IITE became a co-organizer of the 4th International Conference on Application of Information and Communication Technologies (AICT2010). The Conference was held on 12-14 October 2010 in Tashkent (the Republic of Uzbekistan). The main goal of the Conference was to bring together specialists on ICTs to discuss technical, organizational and educational prospect of technology usage in various aspects of human life, and to identify business opportunities for its application. More than 200 specialists took part in the event.
The programme of the Conference included presentations of experts on ICT application in various areas. At the plenary session Prof. Alexander Khoroshilov, IITE National programme officer, invited as a key-note speaker,made a presentation “On the Way to Global Knowledge Society”.
On 14 October 2010 in the framework of the AICT2010 Conference IITE organized a section “ICT for Inclusive Knowledge Society Development” for specialists from the Asian region. IITE section was devoted to relevant issues on ICT potential for promoting accessibility and raising quality of education for all, including persons with special educational needs.
Within the above-mentioned section IITE specialists – Prof. Alexander Khoroshilov and Dr Natalia Tokareva – presented international experience accumulated by UNESCO in the field. Prof. Khoroshilov made a presentation “Teacher’s ICT Competencies in Inclusive Knowledge Society”and Dr Tokareva presented her report “ICTs as a tool for promoting access and raising quality of education for persons with special needs”.
During the event IITE presented its new project aimed at development of the Review on best practices on ICT application in education of persons with disabilities. The project is beingimplemented in cooperation with the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education. By means of teleconference Dr Amanda Watkins, Assistant to the Director of the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, presented the main aims and first achievements of IITE – Agency cooperation to the participants of the section.
About 70 specialists, including the representatives of leading pedagogical and teacher training institutions of Uzbekistan, as well as of other interested organizations took part in the section. The participants of the section presented their national experience and discussed challenges and prospects of ICT integration in education of persons with disabilities, including legal issues, infrastructure development and teacher training. Representatives of Microsoft and Intel also participated in the section and informed the participants about their company’s activities in this field.
Conference website: http://aict2010.qafqaz.edu.az/