E-Learning Conference in Uganda-My Thoughts

It's been about three weeks since the E-Learning Seminar that was put together by a group from Germany. I was unable to attend and so my views are those of an outsider. 

The project grabbed my attention after I picked up an flyer at the Outbox Hub. 

I have developed an interest in Online Learning platforms and have designed a course on conflict which I also host on a server of my own. 

My work allows me to work with some of the latest free online platforms such as Drupal, Wordpress, Orange HRM, Joomla, Mambo.

From what I gather, the purpose of the Seminar or conference was to bring together different professional groups and students to demonstrate the need for online learning and to show case some of the latest technologies. In addition to this, the conference gathered the insights of 

African Users who have used some of these platforms and provided some space for them to share their experience. 

I was unable to attend the event because of some constraints in my finance as well as the idea that it was not in my schedule (the life of an entrepreneur is full of many things and one often finds the need to prioritize.  

Something interesting took place a few days into the event. A local and in my view influential association of ICT companies wrote an open letter to the organizers of the event making some suggestions on costs and effectiveness. 

The response from the organizers was almost immediate. 

While I did struggle with the costs of the event, I was very sure that if I had made better plans, I would have been able to attend and raise the funds for the event. 

The most exiting part for me would have been the chance to interact with other professionals as well as to stock up on documents and papers from researchers.

Another thought that came through my mind was the thoughts around what a student/ entrepreneur would do with a similar amount of cash. It occurred to me that a similar amount of money would have been enough to get me registered into a local ICT related course with other benefits such as access to workshops, access to the internet and computer, and the possibility of interacting with other intellectuals (and work).

There was probably a lot more in the minds of the organizers. 

If you have a look at the form that was used, you will notice that if rightly filled, it would provide a rich and very valuable database of Uganda and Africa's ICT landscape. 

That is what all this is about. It is about data and information and it is about having access to this information and being the go to person for all this data. When you watch the progress that took place in Ancient China or any other civilization for that matter, development was linked to resources.  We have not yet fully grasped the value of the information age...if we did we would value data.