International Journal of Education and Development using ICT

International Journal of Education and Development using ICT > Vol. 3, No. 4 (2007)

Editorial: Emergent Research from Southern Africa

Tony Carr, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Laura Czerniewicz, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract
This Special Issue of IJEDICT features peer-reviewed papers from the e/merge 2006 online conference on the use of online and mixed mode collaborative learning in Southern African tertiary and secondary education. The papers provide examples of interesting and innovative uses of technologies in difficult circumstances, and the way that these innovations are being conceptualized and understood. Educational technology is being taken up in African countries in difficult conditions, arising from both national infrastructural challenges and specific challenges faced by the education sector itself. There are still huge gaps in connectivity between African countries and developed countries. Furthermore limited access to bandwidth in African schools and universities restricts access to information and communication and the ability to use new media applications, social software and virtual worlds. Effective strategies employed by educators include the harnessing of ubiquitous technologies such as cell phones, clever uses of relatively low-end technologies and the sharing of human capital in the form of collaborative work.

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International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology. ISSN: 1814-0556