No 14, March 2023

The issue of the use of digital technology in education in Africa is not a new concern. Today, digital technology seems to be omnipresent, leading some to speak of a veritable digital tsunami or even a digital revolution. Nevertheless, we can ask ourselves if the digital pervasion has really affected the field of education in Africa, but also what are the real uses and what do the practices and research related to digital technology cover? This thematic issue reports on the various uses and current research of digital technology in the field of education and training in the African context.

Distributed ledger technology (DLT), also known as Blockchain, is a stimulating innovation present in business and finance. According to CPA Canada (2019), these technologies are powerful in their potential to create new business models. Many countries have already adopted DLT for aspects of document notarization, identity management, e-residency, health, security, and other administrative services. With the arrival of digital in the education sector, through distance learning, smart classrooms and smart school management tools, technology has taken place in schools and will be present in future developments. The arrival of distributed ledger technology is part of this line. However, the rapid and constant evolution and complexity of distributed ledger technology and the scarcity of specialized DRT skills in Africa as well as the high cost of the initial infrastructure to be put in place and the lack of a regulatory framework, raise many concerns about the adoption of this technology in a sensitive sector such as education.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made distance education more popular across the globe, and Africa is no exception. As a result, the interest of researchers in ways to make this mode of teaching-learning effective has increased, especially in higher education. In this article, based on a literature review, we present methodological approaches (quantitative, qualitative and mixed) used by researchers to study the conditions for the effectiveness of distance education in higher education in Africa and the conditions proposed in several of the studies reviewed. Results of our research show that these conditions include, among others, the technological infrastructure and equipment, the quality of internet access, techno-pedagogical skills of students and teachers, the course design, characteristics of online learning tools, as well as support resources (for teachers and students). We also present proposals of researchers to face certain challenges, including inadequate technological infrastructures.

There are Educational and Cultural Animation Cells since the independence in Senegal. Similar to Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) or, more generally, Communities of Practice (CoPs), these groups of permanent or contractual teachers from one or more local elementary schools meet after classto discuss their teaching-learning practices, their difficulties and their successes. Since 2017, the Senegalese Ministry of Education and its international partners have wanted to revitalize the CAPCs in the Casamance region, in particular through integrating computerized technologies (IT), commonly known as digital technology. The Projet d'amélioration de l'éducation de base en Casamance (PAEBCA) has enabled the CAPCs to be equipped with digital tablets and video projectors to film the teacher in the classroom (Diop and Wallet, 2017). Using an observation grid, they then analyze the projected film to improve the pedagogical approach and classroom practices. As part of an ongoing doctoral research project, we will attempt to provide some answers to the question: How is the use of computerized technologies perceived by teachers in Senegal's CAPCs? The initial results of the semi-directive interviews conducted with 21 teachers in Casamance show a varied use of tools and an institutional willingness to integrate technologies into the in-service training of teachers. The interviews also show a willingness on the part of teachers to remedy the difficulties of use, particularly through synchronous and asynchronous virtual distance exchanges, referred to here as multiplatform mobile applications (MMAs). Nevertheless, we observed a lack of reflexivity around the questions of instrumentation of practices for a true integration of technologies in the communities. This article aims to shed light on the underlying issues of computer-based technologies in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in the African francophone context.

Media and information literacy stand at the intersection of media, information and digital practices; the issue is to provide people with a conceptual and methodological apparatus likely to help them to implement a critical approach to the media and information and to seize their informational ecosystem rather than to undergo it. This article raises the question of the media, informational and digital practices of future teachers in Benin and is based on research that is situated in a comprehensive perspective. The practices are questioned by means of an exploratory questionnaire followed by a group interview. The data collected show, on the one hand, that the practices are mainly informal and rely on the use of mobile phones, and the other hand, they highlight the need to formalize knowledge and skills that students can transfer to their future students.

The article proposes an analysis of intervention engineering and distance training of actors in a support program to manage the quality of basic education. The approach of this program is based on action research. National research teams (ENR), made up of inspectors and trainers of trainers are coordinated by teacher-researchers in each country. These teams are remotely supported by a limited supervision team made up of consultants with various profiles (public policy analyst, trainer of trainers, teacher-researchers, and sociologists).

While the literature seems to claim a digital pervasion (Boullier, 2019) in the field of education in Africa, which has been accentuated by the recent pandemic (Alladatin et al., 2020), we believe that in reality, the situation is less rosy. If, in a country as technologically and economically advanced as France, digital education has problems of dynamization (Poteaux, 2013), how can we explain that in African countries where half the population struggles to feed itself, there is such a revolution? We do not deny that, beyond the results, this research work reveals the African continent's competitiveness in digital education. However, there are nuances to be made at several levels.

An analysis of three courses offered in the first semester of the 6th graduating class enrolled in 2019-2020 in the three training poles (units) of Université virtuelle du Sénégal, already suggested some effects of contextual elements on teaching and learning practices (Tendeng, 2020). In the continuation of this work, the present reflection deciphers the components of the UVS distance learning (DL) model in relation to the choices of use and non-use of digital technology, the characteristics and needs of the learning public and the available resources.