Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in ... - ADEA

Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in Africa: an overview
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• The linguistic and cultural content of tools used in literacy courses are
seldom appropriate for diverse populations. In particular, teaching
materials in native languages are few; today’s ICTs make it relatively
easy to adapt materials to other languages.
• Lastly, ICTs in literacy and basic education often ensure the development
of ‘technological’ or ‘digital’ literacy skills, which are essential
competencies in today’s economies.
(http://literacy.org_ili)
Thus, not only do ICTs offer new means of education provision, but ICT
skills are also in and of themselves an important educational output.
To date, Africa has primarily used the media of mass communication
and distance education for non-formal education. By the late 1960s, there
was a range of experimental projects using radio and simple printed
materials for agricultural, health and community/civics education for
adults, typically aimed at adults with little or no formal schooling. In 1964,
Ghana – and, in 1966, Zambia – followed the Canadian and Indian model
of Radio Farm (or Rural) Forums (see Box 14 below). Around this time
several countries in West Africa introduced the Clubs Radiophoniques (or
radio clubs). In a few countries, such as Côte d’Ivoire and Niger, Teleclubs
were introduced for non-formal education. In Tanzania in 1966, a small
experimental series of radio campaigns was introduced which was
expanded to reach up to three or four million adults, and was later copied
in Botswana and Zambia. All of these interventions used the same basic
methodology of regular educational radio programmes accompanied
by simple printed materials, studied in controlled listening groups and
involving regular organized feedback (Dodds, 2002).
Box 14: Radio Farm
Forum in Zambia
In Zambia, the decision to
use radio in agricultural
development was based
on the size of population,
the types of roads, literacy
levels, the need to
disseminate agricultural
knowledge, information
and skill, as well as the
need to increase household
and national food security.
Radio Farm Forum (RFF)
was established to give
farmers the opportunity to
assemble, listen to a particular
problem introduced
to them on radio, talk it
over and decide on an
appropriate solution. The
12. ICT and Adult/Basic Education