12 Challenges Facing Computer Education in Africa

 While ICT continues to advance in western and Asian countries, African countries still experience a lag in its implementation, and that continues to widen the digital and knowledge divides. In a recent study by Kiptalam et.al (2010), observed that access to ICT facilities is a major challenge facing most African countries, with a ratio of one computer to 150 students against the ratio of 1:15 students in the developed countries.

Whereas results indicate that ICT has penetrated many sectors including banking, transportation, communications, and medical services, the Africa educational system seems to lag behind. Further, recent report by the National Council for Science and Technology (2010) indicated that computer use in classrooms is still in its early phases, and concluded that the perceptions and experiences of teachers and administrators do play an important role in the use of computers in classrooms. I see a dozen challenges facing implementation of computer education in Africa. They are:

1. Lack of qualified teachers to teach ICT in schools: The demand for ICT learning has been tremendous and the number of teachers who are trained to teach ICT cannot meet the demand. There are more students willing to be taught computing skills than there are teaches to transfer the skills.
2.  Lack of computers: Computers are still very expensive and despite spirited efforts by the government agencies, NGO, corporate organizations and individuals to donate computers to as many schools as possible, there still remains a big percentage of the schools unable to purchase computers for use by their pupils.
3. Lack of electricity: Many schools are still not yet connected to electricity; Africa being a developing continent , the government has not been able to connect all parts of the country to the national electricity grid. Consequently those schools that fall under such areas are left handicapped and may not be able to offer computer studies.
4. Computers are still expensive in Africa: in a country with a GDP of $1600, majority of the individuals and schools cannot afford to buy a computer and consider it as a luxury item, more expensive than a TV. While 2nd hand computers cost as little as $150 and branded new computers being sold at $500 or higher.
5. Broken down computers: while a good number of schools have benefited from donated used computers, they have not been adequately equipped with the same on maintenance and repair, hence its very common to see a schools computer lab full of broken down computers, some repairable and some not. This has actually been a major problem, and the government has now put strict measures on any person, NGO or corporate bodies willing to donate 2nd hand computers. (It is seen as a dumping ground); e-waste management.
6. Burglary: the fact that computers are still very expensive in Africa, makes them a target for thieves who usually have ready markets to another party at a much less figure. This has made many schools to incur extra expenses trying to burglar proof the computer rooms. This extra expense makes some schools shy away from purchasing computers for their students.
7. Fear by the administration: there is still a strong perception especially by the older generation that computers require highly skilled personnel to operate them, while this may not be the case, some school administrators also fear that their students will be exposed to adult sites and other undesired sites, through the use of the internet. Some also fear the infection of viruses to their computers leading to data loss, while this may be true to some extent, proper education on the safe use of computers and help alleviate some of this fears.
8. Fear by the teacher: the teacher may fear being rendered irrelevant by the introduction of computers in his/her class. The ‘feel’ that the teacher still remains an authority and a ‘know it all’ in class is something that most teachers cherish, and anything that makes them otherwise is deemed an enemy of the classroom.
9. Lack of internet or slow connectivity: most schools are not able to connect to the world wide web, due to the high costs involved in the connectivity. On average, it may cost approximately $120 per month to connect to about 15 computers on a bandwidth of 128/64kbps. This is considered as very expensive for a very slow speed.
10. Lack of initiative by the community leaders: the community leaders who are charged with looking at the interests of a given community do not see the need to purchase and subsequent installations of computers to their schools as a priority. They consider health care, provision of water and other amenities as more important than buying computers for their schools.
11. Obsolete computers: lower the morale of both the teacher and the student; it is very common to find some schools using very old computers running on win98 or win 95.
12. Increased moral degradation: internet pornography, cyber bullying and other anti-social behaviors is a worrying emerging problem. 

ICT can play a significant role in equalizing opportunities for marginalized groups and communities. But the paradox is that for those groups that are unable to cross the technology divide, ICT is yet another means to further marginalize them. Education has a major role to play in resolving this problem. Thus, unless ICT becomes part of both the delivery and content of education, the disadvantage will deepen and development will suffer.

Customize your own MTN Callerfeel!!!

 There is a new way to share your conversations and this time, you are not limited to any social network- your callers are your new listeners.

MTN CallerFeel welcomes you to a new world of possibilities and self-expression. Whether you are in business, having fun, or you just have great news to share…

This is what it does for you:

Current and potential customers hear about your products and new offerings

Multiple persons share in your great news

Quick updates that make you feel good about expressing yourself are available to whoever calls your phone!

This is how it works:

Instead of listening to a ring-back (Caller) tune,  MTNCallerFeel allows for  your personalised messages to appear as pop-up notifications on your caller’s phone screen anytime they call; so now, they get to see and feel your message.

Think of the quick updates on your BBM, Facebook and Twitter; it works just the same -only cooler, as it can now be done on your MTN lines!

Subscribe Now! Send REG to the short code, 50016 or log onto the CallerFeel website, enter your MSISDN and select the option to subscribe to the service.

Modular has yet to work for phones — could it work for watches?

Technology and fashion have usually been two unrelated fields, but the growing smartwatch and wearables market is putting that notion on trial. Some people want a stylish watch: one that’s round, sleek, and eye-catching. Other enthusiasts want a real smartwatch, with LTE, Wi-Fi, and a host of other smartphone capabilities. Given the limitations of current technology, this probably explains why current smartwatches are still in their infant stages.
But if the geek-versus-sleek debate isn’t quite raging, the smart-versus-round one is. It seems as though few smartwatch manufacturers can make a compelling case to consumers at large. Could a modular design break the logjam? Blocks Wearables, a UK startup, wants to add a new layer to current smartwatch debates: customizable-versus-controlled. Blocks has its sights set on creating the first modular smartwatch, a goal the company says was inspired by Google’s own Project Ara modular smartphone idea.
Essentially, Blocks Wearables’ modular smartwatch would allow you to exchange device parts as you see fit. If you want a basic smartwatch now, but crave a heart rate monitor or GPS later on, you can just buy the add-ons. Blocks can do this by way of sensor modules that are built into individual smartwatch links, such that the links “snap” together to create a smartwatch. As of last fall, Blocks showed off a teaser video of what its smartwatch could be, with a plan to start its release earlier this year.
Six months into 2015, that still hasn’t happened yet. Blocks says it needed time to secure some relationships — Qualcomm for manufacturing the processor; a manufacturer to begin mass production — as well as finalize the block-links design that detaches one part of the wrist wearable from its other modular parts.
The OS is another question. Blocks was considering Android Wear, Google’s own smartwatch platform, as well as Samsung’s Tizen (although Intel and others are backing the fledgling OS as well), and the familiar Android 5.0 Lollipop, which would make it much closer to a standalone Android device. Currently the goal is to build it with Android 5.0 and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, and have it come in a range of luxury styles with help from local luxury brand Tateossian. Company co-founder Alireza Tahmasebzadeh expects to begin shipping watches to consumers 7-8 months after it crowdfunds the project.
As for price, the company is targeting $120 for the main body of the watch (the touchscreen watchface) with an additional $20 to $40 per sensor type. At that rate, expect a $200+ price tag when all is said and done.

Google looks to patent smart contact lenses for ‘iris fingerprint’ detection

Google’s getting more and more fascinated with biometric security measures. According to a recent patent filing, the Mountain View, California search engine giant is looking to integrate fingerprint authentication into its latest Android M update that will arrive this Fall. In addition to Google’s mobile efforts, the company has also been flirting with the idea of smart glasses (a la Glass) as well as smart contact lenses with an integrated camera for those who’d rather not bring too much attention to themselves.
Google also aims to design smart biometric technology to aid the health of humanity with its smart contact lenses, which can detect blood sugar levels via tear ducts. But the company also sees technology in a broader light, including security. To this end, Google’s latest patent shows it’s moving toward more secure forms of biometric identification – and iris fingerprints are more difficult for a hacker to “lift” than hand fingerprints.
The patent, dated June 2, 2015, covers a smart contact lens and a circuit containing light sensors (situated slightly over the iris) that scan the eye to form an “iris fingerprint” of an individual. The iris fingerprint detected by the light sensors would then be compared with an iris fingerprint on a computing device (whether desktop, mobile, etc.) for user authentication for a website or account, for example. As with prior smart contacts patents, the iris fingerprint detection system presented here would also call for a wireless power source of some kind.

In line with its commitment to user identification and internet security, Google says that “users can opt out of providing personal information” with an iris fingerprint detection system, and that data could be “anonymized” while still safeguarding account users.
Smart contact lenses could serve a number of purposes beyond biometric identification and measuring blood glucose levels. For one, smart contact lenses could also deliver medication doses over time (say, each hour or two), instead of requiring patients to take large medication doses at once. Night vision would be another benefit of smart contact lenses — a huge help for those who have trouble seeing at night, such as the visually impaired. And tear ducts contain an ingredient called lacryglobin that detects various cancers (breast, lung, brain, and so on), so smart contact lenses could help doctors and patients detect early, troubling signs or monitor for remission.
Google is but one of a few entities working on the future of contact lens technology: Swiss company Sensimed wants to use smart lenses to measure ocular inflammation in glaucoma patients; Seattle, Washington company Innovega has its sights set on creating smart lenses that can handle high-resolution displays while not affecting user vision; and the University of Michigan wants to create infrared lenses that provide night vision.
While plenty of patents are filed that never come to fruition, Google’s interest in smart contact lenses seem to be growing, which explains why the company announced its new partnership with Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis last year to begin the production of its smart contact lenses. Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez said that consumers can expect to see Google’s contact lenses on the market no earlier than 2019. Regardless of when the smart eyewear arrives to market, you can be sure that smart contact lenses will do more than just look fashionable.

Do You Know You Can Now Locate Your Lost Phone Using Google Search?

Losing your phone is a nightmare, and things get worse when you know there is hardly any way to track it down.
Well but if you are an Android user, then you are in for a pleasant surprise.
Google recently introduced a new feature which can track down any Android phone or tablet by simply using ‘Google Search’. Here’s how it works!

Step 1: Make sure you are using/share the same Google account on your PC and Android phone or tablet. (Even if you aren’t, it will prompt you once you type in ‘find my phone’ in the Google search bar.)

Step2: Now type in ‘find my phone’ in the Google Search bar.
As soon as you hit enter, Google will start locating your phone on Google Maps.
Give it a few seconds and your phone’s preciselocation will be right in front of you.
It even shows how far it is from where you are sitting.
But what if your phone is under a pillow or stuck in a bed side.
Well, for that, there’s an option called ‘Ring’ which will make your phone ring at maximum volume for over 5 minutes.

Drones now set to be used for Invigilation during exams

 Severe?..Yeah! They've resorted to the usage of drones to invigilate in an exam arena, as college students there have gotten so advanced in their ways that the whole thing from their glasses, pen, as much as their footwear has been 'technologically changed'.

Properly not so excessive because the drones do not have firearms installed but they're capable of come across suspicious radio indicators from an height of about one thousand six hundred feet (1600ft) and they can rotate as much as 360 degree to scan.

The location of those signals, springing up from mobile telephones, electric pen, pc glasses and even earphones is then dispatched to the main operators if you want to pinpoint who's cheating and in which.

This anti-cheating drone have be confirmed to have caught some suspects within the past year and their are criminal penalties for those convicted of examination Mal-practices in China.

I sincerely thinks this new development will reduce cheating in the examination hall...At least for now...Not until students start the use of Jamming gadgets to intercept the alerts transmitted by using the drone. You already know students are so clever and they will do anything to get what they want and these drones will lead them to be more hard working both in studying for exams and also in devising higher methods for cheating.

The Instagram site is getting a big redesign this week – see it here before it goes live

If you love taking photos and you pride yourself on your Instagram library, likes and followers, then you’ll be happy to learn that your Instagram photo experience is about to get much better. And you might just end up getting even more likes and followers once the company rolls out a major redesign for its website.

As The Verge puts it, Instagram’s website “is about to look much nicer.” The most important change concerns pictures, which will appear much larger on the page than they do now, both on the desktop and mobile version of the website.
Profile pages will display three large images in each row, rather than five smaller ones as it does right now. Other changes include round profile pics and the removal of the grid of cover images at the top.
The new webpage layout will also be presented on hashtag pages, the blog says, and similar design changes will hit the desktop feed and mobile profiles.
Instagram’s new website will be rolled out starting today, and should be visible to everyone by the end of the week, according to the company. In the meantime, you can see exactly what it will look like in the image at the top of this post.