MOOCs, An Opportunity for African Influence in Western Civilisation? Gertjan van Stam [email protected], Harare, Zimbabwe May 30, 2013 This is the text of the address at the eLearning Africa 2013 conference, on ’Tradition, Change and Innovation’, 30 May 2013, in Windhoek, Namibia.

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My life interacts with an ever expanding range of fields, and I got involved with Internet service provisioning, formal and vocational training on various levels and various subjects, agriculture and energy, dissemination of information, provisioning of hospitality, en even air-transport: a truly wide range of activities in sync with the holistic rural environment, and very rewarding.

Introduction

Of course, such living involves accommodation of discussion, and facilitation of the augmentation of views on realities [2][3]. My focus was to try and understand the local context and culture and then

Ladies and Gentlemen, The label of this session is “Mad About MOOCs? But What Makes a MOOC Good?”’. As this conference is called ‘eLearning Africa’, it is my intention to approach the issue from an African, indigenous perspective. And from that perspective, the issues involved with the subject could lead to surprising views..

• to amplify activities initiated by the local community • foster positive interactions between activities • search for relationships and growing of connections, in leadership, economy, and the joy of the growth of so-called ‘local talents’

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Curriculum Vitae 3

First, I would like to introduce my Curriculum Vitae. The ‘living-the-life’ CV, that is. I have recently emerged from an uninterrupted period of 12 years of living in rural areas, in Southern Africa. First 2 years in Zimbabwe, and then 10 years in a remote village, called Macha, in Zambia. It is there that I lived life with the local community, aiming at interaction and sustainable progress involving integral developments [1]. This life encompassed three distinct areas of interactions:

Right from the introduction of Internet in the rural village of Macha, in 2004, it was observed that the internet use links in with education. It appeared to me that there was no person with advanced education that was not using the internet for educational purposes. Indeed, when we studied through an online survey the use of Internet after 7 years of its presence in the rural community, we found that 71% of respondents were using the internet for learning [4].

1. exercises in ’Thinking’ 2. endeavours in ’Practice’ 3. recognition of ’Progress’

Observations from rural Zambia

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Both medical doctors in the local, rural Zambian hospital studied for Master of Business Administration (MBA) in the UK, through the internet. Also,

opening of access to education in the rural village had a direct impact on role modeling. In 2004, the first person to jump on the opportunity to study online was an impressive woman who wanted to assume a leadership role in the clergy. At first, she was not accepted in that role, but after completing theological education and gaining a formal USbased divinity degree through the internet, she was allowed into a position of leadership. In her rural community, the internet facilitated sustainable progress for her work in ‘peace and reconciliation’ and her church denomination at that time.

wide [5]. There is a lopsided geography of information. Consequently, reports on how to engender human capital using ICT in Africa are scant. I notice that many education centers are experimenting. It appears to me that most African institutions are entering cyberspace from an internal, institutional perspective only, for instance starting to move their e-mails off-site into the cloud, but not much more. Much research is needed to get a good overview of the African situation; however, there might just not be much to report on yet. The eLearning Africa report 2012 gave a nice overview of the issues that are hamper progress of the use of eLearning in Africa [6]. These issues are relatively well known, with access and affordability or access as prominent barriers to use of ICT.

Figure 1: Esther Kalambo, divinity degree holder by study through the internet from rural Zambia (Picture: Tony Roberts, 2007)

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MOOCs

This conference heralds and discusses the forthcoming of the MOOCs in several sessions, so I do not have to go into MOOC specifics. Names as Khan Academy, Coursera, Udacity, MIT OCW and edX, and even iTunes U are common knowledge for the initiated. The spectacular growth of these online education facilitators is a sign of the times: the emerging revolution in education. MOOCs are even common in my own family; My children, who grew up in rural Africa, they access Khan Academy to beef up certain parts of their knowledge base, for instance in mathematics, english, and international history. I am glad to be at this conference as I am very keen to learn about what is happening in Africa in the area of MOOCs. Africa hardly features in the massive amount of information production, world-

Figure 2: Ten defining features of the African eLearning sector 2007-2012 [6] Discomfortingly, most education technology interventions are not accessible to the poor [7]. True to a commitment to try and search for positive and available local assets with which we can work, I would like to address and propose an other view on MOOCs; one where Africa transmits courses and not consumes only. Such needs new constructs, building upon the wisdom of that the realities in Africa are particular. These particulars are particularly complex, without a unifying or even a simplifying view in Africa. In the holistic African con-

text, eLearning, like anything else, is part of a large framework of nontechnical human relations. Therefore, we must assure that all products and services embed in the African social system. Here, for instance,

its own setting? There exists a duality, a divided loyalty, where Africans hold a Western worldview in a certain setting and adhere to a traditional Africa paradigm in other settings. How to reconcile this, when the two thought systems are also quite closed to each other?

• objects and services do not separate from context • functionalities do not separate nor reduce from each other, and • there is no separation of the subject of the object, nor its functionality, or its politics In African countries, there appear at least two societies operating side by side [8]. One society speaks the language of the former colonizer - mainly English, French, or Portuguese - and works in a society where written words exist. This literatureenabled society might be considerably less than half of the population, and mainly lives in urban areas. The other society, the people living in the rural areas, speak indigenous languages and act within principal orality [9]. Consequently, the use of western language is hampering local progress [10]. National, African development motivates the need for the democratisation of access to information and knowledge by the use of languages better know to the majority of the population, not exclusively, but alongside languages like English, French and Portuguese [11]. Well, this is just one of the known issues. However, this already poses huge questions, for instance: will the Western MOOCs enforce further dependency on the Western languages and the Western way of thinking? Undoubtedly, Africa suffers under several forms of paternalism and dependency. The challenge is how we can strengthen African dignity, also in the advances of MOOCs. The current MOOCs are mostly US based. They emanate hegemonic western view points, based on predominant scientific assumptions and a singular capitalist economic models. Thus, the ubiquitous availability of computing can be seen to strengthen colonial thought [12]. Education that is offered through MOOCs is rarely contextualised for Africa. Recently, Australia reported encouraging pass rates when MOOCs were contextualised [13]. Unfortunately, contextualisation contends with scale. The current MOOCs might emanate a certain way of viewing the world, but how will Africa react from

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African MOOCs

So, now I come to the real meat of this address. I suggest from my rural African experience that the MOOCs framework and infrastructure allow for a new opportunity to ‘send the African message to the World’. Africa can teach, and disseminate knowledge and wisdom, and train the world. The rest of my deliberation deals with introducing possible course subjects, the knowledge export products that could fit in the MOOCs framework, from the African setting. I propose to export courses in Ubuntu, Orality, Relatio, and Dominatio.

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Ubuntu

Ubuntu underlies the structure of Sub-Saharan African language and culture. The South African scholar, Khoza, explains Ubuntu as an epistemology and humanistic philosophy, a metaphor embodying the significance of group solidarity [14]. The Ubuntu culture is a key to African values, involving collective personhood and collective morality. Tutu writes“[Ubuntu] also means my humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in theirs. We belong in a bundle of life” [15]. He contrasts western philosophy and Ubuntu through: ‘it is not I think therefore I am. It says rather: I am human because I belong’. Despite Ubuntu being the cultural expression of hundreds of millions of people, literature on the subject is often regarded as idiosyncratic. Practical implications for organisations and change theories have been explored in literature, albeit sparsely. With only a few bookshops in mainstream Africa, books are difficult to access anyway. Why is Ubuntu important? Let us look at the field of engineering; When we create and handle goods and services, we are using expressions that result from a political, value-laden act. Westerners still

design most technologies. Generally, these technologies do not align with Ubuntu. They mostly serve the values of Western cultures. Thus, it is no wonder that technology stands idly when Western people are not around. When such technology is used, it can bring social changes that might be perceived as imposed instead of requested. When there would be more widespread knowledge of Ubuntu, such could revolutionize the way that, for instance, technology is viewed and designed. This can lead to new ways of interactions of ‘the World-of-Things’ with the ‘World-of-Humans’, with products of services consequently designed, produced, and utilized in co-creation, collaboration and community. Likewise, Ubuntu knowledge and skills can influence governance, legislation, and more. Can you envision what could happen if there would be massive, open courses and education available on the principles of Ubuntu? Well, such knowledge exists in Africa, and thus it is our task to disseminate it, through good MOOCs.

5.2

Orality

The practice that the African society is based on interactions utilizing oral discourse. One can observe how community members regard verbal interaction as valuable. Among others, orality offers the unique ability to assess comprehension and effect instantly [9]. Orality ensures the social cohesion of the African civilization. Orality influences everything as it does in most parts of the world. However, there appears to be no courses one can access online that expounds on this subject, from the African continent. In the mean time, a ‘second orality’ is emerging, instigated through pervasive computing, omnipresent telephones and video cultures. Again, it can be expected that there are benefits by using oral characteristics in research and development for future services and products. Of course, this must be taught, potentially in a massive, open way. I propose, Africa harbors many experts in this field; High time for MOOCs in orality provided to the world from Africa!

5.3

choice and resource management [16][17]. One is a traditional rational Western system, the other a relational, communal African system, which I dubbed the Relatio-economy. In the Relatio economy, the distribution of goods relies on the level of relationships, how one is interwoven with the other. It recognizes that we are linked in our sphere of influence, in our extended families, in our communities, in our nations; de facto in all our relationships. History matters. In Africa, we allocate resource in macro-economic terms, by satisfying the relationship-equivalents of banking, markets, and regulation. The majority of micro-economic actions undertaken by those of the Relatio mindset is working towards long-run stability. The African experience - due to the instability of environmental, political, medical, and other factors - demonstrates the utter unpredictability of the short-run. One‘s long-term security, however, is limited only by the aggregate life-span of every member of the community to whom one is connected. In practice, such a paradigm discourages a rampant individualism or competition. Of course, to be successful in our building of relationships - to support peace in a more and more connected world - the primary means of resource allocation in the local context must be fully understood. Without that understanding, developments managed exclusively through a Western understanding of economic rationality makes only limited progress. They might even destabilize the community. Without an active membership in the Relatio economic model - that is to say ‘in the community at large’ - the effectiveness of even financially sound projects will be severely limited, certainly in ‘the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid’. Without making efforts to display character and actively invest in the social market, the take-up rates and acceptability of the best researched projects can be cut short. Without the submission to, and respect for, social hierarchy, the most promising developments can be restrained. Thus, this relatio economic reality needs massive, online and open courses to educate the world. Now with MOOCs, the structure is available, and here in Africa the knowledge exists. Time to make good MOOCs, explaining Relatio!

Relatio 5.4

Especially, in rural African communities I experienced duality first hand, for instance in the local economic systems. In Africa, parallel economic systems exist, each addressing the basic questions of

Dominatio

This is the last, and certainly not least, of proposed African knowledge products. It is about how

Africa has dealt with, and deals with, social injustice and domination. I refer to shining examples like Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan and many other famous African leaders, and the underlying notion of African Renaissance. It is well known that ‘outsiders’ revere this aspect of the African society; where against all odds and tantalizing historical facts, in daily practice most people live in harmony and mutual acceptance. In my view, the work of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission stands out as a prime example of the importance of working towards peace It shows examples of instruments of reconciliation. There is no future without forgiveness [15]. There is no solace in the isolation of extreme individualism, deconstruction and decontextualization of reality. We are all connected, and Africa knows about this. MOOCs now provide an ideal highway to disseminate this knowledge on dominatio in a massive, open way.

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Conclusion

There is a fundamental change in power and organisational structures: the revolution in Education. The growing ubiquitousness of Information and Communication Technologies and Computing, and the emergence of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) open exiting possibilities for Africa to strengthen components of its society, by providing good MOOCs on the aspects of its being and doing. In this address, based longitudinal experience and ethnographic study in rural Africa, I tried to sensitize you to the wonderful knowledge Africa can disseminate to itself and the world, in the fields of Ubuntu, Orality, Relatio, and Dominatio. MOOCs offer an existing platform for such endeavour. I wish us well in reversing the flow of influence, back from Africa into Western civilization, and propose to do so, also using MOOCs.

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About the Presenter

Gertjan van Stam (47) was born in the Netherlands. For the last 10 years, he and his family have lived in the rural village of Macha, in the Southern Province of Zambia. Before that he stayed for 2 years in rural Murambinda, Zimbabwe. He has been involved with

strategic developments in ICT, in Africa, since 1987. His goal is to identify and inspire local talent and introduce appropriate technologies to build the necessary capacity for community-led activities to yield sustainable human development outcomes. His quest is for a logical framework for understanding dynamics of change in African communities and engendering leadership capable of inspiring, initiating, implementing, operating, and scaling up sustainable progress and the use of technology in the local community. Since 2011, Gertjan has volunteered in strategymaking at the IEEE, the largest professional institute in the world. He is part of IEEE‘s Ad Hoc Committee for Humanitarian Activities, specifically aiming for progress through Social Innovation and Thought Leadership. His activities in Zambia were featured in IEEE The Institute, and his career was documented in an award-winning IEEE video at TryEngineering. The activities in Zambia were documented worldwide through BBC Clicks. Gertjan authored the book ‘Placemark’ and has published over 20 articles on findings and lessons learned in rural Africa.

References [1] Jasper Bets, Gertjan van Stam, and Annemarie Voorhoeve. Modeling and Practise of Integral Development in rural Zambia. Case Macha. In Africomm 2012, 2012. [2] Gertjan van Stam and Gerard van Oortmerssen. Macha Works! In Frontiers of Society On-Line, Raleigh, 2010. [3] Gertjan van Stam. Technology Retains Talent. ICT-Update, 62:4–6, 2011. [4] David L Johnson, Elizabeth M Belding, and Gertjan van Stam. Network traffic locality in a rural African village. In Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, pages 268–277, 2012. [5] Mark Graham. The Information Imbalance. In TEDxBradford, Bradford, UK, 2012. TEDxBradford. [6] S. Isaacs and D. Hollow. The eLearning Africa 2012 Report. ICWE, 2012.

[7] Shabnam Aggarwal. Technology in Education is Classist, 2013. [8] Stephen Haggard. Africa’s Two-Speed Education and Classrooms without Walls, 2013. [9] Gertjan van Stam. Information and Knowledge Transfer in the rural community of Macha, Zambia. The Journal of Community Informatics, 9(1), 2013. [10] Alicia Mitchell. No country can make progress on the basis of a borrowed language. 2013. [11] Beban Sammy Chumbow. The Language Question and National Development in Africa. In Thandika Mkandawire, editor, African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development, chapter 8. Zed Books, 2005. [12] Paul Dourish and Scott D Mainwaring. Ubicomps Colonial Impulse. In UbiComp’ 12, Pittsburg, USA, 2012. [13] Tim Dodd. Local MOOCs record high completion rate, 2013. [14] Reuel Khoza. Let Africa Lead: African Transformational Leadership for 21st century Business. VezuBuntu, South Africa, 2005. [15] Desmond Tutu. No Future Without Forgiveness. Doubleday, New York, 1999. [16] Kevin Sheneberger and Gertjan van Stam. Relatio: An Examination of the Relational Dimension of Resource Allocation. Economics and Finance Review, 1(4):26 – 33, 2011. [17] Gertjan van Stam. Oral Budgeting in rural Macha, Southern Province, Zambia. Anthropological Notebooks, 18(3):4146, 2012.