Open technology, open content and open knowledge

According to a new publication titled Opening up education: The collective advancement of education through open technology, open content and open knowledge, edited by Toru Iiyoshi (Director, Knowledge Media Lab, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching) and MS Vijay Kumar (Director, Office of Educational Innovation and Technology, MIT), the history of education is a narrative on opening up education. Over the last few decades, new media and infotech have enabled faculty, students and educational institutions to advance education in many ways. The publication notes that the emerging open education movement in higher education and beyond is beginning to change the way educators use, share and improve educational resources and knowledge by making them open and freely available. A key tenet is that ‘education can be improved by making educational assets visible and accessible, and by harnessing the collective wisdom of a community of practice and reflection’. For example, tens of thousands of course Web sites and other educational materials are now freely available from hundreds of institutions, organisations, and projects from thousands of educators around the world. At the same time, hundreds of educational institutions have joined international consortia and alliances to develop and share open educational technologies, resources and repositories, creating new models of collaboration. The 30 essays in the publication explore challenges to be addressed, opportunities to be seized, and potential synergies to be realised. Topics include designing open educational technology, technical and cultural barriers to open education, lessons learned from the iLabs project at MIT, evaluating the results of open education, a framework for educational abundance, digital libraries and learning communities, open educational content to transform access to education, OpenCourseWare to build a culture of sharing, the OpenCourseWars of 2005-2012 (a scenario for the year 2045 on the growth of OpenCourseWare: http://opencontent.org/future/), open teaching as the key to sustainable and effective open education, scaffolding for systemic change, and the promise of blended learning environments.

China leads engineering publications list

The 2008 Annual Report on China’s Science and Technology (S&T) Papers, released in December 2008 by the Institute of S&T Information of China (ISTIC) puts China at the top of 2007’s list, thereby replacing the United States for the first time. A total of 78 200 Chinese papers were included in the international Engineering Index (EI) – an indicator of papers published in engineering fields – rising by 16.2% from 2006. Chinese EI papers accounted for 19.6% of the global output in the field. In the Science Citation Index (SCI) – an indicator for science publications – Chinese papers increased from a 5th ranking in 2006 to a 3rd ranking in 2007, after the United States and the United Kingdom, and surpassing Germany and Japan. China had 94 800 papers in the SCI, accounting for 7.5% of the world’s total. The number of citations from Chinese papers is also increasing, although less than the growth in the number of publications. Between 1998 and 2008, the 570 000 Chinese papers indexed by SCI were cited 2.65m times, putting China in 10th position globally – an increase from 13th position last year. ‘The increases indicate that China’s S&T papers have improved in terms of both quantity and quality’, said Wu Yishan, general engineer of ISTIC and author of the report.

New African research resource

A new online search portal called the HERANA Gateway provides access to the latest research in the field of African higher education. Using Google technology, the Gateway returns focused search results from more than 15 sites worldwide – including University World News and the Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET) in South Africa – making it one of the most specialised resources of its kind. Numerous organisations are participating in the project, including a number of South African organisations, viz, African Higher Education Research Online, Centre for Higher Education Research, Training and Learning (Rhodes University), CHET, Council for Higher Education and HSRC Press. The HERANA Gateway forms part of the CHET’s Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA) project, and makes an important contribution to CHET’s broad objective of developing a network of higher education expertise in Africa.

Library of Alexandria goes online for science education

According to the Science and Development Network, an online repository of thousands of lectures by scientists from around the world will be launched by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt in January 2009. The repository, known as the Supercourse, is an attempt to improve access to science education in developing countries by targeting a total of 100 000 Golden PowerPoint lectures from scientists worldwide within a year and 1m in three years time. The library hopes that the repository will become a knowledge network in four main scientific disciplines, viz, medicine, engineering, environment and agriculture, through a community of more than 55 000 scientists in 175 countries who are sharing their collective library of more than 3 400 lectures. According to Mohamed El-Faham, project manager and director of the library’s Center for Special Studies and Programmes, ‘the project aims mainly to provide teachers and scholars from developing countries who don’t have access to relevant and updated scientific information with the necessary tools and means to present science to their students in an effective fashion’. However, Eltayed Mohamed Abdelgadir, researcher at the Sudan-based Agricultural Research Corporation, says that without enough computers, fast and reliable Internet connections, or even a reliable electricity supply – problems most developing countries suffer from – access to online science and technology repositories will be limited. ‘Assistance is needed to build adequate and reliable infrastructure for information communication technology as well as developing the necessary human resource capabilities’.

Digital map of the state of Africa’s soils

The African Soil Information Service, recently launched in Nairobi, Kenya, will produce a digital map of 42 African countries revealing soil type and its component nutrients. The information will guide farmers and policymakers in efforts to improve the fertility of Africa’s soils, some of which are the most nutrient depleted in the world. The project, funded with an US$18m grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and coordinated by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, will gather existing local soil maps and combine them with new measurements to produce the digital map, which will be freely accessible on the web in a user-friendly format. The new measurements will include those derived from remote sensing, which involves analysing the features of satellite images – such as colour and radiation – to infer the characteristics of the soil. These calculations are then calibrated against actual soil samples from the particular region. The African map is the first stage of an initiative, GlobalSoilMap.net, to map all of the globe’s soils to assist in making informed decisions not only about agriculture, but also to monitor the effects of climate change, environmental pollution and deforestation. It will be a useful source of information for learners and students. The plan is to have 70% of the world mapped within five years, with a full map completed within 10-15 years. Over 50 soil scientists will be involved in the mapping effort.

Reach Out and Give initiative

Learners at the Boschkop Primary School in Pretoria will now have the opportunity to learn how to use computers efficiently, thanks to the Reach Out and Give (RAG) initiative by students of the University of Pretoria. Ten computers were recently handed over to the school in a bid to empower the disadvantaged pupils. The Boschkop Primary School is situated about 40km outside Pretoria and has more than 800 learners who are mostly from disadvantaged communities.

Sumbandila satellite launch

The date for the launch of the much-anticipated SumbandilaSat science satellite has been set for 25 March by the Department of Science and Technology. The Sumbandila (meaning ‘showing the way’ in Tshivenda), a low-orbit satellite which will collect data to be used to monitor and manage disasters such as floods, oil spills and fires within Southern Africa will be launched into space from a sub-marine in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The project was carried out in partnership with SunSpace and Information Systems, the University of Stellenbosch and the Satellite Application Centre. The university was responsible for managing the project as well as training the students, while SunSpace was tasked with building the satellite. The Satellite Application Centre will be responsible for operations, telemetry, tracking, control as well as data capturing. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will be responsible for its mission control. The SumbandilaSat is the second satellite to be launched by government after the launch of the SUNSAT1, a modest satellite built by students and lecturers at the University of Stellenbosch in 1999. Like SUNSAT, the Sumbandila project presented several educational opportunities for pupils at school-level and post-graduate students at the Limpopo, Venda, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Stellenbosch universities. Nine intern students were also exposed to hands-on satellite related engineering, software engineering, geography and agriculture remote sensing.

New science and engineering training institute

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has recently launched a unique science and engineering training institute, the Moses Kotane Institute, to improve science and technology knowledge in the province. Speaking at the launch in Durban, Premier Sibusiso Ndebele said mathematics, science and technology programmes, to be rolled-out by the institute, will be consistent with pro-growth policies, and not oppose them. ‘Science and technology represent a major opportunity for world development. However, if not consistent with pro-poor policies, science and technology may increase rather than diminish the existing inequalities’, the premier said. The eThekwini FET College, Universities of KwaZulu-Natal and Pretoria will work closely with the institute by offering parts of the modules. The institute is expected to kick start its initial programmes early 2009.

Science centre in Saldanha

In an effort to mitigate the ‘critical challenge’ of local skills shortages, steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa recently announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Western Cape Department of Education for the development of a science centre in the Vredenburg and Saldanha Bay area. Spokesperson Sven Lünsche said the centre, which would be built at an estimated cost of between R10m and R12m, would be operational by the second half of 2009. Learners would gain access to classrooms, science laboratories, interactive science exhibitions and curriculum-linked science and mathematics instruction. ArcelorMittal would also provide teacher training to improve the overall teaching ability of educators involved with the project. According to Lünsche, the Department of Education would ensure that the top 10 or 20% of maths and science students in the region were identified and selected to attend these classes, while also taking care of other education-related issues. Poor science and maths performance at the secondary education level and the unpopularity of science as a career path were critical challenges facing South Africa, impacting directly on the country’s growth and future competitiveness. ‘ArcelorMittal South Africa is a major component of economic life in the communities around Saldanha. We would like to see more engineering and technical candidates from the area where we operate,’ asserted CEO Nku Nyembezi-Heita.

New social website for parents, teachers and learners

Technology company Internet Solutions is behind a new social website designed to let parents, teachers and learners communicate online. The company’s recently formed spin-off IS Labs is backing Obami.com, a social website being developed for schools in Southern Africa to help people keep up to date with school activities. Its features include instant chat, photos, blogs, calendars and budget planners. It will operate strict access control and privacy settings to create a safe community where users can collaborate without fear of cyber predators. Obami.com founder Barbara Mallinson said the website information will allow parents to be more involved in children’s school lives, and teachers could liaise with parents more effectively and share knowledge with colleagues from other schools. For the pupils it is a way to interact with teachers, parents and friends. Once a school registers with Obami, an authorisation code will be emailed to pupils, inviting them to join the network at the discretion of the school administrator. Use of the service is free of charge with schools paying only for SMS bundles if they want to contact parents via text messages.

Astronomy can foster development

According to South African astronomer, Kevindran Govender, manager of the SALT Collateral Benefits Programme and South African chair of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, ‘strengthening astronomy in poor nations can help promote socio-economic development’. South Africa’s investment in the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) has stimulated the country’s economy, with local industry manufacturing around 60% of the telescope’s components. Furthermore, it has boosted tourism and created new jobs. The SALT Collateral Benefits Programme (SCBP), in partnership with local stakeholders, has developed ‘astro-tourism’ activities. Govender argues that one of the most important ways astronomy can help development is to increase general interest in science, and encourage public engagement. Young South Africans aspire to be part of SALT – an icon of South African achievement. It forms part of school curricula, helping to teach concepts in mathematics, science and technology. Astronomy provides training in scientific research, both conceptual and practical, that is easily transferred to applied fields like meteorology, computer science and communications.