e/merge Africa in partnership with Injini the EdTech startup incubator for Africa invites you apply for an online startup pitch on Friday 20 July from 11.00 – 12.00 SA time (GMT+2). There will be a prize of $200 for the winner and $50 for the runner up. The two top startups will also each receive a 1 hour advice session from Injini.

Do you have an innovative, evidence-driven idea that can solve some of Africa’s school and university education challenges using digital technology?

Ideas could include e-learning in African education, bridging the knowledge gap between high school & university to improve student retention, promoting student success in university, personalised learning, Incorporating new skills into traditional higher education programmes, teacher training, making African research more accessible, tangible & relevant to the world, inclusiveness in schools or higher education, collaboration between African higher education & the rest of world or between students, employability of graduates, innovative ways to make ICT accessible & affordable in education, making secondary of higher education assessment faster & more transparent, increasing the representation of previously disadvantaged groups working in higher education. Your idea may also address another important challenge.

How to apply

Complete the form below. On completion you will receive advice for your 1 minute Whatsapp video pitch which will need to be sent by 6 July. Five successful applications will then be invited to participate in the pitch competition.

The sign up for this event is now closed. However, if you are an entrepreneur with a start up focusing on educational technologies (preferably, but not exclusively, within the tertiary sector), please do contact us to share your work with our network!    

Growing e-Learning Capacity Together

We’re planning a free, inclusive, participant driven online conference that unleashes the power of networks.  From 9-20 July 2018 there will be over 40 events that you can join according to your interest and schedule. Right now we’re asking for your bold ideas!

We aim to:

• showcase and celebrate the work of e-learning practitioners, researchers and policy-makers working in African Higher and Vocational Education
• foreground e-learning and educational technology innovation and research
• provide publication opportunities for emerging researchers
• share good practices
• enable networking with experts in Africa and other continents
• support the growth of networked communities of practice
• offer opportunities for experiential engagement with new tools and practices

What kind of conference experience do you want?

What do you want to share at the conference?

Tell us by 6 October at tinyurl.com/efest2018

Presenter: Tutaleni I. Asino, Ph.D. , Assistant Professor, Educational Technology, School of Educational Studies, College of Education, Oklahoma State University

Format: Asynchronous discussion from 14 – 18 November +   Live online meeting on Thursday 17 November (14:00 Abuja time/ 15:00 Cape Town time/ 16:00 Nairobi time). Using a case study on factors that influence the diffusion process of mobile devices in Botswana and Namibia, this seminar engages participants in a conversation on how to study diffusion and adoption of technology in Afrikan education.

Afrikan countries such as Botswana and Namibia are experiencing a surge in mobile device usage (Aker & Mbiti, 2010; Mbarika & Mbarika, 2006), where everyday use of tablets and mobile phones has spread rapidly at unprecedented rates (ICT Update, 2008; Kalba, 2008). In these countries, mobile devices are used for mobile banking (accessing bank accounts, paying for utilities and credit cards; Brown, Cajee, Davies, & Stroebel, 2003), mobile health (diagnosing disease, patient monitoring, accessing health information, awareness campaign), and mobile life (social communication and entertainment; Donner & Tellez, 2008; Semali & Asino, 2013).  However, the diffusion of mobile devices that has occurred for everyday use, health, and business applications has not occurred in educational environments.

A common belief held in many Afrikan countries (and globally) is that there is value in utilizing technology for educational purposes. Reports from the African Union, the Southern African Universities Association and the Association of African Universities provide evidence of commitments from Afrikan nations to make technology in education an integral part of educational systems. Yet, when in comes to understanding the diffusion of innovations on the continent, the often repeated phrase is that “there is little research.”

Tutaleni I. Asino, Ph.D.  is an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology in the School of Educational Studies at the College of Education in Oklahoma State University. His research interests include diffusion of innovation, adoption and use of Emerging technologies and Learning environments, Mobile Learning, Design for Mobile Devices, Indigenous knowledge, STEAM, Comparative International Education, and the role of culture in the development and evaluation of learning technologies.

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