M. Tech. (Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology), Vaal University of Technology| / The lack of electricity in off-grid rural communities in South Africa (SA) and Africa as well as the budget constraints on these communities restrict these communities from connecting to any online resources (internet and e-books) for educational purposes, thus creating a major contributor to the global digital divide. Renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy and biomass were presented as potential alternatives to grid-connected electricity for remote rural locations. Solar energy was identified as the amply available alternative energy resource in SA. Solar radiation was converted by photovoltaic technology to electricity. National power grid isolation (off-grid) was achieved by using a stand-alone photovoltaic system. Photovoltaic technology classification, material categorisation and system sizing for an e-learning centre was presented. Practical set-ups were utilised to determine the most cost-effective equipment mix of power utilization, power management/storage and ICT equipment to build a pilot e-learning centre. It was established that one photovoltaic panel can be employed to fully recharge a battery of a pilot e-learning centre with an operational period of 7 hours using the available sunlight hours. Owing to the susceptibility of the Vaal Triangle region to thunderstorms causing overcast conditions for days, a ratio of back-up battery capacity (Ah) to number of days (seven hours per day) without sunlight was determined. An algorithm was also derived for sizing the pilot e-learning centre for full scale implementation. Future research recommendations based on this study for a reduced system costs of an off-grid e-learning for rural communities powered by a renewable energy resource were presented. This will increase access to basic education in SA and reduce the global digital divide.

BACKGROUND—Over 25,000 UBC students over the age of 18 have a Facebook account. The Digital Tattoo Project’s goal is to help these and other students become aware of their rights and responsibilities as creators and consumers of digital information in their personal, academic and professional lives. PRESENTATION—This Digital Tattoo presentation was one of several presentations delivered at the Canadian e-Learning Conference Program 2009 held on June 17-19, 2009 at the University of British Columbia. For more information, please visit the Canadian e-Learning Conference Program 2009 website at: http://celc.sites.olt.ubc.ca/.

This presentation by the Director of the ARL Office of Scholarly Communication was given at the UBC Library on March 5, 2009, as part of the BC Research Libraries Group Lecture Series. The topic was a field study that she initiated involving the investigation of a range of new models of scholarly publishing and communication valued by scholars. There was a particular focus on works that push the boundaries of traditional formats and are considered innovative by the faculty who use them. The findings were published in November 2008 and titled: Current Models of Digital Scholarly Communication - Results of an Investigation Conducted by Ithaka for the Association of Research Libraries and can be found at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/current-models-report.pdf.

The second international m-Libraries conference schedule & guidebook features the conference program; pre-conference workshops; and, local/UBC tours, events and attractions. A listing of the various conference committees and sponsors including the names of the organizing committee chair members, the graphic artist, the conference staff, and the consultant are shown on pages 27 and 28.

Attached is the list of 15 session abstracts and proposals from the second international m-Libraries Conference, held and sponsored on 23 & 24 June 2009, by the University of British Columbia in conjunction with Athabasca University, The Open University and Thompson Rivers University.

This study aims to address a gap in knowledge about Further Education college flexible learning centres and their contribution to lifelong learning. Flexible learning centres were established as a response to the lifelong learning agenda of the 1990s and are now in the front line in responding to government initiatives to improve employability and foster social inclusion. Their tutors work in a contested area where the boundaries between teaching and supporting learning are blurred and the learning achieved may be undervalued by the Inspectorate and college authorities. This study adopts a qualitative approach of narrative inquiry to analyse the learning culture of the Flexible Learning Centre (FLC) of Hollypark College, focusing on 15 learners’ and 2 tutors’ narratives elicited by episodic interviews. The narratives of learning biographies and work biographies of learners and tutors are explored, supplemented by quantitative data from College databases. The study evaluates the ways in which the pedagogical approach of selfdirected study with tutor support appears to be successful for predominantly mature learners wishing to acquire mainly Information Technology (IT) skills which may enhance their chances of employment or benefit them in other ways. Building on recent work on learning cultures, social capital, well-being and identity theories, the study gives a voice to these learners who are so far unheard and despite the demographic population shift to increasing numbers of older people, are not the focus of current government policy initiatives. Focus on employability which is equated with acquiring skills is seen as too narrow to encompass the wider needs met and benefits accrued by attending the FLC. The findings are that this FLC’s approach is particularly effective for older learners in general in acquiring IT skills. Those made redundant, the retired, those in work and carers who may have been out of the workforce for some time may flourish in this learning environment where mainstream courses cannot offer equivalent flexibility and opportunities to structure their own learning. The learning culture of the Flexible Learning Centre provides a space where such learners may not only acquire IT skills but may also increase their social and cultural capital while opening up new horizons for their future. Tutor/learner relationships are of key importance and the learning taking place should be re-evaluated by the Inspectorate and government alike.

The University of South Africa (Unisa) as comprehensive open distance learning institution (ODL institution) in South Africa is fulfilling a critical social mandate to serve people who would otherwise not have access to education, either for financial reasons, being employed, living in remote areas, or because they cannot access residential universities owing to disability (Unisa, 2008[a]: 15). In facilitating the entrée of the previously identified groups into tertiary education, Unisa has an open admission policy where students mostly have unlimited access to the system. The policy aims to cross the time, geographical, economic, social, educational, and communication distance between students, academics, courseware, and their peers and to accommodate these prospective students from diverse backgrounds (Unisa, 2008: 2). Unisa’s self-evaluation portfolio for the Commonwealth Audit during 2008 mentioned that this policy leads to the revolving door syndrome where students have unlimited access to the system but then often without success (Unisa, 2008[a]: 27). Open access poses a challenge for the training of student social workers within an ODL context. The Department of Social Work at Unisa, currently trains 70% of all social workers in South Africa (Department of Social Work - Unisa, 2008: 5). Coupled with the former, is the fact that Unisa is regarded in the tertiary landscape of South Africa as the most affordable university with the result that it attracts large number of students who have come straight from school (Kilfoil cited in Schenck, 2009: 299). In coping with the large student numbers the Department of Social Work at Unisa is challenged, apart from addressing the theoretical social work programme, to also meet the practical work requirements as set out by the Standard Generating Body of Social Work, in that it needs to provide practical placements for students to conduct their social work practical work training in completion of their Bachelor’s degree in Social Work (BSW) (Lawlor, 2008: 19). The current state of affairs is that the numbers of students requiring practical placements for social work practical work training outnumber the number of practical placements available. In responding to and addressing these challenges, the Bright Site of Sunnyside Service-learning Centre (hereafter called “Bright Site” or the Bright Site”) was established in October 2008 as a strategic project by Unisa’s Department of Social Work. The Bright Site was developed in accordance with the service-learning model proposed by the Council for Higher Education (CHE) with the emphasis on service through learning, and learning through service (Department of Social Work Unisa, 2008:6). / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science)

This project outlines the design proposal for an alternative public high school in Toronto, Ontario. For this project the school is re-imagined as a Community Learning Centre. The goal of the Community Centre model is to foster life-long learning in young people which can occur when space emphasizes social interaction, citizenship, and life long learning. The design of the Community Learning Centre is an attempt to align educational priorities with design, to create learning environments that best suit the needs of the users. The focus of the project, is on places between the classrooms where there is opportunity for informal learning to take place. The term schoolscapes is use to describe these spaces. They include all of the places between classrooms and are a way of reimaging the corridors as active, lively and engaging spaces. To support and expand on the idea of schoolscapes, how the environment impacts people and learning, the shifting values in education, and how public space can be related to school interiors, have been investigated. The work of Prakash Nair, Annalise Gehling and Herman Hertzberger, on school design and its correlation to public space have been extremely influential for this project, as has the work of Jan Ghel on lively city spaces. Jan Ghel identifies key features of good public space that can provide the foundation for the design of informal learning spaces. The writing of Nair, Gehling and Hertzberger will be used to support how these characteristics can be applied to the learning environment. The design of the Community Learning Centre explores how the ideals imbedded in public space can be carried over to the interior of a learning environment.

This project outlines the design proposal for an alternative public high school in Toronto, Ontario. For this project the school is re-imagined as a Community Learning Centre. The goal of the Community Centre model is to foster life-long learning in young people which can occur when space emphasizes social interaction, citizenship, and life long learning. The design of the Community Learning Centre is an attempt to align educational priorities with design, to create learning environments that best suit the needs of the users. The focus of the project, is on places between the classrooms where there is opportunity for informal learning to take place. The term schoolscapes is use to describe these spaces. They include all of the places between classrooms and are a way of reimaging the corridors as active, lively and engaging spaces. To support and expand on the idea of schoolscapes, how the environment impacts people and learning, the shifting values in education, and how public space can be related to school interiors, have been investigated. The work of Prakash Nair, Annalise Gehling and Herman Hertzberger, on school design and its correlation to public space have been extremely influential for this project, as has the work of Jan Ghel on lively city spaces. Jan Ghel identifies key features of good public space that can provide the foundation for the design of informal learning spaces. The writing of Nair, Gehling and Hertzberger will be used to support how these characteristics can be applied to the learning environment. The design of the Community Learning Centre explores how the ideals imbedded in public space can be carried over to the interior of a learning environment.

The purpose of the study was to find out why adult learners absent themselves from adult basic education programmes and to devise strategies to encourage them to attend classes. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the objective of the study were to investigate the economic and social reasons why adult learners do not attend classes. The research focus on a critical issue of absenteei(sm by adult learners at SEKGOSESE West Circuit adult centre in Limpopo Province. Literature review was engaged in the field of Adult Education and related to the research problem. The literature review presented an insight into theoretical frameworks and conceptual frameworks about causes of adult learner’s absenteeism. The researcher used sources which included journals, books, articles and dissertations. To collect information. This qualitative study explored the causes of adult learner absenteeism and came with strategies to reduce adult learner absenteeism. Critical theory was used as a theoretical framework. The theory deals with social economic factors and conditions under which people live. Data was collected through focus group interviews. There were sixteen participants who attend classes at Mosima adult learning centre, and they were selected homogeneously. It was discovered that adult learner absenteeism is caused by lack of motivation, lack of support from departmental officials, lack of adult learner commitment, lack of facilities, lack of qualified adult educators, lack of respect amongst adult learners and adult educators as a serious matter, lack of parental support for those who are still under parental care and lack of transport for adult learners who stay far from the centre. Based on the causes of adult learner absenteeism, recommendations are made for the Department of Education to address these causes in order to elevate adult learner absenteeism and further research efforts are recommended. It is recommended that the department of education include stationery material in their budget for adult basic education. Adult Basic education educators should also receive adequate training s o that they can be able to teach adult learners effectively. / ABET and Youth Development / M. Ed. (Adult Education)