Perhaps the most commonly voiced training need of development professionals in many countries is that they would like to improve their abilities to take advantage of resources available through the Internet. This course is designed to do just that - to improve course participants' "Digital literacy" -

"The ability to access and take advantage of networked computer resources and to use and understand information as presented by computers."

With a set of basic skills, some software and a computer connected to the Internet, development professionals can:

• inexpensively communicate with other individuals connected to the Internet.
• access the tremendous and ever-growing body of professional and general information available on and through interlinked computers throughout the world.
• take advantage of formal and informal training offered on-line from virtually anywhere.

The course is targeted at professionals with basic English and computer skills (email, Web browser and file management).

Objectives

A growing number of development professionals now have Internet access but many are not quite sure what resources this makes available, how to best access these resources, or how to use the Internet in support of their work or to develop themselves professionally. This course is designed to help learners overcome these uncertainties and to improve their:

• online learning capability
• ability to use a range of Internet communication/learning tools
• Internet searching skills
  

Also included are reference sections learners can consult to:

• become familiar with key Internet services and common terms
• enhance Browser skills
• find other online learning opportunities
• improve connectivity
• develop download skills
  

Registered participants receive advice and guidance from experienced course facilitators and the ability to communicate with and learn from other registered classmates.

There are other online courses with similar objectives to this one but we feel that "Digital Literacy for Development Professionals" is unique in several ways:

• it focuses on the needs of professionals in development
• it provides an opportunity to share online experiences and resources with other professionals around the world
• it is part of a larger effort to establish a learner-centered knowledge network in the form of an online community involved in promoting sustainable development

Structure

The course is organized into 5 modules and is offered for 6 weeks. Registered learners should be prepared to allocate approximately 5 hours of work per week to read the lessons, visit the recommended external Websites, participate in the online class discussions and complete the assignments. The course format is quite flexible in that it allows participants to work on the lessons at the times they find most convenient. However, it is also structured in that participants are required to follow a schedule and keep up with the rest of the class.

The schedule for the 5 modules and corresponding learning objectives can be found in the table below:

The course has a comprehensive assortment of tools that encourage and allow interaction between classmates and between course facilitators and learners. Tools include an email program, an address list, upload file facility and links to the various electronic discussion boards associated with the course. In addition, students can easily check on their progress and accomplishments by visiting the automated progress report utility.

Grading

Experience tells us that grading can be a powerful motivating factor and a good way to provide feedback on participant performance. Soon after submission, facilitators will evaluate participant assignments and post their assessment on the student's online progress report along with comments on why they graded as they did and what can be done to improve the grade. Participants are then given the opportunity to improve their grade by reworking and resubmitting assignments. Grading categories used in this course include - "Emerging", "Competent" and "Exemplary". Additionally, for partial submissions, facilitators may award an "Incomplete".

The table below indicates the criteria and attributes used to assess assignments.

Technical Requirements

Courses are designed to be as easy to access and take advantage of as possible - whatever the participant's technical circumstances may be. However, the learning experience will be much more enjoyable if hardware and software meet certain minimum standards. For this course we recommend that participants have:

• A computer running Windows 95, 98, 200, NT or ME.
• An Internet connection (either dialup at 56 Kbps or through a corporate LAN)
• An email account (either Web-based or POP but one that can handle attachments)
• A Web browser. It is highly recommend that you use IE v5.5, Netscape 6.0 or later or Mozilla Firefox 1.0. Additionally, Javascript must be enabled.
• A Flash 6 Plug-in for your browser
• Additional software recommended by your instructor. This includes a word processing program and Adobe Acrobat Reader

Credits

This course is based on the materials used in a face-to-face course developed by the Training Center of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and delivered in Cambodia to staff associated with the Cambodia-IRRI-Australia-Project in June 1999. It was then redesigned into a Web-based course and implemented several times by IRRI and, later on, the Asia Pacific Regional Technology Centre. This version is another refinement of the original course. The primary authors are Dr. Robert T. Raab and Ms. Buenafe R. Abdon.