Dr Maggy Beukes-Amiss is a Head of Department and Senior Lecturer at the University of Namibia. Her many achievements – a Doctorate in Computer-integrated Education (CiE) from the University of Pretoria, her over 17 years’ teaching experience in ICT-related subjects – tutoring and training of various participants in eLearning related courses in Namibia and internationally – and her activities as a conference paper reviewer […]
Recent news
Social Learning: a Namibian Experiment
In Sub-Saharan Africa, innovative approaches are constantly being developed to address the region’s acute education challenges. Low literacy levels, inadequate school facilities, and high dropout rates are felt acutely, particularly in rural areas. Despite government initiatives to tackle these issues, accessing education remains difficult for some, especially those who have abandoned their studies and find it difficult to re-join school or gain employment in […]
Knowledge repositories – building blocks for learning
A knowledge repository is an online database that organises, displays and categorises information. It can be used to provide support and management for many services, including encouraging open access to scholarly research, preserving digital materials for the long term and showcasing academic research. But whilst repositories are becoming increasingly commonplace in Africa and around the world as houses of shared institutional memory, information on […]
The unsung local heroes who are really changing Africa
A revolution is occurring throughout African societies. While governments implement high-level, high-visibility ICT strategies, experts have recently identified far more radical, hidden changes occurring across the Continent. New technologies, when adopted, are adapted to local needs: a sort of under-the-radar innovation which is now pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
Skype’s 10th Birthday – tell us your story!
This week marks ten years since the web address www.skype.com was registered. At the time, telephone companies were concerned: by offering free video calls over the Internet, Skype had not only introduced a form of communication more futuristic than mobile telephony (almost, perhaps, the stuff of science fiction), but also fundamentally undermined the communications industry’s business models.
ICT against Inequality
International Girls in ICT Day this year saw new projects set up worldwide to create an environment that encourages girls and young women, at present disadvantaged by a gender-based digital divide of worldwide prevalence, to consider careers in the field of ICT. But why is there a gender imbalance in the technology sector at all, and what’s being done to fix it? The eLearning […]
East Africa mourns a legend
The Zanzibari singer Bi Kidude has died. It is believed she was 102 or 103 years old. Adam Salkeld gives a personal appreciation.
African Libraries under Threat
The Latin poet Horace famously brags that his book of Odes is “a monument more lasting than bronze”. It is certainly pleasant to believe that an author’s ideas can live on in print after his death, according him a certain measure of immortality: the sight, however, of a shelf of crumbling paperbacks is enough to shake the firmest faith in the durability of the […]
Le challenge EAST 2013 : randonnée au sommet du Brandberg Königstein !
Chers aventuriers, eLearning Africa Scholarship Trust (EAST) a le plaisir de vous dévoiler les détails du challenge EAST 2013. Chaque année, EAST accorde des bourses aux ressortissants africains aux faibles revenus afin qu’ils participent à eLearning Africa. Collecter des fonds pour couvrir les frais des nombreux candidats nécessite des efforts considérables. Aussi, pour atteindre cet objectif, nous avons organisé le challenge EAST – une […]
Technology Innovation Hubs in Africa: Creating Opportunities for Peer Learning and Knowledge Exchange
As hotspots for local IT communities, innovation hubs provide powerful opportunities for social innovation and community empowerment. But how can hubs ensure that all their activities, including community building, tools, services and workshops pay their way and help to build sustainable replicable environments for local empowerment? Join participants involved in hubs all across the Continent at this eLearning Africa pre-conference workshop to exchange knowledge, […]