The week began on a nostalgic note as we reflected on the eLearning Africa 2012 conference and exhibition. Take a look at this six-minute video which conveys just a fraction of the excitement of the discussions, debates, networking, and of course the learning that transpired when Africa’s leading eLearning practitioners from government, business and academia convened in Cotonou http://bit.ly/O8JFTs. As those who attended eLearning Africa 2012 will attest, ICT is being embraced in numerous innovative ways across the Continent. Take a look at some facts and figures in this report by Balancing Act in which they explain how “Africa’s insatiable thirst for social networking” is spurring the growth of local mobile brands such as MXit and 2go http://shar.es/vUwQc. MXit is the same platform hosting the award-winning Dr Math, an mLearning platform that has taken South Africa by storm. Earlier this year, we caught up with Adele Botha, one of the developers of Dr Math http://bit.ly/As9aZl.
Still in South Africa, and still on the topic of developers, we tweeted Farzana Rasool’s IT Web report on a recent survey by the Gauteng e-Skills Hub that indicates that some app developers have little understanding of the end users they are striving to serve http://bit.ly/RQPJDC. These findings resonate with the observations of Bobby Okine, co-founder of mFriday, a burgeoning Ghanaian innovation hub. Speaking to the eLearning Africa News Service on the methods of some young developers, he said, “There is insufficient or superficial research into the problems they intend to solve with the many apps they are developing.” See our April 2012 story here http://bit.ly/IrXry9. Despite these teething troubles, the excitement of this new era of the innovation hub cannot be set aside. Young people across Africa are embracing ICT as producers and not merely consumers. With so many innovations, who can keep up? In a list that includes PCs, USB ports and Wi-Fi, Avram Piltch of LAPTOP Online argues that there are at least “fifteen current technologies we’ll still be using in 2030” http://bit.ly/RxTNsz. It’s time to place your bets!
We also tweeted this SciDevNet report on the new high speed Internet links between universities in Southern Africa http://bit.ly/OrhVXz. This will surely be a boost for collaboration amongst researchers. One final morsel worth tweeting was this find: http://bit.ly/QolRJT. Developed by a not-for-profit organisation, Gooru is a “search engine for learning” featuring resources for everything from Algebra to Zoology.
What were your top tweets this week? Which eLearning issues are keeping you up at night? Have you come across any news worth sharing – good or bad – about the state of ICT-enhanced education in Africa or even beyond? Share your thoughts with the eLearning Africa community on any or all of the following platforms:
- The eLearning Africa Facebook group
- The eLearning Africa Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/eLearning-Africa
- The eLearning Africa LinkedIn group
- eLearning Africa on Twitter: @eLAConference (#eLA13)
- And of course, you can fill in the comment box below.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
