ERIC Number: ED597498
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Integrating Technology to Adult and Distance Learning in Botswana, Nigeria, and South Africa: Prospects, Challenges, and Mitigations
Oduaran, Akpovire
Commission for International Adult Education, Paper presented at the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) Commission for International Adult Education (CIAE) Annual Pre-Conference (67th, Myrtle Beach, SC, Sep 30-Oct 2, 2018)
The technology utilization gap experienced almost one decade ago in many African countries had by June 2017 become a thing of the past when different African governments began to repudiate investment in fixed-line infrastructure in favor of the mobile infrastructure. Many networks providers have since migrated from 3G to LTE-based services. Telecommunication technology has been changing the way Africans do business in commerce, agriculture, health management and, largely, education. Botswana, Nigeria and South Africa have been actively engaged in enforcing Internet penetration such that by June 2017, there were 923, 528 (39.4%) Internet users reported for Botswana, 91, 598, 757 (47.7%) users for Nigeria, and 29, 935, 634 (54.0%) users for South Africa (Miniwatts Marketing Group, 2017). Whilst it might be correct to say that the improvement in Internet penetration in the three countries could imply major prospects for its integration to adult and distance learning, there are challenges related to energy supplies, availability of hardware, expertise, cybersecurity and many others that can impede success in effectively digitalising program offers. This paper briefly examines the major prospects of integrating technology to adult and distance learning, possible challenges, and how best these might be mitigated so as to enhance the prompt entry of all three countries into the era of technology enriched provision of adult learning programs for personal and national development. [For the full proceedings, see ED597456.]
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Technology Integration, Adult Education, Distance Education, Internet, Barriers, Access to Education, Energy, Investment, Faculty Development, Research and Development
Commission for International Adult Education. Available from: American Association for Adult and Continuing Education. 10111 Martin Luther King Junior Highway Suite 200C, Bowie, MD 20720. Tel: 301-459-6261; Fax: 301-459-6241; e-mail: office@aaace.org; e-mail: aaace10@aol.com; Web site: https://www.aaace.org/page/CIAE
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Botswana; Nigeria; South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A