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 89 Not only have computers in schools projects been focused on national schooling systems, but also increasingly on forging links between learners and educators globally. The ThinkQuest initiative (see www.thinkquest.org) is one such initiative. ThinkQuest is a global online learning community of learners, teachers, parents and technologists. Through ThinkQuest, young people work together in teams, use the Internet to research a topic in a variety of different subject areas and then publish their research as an educational web site for peers and classrooms around the world. Another example is that of the International Education and Resources Network (iEARN), which facilitates online collaborative projects for young people throughout the world. This project encourages lifelong learning and also assists students to address issues that are relevant to the world today (see www.iearn.org). Collaborative learning, both among learners within a school and between different schools and across countries, is one of the important benefits ICT can bring to education. In response to a need to encourage such collaboration, the concept of school networking is gaining increasing importance. This concept includes introduction of computers in schools, use of computers in teaching and learning, and use of ICT to facilitate communication and collaborative learning between and within schools. In response to such needs, in 2001 SchoolNet Africa (SNA) was officially launched as an independent NGO emerging out of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) ACACIA project. Currently, SNA works with SchoolNet projects, in 28 African countries, 12 to support education through the introduction of ICT in schools. SchoolNet Africa defines a SchoolNet organization according to the rubric provided in Table 10 below. This definition is used to guide membership of SchoolNet Africa. 12. Current member countries of SchoolNet Africa are Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. See www.schoolnetafrica.net for details. 9. ICT in Primary and Secondary Education
90 Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning Table 10: What Is a SchoolNet? Structure Services Sustainability • Establishment • Computer distribution • Y e a r - o n - y e a r and ongoing and connectiv- growth of the operation of a school networking institution/ organization ity services offered by the SchoolNet institution country SchoolNet initiative • M i n i m u m number of five schools in regular communication and interaction on learning initiatives using information and communications media and technologies • Inter-school networking and collaborative projects using the broad array of information and communication technologies • Content and curriculum development and sharing • Teacher training in ICT use to enhance teaching • Financial sustainability increases from year to year with less reliance on external resources/ funding • Steady year-onyear increase in human resource capacity with less reliance on external resources • Year-on-year consolidation of partnerships Source: www.schoolnetafrica.net 9. ICT in Primary and Secondary Education Thus, it is clear that the focus of school networking is not simply on the availability of ICT in schools, but also on use of this technology as a means of working together to improve schooling opportunities across the African continent. This includes use of ICTs within the classroom and for administrative and management purposes. Therefore, school networking encompasses more than the introduction of computers into schools (although this is an important activity), since it implies that schools gain the ability to work together, to share resources and so to become more effective. Drawing on experiences from the World Links for Development Programme, Robert Hawkins (2002) details ten lessons for ICT (in this case computers specifically) and education in the developing world. These are: • Computer laboratories take time and money, but they work • Technical support cannot be overlooked • Non-competitive telecommunications infrastructure, policies, and regulations impede connectivity and sustainability
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