Free and Open Source University Learning Applications

AVOIR – A network for capacity building in Software Engineering…

1. Smart Networking By Liz Lynch
   

   Smart Networking

   The key to unlimited opportunities for your business starts with Smart Networking. Business strategist Liz Lynch deymstifies the networking process and puts strategic systems in place that build connections worldwide and attract opportunities 24/7. This book describes how to integrate face-to-face techniques with a strong online presence. She describes various tools to help achieve this including blogs, e-newsletters among others.

   Its an easy read and no one is exempt from reading it.

2. Globalisation and its discontents By Joseph Stiglitz
   

   Joseph Stiglitz

   “Explosive and Shocking, its an expose of the all-powerful organizations that control our lives – from the man who has seen them at work first hand” being the Chief Economist and senior vice president to the World Bank from 1997-2000.
   Just an extract from pg 240, this is what he has to say in a nutshell “There are other changes that would be desirable: forcing the IMF to disclose the expected ‘poverty’ and unemployment impact of its programs would direct its attention to these dimensions. Countries should know the likely consequences of what it recommends. If the fund systematically errs in its analyses–if, for instance, the increases in poverty are greater than it predicted-it should be held accountable. Questions can be asked: Is there something systematically wrong with its models? Or is it trying to deliberately mislead policy making?”

3. The World Is Flat By Thomas Friedman
   

   Thomas Friedman

   Its a captivating and inspiring book on globalization providing numerous illustrations and useful ideas some of which could help Africa rise like the Asian Tigers.
   Just two quotes, p 613 “There are two ways to flatten the world. One is to use your imagination to bring everyone up to the same level, and the other is to use your imagination to bring everyone down to the same level.”
   In p 617 David Rothkopf is quoted saying “The answer for us lies not in what has changed, but in recognizing what has not changed. Because only through this recognition will we begin to focus on the truly critical issues”.
   Africa needs to bring down monuments and stop worshiping politics. The focus should be to erect as many institutions of learning as possible and feel the pain if one of its young ones dies without getting proper education. They say, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, let us take the first one. Sorry to say, we at times take one forward, then move two backwards.
   Education will set us free, neither politics nor tribalism will. Let us identify what we are at best in this dynamic global village “world” and let us enjoy some of the fruits from it, there are still some left for us to have a share.
   Gone are the days where land and minerals were the wealth of the nation, true wealth now lies in the knowledge capacity of its people. It also needs to develop mechanisms to retain its best brains to avoid them being ‘bought’ by others.

4. Master Plan for Marriage By Stephen and Georgina Adei
   The most thrilling question, “What are the responsibilities of a husband?” someone said, ‘fathering children and providing material resources for his wife’. But, what if the wife bore no children and was richer than him?
   Marriage is a revealed art to be learned. Romantic love is not enough.
   Another one, “Why am I married?” or “why do I want to get married?”. Reasons for getting married are not the same as goals.
   God’s Mission for marriage is (a)To glorify Him (b) To Provide unparalleled friendship and companionship to each other (c) To be the unique channel to minister to or meet the basic needs of your spouse (d) To produce Godly offspring, not just offspring (e) To create the basic unit of society for Kingdom purposes.
   Its a great book and a must read.
5. Man and Values By Cormac Burke
   His writing is clear as helps us see the benefits of personalism. More importantly: fulfillment for the personalist, is to be sought outside or above the person. The dignity of each one lies in the power to respond, to come out, to grow: not around self, but around what is different from self (with a difference that complements self), and higher than self. The principle of personalism is self giving response, whereas that of individualism is protective self-interest. The paradox is that the personalist, in giving himself, realizes his own real interest and fulfillment, whereas the individualist, by not giving himself, frustrates it.
   ISBN : 978-1-59417-064-5
6. TAKING THE CITY, By Pastor Ambrose Nyangao, Snr. Pastor – Parklands Baptist Church
   

   Pastor Ambrose

   “Herein lies great treasure of truth that has been exposed and expounded in a simple and yet unique way. By starkly sharing the story his life, Pastor Ambrose has made the message of salvation a practical reality and an attainable feat.”
   David Oginde“This book is very stimulating as it explicitly shows the hand of God amidst challenges of life. Ambrose Nyangao has seen it all and can attest to God’s faithfulness.” Lois Semenye, PhD
   Vice Principal Academic Affairs
   Nairobi International School of TheologyMy Review
   This book helps one understand that the challenges we face are not new, others have faced the same, even worse, n they pulled through – through the grace of God. One also gets rid off the mentality that pastors dont go through stuff, Pastor Ambrose simply explains what he has been through, but all in all still finds a reason to thank God. Principles to guide one in life are also clearly laid out, as he always does.

7. WHAT HAPPENS TO MORALITY? By Nicholas Lohkamp, O.F.M., S.T.D
   St. Paul says, “Walk in a manner worthy of your calling.” Christian morality has always taken this seriously, but there is much more emphasis today on our Christian vocation. We see Christ as the center of our lives; we view every moral question in terms of our calling to follow Christ.To follow Christ is to live a life of adoring love for the Father, a life of serving love for the brethren. It is to enter upon a life of continuing conversion, a life ever devoted to doing the will of the Father. To follow Christ is to live a life of love that is kind and patient, caring and helpful, respectful and responsible-a love for God and men to which everything and every law is subordinated. It is love that finds expression in justice, honestly and truth. Read moreSBN 0-912228-02-4
   Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 76-151400
8. The Secret of Staying in Love By John Powell, S.J
   Powell is very articulate and he brings out some sense out of man’s behaviour. He shows us how society has misled itself in hatred for self. When you read his hard facts you become conscious and live life from a different world view.
   The secret of staying in love is communication. This book discusses how we can become better communicators in our relationships, and helps guide us in working toward that goal.
9. Purpose Driven Life By Rick Warren
   The most basic question everyone faces in life is Why am I here? What is my purpose? Self-help books suggest that people should look within, at their own desires and dreams, but Rick Warren says the starting place must be with God and his eternal purposes for each life.God empowers you to successfully do everything he asks to do. He gives you abilities to use in service to others, and he transforms you inwardly with a growing desire to serve others.The Holy Spirit within gives you the ability to tune into God, to hear him, to listen to him – and to talk with him. Please hear this: he didn’t create you for failure; he created you to succeed with the Holy Spirit energizing your abilities and empowering your efforts.
10. Devotionals
    I have read the Daily Bread for more than 10 years, and I must say that It has helped me grow spiritually. They provide devotionals for each day giving a text and a real life explanation of the scripture of the day. I encourage you to visit their site at http://www.rbc.org/index.aspx

An electronic portfolio, also known as an e-portfolio or digital portfolio, is a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, usually on the Web (also called Webfolio). Such electronic evidence may include inputted text, electronic files such as Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF files, images, multimedia, blog entries, and hyperlinks. E-portfolios are both demonstrations of the user’s abilities and platforms for self-expression, and, if they are online, they can be maintained dynamically over time. Some e-portfolio applications permit varying degrees of audience access, so the same portfolio might be used for multiple purposes.

Paul and the ePortfolio

I developed an ePortfolio system using the Chisimba framework in collaboration with KEWL NextGen which is part of the AVOIR project. This was be embedded within the chisimba elearning management system.

I recently added the export functionality to allow users export their ePortfolio to another ePortfolio System that complies to IMS global specs for ePortfolio.
I am working with the social work department, University of the Western Cape who have been using paper based portfolios in the past. This will be a good foundation, as they will give better insight into the design and thus help improve on the existing implementation. We hope to produce the best working portfolio – “Yes we can”.

Just a brief on KEWL3
KEWL3 (Knowledge Environment for Web Learning) is a Web 2.0 enabled eLearning environment designed for the creation of online courses with a choice of pedagogies and technologies. Built upon the Chisimba platform, KEWL3 has all of the functionality of Chisimba, including its open architecture and the ease of integration with content and functionality from anywhere in the Web 2.0 world. We do not call it a ‘learning management system’ (LMS) because it is fundamentally about teaching-and-learning at the close of the first decade of the 21st Century, not about management. Of couse, if you want to use it as a LMS it can be done.

KEWL 3 has many features expected from a cutting-edge e-learning environment, including:

• Communication Tools: Forums, Blogs, Podcasts, Announcements, Chat, realtime classroom with presentation and voice;
• Content Tools: Course management, Glossaries, File Uploads, filters for external content;
• Assessment Tools: Quizzes, Rubrics, Worksheets, Essays, problem based learning, ePortolio, etc

It also supports multimedia parsing including audio, video, presentations, mindmaps, timelines and Google Maps, and with some helper extensions it can inter-convert file types. There is a classroom based podcast tool that plugs in to KEWL3 and makes podcasting from classroom to course a three click process (Start, Stop, Publish). We hope that you will enjoy KEWL3 as it is by far one of the coolest tools you will find anywhere. It should be fun!