Author Archive:

Are Interactive Whiteboards an ICT4E Wonder or Waste?

Are Interactive Whiteboards an ICT4E Wonder or Waste?

Published on: Jun 04 2012 by Wayan Vota - 3 Comments
At eLearning Africa 2012 there was a strong interactive white board (IWB) presence. Yet I wonder how effective they are for ICT for education interventions in...
Get an ICT4D Job! Policy, Health, Management

Get an ICT4D Job! Policy, Health, Management

Published on: May 29 2012 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on Get an ICT4D Job! Policy, Health, Management
ICT Policy Specialist: The ICT Sector Unit of the World Bank is recruiting an ICT Policy Specialist through the JPPAD (Junior Professionals Program for Afro-Descendants...
Linux vs. Microsoft is the most useless debate in ICT4D

Linux vs. Microsoft is the most useless debate in ICT4D

Published on: May 25 2012 by Wayan Vota - 6 Comments
At an ICT4Edu conference in Kyrgyzstan, I was treated to a yelling match between technologists and educators on the brilliance or foolishness of installing Linux-based...
Should Corporate Social Responsibility start or end at installing computers?

Should Corporate Social Responsibility start or end at installing computers?

Published on: May 23 2012 by Wayan Vota - 4 Comments
In Kyrgyzstan, the mobile phone company MegaCom is installing computers in 17 rural schools and training the school Information Science Teacher on ICT in the...
A Cautionary Tale of ICT4D Failure at Scale

A Cautionary Tale of ICT4D Failure at Scale

Published on: May 18 2012 by Wayan Vota - 2 Comments
Back in 2009, a few MIT students started “Fab Labs” in Afghanistan to teach Afghans how to fabricate small-scale projects, one of which was wireless...
What Has China Done for ICT4D in Africa?

What Has China Done for ICT4D in Africa?

Published on: May 13 2012 by Wayan Vota - 2 Comments
In The China-Africa partnership: effective for education?, Stephen Haggard argues that, up to now, China’s presence in Africa has had disappointing impacts on...
Why Cyber Cafes Can Thrive in a Mobile Internet World

Why Cyber Cafes Can Thrive in a Mobile Internet World

Published on: May 11 2012 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on Why Cyber Cafes Can Thrive in a Mobile Internet World
With the advent of cheap mobile phones and mobile data plans, there is the belief that mobile phones are pushing cyber cafes out of business. Well according to...
Open and Free Access to World Bank Research & Publications

Open and Free Access to World Bank Research & Publications

Published on: May 09 2012 by Wayan Vota - 4 Comments
Wow! The World Bank is really taking Open Data seriously now. They’ve just Creative Common’ed all their publications in a new Open Knowledge Repository: In...
5 Reasons Why YouTube HD Videos are the Computing Benchmark for ICT4D

5 Reasons Why YouTube HD Videos are the Computing Benchmark for ICT4D

Published on: May 02 2012 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on 5 Reasons Why YouTube HD Videos are the Computing Benchmark for ICT4D
With the proliferation of computer hardware from desktops to laptops to myriad mobile phones, smartphones, tablets and everything in between, there is a real challenge...
How to Improve Technology Tenders in ICT for Development

How to Improve Technology Tenders in ICT for Development

Published on: Apr 30 2012 by Wayan Vota - 4 Comments
Yet again, I see another government tender for technology to improve the social and economic development of a country that is based around processor speed or operating...