[AISWorld] SPECIAL ISSUE ON Mobile Learning in Africa (IJMBL)

[Parsons, David]

********************* CALL FOR PAPERS *********************
SUBMISSION DUE DATE: July 1, 2011
SPECIAL ISSUE ON Mobile Learning in Africa
International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning (IJMBL)
Guest Editors: Dick Ng'ambi and John Traxler

INTRODUCTION:
In the past five or six years we have seen a rapid apparent growth of mobile learning across Africa. Sometimes this replicates the experiences and challenges elsewhere, sometimes it responds to challenges of local infrastructure or the specifics of local culture; sometimes it represents the 'localized' version of global and corporate training  accessing the international knowledge economy, other times it represents the work of social entrepreneurs, not-for-profits and m4d activists supporting indigenous languages, traditional pedagogy and informal knowledge. All of this work has been sadly under-documented and under-reported and deserves a wider global audience.

OBJECTIVE OF THE SPECIAL ISSUE:
Recognition, and indeed promotion and funding, for academics and researchers everywhere, including Africa, depends on publication, specifically publication of research papers in recognized peer-reviewed journals. There is considerable research activity in mobile learning in Africa and this deserves greater visibility and recognition. The International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning is devoting a special edition to mobile learning in Africa and contributions are warmly invited that report, explore, discuss and analyze the theory, practice and context of mobile learning in Africa, of learning with mobile devices on the African continent. The International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning is the recognized academic peer-reviewed journal of the world's mobile learning research community and works closely with the International Association of Mobile Learning.
The guest editors encourage the publication of high-quality mobile learning research papers from or about Africa in a respected academic journal with a global readership. Authors considering attending or presenting at the coming eLearning Africa conference in Dar-es-Salaam in May 2011 will be interested to know that there will be a half-day workshop with individual sessions to support and mentor would-be authors and that one of the guest editors will be available to give guidance and feedback.

RECOMMENDED TOPICS:
Topics to be discussed in this special issue include (but are not limited to) the following:
• African mobile learning context 
• Building a greater understanding of ‘African-ness’ and how this relates to accounts of mobile learning
• Characteristics and challenges of infrastructure and culture
• Collaborative and cooperative mobile learning
• Cost-effectiveness of mobile learning in Africa 
• Emerging mobile literacies in an African context
• Impact of mobile technologies on teaching and learning in Africa
• Local interpretations of mobile learning
• Mobile communities
• Practical experiences of mobile learning in Africa 
• Relevance of the African experience to other challenging environments and societies
• Role of traditional pedagogy and informal knowledge
• Social media in a mobile environment
• Supporting indigenous languages and local cultures 
• Theories of mobile learning in Africa 
• Understanding mobile learning in an African context
• Web 2.0 tools for mobile learners in Africa

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit papers for this special theme issue on Mobile Learning in Africa on or before July 1, 2011. All submissions must be original and may not be under review by another publication. INTERESTED AUTHORS SHOULD CONSULT THE JOURNAL’S GUIDELINES FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS at http://www.igi-global.com/Files/AuthorEditor/guidelinessubmission.pdf.  All submitted papers will be reviewed on a double-blind, peer review basis. Papers must follow APA style for reference citations.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOBILE AND BLENDED LEARNING (IJMBL)
The International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning (IJMBL) provides a forum for researchers in this field to share their knowledge and experience of combining e-learning and m-learning with other educational resources. Providing researchers, practitioners, and academicians with insight into a wide range of topics such as knowledge sharing, mobile games for learning, collaborative learning, and e-learning, this journal contains useful articles for those seeking to learn, analyze, improve, and apply technologies in mobile and blended learning. 
This journal is an official publication of the Information Resources Management Association
www.igi-global.com/ijmbl
Editor-in-Chief: Dr. David Parsons
Published: Quarterly (both in Print and Electronic form)

PUBLISHER:
The International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning is published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference”, “Business Science Reference”, and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. 

All submissions should be should be directed to the attention of:
Dr. Dick Ng'ambi, Associate Professor, Centre for Educational Technology, University of Cape Town, South Africa
E-mail: Dick.Ngambi at uct.ac.za
John Traxler, Professor of Mobile Learning and Director Learning Lab, University of Wolverhampton, UK
E-mail:  john.traxler at wlv.ac.uk  
Guest Editors
International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning