Innovation Policy And Governance In The African Region

This paper undertakes a desktop examination of innovation policy and governance in Africa. The article therefore adds on to the importance of intra-African region innovation policy dialogue by exploring policy developments in the African region. The article identifies a weak and fragmented innovation system as a major challenge facing many of the African countries, exacerbated by the lack of an explicit innovation strategy. The literature indicates that Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policies should not simply adopt a science-push approach to innovation, but rather focus on building an entire system of innovation. The emergence of a knowledge-based economy and globalisation such as the BRICs - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are restructuring the dynamics of innovation in developing countries. The literature has also shown that several international organisations have played significant roles in the development of Science and Technology (S&T) policies among African countries. However, the international organisations initiatives have mostly focused on the development of S&T with minimal emphasis on the role of policies and administration, which would increase learning and innovation performance in Africa. The central premise of the article is that innovation policy and governance is an essential component of the National System of Innovation in the African region

Information and communications technology (ICT) integration in teaching and learning : a critical analysis.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.Technology availability is quite often mistaken for technology adoption and use. In the White Paper on E-Education, launched by the South African National Department of Education, the government has indicated its intention to ensure that every school has access to a wide choice of diverse, high quality communication services which will benefit all learners and local communities. It is important that the National Department of Education recognizes that, regardless of the amount of technology and its sophistication, technology will not be used unless educators have the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to infuse it into the curriculum. The study focused on educator preparedness to integrate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into the curriculum. The findings of the study suggest that educators have positive attitudes towards ICT integration in education. One strong predictor of educators' attitudes towards ICT integration was computer attributes followed closely by cultural perceptions and, to a limited extent, by computer competence. Educator attitudes were also predicted by constructs extracted from the different Information Systems (IS) model/theories for technology adoption. The strongest construct to predict educators' attitudes toward ICT integration was extrinsic motivation followed by perceived usefulness, complexity, perceived behavioural control and relative advantage. The results point to the importance of educators' vision of technology itself, their experiences with it, their perceived computer competence, and the cultural conditions that surround its introduction into schools in shaping their attitudes towards technology and its subsequent diffusion into their educational practice. A combination of the different constructs from the IS models/theories was able to account for as much as 83% of the variance in educator attitudes toward technology and thus technology adoption. This is a significant result since most previous research has only been able to account for between 17% and 69% (Venkatesh et a!., 2003) of the variance in user intentions to use technology. These constructs (the strong predictors) were grouped to form a new model which is proposed for predicting educator technology adoption. Further, Perceptual Control Theory was used as a framework for understanding educator adoption of technology. This framework considers educators' use of technology by examining the goals of educators and how the use of technology might help or hinder their goals. Educator lack of computer competence is a major challenge for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, and an immediate plan of action is required that will address this through educator professional development

Development Of A Conceptual Framework Regarding The Factors Inhibiting Teachers Successful Adoption And Implementation Of ICT In Teaching And Learning

This paper presents a conceptual framework regarding the factors inhibiting teachers successful adoption and implementation of ICT in teaching and learning, derived from an in-depth survey of the related literature. The aim of this study was achieved by identifying the factors that inhibit teachers adoption and implementation of ICT in teaching and learning. The main result of this study is a framework, derived from the existing literature, of inhibiting factors regarding teachers adoption and implementation of ICT in teaching and learning. The findings help to articulate issues related to teachers adoption and implementation of ICT and in this way contributes to the development of programs designed to address the relevant issues

Tracing sources of design uncertainty and controversy in Web 2.0 facilitated collaborative design process

The integration of Internet-based collaborative tools such as Web 2.0 technologies to facilitate the design process has rendered collaborative design a chaotic practice filled with controversy and uncertainty, with the inevitable risk of unintended consequences. The purpose of this study was to trace the sources of design controversy in a Web 2.0 facilitated collaborative design process. The study employed an Actor Network Theory (ANT) methodological framework to explore design controversy in five design teams comprising of 4 to 6 undergraduate engineering students. Data was constituted by following the traces left by the actors, both human and nonhumans, their actions and the associations they made and broke as they worked to provide a solution to a design problem. All of these traces were captured on a Web platform. Our position was that of non-participant observers to allow the participants to speak for themselves. In addition, some key participants (spokespersons) were interviewed to allow them to explain their actions. The findings of the study demonstrate that Web 2.0 technologies played a critical role in illuminating controversies encountered during the design process from the design group formation, design problem analysis, as well as the generation and realization of the design solution stages of the process. Web 2.0 technology enabled the tracing of the rich interactions among designers which allowed the mapping of provisional ties, and the translations that made these ties durable and seemingly irreversible

Perceptions of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for Instructional Delivery at a University: From Technophobic to Technologically Savvy

Changing academics’ perceptions of information and communications technology (ICT) in developing countries has always been a challenge. A university in Zimbawe has witnessed an about-turn in lecturers’ perceptions and beliefs about technology, from being negative (technophobic) to positive (technologically savvy) users of technology. This paper reports on the interplay of factors that resulted in lecturers’ buy-in to the use of e-learning as a mode of instructional delivery. The study employed actor network theory (ANT) as both a methodological and analytical framework to trace the trajectory of the e-learning programme at this university. The conspicuous actors were followed using questionnaires, participant observation, and document analysis as well as tracing them through the trails they left on the e-learning platform. The results show that there are heterogeneous actants which influence lecturers through multiple associations created during implementation of the e-learning programme. These resulted in the lecturers’ change in perceptions from being technophobic to becoming technologically savvy. This article contributes to the growing body of literature that uses ANT to understand e-learning as a socio-technical process. ANT’s contribution to explaining the change in lecturers’ perceptions lies in its symmetrical power to consider technological developments and human capacity development as equal actants that can exert similar levels of influence on each other to bring about required change

The evaluation of human computer interface design of learning management systems: problems and perspectives

With increasing demand for integrating learning management systems (LMS) into teaching and learning, a well-designed LMS is crucial. User interface evaluation has become a critical quality of interactive LMS intended to meet the requirements of users. This article investigates the effect of the interaction on the user and assesses the extent of system functionality. It further seeks to evaluate the interface’s success within the framework of fundamental human computer interface principles under a constructivist learning approach. Using an LMS assumes that when learners are engaged in a social learning context they actively construct knowledge; therefore, the resource is considered a tool to support learning and not an end in itself. The research investigates use of the LMS by two sets of users: staff members (module creators) and learners (module consumers), using semi-structured questionnaires and interviews. The research indicates that use of an LMS supports collaborative and authentic activities in learning, serving as an intrinsic motivation to most users. Some problems/concerns that were highlighted included; attention should be given to the tools and elements that should be added to the system, for example the image management tools; some users expressed the desire for more autonomy in terms of the peer review window. It is also recommended that the use of graphics should have a purpose that is either purely functional or contributes more subtly to the page content. Finally, there were requests for more customization of the themes, colors and icons in the design of LMS

Online discussion forum: A tool to support learning in business management education

The introduction of online-supported teaching and learning in education calls for a better understanding of how online support is experienced by South African students (many of whom encounter this technology for the very first time at university) and how their experiences of online support may influence their learning. The mixed-methods approach used in the study reported on here incorporated a qualitative component that drew on the principles of phenomenography. From 156 students enrolled in a business management education module that forms part of the Bachelor of Education curriculum, 15 participants were selected using phenomenographic sampling. A sequential-exploratory quantitative investigation was then undertaken to test qualitative findings. Qualitative data sources included personal reflective journals, focus group discussions and individual interviews; quantitative data were generated from questionnaires administered to the respondents. In the principal findings participants indicated that the online discussion forum offered them a context for learning through social interaction in qualitatively different ways, and this offers insights into how developing nations might address the need to engage with pedagogical practices in the online space. Keywords: blended education methods; business management education; e-learning; learning management system; online discussion forum; online-supported teaching and learnin

Digital Game-Based Learning for Information Technology: An Exploratory Analysis

Keeping students engaged and motivated is a challenge. Digital game-based learning is considered an approach that can help towards achieving this goal. The study aimed to understand the influence digital game-based learning (DGBL) has on students learning to code in Information Technology. This study used an intervention of digital game-based learning to teach grade eight learners programming in three schools prior to COVID-19. Questionnaires and focus group interviews were used to gather students’ backgrounds and learning experiences. 89 students and three educators participated in the study. The overall attitude towards DGBL is positive with a high mean score of 4.77. Learning real-world skills, in developing simple games, as was done in this in this study, can equip one with the tools essential for success in a workplace