The Virtual Classroom

Impact of New media in the education sector in Developing Countries

The Virtual Classroom

(October 16th, 2010)

My blog for this week is going to explore how New media is changing the education sector in third world countries particularly with respect to e-learning.

(image downloaded from www.softwaremag.com)

Some research on this topic reveals that the biggest change effected by new media in the education sector has been through the concept of e–learning. By e-learning I refer to the use of internet and communication technologies, in imparting interactive distant education as well as classroom education through interactive learning tools including video, audio and online gaming, apart from the traditional textual content made available online. One of the biggest impact of internet and technology in e-learning is the ‘digitization of content’ which makes it economical to distribute and reproduce.(Sahay,2009) http://www.ten.us.com/resources/CSICP.pdf.

In a projected $52.6B e-learning industry, Asia is expected to account for 20-30% growth in 2010. http://thejournal.com/articles/2007/07/30/elearning-market-to-hit-526b-by-2010.aspx. In countries like India, China and Africa where demand always exceeds supply, e-learning has been a great boon to the education sector. For these countries, the issues with making education available to all have always been - dearth of teachers, lack of infrastructure, schools and resources.

For example the Tanzanian government in Africa has launched a program called “Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow” to deal with the shortage of 85,000 teachers in its secondary schools. This project is a partnership with leading technology companies to create the 21^st century classrooms by introducing computers to both students and teachers and making remote education possible. http://www.elearning-africa.com/newsportal/english/news257.php

The Indian government has latched on to the concept of e-learning in a big way. Several policies and frameworks are in place to get e-learning into higher education systems.

http://www.merinews.com/article/e-learning-in-india-the-electronic-way-to-learning/15764276.shtml. For example, the government launched the National Mission on Education through information and Communication technologies at a cost of more than 5 billion in 2008-09. Institutional like the NIIT have provided training to more than 500,000 students annually across 33 countries through e-learning. Another project called the NPTEL(National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning) launched in 1999 by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development aimed at engineering education in college universities met with good success.

The E-learning market in China is in the growth phase. According to a 2008 report, http://www.pr-inside.com/report-on-china-s-e-learning-market-r900369.htm

12.2 million people were enrolled in online education in 2007 which was a 25% higher enrollment compared to the previous year. However the biggest challenge with promoting the concept of e-learning in China has been the mistrust and resistance in the acceptance of online educational certificates and diplomas.

Challenges with e-learning:

Across all regions in Asia and Africa the common challenges with implementing e-learning programs have been.

1. Enhancing infrastructure and providing ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies), high speed internet connectivity and system compatibility for high tech software for all e-learning programs.

2. Imparting training on use of ICTs and internet to teachers, students and educational service providers. Particularly in government schools and rural classrooms.

3. Setting standards for e-learning in an extremely competitive market.

4. Attracting self motivated students to enroll and remain focussed as this is not the same as a classroom scenario (in the case of distance e-learning).

5. Building trust and bridging cultural gaps when creating a virtual classroom with international students in an online e-learning environment.

In spite of these challenges the influence of new media in the education sector is increasingly becoming popular and holds great potential for the future of education in developing countries.