The relentlessly accelerating global educational demands for teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) in multiple, diverse, and often remote geographic locations constitute new challenges for academic institutions, teacher training and preparation programs, and teachers themselves. This study describes a novel approach where five…

In order to obtain a fair "OER picture" for the Global South a large-scale study has been carried out for a series of countries, including Kenya. In this paper we report on the Kenya study, run at four universities that have been selected with randomly sampled students and lecturers. Empirical data have been generated by the use of a…

This research evaluates the psychometric properties of short-answer response items under a variety of grading rules in the context of a mobile learning platform in Africa. This work has three main findings. First, we introduce the concept of a differential device function (DDF), a type of differential item function that stems from the device a…

The ubiquity of mobile phones provides an opportunity to use them as a resource for construction of programs beyond the classroom. However, limitations of mobile phones impede their use as typical programming environments. This research proposes that programming environments on mobile phones should include scaffolding techniques specifically…

In this UniCollaboration plenary session, Barbara Moser-Mercer speaks on setting up education classrooms in refugee camps with University of Geneva students. She starts off with a video which speaks to the virtual exchange idea and how students from the University of Geneva are working together with students in Macau and how that could be…

The history of Education in most developing Countries shows that higher education has grown tremendously. In 1960's a Country such as Kenya had only one University but today, she boasts of seven public Universities and very many private ones. With expansion, student's numbers have increased. As a result of the needs and demands of a growing…

The ongoing flow of monetary assistance and technological transfer from developed to developing countries is examined and its success gauged. Two examples are cited: "The Mumias Sugar Company--A Success Story in Kenya," and, "The Sao Francisco River Power Development in Brazil--A Disaster along the River." The paper also…

Issues involved in establishing and supporting distance education in developing countries are explored, focusing on the role of teleconferencing in support of distance learners. One of the distinctive features of an effective distance education system is the quality of its learner support services. The development of an efficient infrastructure…

During the past decade, funding mechanisms for universities and technical education institutions and colleges have undergone massive restructuring in developed and developing countries alike. Governmental support has generally decreased, resulting in greater reliance on fee-based education or creation of privately sponsored engineering/technical…