Recognizing the potential of students and youth to contribute to national and regional development efforts, APCICT has initiated the ‘Turning Today’s Youth into Tomorrow’s Leaders’ programme. This umbrella programme seeks to impart key knowledge of ICT for Development (ICTD) to students and youth. As a part of this programme, APCICT has developed a project that aims to create a cadre of future leaders equipped with the capacity to use ICTs for achieving development goals. This is proposed to be accomplished through enhanced coverage of ICT for Development (ICTD) in undergraduate and graduate programmes at universities in the Asia-Pacific region. Under this project the ‘Primer Series on ICTD for Youth’ (Primer Series) was created.
The Primer Series aims to serve as a tool to help educators fill the gap in ICTD coverage in universities. It is composed of multiple issues addressing a range of topics in ICTD. This series is intended for students from both technical and non-technical backgrounds, and is flexible enough for use in different national contexts. The Primer Series was officially launched through a Training of Trainers workshop organized in Azerbaijan, in February 2012.
What does the Primer Series Cover?
Primer Series 1 - An Introduction to ICT for Development, introduces basic concepts of ICTs and their role in meeting socio-economic development goals.
Primer Series 2 - Project Management and ICTD provides fundamental concepts and tools of project planning and management, looking into the use of ICTs, and tools and techniques in managing ICT for development projects.
Primer Series 3 - ICT for Disaster Risk Management discusses the basic concepts of ICTs and their role and applications in disaster risk management, and it aims to foster a better understanding of how ICTs can be applied effectively in disaster risk management.
Primer Series 4 - ICT, Climate Change and Green Growth introduces students to basic concepts of ICTs and their role in responding to climate change, while giving case studies on ICT applications.
Primer Series 5 - Exploring Social Media's Role in Development aims to equip students with a good understanding of the different types of social media; introduce how social media is used in society as well as in social development, economic growth, political development and participation, and sustainable development; enhance their understanding of the drawbacks in using social media; and, provide good understanding of the safe and productive use of social media.
Primer Series: Monitoring and Evaluation Guidebook aims to provide partners with practical guidance on capturing the progress and impact of their Primer implementation.
In order to offer students knowledge resources on a range of key topics in ICT for development, APCICT is developing new issues of the Primer Series on various topics.
Whether ensuring a basic understanding of the linkage between ICT and development, or more specific principles of ICT applications, each Primer will provide a firm understanding of ICT within a development context.
The Primer Series are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License and are available for free download below.
| Primer Series 1: An Introduction to ICT for Development | Primer Series 2: Project Management and ICTD | Primer Series 3: ICT for Disaster Risk Management |
▶ E-Learning Course |
▶ E-Learning Course |
▶ E-Learning Course |
| Primer Series 4: ICT, Climate Change, and Green Growth | Primer Series 5: Exploring Social Media's Role in Development | Primer Series: Monitoring & Evaluation Guidebook |
▶ E-Learning Course |
|
|
Who is using the Primer Series?
The Primer Series has been rolled out in 14 countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and in two sub-regions, namely ASEAN and the Pacific. Demonstrating local ownership, partner-driven localization of the Primer Series has been completed for Bahasa Indonesia, Mongolian, Russian and Tajik.
Engaged Learning Toolkit / Guidebook : Using ICT for Community Development
Engaged Learning is a pedagogical strategy that links classroom learning with community development practices within a credit-based university curriculum. For students who are learning about the field of information and communication technology for development (ICTD), engaged learning can be an effective approach to provide them with practical experiences in helping local communities through ICT-based innovation.
To advocate the engaged learning across the Asia-Pacific region, APCICT has prepared two set of publications: the “Engaged Learning Toolkit for Faculty: Using ICT for Community Development” and the “Engaged Learning Guidebook for Students: Using ICT for Community Development”, in collaboration with Cornell University. The Toolkit and Guidebook provide practical guidance for faculty members, students, communities and other stakeholders on planning, implementing and evaluating the ICTD-based engaged learning courses.
The Engaged Learning initiative is a part of APCICT’s “Turning Today’s Youth into Tomorrow’s Leaders” Programme. Launched in 2012, the programme intends to create a cadre of future leaders equipped with knowledge and skills needed for utilizing ICT innovation for sustainable development. Under this programme, APCICT provides “Primer Series on ICTD for Youth (Primer Series)”, a comprehensive ICTD curriculum that serves as practical and valuable learning resources for colleges and universities in Asia and the Pacific.
| Engaged Learning Toolkit for Faculty: Using ICT for Community Development | Engaged Learning Guidebook for Students: Using ICT for Community Development |
|
|
Pilot testing of the publications was conducted in three partner universities:
- Mahasarakham University (Thailand), where students built an online database and a website for a local museum for sustainable tourism
- University of the Philippines Los Baños (the Philippines), where students produced an educational broadcasting programme for rural vegetable farmers
https://youtu.be/B9NCMME0uew - Kathmandu University (Nepal), where students created a mobile-based information system for rural migrant workers
https://youtu.be/qP_peBrM30A
The APCICT Virtual Academy - Primer Series
The Primer Series was officially launched online on 8 February, 2012 as part of the APCICT Virtual Academy (http://e-learning.unapcict.org). Learners can freely access the online version of the Primer Series, which is accompanied by video lectures and presentation slides. Learners have the opportunity to work through the courses and complete review-exercises and quizzes at their own pace. The Virtual Primer Series is currently available in English with plans to translate into additional languages underway.
