Arising out of NextEd Project (www.nexted.info) Transforming ICT4D through Web 2.0 R. Quilling, C. Blewett, M. Hughes School of Information Systems & Technology University of KwaZulu-Natal
May 07, 2015
Arising out of NextEd Project (www.nexted.info)
Transforming ICT4D through Web 2.0
R. Quilling, C. Blewett, M. HughesSchool of Information Systems & Technology
University of KwaZulu-Natal
• 1990s: Rapid rise in availability of ICTs, most notably the Internet
• 2000: Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)• Development potential of ICTs beyond question• YET:
– To date, most ICT4D projects have been either partial or total failures
– UN itself has acknowledged that progress towards the MDGs’ 2015 target has been slow (UN, 2009)
ICT4D 1.0: The State of Play
• 2009: “The ICT4D 2.0 Manifesto” (Heeks, R.)• Draws a line under the last 10 years
• Reflects on lessons learnt• Suggests a new direction• Development projects should be:
– Sustainable– Scalable– Subject to subjective evaluation
• ICT4D on the threshold of a major phase change• Dumping (unaltered) latest tech does not work
Moving to ICT4D 2.0?
• Remain active innovators and not rely on passive diffusion, however:
• Look for new models of innovation
ICT4D 2.0 Unbundled
• Change the way the target population is perceived– From marginalised and passive to centralised and
active– From supply-driven to demand-driven– From “invention-down” to “use-up”
•Change the way the target population is perceived
• To examine the fundamental thinking behind development projects and their implementation strategies
• To seek new models of engagement that recognise the ICT4D phase change
• To enhance development projects by adding features from Web 2.0 innovation models
What is required?
ICT4D 2.0
• Not explicitly conceptualised as an ICT4D project• BUT: Also rooted in MDGs• Education is arguably the ideal vehicle for addressing the MDGs
– Shapes future generations– Provides platform for a new and different future
• Socio-economic development through rejuvenating education in Africa
• Potential for exciting cross-pollination of underlying ideas/philosophies with ICT4D
NextEd-Africa: A Potential Candidate?
• NextEd is a global, virtual educational network, built on an ubuntu philosophy of collaboration and a scaffolded model of supportive engagement.– Setup NextEd World (VW, SLN)– Collaborative Courses– Microblogging Environments– Integration platforms, role players
NextEd
NextEd PhilosophyDigital campfire – Ubun2.0
– A place of no judgment – A place of no assumptions– Each has a reason for being
there– Each is welcome– Each tells their story– Each learns– Each leaves to share
NextEd 5C Engagement Model
1.Come
2.Consume
3.Collaborate4.
Create
5.Contribute
New Cycle Initiated
• Adopted “use-up” approach– Consumers experience through Come,
Consume, Collaborate• Missing “Connection”
ICT4D 2.0 – Learning from NextEd
Model of Engagement
• Trust and motivation is NB • Exposure to NextEd is NB• From 5C to 6C
1.Come
5.Contribute
2.Consume
3.Collaborate
4.Create
New Cycle Initiated
Connect
• Heeks 3 models for innovation– Laboratory (pro-poor) – on behalf of– Collaborative (para-poor) - alongside– Grassroots (per-poor) – within
• BUT– Nomeclature/mindset “rich/poor”,
“have/have not”– Need an Ubuntu approach
Co-operation through Ubun2.0 Engagement
“A traveller through a country would stop at a
village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people
give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of
Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu
does not mean that people should not enrich
themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you
to be able to improve?” (N.Mandela)
So, unlike the pro-para-per -poor separation, Ubuntu is not about seeing
ourselves as “separated from one another (but rather as) ... connected” (Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, Wikipedia, 2009).
Co-operation through Ubun2.0 Engagement
Not just Web 2.0 technologies but
Web 2.0 Principles
Ubunt2.0 Engagement
1. Co-operatoin2. Co-creation
3. Beta
• “cooperate, do not control” (Rollett et al, 2007
• experience the environment in both a “consume/receive” and “collaborate/give”
Co-operation through Ubun2.0 Engagement
• Wiki-Style co-creation• No hierarchy – Peer creation• Daystar lecturer consumed, then creates
and collaborates
Co-creation
Ubun2.0 Learning Happening
A place for imperfect learners, imperfect teachers,
with imperfect tools bound together by an important philosophy
BETA Mindset
Beta Journey
Ning - 2010
WebCT – 2002-2003
OLS – 2003-2007
Elgg – (2008)
Mahara – 2008
CollectiveX – 2009
Grou.ps – 2009
Ning – 2008
Mt.
Inst
itu
tio
nu
s
Ravines of
Technicality
CLOUDe Valley
éducation sans frontières
Edmodo – 2010
NextEd: Potential Outcomes
1.Come
6.Contribute
3.Consume
4.Collaborate
5.Create
2.Connect
Cooperation through Ubun2.0 engagement
Co-Creation through peer production
Perpetual “beta” mindset
Shape
The Ubun2.0 6C Model of Engagement
Resulting in
NextEd / Web 2.0 PrinciplesConnectionsPartnershipsCollaboration
OwnershipScalabilityFlexibility
SustainabilityInnovation
ExperimentationExploration
Potential Project Characteristics
• ICT4D phase change means new engagement models are needed
• Our experiences/reflections show need for Ubuntu-style engagement
• The future?– Africa’s turn is next!
Conclusion
Any questions, comments,
ideas, money ;-)