infoDev coordinated a learning session on ICT and education issues for World Bank staff on ICT and education issues on 7 November as part of "Human Development Week 2006", the World Bank's annual knowledge sharing and internal capacity building event.

'Computers in Schools: Hope or Hype?' provided a practical overview of the critical issues related to planning for, supervising, and evaluating educational initiatives that seek to use information and communications technologies (ICTs) in some strategic way.   Despite the (renewed) explosion of interest and discussion in this topic, it is difficult to find sober, consolidated and useful information about who is actually doing what, and what some of the related issues, concerns and challenges are that can inform World Bank planning in this area.  Specific attention was paid to the following questions:

• What do we know about World Bank experience in this area?
• What are the lessons learned from experience, and what tools and resources are available to help World Bank staff?

After an introductory presentation and discussion of ICT in education issues relevant to World Bank staff, the learning session then focused on three topics:

• Lessons from World Bank education projects
  (A moderated discussion with World Bank staff in charge of education projects with large ICT components)
• Monitoring and evaluation of ICT in Education projects
  (lead by Professor Dan Wagner of the University of Pennsylvania, who directed the team that produced  Monitoring and Evaluation of ICT in Education Projects: A Handbook for Developing Countries) 
• The ICT in Education Policymakers Toolkit
  (lead by Dr. Wadi Haddad of Knowledge Enterprise, the primary author of the ICT in Education Toolkit for Policymakers, Planners and Practitioners)

Presentations and supplementary materials from this learning event can be found on the infoDev web site at www.infodev.org/HDweek2006.