Lessons from the Field: Distance Education


Education is instrumental in ensuring that future generations’ leaders are well-informed and competent. Unfortunately, because the quality of education varies so greatly between regions, the school systems of developing countries often fail to deliver the level of education necessary to ensure such competency. In 1999, for example, Norway’s expenditure per primary school student (% of GDP per capita) was 29%, while that of Bangladesh was only 8.5% (according to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators). This gap in education expenditure is indicative of the budget problems encountered by school systems in developing countries. Many schools have limited resources for buying books and classroom materials, teachers lack the training to engage their students in learning, and lesson plans are often outdated or irrelevant.

As a way to combat this trend, some developing country schools are using information and communications technology (ICT) to participate in distance learning. Distance learning is any education characterized by interaction between agents in geographically remote locations. This contact affords students in developing countries access to information and resources that, due to high costs, were previously only available in developed countries. Furthermore, because distance learning is often ICT-enabled, many programs include computer and Internet training to facilitate the use of essential technology. The acquisition of fundamental ICT skills encourages students to explore the Internet on their own, thus multiplying educational opportunities.

Getting the Ball Rolling: Training teachers and ICT professionals

The integration of distance learning into classroom curricula does not happen automatically; it is contingent not only on having access to basic ICT infrastructure, but also on having skilled individuals who are willing to implement the program. Looking to address this need, many national governments and non-profit agencies have funded online training programs for education professionals.

Before schools can have access to distance education technology, someone must design the network, install computers, and train would-be users. This leads to a strong demand for trained support staff and other technical workers. Web sites that offer online computer training and degrees in technical fields help meet the need for IT services. The Pakistan Virtual University (PVU) is an initiative of the Pakistani government that provides affordable IT training, even to citizens living in remote locations. For approximately US$25 per month (Pakistani Rupees 1,445), students can enroll in multimedia courses that are broadcast via television and supplemented with course material on the Internet. PVU offers Bachelor’s degrees in the fields of Education, the Arts, Management, Science and Technology, and Computer Science and Information Technology. A similar enterprise in Tamil Nadu, India, the Anna University IT Education Centre, offers programming and software courses. In nearby New Delhi, IT students can earn a diploma in Telecom Management at the for-profit Academy of Telecom Management. Tuition and fees typically cost students US$900 (Indian Rupees 40,000).

Another barrier facing distance learning is teachers’ unwillingness to introduce new technologies to their students. In order for teachers to implement ICT-driven distance education curricula, they must first understand and be comfortable with the technologies. Based on this principle, many supporters of adult education promote computer-training programs for teachers. One such program, Actualización de Maestros en Educación (AME) (in English, Training Teachers in Education), provides teachers with the resources they need to be effective in the classroom. AME’s Internet portal hosts a plethora of courses designed by universities in Latin America and Spain, covering topics such as teaching reading, writing, and mathematics; imparting values to students in the classroom; communication and organization; and the manipulation of new technologies. In Africa, LearnLink Uganda has partnered with Connect-ED to provide a 9-week summer ICT course online for teachers, aimed at developing student-centered learning. Lessons include basic computer usage, as well as Web authoring and creating an online curriculum. Further East, The United Nations’ Development Program (UNDP) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) have partnered to sponsor an initiative to increase the quality of education in Western China by using distance learning programs to train more than 20,000 educators, particularly substitute teachers, female teachers, and ethnic or language minority teachers. The success of each of these educator training programs will be measured by the degree to which teachers adopt ICT in their classrooms and encourage students to use it at home.

Starting Young: ICT in the classroom

Once the necessary conditions for ICT in the classroom have been met, educators can begin to introduce distance learning programs. Projects such as Distance Education for Secondary Schools in Tanzania, which is completely Internet-based, provide all the necessary educational resources via a Web portal. Students can access school materials, tutorials, e-mail and chat services, and online discussion forums from both classroom computers and at home, provided they have Internet capabilities. The access fee for this particular program is approximately US$36-US$45 (40,000-50,000 Tanzanian Shillings) per school per month, although many Web portals operate at no cost to users. Cyberescuela.com, for example, is a free online educational resource for the students, parents, and teachers of El Salvador. The Web site encourages learning among students and participation among parents, offering information about all stages of the learning process. Although online portals are highly effective learning devices and encourage children to explore on their own, they do not lend themselves to use in classrooms with only one computer. Because of this exclusivity, some schools may find it difficult to implement distance learning programs dependent on Internet portals.

Other distance education programs offer multimedia packages, often characterized by text materials and videos for the classroom, complemented by an Internet learning site. Many school systems prefer these programs because they generally allow for more flexibility in the classroom; for instance, if only one computer is available, the whole class can watch a video and begin working on text materials while individual students take turns at the computer. In South Africa, the Learning Channel airs educational television programming for 8th through 12th graders, offers low-cost classroom materials to accompany each show, and maintains a Web site where students can find relevant information and links. A similar, government subsidized program in Mexico, called Red Escolar (School Net), uses a combination of educational television and videos, text materials, and an online library to encourage the use of computers in the classroom. ETHnet, for between US$270 and US$620 (Indian Rupees 12,000-28,000) per school (exact price determined by urban/rural location and number of students), offers Indian students high-tech educational packages that utilize interactive computer software, satellite TV, CDs/DVDs, and the Internet.

Though it is important not to dismiss the merit of these multimedia programs, many far-simpler distance education ventures have also had considerable success. Solar.net Villages, a telecenter project based in Honduras, began using video-conferencing to connect rural schoolchildren to their urban counterparts at a school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The venture was originally intended to be a cultural exchange, connecting Spanish-speaking children from different countries to learn about each other. However, the Honduran children soon expressed interest in interacting with English-speaking children as well. Now, both groups are communicating despite the language barrier, using hand signals and even learning rudimentary language skills – thus demonstrating the capacity of the Internet as a language acquisition tool.

The Cycle: Encouraging civilians to explore

Distance learning not only provides students in developing countries with new resources for collecting information, but also familiarizes them with ICT and encourages them to use it on their own. To help afford students a higher level of comfort with essential technology, regular classroom computer use is often supplemented with online training courses. AHA! Multimedia offers easy-to-use online tutorials for all computer users, from beginners to experts. Although the product is currently targeted at a Western audience, it has potential to transform computer training in the developing world with its low cost, uncomplicated learning platform.

Nuevas Tecnologías (New Technologies), is an initiative of the Colombian government that encourages Internet use for research and communication. Another Colombian initiative, Proyecto Educación Virtual Activa (EVA) (Active Virtual Education Project), has established telecenters in isolated communities to provide ICT training for rural citizens. In Iran, the Zahedan ICT center provides computer training for those people most affected by the digital divide – women and youth that are not otherwise enrolled in a university. All of these programs aim to encourage Internet research and communication by making people more comfortable with computers.

Advanced Users Only: University and professional resources

For those interested in pursuing a higher education, but without access to a university, many institutions offer free or low-cost online college-level courses. Citizens of sub-Saharan African can enroll in diploma and degree programs from universities around the world via the African Virtual University. The students pay a fee determined by the host institution (the university offering the course) to gain access to virtual libraries, participate in discussion forums, and attend online classes offered in both French and English. Residents of Mauritius have their own e-university, Edutech.mu, which provides educational information and online course offerings in mathematics and science, such as Organic Chemistry. The EDDI Educational Partnerships program does not offer online classes, but rather works to form partnerships between educators, universities, and communities in both developed and developing nations. These unions raise awareness about international issues, encourage cultural sensitivity, and foster distance learning programs.

Distance learning also keeps farmers up-to-date on weather, news, and agricultural innovations. Planters in Bangladesh, for example, obtain information about fertilizers, pesticides, and crop selection from a Mobile Internet-Educational Unit in a Boat that travels through the Atrai watershed, providing Internet access and computer training. This program has not only made the farmers of Atrai more economically competitive, but has also reduced the incidence of fish kills, slowed erosion, and improved water quality. Agle@rn, an Internet portal designed for Asian farmers, offers online courses about agricultural practices for US$150 a month (US$225 per 6-week course) and has scholarships available for individuals not affiliated with private companies, particularly subsistence farmers.

Other distance education programs include the Nigerian Mobile Community Telecenter, providing relevant training for health care professionals; Adilisha, offering online classes for human rights workers in Southern Africa; and the Rosslyn Project, providing skills training for workers in South Africa. Each of these programs has successfully implemented an ICT-enabled distance education program to benefit the community.

MORE RESOURCES

The Digital Dividends Project Clearinghouse can be searched by "Distance Education" under the "Activites" link... Search here

For more information on distance learning, including readings, related databases, and reports of good practice, see the World Bank Global Distance EducatioNet.

For a list of distance learning courses available online, browse to the International Distance Learning Course Finder.