2015 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE …...The 2015 2nd International Conference of the AVU was...

The AVU Multinational Project Phase II

2015 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE AVU NAIROBI, KENYA – JULY 2&3 2015

CONFERENCE REPORT

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REPORT OF THE 2015 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Prepared by the Research & Development Unit Dr A. Atieno Adala, Conference Chair & Manager, Research & Development Tom Ojwang Program Officer, Research African Virtual University

Acknowledgements: This report has benefited from the input of Dr. Bakary Diallo, Rector (AVU). We wish to thank all those whose efforts made this report possible including all the presenters, the peer reviewers, the session chairs, the interns, all AVU staff, the Partner Institutions, the AVU Board of Directors and the African Development Bank.

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I. ACRONYMS 4 II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 III. CONFERENCE PROGRAM OVERVIEW 9 IV. CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS 10

1. Opening Ceremony ....................................................................................................... 10 2. Keynote - ICT in Education: A powerful enabler and equalizer ...................................... 14 3. Keynote - Uncovering what enables and constrains ‘open practices’ in the Global South:

Reflections from the ROER4D Project .......................................................................... 18 4. High Level Panel (Open Education Consortium) - Global Trends in Open Education ...... 20 5. Mobile Learning Case Study (mElimu Platform) ............................................................ 24 6. Roundtable on Mobile Learning .................................................................................... 24 7. Breakout Session 1 Presentations ................................................................................. 31 8. Breakout Session 2 Presentations ................................................................................. 34 9. Breakout Session 3 Presentations ................................................................................. 37 10. Breakout Session 4 Presentations ................................................................................. 40 11. Workshops ................................................................................................................... 44 12. Closing Ceremony ......................................................................................................... 46

V. ABSTRACTS OF CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS 48 13. Keynotes Abstracts ....................................................................................................... 48 14. Breakout Session 1 Abstracts ........................................................................................ 49 15. Breakout Session 2 Abstracts ........................................................................................ 52 16. Breakout Session 3 Abstracts ........................................................................................ 54 17. Breakout Session 4 Abstracts ........................................................................................ 57 18. Workshop Descriptions ................................................................................................ 59

VI. APPENDICES 61 1. Conference Program (Snapshot) ................................................................................... 61 2. Conference Program (Detailed) .................................................................................... 62 3. Call for Papers .............................................................................................................. 67 4. ODeL Research Framework ........................................................................................... 70 5. Conference Submissions Review Form .......................................................................... 77 6. List of Peer Reviewers of Conference Papers ................................................................ 85 7. List of Presenters .......................................................................................................... 87 8. Complete List of Participants ........................................................................................ 89 9. Guidelines - Checklist for Preparing your Final Abstract ................................................ 95 10. Guidelines - Preparing Your Research-Based Presentation for the Conference .............. 96 11. Guidelines - Preparing Your Practice-Based Presentation for the Conference ............... 99 12. Session Chair Guidelines ............................................................................................. 102 13. Conference Evaluation ............................................................................................... 103 14. Picture Gallery ............................................................................................................ 108

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I. Acronyms ADEA Association for the Development of Education in Africa AfDB African Development Bank AU African Union AVU African Virtual University ICT Information and Communication Technologies JRODeL Journal of Research in Open, Distance and eLearning MOOCs Massive Open Online Course OEC Open Education Consortium ODL Open and Distance Learning ODeL Open Distance and eLearning ODELPD Open Distance and eLearning Professional Development OER Open Educational Resources PI Partner Institutions R&D Research & Development ROER4D Research on Open Educational Resources for Development TEP Teacher Education Program UNESCO United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO IITE Institute for Information Technologies in Education VLE Virtual Learning Environment

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II. Executive Summary The 2015 2nd International Conference of the AVU was convened on July 2nd and 3rd at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya. The conference brought together researchers, policymakers and practitioners seeking to make sense of the challenges and explore emerging opportunities afforded by ICTs and open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) in addressing the persistent issues of expanding access and improving quality and relevance of higher education and training in Africa. Like the inaugural conference in 2013, this second conference was made possible by funding from the African Development Bank within the framework of the Multinational Support Project II that is currently being implemented in 21 countries and 27 AVU partner institutions.

1. Conference Theme

The theme of the 2015 conference was Linking Open Education and eLearning Research to Practice. The Call for Papers invited submissions within the research areas outlined in the ODeL Research Framework (Appendix 4) that fall under the broad categories of teaching and learning; management, technology and organization; and ODeL systems and theories. A total of 30 papers were submitted, 11 French, 1 Portuguese, 18 English. The papers underwent a peer review process and 17 papers were accepted, an acceptance rate of about 50%. Sixteen papers were presented (see details below). Also presented was a case study of the use of mobile learning platform by an African university and a roundtable on mobile learning. Two workshops were also conducted on mobile learning and virtual mentoring. The program highlights included two keynote presentations, ICT in Education: A powerful enabler and equalizer, by Prof Peck Cho and Uncovering what enables and constrains ‘open practices’ in the Global South: Reflections from the ROER4D Project by Prof. Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams. In addition, a high level panel was convened by the Board Members of the Open Education Consortium, Larry Cooperman and Stavros Xanthopoylos on Global Trends in Open Education: Implications for Africa.

2. Overview of Conference Presentations

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The conference papers were presented over four breakout sessions during the 2 days of the conference. A brief summary of the papers is outlined below; see report below for more details. Four papers were presented in breakout session one. The first paper focused on the developing multilingual literacy by providing access to openly licensed digitized children’s story books in African languages. The second paper, presented in French focused on the issue of alleviating the problem of mathematics teacher shortage in Senegal, by training more women as mathematics teachers and using eLearning as the preferred mode in light of women’s domestic responsibilities. The third presentation focused on a project by Digital Divide Data (DDD), a company that hires talented but disadvantaged youth from poor backgrounds. The objective was to see how access to, and use of ICTs can enable these disadvantaged youth access higher education. The final paper in this session (delivered virtually) focused on adult learners residing rural in communities in South Australia enrolled in distance education programs. The study provided learners’ accounts of social support and economic systems. There were four papers presented in breakout session two. The first paper in this session was on MOOCs as an alternative to traditional tertiary institutions. The paper focused on the issue of using peer learning in MOOCs. The focus of the second presentation presented in French, was on the use of online tutorials to improve the quality of distance training of secondary school teachers in Senegal. The third presentation was on the current status of the development, integration and use of OER in ODeL institutions in Africa, using the case of the Open University of Tanzania. The focus of the fourth presentation was on the ROER4D project, analyzing the curation of an open research project using a utilization-focused evaluation (UFE) approach.

Four papers were presented in breakout session three. The first presentation explored the lived experiences of university faculty with respect to their use of cloud computing technology. The second presentation was an evaluation of the use of electronic mobile devices among university students. Presented in French, the third presentation investigated the impact of mobile technologies in learning and education in Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular. The final presentation challenged the current education systems in Africa to embrace mobile learning and emerging technologies as a way of encouraging creativity in the learning sector.

There were four papers presented in breakout session four. The focus of the first presentation was on a project implemented by Tanzania’s Ministry of Education and

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Vocational Training that involved the development and integration of multimedia enhanced content to enhance and upgrade the pedagogical and subject content knowledge of math and science teachers. The focus of the second presentation was on the networked learning interactions in the e/merge Africa network that offers professional development and networking opportunities focused on the use of educational technology. The presentation explored the nature of online interactions around it various activities including a peer-assist session on the uptake of learning management systems, an online research colloquium and a seminar on social media use in higher education. Presented in French, the third presentation investigated the potential impacts of online collaboration among teachers in secondary schools in Madagascar. The final presentation presented in Portuguese sought to analyze perceptions, concerns and satisfaction of students and teachers at the University of Cape Verde in the context of their experiences in an online teacher training course offered by the institution.

3. Conference Attendees The conference attracted close to 100 participants. In attendance were researchers and academics from across Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States. Also in attendance were AVU Board members, the AVU Academic Program Advisory Committee constituted by Vice Chancellors and Deputy Vice Chancellors from the AVU partner universities. The main sponsor for the conference the African Development Bank was represented by Ms. Ruth Charo, Principal Social Development Specialist, AfDB. Alongside the AVU staff, five university students were given the opportunity to intern and provide support to the conference.

4. Sponsorship and Conference Attendance There is a growing interest by academics and researchers to participate in the AVU International Conferences. Presenters have mainly come from the AVU partner institutions as well as other African universities. Presenters have also come from outside Africa including Europe, Asia, South America and the United States of America some of who are African PhD students pursuing studies abroad. The cost of attending is a challenge for many African researchers as evidenced by the request for sponsorships. There were a number of people who indicated that without sponsorship they could not attend despite their papers being accepted. While the AfDB has provided the initial seed funding, a long term sustainable strategy is required to support conference participation.

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Going forward, there is need to work with various stakeholders to explore ways to fund and sponsor the presentation of quality papers at the conference. At the forefront of seeking a solution should be the African universities from which the researchers are based. There is also need to explore opportunities to collaborate with colleagues to raise funds right for the various stages, including conducting joint research, to sharing of findings at the conference to the eventual publication of the research.

5. Conference Website & Portal The AVU conference portal is up. The AVU is using open conference systems (OCS), an open source conferencing system. The OCS has helped streamline the process of receiving and reviewing papers, as well as corresponding with authors and reviewers through the system. Besides handling the backend, the portal website was also used to announce all information related to the conference including call for papers, the conference program, conference registration, hotel information, conference documentation including uploading abstracts and PowerPoints of papers that were presented. The website and portal is still a working progress with plans to further improve on its usability. The portal url is: http://conference.avu.org/index.php/avuconference2016/3rdconference2016

6. Acknowledgments The AVU wishes to acknowledge: the Government of Kenya and the Ministry of Education, Science & Technology, and the African Development Bank for their continued support; the keynote speakers, the presenters and authors, the workshop facilitators, the peer reviewers and the session chairs; the AVU partner universities and the Advisory Committee, the AVU Board of Directors for their leadership and finally the AVU staff for their tireless efforts in making the 2nd 2015 International Conference of the AVU a success .

http://conference.avu.org/index.php/avuconference2016/3rdconference2016

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III. Conference Program Overview The two main days of the conference was preceded by a welcome reception on the evening of July 1st 2015. During the meet and greet reception, participants were treated to hors d’oeuvres served by the hotel, while they socialized and got to know each other. The first day of the conference July 2nd began at 8:00am with two concurrent workshops. This was followed by the opening ceremony at 11:00am. The opening ceremony included welcome speeches and a keynote address. Participants broke for a group photo and lunch after the opening ceremony. The day continued in the afternoon with two concurrent breakout sessions and the second keynote rounded off the day’s program. The evening program was the Rector’s Gala Dinner. The guests were entertained by a live band and enjoyed the dinner prepared by the hotel. The Rector gave a short address, introduced the AVU Board members and staff and thanked all the different stakeholders who had contributed to making the conference possible. The second and last day of the conference July 3rd began at 8:00am with two concurrent workshops. This was followed by a high level panel presentation by Board Members of the Open Education Consortium. The morning sessions continued with two concurrent breakout sessions. The afternoon session began with a roundtable on mobile learning, which was followed by summaries from the session chairs. The conference was brought to a conclusion with vote of thanks and closing remarks. The report is organized as follows, Section I – Acronyms; Section II - Executive Summary; Section III – Conference Program Overview; Section IV - Conference Presentations, this includes the plenary sessions (opening remarks, keynote presentations, high level panel on open education, mobile learning case study) and the breakout sessions (four in total), and summary of the workshops and the closing ceremony. Section IV - Abstracts of the conference papers and workshop descriptions. Section V - Appendices, this includes the program, call for papers, ODeL Research Framework, complete list of participants, list of presenters, list of peer-reviewers, picture gallery, and the conference evaluation.

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IV. Conference Presentations

The section on conference Presentations provides a summary of the plenary sessions (opening remarks, keynote presentations, high level panel on open education, mobile learning case study) and the four breakout sessions, a summary of the workshops and the closing ceremony. 1. Opening Ceremony Session Chair: Prof Rogerio Uthui, Rector, Universidade Pedagogica, Mozambique (Chair, AVU BOD) 1.1. Opening Remarks - Prof Rogerio Uthui (Chair, AVU BOD) Prof. Uthui began his opening remarks by stating that the African Virtual University was started about 18 years ago and that it has undergone various phases of developments while undertaking various projects. He pointed out that the AVU is therefore a great partner in the advancement of education of the masses in Africa. He noted that the university embraces a Pan-African spirit by overcoming cultural barriers and the digital divide. Prof Uthui further informed the delegates that the Multinational Phase I flagship project of the AVU was launched 10 years ago to promote teacher education. This project helped partner institutions to develop capacity of producing Open Educational Resources (OER) and also to improve the quality of their infrastructure. During this phase the AVU won 4 awards in quality open education. Prof Uthui further explained that the AVU Multinational Phase II project has also had an impact in 27 countries through eLearning. He therefore stressed that AVU’s main achievement is pushing some of the universities to start their own eLearning units and to consolidate them. He observed that 2 million people have accessed the AVU website and materials over the past year. According to him, AVU’s objective to advance education seeks to address the unemployment problem in Africa which has over 800 million graduates who have remained unemployed over the past 15 years. The Chair of the AVU Board of Directors also noted that the AVU has been urged by the AU leadership to integrate the task force for the creation of the African eUniversity as a recommendation of the role that the AVU is playing in eLearning in Africa.

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Prof. Uthui then handed over to the Chair of the conference, Dr. Adala, the Manager for Research and Development, AVU, to give an overview of the conference agenda to the delegates. 1.2. Conference Agenda and Introductions - Dr Atieno Adala, AVU, Conference Chair Dr. Adala welcomed all the delegates to the 2016 2nd International Conference of the AVU and proceeded to request each one of them to introduce themselves, stating their institutions and country. This was followed by an introduction of the AVU staff and interns. Dr. Adala then went over the conference agenda for the next two days, and in her opening remarks, she encouraged dialogue between academic institutions and industry to promote the agenda of leveraging open, distance and eLearning and ICTs to make quality and cost effective higher education accessible to all. She thanked the keynote speakers for making it to the conference, the presenters, all the conference attendees and extended the same gratitude to all the vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors in attendance for taking time to participate in the conference. Before inviting the AVU Rector, Dr. Bakary Diallo, to give his welcome address, Dr. Adala also took the opportunity to inform the delegates that the conference was being streamed online on Blackboard by AVU’s ICT unit. 1.3. Welcome Address - Dr. Bakary Diallo, Rector AVU Dr Bakary Diallo began his address by welcoming all the participants, presenters, key note speakers and the entire AVU staff. He also acknowledged all the AVU board members present and informed the audience that both the AVU board and advisory committee had meetings on the Tuesday before the conference. Dr. Diallo then proceeded to explain to the audience the meaning, vision and purpose of the AVU. He pointed out that AVU is a Pan-African and intergovernmental organization that is hosted by the government of Kenya through the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education, Science and Technology. He expressed his gratitude to the government of Kenya over the same. The AVU Rector further explained to the delegates that the mandate of AVU is to work continent-wide in Africa to contribute to the improvement of access to higher education through the use of Information Technology and

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Communication. He stressed that the AVU aims to ensure the enhancement of capacity and provision of infrastructure for its partner institutions (PIs). He also observed that during the 18 years of its existence, the AVU, supported by different partner institutions and recently by the African Development Bank (AfDB), has reached over 350,000 learners in 27 universities in Africa while working in three languages - namely English, French and Portuguese. At this juncture the AVU Rector lauded the immense contribution and support of the African Development Bank to innovation and education in the continent. Dr. Diallo further reiterated that based on the philosophy of Africa being able to solve its own problems, one of the main objectives of the AVU is to help train graduates who are equipped with African problem solving strategies and who will be able sustain the economic development of the continent. He also informed the delegates that AVU offers technical assistance and support through its research findings and policy briefs which aim to assist policy and decision makers. Turning to the conference, Dr. Diallo pointed out that the conference was the second international conference organized by the AVU through the support of the African Development Bank. He reminded the delegates that this year’s theme “Linking Open education and eLearning Research to Practice” sought to address the mismatch between research in Open Education and what can be implemented practically. The AVU Rector went on to highlight the challenges that many African learners face such as high tuition costs and the poor quality of learning materials. He, however, assured the delegates that eLearning provides low cost, but quality programs to a greater reach of people. He also talked of the idea of mobile learning research and the launch of Open, Distance and eLearning Program Development (ODeLPD) as areas of interest for the AVU. He observed that the world has become a global village through international research and the use of mobile devices that have accelerated education by providing faster access to information. In light of these developments, Dr. Diallo expressed his hope of seeing Africa go beyond its challenges and problems. In conclusion, the AVU Rector once again thanked the African Development Bank, the host country Kenya through the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education, Science and Technology, the keynote speakers and all the participants. He particularly singled out the support provided to the AVU by the African Development Bank through its development agenda in Open Learning over several years of partnership. Finally, Dr

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Diallo welcomed the African Development Bank representative, Ms Ruth Karimi Charo to make her opening remarks. 1.4. Opening Remarks - Ms. Ruth Karimi Charo, Principal Social Development Specialist,

African Development Bank Ms. Charo began her address by thanking the conveners of the 2015 2nd International Conference of the AVU for inviting her to the conference. She stated that she was happy to have worked with the AVU for the last 10 years. She pointed out some of the areas that AfDB has earmarked for partnership and development as: • investment in infrastructure development, • enhancing access to Information Communication Technology, and • provision of quality education.

She explained that the bank has adopted the education model because it is keen on a development agenda that provides practical and affordable solutions that work for Africa and which also use African human talent. Ms. Charo further stressed that the African Development Bank is committed to collaborate with countries and universities in Africa to promote the ICT revolution through the integration of ICT in education and provision of affordable quality higher education. She informed the delegates that so far the bank has invested over $220 million in ICT infrastructure so as to develop and increase capacity among the African human capital. Ms Charo also stated that since Africa is now dealing with the issues of youth and unemployment, she recognized the outstanding efforts by the AVU to nurture and help interns acquire work experience. She observed that on-job training for the youth provides mentorship and the requisite work experience for their career progression. She therefore noted that AVU’s internship programs provided solutions to Africa’s rapidly growing problem of unemployment. Focusing on AVU’s Multinational Project II which involved 27 institutions across Africa, Ms. Charo informed the audience that AfDB and AVU had decided to have African universities work on modules. She, however, regretted that half of the modules were yet to be completed almost 2 years down the line. She therefore pleaded with the vice-chancellors present to encourage the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to take their commitment more seriously. She pointed out that that there was need for African vice-chancellors to come up with African solutions before the continent can approach external or western experts for help.

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Ms. Charo concluded her remarks by expressing her optimism that that the conference would be of great benefit to the participants. Prof. Uthui took over from Ms. Charo. He thanked Dr. Adala for the planning of the conference, and then declared the 2015 2nd International Conference of the AVU officially open. 2. Keynote - ICT in Education: A powerful enabler and equalizer 2.1. ICT in Education: A powerful enabler and equalizer (South Korean Case Study) Presenter: Prof Peck Cho, Distinguished Professor, Center for Teaching of Learning, Dongguk University, South Korea Session Chair: Prof Rogerio Uthui, Rector, Universidade Pedagogica, Mozambique (Chair, AVU BOD) The opening keynote speech was delivered by Prof. Peck Cho; a Distinguished Professor at the Center for Teaching and Learning, Dongguk University in Korea. Prof. Cho has had an illustrious career. He has given invited lectures to professors at 182 universities and currently offers the most popular online course for teachers in Korea. During his 20 year tenure as professor in Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Technological University, Prof. Cho served as the Director of Innovation Center, the Director of Learning Center, and the Director of Student Success Center. A member of National Academy of Engineering of Korea, Prof. Cho has received numerous awards such as Research Initiation Award from NSF, Distinguished Faculty Award by the State of Michigan, and Outstanding Teaching Award from American Society of Engineering Education. Prof. Cho is on the Policy Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Education and co-chaired the National Committee on Student Violence with the Prime Minister of Korea. Prof. Cho served as the Board Chairman of the Dream Tree Village for orphans, the Director of the National Center for Students at Risk, and the Director of the Center for Young and Gifted Entrepreneurs. Prof. Cho has also authored many books and produced many TV documentaries on education. Prof. Cho’s keynote speech was based on South Korea’s 50 year transformation from one of the poorest nations to a country with one of the most vibrant economies in the world today. He noted that Korea has undergone massive transformation over the years and now boasts of exports worth over US$9 trillion and which are ranked ninth in the

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world. At this juncture, Prof. Cho drew a parallel between Kenya and Korea by stating that despite having the same population with Kenya and being endowed with just about a sixth of resources that Kenya has, today Korea has a stronger GDP of more than US$20,000. He informed the audience that in order to transform their nation, Koreans built a national consensus on the need to empower people using education. Consequently, Korea has since achieved economic revolution through investment in ICT in education. Prof. Cho explained that ICT has become faster, widely accessible, connectable and adaptable thus making it a powerful enabler for providing educational opportunity to as many students as possible as well as leveling the educational field for students from all regions and social/economic strata. He explained that the skilled human capital in Korea has in turn accelerated economic development and even business. He, however, attributed Korea’s success to the people of Korea whom he said are the strongest resource that the country possesses. Prof. Cho further explained to the audience the education/learning models that Korea has developed over the last 50 years. He outlined them as follows:

i. 3-W Education - Education Whenever, Wherever and to Whoever • Greatly increased transition rates from kindergarten to elementary school

and onward to high School and tertiary institutions. ii. 3-S Education – Education at the Same time, Same Place and Same age

• Resulted in the building of schools, colleges and universities making Korea attain its current national literacy level of 97.9%.

iii. 3- A Education - Education Anytime, Anywhere and to Anyone • This education model is driven by eLearning and is the current model in

use. It is only possible if a country invests in technology. Prof. Cho went on to cite some of the benefits of technology. He pointed out that ICT is a great enabler and that through it, Korea is able to stream courses online to many students. He pointed out that through eLearning 4,000 students can be reached in two weeks as compared to traditional learning which achieved the same result in 20 years. Prof. Cho himself boasted of being able to reach 40,000 learners in a year through eLearning. To further underscore the benefits of technology he talked of the profound social impact that mobile technology has had on Koreans. He noted that currently Korea has the fastest internet and the highest ownership of smart phones in the world. Prof. Cho explained that this has made it possible to deliver all sorts of educational materials anywhere anytime via smart phones. According to him, smart phones are the most

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useful tool to facilitate the sending of this wave of information to the masses because they are ubiquitous, achieve social impact and are very accessible. He also told the delegates that Korea has several broadcasting channels that are dedicated to education. Prof. Cho opined that ICT is a great equalizer. In this regard he stated that Korea has the most techno-savvy students. He noted that with the use of technology in education, Korea has been able to build its future. He therefore summarized some of the benefits of ICT in education as: increased specific problem solving capacity, enhanced student engagement, improved educational equality, and delivery of information to the masses. He also noted that intellectual property in Korea has greatly improved since the adoption of ICT in education and that the number of patent applications in Korea has grown threefold over the past 50 years. However, Prof. Cho brought the attention of the delegates to some of the potential pitfalls of the use of ICT in education that some countries might be confronted with. He pointed out that introducing ICT in the classroom is not going to be enough in its self. He also noted that buying ICT equipment and installing them in classrooms could be a waste of money and national resources. He therefore advised that instead of being mere consumers of ICT, children should be educated to become creators of ICT. Prof. Cho said that Korea did not fall into the trap of consumerism but rather used ICT to change the way things are done and viewed in Korea. Prof. Cho also recommended that teachers be trained to ensure that they are up to date with the use of ICT devices, their management, and manipulation to be able to deliver information to their students. He informed the audience that in Korea 50% of teachers are retrained annually through workshops on ICT application to enhance education. He observed that teachers require training to design training materials with passion, creativity and motivation. He also noted that training teachers in ICT is very significant because teaching has to be interactive and creative for it to positively impact the lives of students. In conclusion Prof. Cho implored the audience to take time and think through proposed development agenda. He emphasized that development of infrastructure should always take into consideration continued protection of the environment, especially air and water. He ended his keynote address by an inspirational quote from the late former South African President, Nelson Mandela, who stated that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

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2.2. Q&A: ICT in Education: A powerful enabler and equalizer (South Korean Case Study)

Q1. You have seriously invested in education and infrastructure but at the same time you have said that it is extremely expensive. I want to know what you did to mobilize resources.

Korea was poorer than most of the countries in Africa, without any factory, infrastructure or natural resources. We borrowed money from a few countries and the International Monetary Fund to finance this ICT investment project, teacher training and retraining. The rewards are illustrated with the increased Gross Domestic Product and creativity in problem solving in Korea. South Korea did not believe that things were impossible.

Q2. In Kenya ICT is being introduced at the primary school level. How can children carry laptops safely on their way to school without being stolen and how do they do it in Korea?

Safeguarding the ICT devices as school property is recommended as an initial safety measure at the onset of the project. Educators should not fear the loss of computers and other ICT equipment but should instead fear the loss of knowledge from the students as it is a far much worse loss.

Q3. Korea was at one time economically devastated by wars the same way we see it happening in Africa today. What can be the way forward for Africa?

Korea built on its past wars. However, the government ensured that ICT reached the population and schools. This was the starting point for South Korea. But the major worry now is how to set the economic gains of ICT.

Q4. In 1961 Tanzania was at the same level of development with South Korea, but now it is far behind. Which kind of leadership system was used in South Korea on matters of accountability, integrity and governance?

Leaders should have a vision for the country.

Q5. What is Korea’s secret in training of teachers? In Africa, the majority of people trained outside cannot share the knowledge with the rest when they come back. Should the training be done abroad or within the country?

Korea selected quality teachers and trained them in ICT. Some of them were trained abroad and others locally. However, in the 60s, 70s and 80s most of the teachers were trained abroad. Those trained abroad came back to

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transmit their knowledge to the rest.

Q6. The problem of Africa is leadership and resource allocation. For instance, the Nigerian government spends a lot of money on parliament and unnecessary things but cannot allocate enough money for education.

Change of attitude is very vital.

Q7. What challenges did Korea face on the way to development? We faced several challenges and we have never escaped them. However, the

biggest challenge that Korea faces now is stress.

3. Keynote - Uncovering what enables and constrains ‘open practices’ in the Global South: Reflections from the ROER4D Project

3.1. Uncovering what enables and constrains ‘open practices’ in the Global South: Reflections from the ROER4D Project Presenter: Prof. Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Session Chair: Prof. Ezra Maritim, Egerton University, Kenya (AVU Board Member) The second keynote presentation was delivered by Prof. Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams, an Associate Professor in the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa. She teaches Online Learning Design and Advanced Research Design courses to Postgraduate students. Her particular research interests include online learning design, electronic portfolios, open education, the adoption and impact of open educational resources (OER) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). She is the Principal Investigator of the IDRC-funded international Research on OER in the Global South (ROER4D) project and an Associate Editor of the Critical Studies in Teaching & Learning Journal. The keynote address by Prof. Hodgkinson-Williams focused on uncovering what enables and constrains ‘open practices’ in the Global South: Reflections from the ROER4D Project. The Research on Open Education Resources for Development (ROER4D) project has the general objective “to improve educational, policy, practice and research in developing countries by better understanding, the use and impact of OER. The project is establishing in what ways, and under what circumstances the adoption of Open

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Education in the form of OER, Open Textbooks and/or “open” MOOCs can impact upon a range of educational aspects including the cost of materials, quality of materials, teaching practice, student performance and policy change. The project focuses on both the adoption and impact of OER, categorized as adoption studies and impact studies. Open Education exists in the form of Open Educational Resources (OER), Open Textbooks and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS). Open education practices are slowly being embraced in Africa with OER evident in the University of Cape Town, African Virtual University and many more where success stories emerged. Open textbooks which are available as print, e-book or audio are gaining popularity and so are MOOCS; however the true impact of open education has not yet been fully utilized in Africa. Although there are OER aggregators and ways of searching for CC-licensed materials on search engines, finding OER can prove difficult to find if licenses are not understood. Open Textbooks can also be difficult to find if licenses are not understood. MOOCs are in general easy to find, but not so easy to identify as “open MOOCs”. As far as the state of open Education practices on Africa, there are few OER policies in Africa, the uptake of open education is slow, most OER research is taking place in Global North and where CC licensed works are published.

Country % of published CC=licensed works North America 37 Europe 34 Asia-Pacific 16 Latin America 10 Arab world 2 Africa 1

Source: https://stateof.creativecommons.org/report Initial Findings from the ROER4D Project Initial findings from the ROER4D project show that the concept of OER is not always well understood, there is a lack of understanding of copyright and alternative licensing, and difficulty in locating OER. Concept of OER: In a pilot survey undertaken by one of the ROER4D sub-projects, it was found that the term ‘OER’ was not well enough understood to be able to ask a direct question about OER such as: “When did you first hear about OER”? Consequently the final survey instead posed questions about OER indirectly by focusing on open practices

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that could be interpreted as engaging in the adoption of OER. Our lesson here is that we need to be cautious about making claims about OER adoption unless we are certain that the respondents actually understand the concept underpinning of OER rather than just the term.

Lack of copyright and alternative licensing: Initial trends evident from the ROER4D pilot studies in the three regions, South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia point to educators and students’ lack of understanding of copyright and alternative licensing, unwitting infringement of copyright or disregard for copyright. ROER4D will have to:

• uncover why this is so and if and how the use of open licenses could better support educators’ teaching and students’ learning practices

• pay special attention to finding out how educators and students are dealing with educational content that may be ‘locked-down’ behind paywalls;

• explore what materials African educators (and students) may be developing themselves and if they are indicating the re-use permissions on these materials in line with their intentions

Levels of ease and difficulty of open practices: There was difficulty in locating OER, open textbooks and open MOOCS as a result of majority of people lacking knowledge about open licensing. ROER4D is grappling with a way to perhaps explain the difficulty educators and students might be having with the range of OER practices by surfacing possible structural issues (i.e. the compatibility of legal regimes in developing contexts) that might inhibit open practices. The lack of knowledge about open licensing may mean that many educators and students are assuming that everything on the internet is ‘open’ for reuse. By implication this means that they may not know how to best search for OER, Open Textbooks and/or open MOOCs thereby not undertaking the first open education practice - that of finding or locating open materials.

4. High Level Panel (Open Education Consortium) - Global Trends in Open Education

Session Chair: Prof Maxime Da Cruz, Universite d’Abomey Calavi Benin. This was a high level panel presentation by Larry Cooperman and Stavros Xanthopoylos both Board Members of the Open Education Consortium (OEC). The presentation focused on Global Trends in Open Education looking at Brazil and the US in particular and exploring the implications for Africa.

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4.1. Presenter 1: Larry Cooperman (Board of Directors, Open Education Consortium) Open Education Consortium was founded in 2006 to realize the dream of universal access to higher education. This dream is still far from being achieved in different universities. The Consortium believes that the treatment of human knowledge as a common heritage for all humanity should be the starting point. From here the Consortium endeavors to tackle the issue of why people do not have access to all the education that they might need in order to be able to realize the economic development of their countries, social development and their own personal development. There are number of developments around the world in this regard. For example, in Europe the European Commission has been funding a series of projects around MOOCs. Many organizations have been working separately to attain their goals. However, there have been efforts to unite the works of all these organizations so that MOOCs and Open Education become models for a more universal approach to education throughout the continent. This has started in small countries like Slovenia. With a population of only 4 Million people, Slovenia has taken the lead in understanding that we are living in a digital age. Beginning from the kindergarten level, it allows students and teachers to understand this new digital technology and what it means to be citizens in a digital world through the use of technology. Slovenia believes that its citizens have to be educated to the highest level possible by making all resources openly and publicly available. The country has adopted the policy of open education. It takes a lot of hard work to achieve high level education in countries that are underdeveloped and have small economies. Open education is therefore a good policy for African countries with small economies like Slovenia. The goal should be to have a future where education drives economic development as it has been in the case of South Korea, Taiwan, and many other countries in Asia. The time for Africa to declare that it wants to follow this road is therefore now, but it requires strong government policy to make it happen. In Africa the investment per capita per university student has dropped in the last 25 years around to between $6,000 and $900. The financial pressures that Africa is subjected to will remain enormous unless it finds ways of how to be efficient and effective in higher education. In conclusion, the presenter emphasized to the audience that they had to decide on how best to support learning at every stage of a student’s development or else they would not succeed. He explained that these are some of the works that Open Education

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Consortium does with ministries of education and invited the delegates to participate in this effort and become part of the solution for education in Africa. 4.2. Presenter 2: Stavros Xanthopoylos (Board of Directors, Open Education

Consortium) The presenter explained that Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was founded in 1944 as an NGO by president Levagus with the mission to provide an analysis for Brazil’s economic development. It was funded by the Brazilian government from its inception up to the late 1980s when it started funding its self. The foundation’s strategic model is to generate public good through its research institutes which in turn transform knowledge to a private good through consultancy and executive education. FGV has seven schools namely: Business Administration, Economics, Law, Social Science, Mathematics, Economic Research, and Public Policy which has been ranked as the18th best think-tank institution in the world. Prof. Xanthopoylos also underscored the need to fully harness the potential of the internet in forming a global network of educators and improving the existing education models. He however pointed out that globalization can no longer simply mean nations coming together but that it should rather be viewed as the possibility of putting singularities together and setting up networks. He reiterated that the aim of education should be to prepare people for a better quality of life and that some of the forms of education that are practiced today such as blended learning, ICT education, eTutoring and eLearning can all reduce distances by uniting people through digital education. Prof. Xanthopoylos also emphasized that teachers have a duty to teach students on how to research properly and that knowledge is constructive and is created in a network environment. He noted that online educators need to reinforce new values through content development. In conclusion, Prof. Xanthopoylos observed that online education ensures equity for all in terms of access to education. This especially applies to women whose schedules are usually more complicated than that of men. Thus, there is more access to education for those with technology. 4.3. Q&A: Global Trends in Open Education: Implications for Africa – Open Education

Consortium (OEC)

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Q. Technology comes with challenges. How do you deal with issues of quality control? When we use content over any device or ICT we have three basic components:

the content, the technology and the way we relate with students. So to guarantee quality is a real challenge. But you can guarantee the quality of content if you know exactly what the module is and what the learning outcome should be. Technology has a level service that can be engineered; so you can also control the technological response in the education process. These two elements are like physical products and I can very easily engineer them. We have the ability to take care of students in online education in a much better way than in the face to face process. You can follow what is happening. If a student doesn’t log in for 2, 3 days you can ask him/her why they are not studying. Take proactive action towards your student, that is the only way to keep him/her in the process. Things can be good enough without necessarily being perfect in a learning community. Somebody will find mistakes in the content that you produce and the best way to handle it is to thank them for finding the mistakes as it will enable you to correct them.

Comments This comment is on quality. In Africa quality is very important. We have national

regulatory bodies (NRB). Any kind of program that is accredited has to go through the NRB. What AVU has done is to have 21 of these NRB in a workshop environment to discuss quality assurance framework (QAF) for open distance and eLearning of AVU programs. Last year we came up with a QAF that guides the entire process from content development to delivery. It is not impossible to link quality to open education; it is possible. It requires NRB to update their policies so that they can include new ways of intervention in innovation and open education. It is very crucial that educators in virtual universities, open universities and distance education offer quality programs.

The AVU is part of the Open Education Consortium which has 100 universities around the world. It is important to ensure that whatever we are doing here in Africa is linked to global practices and to experiences from different countries and the AVU participation has been very positive up to now. AVU has more than 2 million hits on its website and most of the hits are from Africa, Brazil, USA, India and all the countries. All this is made possible because of the connectivity

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that we have with the global network. I would like to invite our network here to look at the possibility of Open Education Consortium.

5. Mobile Learning Case Study (mElimu Platform) 5.1. A case study of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa partnership with mElimu to enable learning anytime, anywhere, on any device Presenters: Rajeev Gupta, CEO (mElimu.com) & Edward Ombajo, Head Open Distance and e-Learning (The Catholic University of Eastern Africa) Session Chair: Prof Maxime Da Cruz, Universite d’Abomey Calavi Benin. This presentation focused on the experience of Catholic University on using the mElimu platform, a vendor providing a mobile technology platform for delivery of courses. The introduction of mElimu as a cost-effective digital university-in-a-box platform for emerging markets aims to provide learners with an exceptional and holistic experience in technology and customer service with a view to promoting learning anytime, anywhere, and on any device. The objective of mElimu is to improve quality and increase enrollment in higher education. The Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) had a number of challenges of integrating ICT and learning before it started its partnership with mElimu. Integration of ICT in learning makes it possible to address issues relating to quality higher education. Through the use of solutions that are integrated in smartphones and mElimu platform students are able to access content, learning activities or resources wherever they are. This ensures that big student numbers do not compromise the quality of learning. There are about 1000 users on this platform. The presenter contended that it is good to embrace partnerships in higher education and particularly in eLearning where the issue of costs can also be addressed. He said that mElimu is able to reduce costs of certain programs that CUEA offers without compromising on quality. He also pointed out that through mElimu, CUEA is able to get data and statistics on lecturers’ and students’ performance very easily.

6. Roundtable on Mobile Learning

Panelists: Anne Salim (iHub), Janvier Fotsing (CIRATS), Gregor Cholewa (Research Studios Austria), Rajeev Gupta (mElimu, Kenya)

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Session Chair: Prof. Amadou Boureima, DVC Academic, Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Niger This was a roundtable discussion on Mobile Learning and the panelists were: Ann Salim from iHub, Janvier Fotsing from CIRATS, Gregor Cholewa from Research Studio, Austria and Rajeev Gupta from M-Elimu. The Chair kicked off the session by explaining to the audience how the discussion would be conducted. He reminded them that the focus of the discussion would be on Mobile Learning and that each panelist was required to only present for 3 to 5 minutes on specific topics. Ann Salim was going to talk about implementation of Mobile Learning, Rajeev was going to discuss the technological aspects of Mobile Learning, Gregor Cholewa was going to focus on the methodological aspects of the application of Mobile Learning, and lastly, Janvier Fosting would look at research aspects of the implementation of Mobile Learning. 6.1. Implementation of Mobile Learning Panelist: Anne Salim (iHub, Kenya) Ann began her presentation by stating that she works for iHub which is an open space for technology. She informed the audience that iHub has over 16,000 members who are both virtual and technical, with some among them being programmers, developers, designers, creators, capitalists and researchers. She noted that the iHub community is very diverse and that it mainly deals with technology issues. She further explained that iHub community carries out research through its department called iHub Research and that as a researcher she evaluates Mobile Learning programs. Anne also pointed out that iHub community tries to connect people and supports start-ups, not only physically, but also by providing them with resources and training in its network. The panelist contended that ICT literacy is supposed to be taught to children and informed the audience that iHub uses technology to teach students engineering concepts at a young age so that they go for innovation for profit. She however regretted that the biggest challenge in Mobile Learning is the implementation phase. She said that she had found out in her research that the overall implementation of technology affects its impact. At this juncture she explained to the audience that iHub has a network of educators who created what is called Itech Nairobi. However, the challenge that they face is that of trying to bring this technology to the classroom. She noted that pedagogical experience would create the best impact but unfortunately educators are trained in a different way that does not encourage ICT usage. She therefore argued that how teachers and students are trained to embrace this Mobile

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Technology affects how it is used. Another challenge that the panelist pointed out was the security of the mobile gadgets. She wondered whether teachers should be tasked with the responsibility of taking care of the gadgets. She however noted that this has a cost implication. Anne concluded her panel presentation by stating that there will be an impact on the pedagogical practice should the universities implement the use of mobile technology in teaching and learning. 6.2. Technological aspects of Mobile Learning Panelist: Rajeev Gupta (mElimu, Kenya) The panelist noted the importance of Mpesa and how it has revolutionized the life of many people in Kenya. He also observed that every country in the world has tried to adopt the Mpesa mobile money concept. With regard to Mobile Learning, Mr. Gupta contended that the cost of delivering education can be reduced by removing barriers, reducing cost of all the things that that make it difficult for some people to access education, and by making MOOCs programs free. He said that in order to address the challenge of providing access to education in Kenya and the rest of East Africa, the region should embrace the use of mobile technology in education. This, he said, will result in an increase in the number of students. The panelist however noted that there is a perception that degrees from open universities are not at par with the regular degrees in terms of quality. He informed the audience that that is why in India the high court ruled that Open Education is not equal to formal teaching. 6.3. Methodological aspects of the application of Mobile Learning Panelist: Gregor Cholewa (Research Studios, Austria) The panelist informed the audience that the purpose of mobile learning is to support learners and that Research Studios does research on mobile technology. He contended that that although mobile technology cannot cover all the phases of learning, it nevertheless fits some learning needs well. Mr. Cholewa further noted that it is possible to familiarize one’s self with key concepts of technology through the use of a mobile phone. He emphasized that a deeper understanding of mobile technology requires techniques and tools. In conclusion, the panelist argued that although mobile gadgets can reduce the cost of learning, he noted that interaction through a mobile platform requires follow up by professors thus making mobile learning a continuous process.

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6.4. Research Aspects of the implementation of Mobile Learning Panelist: Janvier Fotsing (CIRATS, Cameroon) Mr. Fotsing began his presentation by informing the audience that in Cameroon there are students who complete secondary school at the age of 14. He explained that parents fear sending their children to pursue studies overseas at this age because they do not consider them mature enough. The panelist however pointed out that what justifies students’ movement from the South to the North is the availability of good education in the North and wondered why the North seems to have better education than the South. He urged the audience to remember that the existence of mobile technology constitutes an essential element in the transfer of knowledge. He emphasized that transfer of knowledge is made possible since most people have smartphones and students who are far can directly access content through mobile learning. Mr. Fotsing explained that it was with this in mind that they explained to the teachers that the classic and traditional system of teaching could be readapted in the context of open distance learning. He informed the audience that they had come up with Mobile radio as a platform for distance learning, and which makes it possible for even students in Burkina Faso or Cote d’Ivoire to be able to easily access 44 programs. The panelist also explained that in a bid to counter the challenges of lack electricity and poor internet connection in Cameroon, they created a platform from which students can retrieve content in flash drives for later use. With this, students do not need direct internet connection and can work from their homes without it. Mr. Fotsing also explained that in their department of research at CIRATS, they created a logging system for all the students that access their network. This helped them to able to chronologically monitor all the activities of the students within their network; for instance, know student responses and what level they were. He further added that they were also able to assign each student a specific task to carry out thus giving them an efficient way of following up on students’ progress. Mr. Fotsing concluded by asserting that as far as research is concerned, these achievements have been brought about by the integration of mobile technology in education and particularly at the university level.

6.5. Q&A: Roundtable on Mobile Learning Q. My question is to Mr. Fotsing. If students in Cameroon complete school when they are 14 years old then what is the duration of secondary schooling?

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Cameroon is divided into two linguistic parts: Anglophone and Francophone. In reality when a student starts school when he/she is 5 years old they should normally finish secondary school at the age of 17. However, in the Francophone part students generally jump classes. Often they don’t do class 3. There is this quantitative gap that allows students to finish their secondary school precociously. However, there is no rule that states that students have to finish secondary school when they are 14 years old.

Q. We at the AVU want to launch a laboratory on Mobile Learning. The objectives of putting up a Mobile Learning laboratory are very important to the AVU. In your view, what would be the best approach in establishing Mobile Learning? You know that in Africa we have a serious problem with costs and access to education. We therefore think that through the use of mobile technology we can significantly increase access to education. We also believe that that through research and development in the field of Mobile Learning we can find solutions. My question therefore is that according to your experience, work and research what approach can the AVU and its partner institutions take so that we can reach our objectives of increasing access to our programs and courses through mobile technology?

A. It is how you design your curriculum for mobile consumption and how you train your teachers to become digital natives in interaction by the use of social media that integrates the learning experience. And how do you get in the mood of continuous improvement? My answer is that there should be an emphasis on the training of teachers. You should also network the teachers to help in the creation of content. Since technology is already there, ask the users what they like; however, what you need to do is to choose the best technological platform. There should be an effort to put resources in place so as to be able to bring teachers together, hold workshops and allow them to create their content. This is the starting point as far as increasing access to educational resources is concerned. Furthermore, the AVU can consider offline technology. They can package the contents in micro–chips that can fit in the local devices and which can also be used in the phones, thus enabling learners to study by themselves. It is also important to invest in teachers so that they can help students where they did not understand; and this is something to consider when you are looking at mobile laboratory because accessibility is a big issue. If AVU should always rely on connectivity it will end up being disappointed. Another way can be the traditional method of using televisions and radios. If you already have the content then it will be just a matter of packaging them and creating a distribution network in order to reach the

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unreached. The problem of connectivity is a serious one. We cannot create resources if we cannot identify what is good for us. One of the problems that Africa faces is to identify what is useful for us. Once the problem is identified a network of researchers can be established. Accessibility and how research results are communicated is a challenge in the African context. It is time Africa came up with a research journal which is appropriate to different African contexts. For example in Cameroon there are researches that were done and they can be published in that research journal.

Q. Learner profile is key in ODeL. I would like to know how the learner relates to the hidden costs of Mobile Learning; for instance, cost of the right mobile device with the capacity to accommodate assignments and whole modules and the cost of communicating with the tutors. Is there any research that has shown the hidden costs that are passed on to the learner?

A. Today when a learner goes to the university there are different costs that he/she has to incur such as tuition costs and the indirect costs of living. So of course there will be costs imposed on the learner.

Q. It is hard enough to focus on your work while in the library. How about if the mobile device becomes your book? To me it will be like studying in the middle of a stadium. There will be text messages, calls, etc. Is there a way learners can focus their attention and study with the mobile devices without being distracted? Is there a research study on that?

A. Mobile devices are a blessing and a distraction as well. The use of mobile device has drastically reduced students’ focus. It is therefore a threat and a burden. Research done on changes in student attention show that today students are not able to focus on a task. In 1998 they were able to focus their attention on a task for 12 seconds while by 2008 their attention span had reduced to 8 seconds. There is need for technology providers to switch off applications that can become a distraction to students.

Q. My concern is about Mobile Learning and the general use of technology. In normal teaching, teacher-student interactions bring a lot of results and effectiveness. Are we going to see the same interaction with the introduction of technology and Mobile Learning?

A. Research on Mobile Learning and its use has shown mixed results. On one hand, the usage of technology helps teachers to communicate and relate

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better with the students, but on the other hand teachers see technology as distractive to the young people. A person’s perception affects how they use technology. However, technology can be adapted to the context. If you are not a good online teacher learning will be difficult. From the interaction perspective it is the methodology that is used to bring technology in place.

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7. Breakout Session 1 Presentations There were four papers presented in breakout session one. The papers in this session were submitted to the macro-level (ODeL Systems & Theories) category of the ODeL Framework (Appendix 4) under the research area of access, equity and ethics. The first paper focused on the issue of multilingual literacy development by providing access to openly licensed digitized children’s story books in African languages. The second paper, presented in French focused on the issue of alleviating the problem of mathematics teacher shortage in Senegal, by training more women as mathematics teachers and using eLearning as the preferred mode in light of women’s domestic responsibilities. The third presentation focused on a project by Digital Divide Data (DDD), a company that hires talented but disadvantaged youth from poor backgrounds. The objective was to see how access to, and use of ICTs can enable these disadvantaged youth access higher education. The final paper in this session focused on adult learners who are residents of rural communities in South Australia enrolled in distance education programs. The study provides learners’ accounts of social support and economic systems. The table below provides a brief summary/takeaway from each of the papers in the session. The abstracts for Session 1 papers can be found in Appendix 14. BREAKOUT SESSION ONE 2:00PM – 3:30 PM JULY 2ND 2015 Session Chair: Prof Chipo Dyanda, DVC Academic, University of Zimbabwe MACRO-LEVEL: ODeL SYSTEMS & THEORIES Research Area(s): Presentation Title/Presenter Summary/Takeaways

Access, equity, and ethics

1). Open licensing digital storytelling for multilingual literacy development: Implications for teachers (practice). Presenter: Dorcas N. Wepukhulu South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE), SOUTH AFRICA

The African Storybook Project (ASP) is an initiative of the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE). Noting that it is important that children start to read in a language they are familiar with, it is noted that this is not the case for African children. The project seeks to improve the literacy of children aged between 3 and 10 years in Africa. It is working to mitigate the shortage of books in African local languages for early reading. The projects collects, adapts and distributes open licensed digitized story books that are contextually appropriate through its

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website. Takeaway

• Educators in Africa have to be assisted and enabled to develop and sustain their agency in resource development for early literacy development.

• Children are excited and more confident and fluent to read and narrate stories in their home languages unlike in English.

• Translation of children’s stories to their local languages can improve levels of children literacy.

2). Formation à distance et genre: les solutions du

problème de déficit de professeurs de mathématiques au Sénégal [e-Learning and gender: Solutions to the deficit of teachers of mathematics in Senegal] (research). Presenter: Julie Affoue Kanda Ministère de L'éducation National, SENEGAL

The focus of the study is on solving the shortage of mathematics teachers in Senegal. One way of dealing with the deficit is to train more women as mathematics teachers through ODeL. The researcher qualified this approach by explaining that women constitute more than half the population of Senegal and that research evidence showed that girls excelled better than boys in mathematics. Takeaway

• Gender does not determine academic performance. Girls ought to be encouraged to disregard the existing social stereotypes which alienate them from pursuing science and mathematics courses.

• ODeL teacher training programs can be used to train more women as mathematics teachers so as to help alleviate the problem of teacher shortage in mathematics in Senegal.

• The choice of training women teachers through distance learning was premised on the belief by women that it allowed them to combine their domestic chores with their mathematics courses.

3). The role of ICT in creating access to education: A case study of Digital Divide Data (DDD) (practice)

This presentation focused on a project by Digital Divide Data (DDD), a company that hires talented but disadvantaged youth

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Presenter: Carmen Wamukoya Institution: Digital Divide Data (DDD), KENYA

from poor backgrounds. The students are recent high school graduates and have achieved the average grades to join university, but are not able to pursue higher education due to financial difficulties. The objective was to see how access to, and use of ICTs enables access to higher education in Kenya. Takeaway

• Lack of access to ICT for disadvantaged groups is a major challenge as it minimizes access to many social and economic benefits.

• Given an opportunity and the right tools, disadvantaged individuals can use ICT to their benefit, in particular in a work-study environment.

• Access to and use of ICT not only provides skills in basic technological competence, but also improves employability of users.

• Distance education facilitated by ICT provides a means for disadvantaged groups to access education.

4). Voices from the distance: Communicating the experience of remote education (research, virtual presentation) Presenter: Jillian Marchant, James Cook University, AUSTRALIA

This study focused on adult learners who are residents in rural communities in South Australia. The study specifically explored learners’ accounts of their experiences and the systems that they engage with to complete programs through distance education. Takeaway

• Local social support plays an important role in distance education of marginalized adult learners, therefore distance education should consider mentors or comparable social relationships in local communities.

• Explore private/public funding opportunities.

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8. Breakout Session 2 Presentations There were four papers presented in breakout session two. The papers in this session were submitted to the meso-level (management, organization & technology) category of the ODeL Framework (Appendix 4) under the research area of innovation and change. The first paper in this session was on MOOCs as an alternative to traditional tertiary institutions. The paper focused on the issue of using peer learning in MOOCs. The focus of the second presentation done in French, was on the use of online tutorials to improve the quality of distance training of secondary school teachers in Senegal. The third presentation was on the current status of the development, integration and use of OER in ODeL institutions in Africa. The focus of the fourth presentation was on analyzing the curation of an open research project using a utilization-focused evaluation (UFE) approach.

The table below provides a brief summary/takeaway from the session. The abstracts for session 2 papers can be found in Appendix 15. BREAKOUT SESSION TWO 2:00PM – 3:30 PM JULY 2ND 2015 Session Chair: Prof Emilienne Akonga Edumbe, Institut Superieur Pedagogique de Gombe, DRC MESO-LEVEL: MANAGEMENT, ORGANIZATION & TECHNOLOGY Research Area(s) Presentation Title/Presenter Summary /Takeaways

Innovation and change

5). Massive, online, open communities: Toward building an informal, peer-learning sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. Presenter: Larry Cooperman University of California, Irvine, USA

MOOCs provide an alternative to traditional tertiary institutions since with time these institutions will be unable to have the capacity to enroll all the students seeking to join tertiary institutions. Notably, MOOCs offer freely available educational content which will be beneficial to learners who cannot afford to pay tertiary fees. Takeaway

• MOOCs also provide the aspect of peer learning which as per this study, has proven to be an effective way of learning due to higher interaction levels.

• Peer learning is more effective as students learn better and more from their peers.

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• Peer learning approaches could overcome the pedagogical weaknesses of large, introductory lecture classes.

• Peer learning should not only be organized around MOOCs, physical contact is most efficient in peer learning.


6). Quelles innovations dans les stratégies d’amélioration du double tutorat dans la formation a distance des enseignants du secondaire: cas du Sénégal [Examples of innovations in strategies for improving double tutorial system in eLearning for secondary school teachers: The case of Senegal] (research). Presenter: Mamadou Sarr Université Cheikh Anta Diop, SENEGAL

This study focused on innovative ways of improving the quality of distance training of secondary school teachers in Senegal. The presenter explained that one of the main elements of organizational, educational and eLearning management framework is the online tutorial. Takeaway

• Supervision of learners by tutors is key in ensuring quality management of online learning and students’ success;

• Periodic supervision and capacity building of tutors are important mechanisms of improving the quality of teaching in online training systems.


7). Empirical-based analytical insights on the position, challenges and potential for promoting OER in ODeL institutions in Africa (research). Presenter: Cornelia K. Muganda The Open University of Tanzania, TANZANIA

This research mainly analyzed the current status of the development, integration and use of OER in ODeL institutions in Africa, specifically in the Open University of Tanzania (OUT). Takeaway

• ODeL institutions in Africa need to come up with African based OER.

• There is need to create more student and tutor awareness in Africa of the existence of OER.

• Higher educational institutions in Africa need to develop a clear policy for the development and use of OER.

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8). The iterative engagement between curation and evaluation in an open research project: A utilization-focused approach (practice). Presenter: Sarah Goodier University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of developing and evaluating a curation strategy for such a large-scale open research project. Researching in the open like in the case of the ROER4D project requires that researchers and projects take control over curating their own outputs and data. The paper outlines the use of a utilization-focused evaluation (UFE) approach to assess ROER4D’s curation strategy. Takeaway

• What qualifies as good curation should ideally be tied to and influenced to some extent by end-user utility, international best-practice standards and tracking measures to ensure that curated outputs are actually being used and utilized as intended.

• Too often curators can work only according to manuals or guidelines without the input of critical assessment throughout the process as to whether or not the platforms, techniques and structures they create and use are valuable to the end-users of the curated data.

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9. Breakout Session 3 Presentations There were four papers presented in breakout session three. The papers in this session were submitted to the meso-level (management, organization & technology) category of the ODeL Framework (see Appendix 4) under the research area of educational technology. The first presentation explored the lived experiences of university faculty with respect to their use of cloud computing technology. The second presentation was an evaluation of the use of electronic mobile devices among university students. Presented in French, the third study investigated the impact of mobile technologies in learning and education in Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular. The final presentation challenged the current education systems in Africa to embrace mobile learning and emerging technologies as a way of encouraging creativity in the learning sector.

The table below provides a brief summary/takeaway from each of the papers in the session. The abstracts for session 3 papers can be found in Appendix 16.

BREAKOUT SESSION THREE 11:50 - 01:25 PM JULY 3RD 2015 Session Chair: Prof. Philip Duku Osei, Deputy Rector, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Ghana MESO-LEVEL: MANAGEMENT, ORGANIZATION & TECHNOLOGY

Research Area(s) Presentation Title/Presenter Summary/Takeaways

Educational Technology

9). Use of cloud computing systems in education: The lived experiences of faculty members in tertiary institutions (research). Presenter: Joseph Kwame Adjei Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), GHANA

This qualitative research was based on recent experiences of the faculty of various tertiary institutions in Accra, Ghana. The goal of this study was to explore the lived experiences of university faculty with respect to their use of cloud computing technology and also to develop a framework for clarifying the factors informing user choices in cloud computing. Takeaway

• The cost of cloud computing is a major hindrance to its accessibility.

• Challenges also include power fluctuations, and the

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problem of accessing internet during travels. • Use of cloud computing technology in Africa can be

enhanced by ensuring that ICT infrastructure is affordable, stable and reliable.

• Information privacy was a key concern for faculty members thus cloud computing technology should address specific user requirements and demands.

10). Use of electronic mobile devices in teaching and learning in higher education in Kenya: An emerging pedagogy (research). Presenter: Anne A. Aseey University of Nairobi, KENYA

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of electronic mobile devices among students at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Takeaway

• Majority of students have mobile phones, which they use for both social and academic purposes.

• Students do not have ample time to use their electronic mobile devices while in class unless they are doing presentations.

• Information overload on social network sites that students visit interfere with what they intend to do academically with their mobile devices.

• Lecturers are slow to respond to students online and fear online wars with students.

11). Scolarisation des technologies mobiles en milieu universitaire africain: cas des universités camerounaises [Uses of mobile technologies in African academic environment: the case of universities in Cameroon] (research). Presenter: Janvier Fotsing Centre International de Recherche en Application des Technologies Spatiales (CIRATS), CAMEROUN

This study used investigated the use of mobile technologies in learning and educational frameworks in Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular. It was noted that few students and teachers within the Cameroonian academic environment have appropriate mobile technologies for learning. Takeaway

• Students believe that the use of mobile technology has improved their knowledge.

• Teachers in contrast believe that the current use of

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mobile technologies contributes much more to the reduction of students’ academic standards.

• Policies need to be developed that will help regulate and check the abuse of mobile technologies by students.

12). Mobile learning and emerging technologies in higher education in Africa Presenter: Dick Ngambi University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

Despite the high rate of mobile penetration in Africa, mobile technology has not been fully exploited as a learning tool. This presentation therefore challenged the current education systems in Africa to embrace mobile learning and emerging technologies as a way of encouraging creativity in the learning sector. Takeaway

• Africa needs to embrace and integrate mobile technologies in teaching and learning in higher education to be able to keep up with the needs of the 21st Century African students.

• Educational policies in Africa need to be streamlined to maximize on the huge potential of integrating mobile technology in teaching and learning.

• African education systems continue to be backward and too traditional for the changing times e.g. banning phones in schools but allowing computers.

• Teachers do not understand the potential mobile devices have in enhancing education.

• Lack of a control mechanism of these devices causes teachers to be fearful of disruption and thus shun the devices.

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10. Breakout Session 4 Presentations There were four papers presented in breakout session four. The papers in this session were submitted to the micro-level (teaching and learning) category of the ODeL framework (see Appendix 4), under 3 different research areas—instructional/learning design, interaction and communication in learning communities, and learner characteristics. The focus of the first presentation was on a project implemented by Tanzania’s Ministry of Education and Vocational Training that involved the development and integration of multimedia enhanced content to enhance and upgrade the pedagogical and subject content knowledge of math and science teachers. The focus of the second presentation was on the networked learning interactions in the e/merge Africa network that offers professional development and networking opportunities focused on the use of educational technology. The presentation explored the nature of online interactions around its various activities including a peer-assist session on the uptake of learning management systems, an online research colloquium and a seminar on social media use in higher education. Presented in French, the third study investigated the potential impacts of online collaboration among teachers in secondary schools in Madagascar. The final presentation delivered in Portuguese sought to analyze perceptions, concerns and satisfaction of students and teachers at the University of Cape Verde in the context of their experiences in an online teacher training course offered by the institution. The table below provides a brief summary/takeaway from each of the papers in the session. The abstracts for session 4 papers can be found in Appendix 17. BREAKOUT SESSION FOUR 11:50AM - 01:25PM JULY 3RD 2015 Session Chair: Prof Rose Mwonya, Egerton University, Kenya MICRO-LEVEL: TEACHING AND LEARNING Research Area(s) Paper Title/Presenter Summary/Takeaways Instructional/learning design

13). Developing multimedia enhanced content to upgrade subject content knowledge of secondary school teachers in Tanzania (research/practice). Presenter: Joel S. Mtebe, University of Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA

Tanzania’s Ministry of Education and Vocational Training implemented a project aimed at enhancing and upgrading the pedagogical and subject content knowledge of teachers. The main objective of the ICT Retooling project was to improve the quality of teaching and learning in science and mathematics in secondary schools and to address the problem of severe shortage of qualified science teachers in Tanzania. This study investigated the

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process involved in the development and integration of multimedia enhanced content in the project and the level of user satisfaction with the same. Takeaway

• Most of the existing OER focus on higher education and are irrelevant to the context of Tanzanian secondary schools syllabi.

• Conduct awareness workshops and trainings for teachers and subject matter experts on how to create and/or use already existing OER from various repositories.

• Encourage teachers to develop quality local content and share them in the OER repositories.

• Further studies should investigate to what extent the developed multimedia material have enhanced and upgraded pedagogical knowledge and subject content knowledge of teachers in the subjects that they teach.

Interaction and communication in learning communities

14). Networked learning interactions in the e/merge Africa network (practice). Presenter: Tony Carr, University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

e/merge Africa network offers professional development and networking opportunities focused on the use of educational technology in African higher education. Various activities have included a peer-assist session on the uptake of learning management systems, an online research colloquium, a seminar on social media use in higher education, an online learning design workshop, a digital storytelling workshop and an online facilitation course. Takeaway

• e/merge Africa uses websites, Facebook, live meetings, Twitter feeds and LinkedIn as tools of engagement within its network.

• Networked learning interactions provide participants

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with platforms for sharing fruitful conversations, good research, and professional practice experiences with peers in higher education.

• Some key factors that influence interaction in a network include preferences and practices of participants and facilitators, facilitator moves, affordances of environments and time for asynchronous interaction.

15). Pratiques collaboratives en ligne: Incidences sur le renforcement des competences professionnelles «Expérimentation auprès de professeurs de lycées de Madagascar» [Online collaborative practices: impact on strengthening professional skills “Experiments with teachers in secondary schools in Madagascar”. Date of survey: 2006 – 2007] (research) Presenter: Jean Claude Omer Andrianarimanana L’Ecole Normale Supérieure d’Antananarivo Madagascar, MADAGASCAR

This was a joint project between the University of Antananarivo and the ENS Cachan which aimed to investigate the potential impacts of online collaboration among teachers in secondary schools in Madagascar. Takeaway

• The project highlighted the potential of online collaborative practices in suppressing the professional isolation of teachers through the establishment of new forms of exchange and collaboration.

• Teachers are able to integrate ICT in teaching through online collaborative practices.

• The project confirmed that collaborative online practices strengthened and improved professional skills for teachers in terms of knowledge, pedagogical practices, integration of ICT in teaching, and psycho-emotional development.

Learner characteristics 16). Análise das perceções, preocupações e satisfação dos estudantes e docentes no contexto de uma experiência de formação de professores on-line na Uni-CV [Analysis of perceptions, concerns and satisfaction of

This was an exploratory, descriptive and qualitative case study based on principles of collaborative knowledge-building that sought to analyze perceptions, concerns and satisfaction of students and teachers at the University of Cape Verde in the context of their experiences in an online teacher training course

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students and teachers in the context of an on-line teacher training experience at University of Cape Verde] Presenter: Inocêncio Soares Luisa Universidade de Cabo Verde, CAPE VERDE

offered by the institution. Takeaway • Students and teachers consider learning more valuable if it is

based on a two-way/multi-directional interaction or dialogue, and not just the mere provision of content for self-study to the students.

• Online teaching needs to be done within a well instituted legal framework which regulates online teacher training and also provides pedagogical guidelines for eTrainers.

• The researcher contended that the study might help encourage interactive and constructivist practices in teaching and learning, educational innovation, and ultimately contribute to a deeper understanding of the theories of online training and practices at the University of Cape Verde.

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11. Workshops There were two workshops that ran concurrently before each day’s sessions for the two days of the conference namely: (i) SMART by Design! Leadership Essentials for Virtual Mentorship; and (ii) Introduction to MicroLearning and Mobile Learning. Below is a summary. See section on Abstracts for detailed workshop descriptions. 11.1. Workshop 1: SMART by Design! Leadership Essentials for Virtual Mentorship Facilitator: Dr. Penina Lam, CEO, eLearning Innovators, Inc. The facilitator began the workshop by asking participants to state what came to their minds when the word ‘mentorship’ was mentioned. They responded with various answers such as ‘supervision, ‘orientation’, ‘support’, ‘tutoring’, ‘training’, ‘lead’, and ‘counseling’. The facilitator then explained that mentoring values should have processes, growth, be purposeful, collaborative, and above all have people and conversations. He also suggested that mentorship programs should have a timespan in order to achieve success. When the facilitator asked participants how they taught and learned, they cited modes like self-study, coaching, mentoring, training or teaching, experiments and work experience. The presentation featured a 5-phase SMART design model for a strategic plan among the principles and processes. Why do eMentoring?

• Access the job market • Enhance digital branding • Cut costs related to traditional learning • Engage your employees and students • Generate leads for employment • Innovate your programs • Enhance job performance • Enhance networking between mentors and mentees

The facilitator informed participants that research evidence indicated that 88% of entrepreneurs succeed when mentored and that mentorship also increased awareness of career opportunities. 11.2. Workshop 2: Introduction to MicroLearning and Mobile Learning Facilitator: Gregor Cholewa, Head of Mobile Knowledge Lab, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Research Studios Austria - (Vienna, Austria)

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Microlearning was borne out of the realization that traditional classroom teaching practice burdens students with a lot of materials which rarely get utilized efficiently. It involves provision of specific knowledge in small bits which are easy to grasp, frequently repeated and which operate from question to knowledge discovery. It utilizes tools like mobile phones, tablets and PCs with downloadable software and applications that have content developed by users seeking to address questions from different fields of study. This revolution in teaching practice is already in use in institutions of higher learning (University of Massachusetts, Donau University), in the corporate world (Vienna International, WEIN & CO) and even in publisher and training outfits (WILEY, Institute of MicroTraining, MAT etc) The workshop sought to introduce participants to MicroLearning and mobile learning by engaging them in hands on experience which involved offering them a chance to develop their own content that can be shared on the KnowledgePulse platform from their own devices. The mobile App (knowledgepulse) is available on the Google Play Store and the PC software (webclient) is downloadable from the developers’ website. The idea of MicroLearning and mobile learning was readily welcomed by participants with the majority of them taking part in creating their own learning cards on various topics like how to climb Mt. Kenya, Law etc. The platform is user friendly with the users only the required to create an account on KnowledgePulse that is accessible on the link https://ws.knowledgepulse.com/KnowledgePulse and where the administrator assigns a user name and password. Challenges encountered

• The major challenge encountered by participants on the use of MicroLearning and mobile learning was that the knowledge pulse platform was developed in the German language which required new settings in order to change the language to a more commonly used one like English (which most participants were comfortable with). Majority of participants had difficulties navigating through the interface in order to change the language settings.

• The participants found the setup fees for this platform to be rather expensive and expressed hesitation on taking on the new revolution of teaching within their own institutions and in their individual capacities.

https://ws.knowledgepulse.com/KnowledgePulse

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12. Closing Ceremony Vote of Thanks - Prof Joao Cardoso, Rector, Universidade de Cabo Verde, Cape Verde Prof. Cardoso began his speech by thanking the AVU Rector, Dr. Diallo, the AVU staff and the organizers of the conference for the good work done on organizing the conference. He noted that the AVU is contributing a lot to higher education in Africa. He also expressed hope that use of ICT as a resource in Africa can empower societies to solve challenges in education while at the same time help advance development. He remarked that he looked forward to the time when ICT will be used all over the African continent. Prof. Cardoso further observed that the use of technology in the conference had made it possible to have language translation; resulting in synergy of ideas and communication during conference presentations. He pointed out that that was indeed the foundation of a new Africa. In his vote of thanks, Prof. Cardoso also mentioned the possibility of having a partnership project with the AVU that would provide African solutions in open learning to open learners in Africa who are looking for information. He once again expressed his gratitude to the AVU staff, Kenyan Government and the African Development Bank for contributing to the success of the event. He also thanked the organizers of the conference for well-planned travel and accommodation arrangements for the participants. In conclusion, Prof. Cardoso thanked the hotel for their hospitality, good food & service. He also paid tribute to the band for showcasing the diverse musical culture that Africa has to offer while keeping the guests entertained. Closing Remarks - Prof Rogerio Uthui, Rector, Universidade Pedagogica, Mozambique (Chair, AVU BOD) Prof. Rogerio Uthui began his closing remarks by noting that there have been approximately 800 million students graduating over the past 15 years hence compounding the unemployment puzzle. He therefore underscored the importance of the existence of AVU by reiterating that it forges links between the Government of Kenya, companies and other universities in order to offer quality products for the advancement of higher education. The chair also noted the Government of Kenya’s continued support for the AVU vision by affirming its status as well as offering security to the AVU staff. He went on to thank the African Development Bank for its generous donations to the AVU Multinational projects I and II which financed the setup of ICT infrastructure in several African universities. Prof Uthui further thanked the presenters for their cooperation and contribution to the success of the 2015 AVU conference. He

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observed that some of the presenters came from as far as Brazil, South Korea, and Australia. In conclusion, the Chair of the AVU BOD invited all the delegates present yet again to the 2016 3rd International Conference of the AVU to be held from 6th- 8th July 2016. In ending his remarks, Prof. Uthui wished all the delegates a safe trip back to their respective countries.

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V. Abstracts of Conference Presentations

This section includes the abstracts of the keynote presentations, abstracts of the conference papers, descriptions of the workshops.

13. Keynotes Abstracts 1. ICT in Education: A powerful enabler and equalizer. Prof Peck Cho (Distinguished

Professor at the Center for Teaching and Learning, Dongguk University, Korea)

Abstract: In this rapidly changing, unpredictable world, two trends seem somewhat predictable. First, ICT is becoming faster, more powerful, more connected, more adaptable, and more adoptable. Thus, it is reasonable to expect ICT to serve as a great enabler with enhanced accessibility and connectivity to educational opportunity for all students, equalizing the educational field even for students from traditionally disadvantaged regional and social groups. Secondly, ICT is becoming cheaper and available. Therefore, its mobility and ubiquity may allow developing societies to ‘leapfrog’ over having to build off-line educational infrastructure and go directly to providing online education. However, educational policymakers need to ensure that introducing ICT does not stop at making students the consumers of ICT, but the creators of ICT as well. To this end, policymakers need to do more than providing ICT in classrooms and training teachers on how to use ICT devices for managing, manipulating and delivering information. Teachers must be trained to become designers of learning experience, concerned with motivation, emotion, and creativity. If it is successfully executed, then educators can truly become nation builders, as what Korea has done.

2. Uncovering what enables and constrains ‘open practices’ in the Global South: Reflections from the ROER4D Project. Prof. Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract: Internationally, higher education institutions are under a great deal of pressure to provide expanding numbers of students with access to quality education in increasingly economically constrained environments. The affordances provided by the internet have enabled a range of educational activities to be supported digitally or conducted online. e-Learning has become common-place in higher education institutions in so-called ‘developed countries’ and as part of commercial offerings by for-profit enterprises around the world. While e-Learning is certainly providing more flexible options for the rising numbers of students aspiring to higher education qualifications, the educational content may be ‘locked-down’ behind paywalls or be available to registered fee-paying students only. Moreover, the educational content may be released under a copyright license that prohibits the (legal) copying, customising, combining or keeping of educational materials and textbooks.

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Open Education, embracing fairly new forms of web-enabled activities such as Open Educational Resources (OER), Open Textbooks, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is being hailed as a flexible and cost-effective supplement or even, in some cases, an alternative to traditional higher education provision. OER and Open Textbooks have been promoted as a response to the demand for affordable and current learning materials for students and lecturers, while MOOCs have been touted as a way of providing expert and cost-effective tuition. Although there are a range of OER and Open Textbook initiatives and MOOC platforms, site statistics, where available, do not explain how these materials are being used, by whom and to what effect to provide empirical evidence on the extent to which Open Education provides accessible, flexible, affordable and current educational materials and tuition to students and lecturers in the so-called ‘developing countries’. In particular we do not have sufficient evidence on students and lecturers’ transformative practices of creating and/or reusing OER that is held to be one of the key benefits of OER. This keynote address will explain how the Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D) project is establishing in what ways, and under what circumstances the adoption of Open Education in the form of OER, Open Textbooks and/or “open” MOOCs can impact upon a range of educational aspects including the cost of materials, quality of materials, teaching practice, student performance and policy change. As initial findings from the ROER4D project indicate that one of the challenges faced by higher education lecturers is that of navigating intellectual property rights of text and multimedia content, this paper will highlight legal issues to tease out what may enable and constrain the adoption of Open Education into students and lecturers’ everyday practices in selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

14. Breakout Session 1 Abstracts 3. Open licencing digital storytelling for multilingual literacy development: Implications

for teachers. Dorcas N. Wepukhulu, South African Institute for Distance Education (Saide), South Africa

Abstract: This paper provides an overview of what we know is needed for young children to learn to read from very early in life, well before they go to school. The insights reflected in the paper were gained through the African Storybook Project (ASP), a digital publishing model piloted by Saide in Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Lesotho. The ASP is underpinned by a theory that argues that for children to learn to read, they need to be exposed to many books that reflect their cultural context and experience, preferably in familiar languages at an early age. The majority of children in African countries are not achieving levels of literacy that enable them to participate in the globalising economy and shortage of reading material is a major contributor to this. Thus, the ASP piloted alternatives to conventional publishing and

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conventional copyright restrictions in order to remedy the problem of shortage of appropriate books for children. Results of the pilot show that by providing thousands of digital stories in local languages with tools for story creation and versioning, and by open licensing the stories, Afrian children access relevant text and are motivated to learn reading from early stages of life. The pilot also shows evidence of greater involvement of teachers, parents and communities in teaching children to read because of the ubiquity of boks in familiar languages. The significance of this paper lies in demonstrating how digital publishing models have potential to connect the local child to the global environment through reading. Key words: early literacy, copyright, licensing, publishing, digital story-telling, multilingual literacy development 4. Formation à distance et genre: Les solutions au déficit de professeur de

mathématiques au Sénégal (e-Learning and gender: Solutions to the deficit of teachers of mathematics in Senegal). Julie Affoue Kanda, CEM de Hann Yarakh ministère de l’éducation nationale, Sénégal

Abstract: The complex equation which several ministries in charge of education attempted to solve over the past few years without finding any solution was how to reduce the deficit of mathematics teachers given that fewer and fewer students are opting for science subjects. One of the solutions proposed in the study consists of addressing the gender issue in an equitable framework of open distance and e-learning in order to train more girls in science and mathematics. The solution which is based on more innovative research results on mathematics didactics relies on a documentary approach of mathematics learning resources. It also draws on an androcentric model of science and mathematics education, and has identified the roots of the equation in the social representations of mathematics and girls. Given that mathematics is only accessible through those social representations, the study showed that the issue related to underestimating the girls’ abilities with regard to mathematics is accentuated by inappropriate choices of representation registers. As for the solutions, they appeared in e-learning resources presenting mathematics concepts in several registers and which propose coordination methods of those representations.

Key words: gender, teacher of mathematics, open distance and e-learning, equity, representation.

5. The role of ICT in creating access to education: A case study of Digital Divide Data

(DDD) (practice). Carmen Wamukoya, Digital Divide Data (DDD), Kenya

Abstract: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are assuming an increasingly central role in society by providing a gateway to educational, employment and recreational

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activities. However, access to and use of technology remains unequal across socio-economic groups. Similarly, equitable access to higher education remains a key challenge for the education system. Access to education is considered a basic human right yet many countries are still struggling with issues of cost, quality, access and equity. Educational institutions and other training facilities in a bid to create more access to deliver education and training have turned to ICTs as a solution. ICTs can play a significant role in empowering disadvantaged groups through training and eLearning. Lack of proper access to ICTs by disadvantaged groups is also a challenge as it minimizes access to many social and economic benefits. Progress is being made in extending the reach of ICTs to disadvantaged groups through various initiatives such as ICT training from technology companies, school ICT labs and on the job training. This paper explores the role of ICTs in increasing access to educational opportunities by using Digital Divide Data (DDD) as a case study and looking at its impact sourcing model. A survey was completed by 30 employees who work at DDD and are also enrolled in distance learning. Findings indicate that ICT can be used as a means for accessing education especially for disadvantaged youth. Access to and use of ICT not only provides skills in basic technological competence, it also improves employability of users. Keywords: ICT, ICT training, access, distance education, eLearning

6. Voices from the distance: Communicating the experience of remote education. Jillian Marchant, James Cook University, Australia

Abstract: Despite significant progress in education practices, access issues remain for many Australian residents of areas with limited resources and infrastructure. Some individuals residing in marginalised areas are engaged with distance education due to technological progression and advances at education institutions. Understanding the educational attainment of distance education students is relevant for research and policy in order to appreciate their engagement and benefits from education. This study involves adult students who are residents in the rural areas of South Australia: offering them a chance to incorporate their voices in policy and research discussions about the beneficial aspects that support their education endeavours. To understand the support mechanisms for adult learners in rural communities, an inductive approach is used, including a case study methodology utilising semi-structured interviews. An analysis of reports about communities and education richly communicate learner experiences with aspects of distance education and reveal the support that they have encountered. Encouragingly, these reports identify an array of assist mechanisms that originate both within and outside of contributors local communities. Highlighting these mechanisms here assists an identification of the existing practices that promote successful outcomes for these marginalised adult students and further inform policy about equitable access. It is anticipated that further investigations, including those conducted in other rural settings may communicate the paths for continuing the expansion of both access and outcomes for distance learners. Key words: distance education, equity, rural community

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15. Breakout Session 2 Abstracts 7. Massive, online, open communities: Toward building an informal, peer-learning sector

in Sub-Saharan Africa. Larry Cooperman, Open Education Consortium, USA

Abstract: The demand for higher education (also called tertiary education) is poised to increase dramatically in developing countries and in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa in lockstep with increasing economic growth and expansion of the middle class. One possible way to meet this demand is to take advantage of freely available educational content (open courseware) and use it in online, peer learning environments (including formal courses) where students learn by interacting with each other as well as by making use of the static content. This innovative peer learning concept is critical for success in online education because the number of participants is likely to be very high and most interactions will necessarily take place among learners rather than between learners and “official” teachers. This paper reviews the reasons why a significant increase in the demand for tertiary education in developing countries is likely and describes the benefits of peer-led learning as a means of improving educational outcomes in online courses with large enrollments. The concept of peer learning is of vital importance to educators in places like Sub-Saharan Africa and the approach described herein might play a significant role in a larger, long-term strategy for meeting the demand. The notion of peer learning as a means of enhancing teaching/learning effectiveness in large online courses has not been explored extensively so this paper can serve as a catalyst for further work. Keywords: peer-learning, enhancing learning in large online courses, online education, open courseware, educational needs in Sub-Saharan Africa

8. Quelles innovations dans les stratégies d’amélioration du double tutorat dans la formation à distance des enseignants du secondaire: Cas du Sénégal [Examples of innovations in strategies for improving double tutorial system in e-learning for secondary school teachers: Case of Senegal]. Sarr Mamadou, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Sénégal

Abstract: The online tutorial or in-class system is one of the main elements of the organizational, educational and e-learning management framework (FAD). At the Faculty of Science and Technology of Education and Training (FASTEF) at “Cheikh Anta Diop University” (UCAD) of Dakar (Senegal), the tutorial system is bivalent. Indeed, there are field tutors (field inspectors, school life inspectors, visiting academic advisors) concerned with pedagogical follow-up of temporary and contractual teachers in classroom and tutors at the central level (FASTEF training officers) who are active in the supervision of field graduation dissertations of the latter.

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All those tutors signed the tutor’s charter and received basic training in tutorial system at the beginning of the e-learning (FAD). The supervision of learners by tutors is important in a system concerned about the quality of education and success of learners at school or at university. From that point of view, it is worth noting the importance of a good framework of tutorial system. Our study is about the diagnosis of the tutorial system after several years of activities in order to propose possibilities for innovation and improvement, both at the managerial level of the framework, the pedagogical supervision, and capacity building of the actors. Surveys conducted with actors (auditors and tutors) showed situations which need to be addressed. Hence the interest of the present document which proposes certain innovations geared to improve the prevailing situation both in Senegal and in other African Virtual University (AVU) partner institutions. Key words: e-learning, tutorial system, innovation

9. Empirical-based analytical insights on the position, challenges and potential for promoting OER in ODeL institutions in Africa. Cornelia K. Muganda, The Open University of Tanzania , Tanzania

Abstract: This paper shares analytical insights on the position, challenges and potential for promoting OERs in African ODeL institutions. According to Krishnaswamy (2004), participatory research represents people as researchers in pursuits of questions encountered in daily life. The researchers sought to use this method in a sequence of two workshops at the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) as a participatory research strategy for collecting data to obtain insight on the position, challenges and potential for promoting OERs at the institution. The objectives of the workshops were to analyse the existing status of OERs at the OUT and to share lessons learned in OER creation and production, integration and use, and hosting and dissemination. Other objectives were to discuss the rationale for an institutional OER policy and identify a suitable work-flow process for developing OERs. The workshop participants were purposively selected for their experience in developing OER materials with the African Virtual University (AVU) and the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa project (TESSA). The study included 28 representatives of the OUT academic units, and one facilitator from OER Africa. Research techniques to collect data included: questionnaire, Focused Group Discussions (FGD), presentations, and panel discussions. The results indicated that OUT staff were willing to participate in OERs but had limited awareness, skills and competences in the creation, integration and use of OERs. The participants developed 12 draft resolutions expressing a need for: a comprehensive institutional OER policy; capacity building in terms of awareness, knowledge, skills and competences in OERs; enhanced collaboration within and outside the institution; enhanced access and visibility of OERs; making appropriate choices of Creative Commons licenses; creating opportunities to learn from each other and from others

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outside the institution, and recommending further improvement of OUT institutional policies to guide, support and promote research and sustainable OER practice via holistic participation. Keywords: OER, action research, institutional approach, ODeL, adoption 10. The iterative engagement between curation and evaluation in an open research

project: A utilization-focused approach. Sarah Goodier, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract: The Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D) project, funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), was launched in August 2013 to undertake research on the use and impact of OER in the Global South. The project has made a commitment to undertake open research as far as possible, a challenge in a small project which is amplified due to the size and complexity of ROER4D. Sub-project activities are coordinated and supported by the ROER4D Network Hub, based in Cape Town, South Africa to address the project objectives which include curation to enable open dissemination of documents produced and data collected. Due to the ground-breaking nature of the research work, the open principle and the many challenges of curating documents and data openly, it is critical for any strategy to be able to change and adapt quickly, if required. Good curation of content should be a foundational step especially where any sharing will be undertaken. The project’s evaluator, in close communication with the ROER4D Network Hub, needs to provide timely indications of where these changes may be needed. The key importance of curation in ROER4D puts it in a prime position to benefit from the evaluation, which uses a utilization-focused evaluation framework. This paper outlines the iterative engagement between ROER4D’s curation strategy and evaluation of this project objective, and analyses how this facilitates development of the evaluation plan. Opportunities and challenges of developing and evaluating a curation strategy for such a large-scale open research project will also be highlighted. Keywords: curation, utilization focused evaluation, open research, OER research, ROER4D

16. Breakout Session 3 Abstracts

11. Exploring the use of cloud computing systems in education: The lived experiences of faculty members of tertiary educational institutions. Joseph Kwame Adjei, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract: Research on cloud computing systems has largely focused on the technology and security issues at the expense of understanding users’ experiences with such systems. Through a phenomenological approach, this study explored the meaning of cloud storage of sensitive information when there is no knowledge of the location of file storage, how information is

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kept and who has access to such information. We interviewed faculty members of selected public universities in Ghana, about their lived experiences with respect to the use of cloud applications for storing personal information, data sharing and academic collaboration. The results point to tensions between faculty members’ identity and information privacy on one hand, and the requirement to effectively execute their academic and professional responsibilities. We conclude that while cloud computing applications enhance the reach and richness of academic information and the interactions between researchers and their students, academics must establish their personal and professional boundaries in order to derive meaningful benefits from the use of such applications. Keywords: cloud computing; Data Storage, phenomenology, social media, lived experience, Ghana

12. Use of electronic mobile devices in teaching and learning in higher education in Kenya: An emerging pedagogy. Anne A. Aseey , University of Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract: As the need for higher education escalates, various teaching and learning pedagogical and andragogical models and modes are being adopted and adapted for use in higher education to ensure smooth transition from the traditional lecture halls of brick and motor to the multi-faced teaching possibilities now widely available. Quality Education is paramount to everyone and technologies are tools that can be harnessed to support it. This study focuses on how effective learning and teaching can be achieved by using various digital mobile devices and the issues and challenges that the users experience when technology is applied in pedagogy. Using a descriptive survey, the study was conducted in one of the Universities in Kenya. The targeted populations of this study were postgraduate and undergraduate students in specific courses. The major findings of this study was that, electronic mobile devices can be effectively used for teaching and learning purposes in higher education and both the tutors and learners are integrating them in the process. The significance of this study is that, it can be used by Kenya government and others in developing countries to support the use of mobile technologies like laptop projects in schools and, for other education stakeholders; it is away forward to ensure use of emerging technologies for academic purposes. Keywords: education, electronic mobile devices, learning, pedagogy, technologies

13. Usages des technologies mobiles en milieu universitaire africain: Cas des universités camerounaises [Uses of mobile technologies in African academic environment: the case of universities in Cameroon], Janvier Fotsing, Centre International de Recherche en Application des Technologies Spatiales (CIRATS), Université de Yaoundé, Cameroun

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Abstract: Within a context where mobile technologies have become essential and where according to the Independent (2010), 1.7 billion Smart phones will be in circulation in 2014, issues on formal, non-formal and informal learning of mobile terminals have become subject of several researches in educational science today. Our research aims at understanding better the learning conditions and/or use of mobile technologies on learning and education frameworks in Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular. In order to conduct this research, we had to collect quantitative, qualitative and contextual data using questionnaire with 52 students and 14 teachers from two Cameroonian universities and using semi-structured interviews (18) and individual interviews (4) so as to allow triangulation of data. The results achieved are varied and different. Our research shows that few students and teachers within the Cameroonian academic environment have appropriate mobile technologies for learning, and that students use mobile terminals (MT) for learning. However, the research shows that in the absence of political conditions for the regulation and surveillance of students’ activities on internet at campus, wide spread cases of cheating, deterioration of customs, plagiarism in students’ assignments took place within the academic environment. Thus, broadly, if for students the use of MT has improved their knowledge, for teachers, the current use of mobile technologies contributes much more to the reduction of the students’ academic standards. At some points by extrapolation, those results concur with those achieved by Karsenti which showed that the impact of using iPad on motivation and success at school is present but minimal. Key words: mobile technologies, learning, use, impact, student/teacher

14. Mobile learning and emerging technologies in higher education in Africa. Dick Ng’ambi, Educational Technology Inquiry Lab – ETILAB, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract: Despite the undisputable evidence of mobile devices being owned by the majority of people in Africa in general and South Africa in particular, mobile technologies are rarely used in education. This slow uptake is largely attributed to gatekeepers who seem not to recognise or appreciate the value of mobile technologies and therefore demonises rather than encourage their use. Digitally immigrant teachers, for instance, seem to assume that digitally native students learn in the same ways they had learnt, and that the same pedagogical methods that benefited them would benefit their learners. Consequently the technologies being used to teach 21st century learners are increasingly misaligned to technologies that 21st century learners use every day. In this presentation, I will address three questions: i) a common sense question – why are educational institutions reluctant to exploit technologies already in the hands of learners?; ii) an information sharing question – what are emerging technologies and what can be done with them?; and iii) a ramification question – why higher education institutions in Africa cannot afford to ignore the mobile learning phenomenon?

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17. Breakout Session 4 Abstracts

15. Developing multimedia enhanced content to upgrade subject content knowledge of secondary school teachers in Tanzania. Joel S. Mtebe, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Institute of Education, Tanzania.

Abstract: The failure rates and lack of interest amongst students in science and mathematics subjects in secondary schools in Tanzania is a serious problem. While several interventions exist to improve the situation, less effort has been made to upgrade science and mathematics teachers in pedagogical knowledge and subject content knowledge of the subjects they teach. The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) implemented the project to enhance and upgrade the pedagogical knowledge and subject content knowledge of teachers in selected difficult topics in science and mathematics at secondary education. A total of 70 topics and 147 subtopics were developed in multimedia enhance content and used this content to train 2,000 selected teachers in secondary schools in Tanzania. This article reports on the process involved in the development of multimedia enhanced content that involved teachers, facilitators, and technical staff. The developed content was evaluated for its satisfaction using a sample of 72 experts that included teachers and instructors after using the content for 10 days. Generally, respondents were satisfied with the quality of the developed multimedia enhanced content. However, accuracy had minimum percentage of users’ satisfaction with 37% amongst the five components of user satisfaction. This shows that the majority of the content had spelling and grammatical errors that were supposed to be corrected before producing the final product. Although this is ongoing work, we believe that the lessons learned from our efforts can be useful to similar organizations planning to develop multimedia enhanced content for educational purposes. Keywords: multimedia enhanced content, ICT in secondary education, subject knowledge, science teaching

16. Networked learning interactions in the e/merge Africa network. Tony Carr, Convenor

of the e/merge Africa network, Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract: Contemporary online networks make extensive use of online communication often including combinations of online environments of different generations such as organisational websites and less formal spaces within large social networking sites. This raises some interesting questions concerning how community interactions are mediated through and across different conversational spaces and about the nature of the network that forms within and across these spaces. e/merge Africa is a professional development network which mostly works with educational technology researchers and practitioners in

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African higher education. This presentation will use conversational and social network analysis to consider relationships and engagement within the e/merge Africa Facebook group and interactions during two online professional development events held by the e/merge Africa network in 2014 and 2015. The presentation will close with some implications for the design of future events and processes.

17. Pratiques collaboratives en ligne: Incidences sur le renforcement des compétences professionnelles «Expérimentation auprès de professeurs de lycées de Madagascar» Date de réalisation: 2006 – 2007. Omer Andrianarimanana Andrianariomer , Ecole Normale Supérieure d’Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Abstract: The integration of ICT into education-learning constitutes a major concern in the field of education in Madagascar. Within this pilot experiment, the idea is to analyze the impacts of online collaborative practices on secondary school teachers in terms of knowledge, teaching practices, integration of ICT into their education, as well as in the psycho-affective field. Surveys are being conducted using a questionnaire. The use of answers enabled to obtain an appraisal at an early stage of the project. Teachers of four subjects were requested to collaborate online during the project. Teaching materials are the expected deliverables from their collaboration. The platform of collaboration is a free platform known as MOODLE, and the functionalities used are forums and chats. Mails were also used and in-class groupings were organized. Teachers conducted experiments with online school merger: exchanges of experience, of teaching materials, elaboration of educational cards, sharing and updating of knowledge on subjects. Thereafter, it was a question of conducting the experiment results with pupils. A certain amount of latitude was however given to them with regard to the choice of the subject/or of the theme to experiment. Moreover, new teachers integrated into teams for projects currently underway upon opening their account on the platform. Analysis of the signs of those collaborative practices was then undertaken. It highlighted the obstacles and difficulties encountered by those teachers. Interviews with those teachers enabled to evaluate their ownership of the online concept of collaborative work, the impacts on their professional skills. Key words: platform, forum, chat, experimentation 18. Análise das perceções, preocupações e satisfação dos estudantes e docentes no contexto

de uma experiência de formação de professores on-line na Uni-CV [Analysis of perceptions, concerns and satisfaction of students and teachers in the context of an on-line teacher training experience at University of Cape Verde]. Inocêncio Soares Luisa, Universidade de Cabo Verde, Cape Verde.

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Abstract: The main purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions, concerns and satisfaction of the students and teachers from the University of Cape Verde, in the context of on-line teacher training experience. The Results and Conclusions are based on an analysis of opinions, perspectives and interpretations by the study subjects. The study aims to contribute to the increasing body of knowledge of on-line education at University of CV, at a time when this teaching model begins to take on new dimensions in Cape Verde. The study is exploratory and descriptive and therefore some of the results are qualitative in nature. The data collection instrument we used was an on-line questionnaire for teachers and students, which allowed the compilation of both qualitative and quantitative data, totaling nineteen respondents, distributed by municipalities of São Vicente, Praia and Sal. It is important to note that 75% of students considered that the training experience was good, 12.5% considered it mediocre and 12.5% considered it to be poor. On the other hand, 33.3% of teachers are of the opinion that the experience was very good, while 66.6% ignored this question. There are some limitations in studies of this nature in that the results and perspectives drawn do not evaluate or compare the quality of the courses offered in this Distance Education System. Thus empirical conclusions that would be the basis to take decisions that promote the quality of Distance Education, at the University of Cape Verde and at the national level cannot be drawn from this study. Keywords: teacher training models, e-learning, Moodle platform, pioneering experience

18. Workshop Descriptions

Workshop 1: SMART by Design! Leadership Essentials for Virtual Mentorship Facilitator: Dr. Penina Lam, CEO, eLearning Innovators, Inc. Description: eMentoring presents opportunities to engage diverse employers and other stakeholders in preparing graduates by offering guidance that is relevant to enhancing student professional competencies, helping them develop confidence, and networking resources for a very competitive workplace. Virtual mentoring is not just about the technology but also people relationships and strategy. The foundations of eMentoring will be featured through a 5-phase SMART design model. Initiating and developing eMentoring programs is not about creating more barriers. The speaker will show just how the technology that is already in place in most higher education institutions to support eLearning, can be used and repurposed to support eMentoring. While Learning Management Systems (LMS) are being embraced to support delivery of content, there is limited evidence that it’s being used for eMentoring. Higher education institutions and society at large are increasingly embracing mobile and Web-based learning and meeting technologies. As distance programs gain momentum, why are higher

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education institutions not using the same eLearning technologies and infrastructure already in place? Given the statistics on employment for African youth, it’s clear that higher education institutions must clearly do more to enhance the employability of graduates and youth across the board. Technology has evolved rapidly and become more accessible in terms of costs and more adaptable allowing us to connect across borders with relative ease. As administrators look for solutions and tools to boost curriculum relevance, engage stakeholders, boost employability, and to participate in global knowledge transfer, eMentoring holds a lot of promise. The audience of administrators will be able to acquire an understanding of the SMART Design and acquire leadership tools that they can use jump start their own eMentoring initiatives. Workshop 2: Introduction to MicroLearning and Mobile Learning Facilitator: Gregor Cholewa, Head of Mobile Knowledge Lab, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Research Studios Austria - Studio for MicroLearning and Information Environments and CTO at KnowledgeFox (Vienna, Austria) The hands on workshop addresses teachers, trainers and administrators who want to support the knowledge buildup of students using smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices. It will start with the key terms, principles and benefits of mobile learning and will then show how universities in Europe and the US are using mobiles in blended learning and distance learning scenarios. Participants will gain hands on experience from a learner, teacher and administrator perspective. Attendees who bring a script or presentation as source material will be able to create their first lesson and learning cards and to test them on their own device. Therefore participants should bring their own smart phone AND laptop computer or tablet if possible. The workshop will end with a discussion on success criteria for the implementation of mobile learning in large organizations and the experiences from Danube University Krems, Comenius University, University of Delft, from publishing houses and corporations such as Samsung, the Austrian railway corp. or Credit Suisse.

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VI. Appendices

1. Conference Program (Snapshot) CONFERENCE PROGRAM (SNAPSHOT) DAY TIME ACTIVITY ROOM WEDNESDAY 1ST JULY

ALL DAY 09:00 - 05:00 REGISTRATION Secretariat

EVENING 6:45 - 09:00 WELCOME RECEPTION Foyer THURSDAY 2ND JULY MORNING 08:00 - 02:00 REGISTRATION Secretariat

8:00 - 10:30 Workshops 1 & 2 Chania, Sabaki 10:30 - 11:00 TEA/COFFEE BREAK 11:00 - 01:00 OPENING CEREMONY Plenary Chair: Prof Rogerio Uthui, (Chair, AVU Board of Directors)

Conference Agenda (Overview) - (Dr. Atieno Adala, AVU) Welcome Address - (Dr. Bakary Diallo, Rector, AVU) Opening Remarks - (Mr. Negatu, Regional Director AfDB) Opening Remarks - (African Union Representative) Opening Keynote - Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education (Kenya) or Representative

12:00 - 12:45 Keynote: Prof Peck Cho (Distinguished Professor, Dongguk University, SOUTH KOREA

12:45 - 01:00 GROUP PHOTO 01:00 - 02:00 LUNCH AFTERNOON 02:00 - 03:30 Breakout Sessions 1 & 2 Sabaki, Chania

03:30 - 04:00 TEA/COFFEE BREAK Foyer

04:00 - 04:45 Keynote: Prof. Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams, University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

Plenary (Tana)

EVENING 06:45 -11:00 RECTOR’S GALA DINNER Plenary

FRIDAY 3RD JULY MORNING 08:00-12:00 REGISTRATION Secretariat

08:00 -10:30 Workshops 1 & 2 Chania, Sabaki 10:30 - 10:45 TEA/COFFEE BREAK Foyer 10:45 - 11:25 High Level Panel - Open Education Consortium

(OEC) Larry Cooperman & Stavros Xanthopoylos

Plenary (Tana)

11:25 - 11:45 mElimu Presentation Tana 11:50 - 01:25 Breakout Sessions 3 & 4 Sabaki, Chania

01:30 - 02:30 LUNCH AFTERNOON 02:30 - 03:30 Roundtable on Mobile Learning Plenary (Tana) 03:30 - 03:45 TEA/COFFEE BREAK Foyer

03:45 - 04:30 Session Summary from Chairs Plenary (Tana) 04:30 – 05:00 CLOSING REMARKS/

VOTE OF THANKS Plenary

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2. Conference Program (Long) DAY 1 - THURSDAY 2ND JULY 2015 WORKSHOPS 08:00 – 10:30AM ROOM: CHANIA Workshop 1: SMART by Design! Leadership Essentials for Virtual Mentorship Facilitator: Dr. Penina Lam, CEO, eLearning Innovators, Inc. 08:00 – 10:30AM ROOM: SABAKI Workshop 2: Introduction to MicroLearning and Mobile Learning Facilitator: Gregor Cholewa, Head of Mobile Knowledge Lab, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Research Studios Austria - (Vienna, Austria) MORNING: 10:30 - 11:00 TEA/COFFEE BREAK ROOM: Foyer OPENING CEREMONY 11:00AM - 01:00PM ROOM: PLENARY Chair: Prof Rogerio Uthui, Rector, Universidade Pedagogica, Mozambique (Chair, AVU BOD)

11:00 - 11:10 11:10 - 11:20 11:20 - 11:30 11:30 - 11:40 11:40 - 12:00

Conference Agenda (Overview) - (Dr. Atieno Adala, AVU) Welcome Address - (Dr. Bakary Diallo, Rector, AVU) Opening Remarks - (Mr. Negatu, Regional Director AfDB) Opening Remarks - (African Union Representative) Opening Keynote - Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education (Kenya) or Representative

12:00 – 12:45 Keynote: ICT in Education: A powerful enabler and equalizer Prof Peck Cho (Distinguished Professor at the Center for Teaching and Learning, Dongguk University, KOREA

12:45 – 1:00 GROUP PHOTO

01:00 - 02:00PM LUNCH BREAK ROOM: FOYER BREAKOUT SESSION ONE AFTERNOON: 02:30 - 3:30PM ROOM: SABAKI Research Area

Chair: Prof Chipo Dyanda, DVC Academic, University of Zimbabwe

Access, equity, and ethics

Open licensing digital storytelling for multilingual literacy development: Implications for teachers (practice). Presenter: Dorcas N. Wepukhulu South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE), SOUTH AFRICA

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Formation à distance et genre: les solutions du problème de déficit de professeurs de mathématiques au Sénégal (research). Presenter : Julie Affoue Kanda Ministère de L'éducation National, SENEGAL

The role of ICT in creating access to education: A case study of Digital Divide Data (DDD) (practice) Presenter: Carmen Wamukoya Institution: Digital Divide Data (DDD), KENYA Voices from the distance: Communicating the experience of remote education (research, virtual presentation) Jillian Marchant, James Cook University, AUSTRALIA

BREAKOUT SESSION TWO AFTERNOON: 02:00 - 03:30PM ROOM: CHANIA Research Area

Chair: Prof Emilienne Akonga Edumbe, Institut Superieur Pedagogique de Gombe, DRC


Massive, online, open communities: Toward building an informal, peer-learning sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. Presenter: Larry Cooperman University of California, Irvine, USA Quelles innovations dans les stratégies d’amélioration du double tutorat dans la formation a distance des enseignants du secondaire: cas du Sénégal (research).

Presenter: Mamadou Sarr

Université Cheikh Anta Diop, SENEGAL

Empirical-based analytical insights on the position, challenges and potential for promoting OER in ODeL institutions in Africa (research). Presenter: Cornelia K. Muganda The Open University of Tanzania, TANZANIA The iterative engagement between curation and evaluation in an open research project: A utilization-focused approach (practice). Presenter: Sarah Goodier University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

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03:30 - 04:00 TEA/COFFEE BREAK ROOM: Foyer 04:00 - 04:45PM KEYNOTE ROOM PLENARY Chair: Prof. Ezra Maritim, Egerton University, KENYA (AVU Board Member) Keynote: Uncovering what enables and constrains ‘open practices’ in the Global South: Reflections from the ROER4D Project Presenter: Prof. Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams, University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

EVENING: 06:45 - 11:00PM RECTOR’S GALA DINNER ROOM: TANA DAY 2 – FRIDAY 3RD JULY 2015

WORKSHOPS 08:00 – 10:30AM ROOM: CHANIA Workshop 1: SMART by Design! Leadership Essentials for Virtual Mentorship Facilitator: Dr. Penina Lam, CEO, eLearning Innovators, Inc. 08:00 – 10:30AM ROOM: SABAKI Workshop 2: Introduction to MicroLearning and Mobile Learning Facilitator: Gregor Cholewa, Head of Mobile Knowledge Lab, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Research Studios Austria - (Vienna, Austria) MORNING: 10:30 - 10:45 ROOM: FOYER TEA/COFFEE BREAK PLENARY 10:45 - 11:25 ROOM: TANA Chair: Prof Maxime Da Cruz, Universite d’Abomey Calavi Benin

Global Trends in Open Education: Implications for Africa - Open Education Consortium (OEC) Presenters: Larry Cooperman, Stavros Xanthopoylos & Sophie Touzé (Board of Directors, Open Education Consortium) PLENARY 11:25 - 11:45 ROOM: TANA A case study of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) partnership with mElimu to enable learning anytime, anywhere, and on any device Presenters: Rajeev Gupta, CEO, mElimu.com and Edward Ombajo, Head Open Distance and e-Learning, The Catholic University of Eastern Africa

BREAKOUT SESSION THREE 11:50 - 01:25 PM ROOM: CHANIA Research Area

Chair: Prof Cornelia Muganda, Open University of Tanzania

Educational Technology

Use of cloud computing systems in education: The lived experiences of faculty members in tertiary institutions (research). Presenter: Joseph Kwame Adjei Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), GHANA

mailto:mElimu.com

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Use of electronic mobile devices in teaching and learning in higher education in Kenya: An emerging pedagogy (research). Presenter: Anne A. Aseey University of Nairobi, KENYA Scolarisation des technologies mobiles en milieu universitaire africain: cas des universités camerounaises (research). Presenter: Janvier Fotsing

Centre International de Recherche en Application des Technologies Spatiales (CIRATS), CAMEROUN

Mobile learning and emerging technologies in higher education in Africa Presenter: Dick Ngambi University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

BREAKOUT SESSION FOUR 11:50 - 01:25PM ROOM: SABAKI Research Area Chair: Prof Rose Mwonya, Egerton University, Kenya Instructional or learning design

Developing multimedia enhanced content to upgrade subject content knowledge of secondary school teachers in Tanzania (research/practice). Presenter: Joel S. Mtebe University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania & Tanzania Institute of Education, TANZANIA

Interaction and communication in learning communities

Networked learning interactions in the e/merge Africa network (practice). Presenter: Tony Carr University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA Pratiques collaboratives en ligne: Incidences sur le renforcement des competences professionnelles «Expérimentation auprès de professeurs de lycées de Madagascar» (research) Presenter: Jean Claude Omer Andrianarimanana

L’Ecole Normale Supérieure d’Antananarivo Madagascar

MADAGASCAR

Learner characteristics

Análise das perceções, preocupações e satisfação dos estudantes e docentes no contexto de uma experiência de formação de professores on-line na Uni-CV

Presenter: Inocêncio Soares Luisa

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Universidade de Cabo Verde, CAPE VERDE

AFTERNOON: 01:30 - 02:30 LUNCH BREAK PLENARY Chair: Prof Anthony Afful-Broni, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana 02:30 – 03:30 Roundtable on Mobile Learning

Panelists: Anne Salim (iHub), Janvier Fotsing (CIRATS), Gregor Cholewa (Research Studios Austria), Rajeev Gupta (mElimu),

MORNING: 03:30 – 03:45 TEA/COFFEE BREAK ROOM: FOYER PLENARY Chair: Amadou Boureima, DVC Academic, Université Abdou Moumouni de

Niamey, Niger 03:45 -04:30 Session Summary from Chairs (5 MINS EACH) 04:30 – 05:00 Closing Remarks/Vote of Thanks

Prof Joao Cardoso, Universidade de Cabo Verde, Cape Verde

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3. Call for Papers

CALL FOR PAPERS 2015 2nd International Conference of the AVU

Theme: Linking Open Education and eLearning Research to Practice

Dates: July 2 & 3, 2015 City: Nairobi, Kenya Venue: Crowne Plaza Hotel

The call for papers is now open for the 2015 International Conference of the African Virtual University (AVU).This will be the second conference of the AVU and like the first conference in 2013, this conference will bring together researchers, policymakers and practitioners seeking to make sense of the challenges and explore emerging opportunities afforded by ICTs and open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) in addressing issues of access, equity and quality of higher education and training in Africa. Submissions should especially try to address the issue of linking open education and eLearning research to both policy and practice.

We invite papers from a broad range of research areas in ODeL at the macro, meso and micro levels. Papers should be submitted under one of the sixteen research areas (tracks) provided in the submissions guidelines. Like last year, mobile learning, MOOCs and OER still remain of particular interest. This year we also invite papers from IT industry professionals that focus on ICT innovations and solutions for education (including mobile technologies).

Key Dates:

• Call for submissions opens: December 11th 2014 • Deadline for submissions: March 13th 2015 • Review Timeline: February 15th – April 2rd 2015 • Notification of Acceptance: April 17th 2015 • Camera ready papers due: May 8th 2015 • Conference Early Registration: May 4th – June 5th 2015

Conference Dates: o Preconference workshops July 1st 2015 o Main Conference July 2nd – 3rd 2015

Papers Categories Papers can be submitted in any of the following categories to [email protected]:

• Full Papers:

mailto:[email protected]

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Full papers provide an opportunity to share quality and original research. These may feature research studies, evaluations, significant reviews, developments or projects. Full papers are expected to present quality research and require that the paper be original and have the potential to produce results that are sufficiently general for theoretical and/or practical knowledge to be recognizably increased. Full paper proposals should be between 3500 and 6000 words including references

• Concise (Short Papers)

Concise papers are around work-in-progress for pilot studies, small scale exploratory projects, reports on highly specialized topics or conceptual papers on recent developments. Concise papers also encompass reviews of key new directions for developing research-based best practices and for conducting research into practices in open education, distance and eLearning. Concise paper proposals are between 2500-3000 words, including references.

• Poster/Digital Poster: The poster session provides an opportunity to display information about research in progress and innovative projects or activities in an informal, interactive environment. Poster proposals are a maximum of a two page description, including references.

• Symposium A symposium submission will describe an area of current interest and will provide a summary of ideas to be explored (with reference to relevant theoretical frameworks, research, studies and references), including panel members and intended audience. An important component of the symposium submission is a description of the format, addressing the strategies that will be used to engage the audience. Symposium proposals are a maximum of 2 pages, including references.

• Workshops

Workshops contribute towards professional development in open, distance and eLearning and related topics. In many cases the workshops are derived from professional development activities conducted previously at the presenters' own institutions. Workshops enable participants to engage with colleagues and experts in specific fields, to acquire knowledge, enhance skills and develop broader perspectives. Submissions for workshop proposal should include the following information:

1. Or not more than 2 pages, describe the objectives of the workshop, the target audience, instructional goals, and activities planned for the workshop. 2. Provide a list of the names and institutional affiliations of workshop presenters. 3. Provide a list of equipment or room set up requirements.

Submission Guidelines

• All papers should be submitted via email to [email protected] • Abstracts alone will not be considered and must be accompanied by the paper. The

abstract should be between 250-300 words.

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• The paper needs to address and provide reviewers with an understanding of the results and findings to date. To be considered for review, all six elements described below must be addressed in the paper even if the results, conclusions, or findings are not complete or final at the time of the submission. The paper should deal explicitly with the following elements, preferably in this order: 1. Objectives or purposes of the paper. 2. Perspective or theoretical/conceptual framework 3. Methods, modes of inquiry including sources of data and evidence. 4. Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view 5. Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work 6. Relevance of the study to the theme: "Linking Open Education, Distance and eLearning Research to Practice." • All papers will be peer reviewed by at least two experienced scholars. To help us ensure a blind review, we request that you do not include any identifying information on the actual body of the paper; this should be limited to the cover page. On the cover page, include: o The author(s) and presenter(s) name, institutional affiliation and email address. o Provide five keyword descriptors (to help in programming).

• In your submission, indicate which of the sixteen research areas shown in the table below is most suited to your paper. Further examples of issues that fall under each research area is provided below.

Research Areas/Tracks

Research Areas by Level Macro-level: ODeL Systems & Theories

Meso-level: Management, Organization & Technology

Micro-level: Teaching & Learning

1. Access, equity, and ethics

2. Globalization of education and cross cultural aspects

3. Open, distance and eLearning systems and institutions

4. Theories and models 5. Research methods in

ODeL and knowledge transfer

6. Management and organization

7. Costs and benefits 8. Infrastructure 9. Educational technology 10. Innovation and change 11. Professional development &

faculty support 12. Learner support services 13. Quality assurance

14. Instructional or learning design

15. Interaction and communication in learning communities

16. Learner characteristics

See ODeL Research Framework for details

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4. ODeL Research Framework Research Framework – Open, Distance and eLearning A number of attempts have been made in the past to organize research in open and distance learning. Some of these studies are cited in Zawacki-Ritcher (2009) in a follow-up investigation to help organize research in open and distance learning. In his investigation, Zawacki sought to: (i) develop a categorization of research areas in distance education; (ii) identify the most important research areas in distance education; and (iii) identify the most neglected research areas in distance education. Based on an extensive literature review and a Delphi study, three broad research levels—macro, meso and micro—with 15 research areas were derived to organize the body of knowledge in distance education. Zawacki-Ritcher offers this framework to prospective researchers as a tool that can be used to help identify gaps and priority areas and to explore potential research directions. Zawacki-Richter & Anderson (2014) note that the Delphi study has initiated fruitful discussions about the structure of research areas in distance education and subsequent literature reviews have referred to and built upon this framework. They highlight the example of a research consortium of some universities in Australia and New Zealand established and funded by the Australian government which developed a research program for 2011–2021 with research themes categorized by the main research levels—macro, meso, micro—and by the 15 research areas identified in the Delphi study. The African Virtual University (AVU) is pleased to adopt and adapt this framework for the benefit of its research community. While the framework is considerably comprehensive, we have added an additional research area (infrastructure) at the meso level of the framework (see table 3). Infrastructure is a particularly important area when it comes to supporting the design, development and delivery of ODeL programs, especially for institutions in countries with underdeveloped infrastructure such as the ones found in rural areas. A recent proposal (Paul & Ubwa 2013) for instance explored how solar energy can be used to power distance learning centers in the rural areas of Tanzania. The term open, distance and eLearning (ODeL) has been adopted and is used to capture the philosophical, foundational and the increasingly technological aspects of the field. It indicates continuity with the past, while also engaging with emergent developments.

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We hope that this framework will serve as a useful tool for the research community. The framework is particularly helpful for a number of reasons including:

• identify gaps, priority areas and explore potential research directions; • inform call for papers for journal articles including themes for special issues; • help highlight relationship and draw connections across levels, research areas

and issues; • can be engaged with and further developed and refined by the research

community; and • provide opportunities for collaboration.

Table 1 is an overview of the research areas, sixteen in total organized into the 3 levels macro-, meso- and micro-. These research areas are further expanded to show the issues for consideration under each area.

Table 1: Research Areas by Level Macro-level: ODeL Systems & Theories

Meso-level: Management, Organization & Technology

Micro-level: Teaching & Learning

17. Access, equity, and ethics

18. Globalization of education and cross cultural aspects


20. Theories and models 21. Research methods in

ODeL and knowledge transfer

1. Management and organization

2. Costs and benefits 3. Infrastructure 4. Educational technology 5. Innovation and change 6. Professional development &

faculty support 7. Learner support services 8. Quality assurance

1. Instructional or learning design

2. Interaction and communication in learning communities

3. Learner characteristics

Table 2: ODeL Systems & Theories: Research Areas and Issues at the Macro-level 1. Access, equity, and ethics

• The democratization of access to education through open, distance and elearning as afforded by new media and technologies

• Finding ways to deliver high quality education to those who have limited resources and poor infrastructure.

• The (sustainable) provision of education using ODeL in developing nations. For example, what is the impact of distance education (e.g., via mobile learning) on narrowing (or broadening) the digital divide?

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• What is the role of ICT (information and communication technologies) and/or OER (open educational resources) or MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) in terms of access to education?

• Should distance education have an inherent and explicit goal to reduce inequality and promote both high quality and affordable educational opportunity?

2. Globalization of education and cross-cultural aspects

• aspects that refer to the global external environment and drivers; • the development of the global distance education market; • teaching and learning in mediated and multicultural environments;

and the implications for professional development and curriculum development.

• Policy implications for various aspects of cross border education such as accreditation, internalization

• Implications for access and opportunity such as presented by MOOCs and OERS?


• ODeL delivery systems, the role of institutional partnerships in developing transnational programs and the impact of ICT on the convergence of conventional education and distance education institutions (hybrid or mixed-mode).

4. Theories and models • Theoretical frameworks for and foundations of ODeL e.g., the

theoretical basis of instructional models, knowledge construction, interaction between learners, and

• the impact of social constructivism, connectivism, and new learning theories on current practice.

5. Research methods in ODeL and knowledge transfer • Methodological considerations,

• the impact of ODeL research and publication on practice, and • the role of professional associations and higher education institutions in

improving practice. • Literature reviews and works on the history of distance education as

well as new and emerging models and concepts are also subsumed within this area.

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Table 3: Management, Organization & Technology: Research Areas & Issues 6.

Management and organization

• strategies, administration, and organizational infrastructures and frameworks for the development, implementation, and sustainable delivery of ODeL programs.

• What is required for successful leadership in ODeL? • Policies relating to continuing education, lifelong learning, and the impact of

ODeL on institutional policies, as well as legal issues (copyright and intellectual property).

7. Costs and benefits

• to financial management, costing, pricing, and business models in ODeL • Efficiency: What is the return on investment or impact of ODeL programs? • What is the impact of ICT on the costing models and the scalability of ODeL

delivery? • How can cost-effective but meaningful learner support be provided?

8. Infrastructure

• physical infrastructure and access points to ODeL programs ( e.g. learning centers, ODeL design & development centers)

• power availability (electricity, solar) • technical infrastructure, and equipment for ODeL learning environments

including computers, mobile devices, virtual labs) • ICT capacity and internet infrastructure

9.

Educational technology • new trends in educational technology for ODeL (e.g., social media or mobile

learning) and their affordances for teaching and learning. • the benefits and challenges of using OERs, media selection (e.g.,

synchronous versus asynchronous media), • skills and competencies to use and support technology integration

10.

Innovation and change • issues that refer to educational innovation with new media and measures to

support and facilitate change in institutions (e.g., incentive systems for faculty, aspects referring to staff workloads, promotion and tenure).

• emerging innovations and their implications for ODeL e.g. learning management systems, OERs, MOOCs, online data analytics, online examination systems, certification and tags

• Keeping abreast with research and innovation with implications for ODeL • Issues that refer to educational innovation with new media (e.g. mobile

learning) • measures to support and facilitate change and innovation in institutions

(e.g., research, incentive systems for faculty, aspects referring to staff workloads, promotion, and tenure).

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11. Professional development and faculty support • Professional development and faculty support services as a prerequisite for

innovation and change. • What are the competencies for teaching online and in various ODeL

contexts (blended, hybrid), • What are the competencies needed for counselors and support service

staff, and how can they be developed?

12. Learner support services • the infrastructure for and organization of learner support systems (from

information and counseling for prospective students to library services and technical support, to career services and alumni networks).

13. Quality assurance

• accreditation and quality standards in ODeL • the implications of quality assurance and high quality learner support on

enrolments and drop-out/retention • the reputation and acceptance of ODeL as a valid form of educational

provision.

Table 4: Teaching and Learning - Research areas and issues at the micro-level

1. Instructional or learning design • issues that refer to the stages of the instructional design process for

curriculum and course development. • pedagogical approaches for tutoring online (scaffolding), the design of

(culturally appropriate) study material, opportunities provided by new developments in ICTs for teaching and learning (e.g., social media applications and mobile devices),

• assessment opportunities and practices in ODeL.

2. Interaction and communication in learning communities • closely related to instructional design considerations is course design that

fosters (online) articulation, interaction, reflection, and collaboration throughout the learning and teaching process.

• Special areas include the development of online communities, gender differences, and cross-cultural aspects in online communication.

3. Learner characteristics • the aims and goals of adult and younger students studying in ODeL • the socio-economic background of ODeL learners, their different approaches

to learning, critical thinking dispositions, media literacies, and special needs. • How do learners learn online (behaviour patterns, learning styles) and what

competencies are needed for learning (e.g., digital literacy)? • Gender differences?

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A Note about Research Areas that Cut Across the Three Levels

It is important to note that the separation of research areas into categories is not easy and clear-cut in all cases. Some areas cross the different levels such as issues of quality assurance and evaluation, educational technologies, infrastructure, gender and cross-cultural issues.

Quality assurance and evaluation

• the issues classified at the meso level: management, organization, and technology would focus on the evaluation or accreditation of whole institutions or programs or, research about the development of a general, institution-wide instrument to measure learner satisfaction.

• at the micro level: teaching and learning, the emphasis would be on the evaluation of single courses, learning groups, or courseware. Evaluation here would be a step in the instructional design process.

Cross-cultural issues

• at the macro level the focus is for example on issues of international partnerships in the global education market.

• at the meso level, issues to be considered include the planning, implementation, and management of transnational programs to address the needs of globally dispersed learners.

• At the micro level, intercultural communication plays an important role in classes with mixed cohorts of learners from all over the world, how learners learn online etc. These do have implications for competencies required by teachers on the meso level (in terms of professional development and faculty support).

Educational technology has issues across all three levels:

• Issues that refer to access to educational technologies and infrastructure have to be considered on the global macro level.

• The introduction of new media for learning and teaching in institutions has a strong impact on educational management on the meso level, e.g., issues that refer to the organizational support and infrastructure for educational technologies, their costs, quality assurance, implications for organizational change, and the resulting need for professional development.

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• Research that emphasizes the pedagogical opportunities that new media afford for teaching and learning falls into categories on the micro level (e.g., instructional design and mediated interaction and communication).

• Infrastructure for ODeL institutions goes beyond teaching and learning activities, hence the necessity to tackle them separately.

Gender

• One area not shown explicitly in the tables above is gender. Issues of gender will cut across the three levels depending on whether the focus is on social or institutional policies to increase participation or the focus is on the experience of different genders in ODeL learning environments.

References Paul, D.P. & Fatma Ubwa, F. The role of photovoltaic powered ICT centers on ODL

programs in rural areas in Tanzania. Paper presented at the 2013 1st International Conference of the AVU, Nairobi Kenya under the session on Infrastructure & Capacity.

Zawacki-Richter Olaf & Anderson, T. (2014). Introduction: Research Areas in Online Distance Education. In Zawacki-Richter Olaf & Anderson, T. Eds. Online distance education: Towards a research agenda edited by Olaf Zawacki-Richter and Terry Anderson. Pp 1-35. AU Press, Athabasca University, Edmonton, AB.

Zawacki-Richter, O. (2009). Research areas in distance education: A Delphi study.

International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10 (3).

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5. Conference Submissions Review Form

CONFERENCE SUBMISSION REVIEW ASSESSMENT (GUIDELINES & FORM)

1. Title of submission:

2. ODEL Framework Research Area:

3. Type of submission:

(i) Research-based (ii) Practice-based

4. Submission Category: (i) Long Paper (ii) Concise Paper (iii) Poster (iv) Workshop

5. Instructions • In section above, complete the fields the (i) title of submission, (ii) indicate if

paper is research-based or practice-based, and (iii) select the submission category

• Each submission is to be reviewed using the review form below. The review form has been developed to provide a systematic way of assessing the paper submissions to the conference.

• Reviewers are requested to use the form for guidance by reading the guiding questions, then select the appropriate score and provide comments to support the score for each item.

• Items 1-8 have to be scored and supporting comments provided for each. • Lastly, total the scores and provide a final score out of 40 points at the end

of the form. • This is a double-blind peer review process, the identity of the reviewers will

not be revealed to the authors.

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Guiding Questions Score/Comments 1. The Abstract

• The Abstract is the portion of the paper where the authors provide a summary that presents the paper’s most important features. The Abstract should be succinct, yet able to stand alone and be understood without reading the paper.

• In the Abstract, the authors should give a succinct account of the purpose, methods, findings and significance of the study within 150-250 words

Guiding questions

• Can the Abstract be understood without reading the paper?

• Does the Abstract adequately summarize the essential details - purpose, methods, findings and significance of the study?

• Does the abstract avoid unnecessary extraneous information such as citations of literature reviewed, unfamiliar abbreviations, tables, figures etc?

Excellent 5 Very Good 4 Good 3 Fair 2 Weak 1

Provide comments to support your assessment

2. Introduction Section

The Introduction should introduce the problem, state why it is important, and outline the rationale, purpose, design and context of the study. The introduction should make a clear and cogent argument that the study is important and possesses value. This can be done by indicating a specific gap in previous research, by raising a question, a hypothesis, or need, or by extending previous knowledge in some way. Guiding questions Does the introduction:

• Introduce the problem and provide an overview of what the study enquired into, the background, history and/or context of the study, and the purpose and objectives of the study?

• Demonstrate that the area of research is important, critical, interesting, problematic, relevant, or otherwise worthy of



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Guiding Questions Score/Comments investigation?

• Introduce and review key sources of prior research in that area to show where gaps exist or where prior research has been inadequate in addressing the research problem?

• Include a relevant review of literature and briefly describe, analyze, compare or criticize the previous research in this area and relate this to the current investigation? Does the cited literature: o Only report on work which is directly

relevant and has contributed to the study. o Only cite sources which demonstrate the

links between the previous and current work.

o The literature review should not simply provide a long string of citations without any explanations about their key points, significance or differences.

• Describe the remaining organizational structure of the paper?

• Overall does the introduction help the reader to understand the main problem that the study tackles?

3. Research Methods Section In this section the authors should describe in sufficient

detail the methodological approach, the sample, the context, the participants, the tools used and the procedures. Readers will judge the reliability, validity or trustworthiness of the work by this section. Guiding questions

• Are the modes of inquiry employed well executed and appropriate to the particular problem?

• Is the conceptual framework/ type of study conducted e.g. quantitative, qualitative or mixed method focused and well explained?

• Is the research problem/question, the study participants, study instruments, context and circumstances sufficiently described?

• Does the author describe how the data was collected, summarized and analysed?

• Does the author describe how the study was conducted in sufficient detail to allow readers



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Guiding Questions Score/Comments to evaluate the appropriateness of the research design?

• Does the author describe the measures taken to address issues of trustworthiness (reliability and validity) of the study and subsequent findings/results?

4. The Findings/Results Section

• In this section, the reviewer should examine whether the authors systematically and clearly announce the study findings.

• If the results are unclear, the reviewer must decide whether the analysis of the data was poorly executed or whether the section is poorly organized. The latter need not be a fatal flaw, whereas the former usually indicates that the paper is unacceptable for publication.

• The organization of this section is an important consideration for authors and reviewers alike. If the authors outline a sequence of steps in the Methods section, presenting the results of each step separately will help the reader and reviewer place the findings in perspective.

Guiding questions

• Are the findings/results clearly substantiated and logical based on the methods and data/evidence provided in the proposal?

• Are the findings/results reasonable and expected, or are they unexpected?

• Are there findings/results that are introduced that are not preceded by an appropriate discussion in the Methods section?



5. The Discussion Section

• This section is often considered the most important part of a research paper because it most effectively demonstrates the researcher’s ability to think critically about an issue, to develop creative solutions to problems based on the findings, and to formulate a deeper, more profound


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Guiding Questions Score/Comments understanding of the research problem being studied.

• The discussion section should focus on the scientific/scholarly and/or practical significance of the study

Guiding questions

• Is the discussion concise? If not, how should it be shortened?

• If a hypothesis was proposed, do the authors state whether it was verified or falsified?

• Alternatively, if no hypothesis was proposed, do the authors state whether their research question was answered?

• Are the authors’ conclusions justified by the findings/results found in the study?

• If there are unexpected results, do the authors adequately account for them?

• Do the authors note limitations of the study? Are there additional limitations that should be noted?

• Do the authors show how the study engages with previous studies as relates to theoretical or applied significance?

• Do the authors provide a thoughtful discussion on the implications of the study for addressing critical issues within the field and topic under investigation?


6. The Conclusion Section

• The conclusion is intended to help the reader understand why the research should matter to them after they have finished reading the article.

• A conclusion is not merely a summary of the findings or a re-statement of the research problem but a synthesis of key points. For most articles, one well-developed paragraph is sufficient for a conclusion, although in some cases, a two-or-three paragraph conclusion may be required.

• It presents the last word on the issues you raised in the article. Just as the introduction gives a first impression to the reader, the conclusion offers a chance to leave a lasting impression.



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Guiding Questions Score/Comments Guiding questions Do the authors:

• Highlight key points in the analysis or findings. • Provide a summary of their thoughts and

convey the larger implications of the study. • Succinctly answer the "so what?" question by

placing the study within the context of past research about the topic investigated;

• Demonstrate the importance of their ideas and elaborate on the significance of the findings for research, practice or policy as appropriate?

• Introduce possible new or expanded ways of thinking about the research problem. This does not refer to introducing new information [which should be avoided], but to offer new insight and creative approaches for framing/contextualizing the research problem based on the results of the study.

7. Paper’s timeliness?

Guiding question • Is the paper timely and relevant to a current

problem or specific research issue in open, distance and eLearning?

Timeliness of the topic?



8. Quality of Writing/ Organization

Guiding questions

Quality of writing/organization

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Guiding Questions Score/Comments • What is your overall impression of the

writing/organization? • Is the paper legible, well written with few

grammatical errors? • Is the paper properly organized leading to a

coherent account? • Are there important references that are not

mentioned that should be noted?



9. Overall Recommendation

The three reasons cited most often by reviewers for acceptance of a paper (which accounted for approximately 50% of positive comments) were,

• first, the paper was considered timely and relevant to a current problem;

• second, the paper was considered well written, logical, and easy to comprehend;

• and third, the study was well designed and had appropriate methodology

Guiding questions • What is your overall global recommendation for

this paper?

What is your overall recommendation for this paper?

• Accept • Accept Pending Minor

Revisions • Reconsider After Major

Revisions • Reject

Total Score/40

Overall comments for the Conference Committee

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Guiding Questions Score/Comments Overall comments for the Author(s)

For queries about this document send an email to [email protected] Last update May 19 2016

85



6. List of Peer Reviewers of Conference Papers The table below is the list of peer reviewers who reviewed the conference papers. The AVU Conference Organizing Committee would like to acknowledge their contribution to ensuring quality papers for the conference, as well as providing constructive feedback to authors to help them develop stronger papers.

No. Title/Names Position Institution Country 1. Dr. Anne Achieng

Aseey Senior lecturer

University of Nairobi Kenya

2. Prof. Elifas Tozo Bisanda

DVC Academic

Open University of Tanzania Tanzania

3. Mrs. Viola Dhudhla Machingura

Director

Great Zimbabwe University Zimbabwe

4. Ms. Jillian Marchant PhD Candidate

James Cook University Australia

5. Dr. Lizz Marr Director

Open University United Kingdom

6. Prof. Rory McGreal Professor

Athabasca University Canada

7. M. Ousmane Ndoye Chef dép. FOAD

Centre Régional de Formation des Personnels de l'Education

Sénégal

8. Dr. Rose Njoroge Lecturer Kenyatta University Kenya 9. Dr. Olukunle Rotimi

Ola Australian Catholic

University Australia

10. Mrs. Veronica Nekesa Onjoro

Lecturer

Mount Kenya university Kenya

11. Mr. Opoku Eric Opoku

Lecturer

Christ Apostolic University College

Ghana

12. Prof. Georges Bertrand Tamokwe Piaptie

Associate Professor; Head of the Studies, Planning and Statistics Division, Ministry of Higher Education

University of Douala (currently working at the Ministry of Higher Education)

Cameroon

13. Dr. Sushita Gokool-Ramdoo

Responsable de Formation à Distance et Apprentissage Libre

Commission pour l'Enseignement Supérieur de Maurice

Ile Maurice Mauritius

14. M. Nicolas Roland Chercheur en Université libre de Bruxelles Belgique

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No. Title/Names Position Institution Country Sciences de l'éducation

15. Dr. Richard John Selby

Management Lecturer

Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague

Czech Republic

16. Dr. Abdelwahed Souad

Enseignante-chercheur

Université de la Manouba - Centre National d'Innovation Pédagogique et de Recherche en éducation

Tunisie

17. Dr. Erick R. Gankam Tambo

Associate Academic Officer

United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)

Germany

18. Dr. Moffat Chitapa Tarusikirwa

Chairperson, Department of Teacher Development

Zimbabwe Open University Zimbabwe

19. Dr. Baba Moussoudou Toure

Chef de la formation continue

Ecole Normale Supérieure de Bamako

Mali

20. Dr. Bartolomeu Lopes Varela

Professor

Universidade de Cabo Verde Cape Verde

21. Ms. Freda Janet Wolfenden

Academic Director, TESS-India

The Open University United Kingdom

22. Dr. Clayton R. Wright

Higher Education Consultant

- Canada

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7. List of Presenters List of Presenters 2015 2nd International Conference of the AVU

No. Name Gender Current Position Institution Country ANGLOPHONE

1. Ms. Jillian Marchant

F PhD Student James Cook University Australia

2. Mr. Gregor Cholewa

M Head of Mobile Knowledge Lab, Chief Technology Officer

Mobile Knowledge Lab (Linz) Research Studios, Vienna

Austria

3. Dr. Penina Lam

F CEO eLearning Innovators, Inc. Canada

4. Dr. Joseph Kwame Adjei

M Lecturer School of Technology Ghana Inst. of Mgt. & Public Admin. (GIMPA)

Ghana

5. Ms. Carmen Wamukoya Merab

F Staff Digital Divide Data Kenya

6. Ms. Anne Salim

F Research manager EdTech

IHUB Kenya

7. Dr. Anne Aseey

F Senior lecturer University of Nairobi Kenya

8. Mrs. Dorcas Nafula Wepukhulu

F Kenya country coordinator

South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE)

Kenya

9. Eliakim Hawi M Digital Divide Data Digital Divide Data Kenya 10. Mr. Rajeev Gupta

M CEO mElimu.com Kenya

11. Mr. Edward Misava Ombajo

M OdeL Coordinator

Catholic University of Eastern Africa-CUEA (mElimu.com)

Kenya

12. Prof. Peck Cho

M Distinguished Professor

Dongguk University Korea

13. Prof. Cheryl Ann Hodgkinson-Williams

F Associate Professor University of Cape Town South Africa

14. Prof. Dick Ng’ambi, M Professor Educational Technology Inquiry Lab – ETILAB, University of Cape Town, South Africa

South Africa

15. Ms. Sarah Goodier F University of Cape Town South Africa

16. Mr. Tony Carr

M Educational Technologist/ Convenor of the e/merge Africa

University of Cape Town South Africa

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No. Name Gender Current Position Institution Country network, Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching

17. Prof Cornelia Muganda

F DVC Academic Open University of Tanzania Tanzania

18. Dr. Joel S. Mtebe M Lecturer University of Dar es Salaam

Tanzania

19. Mr Larry Cooperman, M AVU Board Member University of California, Irvine USA

FRANCOPHONE 20. Dr. Fotsing Janvier

M

Coordonnateur exécutif FOAD Université de Yaoundé I

Université de Yaoundé I / Université de Buca

Cameroun

21. Prof. Jean Claude Omer Andrianarimanana

M Directeur

Ecole Normale Supérieure Université d'Antananarivo Madagascar

22. Mrs. Julie Affoue Kanda Epse N'guessan

F Professeur stagiaire ou vacataire

Ministère de l'éducation national

Sénégal

23. Dr. Mamadou Sarr

M Coordonnateur de la formation à distance

Université Cheikh Anta Diop

Sénégal

LUSOPHONE 24. Prof. Stavros P.

Xanthopoylos M FGV - Fundacao Getulio

Vargas Brazil

25. Prof. Maria Luisa Soares Inocéncio

F Docente Universidade de Cabo Verde

Cape Verde

89



8. Complete List of Participants List of participants: 2015 2nd International Conference of the AVU No. Name Gender Current Position Institution Country

ANGLOPHONE 1. Ms. Jillian

Marchant

F PhD Student James Cook University

Australia

2. Mr. Gregor Cholewa

M Head of Mobile Knowledge Lab, Chief Technology Officer

Mobile Knowledge Lab (Linz) Research Studio MINE (Wien, Salzburg) Research Studios, Vienna

Austria

3. Dr. Penina Lam

F CEO eLearning Innovators, Inc.

Canada

4. Dr Jeilu Oumer Hussien

M Deputy President Academic Addis Ababa

University Ethiopia

5. Taye Tolemariam

M Vice President, Academic Affairs Jimma

University Ethiopia

6. Dr. Jeilu Oumer Hussein

M Academic Vice President

Addis Ababa University

Ethiopia

7. Dr. Sylvie Coly

F Director ODel Centre

The University of The Gambia Gambia

8. Dr Omar Jah

M Vice Chancellor University of the Gambia Gambia,The

9. Prof. Philip Duku Osei

M Deputy Rector Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration

Ghana

10. Prof Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw

M Vice Chancellor University of Education Winneba

Ghana

11. Dr. Joseph Kwame Adjei

M Lecturer School of Technology Ghana Inst. of

Ghana

90



No. Name Gender Current Position Institution Country Mgt. & Public Admin. (GIMPA)

12. Prof John Okumu

M DVC Academic Kenyatta University Kenya

13. Prof Rose Mwonya

F Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs

Egerton University Kenya

14. Prof Henry Mutoro

M DVC Academic University of Nairobi Kenya

15. Prof Ezra Maritim

M DVC Academic Egerton University Kenya

16. Ms. Carmen Wamukoya Merab

F Digital Divide Data

Kenya

17. Ms. Judy Owango

F Thomson Reuters

Kenya

18. Mr. Edward Misava Ombajo

M OdeL Coordinator

Catholic University of Eastern Africa-CUEA (mElimu.com)

Kenya

19. Ms. Anne Salim

F Research manager EdTech

IHUB Kenya

20. Mrs. Ruth K. Charo

F Principal Social Development Specialist

African Development Bank

Kenya

21. Prof. Julius Mwakondo Mwabora

M Profressor and Chairman of department

University of Nairobi

Kenya

22. Dr. Elia Kalenzo Kibga

M Tanzania Institute of Education - Ministry of Education

Kenya

23. Dr. Anne Aseey

F Senior lecturer University of Nairobi

Kenya

24. Mrs. Dorcas Nafula Wepukhulu

F Kenya country coordinator

South African Institute for Distance Education

Kenya

91



No. Name Gender Current Position Institution Country (SAIDE)

25. Eliakim Hawi M Digital Divide Data

Kenya

26. Philip Omondi M mElimu.com Kenya 27. Mr. Rajeev

Gupta

M CEO mElimu.com Kenya

28. Prof. Peck Cho

M Distinguished Professor

Dongguk University

Korea

29. Prof Andrew Igho Joe

M Deputy Vice Chancellor, AA University of

Port Harcourt Nigeria

30. Mr. Omar Ali Abdillahi

M Amoud University Somalia

31. Mr. Omar Ali M Amoud University, Borama

Somaliland

32. Prof. Cheryl Ann Hodgkinson-Williams

F Associate Professor University of Cape Town

South Africa

33. Prof. Dick Ng’ambi,

M Educational Technology Inquiry Lab – ETILAB, University of Cape Town, South Africa

South Africa

34. Mr. Thomas William King

M Research Administrator

University of Cape Town

South Africa

35. Ms. Sarah Goodier

F University of Cape Town

South Africa

36. Mr. Tony Carr

M Educational Technologist/ Convenor of the e/merge Africa network, Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching

University of Cape Town

South Africa

37. Prof. John Akec

M University of Juba

South Sudan

38. Mr. Peter Vuni

M Deputy Director, Centre for Distance

University of Juba

South Sudan

92



No. Name Gender Current Position Institution Country Education

39. Mr. Justo Koma Petronio

M Director, Centre for Distance Education

University of Juba

South Sudan

40. Prof. Faisal A. Elhag Mohamed

M Vice Chancellor Open University of Sudan (OUS)

Sudan

41. Prof Cornelia Muganda

F DVC Academic Open University of Tanzania Tanzania

42. Dr. Ken Hosea M University of Dar es Salaam

Tanzania

43. Prof. Sylvia Temu

F Director of Higher Education

Ministry of Education and Vocational Training

Tanzania

44. Dr. Joel S. Mtebe

M University of Dar es Salaam

Tanzania

45. Prof. Frolens D.A.M Luoga

M Deputy Vice Chancellor-Academic

University of Dar es Salaam

Tanzania

46. Mr Larry Cooperman,

M AVU Board Member

University of California, Irvine USA

47. Mr. Maurice Sikenyi

M PhD Student University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

USA

48. Prof Chipo Dyanda

F DVC Academic University of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe

FRANCOPHONE 49. Prof. Maxime

Da Cruz

M Pro Vice-Chancellor, Academic Affairs

Université d'Abomey Calavi Benin

50. Prof. Ousséini SO

M Director of Studies

Institut des Sciences de Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso

51. Paul Ntukamazina

M President & Legal Representative

Université Lumière de Bujumbura

Burundi

52. Dr. Fotsing Janvier

M

Coordonnateur exécutif FOAD Université de Yaoundé I

Université de Yaoundé I / Université de Buca

Cameroun

53. Prof. Emilienne Akonga

F General Secretary,

Institut Supérieur

Democratic Republic of Congo

93



No. Name Gender Current Position Institution Country Edumbe

Academic Affairs Pédagogique de Gombe

(DRC)

54. Prof. Jean Claude Omer Andrianarimanana

M Directeur Ecole Normale Supérieure Université d'Antananarivo Madagascar

55. Prof. Ouateni Diallo


Université de Bamako Mali

56. Dr Soïba Diarra

M Director of Studies

Ecole Normale Supérieure de Bamako

Mali

57. Prof. Sidi Mohamed Abdellahi

M Président Université de Nouakchott Mauritania

58. Prof. Ahmed El Ghadi

M Vice President de l’université, Academic Affairs

Université des Sciences de Technologie et Médicine (USTAD)

Mauritania

59. Prof. Amadou Boureima


Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey

Niger

60. Prof. Abdoul Mamadou Diop

M Université Gaston Berger

Sénégal

61. Mrs. Julie Affoue Kanda Epse N'guessan

F Professeur stagiaire ou vacataire

Ministère de l'éducation national

Sénégal

62. Dr. Mamadou Sarr

M Coordonnateur de la formation à distance

Université Cheikh Anta Diop

Sénégal

63. Mr. Fall Modou M Université Cheikh Anta Diop

Cooordinator DRTPIDISI

Sénégal

LUSOPHONE 64. Prof. Stavros P.

Xanthopoylos M FGV - Fundacao

Getulio Vargas Brazil

65. Prof. João Cardoso

M Pro VC AA Universidade de Cabo Verde Cape Verde

94



No. Name Gender Current Position Institution Country 66. Prof. Maria

Luisa Soares Inocéncio

F Docente Universidade de Cabo Verde

Cape Verde

67. Dr. Ancelmo Mendes

M Responsável pedagógico da nossa Instituição

Escola Normal Superior Tchico Té

Guinée Bissau

68. Prof Rogerio Jose Uthui

M Rector Universidade Pedagógica Mozambique

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9. Guidelines - Checklist for Preparing your Final Abstract

CHECKLIST FOR PREPARING YOUR FINAL ABSTRACT Use the following 9-point checklist to help you prepare your abstract. We strongly recommend that you ensure your abstract satisfies these points.

1. Does the abstract succinctly describe the work to be discussed in your conference presentation? 2. Does your abstract engage the reader by telling him/her what the

conference presentation is about and why they should be interested? 3. Have you checked that your abstract is well written in terms of language, grammar, etc.? Theabstract you submit will be used as presented, poorly formatted and written abstracts with spelling and grammatical errors will not be included.

4. Does your abstract provide a succinct summary in one or two sentences on each of the following elements: • Objectives or purposes of the paper.

• Perspective or theoretical/conceptual framework

• Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry

• Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view

• Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work

• Relevance of the study to the theme (or sub themes of the conference).

5. Does you abstract pay particular attention to the results or findings as this is the most important part of your paper/presentation. The findings/results of your study/work will be of particular interest to the readers/audience so make sure this is succinctly captured in your abstract.

6. Does the abstract capture the significance/value of your study/findings? 7. Does the abstract take into consideration reviewer feedback of your proposal? 8. Does your abstract conform to the word limit of minimum 150 to maximum 250 words? 9. Have you provided up to 5 keywords or phrases that closely reflect the content of your paper?

* Authors who do not follow these guidelines are likely to have their abstracts excluded from the conference program

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10. Guidelines - Preparing Your Research-Based Presentation for the Conference

Preparing your research-based presentation for the conference Guidelines and Tips

Below are some tips and guidelines for preparing your presentations. The tips will be especially useful for first time presenters but seasoned presenters will also find these reminders helpful. Preparation Ahead of the Conference

• Each presenter will have about 15 minutes to make their presentation. As a rule of thumb, 5 minutes of speaking time equals 2-3 pages of typed material.

• Remember a paper delivered orally should be different in style from an article meant to be read in print. It is advisable to use your final paper as a source and prepare an outline from which you present your speech.

• The structure of an oral presentation needs careful thought. Bring out the direction the research or presentation has taken. Place more emphasis on the results and interpretation and avoid spending too much time on techniques. The first few minutes can be used to place the research in some historical and developmental context. Remember the critical times of your speech are the first two minutes and the final one minute.

• Develop an excellent introduction and an insightful and practical conclusion. Remember that sessions are on a tight schedule so plan to adhere to the time limits.

• Present some practical applications of your work. Attendees want to receive both practical applications and theoretical material when they attend a session.

• If you use PowerPoint slides in your presentation, be sure that material can be easily read by those sitting at the back of the room.

• It is advisable not to overcrowd your slides with no more than 6-7 words per line, and no more than 6-7 lines per page.

• To ensure an effective performance, practice your presentation before a small group of supportive colleagues and ask for frank comments.

• Be flexible in preparing your speech, for instance if you have prepared a PowerPoint presentation and the technology fails, have a back-up hard copy of your presentation (We hope this will not be the case).

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Presenting at the Conference

• Arrive a few minutes early to meet with the session chair and other presenters. Make sure your presentation has been uploaded and that any audio-visual equipment you are using is working.

• When speaking assume the possibility of hiccups e.g. technology breakdown, so be flexible in preparing your presentation.

• Stay within the allotted time limit when making your presentation. • Stop on time. Remember there are other speakers during this time slot, so be

considerate of their time. • As you speak, establish eye contact with the audience; vary your styles of

presentation. Don't read handouts verbatim when talking. Simply refer to them, but allow participants to be actually involved in developing the outcome.

• Be enthusiastic as you present as your presentation will leave a first impression of your work. If it is positive, then their overall impression of you and your work is reinforced.

• Enjoy yourself as you present your paper! Tip for Preparing Your Power Point Presentation

1. Use PowerPoint to prepare your presentation, other software formats (e.g. Prezi may be used as well).

2. Each presenter has about 15 minutes, so consider using 15 slides or less 3. The first slide should include: Presentation title, author names, institution etc 4. The middle slides should try to cover the following elements of your study or

work: o Introduction/Background o Objectives or purpose(s) of the study/practice o Perspective or theoretical/conceptual framework o Methods & data sources o Results/Findings/Outcomes o Implications

Implications for practice: How can the findings help others (e.g., practitioners, educators, policy makers)?

Implications for research: Based on the results and/or limitations of this study, what should future studies in this area do?

o Discussion

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Identify the most interesting findings and provide an explanation/rationale.

Why did this study get the results? Is it similar to past research? Can theory explain the findings? Is there something about this data collection that made the results different?

o Key references o Acknowledgments (as applicable)

Consent By submitting an abstract and presentation to this conference, you are giving permission for your abstract & presentation to be made available on the internet and accessible to the general public.

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11. Guidelines - Preparing Your Practice-Based Presentation for the Conference

Preparing your practice-based presentation for the conference Guidelines and Tips

Below are some tips and guidelines for preparing your presentations. The tips will be especially useful for first time presenters but seasoned presenters will also find these reminders helpful. Preparation Ahead of the Conference

• Each presenter will have about 15 minutes to make their presentation. As a rule of thumb, 5 minutes of speaking time equals 2-3 pages of typed material.

• Remember a paper delivered orally should be different in style from an article meant to be read in print. It is advisable to use your final paper as a source and prepare an outline from which you present your speech.

• The structure of an oral presentation needs careful thought. Bring out the direction the presentation has taken. Remember the critical times of your speech are the first two minutes and the final one minute.

• Develop an excellent introduction and an insightful and practical conclusion. Remember that sessions are on a tight schedule so plan to adhere to the time limits.

• Present some practical applications of your work. Attendees want to receive both practical applications and theoretical material when they attend a session.

• If you use PowerPoint slides in your presentation, be sure that material can be easily read by those sitting at the back of the room.

• It is advisable not to overcrowd your slides with no more than 6-7 words per line, and no more than 6-7 lines per page.

• To ensure an effective performance, practice your presentation before a small group of supportive colleagues and ask for frank comments.

• Be flexible in preparing your speech, for instance if you have prepared a PowerPoint presentation and the technology fails, have a back-up hard copy of your presentation (We hope this will not be the case).

Presenting at the Conference

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• Arrive a few minutes early to meet with the session chair and other presenters. Make sure your presentation has been uploaded and that any audio-visual equipment you are using is working.

• When speaking assume the possibility of hiccups e.g. technology breakdown, so be flexible in preparing your presentation.

• Stay within the allotted time limit when making your presentation. • Stop on time. Remember there are other speakers during this time slot, so be

considerate of their time. • As you speak, establish eye contact with the audience; vary your styles of

presentation. Don't read handouts verbatim when talking. Simply refer to them, but allow participants to be actually involved in developing the outcome.

• Be enthusiastic as you present as your presentation will leave a first impression of your work. If it is positive, then their overall impression of you and your work is reinforced.

• Enjoy yourself as you present your paper! Tip for Preparing Your Power Point Presentation

5. Use PowerPoint to prepare your presentation, other software formats (e.g. Prezi may be used as well).

6. Each presenter has about 15 minutes, so consider using 15 slides or less 7. The first slide should include: Presentation title, author names, institution etc 8. The middle slides should try to cover the following elements of your study or

work:

i. Introduction • This should provide the context and justification for the practice and

address the following issues: o what is the problem/opportunity being addressed? o which target audience/population is being affected? o how is the problem impacting on the target

audience/population? o what were the objectives being achieved?

ii. Design (Plan) & Implementation of the Practice

• What is the design, plan or strategy of the practice o what are the main activities carried out?

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o when and where were the activities carried out? o who were the key implementers and collaborators? o what were the resource implications?

iii. Results of the Practice – Outputs and Outcomes

• what were the concrete results achieved in terms of outputs and outcomes?

• was an assessment of the practice carried out? If yes, what were the results?

iv. Lessons Learnt • what worked really well – what facilitated this? • what did not work – why did it not work?

v. Conclusion

• how have the results benefited the target audience/population? • why may that intervention be considered a “Best Practice”? • recommendations for those intending to adopt the documented “Best

Practice” or how it can help people working on the same issue(s).

vi. Further Reading • provide a list of references that give additional information on the “Best

Practice” for those who may be interested in how the results have benefited the population.

Consent By submitting an abstract and presentation to this conference, you are giving permission for your abstract & presentation to be made available on the internet and accessible to the general public.

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12. Session Chair Guidelines Guidelines and Responsibilities for Being an Effective Chair The following guidelines and responsibilities have been prepared to help the Chairs ensure the success of each session. The responsibilities of the Chair include:

1. To read the abstract or full paper before the conference session and prepare an outline ahead of time about each proposal.

2. To announce the name of the session, welcome everyone, and briefly introduce each speaker.

3. To ensure that the session moves along in a timely manner and that all presenters are given equal time to present their paper. Keep each speaker to the specified time limit (15 minutes for each speaker). After each speaker has presented, about 20-30 minutes should be given for questions and discussion.

4. To take about 5 minutes to outline issues for elaboration and discussion. Highlight any significant issues noted in the papers. If applicable, establish the connections between papers in a session.

5. Open the floor to the audience, and allow enough time for the audience to ask questions. Repeat questions from the audience so that everyone can hear the question.

6. Have one key question ready from each presentation so that every presenter is asked at least one question.

7. Summarize and present “take-away” suggestions and any interesting insights from the session for the audience.

8. Prepare a write-up on these insights that can be to be shared later at the plenary. A rapporteur will be on hand if needed to help you write-up your points and insights.

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13. Conference Evaluation At the end of the conference, the participants were requested to provide their feedback through a short survey. The survey sought to capture participants’ impresssions on 5 key areas namely: Relevance of the conference, conference facilitation, logistical organization, overall success of the conference, and recommendations for improvement. The survey was administered in English, French, and Portuguese.A total of 59 participants responded to the survey questionnaire.

FINDINGS

Relevance of the Conference

Overall Relevance of the conference received favorable feedback with 92% of the participants rating it as very relevant to extremely relevant. Relevance of conference presentations and conference were rated by 87% and 83% of the participants as very relevant to extremely relevant respectively. The participants felt that some improvements could be made by sending copies of presentations early enough for referencing and reducing the number of presentations to give a little bit more time to selected presenters.

0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

14%

8%

17%

65%

34%

47%

22%

58%

36%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Confrencepresentations

Relevance ofconference

Conferenceprogramme

Figure 1: Relevance of the conference

Not Relevant

Slightly Relevant

Relevant

Very Very Relevant

Exteremly Relevany

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Conference facilitation

Most of the participants (95%) rated support from the main facilitators as very effective to extremely effective. Other elements of conference examined included conference documentation, time management, and quality of interpretation. The participants noted that in some instances there were problems with interpretations and some presenters were not clear. Some participants mentioned that timing of the conference was not appropriate for some institutions since it was towards the end of the semester.

0% 0% 0% 3%

0% 0% 0% 0%

19%

6%

46%

25%

41%

64%

43% 44% 41%

31%

11%

28%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Conferencedocumentation

Support from mainfacilitators

Time management Quality ofinterpretation

Figure2: Workshop facilitation

Not Effective

Slightly Effective

Effective

Very Effective

Exteremly Effective

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Logistical Organization

Participants were asked to rate the effectiveness of logistical organization for the conference in relation to preconference communication, travel arrangements, accommodation, meals, and access to internet. The best rated element was accommodation rated as extremely effective by 85% of the participants, access to internet by 78%, and pre-conference communication by 56%. The figure below demonstrates the rating of the elements by the participants.

Overall success of the conference

Using a scale ranging from not successful to extremely successful, the participants were asked to rate the overall success of the conference. Majority of the participants (74%) rated the conference as very successfully and 24% rated the conference as extremely successful, and 3% as just successful.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Pre meetingcommunication

TravelArrangements

Accomondation Meals Access toInternet

Figure 3: Logistical organization

Not Effective

Slightly Effective

Effective

Very Effective

Exteremly Effective

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Recommendations for improvement

The participants noted that the conference dealt with relevant question for now and future in the field of eLearning. Overall the conference was reported to have achieved its purpose with participants learning new virtual capabilities from presenters with the potential of improving abilities back home. To improve the delivery of similar conferences in the future, participants provided the following recommendations on key areas:

Conference timing and time management

- The timing of the conference should be mid-July. - Improve time management and the quality of translations/interpretations. Provide

more time for presentations since the translation process makes the presentations slower. Also limit the speakers and perhaps shorten the Q & A sessions if the speakers have gone overtime.

- Presentations should not go beyond 5pm so that participants can also have some time to tour Nairobi, the number of days for the conference should also be increased. Allow participants to see the country.

- Allow one day to rest before commencement of the conference to take care of flight fatigue (jet lag).

Conference facilitation

0% 0%

3%

74%

24%

Over all conference success

Not successful

Slightly successful

Successful

Very Successful

Exteremly Successful

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- Send the program a few days before the conference, the conference documents should also be sent earlier electronically.

- More theme setting to frame the breakout sessions and keynotes could make the conference easier to follow.

- Have small groups for discussion based on countries, program should include a slot for women involved in teaching of ICT.

- Encourage more discussions between IPs working on specific themes.

Relevance of the Conference

- Good practices at the universities could add to the success of the conference.

- Include research which is developmental in nature and intended at developing solutions in Africa context.The solutions needed to be piloted, validated and evaluated to ensure that what will be presented to us will be valid and can add value.

- Find a way to widely circulate information about conferences and activities being facilitated by the AVU. The partners have a role in this area of need.

**************************************************************************

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14. Reflections of AVU Conference Interns

No. Names Male/ Female

Reflections

1. Cherotich Hayzel Serem • University of

Nairobi (MA, Diplomacy)

• United States International University (BA, International Relations; Concentration; Development Studies)

F “…the conference changed my negative perception of eLearning….(It) equally afforded me an opportunity to network with professionals from various fields…(It) was also a culturally enriching experience as I was able to meet people from all around the world and learn a little of their language and culture…Working at this conference was also a great honor and advantage for me as I was able to learn and advance my presentation and research skills- which are particularly valuable bearing in mind that I am currently writing my masters dissertation...”

2. Ehagi Daniel Hyuga • Masinde Muliro

University of Science & Technology (MSc, Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance)

• Masinde Muliro University of Science & Technology (BSc, Disaster Management & International Diplomacy)

M “…Working at the AVU conference was a humbling experience owing to the fact the conference consisted of a myriad (of scholars and researchers) from all over the world… Observation of how the African Virtual University staff conducted themselves in the office as well as at the venue (showed) they are professional and have a good organizational culture that is amiable (and) would encourage one to work for African Virtual University…Team work proved to be essential during the organization and planning, being self-driven is essential while working in AVU…The staff at AVU interact freely giving one an opportunity for career development… I was also able to learn more about a virtual university through the good orientation and also learn terms used in the field such as Open Education Resources…”

3. Eleanor A. Opiyo • Strathmore

University (Master of Commerce)

• Egerton University (Bsc, Ecotourism &

F “…Having come from a hospitality background, I was able to understand the behind the scenes plans that go into making a conference successful…I left the conference with an open mind about how diverse the world is… I am keen to see how technology can be seen to advance education among hotel/tourism staff…I would be very interested to see the development of Open Education Resources related to

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Hospitality Management

the travel, tourism and hospitality since there are many potential learners with time constraint but (have) the ever increasing urge to learn more about their jobs and grow in their roles…”

4. Nahashon Omondi Owiro Kenyatta University (Bsc, Biochemistry)

M “…The whole experience inspired me to want to be multilingual… Professionally it offered me a chance to attend an international conference, something that I would add to my CV. It also offered me a chance to build contacts for career development… Being an upcoming researcher, I would like to participate in future conferences of the AVU as one of the presenters to share my research work…”

5. Susan Handa Onyango • University of

Nairobi (MA, International Conflict Management)

• Nkumba University (BA, International Relations & Diplomacy)

F “….the conference to me was an eye opener since I got to meet people who in my own capacity I wouldn’t be able to meet. I was inspired to go ahead and write my PhD proposal and also do more than one foreign language. The hallway conversations were fruitful since I did network with a few of the attendants and got to learn that learning is a process… With this, came the advantage of learning a little bit more about eLearning since I had only the basic knowledge…In addition to all these, they also inspired research ideas of my own…”

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15. Picture Gallery

AVU Rector Dr. Bakary Diallo and conference participants pose for a group photo

Participants listening to presentations during a plenary session

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Mr. Gregor Cholewa, Head of Mobile Knowledge Lab at Research Studios - (Vienna, Austria) facilitating a workshop entitled “Introduction to Micro Learning & Mobile Learning”

Participants in a breakout session. From left: Prof. Sidi Mohamed Abdellahi, Président Université de Nouakchott, Mauritania, Prof. Ahmed El Ghadi, Vice President de l’université, Academic, Université des Sciences de Technologie et Médicine (USTAD), Mauritania, Mr. Paul Ntukamazina, President & Legal Representative, Université Lumière de Bujumbura, Burundi, Prof. Faisal A. Elhag Mohamed, Vice Chancellor, Open University of Sudan (OUS), Sudan

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Delegates listening keenly to conference presentations. From left: Mr. Thomas William King, Ms. Sarah Goodier, Prof. Cheryl Ann Hodgkinson-Williams, University of Cape Town, South Africa and Prof. Stavros P. Xanthopoylos, FGV - Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Brazil

Ms. Ruth Karimi Charo, Principal Social Development Specialist, African Development Bank, delivering conference opening remarks

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Prof Peck Cho (Distinguished Professor, Dongguk University, South Korea) delivering a keynote address at the conference

Prof. Mamadou Sarr, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Sénégal, presenting his paper. Looking on seated from left are other presenters, Sarah Goodier, University of Cape Town, South Africa, Prof. Cornelia K. Muganda, The Open University of Tanzania & Mr. Larry Cooperman, University of California, Irvine, USA

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From Left: Prof Ezra Maritim, DVC Academic, Egerton University, Ms. Philise Rasugu, Snr. Academic Programs Officer, Rector’s Office, AVU, Prof Cornelia Muganda, DVC Academic, Open University of Tanzania and a participant during tea-break

From Left: Dr. Penina Lam, CEO, eLearning Innovators, Inc, Prof Chipo Dyanda, DVC Academic, University of Zimbabwe & Dr Atieno Adala, AVU Manager Research & Development & Conference Chair during lunch break

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Participants sharing a light moment during break. From left: Prof Chipo Dyanda, DVC Academic, University of Zimbabwe, Prof Rose Mwonya, DVC Academic Affairs, Egerton University, Dr. Anne Aseey, University of Nairobi and Dr. Penina Lam, CEO, eLearning Innovators, Inc.

Prof. Chipo Dyanda, DVC Academic, University of Zimbabwe giving a presentation

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Mr. Rajeev Gupta, CEO mElimu.com, giving a presentation

Dr. Bakary Diallo, AVU Rector (left) and Prof. Peck Cho, Distinguished Professor, Dongguk University, South Korea pose for a photo

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Dr. Penina Lam, CEO, eLearning Innovators, Inc., facilitating a workshop entitled “SMART by Design! Leadership Essentials for Virtual Mentorship”

Prof. Maria Luisa Soares Inocéncio (left), Universidade de Cabo Verde, Cape Verde, with Dr. Bakary Diallo, AVU Rector

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Dr. Joseph Kwamen Adjei, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Kumasi, Ghana, presenting his paper

Prof Rogerio Uthui, Chair, AVU Board of Directors and Rector Universidade Pedagógica, Mozambique addressing participants

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Dr. Joel S. Mtebe, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, presenting his paper

Some of the PI representatives introducing themselves to participants. From left: Dr. Ancelmo Mendes, Responsável pedagógico da nossa Instituição, Escola Normal Superior Tchico Té, Guinée Bissau, Prof. João Cardoso, Pro VC AA, Universidade de Cabo Verde, Cape Verde, Prof. John Akec, Vice chancellor, University of Juba, South Sudan, Mr. Paul Ntukamazina, President & Legal Representative, Université Lumière de Bujumbura, Burundi, Prof Rose Mwonya, DVC Academic Affairs, Egerton University, Kenya, Prof. Andrew Igho Joe, Deputy Vice Chancellor, AA, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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From left: Mr Larry Cooperman, AVU Board Member, University of California, Irvine, USA, Prof. Cheryl Ann Hodgkinson-Williams, Associate Professor, University of Cape Town, South Africa, Dr. Bakary Diallo, AVU Rector and Prof. Stavros P. Xanthopoylos, FGV - Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Brazil, pose for a photo

Mrs. Julie Affoue Kanda Epse N'guessan, Ministère de l'éducation national, Sénégal, presenting a research paper

2015 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE …...The 2015 2nd International Conference of the AVU was...

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