Information systems education in Kenya: Students’ specialization choice trends

online-masters-and-phds.com - Technical University of Kenya (formerly Kenya Polytechnic University College) Article by: Atieno A Ndede-Amadi, Technical University of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya The objective of this study was to determine the time and level of Information Systems (IS) awareness among Kenyan university students and the choice of IS as a field of specialization. The study posited that the choice of a field of specialization is dependent upon a student’s awareness of its existence, its utilization in the real world, its career opportunities, and its strategic importance to the country’s economic development agenda.

Apple files new patent that could enable voice-based photo search in Siri

digitaltrends.com - According to a new application the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published this week , Apple may be working on bringing voice-based photo search to Siri. The patent, “Voice-Based Image Tagging and Searching,” describes the ability of searching photographs on a device via text strings associated, such as tags, said AppleInsider , which discovered the filing this week (the patent was submitted back in March, but only just published by the USPTO).

Best African fiction of 2013

theguardian.com - It's been a great year for African writing in 2013, with a clutch of new faces as well as some not-so-new ones. Here's our breakdown of the best in African literature this year:Happiness like Water by Chinelo Okparanta (Granta Books)Chinelo Okparanta's first work, Runs Girls, was published in the Exit Strategies issue of Granta magazine. Happiness like Water is her debut collection of short stories, centred on the challenges facing Nigerians at home and abroad.

My Dream Courses

insidehighered.com - With another semester over, I like to dream of courses that, in a perfect world, I’d get to teach someday. As the world is not perfect, and my position requires me to spend at least 2/3 of my time in the first-year writing trenches (Not a complaint!), these dreams will likely never come to fruition.But I find thinking about these “dream” courses makes me reconsider my approaches to the courses I do teach, how I can bring the dream closer to reality, if you will.

Africa: Weather Info Project Aims to Help African Farmers Adapt

allafrica.com - Photo: FAO/Giulio Napolitano

Farmers facing long periods of dry weather and floods have expressed hope that a new climate change adaptation initiative being rolled out in Tanzania and Malawi will spell an end to dismal crop yields.The Climate Services Adaptation Programme launched in November 2013 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) presents a window of opportunity for African farmers to use scientific knowledge to battle weather challenges.

Tobacco Firms’ Tactics Limit Poorer Nations’ Smoking Laws

nytimes.com - Tobacco companies are pushing back against a worldwide rise in antismoking laws, using a little-noticed legal strategy to delay or block regulation. The industry is warning countries that their tobacco laws violate an expanding web of trade and investment treaties, raising the prospect of costly, prolonged legal battles, health advocates and officials said.The strategy has gained momentum in recent years as smoking rates in rich countries have fallen and tobacco companies have sought to maintain access to fast-growing markets in developing countries.

ODI: data literacy will help solve world's biggest challenges

zunia.org - Africa , energy efficiency research using open data , energy-efficient way , Health policy & management , Health services , healthcare , internet mystery , travel industry leaders , United States , East Asia and Pacific , Europe and Central Asia , Open Data , South AsiaOpen data is one of the most valuable assets that we have, and could be used to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges including social scaling, population growth, healthcare, environmental challenges, supply chain risk, climate change and water scarcity, according to the Open Data Institute (ODI).

WWII Story Shows How Badly NSA May Have Hurt US Tech Brands

businessinsider.com - Since June, fugitive NSA analyst Edward Snowden has been leaking Top Secret documents about the tactics, techniques, and procedures of America's top surveillance wing — some of which include details of help, coerced or otherwise, from the leading U.S. tech companies.It's hard to put a finger on the total monetary damage American technology companies have suffered overseas as a result of the NSA revelations, but some say as much as $35 billion over three years.

Mandela saw education as a powerful weapon for freedom

timeshighereducation.co.uk - Martin Hall considers the legacy of academic values left by South Africa’s first black presidentMandela saw equality of opportunity through education as the key to emancipation, a principle yet to be realised in South Africa, or elsewhereWhat more can be written about Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, world icon? His political longevity embraced the entire span of formal apartheid, from before the election of the National Party in 1948 and to the end of the first term of South Africa’s democratically elected parliament in 1999.

Nobel winner declares boycott of top science journals

theguardian.com - Leading academic journals are distorting the scientific process and represent a "tyranny" that must be broken, according to a Nobel prize winner who has declared a boycott on the publications.Randy Schekman, a US biologist who won the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine this year and receives his prize in Stockholm on Tuesday, said his lab would no longer send research papers to the top-tier journals, Nature, Cell and Science.

Electronic voice aid interprets for people with impaired speech

m.bbc.co.uk - 11 December 2013 Last updated at 01:00 GMT
Researchers at the University of Sheffield have developed a prototype electronic aid for those with impaired speech.Called Vivoca , the device is intended to help people who have difficulty controlling and co-ordinating the muscles used in speech to communicate more clearly.The machine produces a range of phrases and words which users can select using a colour-coded menu.

How an Underwater Bomb in Australia Was Heard Around the World

gizmodo.com - In 1960, scientists did one of those experiments that just aren't allowed anymore. For the sake of science, they blew up three 3oo-lb anti-submarine bombs off the coast of Australia. A listening station 10,000 miles away in Bermuda—on the exact other side of the planet—waited. And waited. And, about three and a half hours later, they saw the blip that confirmed their hypothesis: Yes, sound in the ocean really can travel across the world.

10 iOS-Friendly Toys for Kids

mashable.com - Your children love your iPad , but if they're spending too much time glued to the screen, it might not be the kind of play that will benefit them the most.As children use digital devices more and more, they miss out on opportunities to work on fine motor skills, spatial reasoning and other skills that require tactile play, instead of the rather 2D experience of tapping on a screen.But just when you're thinking about taking that screen away from your media-saturated children, a new crop of toys pops up that utilizes the iPad by taking it out of their hands, allowing them to practice other physical skills as well as playing on your device.

Will e-publishing help Africa discover the joy of reading?

m.bbc.co.uk - Publishers have long bemoaned Africa's lack of a "book culture" but some hope that the advent of smartphones and the internet could help change this, writes journalist Chris Matthews.
The 566% increase in worldwide internet usage since the start of the millennium might appear staggering but not when compared with Africa, where online activity has grown by an astonishing 3,606%. More than 160 million people are now connected throughout the continent, mostly on mobile phones.
With internet access surging and connectivity increasing, the doors are being thrown open to digital publishing. All of which suggests a new chapter has been started since Kenyan publisher Henry Chakava's withering attack on Africa's book culture back in 1997.

Educating Adolescents About SRHR through Mobile

iicd.org - InfoNewsNov 28 2013 , Ghana
On December 1 the world will mark World AIDS Day with a series of events and initiatives to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. Based in Ghana, last year’s World of Difference team has developed a mobile communication strategy to mark the day and to “inform adolescents in a fun and interactive way about their sexuality” and encourage openness in discussing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

How might open data in agriculture help achieve food security?

zunia.org - The launch of Godan is the latest sign of momentum in the idea of open data in agriculture. Last year, the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition agreed upon at the G8 summit included a commitment to share agricultural data with African partners, and to hold an international conference on Open Data for Agriculture, which happened in April this year. The policy support is there, but how might open data actually help achieve food security?
The idea of providing agricultural information freely is not entirely new. Data has been made available in the past by various agencies and research organisations, but the amount of data being generated now is increasing, as is our ability to share it effectively. This is leading to a growing interest in making good use of it.
There's a global refocusing on agriculture, which is positive and necessary," says Johannes Keizer, the information systems officer at FAO. "And we are producing enormous amounts of data. But what are we doing with it? How can it be used to produce useful services? These streams are coming together. Open access to data in agriculture is one of the key issues that we consider important if you want to combat hunger and poverty."

Africa's first start-up bus hits the road

m.bbc.co.uk - By Salome van Zyl Johannesburg29 November 2013 Last updated at 00:18 Of the 30 entrepreneurs on the bus, 15 were from Africa and 15 were from the rest of the worldImagine a bus, jam-packed with uber-geeks from different countries, taking on a four-day brainstorming marathon across Southern Africa.Well, imagine no more because it has just become a reality.Founded by Elias Bizannes in 2010, StartupBus is a voluntarily run programme by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs who are devoted to problem-solving around the world through technology.

The Path to Digital Citizenship

edutopia.org - I've written and taught about digital citizenship for several years. And, while the term is new in our lexicon, the meaning spans generations. The simple acts of carrying oneself in a civil, appropriate manner are skillsets that have been integrated into every classroom since the very first school. Many would argue that digital citizenship is simply a buzzword and nothing dramatically new. While the underlying meaning is familiar, the medium by which adults and students interact has changed dramatically.

The Complete Visual Guide To Generation Z

edudemic.com - There’s always discussion happening out there about generational differences, especially when it comes to internet and technology usage . Much of this discussion tends to divide people into two (very rough) groups – of older and younger, superusers and reluctant users, and a very very large grey area in between. That’s not to say that there’s nothing out there that breaks it down more, but for the most part, we don’t see as much detail as we see generalizations.

The Power of Introverts: An Essential Understanding for Teachers

edutopia.org - About a year ago, I read Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking . I wanted to tell everyone about this book right away, but I also wanted to let what I'd learned sink in. I wanted to sit alone with my new self-awareness, process my experience, and absorb the revelations I'd had -- all in true introverted fashion. See, as I'd read Cain's book, my predominant thoughts were, "She's describing me!

Weekly Giveaway: Science Experiments in a Box

edutopia.org - Many would agree that for inquiry to be alive and well in a classroom that, amongst other things, the teacher needs to be expert at asking strategic questions not only asking well-designed ones, but ones that will also lead students to questions of their own.

I also learned over the years that asking straightforward, simply-worded questions can be just as effective as those intricate ones. With that in mind, if you are a new teacher or perhaps not so new but know that question-asking is an area where you'd like to grow, start tomorrow with these five:

Social Media Handbook for Agricultural Development Practitioners

ictforag.org - The Social Media Handbook for Agricultural Development Practitioners is designed to help USAID projects and other implementing organizations use social media to complement their existing and future agricultural communications efforts. In addition, it aims to provide practitioners with a foundational understanding of what is needed to create compelling social media content. It is important to stress that this handbook does not assume that social media will provide the most appropriate solution for disseminating agricultural information, as internet connectivity and accessibility is still limited in many part of the world.

Student-Centered Learning and the Achievement Gap

youtube.com - NMEF President & CEO Nick Donohue talks about how student-centered learning can help close the achievement gap.

Integrating ICT Solutions to Strengthen Capacity

iicd.org - 

ICTs can strengthen the capacity of individuals, organisations and institutions in different ways. They can act as tools for accessing information and facilitating communication, improving informed decision making on the part of individual farmers and farming communities. They can also provide solutions to improve the effectiveness and outreach of organisations working to support the agricultural sector.

Unfortunately, there are many examples of ICT solutions with real potential to address critical agricultural needs and opportunities that did not strengthen – as hoped – farming communities’ capacity to enhance household incomes and improve quality of life. This raises a key question: can ICTs really help to enhance the capacity of individuals and organisations working in agriculture to improve their positions and income? And if so, how?

 

Student-centered Assessment Video Suite

studentsatthecenter.org - What does student-centered assessment look like in the classroom? How do students benefit from this type of assessment? Why do teachers implement these practices in their classrooms? The Students at the Center project, in conjunction with Dr. Heidi Andrade, Ed.D. and the students and teachers from IS 223 (Brooklyn, NY), produced this suite of videos to begin to answer these questions for those wishing to implement more student-centered approaches in the classroom, school, district, or beyond.

What Does Open Government Look Like on the Ground? - Zunia.org

zunia.org -
OGP was founded on the premise that ‘good ideas come from everywhere.’ Eight months into my role at the OGP Support Unit, I’m completely convinced of the truth of this statement. However, I also recognize that it’s not easy to identify, capture and disseminate these ideas to a diverse global audience.

Can A Data Benchmarking Exercise Affect Positive Change Within Development? - Zunia.org

zunia.org - 

Publish What You Fund (PWYF) released its annual Aid Transparency Index and advanced the claim that transparent aid information is a “necessary condition to enable…social change”. However, earlier this week, Duncan Edwards of the Institute of Development Studies argued that the rosy prescription of “openness + ICTs = development outcomes” is fundamentally flawed.

The apparent dissonance between these two views is, in our view, reconcilable. Open data is certainly not sufficient to provoke positive change, but it is also not inconsequential. Open data can be catalytic when complementary efforts are in place to address several other important conditions: incentives are in place for donors to supply useful information; the intended beneficiaries of aid have an understanding of how the information supplied by donors is relevant to their interests; and local stakeholders in the developing world have the ability to put such data to effective use.

Could a Focus on 'Dispositions' in Education Improve Teaching?

educationnews.org - Deborah Schussler, associate professor in Penn State’s College of Education, said that ‘dispositions’ — rapid, calculated judgments and responses — should be included as one element to be evaluated in teacher education programs. According to Schussler, it is important to clarify and build dispositions in teacher education to help future teachers to be better prepared and morally sensible.Explaining dispositions in education, Schussler said they are a teacher’s quick decisions or understandings based on the perceptions of his/her environment and how they affect future actions, Pennsylvania State University said in a statement .

Internet for all: SA towns race for free public wifi

zunia.org - Africa , basic network , city network , communications technology , E-government , electricity , government services , ICT , ICT Applications , internet service , nelson mandela , United States , South Africa , East Asia and Pacific , Europe and Central Asia , South AsiaThe idea that access to the internet is something other than a cutting-edge luxury has been slow to filter into South African discourse.

The new distance learning gets up close and personal

theglobeandmail.com - Jennifer Feschuk already had one degree when she started at Royal Roads University in Victoria last year, but she still had some pre-school jitters before her classes began.The first day involved the typical tour and meet-and-greet with classmates, and she was given time to look around and get her bearings. But unlike her first postsecondary experience, this wasn’t taking place in person – it was all being done online.

This Week in Seeding the Change: 20 Teachers Who Are Changing the World

huffingtonpost.com - Every day of the week, The Pollination Project awards $1000 seed grants to individuals working in areas like sustainability, social justice, community health and wellness, arts and media. Our "pollination philanthropy" model of giving money directly to people, instead of established entities, is intended to help change-makers launch new ideas -- and teachers have unique opportunities to strike at the roots and create a more just, peaceful, healthy future for us all.

Aid for trade: A failing grade in LDCs?

zunia.org - Aid for Trade has certainly helped to shift the aid debate towards building productive capacities. According to the WTO/OECD database, Aid for Trade is mostly disbursed to productive capacity-building projects and trade-related infrastructure. Until 2009, transport and storage, energy, and agriculture accounted for 80 per cent of Aid for Trade resources, and were identified by LDCs as priority areas reported in the Aid for Trade evaluation survey.

5 Open Education Resources for K-5 Common Core Math

edutopia.org - There is an abundance of math open educational resources on the web. So many, in fact, that Education Week asked, " Why is There More Open Content for Math than English? "Common Core is driving a lot of the growth in open education production and curation, with new databases and sources popping up left and right. It can be overwhelming to wade through everything, and find a source that works for your classroom.

Massive open online courses: a first report card

theguardian.com - Many foreign students are running the text of their work, readings and lectures through translation software multiple times. Photograph: Gary S Chapman/Getty ImagesWho's going to grade all that homework?Those of us who are engaged in teaching "massive open online courses", or Moocs , find ourselves answering a lot of questions these days, and that's one we hear a lot.One month into my own effort for Northwestern University, I've heard so many versions of that one on the street, in meetings, and even when doing TV interviews, that I have a quick and facile answer:

Bright poor 'held back for decades'

m.bbc.co.uk - By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent17 October 2013 Last updated at 01:22 Blue Peter generation: Social mobility had not reached education in the 1960sThe level of qualifications achieved by adults now in their 40s, 50s and 60s was influenced by social background as much as their own intelligence, according to a long-term study from the University of Oxford.It found that children of the same ability went on to achieve very different levels of exam results.

Australian scientists plan to relocate wildlife threatened by climate change

theguardian.com - Australian researchers have developed the “first rigorous framework” on how to relocate animals displaced due to climate change.The study, conducted by academics from four Australian universities and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), devised a formula on how to decide whether to relocate a species, which species to prioritise for reintroduction and where and how to move them.

Comparing children's sharing tendencies across diverse human societies

bps-research-digest.blogspot.com - Up until about the age of seven, children across the world show similar levels of sharing behaviour as revealed by their choices in a simple economic game. The finding comes courtesy of Bailey Houseand his colleagues who tested 326 children aged three to fourteen from six different cultural groups: urban Americans from Los Angeles; horticultural Shuar from Ecuador; horticultural and marine foraging Fijians from Yasawa Island; hunter-gathering Akas from the Central African Republic; pastoral, horticultural Himbas from Namibia; and hunter-gatherer Martus from Australia.

Connected and Healthy: Using ICTs to Improve People’s Health

zunia.org - Africa , global development , ICT , ict4d , icts , internatinoal development , mobile technologies , public policy , sustainable development , Health , Open DataIn Kenya, the open data movement has allowed creation of health maps to monitor the spread of diseases such as malaria. These applications combine the power of technology with the appeal of a simple-to-use map and the transparency of an open data platform.

Keeping the Lifeline Open: Remittances and markets in Somalia

zunia.org - Each year, Somali migrants around the world send approximately $1.3bn to Somalia in an expression of solidarity, faith, patriotism, and generosity. These flows represent a significant share of Somalia’s economy and help to reduce Somalia’s reliance on assistance from foreign governments and international organizations.Continued support from the Somali diaspora is essential for Somalia to successfully emerge from its protracted humanitarian emergency and political crisis and build the foundations for its long-term development.

This just in: why news is Twitter's next frontier

theverge.com - Twitter is moving more aggressively into the world of journalism, building a new alert system for breaking news and hiring someone to build new partnerships with the media industry. Together, the moves point to a service that is as much a broadcaster as it is a social network, owning live events with a core product that predicts its users’ interests without having to ask for them. Whether it realizes that vision remains anyone’s guess — but if its latest experiment proves successful, Twitter will have gotten a lot closer to it.

Facebook Acquires Onavo to Strengthen Global Mobile Strategy

mashable.com - Facebook on Monday confirmed the acquisition of Onavo , a Palo Alto-based startup that makes data-compression software to help minimize data usage on smartphones. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Onavo will remain a "standalone brand" within Facebook, according to Onavo's blog post.Three-year-old Onavo will also retain its Tel Aviv office, giving Facebook a new office on the ground in Israel.

What Does It Mean to Be a Connected Educator?

edutopia.org - My story began while I had to stay home to convalesce from a recent spine surgery. That sounds bad, but its all good now, so no matter. While I was home recovering, iPad in hand, I began exploring. Edutopia was a good place to start. I had already been using the resources on this site for several years, and had meant to post a note, or read an article... One in particular, commenting on the value of Twitter for establishing a PLN, piqued my interest in exploring that medium.

11-year-old designs a better sandbag, named 'America's Top Young Scientist'

nbcnews.com - 1 hour agoAn 11-year-old boy from Florida has designed a new kind of sandbag to better protect life and property from the ravages of saltwater floods. His invention took top honors at a science fair this week, earning him a $25,000 check and a trip to Costa Rica."Living in Florida, I'm keenly aware of hurricanes and saltwater flooding," the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge grand prize winner Peyton Robertson , who is a sixth grader at the Pine Crest School in Ft.

Wireless Witch: How to Test Your Wireless Performance

pcmag.com - Slow Internet and network performance are annoying. However it's hard to troubleshoot issues when you just feel that performance is slow. You've got to know the kind of performance you are getting in order to improve it. Let's take a look at a few ways you can actually gage and monitor network performance.

The first order of business is to understand the difference between bandwidth and throughput.

A development data revolution needs to go beyond the geeks and bean-counters

zunia.org - Africa , development data revolution , food , global development , good governance , greener technology , ICT Applications , ict4d , icts , international development , public policy , Social development , sustainable development , Technology innovation , United States , East Asia and Pacific , Europe and Central Asia , South AsiaGood data can help progressive leaders and civil servants make their case and implement better policies.

Becoming an eTeacher

sites.google.com - Hello and welcome to Becoming an eTeacher, a five-module course on getting online and becoming an eTeacher.We will follow Fifi, our teacher, as she learns the essential skills needed to begin eTeaching.This course is in five parts, preceded by an introduction video (to the right). You can preview the modules to see which of them you want or need to complete on its own, or you can complete them all one-by-one in your own time, at your own pace.

Apps for Every School Leader to Consider

itouchthefuture.pbworks.com - When properly configured, tablet devices like the iPad or those running an Android OS are great tools for school leaders. There are all kinds of productivity and utility apps that can be used to streamline tasks and help leaders make better use of their valuable time and resources.Use the links on this page to explore the possibilities.The categories listed here also work well as titles for folders you might want to create on your iPad.

Google Vs. Facebook: A Map Of Global Conquest

npr.org - Mark Graham/Stefano De Sabbata / Internet Geographies at the Oxford Internet InstituteThe U.K.'s Oxford Internet Institute has put together an interesting illustration of the most popular websites around the world. Not surprising, Google and Facebook dominate the globe.We're not quite sure what the data mean, if anything, but you can be the judge.The institute, using data from the Web analytics site Alexa , crunched the numbers and came up with this:

Moocs: from mania to mundanity

timeshighereducation.co.uk - After the hype is over, e-learning will be the norm, predicts Stephen HaggardEducation by computer software will be the norm for post-school learning. Most of us will earn our degrees at a screenThe supernova effects of massive open online courses include a warping of time. Academics running Moocs report working 100-hour weeks. FutureLearn invites applause for its burn rate: 10 months from zero to a full clutch of courses.

New Trainings Prevent Bullying on Campus

huffingtonpost.com - "I chose to live. I withstood the pressure, the bad name-calling and jokes -- being called a 'fag.' I am a survivor... and today I try to educate others that taking your life is not the answer." --Josie, 21For those of us who know a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) young person, we likely see a strong, empowered, motivated, creative and unique individual. However, 15 years after the brutal hate crime murder of Matthew Shepard at the University of Wyoming, there are still LGBTQ young people like Josie who struggle to find safety at college and in their community.