This compendium of papers documents educational ICT policies and practices in 37 countries, making it a valuable resource for understanding and comparing ICT-related national policy developments in education. We believe that this work offers a unique in-depth examination of the trends within major education systems and how they have adapted to and taken advantage of the challenges and opportunities posed by the new information and communication technologies. A special feature of this edition is that it allows for interesting comparative analyses of sub-groups of countries, as many Asian, European Union, and former eastern-European countries, as well as the United States and Canada (among others), are included in the book. But it allows also for other than regional comparisons given that a number of newly industrialized countries (such as Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, and South Africa) are represented in this book, together with many OECD countries. This book is the result of the effort and hard work of the contributing authors, many of whom are the NRCs for IEA SITES in their respective countries. Special thanks must go to the Norwegian Royal Ministry of Education and Research and the Netherlands Kennisnet ICT OP School Foundation, both of which provided generous support for the preparation and dissemination of the book, to the Center for Information Technology in Education (CITE) of the University of Hong Kong, which assisted in the technical preparation of the manuscript, and to the IEA Secretariat, which facilitated the copyediting of the chapters. We want to acknowledge especially the professional contribution of Paula Wagemaker, who has copyedited the entire volume. This copyediting work is especially critical and challenging, as many of the chapters were written by authors for whom English is a foreign language. We also want to express our appreciation to David Robitaille, chair of the IEA Publications and Editorial Committee, and his committee for the critical and constructive review of the manuscript.

This book is a collection of papers documenting national educational policies and practices on ICT all around the world.

A volume in Research in Educational Policy: Local, National, and Global Perspectives Series Editor Kenneth K. Wong, Brown University This compendium of papers documents educational ICT policies and practices in 37 countries, making it a valuable resource for understanding and comparing ICT-related national policy developments in education. We believe that this work offers a unique in-depth examination of the trends within major education systems and how they have adapted to and taken advantage of the challenges and opportunities posed by the new information and communication technologies. A special feature of this edition is that it allows for interesting comparative analyses of sub-groups of countries, as many Asian, European Union, and former eastern-European countries, as well as the United States and Canada (among others), are included in the book. But it allows also for other than regional comparisons given that a number of newly industrialized countries (such as Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, and South Africa) are represented in this book, together with many OECD countries. This book is the result of the effort and hard work of the contributing authors, many of whom are the National Research Coordinators for the Second IT in Education Study (SITES) conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) for which the data collection took place in 2006. The structure of this book is similar to the previous edition published in 2003 in that it contains both country chapters and summary chapters. The country (or education system) chapters demonstrate the rich variation in policies and strategies on ICT in education around the world. To allow for comparisons across countries, all authors followed an outline consisting of the following main topics: the structure and nature of their educational system; ICT-related policies (illustrated with examples); special issues (such as equal opportunities or problems with sustainability); current trends in policies and practices; and expectations for the future. There are clear differences between countries in economic condition, information technology development, and historical background. In essence, the approach followed resulted in a set of country papers that show a number of commonalities but also reflect the cultural richness and variation.

This report reviews how government uses Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to deliver public services. The review gives an overview of existing uses, as well as initiatives and changes underway. It details a number of big challenges the government faces in protecting and improving the value for money of ICT and in ensuring that ICT is deployed fully in the drive to secure sustainable cost reduction. In response to such challenges and a worsening financial situation, the government has made a number of changes, prominent among which was the formation in June 2010 of the Efficiency and Reform Group that is taking a new approach to securing value for money from ICT. The Group has been responsible for a number of new initiatives, including the moratorium on central government's signing new ICT contracts worth more than £1 million without agreement from the Minister for the Cabinet Office; a mandatory review of all ICT projects currently underway to identify waste; and a drive to renegotiate contracts with suppliers. Most of the Group's initiatives are at a very early stage and it is too early for the National Audit Office to evaluate their effect. This review will, however, set the ground for future evaluations of these and other initiatives designed to achieve value for money from ICT spending.

Este informe cita ejemplos de utilización de las TIC en diferentes regiones del mundo - África, la región árabe, Asia y América Latina - y proporciona un buen ejemplo de los cambios que las TIC aportan a los sistemas y políticas de educación. La gran diversidad que ofrecen los países seleccionados - Jordania, Namibia, Rwanda, Singapur y Uruguay - en términos de desarrollo económico y educativo, sugiere que lo que está en juego no se limitan a un determinado grupo de países privilegiados.