The aim of this guide is to build on the core set of ICT in education indicators by further refining them and suggesting an expanded list of indicators or proxy measures in order to address a wider range of policy concerns. The methodologies for collection and calculation, as well as a proposal for a prototype questionnaire, are presented in this guide. Furthermore, it should serve as a reference and training guide for collecting comparable data at the country level and completing future UIS questionnaires on ICT in education.
More specifically, this guide seeks to:

1. strengthen the conceptual framework on ICT use in education;
2. map indicator gaps in order to better monitor progress of countries towards international goals, including the UNESCO strategic areas of focus on ICT in education;
3. propose an expanded list of internationally comparable indicators or proxies to measure ICT use in education; develop their definitions, purpose, measurement and interpretation; and review their comparability and their methodological or operational limitations; and
4. outline criteria for prioritising the new indicators.

The Guide to Measuring Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education represents a groundbreaking attempt to put in place internationally standardized concepts and indicator measurement specifications that will ensure consistent use and interpretation of ICT in education statistics among policymakers, statisticians, researchers, experts and statistical institutions across the world. Given the rapidly evolving nature of ICT, this guide should be viewed as a living document, subject to future refinements.
The proposed ICT in education indicators have been based on data that can be generated within existing official administrative sources rather than on irregular, costly or external resource-dependant national surveys in order to ensure long-term sustainability in data collection efforts for a majority of countries. A few methodological and operational caveats have been identified for improvement over time.
This guide presents an expanded set of indicators for monitoring ICT in education beyond the core list developed by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) (UIS, 2008b). It elaborates on data collection modalities and indicator calculation methodologies based on proposed questionnaire items. The guide also provides a review of concepts previously used in international comparative assessments of ICT use in education and examines global policy concerns.

Following the World Summits on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005), the Partnership for Measuring ICT for Development was formed to develop comparable data and indicators for monitoring WSIS goals. The Partnership comprises Eurostat, ITU, OECD, UNCTAD, UNDESA, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), UN Regional Commissions (UNECLAC, UNESCWA, UNESCAP and UNECA) and the World Bank. Within this framework, the primary assignment of the UIS is to lead the Task Force responsible for developing indicators on information and communication technologies (ICT) use in education. In February 2009, the UIS submitted an initial core set of ICT in education indicators to the 40th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission.
This manual presents a more comprehensive set of internationally comparable indicators on the use of ICT in education, along with standardized definitions of key concepts, detailed measurement specifications and practical guidance on appropriate interpretation of the indicators. The proposed set of new indicators covers a wider range of conceptual domains, which will address policy needs at both national and international levels (e.g. WSIS, Millennium Development Goals and Education for All). They provide multiple angles for the assessment of ICT penetration in education systems in a comparative perspective.
This technical paper is designed to assist Members States in developing their capacity and monitoring national goals in this area. Its aim is also to set standards in a rapidly-changing field where technologies induce the use of new devices, different norms and procedures for teaching and learning. In consequence, the UIS will produce systematic revisions to this guide in order to reflect such technological evolvement.