Making intelligent learning technologies meaningful: Practical lessons learnt from public administration training programs in South Africa and Canada

What approaches are effective in adapting emerging intelligent technologies to environments involving practitioners who cannot afford to invest much time and money in mastering these technologies? What social and cultural factors need to be considered in designing intelligent teaching and learning systems in order to make computer-enhanced learning experiences more meaningful? The presentation highlights some lessons learnt about making intelligent learning technologies more effective as tools in the context of professional development. These lessons have been derived from practical experiences of multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams involved in educational and training projects. One involves a management capacity development program for South African public administrators, and the other, a certificate program for Canadian public administrators.