Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) in Education: The Contribution of Communities of Practice

This article discusses the available literature related to the contribution of communities of practice to professional development of teachers on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) integration in education. A systematic retrieval of literature was conducted in order to identify characteristics of communities of practice that contribute to effective teacher learning. Among other things, findings reveal that communities of practice have the potential in promoting teacher competence on ICT integration. Unlike the traditional workshops and seminars, teachers in community of practice learn about technology integration in teaching processes, pedagogy and instructional design, and curriculum (re)design. In terms of characteristics, the review established that communities of practice are effective if characterized by (i) school-based training of teachers about innovation blended with workshops or seminars and (ii) allows collaboration among teachers. It is concluded that professional development programs that consider communities of practice and characterized by school-based training, blended with workshops or seminars and allow virtual or physical collaboration among teachers have the potential in contributing to teacher learning on ICT integration in education.Keywords: Collaborative Learning, Communities of Practice, Design Teams, Information & Communication Technology, Professional Development and Teacher Learning

Factors for Effective E-learning Integration in Higher Education in Sub-Sahara Africa

This article discusses factors that contribute to effective e-learning integration in higher education in the context of Sub-Sahara Africa. It  involved retrieving articles using key words such as e-learning, perceptions, knowledge, skills, implementation, facilities, access, support, learning management system and higher education from major educational search engines. Results have revealed firstly that, first there are as many conceptions of the concept of e-learning as there are types of technologies that can support it to improve delivery of higher education. Secondly, several factors contribute to effective integration of e-learning in higher education in Sub-Sahara Africa. These include (i) institutional factors (ii) instructors and students’ factors and (iii) support factors. Based on the results, it is argued therefore that higher learning institutions must make efforts towards addressing these factors for successful integration of e-learning.Keywords: E-learning, higher education, information and communication technologies and Sub-Sahara Afric

Student Support at The Open University Of Tanzania (OUT) for the Past 20 Years

The study reported in this article discusses student support at The OpenUniversity of Tanzania (OUT) for the past 20 years. The study uses descriptive  survey research design to examine student support at OUT for the past 20 years as perceived by lecturers and students. Interview questions and analysis of e-mail correspondences of a sample of 7 lecturers and 64 students at OUT were conducted. Findings indicate that student support at OUT has evolved from typically traditional to a  technology-enhanced student support. Sp ecifically, student support at OUT was typically traditional during the first decade characterized by limited application of ICTs as a result of poor ICT infrastructure; dominant use ofprint study materials, regularly organized face-to-face sessions, delays in delivery of print study materials, lack of regular communication and interactions and lack of immediate feedback to students. According to lecturers and students the second decade has witnessed improvement in student support in terms of timely delivery of courses (through CDs and MOODLE LMS), access to learning resources (through OUT’s website and Portals of other universities) and communication and interactions between lecturers and students (through e-mails). It is recommended that a comprehensive large scale empirical study is conducted to investigate theimpact of improvements in ICT on students retention, graduation rate and student academic performance.Key words: Student support, Information and Communication Technology, Open and Distance Learning, Open University of Tanzania

ICT Integration in Science and Mathematics Lessons: Teachers Experiences about Professional Development Programme

The study reported in this paper used Guskey’s model (Guskey, 2000) to systematically investigate teachers’ experiences about the professional development programme on ICT integration in teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in secondary schools. The study employed survey research design and an Open-ended Questionnaire was used to gather qualitative data from 63 secondary school teachers in four regional centres (i.e. Dar es Salaam, 13, Mwanza, 16, Singida, 19 and Shinyanga, 15), drawn using purposive sampling technique. Analysis of the data using Data Reduction Technique revealed that 95.2% of the participants had positive experience with the professional development programme. They reported that, the professional development programme made them acquire technological and technological-pedagogical knowledge. However, there was no evidence that teachers learned subject matter content from the programme. Furthermore, teachers appreciated the different kinds of support that they received during / the programme and were optimistic that they will use ICT to improve their teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in secondary schools. Relevant recommendations for action and further research are suggested based on the findings of the study.Keywords: ICT in Education, ICT Integration, Science, Mathematics and Professional Development Programme