An annual Mobile Learning Week (MLW) held in Paris is a flagship event dedicated to ICT in education organized by UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This year MLW was held at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 26 to 30 March. The programme of the Week was very intense and included 17 workshops, a Symposium and a Policy Forum with more than 65 breakout sessions and four Strategy Labs. This year the MLW brought together high-level officials, representatives of intergovernmental organisations, international and national NGOs, teachers and pupils.
MLW-2018 pursued the objective to elaborate a holistic approach to digital skills education: experts discussed how to mainstream digital skills on a national level, how to promote skills provision for jobs in the digital era, how to cope with the digital divide and ensure inclusion and equity in digital skills. During the five days of the MLW, policy-makers and practitioners approached the issues of effective ICT integration in education and life-long learning from different angles, shared best practices and articulated the main challenges.
UNESCO IITE has been extensively presented in the events of the Mobile Learning Week. Svetlana Knyazeva, Head of Unit of Digital Pedagogy and Learning Materials, delivered a presentation at the Workshop “ICT Competency Framework for Teachers Version 3”. Natalia Amelina, Head of Unit of Teacher Professional Development and Networking, moderated a session “Closing Inequalities and Gender Divides”.
The major input of the UNESCO IITE was organization of two workshops. The first workshop, organized in partnership with the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, was dedicated to teacher skills in the digital world and demonstrated how ICT is integrated in the learning process in different parts of the world. A session on new digital competencies in the 21st century schools was organized and held together with UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPNet) and illustrated how the most innovative technologies can be used in daily school activities.
UNESCO IITE took an active part in the work of Strategy Lab 4 “ICTs for SDG 4: Planning flagship projects and building partnerships.”
At the exhibition held during the MLW UNESCO IITE exhibited major publications and disseminated information about its programme activities.
On March 28, signing of an agreement by Mr. Tao Zhan, Director of UNESCO IITE, and Wang Duanrui, the President of the Weidong Cloud Education Group, on cooperation between the Institute and the Company became a landmark achievement for UNESCO IITE. The agreement will lay the foundation for the creation of model classrooms with innovative educational technologies in Africa and Central Asia.
