2013-03-31

Understanding “Foregoing” Behavior at the Base of the Pyramid in Kenya



At the end of 2012, infoDev released a study, conducted by iHub Research and Research Solutions Africa, looking at how mobile phones are being used by those at the economic base of the pyramid in Kenya (living on less than US$2.5 per day). The study, funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and UKaid, covered urban and rural areas of 6 districts in Kenya. Its findings are not nationally representative, but comparisons with representative surveys show no significant differences for key indicators, such as phone ownership.
Of the many findings revealed in the report, one particular behavior captured a lot of attention - the fact that 1 in 5 respondents interviewed had foregone some usual expenditure in order to reload their mobile phone with credit.

Read more at: http://blogs.worldbank.org/ic4d/understanding-foregoing-behavior-at-the-base-of-the-pyramid-in-kenya


Want to Scale ICT4D Projects? Stop Developing Software!


We all know we have a problem – just look at the map above. We say our work in ICT4D, M4D, mHealth, ICT4E, etc will reach “scale” and even (financial) sustainability, yet the reality is a profusion of similar software and technology applications around the world that never leave the pilot phase. We focus on responding to RFP’s that ask for something new or innovative with limited, bespoke solutions that die the day after funding ends.
We keep reinventing the flat tire.
This problem isn’t confined to one group – funders, implementers, techies, dev experts, we are all complicit. We all have sinned in the name of scale and sustainability. It is time for us to come clean, make amends, and seek a better way forward.

Read more at: http://www.ictworks.org/news/2013/03/29/want-to-scale-ict4d-projects-stop-developing-software/
 

2013-03-30

Seventh Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF7)



Deadline reminder: Call for abstracts and proposals
The deadline for submitting papers and proposals for PCF7 is 30 April 2013. All papers and proposals must address Open Learning for Development: Towards Empowerment and Transformation through one of PCF7's five themes: Girls' and Women's Education; Skills Development; Promoting Open Educational Resources (OER); Innovation and Technology; and, Institutional Development
PCF7 will take place in Abuja, Nigeria from 2 to 6 December 2013, co-hosted by the Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria and the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). It is a dynamic event with a variety of formats to enable participation, knowledge sharing, learning and networking. Apart from paper presentations there will also be a variety of activities that address the interests and expectations of different participants.

www.col.org/PCF7
www.col.org/PCF7Submissions


Internet Technologies For Teaching Online


Information and communication technologies enable distance courses to be delivered using innovative ways to interact with instructors and other students. They have raised the status of distance education and now whole universities have been created that conduct all their education online.
Find out about the range of Internet technologies available for teaching online and enabling exciting online classroom activities to be developed at all levels.

Read more at: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/teaching-online


Commonwealth of Learning - Journal of Learning for Development



COL is preparing to launch the Journal of Learning for Development. The new e-journal will provide a forum for the publication of research with a focus on innovation in learning, in particular but not exclusively open and distance learning, and its contribution to development. Content will include interventions that change social and/or economic relations, especially in terms of improving equity. The Journal of Learning for Development is seeking submissions for its inaugural issue.

Read more at:  www.col.org/JL4D



Best Online Learning Platform. Winner: Moodle


What software makes it easiest for you to learn outside a traditional classroom? There are lots of great options, but only one winner.



Capturing the Continent’s creativity



Can ICT in Africa enrich and support traditional lifestyles and cultures? It certainly seems so, at least according to the entries already submitted to the 2013 eLearning Africa Photo Competition. Its theme, “Tradition and ICT Innovation: a couple with potential”, has drawn some inspiring work from budding photographers across the Continent, and will surely continue to attract more attention both in Africa and worldwide over the next few weeks. Anyone can take part – either by entering the competition or by voting for their favourite photo in the public choice category.

Link: http://www.elearning-africa.com/eLA_Newsportal/capturing-the-continents-creativity/


2013-03-28

Humanitarian Issues: A new way to access information


One of the challenges faced by humanitarian workers is access to timely, relevant and accurate information.   New technology provides an opportunity for humanitarian workers to develop better ways to access and share this information, and get aid to those who need it more quickly and effectively.  OCHA has developed the Humanitarian Kiosk to address the diverse information needs of humanitarian agencies and workers. This app enables an office to share key, up-to-date humanitarian content that is readily available for download from a mobile device.  Users might be aid workers on the ground or senior UN managers attending high level meetings in New York, Nairobi or Bangkok.

More details at: http://www.unocha.org/top-stories/all-stories/humanitarian-issues-new-way-access-information



2013-03-27

Studying an Online Masters in Secondary Education



Find out about masters in secondary education online programs, where you can take them, the career and salary prospects, and more ...


Read more at: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/masters-in-secondary-education

Designing Effective Education Programs Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT)



The emergence of information and communication technologies (ICT) as a force in social and economic development presents a wide range of possibilities to the education systems of developed and developing countries.This First Principles: Designing Effective Education Programs Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Compendium provides important overview guidance for designing and implementing education programs that use technology. The guidance in this document is meant to be used and adapted for a variety of settings to help USAID officers and others grapple with the multiple dimensions of ICT in education and overcome the numerous challenges in applying ICT in the developing-country contexts.

Read report at: http://zunia.org/post/designing-effective-education-programs-using-information-and-communication-technology-ict


e-Transform Africa: The Transformational Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Africa



This report captures the existing use of ICT in six sectors (agriculture, climate change, education, health, financial services, government) and two cross-cutting themes (regional trade and integration, ICT competitiveness). It further examines the immediate potential that could be realized with further attention by both the private and public sectors and makes recommendations for policy makers and development practitioners. The case studies show how ICTs can help overcome government failures in different sectors.

Read more at: http://zunia.org/post/e-transform-africa-the-transformational-use-of-information-and-communication-technologies-in-af



2013-03-24

Online Early Childhood Degrees for a Fulfilling Career in Teaching



To be able to teach children effectively in a formal education setting, you need to take a program which includes online early childhood education courses in curriculum development, classroom management, assessment, pedagogy and classroom methodology, administrative techniques, child psychology, and educational psychology.
This page provides information about online early childhood degrees, what is studied in the programs, where you can study them, and more ...

Read more at: http://www.onlineanddistancelearning.com/online-early-childhood-degrees


Imagine a World Without Hate



Join ADL in our Centennial Year as we Imagine a World Without Hate™, one where the hate crimes against Martin Luther King, Anne Frank, Matthew Shepard and others did not take place.
Support us in the fight against bigotry and extremism by sharing this inspirational video and taking the pledge to create a world without hate at http://www.adl.org/imagine.


Can Drones Save the Elephants?



This week, 89 African elephants in southern Chad were slaughtered for their ivory tusks, the worst such incident since the killing of 300 elephants a year ago in Cameroon.
To stop the massacre of these stately beasts, conservation groups are fighting poachers with eye-in-the-sky drones. These unmanned aerial vehicles — introduced with the help of local researchers and Western firms such as Google — are giving park rangers new tools in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade of not only ivory from elephants and rhinos but also hides from tigers and other big cats.

Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/03/22/can-drones-save-elephants/


2013-03-23

Slow progress in ICTs for African research




In 2004, FARA’s assessment of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in Africa showed that 42% of African agricultural research institutions had weak information management capacities. 77% had unsatisfactory, unreliable and – if available – very slow internet connections in their institutions. Very few had the skills to access internet effectively. In 2012, FARA conducted another study in 15 countries to look into the capacities of NARS in information and knowledge management. Although the methodologies used were different, it showed that NARS capacities in ICT have improved but require further investment to be more competitive in a knowledge-based economy.

Read more at: http://ictupdate.cta.int/Regulars/Q-A/Slow-progress-in-ICTs-for-African-research/(70)/1359546174


Developing countries to get access to 12,000 online research books



Research and academic communities in the developing world are set to benefit from free access to online books.
Global academic publishing company John Wiley & Sons has made 12,200 online books available via the Research4Life initiatives — Access to Research in Health (HINARI), Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture and Online Access to Research in the Environment — to 80 low and middle-income countries.

Read more at: http://www.scidev.net/en/new-technologies/icts/news/developing-countries-to-get-access-to-12-000-online-research-books-1.html


Campus and Online Programs in TESOL



Programs in TESOL provide you with the skills to teach English to speakers of other languages. This page tells you more about studying the teaching of English as a second or a foreign language, what's involved, and what the prospects are after graduation.
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Campus and Online Programs in TESOL

Psychology Programs Online and On Campus: Overview

psychology word cloudAre you thinking of working in a job using psychology and looking for suitable psychology programs online or on campus?  This section will help you to find out more about psychology study and to locate suitable degree programs.
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Psychology Programs Online and On Campus: Overview

Embracing OER & MOOCs to TRANSFORM EDUCATION...?


Presentation slides for the OER and MOOC workshop facilitated at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) on the 25th March, 2013.

Are your students plagiarizing? Here's how you find out



There are a number of ways teachers can figure out if their students are plagiarizing. There are a number of websites and programs that will help you do just that. You type in a portion of your student’s paper and run it through a plagiarism checker to see if those words appear elsewhere on the Internet. If they do, your student may have plagiarized.

Check out these free online resources: http://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2010/09/26/are-your-students-plagiarizing-heres-how-you-find-out/



EU Opens Up Access to Scientific Research


New scientific research must be published for free online, the vice-president of the European Commission said, in a move designed to increase the knowledge pool open to small business and lead to more innovative products.
All scientists receiving European Union funding will have to publish their results in an open-access format, Neelie Kroes, the commissioner responsible for Europe’s digital agenda, said Monday in Stockholm.  Ms. Kroes also  launched the global Research Data Alliance — a group committed to pooling and co-ordinating scientific data so it can be shared better.

Read more at: http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2013/03/19/eu-opens-up-access-to-scientific-research/?mod=rss_Europe_Technology



2013-03-21

Get Ahead in Your Career with a PhD in Elementary Education


Recently, schools have been trialling various arrangements which break from the one-teacher, one-class mould. So a leader in elementary education needs an understanding of change, as well as educational theory and knowledge of best practice.
A PhD in elementary education provides the theory, research, and practice for teachers and educational administrators who wish to enter leadership positions in this sector of education.  This page is about such programs. It provides information on what is studied and where you can study these programs.

Read more: http://onlineanddistancelearning.com/phd-elementary-education


March 21, 2013: IJEDICT Weekly News is out


IJEDICT Weekly News", by Stewart Marshall: A free, online newspaper with a curated selection of articles, blog posts, videos and photos about ICT for education and development.

Read and subscribe at: http://paper.li/f-1325685118


A bank in your pocket: The mobile money revolution in Tanzania



Increasingly, people around the world, especially in Africa, are paying their school fees, healthcare and utility bills using mobile phones today. Businesses use mobile money phones to pay their staff and suppliers. Poor people who have never entered a bank are using mobile services to send or receive remittances and to save their money.
‘Mobile money’, as it has been dubbed, is growing at an amazing pace on the continent and at an even faster rate in East Africa.

Read more: http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/a-bank-in-your-pocket-the-mobile-money-revolution-in-tanzania



Open Academic Resources Offers Education Opportunities in Emerging Economies


The launch of the Research Data Alliance this week could have major implications for the future of the academic community, bridging major institutions and driving collaborative innovation. Yet the benefits of world universities opening their gates are more lateral than vertical, strengthening ties within communities that are already educationally privileged.  How do developing countries stand to benefit from open knowledge projects?

Read more at: http://techpresident.com/news/wegov/23626/will-open-academic-resources-emerging-economies-level-playing-field-education


Study Your Forensic Psychology Doctorate Online or On Campus

graffitiAre you interested in studying a forensic psychology doctorate program or in taking criminology and justice studies?  This page will help you to find out more about university forensic psychology and to locate suitable schools, especially those where the program can be taken by online and distance learning.
Forensic psychology is a fascinating field of study concerned with the application of psychology in law and law enforcement. For example, it is used in treating mentally ill offenders, providing expert testimony in court, and also in analyzing a criminal's mind and intent. So to prepare for this work students need to take criminal justice and civil legal courses as well as psychology courses.  But prior to taking a doctorate in this area, you need to have completed a relevant masters degree in psychology. If you are interested in this area, you may also like to check the criminal justice page for useful programs and advice.
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Study Your Forensic Psychology Doctorate Online or On Campus

2013-03-19

Online And Distance Learning Weekly


Online And Distance Learning Weekly", by Natalie Stewart: A free, online newspaper with a curated selection of articles, blog posts, videos and photos about teaching and learning online.

Read and subscribe free at: http://paper.li/NattyStewart24/1325359513


Podcast #73: Girls advocate for girls’ education and gender equality


NEW YORK, United States of America, 18 March 2013 – Three young women from quite different parts of the world, but with very similar goals, met at UNICEF House recently to talk about their passion for promoting girls’ rights.

More at: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/podcast-73-girls-advocate-for-girls-education-and-gender-equality/