-Router:

$x

Software Licensing and Support for 12 months:

$x

Network Services: Communications-T1 bandwidth upgrade

$x

Personnel-Initial on-site training:

$x

Optional Components


Tutoring: per 1 hr session

$x

Multimedia content creation-cost structure on a case by case basis


Total

$x

All prices are quoted in US currency.

Reference

Mayer, R. E. (2003).  The promise of multimedia learning: using the same instructional design methods across
different media. Learning and Instruction, 13(2), 125-139. doi: 10.1016/S0959-4752(02)00016-6