The state of broadband 2012: achieving digital inclusion for all

With this Report, the Broadband Commission expands awareness and understanding of the importance of broadband networks, services, and applications for generating economic growth and achieving social progress. High-speed affordable broadband connectivity to the Internet is essential to modern society, offering widely recognized economic and social benefits (Annex 1). The Broadband Commission for Digital Development promotes the adoption of broadband-friendly practices and policies for all, so everyone can take advantage of the benefits offered by broadband. With this Report, the Broadband Commission expands awareness and understanding of the importance of broadband networks, services, and applications for generating economic growth and achieving social progress. It has been written collaboratively, drawing on insightful and thought-provoking contributions from our leading array of Commissioners and their organizations, foremost in their fields

Mobile learning and teacher quality: Assessing the impact of a mobile application on the positive psychology and professional practice of Panamanian teachers

In recent years, Latin America has experienced unprecedented growth in education coverage resulting in an acute strain on an already challenged infrastructure. Given the raft of research illustrating the strong relationship between teacher quality and student achievement the need to develop a proficient workforce to sustain the rapid change and improvement is critical. This study focuses on the improvement of teacher quality as a conduit to improving students' educational experiences. The study incorporates a mixed-methods design in two phases focusing on three key issues: (a) understanding teacher perception of self-efficacy and self-permission; (b) examining whether teacher performance can be improved by addressing teacher confidence; and (c) exploring whether teacher self-efficacy and professional practice can be improved using mobile learning. Phase One investigates the relationship between teacher quality, positive psychology, and the importance of cultural norms in individuals' perceptions of their professional abilities. A small-scale pilot study (n=75) was used to test the validity of a five-level, Likert-style survey generated to explore teacher attitudes regarding perceptions of self-efficacy and self-permission. The resulting survey was then administered to more than 500 Panamanian teachers and a comprehensive quantitative statistical analysis of data collected was used to gain an understanding of the relationships between teacher experience and qualification and levels of self-efficacy and self-permission. These findings ultimately informed the content, and structure of a mobile learning application designed to positively impact teachers’ positive psychology. Using this newly created learning application, Phase Two of the main study determines whether professional development delivered using mobile technology can have a positive impact upon professional efficacy, and performance. Ultimately, the study utilizes the mobile application to deliver research-informed practical tips for professional practice. As with Phase One, a small-scale (n=20) pilot study was carried out to inform the design of the mobile application and the way it might be delivered. Data collected over a three-month timeframe using Likert-style surveys and semi-structured interviews were then used to determine participants' interaction, perceived usefulness, and professional impact of the application. The study finds that Panamanian teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy are closely aligned with their classroom experience, while their perceptions of self-permission tend to be associated with a professional qualification. It also finds that when professional development is effectively delivered using a mobile learning application it shows potential to have a useful impact on teacher positive psychology, self-efficacy, and professional practice

The state of broadband 2015: Broadband as a foundation for sustainable development

Every year, the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development ‘State of Broadband’ report takes the pulse of the global broadband industry and explores progress in broadband connectivity. This year’s report finds mixed messages about the growth of ICTs and the global state of broadband. Although strong growth rates continue for mobile broadband and Facebook usage, and mobile cellular subscriptions exceeded 7 billion for the first time during 2015, growth in both mobile cellular subscriptions and Internet usage has slowed sharply. The UN Broadband Commission’s 2011 targets have not been achieved by the target date of 2015 and seem unlikely to be achieved before 2020. Likewise, the milestone of four billion Internet users is unlikely to be surpassed before 2020. The growth in Facebook subscribers is now outpacing growth in the Internet. Internet growth By end 2015, some 3.2 billion people will be online, equating to over 43.4% of the total world population, and up from 2.9 billion a year earlier (almost 40.6% of the population). In the developing world, Internet penetration will surpass 35.3% by the end of 2015; penetration will still be under 10% at 9.5% in the UN-designated Least Developed Countries, however. Even though Internet penetration is approaching saturation in the developed world, with 82.2% of the population online, the global target of 60% set by the Broadband Commission in 2011, to be achieved by 2015, is unlikely to be achieved before 2021 at the earliest. Internet user penetration in the developing world is unlikely to achieve the Broadband Commission target of 50% before 2020. By the end of 2015, there will still be 57% of the world’s population – or four billion people – still offline. Household Internet access in developed countries is close to saturation, with more than 81.3% of households connected. The proportion of households in the developing world with Internet access has increased from 31.5% at the end of 2014 to over 34.1% a year later – still well short of the Broadband Commission target of 40% by 2015. Household connectivity figures mask strong disparities – fewer than 7% of households in LDCs have access, while in sub-Saharan Africa only 1 in 9 households is connected. According to Point Topic, Asia has the largest total number of broadband-connected homes, with nearly as many in total as Europe and the Americas combined. The gender gap in Internet users is proving stubbornly persistent, with an estimated 200 million more men online than women as recently as 2013; one major problem is that sex-disaggregated data are not yet widely reported by national governments and statistics agencies. Mobile growth The mobile industry is growing strongly, but unevenly. ITU forecasts that the milestone of seven billion mobile cellular subscriptions will be exceeded by end 2015, equivalent to a global penetration rate of 97 subscriptions per 100 people. ITU also estimates that there will be a total of almost 3.5 billion mobile broadband subscriptions by end 2015. Industry analysts predict 6.5 billion mobile broadband (3G/4G/5G) subscriptions by 2019, making mobile broadband the fastest growing ICT service in history. Asia-Pacific now accounts for half of all mobile broadband subscriptions, up from just under 45% at the end of 2014. In January 2015, China Mobile became the world’s largest mobile operator by number of subscribers. The rapid expansion of Asia-Pacific is squeezing other world regions in terms of their mobile broadband market share – Europe and the Americas saw declining proportional shares of mobile broadband subscriptions from the end of 2014 to the end of 2015, despite absolute increases in subscription numbers. Smartphones now dominate the mobile device market, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Ericsson forecasts that the number of smartphones in service could exceed ‘basic’ phones by 2016. While developed markets become saturated in terms of total mobile penetration, analysts still see plenty of room for growth, with only an estimated one third of all mobile subscriptions currently associated with a smartphone. In hindsight, the year 2014 is likely to prove a tipping point as the year in which growth in ‘3G’ services began to slow, as growth in ‘4G’ services accelerated. Continued in report. &nbsp

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT PRODUCTS TO REDUCE THE IMPACTS OF MACHETE INJURIES FOR INDIGENOUS NGÄBE SUBSISTENCE FARMERS IN BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA

Design and development of personal protective equipment products for workers using machetes (MPPE) is considered in the specific context of indigenous Ngäbe subsistence farmers in a small, rural community in Bocas del Toro, Panama where the author spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2017-2019. People in this community regularly suffer significant health and economic impacts due to accidents with machetes, which are essential tools in their farm work and daily lives. The history, criticisms, and recent frameworks related to product design and development in resource-poor markets is examined, and specific details of the problem of machete injuries within the local context are described using the author’s personal experiences and a series of household interviews. This information is used as a framework to develop design considerations and requirements, and strategies for effective, sustainable product implementation and business model development. Ideas for specific MPPE products like protective socks and gloves made from high-tech, cut- and impact-resistant materials are presented, as well as business model suggestions that involve local manufacturing, distribution, and marketing

Digital Transformation

The amount of literature on Digital Transformation is staggering—and it keeps growing. Why, then, come out with yet another such document? Moreover, any text aiming at explaining the Digital Transformation by presenting a snapshot is going to become obsolete in a blink of an eye, most likely to be already obsolete at the time it is first published. The FDC Initiative on Digital Reality felt there is a need to look at the Digital Transformation from the point of view of a profound change that is pervading the entire society—a change made possible by technology and that keeps changing due to technology evolution opening new possibilities but is also a change happening because it has strong economic reasons. The direction of this change is not easy to predict because it is steered by a cultural evolution of society, an evolution that is happening in niches and that may expand rapidly to larger constituencies and as rapidly may fade away. This creation, selection by experimentation, adoption, and sudden disappearance, is what makes the whole scenario so unpredictable and continuously changing.The amount of literature on Digital Transformation is staggering—and it keeps growing. Why, then, come out with yet another such document? Moreover, any text aiming at explaining the Digital Transformation by presenting a snapshot is going to become obsolete in a blink of an eye, most likely to be already obsolete at the time it is first published. The FDC Initiative on Digital Reality felt there is a need to look at the Digital Transformation from the point of view of a profound change that is pervading the entire society—a change made possible by technology and that keeps changing due to technology evolution opening new possibilities but is also a change happening because it has strong economic reasons. The direction of this change is not easy to predict because it is steered by a cultural evolution of society, an evolution that is happening in niches and that may expand rapidly to larger constituencies and as rapidly may fade away. This creation, selection by experimentation, adoption, and sudden disappearance, is what makes the whole scenario so unpredictable and continuously changing

A systematic review of digital health tools used for decision support by frontline health workers (FLHWs) in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs)

In in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC), where there are very few trained physicians and nurses, community health workers (CHWs) are often the only providers of healthcare to millions of people. Such LMIC are countries that are classified, based on their geographic region and Gross National Income (GNI), as low-middle income by the World Bank Group, the worlds largest development bank. Research has shown digital health tools to be an effective strategy to improve the performance of frontline line health workers. The aim of this review was to systematically examine the literature on digital health tools that are used for decision support in LMIC and describe what we can learn from studies that have used these tools. As part of a larger parent study the following databases were searched: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, Global Health Ovid, Cochrane and Global Idex Medicus, to find ariticles in the following domains: training tools, decision support, data capture, commodity tracking, provider to provider communication, provider to patient communication and alerts, reminders, health information content. These domains were selected based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) framework for classifying digital health interventions. Content from all seven of these domains informed a series of reviews however this review focuses on how digital tools are used to provide decision support to FLHWs. Included studies were conducted in LMIC in Africa, Asia, North America and South America with the most common users of the tools being CHWs. Most tools for FLHW decision-support used in the interventions described in included articles were in either the pilot or prototype phases, and offered maternal and child health care services. Although decision support was the primary digital health function of all these studies, there was considerable variation in the number of digital health functions of each tool with most studies reporting decision support and data capture as their primary and secondary functions respectively. All the studies found their intervention to have beneficial effects on one or more of the following outcomes: beneficiary engagement, provider engagement, health effects and process/outputs. These findings show great potential for the use of decision support digital health tools as a means of improving the outcomes of health systems through; reducing the work load of FLHWs, reducing the costs of health care, improving the efficiency of service delivery and/or improving the overall quality of care

Relations between academic boredom, academic achievement, ICT use, and teacher enthusiasm among adolescents

Using large, representative samples (N = 76,818) of 15-year-old students in eight countries that took part in the 2018 edition of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) we develop multilevel regression models to estimate the association between boredom and reading and mathematics achievement and multilevel moderation models to estimate the likelihood that students will experience academic boredom as a function of their use of ICT and how enthusiastic they perceive their teachers to be. Students who reported being bored in mathematics classes had lower mathematics and, in some countries, lower reading achievements than students who did not report being bored in mathematics classes. By contrast, results did not reveal a consistent association between boredom in language and literature classes and during self-study and mathematics and reading achievement. The use of ICT for leisure was associated with a higher likelihood that students reported being bored. By contrast, the use of ICT for learning at home was associated with a lower likelihood that students reported being bored. Students who perceived their teachers to be enthusiastic, whether they used ICT or not, were considerably less likely to report being bored. The association between ICT use and boredom was moderated by teacher enthusiasm. In particular, the use of ICT for leisure was associated with higher boredom among students whose teachers lacked enthusiasm whereas the use of ICT at school was associated with higher boredom among students who perceived their teachers to be very enthusiastic

Global research on children’s online experiences: addressing diversities and inequalities

This Method Guide examines the connections between knowledge production, power, inequality and exclusion in the production of international research about children and new or emerging media. Drawing on feminist and postcolonial debates about knowledge, it points to the existing inequalities between research and theory from the global North and the global South. How are issues of power and privilege embedded in a research process that claims universality? How is the focus on children’s internet use globally already underpinned by particular biases and exclusions? The Guide points to evidence that persistent social inequalities and vulnerabilities are transposed to mediated environments, and discusses the challenges of thinking about ‘children online’ when children are never an homogeneous group. Finally, it considers the best ways of ensuring that knowledge produced about the media use of children from discriminated and excluded groups across the world represents them fairly, and is useful to children in those groups

Vpliv tehnologije pri poučevanju angleščine ogroženih učencev ali učencev s posebnimi potrebami: sistematični pregled

With the development of technology, the quantity and quality of electronic devices for students learning English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) are on the rise, especially since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. To facilitate practices in English language education for students with special needs, the researchers conducted a systematic review of the empirical studies of technology tools for ESL/EFL students with learning difficulties published in the previous two decades. This paper presents the study selection process and findings of the review based on 16 peer-reviewed journal articles and one book chapter. The paper reveals the frequent mental and physical difficulties of English language learning and the typical technology tools employed in and out of class. More importantly, this paper discusses the roles of these technology tools in students’ English language acquisition, specifically their effects on student learning outcomes and the students’ perceptions toward them. With limited primary sources, this paper calls for more attention to the use of technology in English language learning of ESL/EFL students identified as at-risk and with learning disabilities and raises some implications for future research and instructional practices. (DIPF/Orig.