Current+Development+of+E-Learning+in+Africa

Africa is facing many various challenges in its development and implementation of e-learning across the continent. Among others these include a lack of ICT literacy, limited or no access to the internet, non-existent or limited access to the internet. Brown, T. (2010). Many areas across the continent also have irregular access to electricity or none at all, providing a formidable barrier to the development of even basic e-learning practices. E-learning practices themselves across the country are varied and widespread; however seem to lack a general policy or direction. Present practices include but are not limited to; use of internet, email, CD’s, presentations, digital libraries and educational games. Unwin, T. (2008). The African continent is made up of 54 countries and approximately 17 countries have an ICT policy for education in place, which include e-learning practices, but only 10 of these have put a plan of action in place and have begun to carry it out. ELearning Africa News Portal. (2010).

At a recent e-learning conference it was acknowledged by ministers from countries across Africa that professional development of ICT in teachers needed to be intensified and more money needs to be devoted to this. Elearning Africa News Portal. (2010). Sister Clara, a Franciscan Missionary Sister of Assisi, from the Copperbelt in Africa realised the importance and need for educating teachers in ICT and held workshops for her colleagues to share her ideas and knowledge of e-learning, so that they could begin to implement them in their own classrooms. Elearning Africa News Portal. (2011). Currently e-learning in Africa is most predominant in higher levels of education, with approximately 53% of higher education courses having an e-learning component, with as little as 10 of primary school courses implementing e-learning and 22% of High School courses. Unwin, T. (2008).

Some examples of specific e-learning are digital story-telling via mobile phone, an ICT bus project and downloading videos by mobile phones to classrooms. There are over 500 million mobile phone users in Africa so it has become an efficient and reliable way to deliver learning to students across the continent. In Mozambique students are using mobile phones to access social media to share ideas and hints for study and access Wikipedia. Elearning Africa News Portal. (2011). In Rwanda they realise that they need to make the possibilities of e-learning more accessible to their people. “The ICT Bus Project run by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is using a fleet of buses assembled in Kenya to bring Internet technology to the people of the countryside.” Elearning Africa News Portal. (2011). Schools in Tanzania have teachers that are downloading educational videos covering topics such as Math and Science to their mobile phones which are connected to the television in the classroom. The teachers using these programmes were trained in the delivery of e-learning and students are benefiting from the direct and motivating way of receiving learning. Elearning Africa News Portal. (2011). 