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.
Trends
Rural Internet kiosks herald last frontier in bridging digital divide
Rural Internet Kiosks are currently mushrooming throughout rural areas in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia, providing Africans who were previously cut-off from the digital world with Internet connections. These movable, cost-effective and recyclable kiosks, which operate with satellite connectivity provided by Intersat Africa and use solar energy, along with a highly energy efficient personal computer, allow rural communities to participate in the digital world. […]
Connecting the unconnected
In January 2010, in order to connect rural areas lacking any IT infrastructure to the Internet, the Fraunhofer FOKUS, a branch of Germany’s largest research organisation, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, will breathe life into the FOKUS NET4DC. Together with partners from target regions, this international centre for information and communication technologies in developing countries will develop and make available tailor-made IT infrastructures and communication networks. The […]
Virtual farming is bearing fruits
How to optimally market honey, to cultivate a field or to avoid soil erosion is what small-holding farmers can learn – among many other topics – from innovative three-dimensional learning visualisations, which are now available in Zimbabwe. At eLearning Africa 2009, Justin Mupinda, Country Programme Coordinator at World Links Zimbabwe, explained how the so-called “interactive 3d learning objects” (i3dlos) tools make use of the […]
Medicine and eLearning – reaching beyond borders
In Brussels, hands wearing surgical gloves make precise and skilful incisions into an abdomen. In Senegal, attentive participants of the “Demonstrations of Telemedicine” pre-conference workshop at eLearning Africa watch simultaneously on a big screen: The transnational videosurgery, carried out by Professor Guy-Bernard Cadière in Brussels for Senegalese medical students, was a great start to three days packed with topics concerning healthcare. The variety on […]
Testing ‘digital pens’ in hospitals in Tanzania
In many hospitals throughout the world, it is still standard practice for doctors and nurses to keep handwritten patient files; this is also the case in Africa. However, these files can easily get lost, and if patient data have to be transferred from one medical institution to another, the files can take a long time to arrive. Digital documents that can be shared and […]
African ex-leaders urge African governments to join the fight against AIDS
Former presidents of Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia and other well-known figures, including South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu, are demanding more government action and public education campaigns to prevent new infections in the respective countries.
Bridging the scientific content divide in African universities
Since the mid-1980s, a large number of university libraries in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have faced reduced budgets. In some cases, they have no funds whatsoever for subscriptions to scientific journals due to competing demands like national infrastructure development, to which governments are giving priority.
ICT changing the fortunes of rural communities
Indeed, the power of ICTs as a force for socio-economic change is now being realised by the mostly poor residents in costal areas of rural Kenya. At the click of a button, members of well-organised rural self-help groups are able to search for markets for their farm products, make inquiries and even secure orders!
Oracle simplifies African high school student administration
Oracle has developed a software solution that is simple to use, fast to deploy and free to use and distribute to effectively manage student administration. The Oracle School Express (OSE) is a data capturing and reporting tool that enables school administrators to capture student statistics such as registrations, attendance, marks and school fees. The solution will run on a standard PC enabling the schools […]