Reflections from the Zambezi

Copyright By John Orlando, PhD Our student newspaper recently ran a story about students bringing their cell phones and computers to class. Not surprisingly, all of the teachers interviewed were against the practice on the grounds that these devices distracted students from class material. Some went so far as to forbid students from using them in class, although you have to wonder if they can really enforce such a rule. I was interviewed in the next issue of the newspaper and mentioned that I don't object to computers and cell phones in class at all. In fact, I wonder if we should be encouraging students to bring them to class. For one, students will eventually be entering the working world where these devices are ubiquitous. Look at any business meeting and you will find everyone with smart phones or laptops. The restriction on their use amounts to telling students that they need to go back to using pen and paper for notetaking, like the 60's. We are preparing students for a w...

Being a Host and Organiser at the Conference I attended this year’s eLA conference from a different angle: not as a participant, but as a host and conference organiser. We had planned for and were expecting 1500 delegates to attend the conference. Little did we think we could reach almost 1800! What threatened to be a huge organisational hiccup, owing to the very high attendance, turned into joy as we managed to register everyone who arrived unexpectedly at the last minute and enabled them to participate in the conference. One of the highlights of the event was the keynote address by Right Rev. Johnson of the Gambia, who spoke about Social Networks and their impact on religion and moral and value systems from an African perspective. Rev. Johnson, who is a frequent Twitter and Facebook user, was very clear, passionate and practical in his speech. I also enjoyed participating in the 4th UNESCO Pre-Conference Summit, which focused on Flexible Skills Development. Networking with conference...

eLearning Africa was launched five years ago in Addis Ababa in 2006. Successive conferences took place in Nairobi (2007), Accra (2008), and Dakar (2009). eLearning Africa 2010, the Fifth International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training, was held in Lusaka, Zambia from 26 to 28 May 2010 under the patronage of the Zambian Minister of Education, the Honorable Ms Dora Siliya. With nearly 350 speakers from approximately 48 countries, 4 plenary sessions, 60 sessions in 10 parallel conference strands, 17 demonstrations and best practice examples, 10 Insaka sessions, 21 pre-conference events and a number of exciting features, eLearning Africa proved to be once again a landmark in pan-African capacity building for ICT-enhanced education and training. eLearning Africa 2010 was actively supported by the Zambia National eLA Committee, which brought together a broad range of public, private and community based groupings in the preparation and organisation of the event. The op...

The 4th eLearning Africa Conference was held in Dakar, Senegal under the Patronage of the Senegalese Republic. The Conference was officially opened by the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade. A total of 1315 participants from 85 countries, including ministers, officials, academics and business people from all over Africa and beyond, gathered in Dakar for the conference under the President's patronage to exchange ideas about expanding educational technologies in their communities. The Zambian delegation was led by then Minister of Science, Technology and Vocational Training, Hon. Gabriel Namulambe, who also presented a paper at a plenary session on 29th May. Participants were drawn from government ministries (Education; Science, Technology and Vocational Training; and Communications and Transport; ZESCO and eLearning Zambia The programme had 60 parallel sessions, 4 plenary sessions, 20 best practice demonstrations, 19 pre-conference events, 336 speakers and chairpersons from approx...