Journal of Learning for Development - JL4D
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392 research outputs found
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(Re)Designing Augmented Reality Applications to Facilitate Intercultural Telecollaborations
No full textThis paper draws on design-based research to develop a real-world classroom Augmented Reality (AR) scenario which was accompanied by tasks used to mediate intercultural telecollaboration. It investigates the role of these tasks and AR scenario in enacting affordances to enrich students’ learning experiences, to establish a connection between classroom management techniques, their local context and future teaching practices and to promote insightful reflections on such practices. The trajectories upon which these tasks were designed were practice-oriented inviting students to explore three options in dealing with classroom misbehavior and reserved students. Using their mobile devices, students could view in AR a classroom setting, a student’s disruptive behavior and three possible approaches in dealing with such behavior. Upon exploring the three options in handling classroom misbehavior, students across the two participating academic institutions in Europe could post their comments on a newly created platform, ReDesign
Faculty Members’ Communication Needs with Regards to Technology
No full textEducators are interested in the impact of technology on education and are supported by regulatory bodies promoting technology standards, recruiters seeking teachers with technology skills, legislated technology in the curriculum, and a demand for a technology skilled workforce. In response to the interest in technology in education, and faculty members incorporating technology in their work, this study was launched to investigate the communication needs of faculty members. This qualitative study selected a convenience sample of 120 faculty and administrators. Using an interview guide, interviewers met with 100 participants. Data was transcribed and entered into a database for analysis. Findings reported were about technology in communication. Concluding statements report that participants use technology in their communication. Faculty members look to early enablers to share best technology practices
What Prevents Teacher Educators from Accessing Professional Development OER? Storytelling and Professional Identity in Ugandan Teacher Colleges.
No full textTutors working in colleges of education in sub-Saharan Africa are responsible for teaching, and inspiring hundreds of thousands of aspiring teachers, yet they have received little attention in the literature, often being depicted as a conservative cohort of professionals, unprepared for their role, yet resistant to change.
This study reports on how 39 tutors from 8 colleges in Uganda see their professional role and their responsibilities. The research adopted a storytelling approach. Tutors were supported in developing a (true) story about their work that they felt would give previously untold insight into their profession. The stories were analysed through a professional identity lens.
The group emerge as agentive and caring, committed to developing as teacher educators, but with a highly individual approach to their work. The nuanced understanding of tutor professional identity provided, facilitates insights into why professional development OER aimed at this group did not have the intended impact
Rethinking A Framework for Contextualising and Collaborating in MOOCs by Higher Education Institutions in Africa
No full textMassive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are online courses that are open to anyone with Internet access. Pioneered in North America, they were developed for contexts with broader access to technology and wider access to the Internet. As globally networked learning environments (GNLEs), MOOCs foster collaborative communities and learning in ways not conceived as feasible until recently. The affordances of MOOCs, such as the ability to access learning beyond one’s immediacy, exemplify their benefits for open and distance learning, especially in developing countries that continue to consume rather than produce online courses. However, the globality of MOOCs and their delivery mode pose a challenge of contextualising learning content to the local needs of educational institutions or individual students that choose to use the courses. This theoretical paper used a desk-research approach by revising literature to investigate and propose ways of contextualising MOOCs to the African higher education setting. It applied the principles of reuse and repurposing learning content, while suggesting the use of mobile learning as a technological delivery solution that is relevant to the local context. The paper also suggests a framework for inter-institutional collaboration for higher education institutions to guide future efforts in the creation and sharing of credit-bearing MOOCs
Developing Multimedia Programmes for Out-of-School Girls: The Case of GIRLS Inspire in Tanzania
No full textLearning resources such as audio, video and online content are developed as supplementary learning resources to print-based materials. This study focuses on the development of multimedia learning in adult education programmes for out-of-school girls and young women in Tanzania. It defines multimedia and adult education before showing the relationship between them. The study used a descriptive paradigm and adopted a qualitative case study design. It is informed by 25 in-depth interviews that were conducted with Institute of Adult Education (IAE) facilitators in April, 2018. Participants were purposely selected based on their multimedia experience. The findings revealed that most facilitators have little experience in multimedia resource development. However, 13 self-instructional audio and audio-visual programmes were produced to elaborate and enhance the effectiveness of instructions. It will be argued that IAE should include development and use of multimedia resources in its strategic rolling plan. Learning material development policy should also include multimedia resources and create awareness
Leadership for Development: Re-shaping Higher Education Futures and Sustainability in Africa
No full textLeading change in higher education has been a major challenge in countries of limited resources, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most African universities have struggled with this transition mainly due to lack of the requisite information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, inadequate expertise for online pedagogies and inability to provide computers to their students and staff. When faced with the recent changes, caused mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic that forced every person to work and learn remotely, many academic leaders were completely ill-prepared to deal with changes of this magnitude. The aim of this paper is to provide recommendations for shaping the future of higher education in Africa going forward. This will be done by analysing trends and opportunities created by these changes with the aim of accentuating the need for a renewed Pan-African Ubuntu that embraces the future, respects the unique dignity, cultures, languages and heritage of nations pre- and post-colonialism, and inspires the African Union Agenda 2063, The Africa we Want
Achieving Community Development through an Agricultural Extension Programme: Technology Dissemination for Mushroom Farmers
No full textMushroom production is a small-scale business unit in rural areas. The Life Long Learning for Farmers (L3F) Programme aims to enhance the socio-economic conditions for them, increasing their access to and use of knowledge and technology. This study evaluates the outcomes of the L3F Programme at the community level. Data were collected through a pre-tested questionnaire survey. The sample consisted of 30 L3F farmers. Farmers’ achievement was assessed by the Farmer Performance Index (FPI). Results indicate that mushroom farmers have scaled up their production; have improved their productivity; designed new experiments to minimise the impact of pests and diseases; focused on environmental sustainability and scientific mushroom production; and improved the quality of packaging. The mobile app Bimmal Govi, blended with Information and Communication Technology, helped them to move with the latest technological advancements. The L3F Programme has increased the standards of mushroom production, helping the farmers become promising entrepreneurs
Contradictions in Learner Interactions in a Blended-Learning Writing Course in the ODL Context: An Activity Theory Analysis
No full textThis paper reports on the use of Engeström’s (1987) Activity Theory (AT) framework to gain insights into the contradictions that emerge within the activity system of the online component of an advanced writing skills course, delivered in a blended-learning mode using the Process Approach. Activity theory, with its principle of contradictions, has been used successfully to identify tensions that arise in interactions between and among participates in online environments. The focus of this mixed-method study was to identify challenges participants experienced due to externally imposed conditions when engaging in the online activities. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and the online log reports from the Learning Management System (LMS). Contradictions emerged between and among the elements of two activity triangles within the activity system of the online writing course. Implications of these contradictions were noted to take steps to improve the design of the online component of the writing course.  
The Influence of Covid-19 on Students’ Learning: Access and Participation in Higher Education in Southern Africa
No full textRecent experiences of institutions in COVID 19 have heightened the need for research on its impact on higher education institutions globally. This article’s authors are from higher learning institutions in Botswana, South Africa and Zambia, which used a blended learning model before COVID 19. The majority of their students used the traditional part of blended learning, depending on the print, postal service, and face-to-face. These students’ access and participation in learning during COVID 19 were negatively affected. Using Digital Equity as a framework, this paper explores the influence of COVID 19 on students’ access and participation in online learning. There seem to be significant disparities in access and participation in high-quality technologies and severe educational inequities. This digital inequality impact calls for civic awareness in digital literacy among the citizenry if the gap between the rural and urban, have and have not digital immigrants and digital natives are to be bridged