Emmanuel Eilu (editor) - Digital Literacy and Socio-Cultural Acceptance of ICT in Developing Countries

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Compared to developed countries. Digital illiteracy and complex socio-cultural dynamics represent a major concern when it comes to ICT adoption and usage in the developing world, as more than 80% of illiterate adults live in developing countries. As a result, these populations are unable to make use of digital resources. However, the past few years have marked a huge increase in the use of the latest ICT innovations in developing countries, and this has led to an enormous transformation in the health, agriculture, economic, education, and social sectors in these countries. These recent innovations are in the form of mobile payment systems, the Internet of Things, Big Data, Geographic analysis and visualization tools, and other smart technologies. Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact of these innovations on the different economies; however, very few studies have been conducted on the role of HCI design in fostering digital literacy and promoting socio-cultural acceptance and usage of these latest ICT innovations in developing countries.

We present a study in which researchers collaborated with both undergraduate and postgraduate learners in varying environments, in an activity grounded on learning games to generate their own respective lecture slides once the course outlines are given and present them during the lecture. The goal was to address that knowledge gap and deliver a logical description of the lack of widespread self-directed learning skills envisioning to boost their life-long learning skills. Ontologically, universities are no longer simply viewed as places where individuals just get the qualifications specific to an area of specialization or an occupation. Rather, universities are learning environments where respective learners shape their knowledge, skills and identity. Thus, it is not only demeaning their value but is also a limited and flawed viewpoint to treat universities as just occupational training organizations []. In this study, learners worked individually; documented and presented their respective slides into the learning environment, as well as executed the actual game-based activities within or outside the learning environment. This chapter aims to highlight the demands that the implementation and use of an educational game in formal educational settings puts on educators working processes and skillsets. Thus, we benchmark possibilities for professional development that an educator needs to take on if they are to assimilate games into a curriculum. Game assimilation in the education sector is a demanding one involving examination of roles that educators need to play when assimilating and using learning games in their own environments.