ACDE PAPERS IN BOOK FORM 1.pdf - National Open University of ...

But we get ahead of ourselves. This ACDE conference is concerned with education. Bridging
the digital divide produces general developmental benefits, but how does it help give
people access to education of quality?
eLearning
Our interest today is in cultivating eLearning. If you look for a definition of eLearning on the
web you'll find it described as the delivery of a learning, training or education programme
by electronic means, involving the use of a computer or electronic device.
There's a major omission in that definition, which goes a long way to explaining why
eLearning has a reputation for underperforming. The definition ought to refer to three 'D's,
not simply the one 'D' of delivery.
A proper definition should refer to the design, development and delivery of learning
programmes by electronic means. As we read them nearly all the discussions on the virtual
conferences that preceded this meeting focused on how you design and develop
programmes to build in quality.
Nearly ten years ago, during what was called the dotcom frenzy, some enthusiasts argued
that all education would quickly migrate to the computer screen, making traditional
methods of education, including traditional methods of distance education, obsolete.
However, many of those who tried to create 'pure' eLearning programmes, by which we
mean programmes relying entirely on the computer, either went broke or adopted a
blended approach which mixed electronic learning with other forms.
Reflecting this experience, COL uses a broad definition of eLearning that embraces any
distance learning programme that has an electronic component, even if most of the delivery
is through the medium of print.
For example, some African distance learning programmes use mass SMS on mobile phones to
communicate with students about their print-based studies. We consider that a form of
eLearning.
But all forms of eLearning bump up against the obstacle of the digital divide. Even if the
electronic component - suppose it is a laboratory simulation on a CD-ROM or DVD - is only a
small part of the course, the student who cannot access equipment to play the simulation is
disadvantaged. This is a fundamental challenge for the introduction of electronic media into
distance education - and not just for Africa.
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