From pen and paper to artificial intelligence: Understanding the limits of educational technologies

There are efforts to improve educational data management and sharing practices in Africa through the adoption of technologies. [iStockphoto]

Educational technologies provide learners, teachers, and schools with many benefits. These benefits include features that provide learners with practice opportunities and feedback; virtual teaching and learning that allows learning beyond school walls; learning management systems that help teachers provide instruction and organize information; technologies that give learners opportunities to participate in different ways (e.g., sound, touch); and accessibility features such as text to speech, and voice-overs.

Globally, learning technologies exist in the context of pervasive inequalities. The digital divide is characterized by differences in access to technology as well as in how people use technology. Countries in Africa have embraced education technologies in an effort to innovate classrooms and practices from basic education to institutions of higher learning.