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 ;-)