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| An instructional design model for e-Learning in schools education (Peer Reviewed) | We have created a range of tools and technologies that could assist learning. The nature of these creations in the digital age has prompted us to look at learning as ‘e-Learning’. Our encounters with digital information, processes and systems make it inevitable that our school education ought to prepare us to effectively engage in this digital era. School education is instutionalised and is characterised by a face-to-face (f2f), traditional teaching and learning in a controlled milieu. This paper suggests that a Learning Object Approach be used as the primary instructional design, for e-Learning at schools. This implies the establishment of relationships between learning object and learning to provide coherent pedagogically sound learning experiences. |
| Beyond technology: bandwidth as a strategic asset | The central importance of bandwidth in the life of a university is beyond dispute. Amazingly, however, the problem of bandwidth management never seems to be propelled onto the strategic agenda of universities.
It remains confined to the technological agenda and under the control of IT departments, and sometimes of university IT committees. To the extent that the problem remains confined to this domain, choices about bandwidth will almost invariably be instrumentalist choices rather than strategic choices. And instrumentalist choices will almost invariably fail to connect the problem to strategic imperatives, because they work, of necessity, with a rationality of means rather than of ends. Strategy - defined as the sacrifice of the lesser for the greater - requires that the debate about bandwidth be displaced from the instrumental domain and into the institutional domain, in which the relationship between choices and strategic outcomes can be properly examined. This presentation aims to unpack this cluster of problems and to establish at least a partial foundation for debate on how bandwidth might be apprehended as a strategic asset. |
| Good practices necessary for effective implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in secondary schools - a case of Gayaza High School, Uganda (Peer Reviewed) | This paper highlights good practices in motivating teachers’ in secondary schools to use technology in teaching taking a case study of a school in Uganda.
At Gayaza High School in Uganda technological facilities have been made sufficiently available; more computers have been placed in the staffroom; time tabled lessons take place in the computer room; a reliable internet connectivity has been installed and a well-outlined ICTs school policy is being developed and communicated to the whole school. Teachers are remunerated for technology driven lessons and proper training of teachers through regular refresher courses either physically or online is focused on. All the above strategies have increased the utilisation of technology by teachers in our school. |
| ICT Access & Use in Rural schools in South Africa: A case of the Mpumalanga Province (Peer Reviewed) | In education, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is considered part of a solution to addressing the changing learning needs of societies. Despite the impressive promise of ICT however, the majority in rural areas lack basic resources such as classrooms, desks, and ultimately ICT resources. This paper investigates ICT resource challenges faced by rural schools in South Africa – by comparison to their urban counterparts. The paper adopts a qualitative, descriptive, and explanatory method of research. It is based on both secondary and primary data sources. A purposive sampling method was used to collect data through interviews of school officials in the Mpumalanga region. Results show urban schools to be generally well equipped, both in terms of technical and social resources. Rural schools on the other hand, either lack the physical infrastructure, or some have a few computers but lack programs. Theft and vandalism also emerged as a major challenge for most, whilst computer literacy for teachers is a problem for all sampled schools in the province. Where computers exist in rural areas, the numbers are far too small to be useful given their ratio to the number of learners. A framework to analyse the schools computerisation effort is then used to explain the findings. A lack of coherence in the vision among the leadership between national education, provincial, and school leadership is a contributing factor. A lack of attention to the needs of intended beneficiaries at schools level, as well as efforts to redress social and environmental obstacles such as security, energy, provision of relevant programs, and technical support equally limit the success of the initiative to computerise rural schools. Drawing on the analytical model used, it is recommended that efforts to redress imbalances should move beyond the academic and political rhetoric, into a tangible coherent action by all stakeholders in respective education sectoral levels. Solutions should be embedded with computer skills, technical support for educators, together with measures to protect the infrastructure. |
| Increasing Access, Reducing Costs | The Bandwidth Consortium founded in 2005 offers a solution to the challenge of high internet connectivity costs in Africa and has successfully implemented a satellite (VSAT) network for universities from East to West Africa that has been operational for one and a half years. By leveraging economies of scale and purchasing bandwidth in bulk, the Bandwidth Consortium has
negotiated with Intelsat, the largest provider of fixed satellite services worldwide, for prices below $2.50 per Kbps for universities and research institutions across Africa. The Bandwidth Consortium consists of twelve institutions supported by the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa4 (PHEA) and all the African Virtual University (AVU) partner institutions. |
| Online Facilitation Chats | Nancy White of Full Circle Associates and Tony Carr, Organiser of e/merge 2008 convened three live meetings with e/merge 2008 conference hosts, presenters and participants. The agenda of each meeting was driven by the questions and interests expressed by the community present at each chat. Topics included the organisation and community of e/merge 2008 in particular and online conferences in general, the work of online facilitators and the lessons from and for online learning communities. The chats provided a space for e/merge conference hosts to share and reflect on their experiences with input from e/mergers. |
| Reaching the potential of ICTs in African Higher Education Institutions: Lessons learned from the AVU Capacity Enhancement Program | The African Virtual University has been working to address some key issues that are hindering African universities from reaching the full potential of ICTs: i) access to open distance and eLearning contents, ii) lack of confident, skilled and knowledgeable staff to design, deliver and manage eLearning programs, iii) access to Bandwidth and reliable power, iv) access to IT equipment and educational technologies and v) formulation and implementation of IT policies, eLearning policies and Quality Assurance Mechanisms.
Participants will learn how the AVU Capacity Enhancement Program (ACEP), a component of AVU/AfDB/UNDP Multinational project, is currently providing training to 132 university staff in 3 main streams of open distance and eLearning: i) Material Development, ii) delivery and Technology and iii) Governance, Management and Funding. The trainees come from 24 universities and 17 Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone countries. The other components of the Multinational project include a collaborative process to develop and implement 4 Bachelor of Education programs in 10 countries and the deployment of 10 physical open distance and eLearning centers in 10 participating universities. |
| Teaching old dogs new tricks - developing lifelong learning skills in mature learners through eLearning (Peer Reviewed) | This study assesses the potential of eLearning in developing lifelong learning skills of Masters of Adult Education students at the University of Botswana and on how students can apply these skills in their studies, workplace, at home and in their community. The author of this study conducted in-depth interviews with seven mature students. Findings of this study show that eLearning has the potential to develop students’ lifelong learning skills, especially information and computer literacy skills, but also other skills, such as research, collaboration, presentation and discussion skills, if courses are designed based on concepts of learner-centredness, self-directed learning and focus on adult learning principles. The study shows that although these skills are highly appreciated by participants and regularly used in their studies and at their workplace, ICTs have not yet penetrated their private and social lives as fully as the lives of participants of other studies conducted in developed countries report. |
| Using ICTs in Teaching and Learning: Reflections on Professional Development of Academic Staff (Peer Reviewed) | This paper describes one strategy for promoting the use of ICTs in the teaching and learning practices of a higher education institution in South Africa. Integrating ICTs in a professional development course for lecturers simultaneously addresses the lack and knowledge and skills of staff developers and that of academic staff who benefit from experiencing the use of ICTs as “students”. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge model developed by Mishra and Koehler (2006) is used as a lens to investigate the way that learning with and about ICTs is integrated in the teaching of a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education. |
| Workshop: Connected Teacher Toolkit | What tools does the connected teacher need today? Only a few years ago the connected teacher was described as one conversant with the Internet who knew how to bring it into the classroom. Today the connected teacher uses technology as more than a vehicle for research but as an instrument of professional development and way of continually and incrementally enhancing their practice.
The connected teacher of 2008 is personally using a raft of online social strategies and Web2.0 tools. Teachers can draw benefit from informal connections, associations and gatherings supported by effective use of these tools. In this workshop we will take a look at the key social strategies and how tools can be used support social capital, just-in-time learning and professional development (formal and informal). In the first week we will take a hands-on exploration of the key tools in preparation for using them in the second week of the conference to share, reflect on and promote learning in the conference. The key technologies to be explored will be: Social networking (Facebook), Blogging (Edublogs), Microblogging (Twitter), Tagging (del.icio.us), RSS feeds & Personal aggregation (Netvibes). |