The JEI has focused on developing a model in which e-content (developed to enrich textbooks
issued to all students in Jordanian public schools and a revised curriculum developed as part of the Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy--ERfKE-- project) is delivered via the Internet and now the National Broadband Network from central servers. It is accessed by students in computer labs and from their homes, cybercafes or community centers, and used by teachers using laptops and projectors in the classroom. E-content is available to enrich Mathematics, Science, Arabic and English instruction in primary and secondary schools.This is a very ambitious project, seeking to mobilize the Ministry of Education (MoE) to roll out the model to all 3,200 public
primary and secondary schools in Jordan. It is being developed and Beta tested in 100 "discovery schools" in Amman. I think this will be one of the most interesting projects in the world to watch in terms of the applications of e-learning in developing nations. This is especially true given that it is gathering a lot of data describing the innovation and its development.It is interesting too in that for the three years of WEF support, it enjoyed a strong coalition of private and public partners. Private partners included some of the world's giant ICT corporations -- Cisco, Intel, Microsoft. Jordanian private partners included a number of courseware development firms that could produce content in Arabic linked to MoE curricula.
The small JEI staff, which has included people assigned from
private firms for long periods, has played an important role in coordinating among the many participants in this program. JEI is now making the transition to an international NGO, and I wish them luck.I was especially impressed by the involvement of NetCorps Jordan, which has an innovative internship program in support of the JEI. It provides 20 interns per year, who must learn a lot working with the project. I met several of them, and they are indeed impressive recent ICT graduates who are confronting the real world helping schools to adopt the technology and helping JEI to coordinate inputs and assure that the infrastructure supports e-content testing.
It has been fun to visit schools, and especially to see some great
teachers who are really keeping kids interested in the classroom, using technology in ways the MoE envisioned and going beyond those visions. It has also been humbling to see schools that are dealing with crowded conditions, opening up to accept tens of thousands of Iraqi kids who have arrived in recent years, and keeping good spirits in the face of severely limited financial resources. It was quite nice to see facilities that in spite of age and overcrowding, were clean and well decorated -- testifying to the time and effort spent in their maintenance.I have read there is an exceptional tradition of hospitality to guests and visitors in Jordan, and that certainly has been my experience. Our hosts in the JEI especially gave us a warm welcome and strong support. Everywhere we went, busy people generously took time to show us around and explain their successes and problems. And we were offered drinks and munchies everywhere we went.
Still the strongest impression was the intelligence and the professionalism of the people we interviewed. This was perhaps expected in JEI, an internationally known initiative, and in the higher levels of government agencies. But that intelligence and professionalism was also shown in the schools by principals, teachers and computer lab technicians.
Not all was business, and you might be interested in my posting on Petra in another blog.
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