Title: Pedagogical Integration of ICT: Successes and Challenges from 100+ African Schools - 3rd edition
Authors: Thierry Karsenti, Simon Collin and Toby Harper-Merrett
Pages: 349 pp.
ISBN: 978-2-923808-16-1
Publisher: IDRC
Date (published): 18/11/2011
Date (accessed): 19/11/2011
Type of information: research book
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"The PanAfrican Research Agenda aimed to better understand how the pedagogical integration of ICT can improve the quality of teaching and learning in Africa.
In the first project phase, national research teams gathered data on the educational use of ICT in 13 countries: Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Central African Republic, Uganda, Mozambique, Mali, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Congo, Cameroon, and South Africa, and Zambia. Data were collected according to a mixed-method approach, using quantitative data (e.g., questionnaires) and qualitative data (e.g., interviews, observations) on how ICT were integrated into education. In all, 120 schools, 800 school administrators, 8 940 teachers, and 242 873 students participated in the project.

Phase 1 of the PanAf project primarily involved collecting 20,000 pieces of data following a rigorous indicator procedure that was determined based on the literature as well several meetings between the researchers from the participating countries. All the gathered data are available on the Observatory for the pedagogical integration of ICT at www.observatoiretic.org (briefly presented in section VI).

Analyses of the raw data are also provided at the Observatory, and are available not only to PanAf researchers, but to all researchers in Africa and around the world. The clear advantage of these data, beyond being freely accessible at all times, is that they allow a deeper understanding of Africa's ICT policies and a greater awareness of the impacts of ICT on learners and educators. Note that these data frequently highlight gender issues and uncover inequalities throughout education systems. Last but not least, phase 1 of the PanAf project has fostered the development of research skills in the project teams."

Title: ICT for Development in Francophone Africa
Author: Lova Rakotomalala
Source: Global Voices Online
Date (published): 25/04/2010
Date (accessed): 26/04/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Although there is undoubtedly a strong push to grow information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives for development in francophone Africa, the region is still somewhat lagging behind their English-speaking neighbors. The recognition of this lag is discussed by many Francophone bloggers and aggregated at the Franco Techno Gap blog.

The cause of the lag is unclear but a few reasons are often proposed: 1) broadband internet was made available by governments of English speaking nations such as (South Africa, Mauritius, Egypt) first (fr). Consequently, cost of internet access is on average higher as further explained on l'atelier des medias (RFI) (fr). 2) Related to the previous reason: “English speaking countries seem to be doing better than the French speaking countries” as Miquel points out 3) The English language is still the default language globally when one discusses ICT.

In this post, current grass roots development projects in francophone Africa with an important ICT component will be discussed in further details...

Title: ICTs for agricultural livelihoods: Impact and lessons learned from IICD supported activities
Publisher: International Institute for Communication and Development
Date (published): 05/11/2009 (republication, orginally published in 2006, republished in 2007)
Date (accessed): 17/11/2009
Type of information: report
Language: English, Spanish, French
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
This book by IICD highlights the lessons learned and achievements of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and its partners in using ICT4D to support agricultural livelihoods.

Agriculture is an important economic sector, since it provides income and food for a large segment of the population in developing countries. Intensification of production and increased market orientation are the main processes that can contribute to the future viability of the sector and create income for the people that depend on it.

The projects described in this booklet were carried out by IICD and its partners over a six-year period and provide examples of the many ways in which ICTs contribute to poverty alleviation in the agriculture sector.

By sharing our experiences in this booklet, IICD hopes to contribute to a better understanding of the opportunities of employing ICTs and their contribution to reaching the Millennium Development Goals in the agricultural sector.

Title: Living Cultural Storybases: Using Technology to Preserve Cultural Diversity
Author: Worldchanging Team
Source: Worldchanging.com
Publisher: Worldchanging
Date published: 09/07/2009
Date accessed: 11/07/2009
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Indigenous peoples are 4 percent of the world’s population, but half of humanity’s cultures. Yet they are the poorest and most disenfranchised. One language dies every 10 days; within 50 years over half the world’s languages will be gone. Cultural diversity is disappearing much faster than plant or animal diversity. We face a cataclysmic loss of millennia of wisdom and knowledge whilst threatened by megacity monocultures, economies of scale, environmental destruction and greed...
Storytelling transmits the essence of any culture, encapsulating deeper beliefs, values and identity, inspiring ways of behaving and believing. ‘Living Cultural Storybases’ helps minority communities build evolving digital repositories in their own language of their cultural narratives and knowledge, i.e. ‘Storybases’

See also:
Living Cultural Storybases