TILO project.

Technology for Improved Learning

Outcomes

Significance:

      The letters ( T I L O ) mean technology for improved learning outcomes. The Technology for Improved Learning Outcomes (TILO) program was designed to enhance the quality of teaching, learning and decentralized school management through the effective use of technology in schools.

     This program aims to leave the traditional methods which depend on attainment and learning by heart.  It also calls for implementing active learning as a method of teaching , solving problem method of teaching, brain-storming method of teaching, beside using technology in teaching.

  It helps learners to rise from the first 3 low standards of learning according to Bloom's taxonomy which include knowledge, understanding and applicability to the other 3 high standards of learning which include analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

John Beed, deputy mission director for USAID, said that the contributions of educational establishments throughout the country “had been instrumental to the success of these schools and to the expansion of the program to others in their provinces”.

The program, he added, had “achieved extraordinary success”. The TILO program has equipped the schools with technology and digital resources, and delivered hands-on training to teachers, supervisors, and local administration. Throughout Egypt 400 schools participated in the project, and 18 schools Greater Cairo.

“To date over 255,000 students and 21,000 teachers from nine provinces have participated in the project,” according to Salem

Lisa Franchett, director of educational activities for the TILO programme, said that this is the first time such educational technology programs have been established in Egypt.

“We care a lot about the quality of education to spread technology and new software to help children to improve their learning methods,” she said. “The program has helped to improve students’ absorption of information through the improved software.”

The TILO project comprises four components focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning through introducing education technology through school reform activities; providing hardware which schools can manage; training teachers, supervisors, and inspectors in using technology tools in specific ways; and through introducing digital resources and active learning methods to increase knowledge, critical thinking and problem solving skills.

“I want to emphasize the teacher training component of the program,” said Franchett. “The support to school administration that this critical component provided needed time in order to prepare the teachers in using such technology.”

Another component of the program involves partnerships with educational establishments which aim to increase innovation and share responsibility through building on best practice through collaboration with the private sector, leveraging resources and expertise, and sustaining the management of education technology through shared responsibility among the Government, the private sector, schools, and communities.

“I’ve observed huge commitment from the govern orates involved,” added Frenchett. “The program has really helped improve the level of education in the schools. One of the important things happening in Egypt at the moment is the improvement in early grade reading because a few years ago we took a sample from early grade students, grades 4 and 5 they couldn’t read at all.”

“Over the last two and half years, however, there has been a significant improvement here. In fact, last week we had Government officials from Yemen who came here to observe how the Egyptian government did early graders’ reading. Egypt has become a significant example in this matter,” she added.

“The situation in Egypt after the revolution is one of instability and political unrest, which has caused several problems in the implementation of the program, but the cooperation of the Egyptian Government, especially the Ministry of Education, has had a significant impact on the success of this experiment.”

The TILO program also seeks to improve the capacity for the effective management of education technology through working in tandem with the Ministry of Education and communities to develop effective ways to manage and sustain technology in schools.

Another aim of the project is to measure the impact of technology on teaching, learning, and management, through monitoring and evaluating project inputs, processes and impact.

Franchett also said that education needs to pay attention to job

creation factors appropriate to the needs of the market and to combine

private and professional schools.

“We need to encourage cooperation [between the public and private

sectors] because there is currently mistrust between the Government

and private sector,” she said. “But with our [USAID’s] contribution, both

of them will become convinced that such partnerships can be

productive”.

She added that the US Government had already begun,

in cooperation with the Egyptian Government, the development

of the technical education sector three years ago with an

estimated budgeted $5m in order to develop and support

schools with technological means.

Franchet pointed in particular to the STAMP programme, which

will focus in the coming period on making available technological

devices such as laptops for early graders or preschool infants, and

will focus on technology programs to support in mathematics and science education with estimated budget $2.5m. She stressed the

US’s commitment towards Egypt regardless of “the problems with

The World Bank or any other funding problems”.

“Regarding women, we are planning an initiative to help them

participate in the economic sector and to encourage more effective

participation in the government sector as well,” she revealed

“For universities we will hold a dialogue with Alexandria University

next Monday to encourage the involvement of university professors

in development programs to help improve educational methods by

using technology.”

Franchett also added that the importance of such programs in

creating a favorable environment for undergraduate students.

Launched in May 2007, the TILO programme was extended to

last until August 2013 as requested from the undersecretaries,

the educational administration and directors at the Ministry of Education.

The project is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of

Education and is financed under the USAID Partnership Strategic

Objective Grant Agreement for Basic Education.

   The Technology for Improved Learning Outcomes

(TILO) Programme is a combined effort between USAID and Egypt.

It is a program that aims to improve the teaching and learning quality

in schools across nine regions of the country through technology.

USAID and the Egyptian government are working with the Ministry

of Education, and the Ministry of Communication and Information

Technology to better integrate different technologies to schools and

school-based programs, to hopefully increase the overall learning

of the students and teachers.

It is currently in effect in over 400 schools across Egypt, in two

different types of schools: TILO “Smart Schools” (which were

transformed from prep schools), and “School Based Reform”

schools. In each case, the general idea is the same; to improve

the quality of education through technological advances and reforms.The program content included:

1-The Change:

We as teachers should accept the change of our methods of teaching from being traditional methods that depend on attainment , recitation and learning by heart into methods that depend on thinking, analyzing, application, evaluation and creation.

We should accept what matches our culture and environment .  It is necessary to know about the changing world in the world of education to be able to match the revolution of information all over the world.

2-Education of a good quality:

A-Vision:

Vision means the dream we seek for to achieve our hopes in education.  What we look forward to in our field of education. What we wish to see in our schools and with our learners.

2-Mission:

Mission means the strategies we need to get to the vision we dream of.  For example, we can use individual work, pair work and group work. We can use technology and experimentation to have practical learning. We should encourage the spirit of exploration with our learners. The mission should be smart.

3-National standards of education:

1-The vision and mission.

2-A successful school administration.

3-An excellent teacher.

4- A developmental curriculum.

5- Social participation.

4- Active learning:

A-The learner-self -centered teaching method:

It means that education should be changed from a teaching that depends on the teacher into a teaching that depends on and is centered around the learners and their participation and integration in the method of education.

It is the stage of learners' production. The learner asks and answers. He should imagine, create and evaluate to solve problems.Learners must listen, see, watch technological teaching programs ,interview,  speak, talk, act, mime, play, sing and practice. He must transmit what he learns to others through the principle of learning through teaching.

B-Classroom and time management:

 Classroom management means that learners should work in pairs or in groups. In pair work, pupils must think, pair and share. In group work, Learners should form groups. Each group should include a leader, a presenter, an organizer, a dictator, a timer and an evaluator.  Learners play these roles of the co-operative learning. They can change the roles when projects are changed.

There must be a demonstration or illustration to our practical learning. Learning through problems solving, brain storming and doing projects can appear clearly in pair work and group work. Learning through doing researches through the internet sites and visiting the real institutions in our daily life like museums and exhibitions can be applied through group work.

     Teacher must have the cleverness of managing time of the lesson.  I mean that every lesson objective must have a method, a teaching aid or an electronic learning program as well as a certain limited time to be implemented during presentation. 

The other objectives must have the suitable time each, to be implemented through the guided and free practice of the new vocabulary and new grammatical structure.  If not, then,  the teacher has no clear plans.

C-Critical thinking:

    According to the first 3 levels of learning, Bloom's taxonomy, learners must know, understand and apply.  We need to raise the standards of our learners' learning to the second 3 superior levels of learning.  I mean that learners must learn how to do analysis, synthesis and evaluation. 

    Learners must ask "How, why, how come ....". It is a step to enable the learners to acquire the spirit of exploration and researching to reach the knowledge by themselves under the guide, monitoring and supervision of the teacher. The learner can agree with or disagree with something or someone expressing his point of view. The teacher monitors and guides in an assembly similar to the one of great scientists.  

 In dealing with analysis and synthesis thesis, learners learn how to deal with Venn diagram to show the similarities and difference.  Learners deal with charts of arranging events specially in presenting novel events.

They use charts of columns of "KWLH specially in presenting the " Warm up" and doing feedback.  They use mind mapping diagrams or mind map electronic program to learn how to generate new ideas. It is a great method of teaching.

D-Use of technology:

 TILO project basically focuses on the use of technology in teaching and learning.  It offers us a lot of electronic programs that help the teacher to implement the activity-based teaching method and helps the learner to use technology to explore his knowledge by himself as an independent learner. Both the teacher and the learner can use several like the following:

( Word program, Excel program, Power-point program, Access program, MS picture management program, Movie-maker program, Free-mind program, Lingoes program, Celestia program, Yanka program, Anki program, Jing program, Hot potatoes program, MS Mathematics program, the Sage program, Chemistry crocodile program, Physics Crocodile program and a lot of other electronic programs.  Electronic teaching enables the teacher to do an electronic lesson plan and give an electronic lesson presentation.