Session three: telecentre Academy standards

1. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Basheerhamad Shadrach

2. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards … a social investment program that aims to improve the capacity and sustainability of telecentres around the world.

3. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy standards: the 5Cs • Competency Standards Curriculum Standards • Comparability indicators • The Charter, code of conduct, and accreditation • Certification

4. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the competency standards Job expectations and basis for assessment and formal qualification • Practice • Compliance with the intent; Fulfilment of universal service obligations • Ethics • Integration of organisational code; Working within the framework; Recognition of consequences of unethical practice; Acknowledgement of the seriousness of role – values, impartiality, rights of citizens, etc; Understanding accountability measures • Behaviour • understanding and respect to local settings, context and limitations; application of on the spot judgement; demonstration of analytical skills • Competence • Understanding of one’s own relevance; Demonstrated skills and technical knowledge of one’s own practice • Self-development • Aptitude and quest for learning; Participation in alumni networks; Contribution to other’s learning needs; Demonstration of learning needs

5. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the competency standards • Performance and decisions • Analytical skills to match the demand with the source; time management; Demonstration of cost-benefit analysis at work; Ability to plan, operate and review • Determination of priorities in consultation; Decisions coupled with timelines; Documentation of planned activities; Corrective actions upon failures • Comprehension • Understanding of the nature of job; Expansion of operation based on the users’ priorities and needs; Responsiveness to emergencies and exigencies; Involvement in user education • Evaluation • Determination of progress towards planned activities; Understanding of outcomes versus outputs; Application of redressal mechanism • Collaboration • Moving out of boundaries while staying within limits and framework; Partnership and networking priorities; Collective action and respect to individual organisational ethos and practices; Not stepping on others’ toes, but walking hand in hand

6. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the competency standards • Group work tasks (Leader: Beth) • Ponder upon the question of what makes a telecentre operator, a telecentre operator (10 minutes) • Develop a generic job description with performance standard for a telecentre operator (20 min) • Enlist the evaluation criteria for assessing performance of each task outlined in the job description (10 min) • Highlight the learning/training needs of telecentre operator in practice (20 min)

7. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the curriculum standards • Curriculum does not only make one skilful, but conscious of one’s own contribution to society and participate fully in national life • Curriculum standards would mean, application of standards to a curriculum • In other words, curriculum Framework that defines the curriculum makes it easier to apply standards • Provides guidance for organisation of specific knowledge and instruction • Also assists curriculum developers to overcome policy fragmentations • Provides some choices on instructional programs, material adoption, teacher/mentor preparation, professional development mandate and assessment • Sets benchmarks

8. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the curriculum standards • Components of curriculum framework • Vision statement that relate to the mission • Subject area topics reflecting the competences desired to be acquired • Pedagogy and teacher principles • Linkages between content to student learning (teacher and student preparation, professional development, support services, facilities, community involvement, assessment, certification) • Rationale for the use or non-use of technology in classrooms and in distance • Performance assessment combined with alternative assessment forms based on local contexts

9. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the curriculum standards • Group work tasks (Leader: Zuaria) • Discuss and spell out the intent (20 min) • Vision; and, Learners’ outcomes • Discuss curriculum framework and attach standards for the following (40 min) • Topics and content based on procedural, declarative and contextual knowledge of domain • Curriculum units, pedagogy based on the absorption capacity of learners • Instructional design, instructional technology and support services • Tutor and student preparation, given the nature of students and their context • Assessment and certification based on performance, students’ work, comments on students’ work • Implementation and oversight

10. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the comparable indicators • A measure to determine how each institution is performing in a global environment • Does not serve as a ‘league table’ or a rating system, but • An opportunity to collate information on the performance of each academy • An opportunity to learn and share from one another, where applicable • Enables institutions to revisit areas of weakness and ask for peer support • Informs policy and contributes to accountability at global level • Makes association very competitive and engaging

11. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the comparable indicators • Helps to enhance performance by developing appropriate strategies for universalising access to learning • Identifies opportunity for vertical mobility in academy and career pursuits of learners • Links access to quality to projected outcomes to efficiency • Enables corrective measures in teacher/mentor support and helps to remedy drop-out rates • Identify strategies to incentivise and motivate continuous professional development • Aids to sustain interest and develop an engagement plan • Supports decisions on investment priorities

12. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the comparable indicators • Group work tasks (Leader: Isidre) • Discuss the need for comparable performance indicators and spell out the rationale (20 min) • Identify a set of indicators based on the quality issue rather than performance rating (30 min) • Access-related • Infrastructure-related • Resources-related • Systems-related • Incentives and outcomes-related • Discuss and agree upon ways and means to collect information on identified indicators (10 min)

13. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the charter and accreditation • Charter is quite often referred to as the client service principle; and one of the best service to clients is offering accreditation in an educational program of kind • Service charters are powerful instruments to promise quality service, service delivery and user satisfaction • It also serves to shape-up service delivery and offers an opportunity to measure performance against service standards • Charter also allows for consolidating the work carried out so far while sustaining the service culture within the organisation

14. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the charter and accreditation • Accreditation is a process where authority for the provision of good and services are entrusted • Accreditation in telecentre.org Academy parlance will involve certification of competence to operate as telecentre.org national academy and benefit from the credibility • An Accreditation process that evolves in a bottoms-up manner shall benefit largely from the credibility of actors involved • Accreditation process will mean not just quality assurance, but also ethical behaviour, compliance of procedures and audits placed to evaluate competences time to time

15. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the charter and accreditation • Benefits of accreditation spans across: • Knowing strengths and weaknesses of organisations • Identification of areas for planning and intensifying resources • Realisation of performance budgeting principles • Provision of reliable information to the community at large (the telecentre.org Academy community, in this case) • Promotion of intra and inter-organisational interaction • Keeps oneself competent always

16. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the charter and accreditation • Group work tasks (Leader: Sherif) • Discuss the need for a service charter for telecentre.org Academy and define the bare minimum service indicators (20 min) • Discuss and define an accreditation process for telecentre.org Academy (30 min) • The competence for accreditation • Eligibility criteria for assessment • Process of accreditation • Time duration of accreditation • Self-study report mechanism • Peer-study mechanism for assessment • Discuss and agree upon the authority and power offered to accredited organisations (10 min)

17. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the certification • Refers to the process followed for reviewing the competencies of individuals for accomplishing given tasks • Often various types of certification in play – certifying on-the-job practitioners; certifying new entrants; certifying apprentices • Certification process involves merits and credibility by certifying organisation • Certification process must bring along, not just credibility, but also market value to those certified • Market value translates into employability and decisions on continued employability, reward and recognition • An opportunity for upward mobility in academic pursuits

18. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the certification • Group work tasks (Leader: Yacine) • Discuss and define the value of certification for telecentre.org Academy learners (10 min) • Discuss and define the added value (if any) of telecentre.org global certification (10 min) • Discuss the types of certification and the assessment process for each of the types (20 min) • Discuss and identify certification assistance service required for certifying telecentre.org Academies to certify learners (20 min)

19. Session three: telecentre.org Academy standards Telecentre.org Academy: the 5C effect Supporting the demonstration of the core competence of change-makers of the world to come