Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

"Over the past four decades, tertiary enrolment in Africa has increased, and the demand for higher education is expected to witness a further increase," write the authors. Not surprisingly, "While educational technologies provide opportunities for widening access, they may also accommodate a deep divide." This survey analyzes 64 papers from 2010 forward to examine this trend. The research is mostly still in the descriptive phase; "More than half of the included articles failed to incorporate any theory, framework, or model." That's not necessarily a bad thing; why would we expect the African experience to be framed by theories developed for the European or American experience? But a mostly uncritical use, write the authors, means that tools might not be as useful as they could be. They write, "to achieve beneficial outcomes for technology-enhanced learning in Africa, it is essential to pursue a deliberate and sustainable policy of developing the digital skills and competencies of students and teachers, in particular, for the effective use of digital media."

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Aug 28, 2025 9:08 p.m.

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