The document summarizes research presented by Issifu Yidana on ICT in education across Africa. It discusses Yidana's past research studies in Ghana that examined factors influencing faculty use of instructional technology and explored using project-based learning and authentic assessment in ICT courses. It also outlines Yidana's involvement in ongoing research projects in Ghana investigating the pedagogical integration of ICTs and how academics use learning management systems. Key discussion points focused on challenges facing African ICT in education research and enhancing dialogue between researchers, policies, and practice on the continent.

1. Presentation at the GeSCI-PanAf Workshop on Research in ICT Education &
Development e-Learning Africa, 26th May 2010, Mulungushi International
Conference Centre, Lusaka, Zambia
Issifu Yidana, Ph.D.
University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
To share original work, models and insights about ICT in Education research
across Africa
Faculty Perceptions of Technology Integration in a Teacher Education Curriculum: A Survey of
Two Ghanaian Universities ---- Yidana(2007)
In part, looked at how the following factors:
• Faculty attitudes towards technology integration in a teacher education curriculum,
• Faculty motivation and incentives for adoption of instructional technology,
• Faculty perceived barriers and challenges to adoption of instructional technology,
• Faculty perceived effects of instructional technology on pedagogy and students’ learning, and
• Faculty perceptions of technology professional development needs
relate, individually and in linear combination, to faculty use of instructional technology?
Model: Faculty use of instructional technology () = .05 attitudes + .25 motivation + .33
pedagogy + .29 barriers + .09 TPD needs;
ONLY motivation, pedagogy, and barriers & challenges perceptions were significant factors
and these collectively accounted for 51% in the variance in faculty tech use for teaching and
learning at 95% confidence level.
Implications for Practice:
• Focus on faculty technology needs and concerns to ensure successful implementation of their
ICT programs (e.g. faculty participation in technology decision process, decentralizing
technology training and workshops, plan for an on-going faculty technology development)
• Motivate and encourage faculty by helping them to acquire technology equipment and
increasing their access to technology resources such as the Internet.
• Capitalize on the positive views of faculty members and diffuse the technology innovation for
teaching and learning further into the practical implementation stages as suggested by Rogers’
(1995) Trialability Condition.
• Target interpersonal communication channels and strive to reach many innovative faculty
members in the diffusion efforts
Yidana, I. (2007). Faculty perceptions of technology integration in the teacher education curriculum: A survey of two Ghanaian universities.
Published Doctoral Dissertation, Ohio University, Athens, [available online from: OhioLINK ETD: www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?
acc_num=ohiou1178570000]
Pedagogical Paradigm Shift: Using Project-based Learning and Authentic Assessment in ICT
Instructional Delivery ----- Yidana (2009) work still in progress
• Majority (86%) of students reported they first used computers and allied technologies at
the undergraduate level.

2. • Students enthusiastically embraced project-based learning and (87.6%) found authentic
assessment to be fair and (89.2%) more transparent.
• The post-course evaluation showed that students (99%) found the courses to be of great
value, and (97.7%) that the courses increased their knowledge and competence in the
field of ICT in Education.
• Students (88.7%) strongly agreed that the varied and creative instructional strategies
used engaged them effectively in the learning process. (N = 300)
Implications for Practice:
• Showed how potent the role of ICT is in transforming teaching and learning via PBL
• A judicious use of ICTs in authentic ways will impact on the way academic programmes will be
offered and delivered in the teacher education programmes in the future.
• Motivate colleague teacher-educators to adopt the project-based learning and authentic
assessment approaches in a low-mid technology-rich learning environments.
Pedagogical integration of ICT_ERNWACA-PanAf Research Project: Phase 1 Ghana Report
• General state of pedagogical integration of ICTs
o State of pedagogical integration of ICTs in Ghana is low
o Impact on Educators could not be established as very few teachers actually use ICT in their
instruction
o No examples of ICT-based productions by learners were obtained, because many schools
still lack computer accessories and use obsolete computers (low speed and storage
capacities)
o limited impact was observed in educators and learners involved in department-based ICT
courses (Math, Music, Arts, ICTE, ICT); FM Radio Lectures
Investigating how academics use LMS to improve teaching and learning--- PHEA ETI
Programme (latest UEW research project- ongoing) --- 2010 - 2012
Suggested Discussion Points:
Why are African researchers underrepresented in scholarly writing, particularly on the subject of
ICT in Education?
• Late adoption of ICT in education in the continent (e.g. formal introduction of Computers in pre-
tertiary schools and calculator use was introduced/allowed in Ghanaian SHS beginning 2007).
Defects in curricular design: ICT not integrated into the curricula. Thus there is not much to
investigate in terms of use, effects of specific applications, an overall impact of teaching and
learning
• Widespread inadequate ICT Integration skills and knowledge among majority of academics in Africa,
limiting publication in ICT in education to few experts who mostly write from the North too.
• General institutional culture/structures/mindsets (resistance to change and innovations), time
constraints due to instructional overload, and inadequate support/incentives
• Financial constraints to the conduct of large scale research.)
• Difficulty to publish in highly-rated journals in the light of inadequate expertise in writing for
publication; most researchers publish in local university journal, association journals and regional
journals that are not read in the North

3. • Access to content of highly-rated journal out of reach of the general readership in Africa (library
subscriptions to online/print journal is helping in most Universities now); ( those of us in PanAf,
PHEA ETI, World Bank, UNESCO, COL and others’ programmes are just lucky to benefit from Prof.
Karsenti and others.)
How can we enhance the dialogue between African ICT in Education research, policy and
education practice?
• Encourage and mentor novice and potential ET researchers in Africa through collaboration with the
more experienced researchers from the North such as what PanAf is currently doing on the
continent; e. g. PanAf-ERNWACA Programme on pedagogical integration of ICTs, PHEA ETI
Programme, but give southerners the voice in such discussions and collaborations
• Support Southern ET researchers financially to conduct their research through commissioned
projects and collaboration with experts from the North, in the short term
• Holding regular stakeholders’ forums (give an opportunity for researchers to communicate ET
research findings to policy/decision makers and educational managers/administrators) such as
eLearning Africa Conferences on national and international scales. This will encourage stakeholders
and development partners to continue to support ET research on the continent.
What is an appropriate role for multi-sectoral partnerships in supporting development research?
• Provide consultancy in ET research initiated by southern researchers
• Provide funding for large scale and longitudinal ET research in the South
• Involve all partners in ET research results dissemination through regular stakeholders’ forums
• Make ET research literature available to Southern researchers as Prof. Karsenti and others have
started doing; Southern researchers need to adapt NOT adopt these northern examples
• Collaboration between North and South ET researchers should include the southern voices in what
is relevant and workable in the South
• Support ET researchers to be proactive in persuading policy/decision makers to apply ET research
findings in development projects in authentic ways
ET Research Focus Areas
A Dephi Study in the USA from 2004-2005 came out with the following focus areas for ET research from
2005-2015, which I consider very relevant to those of us in the South as we in Africa begin to
pedagogically integrate ICTs in the next decade:
• Learning—examine the relationship of technology and how people learn including an investigation
of the learning process, learner engagement, and contextual learning.
• Teachers—develop models for preparing inservice and preservice teachers to be more effective
users of technology.
• Models/Strategies—develop technology-rich instructional models to support student learning in the
classroom and in the online environment.
• Assessment—develops appropriate methods and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of
technology-enhanced instruction, particularly for more complex learning tasks.
• Schools—investigate changes in the classroom, teacher roles, and schools due to technology
integration and determine how technology might best facilitate educational reform.
• Social Issues—investigate factors influencing the digital divide and the effects of technology on
social interaction and collaboration. (Pollard & Pollard, 2005)

4. Source: Constance Pollard, & Richard Pollard (Winter 2004-2005). Research Priorities in Educational Technology: A
Delphi Study. Journal of Research on Technology in Education: 37(2), 145-160.
Conclusion
• Focus ET Research on:
o Learning
o Teachers
o Models/Strategies
o Assessment
o Schools
o Social Issues
• Collaboration among ET researchers in the North and South
• Dissemination and Application of ET Research findings to solve authentic educational/Development
problems
• Using ET Research to influence Actual pedagogical integration of ICT policies and orientations
• Support for large scale research projects (Governments, PANAF, ERNWACA, PHEA, Carnegie, etc)
Thank you all for your wonderful contributions and sharing of your experiences with us all.