Higher Education & Research

Gilly Salmon, Professor of E-Learning and Learning Technologies at Leicester University and head of the Beyond Distance Research Alliance (BDRA), explores technical innovations in learning with a team of British teachers and researchers. The group has created what she calls the “media zoo”, using technology, such as “Second Life”, for teaching. Students experience unique learning opportunities in digital worlds. Without personal risk they can leap in time and place, find their way around a genetics lab or evacuate a dangerous oil rig. Ms Salmon will present her ideas on learning innovation at the conference and is excited to hear and learn from Africa in this respect.
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In Entebbe, on the Northern shores of Lake Victoria, sits one of Uganda’s few private higher-education institutions: Nkumba University. Until a short time ago, the University staff faced tremendous administrative obstacles with respect to their ICT equipment. Budget restrictions and growing maintenance and electricity costs highlighted the need for an innovative solution to address the challenges that this progressive university had to confront. In NComputing, a desktop virtualisation company that manufactures hardware and software to create virtual desktops and enables multiple users to share one computer simultaneously, Nkumba University found a partner to overcome these obstacles.
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Ten more African universities are now connected to the largest network of Open Distance and eLearning institutions on the Continent – the African Virtual University. With the launch phase of the ten-country distance learning facility, which started in October 2009 and will last until early 2010, Africa’s most innovative virtual platform for higher education will provide thousands of African students with access to quality education and research.
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A comprehensive new study, led by Professor Tim Unwin of the University of London, will review Africa’s Learning Management Systems. How best to deliver, track and manage education on a broad scale is a controversial subject in Africa and it provided the inspiration for several high-quality sessions on Learning Management Systems (LMSs) at this year’s eLearning Africa conference. Professor Unwin’s study draws on information collected from 385 educational experts in 25 African countries, including both declared LMS advocates and “newbies”. The study, which was undertaken as a joint venture between ICWE, SPIDER and ICT4D, is due to be published soon.
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L’AUF est présente en Afrique à travers un large réseau d’établissements. Pierre-Jean Loiret, directeur délégué du Programme Innovation de l'Agence a répondu à nos questions. La palette des actions de l’AUF sur le continent est très large et le volet concernant l’enseignement à distance particulièrement consistant. Monsieur Loiret nous donne les grandes lignes directrices des programmes de l’AUF, et quelques exemples de résultats éloquents.
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We need a new narrative for understanding learning, suggest George Siemens. In his vision of the future, learners are part of – not only recipients of – information, knowledge, learning and teaching. The well-known Canadian eLearning expert will open eLearning Africa 2008 with a keynote presentation. Siemens is one of the most innovative thinkers in the fields of learning and technology. His work is focussed on theoretical aspects of learning, knowledge management and the implementation of technology in education and training. We had the chance to interview George Siemens before the conference.
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Access to scientific journals requires subscriptions, but most university libraries in Africa cannot afford the high subscription costs. With more than 4,000 electronic scientific journal titles that can be accessed for free or at low cost, AGORA, HINARI and OARE are changing this situation. Brenda Zulu reports.
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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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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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Dr. Siro Masinde
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Reuben Kyama

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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“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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UNESCO and Hewlett-Packard have launched a project to help reduce the brain drain in African universities and research institutions. The project will establish links between researchers who have stayed in their countries and those who have left.
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“We need more good baseline surveys for ICT4D projects”, says Tim Unwin, founder of the ICT4D Collective, an interdisciplinary group engaged in research in the use of ICT for development. Tim talked to Beate Kleessen from the eLA newsletter about his commitment to the ICT4D network, good partnerships, and ICT for education.
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