It’s no longer a mere saying that technology is leading the world. In fact, it’s the medium through which the world goes around. Education, of course, needs to be synergized with technology in order to fully explore the importance of education. Therefore, Edutech is an avenue that plays a major role in ensuring that the idea of quality education (SDG 4) is achieved in Africa through various means.
The Edutech conference is one of the instruments deployed by Edutech to enrich and strengthen the relevance of education across Africa. The African Edutech Conference is an annual prominent event that focuses on the intersection of education and technology across the continent. It is a global event that facilitates global knowledge sharing among educators, students, technocrats, policymakers, and stakeholders/individual concern in educational sectors for the purpose of addressing the challenges of education in the African continent.
Awareness and campaigns are armed to strategize and incorporate technology in our educational sector. Information is power, and with the right information, there is every possibility of making an informed decision. The conference is an avenue to create substantial awareness and campaigns as regards the state of education in Africa and the way forward. As opined by Nelson Mandela (South African freedom fighter and the first democratically elected president in South Africa), according to him, “Education is the only weapon you can use to change the world.” Many may have forgotten, but the Edutech conference is a tool to ignite our passion for education.
Networking and relationship-building. The conference serves as a platform that brings together leaders, policymakers, technologists, and educators to the fore in connecting and sharing ideas that are of value to the African educational-related systems. As postulated by Curt Grayson and David Baldwin (2007) in their book, Leadership Networking: Connect, Collaborate, Create. “Leaders who are skilled in networking have access to people, information, and resources that aid them in problem solving”. As such, the Edutech conference is a place that brings individual leaders concerns together for the purpose of strengthening partnerships, collaboration, and sponsorship with the view of projecting African education in its right place in the world.
Every activity we engage in always comes with financial implications. In Africa, funding is a major issue in education, as the majority of students and educators are unable to afford digital tools for learning, which serves as a barrier to modern learning. The African Edutech conference provides opportunities for partnerships and collaborations between tech companies and educational institutions, which help in providing access to digital tools for African students and teachers. Also, it provides ground to further inform Africa and the world at large about its educational gadgets, such as tablets and dedicated websites, that can aid both students and educators in learning and adapting to the technological era at a reduced rate.
Similarly, the African Edutech provides opportunities for students to exhibit
their talents and God-given gift to the world. A session is dedicated during the conference in which young students are given the opportunity to connect to their talents and bring them to life. The purpose of this is that Edutech is trying to encourage innovation and move away from the former traditional mode of thinking or doing things. Through this session, innovations and idea possibility generation are being born and utilised to solve pressing educational challenges among the youth in our society.
National image and integrity. Integrity is worth more than gold and silver. The Edutech conference is a medium for promoting the continent’s national standard with regard to education. With the presence of media houses to amplify the great work of Edutech in education in Africa. It is bound to go viral and attract national image, prestige, and honour.
Furthermore, it provides teaching methodology and insight into research findings on the latest innovations, practical learning, and how technology can be explored to transform education in order to meet, if not surpass, the world standard of practice. It also provides an avenue for educators to offer suggestions, critiques, and recommendations on the best way to move Africa education to a greater height.
By and large, technology has come to stay, and it affects every sector in the world, with education included. Edutech conferences are held every year to achieve this goal. The need for Africa as a continent to embrace a new paradigm in education by adopting technology in achieving quality education that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the other continents around the globe.
Leave a Reply