Tag: Education

General

In Profile – Margot Brown

The story of how a Canadian librarian, Margot Brown, became Director of Knowledge Management at the World Bank reflects not only the central importance of information and data in modern societies, but also the fact that, for nearly three thousand years, libraries and librarians have been intimately involved with knowledge and education. The librarian profession was created, in the eighth century BC, when Ashurbanipal, […]

Opinions

“A prudent optimist”: President Ameenah Gurum-Fakim

When Dutch sailors first landed in Mauritius in 1598, they discovered an island paradise rich in lush, tropical vegetation and with abundant supplies of fresh water. They also famously found the dodo, which has been described as a “feathered tortoise,” a bird so fat that it could not fly. It provided an easy target and a ready supply of meat for even the most […]

Field Stories

The final road to reach 2015 MDGs

As the 2015 target date looms for UN member countries to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals – which range from providing universal primary education to combatting HIV/AIDS and other diseases – the UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2014 reveals what targets have been met, what areas are lacking and, with a final push, what goals are still in reach.  By Annika Burgess

Field Stories

Uganda leads in eLearning since 2005 – in 750+ secondary schools

Uganda is holding a secret. It is host to one of the largest implementations of eLearning in Africa to date. From urban uptown schools to village schools. Already in 2005 the Ministry of Education and Sports agreed to a pilot in 10 government secondary schools, deploying computerised Science and Mathematics software and virtual laboratory software. Having reached 250 schools, the ministry then joined hands with […]

Field Stories

Wikis in history education

Ugandan history teaching is becoming dangerously irrelevant. This is the concern of Dorothy Sebbowa, a lecturer in history education at Makerere University.  “The country risks losing knowledge of its own past,” she warns. But through changing the way history is taught, that knowledge can be saved. by Tewodros Alemayehu Makerere is Uganda’s largest university, and still uses a teaching model where one lecturer addresses […]

Opinions

The Three E’s of the Technology Revolution: Ecommerce, Entrepreneurship, and Education (repost)

We are in the midst of a new leg of the Technology Revolution: mobile technology. Emissaries, acolytes, and strategists have all converged, coming from diverse backgrounds, geographical locations, and age groups. They’ve all learned to creatively synthesize social media and various apps to literally mobilize the troops. The myriad foot soldiers who have been incubated in a petri dish of war, poverty, and a […]

Field Stories

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 […]