ICTC/Evaluation

How do we know when we are successful?


ICTC is involved with a number of projects in Canada at a national level and provincially. Its core operations (salaries, technical and physical infrastructure) are funded by public and private sector organizations. The Education Strategy is a new initiative, across the organization, and intended to serve the Talent program which is committed to working with other internal and external groups to strengthen Canada's digital advantage and increase the pool of ICT-skilled professionals - whether they are ICT workers per se, or people who use ICT skills to be successful in their careers.

This section will summarize ICTC's logic model from ICTC perspective and how it informs the selection of its activities as a contribution to the project and the corresponding monitoring and evaluation plan. The logic model illustrates the cause-result propositions among the:


 * inputs into the project;
 * short-term outputs; and
 * achievement of the longer-term outputs envisaged by ICTC's learning initiatives.

Ultimately ICTC must have an impact on the ICTC skills agenda by strengthening Canada's digital advantage (i.e., ability to compete in the digital, knowledge-based economy) and the realization of an ICT skills equipped workforce which enables job satisfaction, career mobility and enhancement of individual job prospects and organizational ability to compete globally in a timely-manner, by virtue of access to ICT-skilled talent.



ICTC initiates a wide range of activities over the duration of the education strategy (3-5 years). These activities are prioritized and selected according the framework of the logic model below. In monitoring and evaluating our progress, we have identified a number of key performance indicators (quantifiable metrics) to help us gauge the progress and success of the project on an ongoing basis.

Our Logic Model
This section provides a description of ICTC and its anticipated outputs, outcomes and potential international impact in general and the Commonwealth in particular.

Implementing a phased approach
ICTC's education is divided into three distinct phases.

Inputs

 * [[Image:WikiEdLogicModel.svg|thumb|right|500px|Figure 1: WikiEducator's Logic Model]]Technology infrastructure. Installation of a WordPress website server and supporting interaction technologies for communication among WikiEducators. Technology infrastructure also includes the software enhancements required for the development and delivery of asynchronous learning materials and the implementation of customised templates to support quality assurance approaches in the wiki;


 * Training resources. The development and leveraging of content resources including, for example:
 * tutorials on how to develop OERs in the wiki environment;
 * OER workshop toolkits for facilitators to run their own WikiEducator capacity building initiatives;
 * Guidelines on how to participate effectively in the WikiEducator community;


 * People. The educators, learning designers, multimedia and technology support individuals who form the ICTC community. This input includes organisations and institutions who support the ICTC skills development approach.


 * External funding &amp; Sponsorship. External funding raised to support capacity building and community development for OERs. This includes both extra budgetary funding activities through ICTC, its partners and sponsors for ICT skills development projects. Institutions are encouraged to support ICTC in kind by allocating resource time for the authoring of ICT skills development materials and resources, professional development and community building in the official roles and responsibilities of staff.

Impact
ICTC believes that its education strategy and productive use of re-usable education resources (including OERs) can make a significant contribution to:


 * Lowering the production costs of asynchronous learning resources;
 * Removing the barriers to active and meaningful collaboration among educators (formal and informal), regardless of educational level, language, culture, technology, and geography
 * Improving the quality of free educational content in general and improving the opportunities for reconfiguring these resources in ways that are more appropriate for local contexts;
 * Widening access to educational opportunities particularly through alternative educational opportunities for learners who may not have the opportunity to participate in the formal education system.

Ultimately ICTC aims to make a contribution to strengthening Canada's digital economic advantage + innovation, specifically:


 * increased opportunities for income generation through free content and reduction in the cost of educational provision;
 * increases in education participation rates at all levels and sectors;
 * improved participation from women in ICT enabled education;
 * sustainable partnerships for development