A free book on changing #education in challenging settings #ICT4D

This lively report - well it is a free book consisting of 318 pages - on Designing and Implementing an ICT for Development initiative in a resource constraint environment is one of the most amazing mobile learning and technology projects I have read. This is a book that can be used in any challenging setting, as it combines participatory design, teachers professional development, open badges as milestones in the learning process, earn-as-you-learn incentives, strategies from the known reality to a wishful future, and scaling up from one school to 26 schools! ... and all evidence-based in approach. The report is edited by Marlien Herselman and Adele Botha.

It is simply amazing how this talented and inspired group of people turned a really challenging situation in deep rural South Africa (Eastern Cape province) into a fruitful, inspiring educational surplus in only 3 years time! It combines mobile learning, literacy,

From the forword: "The book aims to provide an overview of the design and implementation of an Information and Communication Technology for rural education development initiative in a resource constrained environment. Various frameworks, models, guidelines and tools were developed by adopting Design Science Research as the chosen methodology. Certain specific case study phases were applied within the Design Science Research process and lessons were learnt in each phase which was documented as the initiative moved from one phase to the other. Certain steps were followed during each phase. The book provides an overview of how each of the components, within the ICT4RED Implementation Framework (Section 2), were managed and how they were operationalised to provide specific deliverables or to reach certain aims.
What became evident from this initiative was that it was NOT about the technology, but about the PEOPLE who are empowered to use the technology in order to improve their lives and that of their learners!This book will guide readers through the journey of this initiative and it is hoped that it will inspire all new prospective students, teachers and academia to realise that the value of using technology does not lie in that it can ever replace the teacher, but that it can enhance teaching and learning and transform traditional teaching methods in a classroom. This transformation can only be successfully done where technology is earned and not just given away or provided free of charge."

Durable, rural #mLearning with the Cofimvaba project

Rural learners, Indigenous people, refugees, nomadic travelers, ... all vulnerable learner groups in general still face a lot of challenges and one of these challenges always comes down to education. Education for all still has a long road to travel, but some of us keep on paving the roads to get everyone on board no matter what the challenges. One of my close friends, Adele Botha, has been engaging in a successful mLearning project that is the starting point for a nationwide roll out of mLearning to reach all rural schools in South Africa, the so called Cofimvaba project. She is part of a wonderful CSIR team that is determined to roll out an optimized, strong education for the whole of South Africa and ... they will do it! The first phase has been successful and has provided 26 schools (3000 tablets) with new educational opportunities, but ... it is the complete approach that really blew my mind.

One of the key elements in this project was a clear aim for sustainability and participation. Getting both the rural teachers as well as the learners on board. But also tackling what the team calls 'basic enablers', a set of necessary preconditions for learning. These enablers included adequate infrastructure (buildings, sanitation, electricity, water and access to information and communication). These basic enablers are not just put there, but they are embedded in a human awareness program, providing learner support through health, nutrition ( including agricultural know-how), transportation and social activities. This means making all the stakeholders aware, ensuring a strong, competent leadership at the center of the community based on the teachers, educators and informed parents. This combination lifts the project to a higher level, education is no longer a stand alone action, it is at the centre, and it embraces and lifts up the whole community.

This holistic approach does come at a serious investment cost as tablets are used throughout and infrastructure is set up, but instilling the idea of progress and opportunities into the heart of communities will give an undeniable return when today's young learners realize what they can do and transform their nation based upon stronger education and community capacity.

The picture shows the first teacher graduates, having gone through a whole set of courses getting them on to speed with the tablets, the installed eBooks, the wifi's, the installed applications ... and all the opportunities offered by the new, connected technology that is part of a complete community approach.

The testing ground of the project was based in Cofimvaba, Eastern Cape in South Africa and below you can see a short video of the project.

#Mobile #Moodle plugins available for download

Great news for all of us Moodle users. Carlos Kiyan and many other contributors have released their plugins for mobile Moodle to the plugins repository.  

These two plugins started as one of the earliest Mobile Moodle projects (back in 2010: Moodle4iPhone). The two new themes can be downloaded and applied to your Moodle site (they support Moodle 2.4 and tablet or smartphones compatible with iPad and Android tablets or iPhone/iPodtouch/Android 4.x devices.

• Moodle2Mobile: https://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?plugin=theme_moodle2mobile
• Moodle2Tablet: https://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?plugin=theme_moodle2tablet

This release follows a beta testing round that was announced in November 2012.