1 / 12

Techno- grafting ( Technology is in the maker)

Techno- grafting ( Technology is in the maker). Aminu Ibrahim ( aminu@forum.org.ng ) Convenor, The Nigeria ICT Forum ( http://forum.org.ng ) . Summary of What We Should Know Already.

loring
Télécharger la présentation

Techno- grafting ( Technology is in the maker)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Techno-grafting(Technology is in the maker) Aminu Ibrahim (aminu@forum.org.ng) Convenor, The Nigeria ICT Forum (http://forum.org.ng)

  2. Summary of What We Should Know Already • There are new issues & they are rapidly evolving & getting confounded, but the roots of the problems here (including the “divide”) are NOT new. • The same problems will NOT likely to be solved: • If we assume they do not exist • If we change their name • If we try a wrong solution for a long time • the nth time we try the same wrong methods • Development is a process, not a finished product • Grafting is as simple as rocket science; i.e. it all depends on one’s need to survive ignition, have predictable behaviour, etc. Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

  3. Before the Internet 92.5% Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja Source: DPR, 1991 9(1):99-106

  4. Consider • So, throughout the 1960s-1980s, 93% of postal requests made for Nigerian article off-prints were external to Africa. • About when others had an “Information Explosion”, we had a Famine: the “book famine”. Example: In 1985, • US Library of Congress had holding of 75 million items compared to the 7 million volumes in all Nigerian libraries • There were 1,900 specialized libraries in the USA when Nigeria had only about 362 libraries of all types • That’s why everything BUT information, was to be available “for all by Y2000” • The precursor to the Internet was being handed over to existing universities; we are still establishing ICT-D.O.A Campuses Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

  5. Thought Experiments • What will happen, if we limit all: • Farming activities to relevant degree holders? • Building activities to relevant degree holders? • What are the socio-cultural assumptions (etc), behind (say), street-lighting, or crash-helmets, etc? • Why are we buying cooling systems from those who need heating, and solar systems from those with no sun? • What should be the best predictor of the future state of a Nation, say 15 years hence? What does this mean for us? Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

  6. Looking forward to going backwards? But what will happen, assuming we restore everything about education (say), back to the same state as in the 1960s-1970s? Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

  7. “Peculiar” issues • Widening ICT divide between the private sector and education and public sector • Connect (adequately, for academic development) or Perish • Student-Drain, is following the teachers’ Brain-Drain • The pace of change continues to increase: • The system’s internal ability to revise the curriculum and correct itself has been severely eroded • time, opportunity & capacity to anticipate have become vastly more important as a stop-gap measure Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

  8. What and how to • Faithful Strategic Planning! • Coach those who make decisions, and those who can unmake decisions • Prioritize investment in people and for people (i.e. Capacity Building/ HRD) • Professional development should also be: • A centerpiece of a university’s ICT strategic plan • Grounded in a competency-based framework, learner-focused, flexible and evidence-based • Academic staff should drive the design, planning implementation and evaluation of professional development. • Anything that restores confidence & esteem of academies & scholarship is very, very good. Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

  9. The Good News: IT’s in our character! • Most Internet & network services are electronic renditions of universities’ normal activities & desires. • Collaboration, on-line discussion groups, teleconferencing, are renditions of Committees, Seminars and Conferences. • Intranets are Academic & Research networks, societies & associations. • Academies can do Bulletins, Journals, and Content! • Academic freedom and autonomy gave roots to the freedom & democratic traditions now associated with the Internet. • Academies are paid to update, pass on skills, anticipate changes, upgrade the wider community, etc. • ICT is facilitative: the academic world has never had more opportunities to collaborate and share than at the present time. Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

  10. Curriculum Issues and Resources at hand • Organized Proprietary/ Commercial Content Providers: • CISCO Academies • Microsoft Academies • Linux Academies • In-a-Box OpenCourseWare resources, e.g. MIT’s OCW (http://ocw.mit.edu/) with links to many others • Open e-Learning resources & platforms, e.g. KEWL • Truly collaborative open tools & resources, e.g. University of Georgia’s Global Text Project (http://globaltext.org) • Annual Advanced hands-on training & for-life-help-lines for Academic Network Operators and others: • The African Network Operators Group (http://afnog.org): Abuja, 22 April – 4 May 2007 • The ng ICT Forum’s Nigerian Network Operators Group (http://forum.org.ng) Preparatory-ngNOG and ngNOG workshops and special interest groups (http://abuja.forum.org.ng/mailman/listinfo/) Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

  11. Fundamental Issues Remain • Curricular deficiencies and other fundamental issues severely reduce uptake of our staff & students at most excellent hands-on workshops & training programs • The HE system’s internal capacity to revise curricular and implement any appropriate revisions have unfortunately been severely compromised • Our entire concepts of staff development and of development itself, need to be totally over-hauled for these problems to be solved Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

  12. PHE (MacArthur & Carnegie) Interventions in ng • The Partnership Foundations, esp. MacArthur and Carnegie, are quite involved in both restoration and advancement of HE in ng • Six institutions are supported directly, and MacArthur directly supports dozens of other projects and interventions • Support to widen impact of, and institutionalize their interventions e.g. thro’ NUC, CVC • Systemic & Indirect supports include the ng ICT Forum, Library Development, the Bandwidth consortium, facilitation of donations (through e.g. NSRC), and training to improve the ability & capacity to look for additional help. • Support for MIT OCW and Data Standards are being considered by MacArthur • World Bank’s STEP-B and NESAP-ICT assistance • ISOC-NG’s ICT Centers • They have, and continue to send clear signals that something positive can happen, and is happening. • But it is all up to us. Technografting: IEEE Meeting, Abuja

More Related