Author: claire

Conference sneak preview

The sky is her only limit: Enala Tembo-Mwase

“Most people do not utilise their abilities to the full”, says Dr Enala Tembo-Mwase, Associate Professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, a specialist in eLearning. “But you can achieve anything. Only the sky is the limit.“ Enala Tembo-Mwase has been appointed a coordinator for the eLearning Africa 2010 conference to be held in her home country at the end of […]

Field Stories

Lessons learned from SADC’s open and distance learning project

With a geographic base in nine southern African countries, financial underpinnings of about fifteen million Units of Account (1 UA = 1 US$1.48) from the African Development Fund, and a mature development strategy, the Open and Distance Learning Project launched by the Southern African Development Organization (SADC) secretariat in 2007 provides a paradigm for how a large-scale capacity-building effort should come into being. The […]

Trends

Education on board – mobile solar classrooms in rural Uganda

Three solar panels, a battery, ten folding chairs, five tables, fifteen Intel-powered Classmate PCs and two teachers in a small van: This is the basic “equipment” of the Mobile Solar Computer Classroom (MSCC). It has been en route through rural Uganda for two years now with the purpose of teaching pupils and teachers IT and computer skills. The initiator is Eric Morrow, founder of […]

Field Stories

ICTs are empowering street children in Kenya

A pioneering project aimed at training ICT skills is transforming the lives of children who live in the streets of Eldoret, an agriculturally rich town in Kenya’s lush Rift Valley region. Led by SNV, a Dutch development agency, in collaboration with the “Ex-Street Children Community Organisation” (ECCO), a group of formerly homeless young people, the initiative provides street children with basic computer skills, thereby […]

Field Stories

Building a robust IT programme at Nkumba University

    In Entebbe, on the Northern shores of Lake Victoria, sits one of Uganda’s few private higher-education institutions: Nkumba University. Until a short time ago, the University staff faced tremendous administrative obstacles with respect to their ICT equipment. Budget restrictions and growing maintenance and electricity costs highlighted the need for an innovative solution to address the challenges that this progressive university had to […]

Trends

Zambian teachers test free digital learning tools

  A group of about thirty teachers from the Copperbelt region in Zambia convened in a workshop last month to receive an introduction to several free eLearning computer programmes. These tools, which included an offline version of Wikipedia, a quiz maker and other helpful programmes, have the potential to enrich the learning experience of teachers and students, even in areas with no internet connection.

Conference sneak preview

“Africa is developing fast – we are helping it to move even faster”

Litsa Panayotopoulos, Managing Director of the OTEAcademy S.A, is a “global player.” Based in Greece, she received her academic training in London and has worked in the U.S. as well as in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for many years. Currently she is playing a major role in the fast growing sector of corporate training and distance learning in several parts of the […]

Opinions

Dry ICT skills are not enough

Zimbabwe’s educational system, once a shining example for the entire African continent, is now struggling with severe problems: At the beginning of 2009, the country experienced a fierce battle between teachers and the government. Teachers were not able to make a living, the majority of schools closed and school fees shot up. Although there are signs of a slight improvement, many difficulties remain – […]

General

Embracing all facets of ICT deployment in Africa

In his role as Africa Regional Director for the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI), Alex Twinomugisha helps to empower African countries to develop strategies for the proper use of ICT in education to promote their overall development. In the following interview, Nairobi-based Twinomugisha talks about the challenges his organisation has to overcome when deploying ICT in Africa and what effect technology continues to […]