E-learning is not the point here!

Nigeria has decided to adopt e-learning across the public school system and to include the curriculum. This happened in the weeks of the World Bank debate: "Most Investments in Educational Technology are Wasted". Hopefully Nigeria will take lessons learned elsewhere at heart. First and for all it has to prepare the infrastructure and invest in capacity building before expecting teachers to achieve curriculum goals digitally - according to reader comments. 

From: Ngozi Sams, April 20, 2010 02:53AM
Nigeria chooses digital education
Some reader comments:

"First we need electricity"
Posted by KissTeeth on Apr 20 2010:
E-learning (LOL). First we need electricity then broadband and computer industries then computer literate teachers and finally e-learning. In Nigeria, we always want to run before we even learn to crawl. And please I don't want some posters giving me a list of “text-book advantages” of e-learning -- as so often happens with crammers at school. That is not the point here.

"How many of these teachers can even teach?"
Posted by Seasonal on Apr 20 2010

This should be a future oriented project. We do not even have stable electricity. Standards of learning in schools have fallen so low -and we think e-learning will make people smarter? Please... How many of these teachers can even use computers, also how many of these teachers can even teach? I remember when I was in secondary school, one or two of my English teachers couldn't even speak English well - imagine! Abegi. Although it's a good idea, it's not what Nigeria needs at the moment.

 High-school classrooms like many South of the Sahara - click on image to enlarge

These readers comments are fully understandable and lead to only one conclusion: Nigeria has to start preparing for the introduction of computer technology in education now now now. Considering the state of public schools in Nigeria, this has to be done with a long term vision. In a systematic step by step approach the critical barriers have to be solved first. Only relative small budgets are available for this - not the trillions of dollars as any OECD country of Nigeria's size spends on IT.
Fortunately the Delhi debate produces clear advices. With proactive attention Nigeria might be able to avoid the wrong policies which elsewhere have led to wastage or failure.

Read the full article in Next and more comments here

To close the digital divide systematically
see:  ICT-IT harmonised
see:  Beyond chalk and talk

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In the mean time:

Teachers in developing economies need in their classrooms robust and reliable tools.

The Nationwide Visualisation Project introduces on highschools simple to use teaching aids.

How to learn about ways to struggle for independence?  
Below one of the 2500 visuals: "Put on - take off".

Step up question:  "When did most African nations become independant?"

 

To modernise teaching today, see:  Nationwide Visualisation Project