The Hong Kong International IT in Education Conference 2006 opened on Monday.

The three-day conference is organized by the Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Baptist University.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur KC Li said that the bureau was determined to provide teachers with professional development opportunities and support to help them respond to the challenge of using IT for curriculum and pedagogical innovations.

"In 2004, we released our second IT in education strategy called Empowering Learning and Teaching with Information Technology for the 2004-07 school year.

"To further empower our teachers and school leaders, we have set up learning centers for teachers to develop and share IT skills, and have provided IT leadership training for our school heads," Li said.

Themed "Capacity Building for Learning through IT", the conference has been divided into five categories, namely Learning through IT, E-Learning, E-Leadership, Learning Communities and Capacity Building through IT, and Community Involvement.

Attracting about 1,500 participants, the conference is a platform for information sharing and the exchange of best practices, and also enables teachers and shareholders in the education industry to improve their collaboration in the IT area.

Key features of the conference include six keynote speeches, 13 teaching demonstrations, about 180 presentations, and more than 20 workshops.

(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2006)