<div class="gmail_quote">From: <<a href="mailto:edevelopment@worldbank.org">edevelopment@worldbank.org</a>><br>
Date: Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 12:31 PM<br>
Subject: Seminar/Live Webcast: How much does it really cost to<br>
introduce and sustain computers in schools? Nov. 6<br>
<br>
<br>
A World Bank ICT and Education Community of Interest Discussion (EduTech), in<br>
collaboration with the World Bank e-Development Thematic Group, infoDev and the<br>
Technology Salon invite you to a seminar/live webcast:<br>
<br>
How much does it really cost to introduce and sustain computers in schools?<br>
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): A Study of Models of Affordable Computing for<br>
Schools in Developing Countries<br>
<br>
11am - 12:30pm (Washington DC time)<br>
6 November 2008<br>
<br>
The seminar will be streamed live and recorded for on demand viewing.<br>
<br>
LIVE WEBCAST: <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/edevelopment/live" target="_blank">http://www.worldbank.org/edevelopment/live</a><br>
<br>
Program Description<br>
<br>
"Total cost of ownership" (TCO) is often underestimated, sometimes grossly, when<br>
calculating costs of ICT in education initiatives in developing countries.<br>
Estimates of initial costs to purchase equipment to overall costs over time vary<br>
widely; typically they lie between 10-25% of total cost. That said, there is a<br>
dearth of reliable data, and useful tools, to help guide education<br>
decisionmakers in their assessments of the true costs of educational technology<br>
initiatives.<br>
<br>
A recent whitepaper from Vital Wave Consulting, "Affordable Computing for<br>
Schools in Developing Countries: A Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Model for<br>
Education Officials", and accompanying case study of ICT in education<br>
initiatives in India, provide further insight and perspective on this important<br>
and often controversial issue. The white paper discusses key issues related<br>
to technology use in education and presents several major findings, including:<br>
<br>
Academic research and private-sector investment decisions indicate that<br>
computers in schools contribute to improved academic outcomes, boost a nation?s<br>
economic competitiveness, and attract job-creating economic investments.<br>
<br>
Governments need to consider the entire cost of school computing solutions,<br>
rather than merely the initial expenses. A total cost of ownership model takes<br>
into account recurrent and hidden costs such as teacher training, support and<br>
maintenance, and the cost of replacing hardware over a five-year period.<br>
Support and training are recurrent costs that constitute two of the three<br>
largest costs in the total cost of ownership model. They are greater than<br>
hardware costs and much higher than software fees.<br>
<br>
Ultra-low cost computers and Linux-based solutions are relatively equal in cost<br>
to traditional hardware and proprietary software solutions because they require<br>
higher labor and replacement costs over a five-year period.,<br>
The total cost of ownership for different computer types and software platforms<br>
is relatively consistent.<br>
<br>
Please note that this independent study was commissioned by Microsoft.<br>
<br>
For more information:<br>
<br>
Affordable Computing for Schools in Developing Countries: A Total Cost of<br>
Ownership (TCO) Model for Education Officials<br>
Affordable Computing for Schools in India: A Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Case<br>
Study<br>
<a href="http://www.vitalwaveconsulting.com/insights/articles-presentations.htm" target="_blank">http://www.vitalwaveconsulting.com/insights/articles-presentations.htm</a><br>
<br>
infoDev Knowledge Map: ICTs in Education: Costs<br>
<a href="http://infodev.org/en/Publication.159.html" target="_blank">http://infodev.org/en/Publication.159.html</a><br>
<br>
GeSCI TCO Tool.<br>
<a href="http://www.gesci.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=43" target="_blank">http://www.gesci.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=43</a><br>
<br>
Speakers: Karen Coppock, VP of Consulting Services, and Brendan Smith, Senior<br>
Consultant, Vital Wave Consulting<br>
<br>
Discussant: Jon Camfield, Director of ICT, Youth Service America<br>
<br>
Come join what we hope to be a lively presentation and discussion of the<br>
findings of this study, their potential implications, and the underlying<br>
methodologies and assumptions underpinning the models explored in this work.<br>
<br>
We will initiate the discussion with comments from Jon Camfield, Director of<br>
Information and Communication Technologies at YSA (Youth Service America), who<br>
has co-authored an update to the TCO Tool for schools developed by the Global<br>
e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI). This tool, "Deploying 1:1<br>
educational models in large scale: a practical budgeting tool based on TCO", is<br>
available for free use under a Creative Commons License and is currently being<br>
utilized as part of planning processes in Rwanda, drawing on lessons learned<br>
from its earlier use elsewhere in Africa, most notably in Namibia.<br>
<br>
To participate in Washington DC please send an email to <a href="mailto:mlacdao@worldbank.org">mlacdao@worldbank.org</a><br>
<br>
You can also watch a live or recorded webcast. To register for live webcast,<br>
send an email to <a href="mailto:edevelopment@worldbank.org">edevelopment@worldbank.org</a> and <a href="mailto:mbunchuk@worldbank.org">mbunchuk@worldbank.org</a><br>
Questions? Please contact Michael Trucano (+12024739841)<br>
</div><br>