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Africa is witnessing a gradual shift towards massive investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), thanks to the role of policymakers who are pushing for full regulatory reform for ICTs. Many African leaders have realised that, for any meaningful economic development to occur, technology has to play its part. But the free flow of investment in the sector was slowed down last year, owing to the global economic downturn, which forced many African countries to cut spending in some sectors and prioritise the most urgent areas. The question as to whether Africa should continue to invest in ICTs was raised at this year’s eLearning conference debate in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
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African countries have to balance their spending on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for education better. Skills development among teachers, which accounts for only 10% of most countries’ ICT budgets, has to be strengthened. Spending on costly hardware, which covers 90% of most countries budgets, should rather be reduced. This is one of the key recommendations of a communiqué released by participants in the Third African Ministerial Round Table on ICT for Education, Training and Development.
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Imagine a classroom packed with the latest educational technology, such as high-end networked computers, projectors and digital whiteboards. And then imagine what happens when the lights go out and the screens go blank. In fact, power cuts are still a common problem on the African content. eLearning Africa addressed this issue and presented some impressive ideas regarding alternative energy sources. Presentations covered the potential of the abundant source of sunlight as a source of energy and also turned to a little-known plant called Jatropha, which could play an important role in the future energy mix of the Continent.
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eLA participants answered the call for personal conference stories and shared what they had experienced, learnt and observed in Lusaka. Their accounts range from catching a lift with a Zambian Minister and being given new opportunities and support to joining the organising team and being overwhelmed by an unexpected record number of registrations.
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Football fever gripped this year’s eLearning Africa conference in Lusaka. With the FIFA World Cup about to start in South Africa, a session on how football can boost learning and make it more fun was greeted with great enthusiasm. However, richly diverse as usual, the conference also covered a variety of other inspiring topics. There was a discussion on how girls and women can be empowered to become ‘Cyberellas’ rather than ‘Cinderellas’. And six leading international organisations attending the conference announced a new collaboration, which aims to support the integration of ICTs in schools.
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eLearning Africa has once more proved to be a hub for information on how innovative technology can advance the cause of education for all. This year's conference in Lusaka, Zambia, saw the launch of a new rugged "classmate PC" for school children, featured cost-effective, multi-user computing models and showed how hospitals in Tanzania are using “digital pens” capable of automatically converting handwriting into patient files.
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As Africa’s mobile telecommunications continue to expand rapidly, the continent’s education systems are seeing major developments in the learning process for school children, students, apprentices and technicians. This year’s eLearning Africa conference in Lusaka identified the main trends.
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eLearning Africa, the African continent’s main event on technology-enhanced learning, is celebrating its fifth anniversary together with 1500 delegates from 80 countries. These will include high-level participants from ministries, organisations and companies from all over the world. The largest conference on eLearning in Africa will be opened by the President of the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency Rupiah Bwezani Banda.

eLearning Africa is the hub for first-hand information and real-life examples of how ICTs advance the cause of education for all in Africa. With a multitude of best practice examples on display, eLA shows how and where technology-enhanced learning can boost Africa’s economies and aid development. International experts provide solutions, showing how online education and training can be successfully and cost-effectively implemented in corporations and organisations. Content Development, eInclusion, eHealth, Mobile Learning, Open Educational Resources and Educational Research are some of the buzzwords on this year’s agenda.

Do not miss out on this unique opportunity to network and share the latest developments in learning and technology. Find out here what will be happening...
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Dans la région reculée du North Rift au Kenya, le projet eLearning « Good School Neighbours » apporte la paix aux populations nomades armées. Ce projet donne aux étudiants, aux enseignants et aux guides d'opinion une chance d'encourager le dialogue et la coexistence pacifique parmi les communautés pastorales combattantes de cette vaste région aride qui compte environ 1,8 millions d'habitants et où le vol de bétail par les armes est une tradition.
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To reach out to young people, you have to meet them half way. This is the main aim of Rt Rev Dr S. Tilewa Johnson. Ranging from podcasts to Twitter and Facebook groups, the open-minded Anglican Bishop of Gambia is constantly exploring innovative ways of communication which help him to forge new links with his parish. The conclusion he draws for now is very positive: The many posts he receives show that “fashionable” technology and thoughtfulness are by no means mutually exclusive. Bishop Tilewa Johnson will open eLearning Africa with a keynote speech entitled “The Online Social Education of Youth and the Digital Challenge to African Values.”
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Football fever hits Africa this year. More than any other sport, football unites people and cultures. Understood and enjoyed by billions of people throughout the world, it offers a new and exciting form of communication with young people. How football and other sports can enhance fun in learning, especially for kids and young adults, will be the topic of the Football Session at eLearning Africa.
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For five years now, the eLearning Africa conference has helped to build a platform for technology-enhanced learning and training in Africa. This has given the organisers a good reason to reflect on the main lines of development and fields of action which the conference has addressed since it began. The eLA team would like to thank everyone who supported the idea and helped to make the conference a success.
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Shafika Isaacs, founding Executive Director of SchoolNet Africa, the network that links education policymakers, teachers and learners in 31 African countries, has been a Senior Programme Officer for the International Development Research Centre and an independent consultant on ICTs for development in Africa for many years. As a South African member of eLA’s Organising Committee, she looks back at the development of ICTs for education in Africa, highlighting progress, evaluating current initiatives and addressing the challenges that still lie ahead for the Continent.
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The way to eLearning Africa is not always easy. Despite the organiser’s efforts to support as many African participants as possible through a scholarship programme, some education experts from the Continent face difficulties raising the money to cover their often high travel expenses. Fortunately, many of them still succeed and contribute to the eighty percent of African participants that make the conference a truly African event.

Adam Salkeld is Head of Programmes at Tinopolis, one of the UK's leading independent television and new media producers. Stephen Haggard is the company's Head of New Media. Together, they are co-presenting and co-producing the African Digital Diaries session at eLA 2010.
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IBM’s slogan “Education for a Smarter Planet” is being applied to transform educational systems in Africa, especially in Tanzania, where the firm has signed a collaboration agreement for adopting information technology in education, research and development. IBM will be presenting at eLearning Africa on the new technology of cloud computing. Mick Slivecko, IBM Global Education & Learning Industry, and Christoph Schwaiger, IBM Global Technology Services, Austria, support solutions development for the African market.
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Lyson Chikunduzi, mathematics lecturer at Zambia’s Copperbelt College of Education, reports that all last year’s college graduates were able to use a computer to present their lessons.
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In the early morning of Saturday, May 22nd, a big blue truck will leave Nairobi and head south. On board there will be about twenty teachers and educators from the Kenyan North Rift eLearning Consortium. Their final destination: the fifth eLearning Africa conference in Lusaka, Zambia, about 1200 miles from their home town.
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ZAMFOHR, the Zambia Forum for Health Research, equips health workers, lecturers, teachers, students and managers with the eLearning skills they need for reading reliable, scientific literature electronically. At eLA 2010, Dr Joseph Kasonde, the Executive Director of ZAMFOHR, and Derrick Mwiinga Hamavhwa from the Zambia Forum for Health Research will outline how eLearning improves health practice and policy in Zambia.
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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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After the Niger food crisis of 2005-6, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) launched an analysis of grain markets. Ousseini Sountalma, Marketing and Agro-Business Manager for CRS, explains how research, in partnership with Tufts University, Care Niger and World Vision, promoted a literacy programme partly based on mobile phones.
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GeSCI, the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative, will be participating in this year’s eLearning Africa conference, with three major meetings and a presentation. On May 26th, GeSCI, ICWE, and IICD will host the full-day Ministerial Roundtable, which focuses on leadership capacities in ICTs in Education. In the afternoon, GeSCI and the PanAfrican Observatory invite participants to join a research panel discussion, which serves as a knowledge exchange platform on African ICT Education. On May 27th, GeSCI will launch its Knowledge Partnership Fund and Patti Swarts will contribute to a Research and Findings session on May 28th.
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Open Educational Resources (OER) are becoming more and more important in Africa, but teaching and learning strategies involved are not necessarily effective.

The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa facilitates the deployment of OER at several universities on the African continent. In this podcast, Neil Butcher, Educational Consultant at the South African Institute for Distance Education, Johannesburg, talks about this initiative, the role of OER in Africa, and how their benefits can be harnessed effectively.
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This year’s eLearning Africa conference will host the first-ever “Mobile GDLN Zambian Distance Learning Center”, brought to us by the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), a partnership specialising in knowledge and learning for people working in international development with strong ties to the World Bank Institute (WBI). The virtual centre is a new concept from the Washington-based GDLN Global Secretariat and the Association of African Distance Learning Centres (AADLCs).
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Sbu hits it off with a girl at a party before she disappears, leaving her mobile phone behind her. Who is she? Why does no one from her contact list know her? Why is she getting threatening messages? Thousands of teenagers in South Africa have been thrilled by the ingenious mystery story of Sbu, his friends and the missing girl. They were reading the story on their mobile phones, delivered by a remarkable mobile website or “mobisite”. The Shuttleworth Foundation originated a thrilling story project with a team of professional authors, web designers and researchers from the University of Cape Town. Their goal was to use mobile phones to familiarise teenagers with the written word and to get them writing. Project manager Steve Vosloo of the Shuttleworth Foundation will present interim results at eLearning Africa 2010.
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At Bogodogo College in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, Christophe Hien gives computer advice to fellow teachers, fixes broken printers and livens up his classes with digital input. Through the use of a school blog, he helped set up a partnership with a French school. Backed by IICD-supported training, he is now his school’s ICT expert.
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Two Nigerian teenagers had never touched a computer keyboard before they joined a learning programme known as the Ajegunle.org Capacity Building Exercise. Nwanyiego Ijeh, a girl known as Ego, and a young man, James O. Raphael, lived and worked in Ajegunle, a dangerous part of Lagos, populated by three million people from all the tribes of West Africa. This year, former Ajegunle trainees will be coming to eLA to tell their own story about the revolutionary success of a project that has changed their lives and given them ICT and entrepreneurial skills. Their programme manager Ugochukwu Nwosu first presented the scheme at eLA 2008. He returns this year to let the personal success stories speak for the project.
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They call it a mobile internet kiosk. It’s nothing more than an old car battery wired through a cheap electrical inverter to an ancient personal computer. The three items are loaded onto a hired handcart and delivered by manpower to the “very back of beyond” in Western Kenya.
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High-quality education is the foundation for success and growth. There is a need for empowered teachers, strong school leaders, better curricula, and the ability for students to connect with one another and the rest of the world, says Anthony Salcito, Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector – Education, Microsoft. Through various highly successful initiatives, such as the Partners in Learning Network or the Innovative School Programme, Microsoft reaches out to more than twenty million teachers and students on the African continent, bringing access to technology and high-quality learning content. Anthony Salcito talked to eLearning Africa about the successes and challenges of their African activities.
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Open Educational Resources (OERs), unveiled at UNESCO’s 2002 Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries and funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation are educational materials and resources offered free and open to anyone and usually free to be re-mixed, improved or redistributed. They can be found on the Internet, but how good are they? How efficient and effective are the teachers who employ the OER? Moses Mwale, National Chairperson of SchoolNet Zambia, reports on research findings to evaluate OER. High school teachers from Zambia evaluated OER using the Internet.
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The Bishop of West Africa, a group of teenage “beach boys” on the island of Zanzibar and a young woman journalist in Tunisia have one thing in common: They pioneer surprising and unconventional uses of online and mobile technology.

Several of these self-taught “digital pioneers” in Africa keep diaries of their work and will present them at eLearning Africa 2010 - either directly or online - bringing authentic voices of ICT users to the Conference and inspiring a discussion on the power of unstructured learning.

In this podcast, Stephen Haggard, one of the initiators of the project, tells us more about his “African Online Heroes”.
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Click on the mouse to throw the dice and start to play this variation of Parcheesi, an ancient Indian game of crosses and circles. It’s called “1,2,3 Asthma”. Each team advances to move its four virtual counters around the board. To earn points along the way, you need to answer a number of questions about asthma, how to prevent it, control it and about what triggers the attacks. Questions vary in difficulty. Video and sound clips offer additional information and widen the players’ knowledge of asthma, the lung inflammation that affects the lives of 300 million people worldwide. There are games to suit health professionals, asthma sufferers, educators and even the ordinary citizens who just want to know more about the disease. Louise Sauvé is a doctor in educational technology and President and General Director of SAVIE, the Society for Lifelong Learning. She talked to us about “1,2,3 Asthma” and about the benefits of the game as a training tool.
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Old computers are piling up in Africa and the developing world. Electronic waste, eWaste, eScrap or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) contains deadly contaminants like lead, cadmium, beryllium and poisonous flame retardants. UN officials say the developing countries face the spectre of mountains of hazardous waste damaging the environment and threatening public health. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is now creating awareness of the problem by promoting technology-supported learning.
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Disadvantaged young adults are turning to computers to help them enhance their life skills. After initial basic training courses in IICD-supported Youth Resource Centres in Zambia, young people have learned to run a restaurant with a professional computer programme or use Excel to calculate measurements and make engineering drawings in the design of wood products.
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“Most people do not utilise their abilities to the full”, says Dr Enala Tembo-Mwase, Associate Professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, a specialist in eLearning. “But you can achieve anything. Only the sky is the limit.“ Enala Tembo-Mwase has been appointed a coordinator for the eLearning Africa 2010 conference to be held in her home country at the end of May.
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In Zambia, eLearning is very much a pocket initiative according to Professor Thomson Sinkala, one of the country’s most experienced Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts. The Zambian government now has an action plan for eLearning. Professor Sinkala is involved in carrying out tailor-made programmes for training in mining and in the rising and increasingly valuable Zambian biofuels industry. At eLearning Africa 2010, Professor Sinkala will speak in the ‘Energy Session’, taking a close look at the important role ICT can play in Zambia’s journey towards sustainable and green energy from biofuels and solar energy.
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The role Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can play in building a peaceful, secure and stable society will be the subject of a major discussion session organised by the New Security Foundation at this year’s eLearning Africa conference in Lusaka, Zambia on May 27th, 2010.
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With a geographic base in nine southern African countries, financial underpinnings of about fifteen million Units of Account (1 UA = 1 US$1.48) from the African Development Fund, and a mature development strategy, the Open and Distance Learning Project launched by the Southern African Development Organization (SADC) secretariat in 2007 provides a paradigm for how a large-scale capacity-building effort should come into being. The project members are Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Madagascar, nominally a member, too, has been suspended from the SADC due to political uncertainties and is currently not actively involved. At eLA, Project Advisor Professor Richard Siaciwena from Botswana will provide up-to-date information on the project and put the entire process of development forward for discussion.
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Three solar panels, a battery, ten folding chairs, five tables, fifteen Intel-powered Classmate PCs and two teachers in a small van: This is the basic “equipment” of the Mobile Solar Computer Classroom (MSCC). It has been en route through rural Uganda for two years now with the purpose of teaching pupils and teachers IT and computer skills. The initiator is Eric Morrow, founder of Maendeleo Foundation situated in Kampala and Seattle, who wants to bring Maendeleo (the Kiswahili term for progress) to Ugandan students in close cooperation with local experts. The robust Classmate PCs, powered and designed by Intel, which are run using a 200 Ah Solar Battery, proved to be perfect devices for the local circumstances, which were sometimes rather harsh.
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A pioneering project aimed at training ICT skills is transforming the lives of children who live in the streets of Eldoret, an agriculturally rich town in Kenya’s lush Rift Valley region. Led by SNV, a Dutch development agency, in collaboration with the “Ex-Street Children Community Organisation” (ECCO), a group of formerly homeless young people, the initiative provides street children with basic computer skills, thereby enabling them to take part in society and giving them a voice. Educational expert Joseph Langat will present this inspiring project, along with some successful real-life stories, at eLA 2010.

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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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A group of about thirty teachers from the Copperbelt region in Zambia convened in a workshop last month to receive an introduction to several free eLearning computer programmes. These tools, which included an offline version of Wikipedia, a quiz maker and other helpful programmes, have the potential to enrich the learning experience of teachers and students, even in areas with no internet connection.

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Zimbabwe’s educational system, once a shining example for the entire African continent, is now struggling with severe problems: At the beginning of 2009, the country experienced a fierce battle between teachers and the government. Teachers were not able to make a living, the majority of schools closed and school fees shot up. Although there are signs of a slight improvement, many difficulties remain – above all financial issues. How does eLearning work in such a setting? In the interview below, Eliada Gudza, Executive Director of World Links Zimbabwe and a member of the eLearning Africa Organising Committee, describes the status of technology-driven education in his country. It seems that a great deal of energy and enthusiasm is still being expended to make eLearning resources available for education, including schools, higher education, and vocational training – despite the many problems Zimbabwe faces.
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Litsa Panayotopoulos, Managing Director of the OTEAcademy S.A, is a “global player.” Based in Greece, she received her academic training in London and has worked in the U.S. as well as in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for many years. Currently she is playing a major role in the fast growing sector of corporate training and distance learning in several parts of the world. Litsa Panayotopoulos has been appointed to the Advisory Committee of eLA. At this year's conference in Zambia, the OTEAcademy will present its specific business model.


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In his role as Africa Regional Director for the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI), Alex Twinomugisha helps to empower African countries to develop strategies for the proper use of ICT in education to promote their overall development. In the following interview, Nairobi-based Twinomugisha talks about the challenges his organisation has to overcome when deploying ICT in Africa and what effect technology continues to have on the Continent.

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Rural Internet Kiosks are currently mushrooming throughout rural areas in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia, providing Africans who were previously cut-off from the digital world with Internet connections. These movable, cost-effective and recyclable kiosks, which operate with satellite connectivity provided by Intersat Africa and use solar energy, along with a highly energy efficient personal computer, allow rural communities to participate in the digital world. In this way they are able to obtain and share information crucial for education, agriculture and food security, health and environment, communications and e-governance.
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In many hospitals throughout the world, it is still standard practice for doctors and nurses to keep handwritten patient files; this is also the case in Africa. However, these files can easily get lost, and if patient data have to be transferred from one medical institution to another, the files can take a long time to arrive. Digital documents that can be shared and stored easily could go a long way to combating such problems. To help remedy this situation, at the beginning of January 2010, the IT managers of several hospitals in Tanzania began gearing themselves up to test a new ‘digital pen’; one that can convert doctor’s handwriting into a compact, easy-to-archive digital file.
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Before the opening of the main conference at eLearning Africa, pre-conference meetings, seminars and workshops will be held on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010, offering participants the opportunity to learn a new skill, enhance their knowledge or gather information about a specific topic. Such activities are not only excellent opportunities in themselves, but are also valuable pre-conference networking activities in their own right.

The pre-conference workshops are either half-day or full-day events and aim to develop participants’ practical skills or build on their knowledge of a particular area. The emphasis is on activity and interaction, so the number of participants is limited. The first three eLearning Africa 2010 workshops have just been announced.
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The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and the Ugandan government have signed an agreement to expand the Rural Information System programme, which helps farmers to increase their income through ICT-enabled crop-marketing services. So far, twenty-six existing Agricultural Cooperative Enterprises (ACEs) in isolated areas throughout Uganda have become part of the Rural Information System programme over the last eight years. These centres enable local farmers both to send and receive urgently needed production and market information. Now there are plans to expand the programme even further as the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry (MTTI) prepares to build ten new centres in 2010.
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Nestling in the beautiful Ezulwini Valley in Swaziland, St. Mary’s High School educates over 500 students. The majority are from “child-headed” families, in which one or more children have taken over as the head of their household and fend for themselves without any adults to look after them. In view of its tight budget for acquiring technology, the school was looking for an affordable and efficient solution to provide internet access and PCs to its students. With the NComputing X-series solution, St. Mary’s 500+ pupils now enjoy an up-to-date computer lab that bears comparison with schools in industrialised countries.
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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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In January 2010, in order to connect rural areas lacking any IT infrastructure to the Internet, the Fraunhofer FOKUS, a branch of Germany’s largest research organisation, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, will breathe life into the FOKUS NET4DC. Together with partners from target regions, this international centre for information and communication technologies in developing countries will develop and make available tailor-made IT infrastructures and communication networks. The robust technology is being developed in Germany, and a first successful pilot project was recently initiated in the Southern Province of Zambia.
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By hosting the next eLearning Africa, Zambia is confirming its commitment to placing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) at the heart of its development projects and is highlighting the different plans and programmes in progress that incorporate ICT as an essential development factor. “We are very excited about this conference and see it as an avenue that can open up the country. It is a window of hope and a great opportunity for us,” says Professor Thomson Sinkala, Chair of the Zambia National eLA Committee.
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Receiving enigmatic text messages, looking for hints on a website every now and then, following a trace that leads to a particular book in a library – all this can happen when people play what is called an alternate reality game (ARG) together. This relatively new kind of collaborative gaming combines different media and real-world experience. As more and more gamers all over the world become fascinated with ARGs, educationalists are also trying to find out more about the games’ pedagogical impact. Steven Vosloo, Communication and Analytical Skills Fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation, South Africa, is currently preparing to initiate an ARG project for twelve to fourteen-year olds in his country.
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Africa must find its path from teaching technology to teaching with technology: This is what Canadian researcher and eLearning and development expert Thierry Karsenti contends based upon the findings of a recent study he conducted in 120 schools on the Continent. In the following, he considers some of the action points uncovered by the PanAfrican Research Agenda on the Pedagogical Integration of ICT.
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A successful businesswoman with her own consulting company, Nnenna Nwakanma operates internationally and is also a recognised authority within the world of ICT and development. Her company advises private firms, governments, large businesses and international development, as well as civil society organisations. Nwakanma is one of the founding members of various important and active ICT initiatives in Africa and was recently nominated for the Graça Machel Award for Prominent Women in Technology as part of the African Women Excel Awards. Continue reading to discover more about this dynamic woman.
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“Simply sending computers to Africa is not enough.” This is the maxim of Digital Links, a social enterprise situated in London and Johannesburg. Based on a sound partnership model with governments and international corporations such as Barclays, BUPA, Cadbury’s, DFID, DHL, Lloyd’s, Nestle UK, Reuters, RM, and DELL, Digital Links wants to set up an efficient infrastructure, provide on-going support and maintenance, as well as access to eLearning tools, connectivity, and training in several African countries. Currently, a large-scale teachers’ endowment project is taking place in Zambia, the host country of eLearning Africa 2010.
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A Short Conference Diary

Three conference days filled with action, excitement, passion, heated debate and even controversy – Christine Cayré, ICWE member of staff onsite at the venue in Dakar, shares her impressions, capturing both the atmosphere and voices at eLearning Africa 2009.
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“A Brilliant Mix of People, Opinions and Solutions”

Oracle and the Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) support over 1.2 million students in 91 countries each year through the Oracle Academy and ThinkQuest programmes. Partnerships with governments and institutions around the world help students to develop 21st-century skills and meet the growing demand for a skilled workforce. Learn more about what Christopher Binns, Oracle Education Foundation, thought of this year’s eLearning Africa conference and watch an Oracle Foundation video describing the programme’s successes in Ghana.
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Education ‘Forgotten’ in Post-Conflict Aid

“Education is the forgotten aspect of post-conflict humanitarian aid and aid for refugees”, New Security Foundation Chairman Dr Harold Elletson told delegates at a ground-breaking session on ‘post-conflict distance learning’ during eLearning Africa in Dakar, Senegal. With these words, he initiated a debate which should prove to be a hot topic at this year’s Security and Defence Learning Forum in Berlin.
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Medicine and eLearning – Reaching Beyond Borders

In Brussels, hands wearing surgical gloves make precise and skilful incisions into an abdomen. In Senegal, attentive participants of the “Demonstrations of Telemedicine” pre-conference workshop at eLearning Africa watch simultaneously on a big screen: The transnational videosurgery, carried out by Professor Guy-Bernard Cadière in Brussels for Senegalese medical students, was a great start to three days packed with topics concerning healthcare. The variety on offer – video conferencing on surgical matters, serious gaming for “Combating Yellow Fever“, malaria documentation, HIV treatment and much more – showed the level of quality, as well as the urgency, of innovative medical workforce training. On the African continent, where about one million physicians, nurses and midwives are lacking and basic medical services cannot be guaranteed, eLearning is seen as an indispensable means to develop human resources. At eLearning Africa, experts from all over Africa and abroad had the chance to learn more about new learning technologies and systems, technical requirements, sustainable content development and implementation strategies.
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Love Is in the Ear

Inaugurated last year by Deutsche Welle, a radio project called “Learning by Ear” is reaching into parts of Africa where computers are yet to be seen. Today, more than 33 million people on the African continent are able to listen to this distance-education programme. Its popularity lies in its unconventional format and true-to-life stories that embrace diverse themes depicted in the form of features, interviews and even soaps. Deutsche Welle Journalist Susanne Fuchs presented the story of these African-made radio shows at eLearning Africa 2009.
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Licence to Skill

eLearning Africa brings people together to exchange ideas and create partnerships. The conference has been the birthplace of numerous fruitful collaborations, and at this year’s event, the ECDL Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation registered in Ireland, and the Senegalese Ministry for Technical Education and Professional Training signed a significant agreement for the development of IT skills and education in Senegal. Their joint venture will promote digital literacy by introducing the “International Computer Driving licence” (ICDL) in Senegal. Daniel Palmer, ECDL Foundation Regional Development Manager for the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, talks about the project, the challenges it has to face and what we can expect from it.
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Inviting the World to Learn and Share Ideas

In a new feature at this year’s conference, highlighting eLearning Africa's innovative approach and setting the tone for future conferences, international guests were able to participate not only on-site in Dakar, but also via video conferences from other locations worldwide.
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Virtual Farming Is Bearing Fruits

How to optimally market honey, to cultivate a field or to avoid soil erosion is what small-holding farmers can learn – among many other topics – from innovative three-dimensional learning visualisations, which are now available in Zimbabwe. At eLearning Africa 2009, Justin Mupinda, Country Programme Coordinator at World Links Zimbabwe, explained how the so-called “interactive 3d learning objects” (i3dlos) tools make use of the power of virtual reality (VR) and a person’s visual strengths to “grow” the human mind. The initiators are the Naledi3D Factory, a South African company situated near Pretoria, which is a UNESCO partner, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, Eskom and regional initiatives such as World Links Zimbabwe.
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New Study of African Learning Management Systems Shows Reality Lags Behind Enthusiasm

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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THE BIG DEBATE AT ELEARNING AFRICA

For the first time, at this year’s eLearning Africa in Dakar, delegates from all over Africa and beyond will join leading international experts for a major debate on an issue of central importance for the future of education in Africa.
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The mLearning Guru and The eLearning Africa Debate

Enabling flexible learning with mobile and wireless technologies is what mLearning advocate John Traxler is passionate about. There is probably no one who has a broader perspective on the issue than the author of widely known textbooks such as "Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers" and "Mobile Learning in Developing Countries". With an analytical and discursive mind, John Traxler has investigated the African landscape for many years and developed a profound understanding of the role of technology in education. He will be one of the keynote speakers in the eLearning Africa Debate and here he examines some of the key issues surrounding it.
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TICE et handicap : les clefs de l’intégration

Imaginez un ordinateur muni d’une webcam devant lequel une personne s’exprime en langue des signes. A des kilomètres de là, ces signes sont interprétés et traduits en mots pour un professeur qui peut ainsi répondre à cette personne ou lui donner un cours qui sera traduit en sens inverse. Imaginez un cours, dicté par un professeur et tapé sur un clavier braille par les étudiants et ensuite également imprimé en braille …Avec ce type de solution, les TICE sont par exemple mises à la disposition des personnes sourdes ou aveugles.
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Montagu Drive Primary School, South Africa: Students Absorbed by “Cool Technology”

Montagu Drive Primary School opened its doors in the sprawling Mitchell's Plain area of Cape Town in 1983. Its 1050 pupils are drawn from six suburbs in this economically disadvantaged area. The school strives to give pupils a holistic education and caters to children from the earliest education phase until Grade 8, during which time they will have been exposed to technology for some years. However, the devices were rather worn-out: They had 10 outdated Pentium 1 computers and managed their administrative system with four Pentium 4 computers. In 2005, donor funding was secured to enhance new PC furnishings. Today, Montagu Drive Primary not only boasts top-level computer facilities, they now also have two additional classrooms that have been converted to house two SMART Board interactive whiteboards.
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Laying the Foundation for Africa‘s e-Schools

To equip all African schools with ICT tools and to ensure that African youths graduate with the skills necessary to fully participate in the information society and knowledge economy is the objective of Nepad's e-Schools Initiative. A large-scale roll-out addressing 600,000 schools across Africa is now about to begin. Here Dr Henry Chasia, Executive Deputy Chairperson of the e-Africa Commission and keynote speaker in the Opening Plenary, depicts how a decisive e-Schools business plan will help the ambitious 10-year project become a success.
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Matching Resources with Resourcefulness - The Role of ICT in Africa

As the chairman for Africa at Microsoft, Dr. Cheick Diarra is responsible for the company’s commercial and citizenship activities on the continent — of which education initiatives are a critical part. Since taking on the role in 2006, Dr Diarra has travelled throughout Africa talking to students, youth groups, teachers, universities, government leaders, Ministries of Education and the private sector about the role of ICT in enhancing the effectiveness of education in Africa. eLearning Africa cordially welcomes Dr Diarra as a keynote speaker in the plenary session on Thursday, 18:00 – 19:30.
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Great build-up to eLearning Africa

Over one thousand registered participants and speakers are looking forward to this year’s eLearning Africa conference in Dakar!

Taking place from May 27th – 29th, this conference is THE event in the field of ICT-supported learning and training! High-level participants from ministries, organisations and companies from all over the world are coming to Dakar. Don’t miss out on this unique conference and the chance to network and share the latest on learning and technology. Find out here what will be happening ...
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Salles d’opérations virtuelles pour une coopération internationale !

Les spécialistes internationaux en chirurgie peuvent désormais opérer dans les hôpitaux du monde entier sans quitter leur propre pays. eLearning Africa 2009 en apportera la preuve le mercredi 27 mai 2009, lors d’un des évènements de pré-conférence les plus attendus. Les Professeurs Cheikh Tidiane Touré et Bara Diop, à Dakar, en collaboration avec le Professeur Guy-Bernard Cadière, à Bruxelles, ont mis en place trois démonstrations pratiques de formation chirurgicale menées à distance à l’aide des moyens que leurs offrent les nouvelles technologiques. Que ce soit entre le Sénégal et la Belgique ou entre un centre hospitalier de Dakar et un centre de santé de la campagne sénégalaise, les nouvelles technologies éliminent les distances et permettent d’offrir à tous les étudiants et personnels médicaux, jusque dans les régions les plus reculées, un enseignement de pointe.
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Cinderella or Cyberella? How to Support Women’s ICT Sufficiency in Africa

What role can ICT play in women's aspirations? How can ICT advance their hopes for equal opportunity in societies in developing countries? This is a topic Dr Nancy Hafkin has been devoted to for over 30 years. The well-known scholar is not only a pioneer in the field of ICT for Development. Her work with the Association for Progressive Communication, for example, helped bring e-mail connectivity to nations that had no Internet connection. She is also a strong advocate of gender equity in technology usage. Nancy Hafkin will bring a broad perspective to the plenary discussion on Thursday, May 28th.
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Connecting the Unconnected – W3C Office Launch in Senegal

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international association with the mission to develop open standards for the web, is inviting the general public to its Senegal Office Launch at eLearning Africa 2009 in Dakar. By launching a new office in Senegal – W3C’s first in West Africa and 17th facility worldwide – the consortium seeks to work with regional web communities to promote W3C technologies in local languages, broaden its geographical base and encourage international participation in its activities. The W3C Senegal office launch is timed to coincide with ‘eLearning Africa 2009,’ Africa’s biggest conference on technology-assisted learning. Click here for registration.
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Le développement des TICE: un enjeu de premier ordre après la crise en Côte d’Ivoire

Les situations les plus critiques génèrent des énergies insoupçonnées. Dans certaines régions en Côte d’Ivoire, une chaîne de solidarité s’est mise en place, pendant ou après les conflits, pour permettre aux enfants de continuer tant bien que mal à être scolarisés et pour que la formation soit maintenue sous différentes formes. C’est par exemple le cas de la région de Dakabala, dont nous parle Fatoumata Kone. Aujourd’hui, cette dernière se bat pour que les efforts conjugués des populations et des ONG ne soient pas vains. Pour que la prochaine étape soit l’accès aux TICE pour tous. Une gageure pour un pays qui pendant plusieurs années de crise a vu ses infrastructures dévastées et été privé d’un système scolaire digne de ce nom. Mais Fatoumata Kone ne manque ni d’énergie ni d’idées.
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e-Learning for Kids : 72 Nouveaux Modules à Destination de Débutants en 3 Langues

EFK, Fondation à but non lucratif ayant pour but de fournir des cours en ligne gratuit pour les enfants de 5 à 12 ans, annonce aujourd’hui le lancement de 72 nouveaux modules à destination de débutants, en 3 langues : espagnol, français et portugais. Davantage de modules seront prochainement proposés. En 2008, EFK a atteint le million d’enfants inscrits !
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MXit: How to Encourage and Facilitate Communication Among Students

How can distance learning become more student-centred? Dr Mpine Elizabeth Makoe, University of South Africa (UNISA), has been preoccupied with this question for several years. In a long-term study she conducted, she found that isolated students have a need for informal support that is often neglected in distance education. This has led her to investigate on how MXit, a popular South African instant messaging system, can help to fill the gap and drive collaborative eLearning in an attractive, age-appropriate manner.
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Rural Botswana Goes Online

At several places in rural Botswana, digital citizenship and participation is becoming more and more tangible through an ambitious national development initiative. With the so-called Kitsong Centres, Botswana has mobilised a project for the establishment of information centres equipped with a broad range of digital services across the country, including access to local and community information; eGovernment offerings such as requesting birth certificates , passport applications and school registration; as well as access to distance learning facilities. At the moment 25 centres are functional – most of them in post offices – and an additional 25 centres are being set up. Leatile Nthaga, an IT consultant from the Botswana Technology Centre (BOTEC), will show how learners can be optimally supported at such a Kitsong Centre.
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Public-Private Partnerships Bring Added Value to the Classrooms

A recent European Training Foundation (ETF) initiative shows that effective public-private partnerships in North Africa and the Middle East can be key in fostering new technology-based learning solutions that address skills needs in the global market in general and the fast-expanding ICT industry in particular. In close cooperation with the European Learning Industry Group (ELIG), the ETF gathered valuable information on current ICT learning activities and approaches in the region based on interviews with private companies and school representatives.
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eLearning Africa 2009 – Learn, Share, Network

eLearning Africa 2009 will welcome nearly 300 speakers from 50 countries to Dakar, Senegal. The programme, which is now available on the eLA website, will feature state-of-the-art presentations and interactive workshops, together with practical demonstrations and cutting-edge debates on key issues in the field of eLearning for the African continent. A range of new initiatives will also be presented.

This newsletter gives a sneak preview of some of the seminars and events scheduled for the day before the conference’s official opening.
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Les TIC et l’accompagnement des personnes âgées au Togo

Interview avec Dodji Dovi, Doctorante en sciences de l’éducation à l’Université de Lomé
Dodji Dovi a une formation pluridisciplinaire, à l’intersection entre la sociologie, l’éducation et l’information. Elle a plusieurs cordes à son arc et surtout une passion: « J’aime m’investir dans le social» dit-elle. Quand elle mesure le besoin de ressources pour aider les personnes âgées et leurs accompagnants au Togo, elle fait appel à des amis et des professionnels pour lancer un site internet dédié et toute une palette d’outils. Elle est titulaire d’un DEA en sociologie et d'un master professionnel en information et en communication. Dans le cadre de ce Master son projet professionnel a justement porté sur les TIC et la prise en charge des personnes âgées dépendantes. Elle mène de front sa carrière dans une organisation de développement, la préparation de sa thèse de doctorat en sciences de l’éducation à l’université de Lomé et le développement du projet. Les deux premières lui permettent d’alimenter le troisième en ressources et en financements. Entretien avec une femme de conviction.
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Un exemple de réussite en Afrique du Sud: des écoles collaborent pour progresser

Frans Kalp est venu d’Ermelo dans le Mpumalanga à près de 250km de Pretoria pour participer à un atelier pour l’innovation en matière de TICE organisé par Microsoft et Schoolnet Afrique du Sud. C’est là que nous l’avons rencontré. Il est à l’origine d’un projet qui permet à des écoles rurales défavorisées de recevoir des cours via la téléconférence sans fil. Une histoire de partages des connaissances dans un pays où les disparités entre les écoles sont spectaculaires. Ce professeur de technologie, reconverti pour l’occasion en directeur de projet, a bien l’intention de participer au concours des Enseignants Innovants qui distinguera ceux qui parmi eux auront apporté l’innovation la plus significative dans le domaine des TICE pour l’Afrique du Sud.
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Intel Corporation to Help Kenyan Teachers Bring Technology to the Classroom

The push to integrate the computer as a teaching tool is set to become a reality soon in Kenya as Intel Corporation – the world’s leading computer chip maker – launches a technology-based programme that will significantly improve teaching in schools.
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Business Model for Successful eLearning Centres

Interview with Mehdi Tounsi, Business Development Manager, Gatlin International
Blended learning certificate courses, covering subjects such as health care, management skills, hospitality, media and design, IT and software development are what eLearning Africa’s silver sponsor Gatlin International offers in its latest African Initiative, together with the World Bank’s Global Development Learning Network (GDLN). The related website is hosted in Tanzania and serves as a model for Gatlin’s approach of fostering autonomously operating and economically successful eLearning centres.
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An Antenna Made From a Tin Can

The so-called cantenna is a cheap and efficient tool to help access Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The best cans are those used for seed oil and have a screw-on antenna and a short brass wire. Working like regular antennas, cantennas only cost around $2.50 to build. Rachel Chavula learned about them during an internship at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Italy. Since then, the 22-year-old has been trying out cantennas on her Mzuzu University Campus in Malawi. She will present the “making of” in a hands-on demo session.
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Sustainable Open Source Solutions for Africa – Myth or Reality?

Open Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are becoming widely acknowledged as an appropriate eLearning framework for African universities and institutes that have limited funds to acquire commercial VLEs. At eLA 2009, Felix Olakulehin, Nigeria, and Romaric Sagbo, Benin, will discuss to what extent the Open Educational Resource (OER) movement has gained momentum in Africa and highlight new methods of usage and organisation. The potential benefits of free applications will be examined in terms of practicability and sustainability. Twidox founder Nicholas MacGowan von Holstein, Germany, will add his perspective on how his platform helps to build businesses on VLEs in Africa.
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Distance Learning in Conflict Zones: Tales from the African Virtual University (AVU)

In Somalia, torn apart after the collapse of the military regime of Syad Barre in 1991, entire generations missed out on an education; others had their schooling interrupted, whilst university students saw their careers and dreams destroyed. Worse, most of the professionals who survived the civil war left the country, mainly for Europe and America. So how do you provide education in a country that has neither government nor a functioning civilian infrastructure?

A few universities have been re-established in Somalia since the year 2000 but resources are still scarce. However, experiences from the African Virtual University’s distance learning initiative in Somalia show how ICT-enhanced learning can support long-term development even in the most desolate and abandoned regions of the continent.
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African Tourism Industry needs eTraining

Africa is showing strong growth in tourism, which has been averaging 7 percent per annum since 2000. South and East Africa, in particular, with their national parks and fascinating fauna, are attracting more travellers than ever. The FIFA World Cup 2010 will provide another boost to tourism. But these positive economic developments also bring new challenges for managers in the travel and tourism sector. In order to keep up with the growing demand for tourism, they need more and specialised training that is both affordable and accessible. Several new eLearning projects address this issue.
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Combating Yellow Fever: A Serious Game

The Safouley Republic, District of Massidou, Monday, March 3rd: A young man presenting signs of yellow fever is rushed to the district hospital. Dr Ba, District Medical Officer, must remain vigilant. If the case is confirmed, an epidemiological investigation involving expertise in epidemiology, entomology and virology will need to be carried out. Dr Ba and his team will have to determine the size of the epidemic, find a vector and create a response.

This fictional case is taken from an immersive distance training tool using serious gaming, which is now available for physicians all across Africa. The CD-ROM, produced by WHO in collaboration with the Agence de Médecine Préventive (AMP), offers the chance to play the role of the District Medical Officer, the epidemiologist or the virologist, and thus be an actor in an epidemiological investigation.
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Education during a Health Emergency – Is eLearning a Solution?

The start of the first school term in Zambia this year began with a directive from the Ministry of Education that all schools in cholera-affected areas, scheduled to re-open on January 12th, should not open until the Cholera outbreak that had affected Southern Zambia was fully under control. As a result, many schools in the towns of Lusaka and Mazabuka remained closed and the government found itself unprepared to provide alternative means of education to school children. As this was not the first time Zambia had a cholera outbreak, Brenda Zulu asks whether eLearning could provide a solution to the large-scale closure of schools.
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Kenyan Farmers Find Information They Can Sow

Kenyan farmers, who have suffered from a lack of practical information, are now smiling as they discover innovative information management tools. Reuben Kyama reports about BioVision’s Infonet for Kenyan farmers.
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Partage de ressources : REL pour l’Afrique

Catherine Ngugi travaille pour le Mouvement des Ressources Ouvertes pour l’Education en Afrique depuis sa création. Elle devient chef de projet de Ressources Educatives Libres pour l’Afrique en 2008, une initiative qui promeut le libre échange des ressources en provenance et à destination des institutions de hautes études en Afrique. Catherine Ngugi explique à eLA quelles sont les méthodes de REL Afrique  et dans quelle mesure cela peut stimuler le développement des REL sur le continent.
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La formation ouverte et à distance pour soutenir la recherche et l’enseignement en langue française.

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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L’Agence Informatique de l’Etat au Sénégal œuvre pour mettre les NTIC à la portée de tous

Tidiane Seck dirige l'Agence de l'Informatique de l'Etat (ADIE) depuis 2003. Rattaché à la Présidence de la République, cet organisme a pour mission de mettre en place la stratégie NTIC de l'Etat. Du gouvernement à l'e-gouvernement puis du Sénégal à l'e-Sénégal, voilà les transformations que l'ADIE a pour mission d'accompagner. Placer les nouvelles technologies au coeur du fonctionnement de l'administration cela passe nécessairement par la formation des fonctionnaires. Tidiane Seck connaît son sujet : avant de prendre la tête de l'ADIE, il a été directeur du département informatique à Université de Dakar et il enseigne encore à ses heures perdues. Ce passionné de recherche, de technologie et d'informatique nous dit l'importance de la formation, sous toutes ses formes, pour aider à transformer un pays.
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Kenya ICT Sector Upbeat After Obama Win

The recent election of US President Barack Obama has elicited an unprecedented frenzy of hope across Africa. With an African-American president in office, the majority of the continent’s 750 million people anticipate a new dawn in the realm of socio-economic and political affairs. Already, there is an emerging view that US relations with Africa are due to improve dramatically. And pointedly, during his inauguration, President Obama promised a radical shift in terms of America’s relationship with foreign allies. He called for new terms of engagement based on mutual trust to spur fruitful cooperation on all fronts to the benefit of all. In Kenya, leading ICT stakeholders met with government officials on Tuesday this week to discuss the future of the country’s ICT sector. Reuben Kyama reports from Nairobi.
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eLearning Helps to Promote Ethics in Medical Research

A malaria vaccine is still the best tool to fight the malaria epidemic in many developing countries. Since 2005, the first human trials of a vaccine have been conducted with encouraging results. Most of the volunteers who received the vaccine developed strong and in some cases long-lasting immune responses. However, as researchers know from earlier vaccine trials, the crucial question is whether these immune responses mean that vaccinated people are actually protected against malaria. One way to test this is to expose the vaccinated trial participants to malaria and see if they are protected. However, this risky test is not ethically justified during the early stages of vaccine testing.
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Sénégal : Pour un Enseignement supérieur à distance de qualité en Afrique

Le ministre sénégalais de l'Enseignement Secondaire, des Centres Universitaires Régionaux  et des Universités, le Pr Moustapha Sourang, exhorte les chefs d'Etat africains à « s'approprier » les Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC) pour la réussite de l'Université Virtuelle Africaine (UVA).
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L’école nomade bientôt à la disposition des étudiants Sénégalais.

Et si le téléphone portable devenait aussi un outil d’apprentissage à part entière pour les jeunes ? Il y aurait donc une vie après le téléchargement de sonneries. C’est le credo de Philippe Steger qui a créé WapEduc. Professeur avant d’être créateur d’entreprise, il est convaincu que le mobile peut devenir un assistant personnel pour les étudiants. « J’apprends où je veux et quand je veux » est le leitmotiv de WapEduc. Philippe Steger nous parle de WapEduc et particulièrement de son développement prochain au Sénégal.
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Laptops or Desktops for African School Children?

Mark Beckford spent 11 years at Intel, where he ran the Emerging Markets Platform Group and served as architect for Intel’s World Ahead programme, which he personally launched in Africa in 2006. Recently, he joined NComputing as VP of Global Business Development. In his new role he is responsible for bringing NComputing’s ultra low-cost computing solutions to Africa.
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ICT at an Early Age

Doris Anusi, currently working for the Society for Promotion of Education and Development (SPED), visited this year’s ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN. At the moment she is busy trying to source funding for a new project idea that resulted from the 2nd eLearning Africa conference in Kenya in 2007. There she met Gerald Ingersoll from New Brunswick Community College, Canada, with whom she explored areas of future collaboration. At OEB, Doris outlined the approach to the eLearning Africa newsletter team.
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ST Foundation Supports 2009 eLearning Africa Conference

The 2009 eLearning Africa conference in Senegal is expected to draw more than 1500 participants, with an estimated 80 percent coming from African countries. The conference organisers cordially thank the ST Microelectronics Foundation, Switzerland, for supporting African participation in 2009. With ICT learning projects in 16 countries - among them Congo Democratic Republic, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Senegal - the foundation maintains a strong position in Africa to help people bridge the digital divide.
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How to Turn Dry Subjects into Experiential eLearning

Many students regard chemistry as being a dry and difficult subject: This is especially true in developing countries, where most teachers lack resources to make it stimulating and relevant, for example via laboratories, equipment, chemicals as well as “hands-on” experiments. To provide an alternative to teaching overburdened with theory, Jared C. Ogunde initiated the project “Chemistry Aid Initiative”, which is aimed at encouraging chemistry education in Kenyan institutions of learning, and includes online resources accessed via broadband wireless Internet connection, CD-ROM and VHS.
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Equipping for Ministry Online

Easter Kalambo, who is married and a mother of four, lives in the community of Macha in rural Zambia. Since 1987, she has been Chaplain at Macha Mission Hospital, preaching in hospital wards, the outpatient department as well as at the hospital chapel. So far, she has not preached in church, as it is not very common to let women preach at the pulpit. Now Easter has done something that may boost her ministry career: She took part in “Equipping for Ministry” by the Brethren in Christ Church, an online theology course designed for people in the Christian ministry who cannot take part in traditional on-campus training. eLearning Africa reporter Brenda Zulu spoke to Easter in Macha.
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Africa at ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN

At this year's ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN, we talked to Daniel Stern of U-Connect, an NGO based in Uganda, and Shafika Isaacs, ICT4D consultant to share some experiences and stories from Africa. In another interview, Inge de Waard from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium shows us how mobile phones are being used to spread health information in the developing world. Tune in to the podcasts.

Daniel Stern / Shafika IsaacsPlay in new window
Inge de Waard Play in new window

Senegal to Open ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN 2008

Joseph Pierre Ndiaye, Permanent Secretary at the Regional University Centres and Universities, Senegal, held the opening keynote at this year's ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN. He told the audience about promising e-learning approaches in Senegal and invited the participants to the next eLearning Africa in Dakar, Senegal in May 2009. Play in new window

UN Launches eLearning Initiative

A new UN eLearning initiative was launched during this year’s ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN, which was held from December 3rd – 5th. It aims to establish a UN-wide network on technology-supported learning, with a special focus on the work of UN agencies at the country level.
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Le bon timing pour eLearning Africa au Sénégal

Dr Mor Seck en est convaincu : les technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) peuvent aider l’Afrique à se démocratiser. Dr Seck dirige le Centre d’Enseignement à Distance du Sénégal, qui fait partie du Réseau Global de Développement de l’Enseignement de la Banque Mondiale. Ce centre a déjà plus de 20 ans d’expérience à son actif dans le secteur public et les études supérieures. Dr Seck est un fervent promoteur des TIC pour l’éducation et la formation. Il sera un des éminents participants de la 4ème édition de eLearning Africa qui se tiendra à Dakar l’an prochain. Nous avons rencontré Dr Seck l’été dernier à Berlin et avons parlé avec lui de la façon dont le Sénégal aborde le développement des TIC.
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Le Sénégal , Hôte de la Prochaine Édition de eLearning Africa

À la Case des Touts Petits à Dakar, les enfants sont accueillis dès leur plus jeune âge. L’endroit est à la fois un nid protecteur et un tremplin vers la vie pour les petits Sénégalais défavorisés. Ils y reçoivent des soins, de l’affection et ils s’ouvrent au monde à travers des activités d’éveil variées. Ils ont entre autre accès à des ordinateurs comme moyen de jeu et de familiarisation avec l’outil informatique. Cette initiative fait partie des différents programmes mis en place au Sénégal autour des Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication pour l’Enseignement (TICE). Christine Cayre dresse un bref portrait du pays. D'un autre côté, le boum de la téléphonie mobile et l'envolée du nombre des opérateurs du secteur de la télécommunication sont des facteurs pouvant aider le Sénégal à mettre en place une politique TIC dans un futur proche.
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