 ISTE India launched
 A joint venture agreement was signed in Chennai on November 30, 2004, by Dr. Don Knezek, Chief Executive, International Society for Technology in education (ISTE), US, and Annamalai Muthiah, Chairman, Future Schools Foundations, Chennai, to transform schooling in India by providing leadership and service to improve teaching and learned by advancing the effective use of technology in K-12 education and teacher education.
The formation of ISTE India is expected to give India's educators the same access to professional association and professional development as their colleagues in America enjoy. Dr.
Richard
Haynes, Consul General, US Consulate, Chennai, presided over the joint venture signing ceremony. Dr. Haynes has worked widely throughout South Asia, and is a student of South Asia history.
ISTE is the premier US-based non-profit organisation for technology in education, "Providing leadership and service to improve teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in education." Members are provided with information, networking opportunities, and guidance as they a face the challenge of incorporating computers, the internet and other new technology into their schools, Annamalai said in Chennai.
Home of the National Educational Technology Standard (NETS), the Center for Applied Research in Education Technology (CARET), and the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), ISTE meets its mission through knowledge generation, professional development, and advocacy. The membership structure includes a worldwide network of affiliates and special Internet Groups (SIGs). Members receive the latest information through periodicals, journals, the website, small group meetings and a national convention that drew 17,500 professional educators to its 5-day conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, said Don
Knezek.
He said thrust would be given on educating the educators in rural areas and taking new technology to the villages. Rural Development would be a key aspect of the ISTE
programme.
ISTE India has the educational mission of transforming education in India into a 21st century, student-centred endeavour rich with technology that first inspire students to learn and them the modern skills to do so throughout their professional and modernise schools to prepare Indian students for productive roles in the global society that is their future, Annamalai pointed out.
Initial colloquiums are to be held in
Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi, to establish the state organisations, followed by a meeting in August 2005 to complete the national organisational structure,
Annamalai said. State organisations are planned to be established in all states of India, with the Volunteer participants creating further district based SIGs affiliates as required. The National office of ISTE India will be in New Delhi.
Annamalai said District Offices of ISTE India would be opened in several centres in the country including 10 in Tamil
Nadu.
The first District Office would come up at Coimbatore on December 4, he said adding that four other offices were expected to be ready by March 2005. A Summit for the entire state of Tamil Nadu would be held in August 2005 after a series of seminars and workshops. This would be followed by a National-level conference in August 2006.
Annamalai added that the vision behind the formation of ISTE India is the insight that learning is being continually transformed by advances in technology. For this reason, the purpose of ISTE India is given as an organisation which "sparks the learning revolution". The infusion of technology into education mirrors the overall changes in India as technology transforms daily life. As John Dewey developed educational materials, pedagogy and philosophy for the 20th Century, industrial growth was the primary material condition, so ISTE is facilitating 21st Century Technology to replace the former static patterns of large-scale industrial development with more fluid patterns of the learning and global community.
ISTE India enables Indian educators and education to become prime movers in this transformative movement. In essence, this symbolises the start of "A Movement in Education to transform Schooling", pointed out Annamalai. Those interested can log on to:
www.iste.org or call 044-28291626 for more information.
Annamalai said raising funds would not be a problem as corporates both abroad and in India were keen on promoting the project.
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