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

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Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in Africa: an overview 113 • 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
114 Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning programme is a 30-minute discussion session broadcast in English and seven local languages. Through the RFF initiative, the radio has become many farmers’ most faithful teacher. Some of the information needs addressed include information on new farming methods, new varieties of seed, types and application of fertilisers, types and spacing of seeds, types and application of pesticides and types and treatment of certain crop diseases. The programme has a close relationship with an existing Zambian functional adult literacy programme. Problems have been experienced with the RFF, including a lack of availability of radio batteries in rural areas, difficulties reaching Forums for supervision in the rainy season due to inaccessibility by roads, regional differences in terms of language and farming practices, and poor radio reception in some parts of the country. Nonetheless, it was found that members of the Forums attend meetings regularly after harvesting; at other times they meet and listen to the programme as long as they have batteries and good reception. In terms of achievements, the RFF programme has supported the dissemination of agricultural information to many smallscale farmers in remote rural areas who cannot be reached by other means. The farmers themselves have expressed satisfaction with the system. More recently, the programme has also achieved the introduction of free-play radio sets to replace battery-powered sets and there has also been success in awareness campaigns to educate the farmers on the need for self-reliance in running the affairs of the RFF groups. Source: Sibalwa D.M. (2000) 12. ICT and Adult/Basic Education The Bridges to the Future Initiative (BFI) in South Africa is part of a global effort (similar initiatives are being introduced in India, Ghana, and Mexico) aimed at using ICTs to support basic education provision to the poorest of the poor. BFI will focus on assisting poor, disadvantaged, and marginalized youth and adults in developing countries to take advantage of new ICTs for acquiring basic literacy and technological literacy skills as a means to participate in the changing civil, social, and
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