In a press release, Kennedy Sinkali, surrounded by a crowd of eager fifth-grade school children, is captured explaining phonics to them in front of a laptop screen. Sinkali is a teacher in a village near Ndola in the Copperbelt province of Zambia and uses the school’s only computer, which has to be shared between four classes and three hundred children.

Natasha Bomba, who took the picture while volunteering at the school, was announced as the winner of the first eLearning Africa photo competition. The prize, a digital camera, will be presented during the eLearning Africa conference from May 26th – 28th in Lusaka, Zambia.

The photo which takes the first runner-up prize was taken in Cameroon by Jenny Sanborn from HITIP, a non-profit, community-based organisation. She photographed Karine, a survivor of polio who lives in Douala. Rather than begging, she sells phone credit to make her living.

Mary Ann Hood from South Africa took the picture which was announced by the jury as second runner-up. It shows six-year-old Thandi from Uganda followed by her friends, taking pictures with a mobile phone camera.

To view the top ten entries and the audience favourite, go to eLearning Africa Photo Competition.

The ten best photos and the audience favourite will be featured in an exhibition at the eLearning Africa conference.

eLearning Africa launched the online photo contest in the run-up to this year’s conference to find out how ICTs have changed lives in Africa. The organisers invited people from Africa to submit images that show how they live, learn and work with ICTs.

eLearning Africa is the key networking event for investors, education experts, as well as providers of education and training on the continent. More information can be found at www.elearning-africa.com

The top three photos can be downloaded at: http://www.elearning-africa.com/pdf/press/eLA2010_PhotoCompetition_Top_three_photos.zip

In an interview with eBrain Chairperson, Lee Muzala said the eBrain Forum of Zambia’s mission was to contribute to the improvement of quality of life through promoting the use of information communication technologies (ICTs) for purposes of development by raising awareness, conducting monthly meetings, baseline surveys, research as well as building capacity among members.

Explaining their role in the eLearning Africa Conference, Muzala said eBrain Forum of Zambia had representation on the eLearning Africa 2010 Organising Committee, and was playing a key role in ensuring that Zambia was prepared to host the event.

“We have also managed to bring on board our funders who will be supporting the preparations by providing and paying for Coordinating Officer as well as paying for a survey to measure the extent of eLearning usage in Zambia,” explained Muzala.
He added that eBrain together with their cooperating partners, the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) will be exhibiting at the conference, and that they have several members that will make presentations during the conference, as well as chair some of the parallel sessions.

He explained that the eBrain Forum willl also be having a special event called “Teachers Forum”, on the pre-conference day, which will enable around 50 pre-service and in-service teachers to share their experiences of using ICT in the classroom. Some will be familiar with ICT in the classroom, others will have little or no experience of ICT.

The goal is to allow Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and teachers to showcase a wide range of tried-and-tested ICT initiatives and tools. This will be done in an informal ‘Market Place’ environment with a view to inspire teachers to replicate similar activities in their own schools, where possible. IICD and the eBrain Forum of Zambia are co-organising this half-day event, which includes space for an interactive discussion and presentations.

Muzala noted that hosting the conference brings with it, its own benefits as pointing out that it will allow local firms, teachers, schools heads, government officials and other interested parties to see technologies being applied in the area of eLearning through the various organisations that will be exhibiting. He said hosting the eLearning Africa event in Zambia will also help give insight to the country as to cases of eLearning in other countries.

He looked at eLearning not look at eLearning as a technology but a process that is there to help students learn even better and differently.

“I would like to believe that eLearning brings with it several benefits such as reducing some of the costs associated with education if implemented correctly. He said it also allows schools to educate people they could not previously like those working for a living and those people who are geographically dispersed and many other kinds of people.

Muzala also added that studies have shown that students who would not raise a hand in class will be very active in posting to discussion boards showing that they communicate better in a web based environment than in the traditional classroom.
Meanwhile, Muzala who is also Managing Director of Trio Consult/Global Teenager Project (GTP) will be part of a discussion panel to discuss issues of content generated during GTP activities and how best they can be packaged and re-used by other students as referal materials. They will also be looking at the benefits of adopting the concept of Learning Circles used as the core activity of GTP, and how they can be used locally to enable learning among Zambian students.

Developing sustainable and effective educational infrastructures is one of the goals of the event, the largest pan-African conference in the field of Information Communication technologies (ICT) for education and training in Africa.

The fifth eLearning Africa Conference will take place in Lusaka, Zambia from May 26 – 28, 2010, under the patronage of the Zambian Minister of Education, Ms Dora Siliya.
With a multitude of best-practice examples on display, eLearning Africa presents how and where technology-enhanced learning can boost the Continent’s economies and development. International experts provide participants with solutions on how online education and training can be implemented in corporations and organisations successfully and cost effectively.

Education providers, corporations, decision makers from governments and educational institutions, as well as non-governmental and development organisations from Africa and the rest of the world convene at the annual event.

eLearning Africa will be accompanied by an exhibition and demonstration area where leading international eLearning manufacturers, suppliers and service providers present their latest products and services.

More than 1,500 education professionals from around the world are expected at this year’s eLearning Africa.

The worst thing was that i could not even speak their language Tonga of which i beat that barrier by asking a good Samaritan to translate for me during the workshop.

I was amazed by the zeal these women farmers had when they expressed interest in knowing what web 2.0 tools were and how they could use them as farmers.

The women farmers confessed that they were not going to use web 2.0 tools but however said that they would use mobile phones to send text messages to technical officers an alert them on whatever was happening in the villages.

The issue of language is an issue as these farmers as they would like to blog the internet in Tonga.

COUNTRIES AND WORKSHOP DATES

The workshops will be conducted as follows:

• Maseru, Lesotho (20 & 21 August 2009)
• Blantyre, Malawi (1 & 2 September 2009)
• Windhoek, Namibia (1 & 2 October 2009)
• Luanda, Angola (21 & 22 October 2009)
• Lubumbashi, DRC (18 & 19 November 2009)

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the workshops, which are supported by OSISA, are to:

• Create an awareness of FLOSS and the potential thereof.
• Build capacity to conduct OpenOffice Writer courses in Lesotho, Malawi, and Namibia.
• Build partnerships with organisations and individuals in Angola and DRC for the purpose of translating the FLOSS portal to Portuguese and French.

WORKSHOP OUTLINE

Day 1 is an open day to anyone who has an interest in free/libre and open source software (FLOSS). The following are some of the aspects to be covered:

• Introductions
• Overview of free/libre and open source software
• FLOSS business models in Africa
• Demonstrations and how to use the following software:
  • Joomla (an easy Content Management System for website development)
  • Open Workbench (project management software; similar to MS Project)
  • TurboCASH (accounting software; similar to Pastel and QuickBooks)
  • FreeMind (mindmapping software)
  • OpenOffice (productivity software; similar to MS Office)
  • Ubuntu Linux (operating system; similar to MS Windows)
• Questions and answer session

Those attending will receive a CD with the software which is mentioned above and the software which is listed below. Let us know if you would like to get a CD but will be unable to attend.

Day 2 is aimed at trainers or potential trainers in Lesotho, Malawi, and Namibia. CECS has developed a reference manual for OpenOffice Writer – Level 1. This manual contains the same course outline as the MS Word

2003 – Level 1 course outline. The objective is to peruse and comment on the course material as well as strategise conducting courses within the mentioned countries. CECS wants to build partnerships with organisations and individuals in Angola and DRC with a view of translating the FLOSS portal to Portuguese and French respectively.

All the workshops will be conducted in English.

HOW TO REGISTER?

Thus, if you are interested in attending this workshop then complete the registration form which can be found on the FLOSSLit website (www.flosslit.org.za).  The venues for the workshops will be provided to those who registers.

WORKSHOP CD

The CD will contain the following free/libre and open source software:

• 7-Zip — compression software [WinZip]
• Blender — an animation program [Maya | Lightwave | Cinema 4D]
• Dia — a diagram creation tool [MS Visio]
• FileZilla — an FTP program to upload files to your website
• Gimp — an image manipulation program [Adobe Photoshop]
• Httrack — to copy websites to be viewed offline
• Inkscape — vector graphics editor [Adobe Illustrator]
• Kompozer — for the design of static websites [Dreamweaver | Frontpage]
• Firefox — a robust web browser [Internet Explorer]
• Thunderbird — a e-mail client [Outlook Express]
• Scribus — layout and DTP software [Coreldraw | Adobe Indesign]
• Tuxpaint — interactive paint program for children
• Wamp — to set up your computer as a web server

The proprietary equivalent is shown in brackets [  ]

The CD will also contain the following free software:

• Adobe Reader 9 — for viewing PDF files
• Avg 8 — antivirus program
• PdfCreator — creating PDF files
• Spybot — anti-spyware software

For more information contact Arnold Pietersen at arnold.pietersen@cecs.org.za

Lack of infrastructure and adequate power supplies, limited Internet connectivity and education resources and the need for more awareness and policy support for education initiatives are all barriers to the meaningful use of computers in African schools.

“To ensure that the ICT industry flourishes and that local populations have access to technology, African governments must have a supportive legal environment in place and appropriate investments in this sector,” said Richard Kiplagat, Global Strategic Accounts Manager for Microsoft West, East, Central Africa & The Indian Ocean in an interview.

He said a national ICT strategy can be developed by identifying priority areas and the bodies responsible for the strategy implementation.

“In some cases, a new Ministry of ICT must be created to reinforce the government structure in these areas. ICT national strategies are most effective when drawn up in line with countries’ broader development and poverty reduction goals,” he said.

Kiplagat explained that Technology on its own was no guarantee of the desired result of fostering education, and there are a number of factors which limit the use of computers in African schools, however these can be overcome through government action and policies and public-private sector cooperation.

“Through public private partnership we aim to help address these issues where possible. For example, to help address the lack of ICT skills by teachers and in teacher training Microsoft operates the Partners in Learning program. Through ‘Train the trainer’ workshops, teachers receive ICT training they can in turn give to colleagues to spread the benefits of ICT through tailored curriculum developed by Microsoft,” explained Kiplagat.

He added that Partners in Learning provide grants and reduced software licenses to schools and students. The program is already in place in 15 African countries and to date has trained 200,000 teachers and reached 21 million students, many of whom were able to discover and use ICTs for the first time.

In partnership with governments, local NGOS and development organizations, Microsoft has also aimed to establish programs to address these needs.

In terms of access to PCs, Microsoft worked with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to establish a local PC refurbishment center in Uganda to make available cheap, quality computers to small businesses. Computers are available for one third of the original price and loaded with full Microsoft Office software. More than 10,000 PCs will be made available in Uganda in 2009 through this refurbisher.

Kiplagat said to address the lack of access to electricity, in Mozambique Microsoft also worked with UNIDO to open in March 2008 the first solar-powered ICT Business Information Center. The Center provides access to ICT resources such as computers and the Internet, as well as training for micro, small and medium sized enterprises while relying solely on renewable energy technologies like solar power.

To ensure relevance of software, Microsoft maintains a language localization program to create its software in local languages, and has already created some in several languages across the continent with assistance from local communities. The local language program has enabled populations to have access to software in their own language. For example, Windows Vista and Office 2007 will be available soon in 12 African languages: Afrikaans, Amharic (Ethiopia), Hausa (Nigeria), Igbo (Nigeria), IsiXhosa (South Africa), IsiZulu (South Africa), Kiswahili (East Africa), Kinyarwanda (Rwanda), Sesotho Sa Leboa (South Africa), Tswana (Botswana, SA), Wolof (Senegal, West Africa), and Yoruba (West Africa).

Kiplagat said “Microsoft was the lead partner in one of the five e-Schools consortiums, as part of a broader program implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and private sector partners Cisco, Intel, Smartboard, Computainer, Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Mecer, Lexmark, UTI, MRCSA, Mindset, Multichoice Africa, WorldSpace and HNR technologies.

He explained that in the 8 countries allocated to the Microsoft consortium (Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Senegal, Mozambique, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Cameroon), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions were implemented in 25 pilot schools. Together with the other consortiums, it was hoped that the broad impact of a successful NEPAD eSchools initiative would be the application of ICT in Education in the estimated 600,000 schools across Africa.

He said the aim of the project was to enable African schools to participate in the global information society by connecting schools across the continent through a satellite network distributing educational content on a continual basis. Schools receive a computer lab, software, teacher training, networking and connectivity, as well as maintenance and IT support, which are supported by Microsoft in its consortium.”

Education Minister Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa said the provision of quality education requires the application of information communication technology (ICT), especially computers.

The growth of ICT is helping facilitate educational opportunities that will promote economic development for the region and strengthen Zambia’s infrastructure. Programs such as these make it possible for Zambian students to experience a world outside their own and explore new horizons.

As part of the Fifth National Development Plan, the education ministry adopted the use of ICTs many levels to help facilitate education. The computers improve the quality of education for the students and increase equality and efficiency of the educational experience.

The computers were donated by British Charity Computer Aid International as part of their international efforts to bridge the digital divide. The group believes strongly that information technology skills are crucial to an individual’s success (and even survival) in the information age.

While this is another step in the right direction, we’ve still got a long way to go. According to the International Telecommunication Union, less than 1.5% of the population of Zambia owned a computer and just over 4% had Internet access. Compare that to Namibia or Zimbabwe where more than 10% of households have a computer and you see we still have much work to do.

It’s not just about having computers in the classroom. Our teachers still lack their own computer skills. Interestingly, it may be ICTs that help them strengthen their computer skills—through distance learning. ICTs can be used for teacher professional development without requiring they leave their classrooms.

And finally, we must continue to seek foreign investment for our ICT initiatives. Zambia currently still relies too heavily on public finding for its initiatives. Our government simply does not have the money to make the swift progress Zambia needs to increase its educational stamina.

By-line:
This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of high speed internet deals. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24@gmail.com

As organisations seek to operate effectively and efficiently in acomplex and fast-moving world, there is an increasing trend towardsproject-oriented work practices. Project management is a fast-growingdiscipline that is widely used in the IT industry. The net effect is agrowing need for individuals to assume responsibility for projectdelivery on time, within budget, meeting the desired level of quality. Significant organisational resources are involved in project work(once off activities), either directly or in a supportive role. However, those managing these resources often have no formal trainingin the basic techniques that can make the difference between asuccessful project and an expensive failure. IT projects, oftencutting across different business disciplines, represents asignificant business challenge. These projects, notorious for beingover budget and time and not delivering what the business needs, canalso benefit from being managed in a more disciplined manner by usingthe tools and techniques associated with project management.This course has been designed specifically for individuals andorganisations using project management to deliver IT initiatives andwill equip project managers, owners and key resources on IT projectswith the knowledge required to successfully complete IT-intrinsicprojects.

Course Objective

For IT project managers being fully trained in the tools and techniques of the trade is not an optional extra; it is the entrancedoor into the profession.The aim of the course is to equip participants with a basictheoretical knowledge of project management as a discipline, as wellas to illustrate the practical application of this knowledge.Participants will become familiar with tools to assist inestablishing, resourcing, controlling and monitoring projects, andwill develop an appreciation for the interrelationships betweenefficient and effective project management, people management, and successful project outcomes. All aspects of IT systems development and implementation are covered,including bespoke software development and the roll-out of majorenterprise systems (e.g. ERP, CRM or SCM). Although the program doesnot present a specific methodology (e.g. PRINCE2, Rapid or Agile) itcovers all the key subject areas of IT project management. Theimportance of people and processes to support the technology deployedis a central focus point of the course.

Audience

This course is aimed at all resources intimately involved in majorbusiness projects with a strong IT component. All levels of projectmanagers, as well as those line managers within an organisation thatneed to develop an appreciation for the role of project management,will benefit from this course.  Senior managers wishing to introduce aproject based approach to their IT department will also find thecourse highly beneficial, as will IT staff that have acquired theirproject skills “on the job” and have never had any formal projectmanagement training.

Format

The course is led by an instructor, with interactive case studies andexercises to enable participants to apply techniques in the classroomenvironment. Participation by students is encouraged. Ample provisionis made for relevant discussions within the course.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course the participant will be able to:

• Define and describe the discipline of project management.
• Understand the generic IT project life cycle and thedeliverables within this life cycle
• Understand the current generic methodologies and standards(PMI / PRINCE2 / APM) used in the project industry, including itsbenefits and limitations.
• Understand the role of the charter and the statement of workfor IT projects.  a.. Identify the many factors involved with developing systems(human and automated) and balance these factors to protect the projectteam from outside distractions.
• Appreciate the role of task definition and management andcomprehend the impact of prerequisites on project tasks.  a.. Understand the importance of people management in projectmanagement success.
• Communicate effectively in a project team and understand howeach team member’s effective communication contributes to the abilityof the project manager to effectively plan and control the project.
• Partake in a formal risk and issue management process and beable to identify project risks and issues for IT projects.
• Compile a project status report.

Course Assessment

In the final session of the course students will be assessed by usingexamples of practical project related challenges. Students will bepresented with project problems ranging from simple to relativecomplex and will be required to present their recommended solutions.PresenterIt is from this background that African eDevelopment Resource Centeris hosting a three-day (1-3 October 2008) IT Project ManagementCapacity Building Course: A Practical and Effective Approach toManaging IT Projects. The Course Faculty will be conducted by MartinButler, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch BusinessSchool. Martin holds an MBA (Cum Laude) with specialization in projectmanagement and is currently pursuing his PHD in this area. At theUniversity he has developed Courses and Lectured on: InformationSystems Management on MBA program, Innovation and Technology forUSB-Ed’s EDP, Management Information Strategies for USB-Ed’s SMP andStudy guidance for Master’s students.  Prior to joining the Universityhe was involved in a host Enterprise Systems Implementation Projectsfor over 8 years as a Project Manager and Regional Manager.The registration fee for the workshop is US$ 750 / Ksh 50,000 +16 %VAT  which will cover all the documentation, administration and mealsduring the workshop. To participate in this workshop, please fill outthe attached registration form and return it to the email or faxindicated. Due to the nature of the course we have a limited number ofspaces available and will be allocated on a first-come-first-servedbasis.Please find attached the Course Outline, the Registration Form and theTrainer’s CV.

Thanking you for your continuous support.

Regards

Steve Njenga

African eDevelopment Resource Centre

eDevelopment House, 604 Limuru Rd.Old Muthaiga, Nairobi.PO Box 49475 00100Nairobi, KenyaCel +254 721 749 239Land +254 20 3741646, 3741647

Mail: steve@africanedevelopment.org

www.africanedevelopment.org