TMP D823

Journal of International Development
J. Int. Dev. 18, 889–900 (2006)

Published online in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/jid.1321
NEW TOOLS TO CONNECT PEOPLE AND

PLACES: THE IMPACT OF ICTs ON
LEARNING AMONG RESOURCE POOR
FARMERS IN BOLIVIAy
LOUISE NIELSEN* and CLAIRE HEFFERNAN*
Livestock Development Group, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development,
University of Reading, Reading, UK
Abstract: Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the ability to rapidly

connect the poor to both wider communities and larger knowledge sets. However, while
the use of ICTs in development has increased dramatically in recent years, there is a dearth of
evidence regarding the impact and uptake of programmes. Therefore, the following article
describes the development of El Promotor, a multi-media, interactive programme for poor
farmers on the Bolivian Altiplano. The study further examined the relationship between new
and existing knowledge regarding animal health and production among 85 farmers in 13
communities, who utilised the programme. The authors found that the uptake of new
knowledge was highly dependent upon the specific topic involved i.e. disease causation,
symptoms, treatment and prevention. Not surprisingly, the level of challenge to existing beliefs
also impacted learning levels. Nonetheless, by utilising visual referents, which supported
customary knowledge, improvements in farmer understanding of disease causation, diagnosis,
treatment were noted after use of the programme. Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords: ICTs; Bolivia; learning outcomes; multi-media interactive software
1 INTRODUCTION
The global ‘information revolution’ is unequal in form and distribution. While the rapid
adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among the world’s
*Correspondence to: L. Nielsen and C. Hefferanan, Livestock Development Group, School of Agriculture, Policy
and Development, University of Reading, PO Box 237, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK.
E-mail: l.nielsen@reading.ac.uk; c.l.heffernan@reading.ac.uk
y
The views contained within this article, however, are the authors’ own.
Contract/grant sponsor: Department for International Development’s Livestock Production Program.
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

890 L. Nielsen and C. Heffernan
affluent has forged the so-called ‘knowledge society’, for the poor, access to information, in
such forms, remains limited. Within the literature, this disparity has been described as the
‘digital divide’ (World Bank, 1998; UNDP, 2001). Nonetheless, the discourse on this topic
has been widely framed at the national level with a focus on infrastructure and connectivity
rates. Hence, the focus has largely been on technical connectivity rather than social,
educational or cultural impacts.
Indeed, Mansell (2005) argues, that the attention on improving access and the
connectivity of ICTs in the South is misplaced:
The recent emphasis on information and communication technology ‘‘for develop-
ment’’ places too great a premium on technological innovation and technology
diffusion to establish access to global networks for people in developing countries. . .
Nevertheless, the author has largely overlooked the demand for this connectivity by
citizens of the South. Indeed, at the individual level, the demand for these technologies
by the poor has been at best, underestimated and at worst ignored (Heffernan and Nielsen,
2006). Hence, it is no longer the ‘digital divide’ that should frame the debate on ICTs and
poverty but rather why, given this demand, the diffusion of ICTs among nations and
communities has differed so widely.
To explore the ‘adoption divide’ however, the impact of such tools on the users
themselves, must be understood. At present, there is a dearth of research which explores
how the design and development of these tools affect learning outcomes and knowledge
acquisition among the poor. Indeed, current applications have been mainly modelled after
the visual and narrative frames of 2-D web applications. Consequently, programmes are
often static, with low interaction levels. Little research, however, has been conducted
exploring issues in the content and design of ICTs within a development context
(Heffernan and Nielsen, 2005).
Therefore, the objectives of this article are two; first, to explore the design elements of an
interactive, multi-media learning programme (‘El Promotor’) developed for poor livestock
keepers of the Altiplano. The second objective is to examine the relationship between new
and existing knowledge regarding livestock health and production among users.
First, however, a brief review of the potential role of ICTs on learning is offered.
1.1 ICTs, Learning and Poverty Reduction: Rhetoric versus Reality?
In recent years, computer and web-based ICTs have been heralded as key tools to
improving the quality of learning (Mansell and Wehn, 1998). First, ICTs can provide
information on demand to suit an individual’s specific learning needs. Second, users can
control the pace of learning and review information until the required level of familiarity
has been obtained.
Within the development literature, the link between ICTs and poverty has been well
established (Flor, 2001). Indeed, countries with high levels of ICT indicators (internet
hosts/1000 persons; telephone lines/1000 persons; TV and PC ownership) generally rank
high in the UN’s Human Development Index (ibid). Further arguments are offered at the
systems level, as McNamara (2003) notes:
. . . [ICTs] enable desired changes in the performance of institutions, markets, in the
livelihoods of poor people and the vulnerabilities they face, in the capacity of
Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Int. Dev. 18, 889–900 (2006)
DOI: 10.1002/jid
The Impact of ICTs on Learning 891
individuals and governments since it is these changes, not ICTs that lead to poverty
reduction and sustainable development. These outcomes—fewer people in poverty,
more vibrant developing country economies, more responsive government
institutions, reduced disease and illiteracy, greater gender equality—are the
ultimate measure of the value and impact of ICTs in development.
Thus, the author argues that it is the underlying impacts on human capacity and
communication where ICTs will have the largest impact on poverty. Nevertheless,
there have been some dissenting views regarding this point. Indeed, it has been argued
that if human capacity is not enhanced to accommodate these technologies, inequalities
will increase rather than decrease (Sciadas, 2003). Both arguments while valid,
skirt a bigger issue. It is ultimately the ability of these tools to connect people and places
that will be the largest force for poverty alleviation. And underestimating the capacity of
the poor to utilise and embrace these tools may be the largest barrier to poverty
alleviation.
At the individual level, the literature begins to explore this notion of connectivity. There
are two primary arguments utilised to explain the disappointing impact of ICTs on the poor
themselves. First, as noted above, access by the poor to these forms of communication is
low and second, where the infrastructure is available, the actual software produced is often
inappropriate to the learning needs of the poor (Lloyd-Laney, 2003; Sciadas, 2003;
Soeftestad and Sein, 2003). Nonetheless, with regard to the lack of access, the arguments
are already being challenged. Indeed, in some southern countries network development is
growing at a faster rate than in the North (Fink and Kenny, 2003). As such, in some cases
access to new technologies in the South is bypassing the North (Munya, 2000; Maxfield,
2004).
However, while at the macro-level gains are being made, at the individual level, the poor
design of many ICTs still hampers uptake and adoption rates. A number of reasons have
been offered to explain the lack of uptake. For example, Soeftestad and Sein (2003) argue
that conceptualisation of many ICTs is fundamentally flawed and have led to ill-formulated
projects and programmes:
. . .ICTs come out of a western intellectual and scientific tradition and cannot be
applied as is to non-western settings.
Lloyd-Laney (2003) further remarks:
The materials that are available and accessible are not appropriate to meet their [the
poors’] needs, either in their content (i.e. doesn’t reflect their reality) or packaging
(language, presentation of information etc.). . . Information and knowledge is often
disseminated without understanding the needs of the users, or the contexts in which
they can access and adopt the information. . .
Therefore, it is clear, that ultimately the impact of ICTs will depend upon the relevance
of content and the appropriateness of the design to the individual user.
1.2 Enhancing Uptake Through Design: The Development of EL PROMOTOR
The El Promotor software programme was specifically developed to transfer animal

health and production information to poor livestock keepers residing on the Bolivian
DOI: 10.1002/jid
Altiplano. Therefore, the target population included resource poor farmers with few or
no years of formal education. Equally, the programme needed to be a stand alone and
accommodate users with no previous exposure to computers and/or computer-based
learning.
The software design was informed by the Information Processing (IP) theory of learning
developed by cognitive psychologists (Reiber, 2000). The IP theory relates learning to the
appropriateness of the media to the particular learning style of the individual involved; and
the relevance of the content to the learner (Clark and Sugrue, 1995). Hence, the IP model
identifies how the learner interacts with information to produce knowledge (Reiber, 2000).
Within this theory, uptake is related to the ability of the media to optimise the learners’
attention in order for the material to be committed to long term memory (Salomon, 1979;
Howe, 1980; Jonassen and Grabowski, 1993; Reiber, 2000).
Therefore, to devise the initial content, household interviews were performed with over
800 farmers across three departments in the Altiplano (La Paz, Oruro and Potosi) (LDG,
2003). A number of techniques, both participatory and more quantitative were utilised to
elicit the animal health priorities of the poor. As such, the content regarding animal health
and production was derived from the information demands of the poor, as prioritised by
themselves. The notion was that by ascertaining the priorities of the poor with regard to the
diseases and production problems that they faced, the programme would be directly
relevant to the concerns of users. Historically, within the livestock sector, the low uptake of
technologies and extension material has been attributed to the material meeting the
concerns of decision-makers and not the farmers themselves (LID, 1998). Appropriate
content, however, is only part of the overall design issues relating to ICTs; the tools also
have to suit the learning styles of users. Therefore, the interface was designed based upon
the visual and oral didactic of the Altiplano.
Prior to building the programme, visual referents were assessed for preferences and
suitability. As such, a range of pictorial styles were initially tested among a sub-group of
the overall study. In total, 40 households participated in the visual testing portion of the
research. The results indicated a strong preference for more realistic and less stylised
images. Indeed, informants noted that cartoon images were suitable only for children and
could potentially cause offence. Equally, the majority of participants preferred images
which depicted obese animals and people. When asked to explain their choices, many
individuals equated bodyweight with well-being and subsequently, the happiness of the
animal or person involved.
Further, the study explored the specific visual characteristics associated with both
knowledge of livestock keeping and trustworthiness. As such, a variety of El Promotor
characters were tested for suitability with regard to these key criteria. A depiction was
chosen which best represented these features as decided by the majority of study
participants.
Language was also a consideration. Study participants asked that the introduction to the
programme be offered in their native language (Aymara or Quechua) and that technical
information was provided in Spanish. Reasons offered for this duality were as follows.
Study participants felt that knowing the names of particular diseases and potential
treatments in Spanish was beneficial if there was the need to approach formal services
providers.
The programme can be run on a normal PC and require no extra hardware or software
requirements. At present, El Promotor has been distributed via milk co-operatives, the
Government and NGOs in a project area of over 5000 households.
DOI: 10.1002/jid
1.3 The Interface
The programme was built to accommodate user demands for specific information. Hence,
the software enables users to choose the species and topics of interest. For each species a
menu regarding animal health, feeding and housing was offered. After choosing a broad
subject matter, users could then focus on the specific area of interest. The software utilised
visual and aural cues, thereby no level of literacy was required.
While the programme did utilise animated images, at present, evidence relating to the
impact and uptake of animated versus static images is unclear (Schnotz, 2002; Lewalter,
2003). For example, Reiber (2000) noted that:
Animation makes the cognitive task more concrete and spontaneous by providing the
motion and trajectory attributes directly to the learner.
While Schnotz (2002) suggested that animated pictures can have both beneficial and
inhibiting functions in the process of learning. Conversely, Lewalter (2003) concluded
there was ‘a lack of superiority of dynamic visuals on learning outcome when compared
with static visuals’. To account for these issues, animation was used occasionally to either
enhance meaning or reduce the level of abstraction via emphasis on a particular visual or
demonstration of procedural instructions. As such, animated scenes tended to focus on
treatment descriptions or specific desirable husbandry or management changes.
Nonetheless, the layout and design also had to accommodate traditional frames for
learning. Learning, within the Andean communities has been related to nurturing both in
relation to the environment and with regard to social relationships (Genge, 2001). Indeed,
as the author notes:
. . .within Andean cosmology, knowledge is not at the margins of a nurturing process,
as much as it is nurturing itself. The space where knowledge is expressed is the
chacra, the centre of the Andean universe. Chacra is a space of ‘‘growing plants,
raising animals, and making a cultivated field’’.
Thus, knowledge within Andean society is embedded both within social relationships and
the mother earth or Pachimama (Rist et al., 1999). Therefore, to support such learning,
illustrations had strong referents to the local environment and customary learning. For
example, illustrations included well-known local geographic features as background features.
Depictions of livestock keeping were placed within scenes with community members of
different ages and genders. Finally, the El Promotor was portrayed as a ’teacher’ outside of the
scene and was also represented within the frame interacting with community members. Thus,
the programme utilised both denotative and connotative elements to support El Promotor as a
nurturer within chacra, or the learning didactic of the Andes.
2 METHODS
To determine the impact of the programme on learning, 210 poor livestock-keepers in

13 communities in La Paz, and Oruro departments, were exposed to El Promotor. The
following table offers the number of participants across the three learning modules under
study in this article (Table 1).
Each participant was tested prior to, and directly after, exposure to the learning material.
Before and after viewing the media, participants were asked a series of four open-ended
DOI: 10.1002/jid
Table 1. Number of participants by learning module
Media Number of Users
Mastitis 16
Liver Fluke 53
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) 26
Total 85
questions regarding the assessment categories (causation, symptoms, treatment and

prevention) for three diseases: Mastitis (an infection of the udder), Liver fluke (Fasciola
Hepatica) and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). Open-ended questions were utilised to
allow for a more in-depth assessment of the understanding of the subject matter and to
enable the filtering of false positives.
Responses were scored by the researchers for both quality as well as the quantity of
information offered (see Heffernan and Nielsen, 2005). Scores ranged from þ 2 to 1.
þ 2: accurate responses (AC)
þ 1: accurate but general responses (GE)
0: no responses (NR)
1: incorrect responses (ER)
2: incorrect responses with possible detrimental consequences (ED)
As such, a full score was given to an answer which was totally correct, a þ 1 was
accorded responses which while ostensibly correct were sufficiently general to be
applicable to a number of diseases such as ‘weakness’ or ‘fever’. Wrong answers were
accorded 1, while 2 was applied to responses with likely negative consequences for the
animal involved. Indeed, there are many traditional treatments that can be categorised in
this manner such as washing powder up the nostrils or stomach burning for intestinal
parasites etc. (Heffernan and Nielsen, 2005). In order not to create a ‘western scientific
bias’, traditional treatments that were beneficial or helpful also derived full scores.
The following formula was utilised to give participants a single score for each
assessment category before and after exposure to El Promotor in each of the disease
modules:
X
Knowledge Score ¼ ððAC 2Þ þ ðGE 1ÞÞ ððER 1Þ ðED 2ÞÞ (1)
As the numbers of responses in each assessment category could clearly differ (i.e. while
there are many correct symptoms of a disease there may be only one correct treatment), the
data was normalised to support comparisons. Hence, the sum for each category was divided
by the total number of scores possible providing a figure between 1 and 1.
By comparing knowledge scores prior to and after use of the programme, any changes
were attributed to learning. The final learning scores were derived using the following
formula:
DKnowledge Score ¼ Prior Knowledge Score Post-Exposure Knowledge Score (2)
The three diseases chosen did not have specific associations with positive traditional or
customary knowledge. Rather the identification and treatment of two of the diseases
DOI: 10.1002/jid
(mastitis and liver fluke) had clearly identifiable farmer behaviours with specific
consequences such as the lack of hygiene for mastitis or grazing in swampy areas for liver
fluke. Conversely, FMD, a highly contagious epidemic disease had none of these qualities
thereby enabling an alternate perspective.
3 RESULTS
Table 2 offers the results of three learning modules on mastitis, liver fluke and FMD .
The mean learning scores suggest that learning had occurred across all three disease
modules. Indeed, a significant difference (p < 0.001, LSD p < 0.05) was found between
pre-assessment and post-assessment scores listed above.
However, within learning modules knowledge uptake differed depending upon the topic
area i.e. disease causation, symptoms, treatment or prevention as viewed in Table 3.
Overall, the topic had a significant effect on learning in all the disease modules (Mastitis
and FMD (p < 0.001); Liver fluke (p ¼ 0.043).
Indeed, learning on the mastitis module was highest with regard to prevention and lowest
with regard to causation. Interestingly, the opposite is true for the Foot and Mouth disease.
The findings may be explained by the type of previous knowledge held by participants. Foot
and Mouth Disease is a government priority in Bolivia and while not a large problem on the
Altiplano, the government organises annual vaccination campaigns. The campaigns are well
advertised with numerous radio and TV advertisements. Consequently, it is not surprising
that vaccination was recognised as a prevention strategy. Conversely, the correct cause of
Foot and Mouth Disease was less well known and thereby, a large amount of new knowledge
could be gained. The majority of respondents related the disease to poor weather conditions,
the ingestion of low quality food, as well as, an unhygienic environment.
3.1 Prior Knowledge and Learning
To explore the impact of prior knowledge on learning, prior knowledge scores were correlated
with average learning scores. The resulting correlation coefficients are shown in Table 4.
Table 2. Knowledge assessment and learning scores by module: El promotor
Mastitis (n ¼ 16) Liver fluke (n ¼ 53) FMD (n ¼ 26)

Mean prior knowledge score 0.09 0.08 0.18
Mean present knowledge score 0.45 0.41 0.48
Mean change in knowledge score 0.37 0.33 0.31
Table 3. Learning scores disaggregated by topic: El promotor
Learning scores by topic Mastitis (n ¼ 16) Liver fluke (n ¼ 53) FMD (n ¼ 26)
Cause 0.24 0.44 0.46
Symptom 0.41 0.26 0.30
Treatment 0.31 0.28 0.23
Prevention 0.51 0.32 0.25
DOI: 10.1002/jid
Table 4. Correlation coefficients between prior knowledge scores and learning
Topic of disease module Mastitis (n ¼ 16) Liver fluke (n ¼ 53) FMD (n ¼ 26)
Cause 0.55 0.59 0.56

Symptom 0.54 0.64 0.71
Treatment 0.15 0.87 0.67
Prevention 0.32 0.60 0.66
Not surprisingly, the distribution of scores suggests that those participants with lower
pre-assessment scores tended to achieve higher learning scores, and vice versa. However,
when the responses were examined in more detail, a number of interesting findings were
apparent. Study participants with a significant amount of prior knowledge or the ‘high
scorers’, tended to offer less detailed responses. Nevertheless, rather than provide
previously known information, after exposure to the programme, these individual’s
responses tended to focus on the new material. Therefore, those individuals with a high
level of previous knowledge appeared to be prioritising information derived from the
programme (Table 5).
As the table illustrates, while all of the initial descriptions were correct with regard to the
symptoms of mastitis, the responses offered post-exposure were more closely aligned to
those offered in the software programme.
Nevertheless, there were other cases where key messages learned from the programme
augmented the initial correct responses (Table 6).
As the table illustrates, with regard to FMD, as noted above, many individuals knew that
vaccination prevented the disease. However, after use of the programme, users were able to
substantially augment their prior knowledge and offer other actions to control the spread of
the disease.
3.1.1 Low scorers and learning

Participants at the other end of the scale, those with negative pre-assessment scores, tended
to offer more specific responses as illustrated in Table 7.
The results suggest that after training, erroneous views regarding the cause of FMD were
replaced by more accurate and higher quality responses. Interestingly, the incorrect answer
relating to barley remained but a new correct response was added to it. The finding suggests
that for this individual, previous notions had not been sufficiently challenged. Nonetheless,
the addition to the knowledge frame suggests a shift in perception. Similar findings were
also observed with liver fluke module. For example, as the following table displays, many
farmers erroneously believed that liver fluke was transmitted via dogs’ faeces (Table 8).
Table 5. Assessment responses of high scorers regarding symptoms of mastitis
Prior knowledge Post exposure knowledge

Milk: Udder/teats: Milk: Udder/teats:
Red with blood, yellow Infected/inflamed, None Dry/cracked skin,

swollen, red red, painful/sore
Red with blood, Infected/inflamed, With pus, Difficult to milk/touch
with pus blocked clots/lumpy
Bad/sour/off Pimples/blisters, hard Clots/lumpy Red, swollen
DOI: 10.1002/jid
Table 6. Assessment of correct responses regarding FMD prevention
Prior knowledge Post training knowledge
Vaccinate Vaccinate, Keep in clean conditions

Vaccinate Separate/avoid contaminated animals, Vaccinate
Vaccinate, Good food Vaccinate twice yearly
Vaccinate Good care, Vaccinate twice yearly
Vaccinate Vaccinate twice yearly
Vaccinate Separate/avoid contaminated animals
Vaccinate Separate/avoid contaminated animals, Vaccinate, Good care
Vaccinate Separate/avoid contaminated animals, Keep in clean conditions,
Vaccinate twice yearly
Vaccinate Vaccinate twice yearly
Vaccinate Separate/avoid contaminated animals, Vaccinate twice yearly
Table 7. Knowledge change regarding the cause of FMD
Cold weather Contagious (from other cows), airborne disease, contaminated grass/
food/water
Dirty housing/environment Contaminated water, contagious from other cows
Dry/rough food Virus, contagious (from other cows)
Eating bad grass Contaminated grass/food/water
Espigas (barley kernels) Espigas (barley kernels), contagious
Hot weather Contaminated grass/food
Hot weather/cold weather Hot weather
Lack of food/water Contaminated water
Table 8. Knowledge change regarding the cause of liver fluke

Eating infected dog’s faeces Snails/eggs, worms in the liver
Humid/water logged areas
Humid/water logged areas, snails eggs
Humid/water logged areas, snails eggs
Humid/water logged areas, snails eggs, infected food/grass, contagious
Humid/water logged areas, infected food/grass, snails/eggs
Parasite in liver, in intestines
Eating infected dog’s faeces
Eating infected dog’s faeces, humid/water logged areas
Walking long distances Humid/water logged areas, infected food/grass
Weather (hot/cold) Infected food/grass, worms
However, as the table illustrates, while the majority of post-assessment responses

changed from an incorrect to an appropriate response after training, in two cases the
relation between dog’s faeces and liver fluke was maintained. Again, however, for one
individual, new correct information was added to the existing incorrect understanding,
demonstrating the uptake of new knowledge.
DOI: 10.1002/jid
Table 9. Knowledge change regarding the cause of mastitis
Weather (hot/cold), Lack of shelter/housing Dirtiness/lack of hygiene, unclean udder

Dirty housing, faeces
Dirty housing
Bacteria enters udder/unsealed
Interestingly, no such conflicts between existing knowledge and new knowledge were
observed with regard to the causation of Mastitis (Table 9).
Indeed, the relationship between a dirty environment and mastitis, while not previously
known, was widely accepted. For mastitis, the new knowledge corresponded to more
general beliefs regarding the relationship between a dirty environment and ill health and as
such, went largely unchallenged.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The study demonstrates that ICTs can enhance the connectivity of the poor with the wider
society in which they reside through exposure to different knowledge frames. Equally, such
tools can provide decision-makers with a clear and unbiased view of the demands of the
poor for information and knowledge.
With regard to the learning assessment, on average, post assessment scores were
significantly higher than pre-assessment scores, which suggest that there was knowledge
uptake. When the effect of prior knowledge on uptake was explored, three levels of
knowledge acquisition could be ascertained. First, it was clear that while those with little
previous knowledge could obtain a more accurate understanding of the disease in question,
those with a greater initial understanding were able to prioritise the most important aspects
of the disease after training. Finally, those who offered erroneous information prior to
training often replaced their old knowledge frame with new and more accurate information.
The study also explored the interface between customary and ‘scientific knowledge’. As
the results demonstrated, on the Altiplano, animal health is intricately connected to the
environment in general and husbandry conditions more specifically. Indeed, cold weather
and contaminated feed were linked to the causation of all of the above diseases both before
and after exposure to the programme. Hence, the study demonstrates that the use of ICTs
such as El Promotor will not instantly replace existing knowledge frames which are
embedded in social structures, but rather should work within these contexts to enhance the
connectivity of the poor to wider knowledge pools. This is not to advocate, however, the
perpetuation of unhelpful or erroneous customary beliefs. Indeed, the poor have the right to
correct knowledge and ICTs that both support customary learning didactics and visual
learning can greatly aid the poor in joining the global knowledge society.
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Journal of International Development

J. Int. Dev. 18, 889–900 (2006)

NEW TOOLS TO CONNECT PEOPLE AND

Abstract: Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the ability to rapidly

Keywords: ICTs; Bolivia; learning outcomes; multi-media interactive software

Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

1.1 ICTs, Learning and Poverty Reduction: Rhetoric versus Reality?

1.2 Enhancing Uptake Through Design: The Development of EL PROMOTOR

The El Promotor software programme was specifically developed to transfer animal

1.3 The Interface

To determine the impact of the programme on learning, 210 poor livestock-keepers in

Table 1. Number of participants by learning module

Media Number of Users

questions regarding the assessment categories (causation, symptoms, treatment and

DKnowledge Score ¼ Prior Knowledge Score Post-Exposure Knowledge Score (2)

3.1 Prior Knowledge and Learning

Table 2. Knowledge assessment and learning scores by module: El promotor

Mastitis (n ¼ 16) Liver fluke (n ¼ 53) FMD (n ¼ 26)

Table 3. Learning scores disaggregated by topic: El promotor

Table 4. Correlation coefficients between prior knowledge scores and learning

Cause 0.55 0.59 0.56

3.1.1 Low scorers and learning

Table 5. Assessment responses of high scorers regarding symptoms of mastitis

Prior knowledge Post exposure knowledge

Red with blood, yellow Infected/inflamed, None Dry/cracked skin,

Table 6. Assessment of correct responses regarding FMD prevention

Prior knowledge Post training knowledge

Vaccinate Vaccinate, Keep in clean conditions

Table 7. Knowledge change regarding the cause of FMD

Prior knowledge Post exposure knowledge

Table 8. Knowledge change regarding the cause of liver fluke

Prior knowledge Post exposure knowledge

However, as the table illustrates, while the majority of post-assessment responses

Table 9. Knowledge change regarding the cause of mastitis

Prior knowledge Post exposure knowledge

Weather (hot/cold), Lack of shelter/housing Dirtiness/lack of hygiene, unclean udder

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