Facing the challenges from different realities: e-learning approaches for Africa and Europe

Abstract

Given that the UN’s Millennium Development Goals focus on primary education, Guy Pfefferman has observed how higher education was omitted within the African context. He also found that skills development for employment requires a radical change, advocating for eLearning as the only way to accomplish this in a meaningful and relevant way. In Africa we have the fastest growing population in the world with 40% under the age of 15 yet with one of the lowest higher education enrollments in the world, whereas in Europe we note an ageing corps of teachers, who despite being identified as having more experience, tend to suffer from technophobia. How to face the challenge of profiting from this experience and improve teaching practices when no more than 14% of the African population has access to internet? Simple ideas from a pilot study will be presented in order to overcome problems that may arise in less than perfect environments.