INSIGHTS UNITED NATIONS

Mobile Technology I learned that mobile technology has changed education, teachers play an important part in the success of ICTs in teaching and learning. There has been a lot of discussion on how educators can best utilize mobile devices to achieve national and international learning objectives. I also discovered that there is a shortage of trained and motivated teachers is most acute in parts of the world where more and better quality instruction is desperately needed. In-spight of the urgency of the global teacher crisis, UNESCO is working to better understand how mobile technology can help prepare new teachers and provide professional development to working teachers. Health Care I read about how health care is addressed especially AIDS and how there is a gender-sensitive response to HIV and AIDS. It is done by supporting education systems to be gender-responsive by seeking system-wide responses through EFA national action plans; promoting human rights based and culturally appropriate approaches that support women’s empowerment and more balanced gender relations; using training and non-formal education as key entry points to address gender inequality; developing empowering educational strategies and material for adult and lifelong learning; and promoting the better use of information and communication technologies, public entertainment and awareness campaigns such as, radio and TV to deliver socially targeted, gender-sensitive and effective messages about HIV and AIDS and the need for equal gender relations. Teachers Professionally, educators must understand what is expected of them. They must also know the challenges. The main challenge faced by the teaching profession today is both one of numbers and quality. Over a million new teachers are required to reach universal primary education by 2015, the recruiting of new teachers must go hand in hand with improving the quality of teaching and learning, Achieving quality education for all, in line with goals of the Dakar Framework for Action, calls for more and better trained teachers, as pedagogical processes lie at the heart of quality education. Schools must be supported in attracting qualified teachers. The challenge of quantity must be met head-on, while ensuring quality and equity. UNESCO has done a lot to address the challenges and aims to mobilize and assist Member States in the design and implementation of viable national policies for teacher initial and continuous training, recruitment, retention, status and working conditions. A new initiative is replacing the Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa and focuses on developing institutional capacity for training and developing a high quality teaching force in countries most hampered by the lack of teachers. References United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (2014). United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved from http://en.unesco.org/themes/literacy-all