An International Forum “Topical Issues of ICTs in Education: International and Russian Experience” will be held in FIRO on 23-24 May 2012 as part of work on implementation of activities identified in the Memorandum of Understanding between the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) and the Federal Institute for Education Development (FIRO) as priority areas of cooperation. An International Seminar “ICT Use in TVET in CIS Countries” will be organized in the framework of this Forum and will be dedicated to the discussion of results of the joint project of the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation (IFESCCO) and the UNESCO IITE.
The seminar will include a presentation of the analytical report on the current situation and major tendencies in ICT use in TVET in CIS countries prepared under the IFESCCO/IITE project. Furthermore, it is planned to develop and discuss the proposals for the follow up to the project and use of its results to achieve a qualitative change of the TVET system in CIS countries on the basis of a widespread application of ICTs. The participants will also delve into the objectives, stages and prospects of the development of a multilevel competency model of TVET teachers and other pedagogical staff on the basis of the UNESCO ICT CFT.
Among other themes of the Forum are different approaches to improving ICT competencies of teachers and students and methods of their assessment, presentation of the best practices and state-of-the-art in using electronic textbooks in Russia and abroad, discussion of different concepts and models of e-textbooks and issues related to the development of the educational environment and improving the quality of electronic learning materials.
The target audience of the Forum are representatives of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, teachers and heads of schools, educational institutions of vocational, specialized secondary and higher professional education in Russia and CIS countries, academic and research institutes, as well as experts in the field of ICTs in education, officials and coordinators of thematic UNESCO IITE, IFESCCO and FIRO projects, representatives of non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, IT companies.