Nigeria's National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the body responsible for facilitating ICT growth

for development in Nigeria has completed its assignment on the nation's ICT for development (ICT4D) strategy/plan.

The UNESCO Office in Bangkok, Thailand, has released a new e-publication entitled Strategy Framework for Promoting ICT Literacy in the Asia-Pacific Region. This paper targets individuals and organizations engaged in providing ICT literacy education. It offers an analysis of ICT usage in Asia-Pacific countries and defines measures for promoting ICT literacy development in the region.

'Africa still relies heavily on expensive satellite connections to gain access to the Internet, according to a report released this month (July 23).
Over 80 per cent of African Internet use is routed through satellite connections, says the report by the South Africa-based telecommunications analysts BMI-TechKnowledge, who work in 40 African countries.'

“Digital Opportunities for All: Preparing Students for 21st-Century Skills” is the theme of the 2008 UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICTs in Education. Funded by the Kingdom of Bahrain, the US$50,000 prize is divided between two winners. The deadline for submissions is 31 August 2008.

Lead: 'Intel has signed the largest ever deal for its child-proof laptop, the Classmate.' The article continues: '500,000 of the specially designed educational machines are being given to six to 10 year olds in Portugal. Originally intended for the developing world, Intel has shifted its focus in recent months to more mature markets. It stressed its commitment to supplying the Classmate PC to the developing world and said it had projects underway to use it in 50 countries.'

This article discusses the growth of online courses in K-12 in the United States, with a focus on the teachers participating in the programs. 'Online courses, mostly in high schools, have proliferated in recent years despite debate about their effectiveness compared with face-to-face instruction. The number of times students enrolled in distance education courses connected with public schools (using Internet, two-way video or other technologies) rose from about 317,000 in 2002-03 to more than 50 more...

The International Network for Research on Appropriate Measurement of the Information Society website invites submissions by users regarding events, publications, research projects or other material of interest which can be shared with other users and reasonably relates to the theme of the website.

UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector, in partnership with Microsoft, is hosting the Education Leaders Forum on 7 and 8 July 2008 at UNESCO Headquarters. The Education Leaders Forum creates a venue for government leaders and opinion makers in education to share their insights, perspectives, and experiences. It will focus on ‘Success and Sustainability: Tertiary Education’s Global Challenge’, and will explore the issues and propose innovative solutions for success and sustainabili more...

The last week in June saw an international seminar in Bandung, Indonesia on Community Learning Centers (CLCs) which provided an opportunity to take stock of research findings on these community-based education initiatives. Over 25 countries internationally, including eight in the Arab region, use CLCs as key delivery mechanisms for literacy and continuing education programs. These flexible, open centres enjoy high local participation and empower marginalized groups that have had little or no acc more...

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) is conducting a comprehensive analysis of reliable research undertaken to date on the deployment of low-cost ICT to support education goals around the world with an emphasis on the developing world. The purpose of the study is to increase understanding of the impact of ICT on educational outcomes in children and adults and, ultimately, to generate an innovative research agenda to address salient issues. AIR staff are seeking rigorous research that has b more...