While waiting at the Hong Kong airport for my flight, I went online to do some last minute checking of facts regarding details in this blog. One of the sources I wanted to examine was the New York Times website.

I was clearly online but I couldn’t get the NY Times site to load. Finally I gave up. As I got on the plane, it suddenly hit me. Hong Kong is under the authority of China and they block websites, especially news media websites like the NY Times. It was a reminder that although HK and China are competitive economic systems, they may have different concepts about the “marketplace of ideas” and do censor information. Clearly an important distinction we should not lose sight of as we look at global educational systems.

CoSN CEO Keith Krueger interviews Mr. She MANG, key official at the Hong Kong Education & Manpower Bureau on the progress and future of their national plan around IT in education to enhance learning & teaching. Podcast is approximately 21 minutes long as in mp3 format.

Hear the thoughts of Allan H. K. Yuen, PhD, Associate Professor & Associate Dean, Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong and national coordinator for SITE, the international examination of ICT in education. Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN, talks to Dr. Yuen about Hong Kong’s third update of their national IT in education strategy, what is their needed research agenda, and explores the issue of information literacy in Hong Kong. Podcast is approximately 11 minutes long as in mp3 format.

Singapore has undertaken a major shift under their Master Plan 2 to encourage a more self-directed learning processes and learning environments that promote higher level of understanding of subject matter. Hear from Siew Lian, Assistant Director of the Education Technology Division at the Ministry of Education as she describes to CoSN CEO Keith Krueger the new forms of assessment that have developed since this shift.

According to Mr. She MANG, the key official at the Hong Kong Education & Manpower Bureau (EMB), the government’s strategy has gone through phases of “build-up” (Phase I) to “leveraging” (Phase II) and now they are exploring the next version of their national strategy. He predicts that the concept of immersion will be a key concept for Hong Kong in the future. (Listen to a podcast interview with Mr. She MANG which will be posted shortly.)

What is the major challenge of effectively using IT in education? According to Mr. She, it is getting teachers to move from “skills based” to using IT for teaching and learning.



Leadership has been a key to the success they see in Hong Kong. While they have had some success with creating programs for principals, the challenge has been attracting principals when there are other major educational reform initiatives that are viewed as higher priority. HK has a major change where higher education is going from a three year to four year requirement,...

What should educators interested in education technology know about Hong Kong’s experience? Listen to Bob Fox, Associate Professor & Deputy Director, Centre for Information Technology in Education at the University of Hong Kong as he explains, to Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN. Podcast is approximately 3 minutes long as in mp3 format.

I am sitting at LAX airport reflecting on what this Work Study is all about. After the five hour flight from Washington to Los Angeles, I am dreading the next fourteen hour flight on to Hong Kong. So, maybe if I focus on other things, such as the purpose of this trip, it will distract me.

The underlying reason why I am doing this trip is that the U.S., at least at the federal level, seems to be pulling the plug on ed tech. CoSN and the rest of the ed tech community are on the defensive trying to keep the Administration and Congress from eliminating funding under No Child Left Behind for technology (Title IID, Enhancing Education Through Technology or EETT). Likewise, we constantly need to articulate why the Erate is an essential program. Likewise, at the state/district level, over 62% of school district CTO’s report that their ed tech budgets are flat or declining.

Conversely, ed tech or ICT in education, as it is known worldwide, is at the top of national agendas in some countries,...

As an outsider, it probably is impossible for anyone to really understand a complicated educational system in just a few days. Given that warning, I am attempting to pull the things I think American (and other global ICT educators) might want to know about Hong Kong and the other countries I will be visiting, regarding their use of IT (or ICT or ed tech…depending on what the country calls it). I am sure I will get some things wrong or not understand the unique situation.

That disclaimer aside, I hope my observations will give you some things to consider. I will primarily rely on official reports, as well as the interviews I am conducting, for the information I am providing. And, I will flag when I am providing a personal perspective or the view of a local knowledgeable source.

Quick Facts about Hong Kong: • Population of 7 million • 1997 became Special Administrative Region of China (under British control prior to that)

In 1998 the Hong Kong government committed itself to...

Setting the Stage: Listen to CoSN CEO Keith Krueger introduce the purpose of his podcasts. Hear what Keith envisions, as he speaks with education leaders on his sabbatical. Podcast is approximately 2 minutes long as in mp3 format.