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The Association of African Universities (AAU) is the apex organisation and forum for consultation, exchange of information and cooperation among institutions of higher education in Africa. It represents the voice of higher education in Africa for regional and international bodies and supports networking by institutions of higher education in teaching, research, information exchange and dissemination. One of the emerging issues at institutions of higher learning in Africa is eLearning and the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to deliver educational resources. Boubakar Barry is the Coordinator, Research and Education Networking Unit at AAU and Edris Kisambira interviewed him about emerging issues in higher education in Africa.
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As the world's leading English-language publisher of management research, Emerald is always working on new ways to distribute and collect management and engineering knowledge efficiently. At eLearning Africa 2008, the publisher will present the open web space and hosting service Emerald InTouch in its effort to enhance African community building, look for authors and encourage African researchers to publish their findings. eLA newsletter author Nina Wittrock spoke to Eric Broug, Emerald Business Manager for Africa.
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Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a human resource crisis in health care provision – a crisis that poses a huge challenge to the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals. At eLearning Africa, Dr Emil Jones Asamoah-Odei from the WHO Regional Office for Africa will make a case for the use of eLearning for responding to the human resource for health crisis in sub-Saharan Africa and review experiences from Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO). eLA newsletter reporter Edris Kisambira introduces the topic.
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The Ulwazi E-Learning Partnership, created in 2003, is a partnership among five Tshwane-based high schools – four of which are in Mamelodi, a historically disadvantaged township. These schools have an interest in promoting dynamic real-time interactive learning and the electronic sharing of knowledge and cultural experiences. The Partnership embarked on a pilot project to deploy a broadband network and to use wireless broadband communication technologies and other state-of the art hardware and software tools and learning methods to explore, in practical terms, the learning opportunities that these offer. The purpose was to create a living experimental laboratory for eLearning. It was envisaged that the pilot could lead to the development of new methods of learning, and the hope was that such methods could eventually also be of use for education in South Africa at large, a country where there is a great backlog in education. SMART Technologies, who supplied the project with interactive whiteboards from its inception, is now about to expand on this innovative programme.
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Following the Oracle Consortiums success in the NEPAD eSchools Demonstration Project where 21 schools in seven African countries were turned into eSchools, Oracle has led the way by tackling the challenge of student administration, a common issue faced by educators across the continent.
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Proper training opportunities for teachers are crucial in any educational system.

What role can eLearning play to help deliver efficient teacher training? At eLearning Africa, the MKFC Stockholm College (Sweden) in cooperation with the National Africa Foundation (Ghana) will introduce an exciting way to provide teacher training in order to help them to support Africa’s next generation. Their approach aims to implement global best practice into the curricula and at the same time to take local needs into account.
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Television is a powerful and effective way to facilitate learning by delivering information that people need and desire. Television engages. It enlarges perspectives, enhances understanding and creates possibilities by connecting viewers to new people, places and experiences. Television can also reach large groups of people at one time and convey information regardless of a viewer’s ability to read. Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership is a non-profit organisation based in Silver Spring, Maryland. In collaboration with local educators in underserved countries around the world, DCGEP harnesses the educational power of television by establishing Learning Centers in existing schools – creating versatile community resources where students, teachers and entire communities can access and share information.
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Macha is an area in the rural southern province of Zambia which has experienced tremendous developments following the implementation of a fully networked information technology set-up “in the bush”. Implementing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) there has been a real challenge, says Gertjan van Stam, who has been working in the village since 2004. In Macha, he is currently the Technical Director of LinkNet, an organisation that provides for cost-based building, operations and maintenance of targeted and tailored communications infrastructure and services for special interest groups in rural areas of Zambia. In 2006 we heard from the Macha project for the first time, when Gertjan sent a letter to eLearning Africa. Now Brenda Zulu, eLearning Africa correspondent in Zambia, has followed up with him to see what communications have done for the rural community and how many local people have benefited from the new technologies.
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Since its launch, Eduvision’s eLearning technology for developing countries has been a resounding success. In the course of eLearning Africa 2008, Eduvision - the event’s main sponsor this year - will hold a hands-on workshop in a school in Ghana’s capital, Accra, to demonstrate the latest eLearning tools. The necessary preparations are running full blast, involving regional as well as international partners. At eLearning Africa 2008, Karim Toledano, Manager Eduvision, will also present findings of Eduvision’s latest large-scale Ethopian pilot project.
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Professor Moustapha Diack is the Director of MERLOT Africa Network, an educational network of the African Higher Education Institutions. At eLearning Africa, he will organise a first forum on Open Educational Resources on May 28th. Edris Kisambira from the eLA editorial team, talked to Prof Diack about the potential of multimedia content that is made available free of charge through the MERLOT network.
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Preparations for the upcoming eLearning Africa conference in Ghana are running at full speed. The Ministry of Education of the hosting country is working hard to make the third event of the conference series another milestone in education events in Africa. Up until the event, we will provide information on Ghanaian eLearning activities.
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Teachers need more information about what a software product does and how it could work in the classroom, says Anne Sparrowhawk, Director of TEEM, a teacher-led evaluation tool for digital learning resources. In a presentation at eLearning Africa, she will focus on how teacher-to-teacher communication can spread the understanding of the value of Information Communication Technology in education and can provide some clear models for use that supports teachers as they learn to use the new resources.
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For the last decade, the African Virtual University (AVU) has worked hard to provide needy students with access to quality higher education. The AVU Rector, Dr Bakary Diallo, spoke to Reuben Kyama, member of the eLA editorial team, in Nairobi on their experience and ambitious plans.
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For the last eight years, the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) has been helping local organisations in Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Jamaica, Uganda and Bolivia use a broad range of information and communication technologies (ICTs) inexpensively and effectively to improve various aspects of the education sector in their countries. So far, IICD has helped to launch 32 ICT4E projects, many of which are now self-supporting. In the following, IICD presents the “Chawama Youth Project in Zambia.
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Microfinance is recognised as an effective development intervention in improving the livelihoods of poor and low-income people. In order to help disseminators and to improve essential qualification, in 2005 the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC) of the World Bank and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) jointly established a blended-learning programme called Microfinance Training of Trainers (MFTOT).

At eLearning Africa 2008, Dr Jiping Zhang from TDLC will show how the MFTOT courses are designed and delivered, as well as what development impacts have been observed so far.
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Financial controlling is an essential part of all eLearning activities. After a phase of relatively expensive pilot projects, many institutions have to find new and less expensive ways to implement courses and programmes. At eLearning Africa, international experts will address the financing issue from various perspectives. We spoke to Dr Wolfram Laaser from the Fernuniversität Hagen, Germany, who will be one of them.
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Donations of refurbished computer equipment can be a curse or a blessing for educational institutions all over the world. The lifespan of digital gadgets is diminishing, and with no strategic plan to deal with broken or out-of-date equipment, the obsolete machines become eWaste. At eLearning Africa, a discussion session led by Bernard Nyakundi from Tracom College, Kenya, will describe best practices developed by Rural Schools Educational Materials Programme (RUSCEMP) Kenya for sustainable eWaste management and recycling. Reuben Kyama and James Waititu report from Nairobi.
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How can African journalists benefit from the Web 2.0 revolution? Web 2.0 and all of its manifestations have been a major turning point in media history. For the first time ever, the mass media has had to deal with a dialogic challenge as readers begin to actively involve themselves in the making of news and deciding what is news and what is not. They have even begun to produce their own content through so-called grass roots journalism or citizens’ journalism. This is indeed a huge challenge for the traditional media, all over the world. PenPlusBytes, an international organisation, seeks to empower journalists through the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Brenda Zulu reports for eLearning Africa.
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It was rather late when Theresa and Julius headed to the last room on that Friday evening. They had been cleaning the Congress Centre for a few hours after that crazy crowd finally disappeared, even quicker than they had arrived. A surreal atmosphere was filling the centre’s halls, the way the ground breathes after a pouring rain: empty stands barely standing, random leaflets scattered on the floor… The show is over, folks, see you next year! - was the silent echo Theresa had in her head… By Paolo Brunello.
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“Africa cannot afford to miss the knowledge revolution”, says Mathy Vanbuel, a Belgian IT expert who has been working on implementing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Africa, Asia and Europe for the last two decades. Mathy explains why ICTs are crucial for the Continent’s development.
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The Distance Learning Unit at Makerere University in Uganda recently launched a project that unleashes the potential of mobile phones as a tool for distance learners. “Besides lower drop-out rates, the tutoring via SMS has created a customer-care feeling among students”, says Paul Birevu Muyinda, a PhD student and lecturer at the University, who evaluated the project. Edris Kisambira reports from Kampala, Uganda.
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Digital libraries can open up more ways for research, teaching and broader public discussion in Africa hopes Dr. Siro Masinde, who works as the Regional Coordinator for Aluka, a not-for-profit initiative that is building a digital library with emphasis on primary source materials from and about Africa.

Africa has its own rich natural and cultural heritage as well as traditional knowledge and information systems that have been passed on from generation to generation. Most of it has not been documented in permanent ways so that there is inherent danger of distortion and complete loss of old manuscripts or archaeological remains. Furthermore, these materials are practically inaccessible to most researchers, scholars and students. Reuben Kyama and James Waititu report from Nairobi.
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“It is high time for a different ICT pedagogy for Africa”, says Vincent Kizza, who works as an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Instructor and Computer Manager at the Gayaza High School in Kampala, Uganda. In a letter to eLearning Africa news, he talks about his experience with integrating new technologies in Africa’s classrooms. “ICT does not in itself drive a particular approach. Rather, ICT is a tool and a resource to support and facilitate whichever approach is adopted. In Uganda, problems related to ICT in education are aggravated by the fact that even in higher institutions of learning, ICT-teaching skills are not imparted to teachers in training. What we need is an 'international collection of best practices.'”
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Securing sustainable financial resources for quality education is a major issue for governments all over the world, but African governments face particularly big challenges, considering the comparatively small national budgets they dispose of. To deal with these challenges, Tanzania has established a Fund that is managed by the Tanzania Education Authority. eLA spoke to Mercy Sila, the Director General of TEA, about their work…
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“We want to better understand how the pedagogical integration of ICT can improve the quality of teaching and learning in Africa,” says Prof Thierry Karsenti, who is part of the coordination team of PanAf Edu, a project working on a pan-African research agenda that focuses on the pedagogical integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). eLA spoke to Thierry Karsenti, who also leads a workshop at eLearning Africa...
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With almost twenty years of experience in providing digital information to the healthcare community in Africa and other developing regions, AED–SATELLIFE serves as an important think tank and innovator in the fields of community building and information dissemination. The organisation, established by the cardiologist Dr. Bernard Lown, who was also a co-founder of the Nobel Prize winning IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War), is a leader in large-scale implementations of mobile devices to train nurses and clinical staff. eLA Editor Nina Wittrock spoke with Andrew Sideman, Director of Development, and Pamela Scorza, Information Associate, about SATELLIFE’s current and future projects in Africa and how they are linked to eLearning.
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Francis Numbi, a Congolese refugee, lives in the Mwange refugee camp in northern Zambia, 95 miles from the capital, Lusaka. He designs lessons and teaches classes in basic computer skills for the refugee community. Classes meet twice each week with two people per computer. Numbi, who is teaching himself programming in his spare-time, has also provided the camp network with its own e-mail and chat programs. A story by Brenda Zulu, Zambia…
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Wikiversity is organising an online course “Composing free and open online educational resources”. Starting on March 3, 2008, the course is designed for teachers and teacher-students who do not have prior knowledge or skills related to free and open education resources.
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More than 380 high-quality proposals have been received for the upcoming eLearning Africa conference. Amongst the applicants are universities and education institutions, renowned development organisations, grass-roots project leaders and corporations from 61 countries worldwide. This edition of the newsletter offers a sneak preview of some of the seminars and events that precede this year’s conference.
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The integration of information and communication technology into education systems has captured the imagination of many teachers in Africa. Susan Kipkeny, who teaches at the Moi Girls High School in Eldoret, Kenya, attended last year’s eLearning Africa conference in Nairobi and now intends to travel to Accra, Ghana, to present what has resulted from her visit.
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Fundamental to the success of what have become known as “Virtual Patients” is the narrative, says Professor David Dewhurst from the University of Edinburgh. The virtual “cases” have to be believable so that students become immersed in the virtual environment, take their assumed role seriously and understand that their decisions have consequences. At eLearning Africa 2008, Prof. Dewhurst will demonstrate how medical teachers at the University of Malawi create quality virtual patients for their students.
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The new Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK) eLearning module is intended to provide the knowledge and awareness required for those responsible for formulating improved information management strategies within their organisations. A French version of the module, produced by the Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) with UNESCO support, is now available.
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The 2nd UNESCO-UNEVOC Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Summit on access to and inclusion in TVET in Africa through new technology-based solutions will take place in the context of eLearning Africa 2008 on May 28th in Accra, Ghana. All who are involved in technical vocational education and training are invited to submit proposals for best-practice presentations at the event.
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The MERLOT Africa Network (MAN) Council will host the First Africa Forum on Open Educational Resources (OER) in conjunction with the eLearning Africa Conference. The Network plans to use the annual eLearning Africa events as a hub for creating awareness of the potential of open education resources and for collaboration in higher education around the globe.
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Open Educational Resources (OER) - educational materials and resources offered freely and openly for anyone to use - are becoming increasingly important for education in Africa. To reward excellence in the OER movement, the MERLOT Africa Network (MAN) and eLearning Africa announce the opening of nominations for the first MAN-eLA Awards for Exemplary OER Practices.
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We are very pleased to announce that Eduvision Ltd, Switzerland, is the Platinum Sponsor of eLearning Africa 2008.

Eduvision Ltd assists developing countries to improve their education systems by providing appropriate information technology & ground implementation. Eduvision is committed to providing an integrated user-centric solution for the education sector based on innovative eLearning & education software.

Eduvision Ltd believes that through this solution they can contribute to the spread of relevant and high quality educational content at low cost. The number of children that are able to profit from the improvement therefore increases significantly. At the same time, as this content also becomes accessible to the entire community, quality of life can be positively supported. eLA news will continually report on activities of the company.

http://www.eduvision.ch/

eLearning in Zambia has taken awhile to get off the ground, but progress has been made and the future certainly holds promise. Two recent developments, an eLearning cooperation pact with India and the convening of eLearning Zambia, the first major conference of its type to be held in the country, appear to augur well for the country’s eLearning community and prospects. Brenda Zulu reports from Lusaka...
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Clement Dzidonu joined the internet scene in Africa at the very beginning. Since 1995 he has been involved in a number of outreach programmes to foster the development of World Wide Web applications throughout the Continent. An internationally renowned expert in computer science, he is also Ghana’s best-known consultant in the fields of ICT implementation and application, advisor to the president and head of many organisations related to ICT. eLA asked him about the potential and the status quo of eLearning in his country.
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e-Waste is a serious problem in many African countries. Many worn-out PCs are delivered to the Continent every day, which, for various reasons, is not always appreciated by the addressees. Sending old computers to developing countries can be seen as a solidarity solution, but – in terms of sustainable development – the consequences must also be taken into account. As some participants of eLearning Africa have to deal with this subject, eLA news want to put e-waste recycling forward for discussion, putting a special focus on education projects.
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Lori Waters, who gave a presentation on Seeing Science: Creating Scientific Visualisations to Increase Understanding of HIV Infection at eLearning Africa 2007, came home from the Continent short a laptop and camera, but full of something even more valuable — the ability to help. In the following piece she depicts a successful project journey in the course of her stay in Nairobi and recalls some impressions she gained at the conference.
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Building upon two preceding discussion groups from 2003 and 2005, a ministerial round table on education and economic development was held at UNESCO headquarters during a two-day meeting at the 34th Session of the General Conference. Along with key issues at the interface between education and economic development, the round table focussed specifically on the equity and ethical dimension of economic growth.
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eLearning Africa endorses ‘Living Darfur’, an artistic project of Mattafix, the London-based duo Marlon Roudette and Preetesh Hirji. The ‘Living Darfur’s video was shot in Eastern Chad on the border with Darfur and is the first video to be filmed in a war zone by an international artist.

The main objective of the record is to highlight the suffering of real people and to raise awareness of the situation in Darfur. The single can be bought at iTunes and all artist royalties from this single will be donated to Oxfam, Crisis Action and the Safe Darfur Coalition to support their work in Darfur.
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Shelter for Africa, situated in Hamburg, Germany, is a non-governmental organisation that carries out non-for-profit projects for the people of the Republic of Sierra Leone in West Africa. The foundation is currently in the process of establishing a new radio station in Freetown - “Culture Radio” - to provide distance education programmes for people who would otherwise not be able to receive educational support. Young girls and boys without school education and their families are addressed, as well as school dropouts and young illiterate adults.
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The Republic of Ghana, celebrating its fiftieth birthday this year, is known as one of the most stable countries on the African continent. Not least because of international investors’ trust in its democracy, Ghana has a flourishing economy. According to World Bank numbers, Ghana’s Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector has registered one of the most significant growth rates in Africa.

Ghana also has made good progress in preparing the ground for further proceedings in eLearning, and eLearning Africa takes great pride in the country’s willingness to host the next edition of the Conference in 2008. Delighted with the result of eLearning Africa 2007, Ghanaian presenters like Daniel Nettey, International Institute for Information Technology (INIIT), have already signalled their enthusiasm in contributing to the upcoming event: “eLearning Africa 2007 has been a step in the right direction for Africa. Keep up the good work, and you can count on my team anytime to assist in any way to bring ICT to a complete realization in the African continent.”

In the following, eLA provides a general introduction into the country’s educational successes and future challenges.
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Thinking about the hardships many African PC users have to face, Uganda’s ICT State Minister John Nsambu and his partners have been seeking inventive and sustainable solutions that go beyond merely buying expensive equipment. eLA editor Nina Wittrock asked him about his activities in the fields of cheap and energy saving PCs, as well as his ideas concerning Uganda’s overall access to ICT technology.
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In Kiswahili, Harambee means “Let’s all pull together!” It was Kenya’s first President, Jomo Kenyatta, who introduced an informal self-help movement based on this concept. His shouts of “haaa-ramm-bee” motivated many people to undertake community action. eLearning Africa 2007 wanted to continue with the original idea – to provide conference attendants with a flexible, interesting, and fuss-free platform to get things started.
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Ms. Abishag W. Waugombe, a retired Kenyan teacher, knows a lot about the needs and necessities of the elderly people in her community. Long committed to community work, she and her friends have made use of the Internet in a rather unique way. eLA’s Nina Wittrock spoke with Ms. Waugombe about her experience and future plans regarding eLearning, story telling, and the delivery of cultural memory.
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