This week Microsoft honoured teachers who use ICTs in innovative ways in the classroom, at the Microsoft's Innovative Teachers Forum, taking place in Ghana.
The annual forum coincides with the three-day e-Learning Africa Conference, which ends tomorrow.
A highlight of the forum is the awards ceremony, where teachers who have practically applied technology in the most innovative ways and had the most positive impact on their students were honoured, the software giant says.
According to Microsoft, the Innovative Teachers Forums are part of the Innovative Teachers program, a global community of educators sponsored by Microsoft Partners in Learning.
Through regional competitions and events across the continent this year, 37 teachers from 13 countries in Africa have been invited to attend.
Participating teachers come from Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, Mauritius, Senegal, Seychelles and SA.
Winners will also be invited to attend the Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum, in Thailand, in November 2008.
Addressing inefficiencies
ICTs can be used to address the inefficiencies of traditional learning, including the lack of appropriate teaching resources, says Razan Fasheh, Microsoft's Partners in Learning manager for Middle East and Africa.
Technology can also be used to facilitate independent learning, and to investigate the real world and build a wider, deeper knowledge base, she adds.
The forum provides the opportunity for teachers from across Africa to exchange best practices and share experiences with their peers from neighbouring countries, Fesheh adds.
"It's one thing to talk about how technology can make a difference in education, but being able to see what teachers are actually doing on a practical level in their classrooms is even more encouraging," says Fasheh.
This year's entries include teachers who make use of mobile phones, multimedia presentations, global positioning systems, satellite tracking and projection technologies.
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