Aiming to provide a platform and an opportunity to share experiences and insights on where the urgent issues to tackle are around e-capacity and key ICT skills, IICD and GKPF hosted a thematic workshop as part of the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2013. The objective was to generate a common understanding of what needs to be done in 2013 and looking to post-2015, and how.

The session kicked off with a video message from European Commission VP, Mrs Neelie Kroes, to the WSIS audience, wherein she talked about the role that digital skills play in Europe’s twin challenges of restoring opportunities to all at a time of crisis, and to increase Europe’s competitiveness on the world stage. She discussed how the European Commission’s Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs is addressing this important task in collaboration with many different European stakeholders. 

Following on, Oliver Bell from Microsoft shed light on two of their programmes designed to support and strengthen ICT skills capacity. YouthSpark focuses on building skills with three different youth sectors - working with kids, teens and young adults. Microsoft’s 4Afrika initiative is specifically focused on the African continent and is designed to help build economic value through the delivery of a combination of improved ICT skills and infrastructure. 

Michelle Gauthier from Motorola Solutions talked about Motorola’s longstanding track record in emergency and crisis management communications with several United Nations agencies, and their belief in the role that ICTs play in supporting human development. By discussing a few sample cases where ICT-based solutions have clearly helped to generate additional income for frontline sales workers, as well as enhance back-end sales force operations, Ms Gauthier clearly emphasised the need for ICT devices and services to directly relate, and add value, to the daily lives of the individual users. 

Both representatives from the large private sector technology companies are excited about these times in which technology providers can ship devices to consumers in Africa at the same price as to consumers in Europe, and where the focus has shifted from designing for necessity to designing for requirements.  What becomes ever more important then, is the issue of identifying and supporting individuals and groups that are best placed to identify scenarios where technologies would be most useful. These actors are those that are able to understand and interface with local needs and communities, identify the right technologies for the right place at the right time, and appreciate how solutions can best be designed and introduced as a process that supports the desired change. 

A key skill set that was identified by the workshop as crucial for people and organisations introducing ICT is to know how to link to the intrinsic motivation of the intended technology users, to identify the uses that individuals may find valuable in their everyday lives, and to develop and introduce the technologies in ways that allow individuals to use the tools to shape their lives in ways that they find meaningful. The role which large international technology companies increasingly see for themselves is to act as a catalyst and not as providers of large scale programmes and finances; they are increasingly focused on using and reinforcing local expertise, and on identifying locally sustainable business models - roles which make them natural allies for organisations like IICD working to strengthen both civil society organisations as well as national capacity of technology companies to support social-economic development. 

Maggie de Jongh from the Blue Tree group brought the session’s attention to the large groups of individuals the world over that lack literacy and numeracy skills, and called on public, private and civil society actors to link e-literacy efforts to reinforcing initiatives that support the development of reading, writing and numeracy skills. Building on examples from the publishing and media industries in South Africa, Ms de Jongh emphasised the role that local private sector industries have to play in skills building of the professional workforce associated with those industries. Those IT solution designers that are able to effectively identify the information and communication opportunities and needs of all people involved in, for example, South African book publishing and distribution chains, have important skills that can be used to ICT-enable the value chains of many other industries and social sectors as well. 

The session’s last panellist, Caroline Figueres from IICD, talked about the critical importance of filling the gap that exists between the large international ICT consultancy organisations on the one hand, and the many well-intentioned IT-savvy individuals on the other. She discussed IICD’s experience that strong smaller ICT companies located close to the intended user groups (in terms of identity and geography) are often the best players to offer attractive, locally developed solutions for a low cost. IICD’s work over the last 15 years has allowed it to develop a unique network of small ICT-related organisations that have built up exactly such experience. 

The discussions at the workshop made clear that a key requirement, if we are to achieve an information society accessible to all, is to support the emergence and growth of individuals and groups that can meaningfully interface between the needs of the currently excluded communities and those that can provide technological devices, skills and relevant solutions – there is need for a larger cadre of local facilitators the world over capable of bringing people, technology and socio-economic development closer together.  

Paraphrasing the words of Neelie Kroes, our efforts will not succeed or fail on our words, but on our actions.

Photos: ITU/ J.M. Planche

Furthermore, registering student records, preparing exams and managing the school administration are also done manually. These activities are not only time consuming and tiresome, they also hinder the teachers from being better prepared for the classroom hampering the improvement of teaching and learning processes. Moreover a poor learning environment with large classes also decreases the quality of teaching.

Liberty Foundation and IICD identified these challenges within the schools under the auspices of the Nekemte Catholic Secretariat in 2012 and decided to join forces and improve the situation with the use of ICT tools. 

With the project “Quality primary school teaching through ICT in rural Ethiopia”, the two partners aim to improve the school management for eight primary schools in the Oromia region. 

The school management information system (SMIS), being developed by DOT ET, will be accompanied by training, support and advice to the teachers and school principles to equip them with knowledge and skills on how to use computers and information systems to increase the quality of the education in their schools.

Designing ‘tailor-made’ ICT solutions

Since October 2012, the partners have provided ICT equipment and computer training to three schools in Nekemte, Konchi and Gimbi. The first six months of the project focused on building partnerships and a trust relationship among the schools and the technical and training provider with the aim to ensure continuity and an effective project implementation in a sustainable manner.

The implementation plan of this project was developed in close collaboration with the schools during an assessment and kick-off workshop. This enabled the project partners to define a plan that caters to the schools’ needs.

The project will be completed by 2014, and with the SMIS connecting the head office and school staff trained, a total of 150 primary school teachers will be able to use the system to enhance the quality of their lessons.

Various IT experts of

Improving an information system for Peruvian farmers

In Peru, Inter Access has provided technical advice for a web-based information system for marketing and sales of agro-ecological (organic) produce, which helps organic farmers in 8 regions of Peru to sell their produce more easily by linking their products to buyers. Consultant Rudi Angela visited the headquarters of RAE - Red de Agricultura Ecológica del Perú (‘Organic Farming Network of Peru’). This organisation is developing an organic market information and sales system for farmers with the support of IICD and ICCO in the Connect4Change Consortium.

Inter Access consultant Rudi Angela worked together with the technical officer of the RAE farming network. The officer had already created the database that ran on database solution MySQL, but still needed advice to see if other tools could be used as well. The Inter Access consultant has also provided advice about the design of the web portal and on how to make it more visible, user friendly and consistent. Together with the local technical officer, Angela also helped to move the system from Windows to the open source platforms (Linux and Ubuntu) in order to increase the database’s security and to lower the licensing costs.

The consultant was impressed: “I believe that the system will succeed. The project uses a solution stack of free, open source software (LAMP) which is widely known and has proved its quality. The data model is now clear and backed up by a test data set that shows it is consistent.”

Creating a virtual server environment for Zambian university teachers and students

Technical Consultant Jan Paul Smit of Inter Access has supported the technical work at the Mukuba University in the Copperbelt region of Zambia. Mukuba University is the only Teacher Training College in Zambia that is dedicated to training future generations of secondary school teachers to degree level in the pure science subjects (Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics).  IICD has supported lecturers and students to acquire computer skills and to be able to use ICT equipment to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom. With their newly acquired skills teachers-to-be are able to digitally prepare and present their lessons.

Mukuba University hosted an Inter Access consultant at the end of 2011. The assignment then focused on maintenance of ICT infrastructure and services, network and user management, and website development. In November 2012 Inter Access consultant Jan Paul Smit assisted in providing training on the use of a Virtual Server environment (VMWare), getting two VMware ESX hosts operational and creating VM’s for various purposes. Amongst other things, Smit also helped to install a gateway to the internet and recalibrate the university’s wifi-access points. “Unfortunately, I only got to work for two weeks, which is too short to realise all the goals that the university wanted to achieve, but I do think that they now have a technical environment that will help them now and in the near future”, says Jan Paul Smit, who documented his experiences at his blog (Jan Paul Smit's blog).

Advising an Ethiopian Farmer Organisation

Furthermore, Business Analyst Paul van der Marel travelled to Ethiopia on Inter Access’  behalf. He assisted IICD’s and ICCO’s local partners FFarm and Apposit in finalising the functional design of a Farm Market Information System, programming of the Farm Market Information System and developing a business plan for the data collection, analysis and distribution. Van der Marel wrote about his work on a daily basis on his blog, where he also provided some more technical details of the assignment (Paul van der Marel's blog).

Evaluating IICD’s partnership approach

Additionally, during his assignment at IICD’s headquarters in The Hague Inter Access’ Innovation Consultant Arthur Kruisman helped to identify the strengths and weaknesses of IICD’s approach towards partnerships with private companies. Kruisman interviewed several of IICD’s staff members as well as IICD’s business partners. The goal was to evaluate IICD’s current approach towards partnerships and to identify opportunities to strengthen partnerships in the future. Kruisman played a key role in the strategic assessment of IICD’s partnerships with the Dutch businesses (including the cooperation with Inter Access itself), identifying tangible solutions for IICD which were presented to IICD’s staff and management team in a series of videos and which will be taken on board in IICD’s future strategies.

Future collaboration

“Inter Access’ support is important to IICD and its partners in Africa and Latin America as it helps them to take the key steps in implementing their projects. Our partners get access to specific technical expertise  that would not be available for them under normal circumstances, and are trained how to sustainably capitalise on the solutions brought by the consultants in the future,” says IICD’s Community Relations Officer Konrad Plechowski. In the future, IICD and Inter Access will continue to work closely together, says Plechowski. “The results of the cooperation are valuable for IICD and its local partners, who value strongly what they receive from Inter Access. But the results are also valuable for Inter Access, whose employees engage in socially valuable, relevant activities and get opportunity to make great, different use of their skills and meet amazing people, broadening their own skills, worldview, and professional networks”, adds Plechowski.

Lessons include:    

• As digital educational software becomes more complete and widely available, teachers no longer need to develop everything themselves. 
• A supportive management remains key to the success of any ICT for Education initiative. In IICD's social innovation approach, sensitisation of decision makers is an essential step that cannot be overlooked.
• Integrating ICT into vocational coursework gives graduates a better chance in the labour market. IICD and local partners increasingly focus on the development of tailor-made courses to meet the needs of specific business sectors.

The publication ICT for education: five years of learning can be downloaded on IICD's publications page or can be viewed online on IICD's Scribd page.

This publication provides a selection of lessons learned in the five educational services that IICD provides.

Several initiatives presented themselves in a market place set up, using posters, pictures, live tools and video clips to show the realities of working with computers in far-flung schools in Samburu, or mobile with farmers in the Western parts of Kenya. The event allowed the different stakeholders to interact informally, discussing challenges and sharing common experiences.  A few times during the day, the programme revolved around practical demonstrations of tools used: IICD partner ADS-Nyanza for instance showed how they use video to explain farmers new production techniques, while another IICD partner, Elreco, took their audience along in demonstrating how farmers get market prices for different crops on their mobile phones – a tool they put on the ground together with developer Mfarm. Much to their joy, the crowd kept on requesting new crops to test the tool: “Let’s try sugarcane now!” 

The second part of the morning saw demonstrations that showed educational content on tablets by the Nairobi based company Elimu, as well as the premiere of the SEED Samburu election hotline –where Samburu and Turkana speaking citizens can get information on the upcoming Kenyan elections – supported by IICD, Edukans and Text to Change via the Connect4Change consortium.

Though the event quite literally took place far from the realities on the ground, participants managed to paint a picture of the great steps they are making and to share not just their experiences, but also their enthusiasm with many others.

• A text messaging platform in Zambia announces changes in lesson plans, sends students their grades and provides updates on upcoming events.

• In Peru, a women's community development organisation uses smartphones and tablets to evaluate and approve loans and to teach financial management in remote areas.

• A mobile application is used by community health workers in Mali to help prevent, diagnose and treat malaria in poor neighbourhoods of the capital Bamako.

For more examples and a description of  IICD’s approach towards mobile learning Mobile on the move - Opportunities in mobile learning from IICD's perspective can be downloaded on IICD's website or can be viewed online on IICD's Scribd Page. 

Basic computer skill training for students

St Leo’s Secondary School consists of a group of freestanding buildings of maximum two floors where the students have classes and other buildings where they sleep. In one of the buildings, a computer lab was set up where all first and second year students learn computer theory and basic computer skills.

With the support of IICD and Edukans (in the Connect4Change consortium) and Ugandan partners Computers for Schools Uganda and RWECO, at St. Leo’s college and 7 other schools throughout Uganda, teachers of English are trained how to use computers in their classes to enliven their classes and increase their level of education.

Ten students per textbook

Although Kirere already learned how to work with a computer during his study, the teacher and his fellow teachers did learn some additional skills from other teachers at St Leo’s. “Previously, we used textbooks. But we only had a limited amount, so usually 10 of my students were sharing 1 copy. Now with my laptop, I type the text and project it with a projector so all my students can see. I encourage students to think along, by writing questions about certain passages and by also projecting them.” Kirere says that he shows a wide variety of poems in his class. “We handle Shakespeare, but also African writers such as Wole Soyinka and Timothy Wangusa.”

After projecting the texts, Kirere asks his students to come up with their own poems. The students write these on the computers in the computer classroom and then present them in their regular classroom by using Kirere’s laptop and the beamer. Literature is only one of the three English courses that first year students at St Leo’s have to take. They also take english composition classes and English grammar classes. Kirere now even asks his students to write essays on a computer, and to hand them to him on a USB stick so he can grade the essays digitally. His students also sometimes do plays in English that are then filmed and shown to other students.

Enthusiasm increases

Because of the digital and more interactive approach to teaching, Kirere’s student are more enthusiastic, he says. “English Literature is only mandatory in the first two grades. After that, it becomes optional. What we now see is that more third and fourth year students choose English literature. In 2009 only four older students chose English Literature. In 2011, we started using computers and the number of students already increased to 112 students. And, in 2012 until November, 120 students already chose English Literature as an advance course.”

Movies about the books

Even the students that are just starting are enthusiastic. In one of the classrooms, a 14-year old boy in the school’s uniform (a green and yellow sweater and a white dress shirt) recites a moralistic poem about good and bad students. This is the 14-year old first year student Absalom Tweheyo, who never used computers before. He is now able to write his own poems with a computer and as it turns out, the poem that he was reciting, was his own. “I like working with computers and other technologies. My favorite part of the new classes? That my teacher shows movies about some of the books that we are reading. We just watched a part of Oliver Twist and my teacher then asked questions about it.”

Because of the increased popularity, Kirere’s school is already thinking about expanding their computer programme. The training of teachers by IICD, Edukans and their Ugandan partners continue, and the teachers are also training other teachers. In addition to this, the school is so confident that their new system works, that they ask parents to (financially) contribute a little so more computers can be bought and future equipment maintenance costs can be covered.

Learning how to use a computer for teaching

Katongore’s interest for computer education started when he was working at Mubende Light Secondary School in 2003. The school had two computers and wanted to start a programme together with IICD and the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, but needed a focal person who could manage the programme at a school level. “I became that focal person. But in order to be that person, I needed training as I didn’t know anything about computers. With the support of IICD, I was trained in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), management and I received food process management training, together with 7 other people.”

At Mubende Light Secondary School, a computer room was set up that could be used by students for computer classes and other classes during daytime and was also used in the evening hours by farmers and other community members to look up farming information, but also as a computer teaching room and a paid internet café. This was the first of its kind in the Mubende Region. Katongore: “Everyone came here to learn. Most people had never seen a computer before.”

More demand, more studying

The popularity of the computer room, encouraged Katongore to learn even more about computers. “I was trained in basic ICT, but as the people came in more often, they also wanted to know more advanced programmes such as publisher. This meant that I had to constantly study more.”

With this newly applied knowledge, Katongore also helped his students better and soon not only three teachers were using computers, but all teachers and administrative staff started using computers. “Suddenly things went faster. Teachers were typing exams and data storage was easier, which made it easier for teachers to track students progress and marks.”

Massive student increase

The school got great word of mouth because of the improved efficiency and the satisfied students and it resulted in an enormous increase of students, says the teacher. In 2003, the school had 97 children, but by 2006 thanks to the new computer programme, the school had 700 students. Katongere: “ That posed a challenge so we had to buy more computers.”

Law of the handicap of a head start

Katongore was assigned to another school (in Uganda, the government decides which school you teach at) and set up a similar programme in the school where he worked in Lake Victoria, with the same great outcome and when he was placed as a teacher in yet another school in Madudu about two years later, he also immediately started a new programme.  But what’s left of the original programme in Mubende? Katongore walks around and points at students behind the computers. “ You see that the students are still being trained and they now also use computers in other courses than ICT and science, but enthusiasm of teachers has gone down a little. What’s also hard for this school is that they are not the only Internet café anymore. Internet businesses pop up everywhere, and offer newer and better services and are often closer to people’s homes, so it’s hard for a school to compete with that.”

Technical jobs

But despite the fact that it is hard for a school to still make money as internet cafes, Kerison Katongore firmly believes in the initial goal of the centre: to use computers as a way to move students forward. That’s why he continues to be an advocate for computer usage in the classroom. “ When I walk around Mubende now, I see my former students working at jobs that they would have never been able to do without computer education. Many work as administrators at computer centres or have ICT jobs in Mubende. When phone operator Warid came to Mubende and held interviews to have representatives in Mubende, my students got the job, because they were the only ones in Mubende who knew how to work with a laptop.”

And for the teacher personally it has also been a great opportunity to be exposed to computers. “When I finished my degree in developing studies a while back, in Kampala I could write and print my dissertation on a computer, whereas other students had to have someone do it for them. I just simply can’t live without ICT anymore.”

G compris is not really one game, but a collection of games that allows children to learn some basic science (they can do experimental activities such as creating and simulating an electric schema), but also how to read and write, basic maths and even braille. Teachers can easily alter this game, even without having any programming skills and it’s possible to keep track of student’s scores.

This is a Linux-based program that also runs on mac’s operating systems and windows. For Windows and Mac, there’s a catch though: you can’t play all games unless you pay. But no worries, there are still plenty of free educational games that you can play and that are a great addition to regular classes.

2. Tux Typing

This is a game that teaches children how to type on a computer with easy minigames starring Tux, a penguin (and the Linux mascot). With Tux Typing, you have the option to type words or just practice the positioning of your hands with random letters. Fish come down with letters and if you type in the right letters, Tux will eat the fish.

Tux Type is a game developed by the open source software organisation Tux4Kids that develops high quality educational games for kids. The programming code is available which means that anyone is allowed to alter and create new games and it runs on most systems. Released in 2007, but still very playable, educational and addictive.

3. Tux of Math Command

In Tux of Math Command, which is also developed by Tux4Kids, children learn the basics of mathematics/arithmatics. Comets fall from the sky, but if you type in the correct answers to the calculations that are shown on the comets, Tux the penguin breaks the comets with a laser. Games can either be played in groups on one computer, linked on several computers or by just one student.

Here's a hands on demo by IICD's technical adviser:

So there you have it: three games that may not have the best graphics or may not be the newest, but that can definitely be a nice addition to regular classes. They are also suitable for computers equipment that is not brand new, since there is no need for a powerful graphic card, fast CPU and big amount of RAM. This means that the games can also easily be played with thin-clients.

In Kenya, some of IICD’s partners are already experimenting with some of these games in the greater context of improved teaching and learning in rural schools. We hope to show how these games can play an important -and fun- role in the classroom. As always, we’ll keep you posted.

Since June 2012 , this boarding school for Maasai girls is using four computers for administrative purposes. With the support of IICD and Edukans in the Connect4Change Consortium together with Kenyan partner Dupoto-e-Maa (a Kajiado-based indigenous NGO), all teachers and administrative staff were trained in basic ICT usage and how to use the system, which will help to generate more accurate data about grades and attendance of students. 

Keeping track of payments

In the near future, the system will also be used to keep track of payments. Maasai parents are often on the move, but in the beginning of the school year, they come to the school and pay the school fee for their children, which often includes boarding fees. Payments records will be kept digitally which makes it easier to see which parents already paid. The system will also help with keeping track of payments in terms, as many parents do not have the full amount at the beginning of the year. If payments are tracked better, this means that the school will increase its income which can then be spent on teaching materials and better facilities for the school.  

For this reason members of the School Management Committee (SMC), a representative body of parents and other people from the community, received the same training as teachers and administrators. Not only does the use of ICT equipment increase accuracy, it also increases transparency of school data. This way, members of the SMCs can now keep their eye on school resources.

Downloading teaching material 

With the project now running and with all computers now linked up to the internet, teachers have indicated they will also use the computers at the administrative office to download information. This information will help the teachers answer new questions from students and add up-to-date information to the curriculum and teachers’ notes. Dupoto-e-Maa, IICD and Edukans will guide this process, to ensure that the information contributes to improved teaching and learning and is locally relevant.  

"You need to make a combination of on the one hand creating locally relevant content that delivers a message, but also make it fun and attractive. If you make a game that’s boring, you’re dead in the water. We also co-designed the games with the youth users themselves through community based Design Labs to ensure that the games are relevant for the local market."

And how exactly do you make these games locally relevant?

"The game we created about gender-based violence amongst youth in South Africa is a good example. We knew that the rape statistics were high but first we needed to research to truly understand what the core problem was amongst youth. It turned out that there was a lot of misunderstanding about Gender-based Violence concepts. Boys believed that rape was only when it involved violence and not when it was with a date. So once we established what the goals of the game are and talked to people, we designed MORABA, a mobile game that was based on a Zulu chess game called Morabaraba. After every score, you get a question that you have to answer with right or wrong. The system then tells you if your answer is correctly and then also explain why you have the answer right or wrong before you can go back to the chess game. We work with a high score system, because the kids really like to win. This proved very successful with over 200.000 people using the game."

And other than the number of users, how do you know the project works?

"We use a high score system that logs every single response to a question. We are therefore able to assess exactly how they answer each question and therefore their knowledge and understanding of gender based violence. We also conducted regular surveys with groups of students assessing their knowledge before and after game play."

What are the biggest challenges?

"Spreading our games through official networks is quite hard for our target market in the lower income bracket. In Africa, we have a social network called Mxit that a lot of people are using, that is suitable for distribution.  We don’t live in an Apple world in Africa where we can just put up an app and expect people to just download it.  Another challenge is the wide variety of devices that there are in Africa each one requires that you tailor the game for the phones. We create games for feature phoneswhich are basically basic mobile phones that could have an internet connection, but are not smartphones. These phones are easy to use, but the risk is that if you develop a game for one type that other types can’t play it.  Based on user feedback, we often find out on which phone it does or does not work and then we adjust it."

What’s next for mobile educational games in Africa?

"The mobile market will continue to grow in Africa. We are already the second largest market after Asia. The use of mobiles games could help people to move from a place of apathy to a place of hope. My belief is that there is a huge potential that these games can and are already help young people to learn critical skills and knowledge. In terms of payment, I don’t think the young user should have to pay for educational games but there’s definitely possibilities to create sponsored content and make the developing of games financially sustainable."