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SUMMARY:Technology and development: the contribution of OER - Tim Unwin\, 
 CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation\, Chair of the Com
 monwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK\, UNESCO Chair in ICT4D\, and E
 meritus Professor of Geography at Royal Holloway\, University of London
DTSTART:20120509T153000Z
DTEND:20120509T170000Z
UID:TALK36545@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Bryony Horsley-Heather
DESCRIPTION:This seminar will explore the roles of information and communi
 cation technologies (ICTs) in development.  All too often these are seen a
 s a 'silver bullet' that has the potential swiftly to lift people out of p
 overty.  Instead\, it is argued that\, as with many other technologies\, t
 hey normally serve primarily to enhance the positions of those in power.  
 Of even more concern\, they tend to be used primarily to impose external s
 olutions on 'recipient' communities. Open Education Resources (OERs) are w
 idely championed as being an alternative way through which ICTs can indeed
  be used by such communities for their own benefit and 'development'.  How
 ever\, the reality is that advocacy of OERs all too often falls into the s
 ame traps that other ICT for development initiatives have previously encou
 ntered.  The seminar closes with some suggestions as to how such programme
 s may be able to overcome this challenge\, and draws on initiatives curren
 tly being implemented by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation.
 \n\nTim Unwin (born 1955) is Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth T
 elecommunications Organisation (http://www.cto.int)\, Chair of the Commonw
 ealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (http://cscuk.dfid.gov.uk)\, UNESCO
  Chair in ICT4D\, and Emeritus Professor of Geography at Royal Holloway\, 
 University of London. From 2001-2004 he led the UK Prime Minister’s Imfu
 ndo: Partnership for IT in Education initiative based within the Departmen
 t for International Development\, and from 2007-2011 he was Director and t
 hen Senior Advisor to the World Economic Forum’s Partnerships for Educat
 ion programme with UNESCO. He was previously Head of the Department of Geo
 graphy at Royal Holloway\, University of London (1999–2001)\, and has al
 so served as Honorary Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (with Th
 e Institute of British Geographers) (1995-1997).  He has written or edited
  15 books\, and more than 200 papers and other publications\, including "W
 ine and the Vine" (Routledge\, 1991)\, "The Place of Geography" (Longman\,
  1992)\, as well as his edited "Atlas of World Development" (Wiley\, 1994)
  and "A European Geography" (Longman\, 1998). His recent research has conc
 entrated on information and communication technologies for development (IC
 T4D)\, focusing especially on the use of ICTs to support people with disab
 ilities\, and to empower out of school youth.  In 2011\, he spent three mo
 nths in China teaching and undertaking research on the use of mobile devic
 es for learning by farmers in Gansu and people with disabilities in Beijin
 g.  His latest collaborative book\, entitled simply ICT4D\, was published 
 by Cambridge University Press in 2009.  He is a Fellow of Education Impact
  and Honorary Professor at Lanzhou University\, China.
LOCATION:Donald McIntyre Building\, Faculty of Education\, 184 Hills Road\
 , Cambridge\, Room GS4
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