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 119 people to the Internet. However, since two thirds of the Senegalese population is illiterate, there was considerable pressure on Joko to cater for individuals who are unable to read or write. As a result, training based on community requirements became a central Joko activity. JokoClubs offer various courses in computers and the Internet, but an approach specifically adapted for the needs of adult illiterates has also been developed. This programme enables learners to acquire insight into what new information technologies can offer, but also gives them the ability to select the most useful and immediate functional skills for their own development. Through this process, adult illiterates are rapidly and effectively moving towards literacy. This has been achieved by starting to include learning of the French alphabet. A large keyboard is painted on the wall of each Joko- Club, as a teaching tool, and a CD-ROM is used so that the look and the sound of each letter can be covered simultaneously. Other software helps learners develop keyboard skills and later on in the course arithmetic and calculations are covered. The demand to join the JokoClubs has been overwhelming; a waiting list for the programme of more than 1,500 has at times existed. Source: Carney & Firpo (2000) Clearly ICT has a contribution to make to the basic education of adults. If basic education is looked at only in terms of basic literacy, numeracy, and rudimentary life skills, then technology could be considered a luxury. However, basic education for all in the modern world incorporates more than the conventional elements and has to equip individuals and nations to function in a world that is increasingly globalized and technologically advanced. Therefore, not only do the illiterate adult population of sub- Saharan Africa need to develop a range of basic functional skills, they also need to develop a level of understanding and proficiency in many of the new technologies that are now available. 12. ICT and Adult/Basic Education
120 Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning 13. Financial Implications........................ The benefits of, and uses for, ICT cannot wholly be appreciated without considering the financial implications of using such tools. Issues related to infrastructure and programme design can determine success, but the greatest obstacle to expanding use of ICT in Africa is the associated costs of such technology (Murphy, et al., 2002). Similarly, Williams (2000) claims that costs are the single most important limiting factor in use of appropriate technologies for learning. This section of the report highlights key issues in costing and financing use of ICT in education. Economic analysis is useful in understanding the choices an educational provider faces when considering introduction of educational technology. However, what has to be remembered is what economics, and technology, cannot do. They cannot set objectives; rather, it is education providers, very often governments, who set objectives and decide whether costs are most important, or effectiveness, or efficiency, or whether it is another issue such as equity that must be given the highest priority. Technology and economics are means, not ends (Puryear, 2002). ‘New’ ICTs, and distance education delivery approaches, are popular among educational economists seeking cheaper ways of making education available (Dodds, 2001). Such tools generally substitute for personal classroom teaching and have a built-in cost advantage in that they obviate many of the personnel costs of conventional schools. This is particularly the case when students are widely dispersed or living in remote areas. Research suggests that distance education programmes for training teachers, for example, can be developed at a cost of between one- and two-thirds of conventional programmes (Puryear, 2002). Unfortunately, rapid development in ICT makes investment decisions risky, but, if used wisely, ICT can provide solutions to inequalities through its contributions to access and quality of education (Learning to Bridge the Digital Divide). 13. Financial Implications 13.1 ....Four Cost Concepts Managing education programmes that use ICT often involves crucial decisions related to the costs of creating courses, selecting technology for course delivery, and determining ‘break even’ points for course enrolments. Such analysis requires costing and planning skills, and, according to Murphy, et al. (2002), should take into consideration four important concepts:
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