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Network World in Brazil
Network Learning of Brazil
Network Learning according to, “Readiness for the Networked World”, is a framework that was developed by Harvard constructed mainly to measure the predisposition for a community to exploit the opportunities offered by information and communications technology (ICT). This Guide is both an educational resource that describes the determinants of a community’s Readiness for the Networked World, and a diagnostic tool that systematically examines those factors to assess a community’s Readiness. [1]
The Networked World is:- An artisan in a rural village using her community center's computer to sell handicrafts on the World Wide Web.
- Healthcare workers accessing online databases to research recent health advisories.
- Students in different countries collaborating on a science project over the World Wide Web.
- Programmers creating customized software for distant clients through the Internet.
- Government procurement officers using the World Wide Web for purchases and contracts.
- A farmer using a wireless handheld device to research market prices.
Readiness is the degree to which a community is prepared to participate in the Networked World. It is gauged by assessing a community’s advancement in the areas that are most critical to the adoption of information and communication technologies. An assessment of a community’s Readiness can be used to help the community identify its strategic priorities. [1]
Schools' Access to Information and Communication Technologies.
A school's Readiness in terms of access can be broken down into six broad areas: number of computers, physical access to the technology, types of computers, diffusion of the network, access to and organization of electronic content, and quality and speed of connectivity in the school. In general, the diffusion of information and communication technologies is driven by unit cost per pupil. Computers tend to be adopted first at the university level, then by the secondary school system, and finally by primary schools. [1]
According to the Intel World Ahead Program in Brazil 20 percent of schools in Brazil have access to the Internet [2] According to a 2006 Gartner study, attributes the “rapid growth levels” of Brazil's Internet market to an improved macroeconomic situation, which has led service providers to facilitate PC acquisitions by consumers, further increasing the amount of people connected [7]. But there is still a gap between those that are connected to the network and the remaining 75 percent of the country who are not. [2] But in June 2005, Brazil president Lula da Silva endorsed the One Laptop per Child program for Brazil’s youth [3]. This program is designed to provide technologically inferior countries with personal laptop computers to help educated the youth and progress technological progress in these countries. Being part of this endorsement put Brazil in a beneficial position to help its future generation become more technologically literate, by proving their populations youth with cheap but modern laptops [4]. Schools in Brazil are also focused on developing their technological infrastructure at the college level. Collegiate students are being recognized for their aptitude in the field of technology and have seen rewards as a result.
Table 1 – Number of schools that offer elementary education which have computers, by administrative category – Brazil - 2005
Enhancing Education with ICTs.
In the 2005 census Brazil has approximately 207,000 primary and secondary schools; 37.83% of these schools have computers. While the percentage of schools with computers is low it is important to note 73.56% of elementary school students have access to computers at school. Computer access at the university level is comparable to that in North America and Europe. [8] The Brazil government is taking steps to increase the use of computers in all schools throughout the country. In 2000 the government passed a telecommunications surcharge tax with 45% of the revenue designated for computers in schools. In his radio address on January 10th 2008 President de Silva made it clear education is a national priority. Brazil is in the midst of a major development plan. The plan calls for computer laboratories with broadband, in every Brazilian school by 2010. [9] Since 2010 is right around the corner all anyone can hope for is the major development plan to roll out and it be successful. With the help of government partnerships, such as that with Intel, the country is moving towards an education system where all students are equipped with computers.
Developing the ICT Workforce.
Brazil is considered one of the 5 best software markets in the world, generating a total of US$10 billion in 2005. Brazil's IT industry has been growing at a 10% annual clip since 2000, according to São Paulo researcher E-Consulting Corp., and now boasts sales of $10 billion a year. [5] According to Inep in 2006 there were a total of 824 Computer Science and related technologies degrees available among all of the schools that offered some sort of Computer Science degree in the country. There were 97,786 Computer Science and related technologies student positions offered, 154,319 candidates, and 44,947 students admitted throughout Brazil. [8] In the workforce, 1994 Brazilian government report suggests that even when they had the same qualifications as their male colleagues; women got only 54 percent of what men received as wages. In a 2000 report on gender in Brazil, the World Bank found that Brazil has "one of the widest gender wage gaps in Latin America." Interviews with Cisco Networking Academy instructors in Brazil also indicated that this was quite standard. Maternity leave policies are considered to be one of the reasons behind employers' reluctance to hire women on a pay scale on par with men. [10] But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t women enrolled in university pursuing a computer related field. Several universities including the Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC), the largest Catholic University in Brazil, offer computer science programs. Technical courses are available at a variety of public and private institutions, including distance learning opportunities. Employers offer training to fill the gaps in the current educational system. There are workers who have access to distance learning universities, professional certification programs, online training, digital libraries, web forums and other Internet-based tools for continuing training. In 1997, Brazil's Secretariat of Distance Education of the National Ministry of Education started ProInfo, the prominent, nationwide computers-in-schools initiative. That same year, Presidents Clinton and Cardosa signed a bilateral agreement for education that paved the way for USAID support for developing a web-based clearinghouse to provide both U.S. and Brazilian educators with easy access to the latest information on educational technologies. AED implements this project, called the U.S.-Brazil Learning Technologies Network, or LTNet. Although a centerpiece of the project is LTNet's dynamic bilingual web site (www.ltnet.org) that encourages information seeking and sharing among educators, LTNet also works face-to-face linking Brazilian educators with their U.S. counterparts enabling them to participate in parallel activities to improve their use of technologies in education and to develop their own creative strategies and methods. ProInfo and LTNet staff collaborates to make presentations at conferences and participate in teachers' meetings. Enhancing conventional teacher exchanges, enabling virtual information exchange, facilitating study tours on educational television and multimedia, and intensive training on a variety of computer and Internet technology options are some of the ways AED is helping Brazil strengthen teaching and learning. With all these government plans and involvement it obvious that Brazil will soon be at stage 4 in a couple of years.
[1] Readiness For The Networked World: A Guide For Developing Countries. On-line. Available from the internet: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/readinessguide/forward.html. Accessed February 20, 2009
[2] Intel World Ahead Program in Brazil: On-line. Available from the internet: http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/events/amazon/factsheets/... Accessed February 20, 2009
[3] One Laptop Per Child: On-line. Available from the internet: http://www.laptop.org/en/vision/progress/index.shtml Accessed February 20, 2009
[4] OLPC - One Laptop Per Child - Photos, Videos and News: On-line. Available from the internet: http://www.olpc.com Accessed February 20, 2009
[5] Brazil IT: On-line. Available from the internet: http://www.brazil-it.com/ Accessed February 20, 2009
[6] Telecurso. On-line. Available from the Internet. http://www.telecurso.org.br/. Accessed February 20, 2009
[7] Stuart, Donald A., and Jose Otero. "Network Services and Service Providers in Brazil , 2006." Gartner (2006). Gartner . Accessed February 20, 2009.
[8] INEP Online. Available from Internet, http://www.inep.gov.br/informativo/informativo134.htm, Accessed February 20, 2009
[9] Online. Available from Internet, http://portal.mec.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9733, Accessed March 4, 2009.
[10] Interviews conducted by Cisco Learning
[11] ICT @ AED: Online. Available from Internet, http://ict.aed.org/portfolio/sectors/ed_workdev.htm Accessed March 8, 2009