LearnLink Projects: MOROCCO

Morocco Computer Assisted Teacher Training

Project URL: http://www.ibtikar.ac.ma/

The Computer Assisted Teacher Training (CATT) Project is currently being launched in Morocco. It will support the Ministry of National Education in its effort to build primary-school teacher training and support capacities for primary education in five Moroccan provinces: Sidi Kacem, Ouarzazate, Errachidia, Al-Hoceima and Essaouira. Working within the Centre de Formation des Instituteurs (CFIs) in each province, the project has four primary objectives:

• Providing the CFIs with learning technologies and appropriate pre-service and in-service training in their use;
• Developing communications networks which facilitate the work of the teacher trainees, teacher trainers and inspectors, as well as collaboration and information sharing among peers across the provinces;
• Building local education technology capacity through the development of frameworks for "Master Information Teachers" who will sustain local development of learning technologies; and
• Contributing to national policy discussions on the use of learning technologies in education.

AED/LearnLink plans to leverage the potential of available, low-cost electronic networking technologies, creating dynamic learning environments that will encourage Moroccan teachers, trainers and staff at the Ministry to engage in substantive collaboration. Much of the training and project monitoring will be done via the world-wide web. Internet-teleconferencing software will be introduced in each of the centers to facilitate interaction with advisors. This approach will likely achieve the following benefits:

• Education technology and distance learning proficiency will be reinforced through hands-on use.
• On-going and sustained communication and collaboration among project staff, Ministry officials, teachers and teacher trainers will enable durable professional relationships to develop that will facilitate broad ranging capacity building.
• By engaging these technologies professionally, the teachers participating in this project will be well equipped to translate their use into their work as teachers.
• All project participants, by making substantive contributions to project activities through the use of these technologies will develop a strong sense of ownership, thus enabling greater project sustainability.
• By using this creative approach, the project will be able to demonstrate to the wider development audience how electronic networks and communication technologies can enhance project impact.
• Working asynchronously with the help of networking technologies will allow the project to engage the services of a combination of professionals in a highly cost-effective way.

The lessons learned over the next two years will benefit USAID information technology applications worldwide.

For more information, contact ict@aed.org