Task two is taken from the following web address:
http://www.elearning-africa.com/newsportal/english/news163.php
The main issue that is effecting Africa is the agriculture, it is an important part of Kenya's economy and farmers are struggling due to lack of knowledge when it comes to dealing with crops and pests etc. Given this situation Biovision Foundation and local scientists teamed up to develop an informational portal called Infonet, this was launched in 2007. Infonet meant that farmers were able to access useful information that could help them increased their farming. The project tarhets farmers, schools, extension officers, and trainers etc.
The main problem with launching an internet site is that Inet is still very limited in Kenya, this is why Biovision also made an offline version on CD's and Memory Sticks, so that farmers can access Infonet on any computer and without the Inet. This has changed farmers lives. "Infonet acts like a google for farmers where they can easily access info on their most urgent problems"(Mr Schriber). Kenya is currently the central information portal but there are plans to extend the access worldwide. There is also the opportunity for farmers to interact with Infonet via SMS and email. Biovision is working on linking the info portal so that it can be accessed on a mobile phone.
When I began reading this article, I considered how I would be able to access a range of information without the Inet, and to an extent I am able to access books from the library etc. But without the Inet nowadays I think I would struggle a great deal to find the information I needed. So considering that I thought of the rural area's in Africa with no Inet access, and thought about how farmers would be able to access valuable information about crops and pests. The answer is they wouldn't. So this article is important in showing how technology is being used to further peoples lives everyday. It also shows the effectiveness of distance learning and how technology is becoming widely available to all.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What do you think about these sorts of resources - is it imperialism by the back door? Wouldn't it be better to encourage communities to work with the elders to provide solutions to their own specific problems? Playing Devil's Advocate is always a good posiiton to take when reading what seem to be obviously good ideas. It helps you think of critical arguments.
ReplyDeleteI suppose when I think about it, to an extent it is a form of imperialism it enables the government to have control over the way the farmers learn informations about their crops and grow them in a certain way. If the government really wanted to help farmers it a better way of combatting the problem would be to set up help groups that go round and visit farmers with useful help, and would mean the farmers did not have to find access to a computer. Even though the Infonet is accessible offline, I would like to know how many farmers have access to a computer in Kenya and other neighbouring countries. I wonder how many farmers have to travel to access the help of infonet. An idea like this would be successful in somewhere such as England because most people have the means of accessibility to a pc.
ReplyDelete