Education is a very important subject in Africa, if not a delicate one also. Disease is a highly recognised problem in Africa. One very common illness is Cholera. Cholera is a disease which is caught by contaminated water. It is extremely common in Zambia in the rainy seasons and has an effect on students being able to attend school . Other problems such as bad weather conditions, strikes and political disturbances prevent children from going to school and getting a decent educations. The statistics of how many children continue education is extremely worrying. Almost two-thirds of the children end their education at the primary level. One statistc that I did find shocking was that only 2 percent of the 20 to 24 age group enter a university or higher education.
This personally makes me realise how lucky we all are to have the opportunity to get such a good education which we sometimes take for granted. Many of us moan about having to go to lectures, school, college etc where as thousands of children in Africa would love to have the opportunity to get an education.
E-learning in Africa may be seen as a 'light at the end of the tunnel' so to speak. The constant cholera outbreaks mean that some schools close for an amount of time and sometimes don't re-open at all. E-learning can be seen as an alternative. During school closures children could access educational lessons from home which would prevent them from missing out on the little education that they have already. There are however some aspects based around E-learning that must be addressed. As Africa is a LEDC (less economically developed country) its electronic technology are limited, preventing them from having easy access to technologies such as computers and the internet. This could be one downside to the idea of E-learning.
Another problem that needs to be highlighted is the idea of 'educational elitism'. Much of the internet is overwhelmed with Western websites, with the English language overpowering the net. This could be one limitation towards learning in Africa as for many Africans English isn't their first language and would therefore struggle getting to grips with the complexity of the English language.
http://www.elearning-africa.com/newsportal/english/index.php
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OK, try to deal with your topics in the light of the rest of the unit though. You seem to be responding to this material as if it has nothing to do with virtual community, freedom, digitality, CsofP, dispersal, trust etc. (to name a few points) To do really well, you need to carry the unit material/questions with you as you think about the new material you encounter. Then answer the 'so what' questions about your first thoughts.
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