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FFFFFrrrrrom the Dirom the Dirom the Dirom the Dirom the Directorectorectorectorector’s Desk’s Desk’s Desk’s Desk’s DeskEverywhere in the world, the months between Octoberand December are ones of good cheer. It is the transitionfrom one season to another—from cold to summer orfrom summer to the cold. And it is a time for festivalsand feasts—both of the spirit and of the mind.

One of the highlights of this year’s season of good cheerhas been the second phase of the World Summit onInformation Society (WSIS) at Tunis. It brought togethersome of the world’s finest minds, many a grassrootorganisation and activist who rubbed shoulders with andalongside huge and political and business interests thatthe information society represents. In the cacophony ofthe debate, the many for and against meetings, it isdifficult to find a single thread especially when all groupshave been engaged in discussions, debates andsometimes acrimonious arguments with declarations asa run up to the Summit. For us, it is a matter of somepride that the Seelampur case study we reported in our

InsideInsideInsideInsideInsideGuest Column................2

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Case Study...................7

Regional News..............11

Worth While Web.........12

Country Focus..............13

CEMCA Bulletin Board....15

SMART Tips................16

Research Shows...........18

Resource Review..........21

last issue (Educomm September 2005) won an awardat Tunis.

UNESCO brought out a series of world reports which areavailable on the web and which deal with various themesthat the summit covered. The common concern was foraccess and participation in the knowledge society for allsectors of human society. And education is at the core ofit all.

As if echoing the global debate, in our Guest Column,Prof. Arun Nigavekar looks at the importance of highereducation, especially in the arts and social sciences, asbeing our hope for a more productive and humane future.No society can develop without a core of well educatedand committed personnel. If his article looks at highereducation, we turn our spotlight onto a network of NGOsin Bangladesh, the Campaign for Popular Education(CAMPE) which has been doing pioneering work in adultand basic education.

Technology being the focus of our work, we look at theway in which ICTs are engaged for women’s empower-ment by bringing you a case study of Mahila Manthana,Karnataka. In Country Focus, we describe two uniqueefforts — how teleconferencing has improved the deliveryof distance education in Malaysia and a training for youthin production of digital talking books. In our ResourceReview, we look at two important documents-a UNESCO report on Liflelong Learning and a COL reporton learner support.

Other regular features include a look at community radioin Smart Tips and in our section on “Worth While Web’we explore a new technology, m-learning, or learningwith mobiles.

We would like to draw your attention to our new address.We have relocated to better premises in Delhi and wehope that this will be a new beginning for more excitingwork, as we will no longer be bogged down by the dailyirritants resulting from poor infrastructure. Please donote our new address given inside and do keep writing.

Dr. Usha Vyasulu ReddiDirector

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PreludeHigher education is an essential social aswell as economic infrastructure for everydeveloping nation. The first, i.e. the socialdimension, has been long recognized asa tool for gainful employment andbettering the life of individuals and theirfamilies. It has also been an approach forremoval of poverty, though succeedingonly partially in producing appropriateand useful skilled human-power forindustry, science and technology, or interms of creation of basic socio-economicinfrastructure (education, health,nutrition, food, shelter agriculture, energy,water, transport, communication), andproviding better governance.

The second , i.e. the economic dimension,is relatively new, acquired only in lastdecade or so mainly emerging out of thenew relationship between education andeconomy in the dynamic global economicenvironment where every country istalking of economic reforms. Both theseidentities are equally important forplanning higher education in the 21st

century. Indeed they need to be fortifiedby addressing cleverly and imaginativelykey issues like increasing demand,relevance, quality & excellence,governance and resources.

Universities and KnowledgeEconomy: Core IssuesI intend to address few issues related tothe development of nations and the roleof higher education institutions in the

Role of Higher Education in the Knowledge EconomyRole of Higher Education in the Knowledge EconomyRole of Higher Education in the Knowledge EconomyRole of Higher Education in the Knowledge EconomyRole of Higher Education in the Knowledge Economy

Professor Arun Niagavekar is a Raja Ramanna Fellow and, Senior Adviser and Trustee,Science & Technology Park, and can be reached at narun42@yahoo.co.in

Guest Column...Guest Column...Guest Column...Guest Column...Guest Column...system that adopts a face-to-faceapproach and second, the open learningenvironment that serves off-campusstudents. This is often manifested asOpen Universities and they use distanceeducation methodologies. Both thesetype of institutions today have startedusing information and communicationtechnology (ICT) to facilitate qualityeducation, as well as to run the systemsmore effectively and efficiently, becauseICTs make information processing moreorganized, helping achieve best resultsin a cost-effective manner. A recenttechnology that has brought about afundamental shift is the Internet, whichfacilitates virtual economic and socialactivities that are global in nature. Thisis also affecting universities. Informationand communication technologies and theInternet have brought about a third typeof educational institutions – the VirtualUniversity. In its most advanced form,we can define a Virtual University as acampus-less university that uses Internettechnologies for its main delivery mode.

Emergence of A New TrendHowever, today in this purest sense thereexists no Virtual University, though itmay happen sometime in the future. Thetrend that is emerging is creation of“networked organizations” in whichinstitutions share their resources witheach other. Typically, this is one way ofincreasing the services offered by one orall the organizations in the network byoptimizing the resources and capabilitiesof each. In its more evolved form, thesenetworked organizations could employthe Internet for sharing their work moreclosely. Countries that do not currentlyhave a good educational base butare looking for a sound educationalsystem may have to adopt “networkedorganization” structure. This once againnecessitates a fresh look at the role of auniversity in the twenty-first century insuch a networked structure.

To better understand the role ofuniversities in the twenty first centuryone needs a thorough understanding ofthe current global scenario. There is agrowing interdependence of people intoday’s inter-linked world. In the presentera of globalization where geographicalboundaries are disappearing and thereis shrinking of space and time as people

process of development. Today everycountry is witnessing development, eachat a certain pace. The speed with whichdevelopment takes place has a link withthe economic base and strength of a givencountry. In turn economic strength islinked with infrastructure growth. But itis not only growth of infrastructure,which could be one time activity, that isvital. One also needs to look into thesustainability of the development thatwould bring stable economic change.This means there is a need to look intocore issues related to economicdevelopment. The core issue is alwayseducation, because today education islinked with economic change. This iswhere universities start coming into thepicture. As far as universities’ roles areconcerned, they have undergone ametamorphic change from preservationand advancement of societal knowledgebase to that of contribution to nationalinnovations and economic growth.Educational institutions and systemshave gradually been transformed bytechnologies into new and wide rangingmultifaceted systems.

The “massification” of higher education,also referred to in UNESCO’s WorldReport on Knowledge Societies, hasaccelerated the pace of change andtransformation in higher education. Nolonger the preserve of the elite, highereducation institutions are called upon foreducational provision essentially from“cradle to cremation” and to meet theeducational demands of a variety oflearners, from young students, to moremature adults and to enable the in-servicetraining and upskilling of human resourcevital for a knowledge economy. Thisuniversities have done through atransformatory process, so that there aredifferent types of educational institutionsat the tertiary level of education today.

Broadly, one can characterize three typesof educational institutions. First is thetraditional campus based university

Prof. Arun Nigavekar

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everywhere are becoming connected,there are great opportunities for humanadvance. The surge of globalization isnow redefining the meaning ofeducation. Stronger and bettergovernance, that preserves advantages ofglobal competition and at the same timestrengthens forces that support humanadvance, is the need of the hour.

Knowledge a Key Force inChangeIn recent times with the advances ininformation, science and technology, theworld has rediscovered the meaning andimportance of knowledge. The direct linkbetween the “knowledge wealth” of anation and its advancement is betterunderstood today. With it is a realizationthat strong economies are not mereaccumulations of physical capital orrichness of human skill, but rather anorganic outcome of how solid thefoundation of information, learning, andadaptation of knowledge is, in aparticular nation. The purpose of humandevelopment, which is to create enablingsituations and environment for peopleto enjoy long, healthy, meaningful,satisfying, fulfilling and creative lives, isinextricably linked with a nation’seconomy. This notion of developmentencompasses both material and spiritualaspects and good governance thereforehas to mould itself to accommodate boththese seemingly opposite aspects.Interestingly good governance dependsupon policies that enable a nation toconvert knowledge to its advantage.

In simple terms, knowledge is verycritical for development, becauseeverything we do depends uponknowledge, be it improving our day-to-day living or striving for a bettertomorrow. Our ability to use resourcesin ways that generate higher returns onour efforts and investments also needsknowledge. Today, the balance of poweris shifting in favor of the mosttechnologically advanced economieswhich are knowledge-based. Thesenations generate knowledge, useknowledge to innovate, and finallyconvert the innovations into tradablecommodities that bring wealth to thesenations. The simple rule of 21st century isthat those who create, adopt, and use

knowledge become economically rich.

However, knowledge is not a mere tradablecommodity. It has other dimensions also.It is in a sense, a public domain good thatenriches the human mind and can bringpeace and tranquility in society. It allowshumans to relate to each other and linksindividuals, families and communities asa harmonious entity. The developing andemerging nations therefore need toincrease their capacity to create anduse knowledge. However, creationof knowledge is rarely simple andstraightforward. It needs investments. Theinability to fully exploit returns oninvestment could prove to be a disincentiveto its creation and supply. Wheninnovators put money in research anddevelopment they look for returns, whetherin the private or public sectors. Patents,copyright, and other forms of intellectualproperty rights (IPR) are constantly beingdiscussed and modified to protectinnovators and provide them with anopportunity to recover the costs of creatingknowledge and make a fair profit.

Education Enabling Fair Trade inKnowledge EconomyI consciously use the term “fair profit”as this indeed is the crux of the issues inthe present knowledge-linked economy.The rich nations are missing this aspectand poor nations are becoming mereobservers of supremacy of knowledge bythe select few. Many a times, socialreturns of knowledge exceed privatereturns. Examples abound in the areasof health, agriculture, and environment.Nations need to strike a judicial balancebetween public and private returns increation and dissemination ofknowledge. Education can play a centralrole here, by providing this balance andgiving a humane touch to the entireprocess, that is so vital to the creation ofa sane and stable world.

Education in fact has a dual role - one ofknowledge creation and the other ofinvesting it with values that enrichculture. The first role has economicdimensions whereas the second hashumane dimensions. Basic education,and I include primary, secondary, aswell as tertiary education, fulfill boththese roles. Basic education develops aperson’s capability for learning,

interpreting information and foradapting knowledge to personal or localconditions. In a way, basic educationprovides a scaffold for lifelong learning.Tertiary education takes it beyond this.Higher education is a foundation forbuilding knowledge for an information-based society. Information-based scienceand technologies are more demandingin terms of skills for diffusing,interpreting, and applying knowledge.Tertiary education in the traditional andprofessional systems, besides layingfoundation in basic disciplines, equipsstudents with new and better skillsto monitor, assess, and developappropriate strategies for use oftechnology. Thus universities in thepresent time, serve a multiplicity of roles.They produce people who not only createknowledge but also those who have skillsto adapt it. The universities, thus, dealwith “knowledge”. Moreover, knowledgeis development. Increasingly universitieswill have to serve well these multipleroles creating an intelligent humanresource at all levels.

I would also like to address a different,but related issue, at this point. There is afeeling, a strong one at that, thathumanities and social sciences have norole in this modern world. This, I firmlybelieve is a wrongly founded concept.Indeed, in my view the present centurybelongs to these disciplines. It is true thatthe twentieth century belonged to scienceand technology. The latter half of thecentury saw not only various discoveriesin pure and fundamental sciences butalso witnessed transformation of theseinto technologies that interestingly havetouched every aspect of human life. Thematerialistic approach has become all tooprominent and the capacity to purchasehas become more significant. Conceptsof material wealth and ‘economy driven’nations have become important.Ironically even as the world is comingcloser due to economic interdependency,nations are simultaneously makingefforts to invent, adopt and use moderntechnologies in all sectors, in isolation.Hence, what is important is to realize isthat “economic revolution” is tooimportant and far-reaching to be left tobe managed as is presently being done,as it has the capacity to do extraordinary

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harm as well as good. The growinginterdependence of people’s lives callsfor shared values and a sharedcommitment to human development.Thus, social sciences, which makesystematic efforts to understand humanrelationships by the study of verifiableaspects of human behavior and humansciences comprising languages andliterature, fine arts, philosophy, andhistory, become important. It is here thatteaching, learning and research in socialand human sciences has to be re-elaborated in terms of conceptualization,formalization, and synthesis so as totranscend the frontiers of the new world.

New Needs, New Challenges forUniversitiesThis brings us back to the role ofuniversities in this new era of knowledge-linked economy. Universities indeveloping nations are facing entirelydifferent challenges. The key issues areincreasing demand, relevance, quality,excellence, governance and resources.These issues are not merely controlledby internal factors specific to a particularnation but are also governed byhappenings at the global level. To becompetitive at the global level not onlydo we need a sizeable number ofeducated people but also people of anassured high quality. Let us look at theincreasing demand in higher education.If we look at the access parameter as anindicator (that is a quantity whichindicates the number of studentsaccessing higher education in a group of100 eligible students). In most of thedeveloping countries this is a single digitnumber whereas in developed countries,the number is four times that. If we aimto make the access parameter a doubledigit number say even in five years, wehave to cater to millions of students. It isa huge number and we may have to comeup with a genuinely different approachto meet such a huge demand. We mayhave to enhance the capacity inconventional higher education system,by extending the use of the physicalinfrastructure (by providing for a doubleshift) and adding appropriate teachingand other human support. We may alsohave to consider a combination ofconventional and open education

structures. One also needs to create anduse information and communicationnetwork linking all the colleges anduniversities. This would ensureuniformity in access to teaching materialand also help maintain standards ofeducation. The information networkwould help teachers to supplement theirclassroom teaching by intelligentblending with multimedia supportmaterial like giving students a feel ofdemonstration through computersimulation, or watching experimentsbeing conducted in well equippedlaboratories, or listening to experts fromacross the world , including their owncountries, otherwise inaccessible to them.The innovative use of informationnetwork would “virtually enhancethe academic infrastructure” in theclassroom and that too in a cost-effectiveway. We need to train and encourageteachers to develop multimedia material.

The Relevance of EducationThat brings me to yet another key element,namely the relevance of education. Thishas always been a topic of great debate.Indeed, the relevance has a direct bearingon the projected human power need ofany nation. The vital issue is that indeveloping nations, the bulk of thestudents in formal education are intraditional disciplines like Arts,Humanities and Social Sciences, Law andCommerce and Sciences. In the name ofrelevance, over the past several years,vocational subjects have been clubbedwith regular subjects, creating a peculiarsituation, where it has cut into the coresubjects and introduced professionalsubjects at a superficial level. The netoutput has been graduates who areneither sound in core subjects nor skilledenough in vocational subjects, to be eitheraccepted by the industry or becomeentrepreneurs—a matter of grave concern.The emergence of knowledge-linkedsocieties in a new economic environmentdemands graduates sound in theirfundamentals with analytical abilitiesand enriched with appropriate utility-oriented skills. We have to come out ofgood old concept of hybridizingvocational subjects with the already overburdened degree programme (usuallythree years in most developing countries)

and rethink this concept of relevance. Thismeans we will have to think of an openand flexible approach where students cansimultaneously pursue a degree and addon utility-oriented programs that wouldallow them to acquire an advanceddiploma along with a degree or go for onemore year of intensive professional subjectlearning and get two degrees at the end offour years. The convergence of open andconventional education is going to be ofhelp in this respect also.

GovernanceAnother crucial aspect is the governanceof higher education. The higher educationsystems in developing nations are notonly huge but also very complex. On theone hand they have to strive to matchglobal expectations and demands and onthe other they have to struggle to copewith mammoth day-to-day demands.Poor infrastructure and inadequatehuman resources complicate this further.While it is true that quality in educationis primarily dependent on what happensin classrooms and laboratories, it isequally true that what happens outsideis as significant. Invaluable learning isimbibed on the sports grounds, inlibraries, in hostels, in centraladministrative office, in the principal’sroom, the list is endless. The point beingmade is that we have to think of TotalQuality Management in higher education.And this is where governance takescenter-stage. The huge and multifacetededucation systems in developing nationsneed to embrace Management InformationSystem approach to achieve efficiency.

In ConclusionKnowledge is going to remain a magicword in the vibrant world economy. Anation not only has to create knowledgebut also has to devise methods to adaptit to benefit its people. It is educationalone that would help a nation tosurmount these new challenges and itis higher education alone that wouldbuild its supremacy in a “knowledgecompetitive” world. In this new world,the universities have a new role andnations must also realize that investmentin higher education is an investment inmaking the future of the younggeneration brighter.

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Spotlight On...Spotlight On...Spotlight On...Spotlight On...Spotlight On...

A PA PA PA PA Popular Education Movement - An Intropular Education Movement - An Intropular Education Movement - An Intropular Education Movement - An Intropular Education Movement - An Introduction tooduction tooduction tooduction tooduction toCAMPE, BangladeshCAMPE, BangladeshCAMPE, BangladeshCAMPE, BangladeshCAMPE, BangladeshWith inputs from Dr. Rasheda Choudhury

voluntary organizations, actiongroups and media for creatinga national EFA movement, andpromote and support educationprograms focusing on non-formalprimary education, adolescenteducation, adult literacy, environ-ment education and continuingeducation.

Besides these, CAMPE also works tostrengthen, supplement and complementthe primary and mass educationprograms (literacy and non-formaleducation) of Government of Bangladeshby providing facilitation, networkingand liaison services as well astechnical assistance. Undertaking andcommissioning studies and policyresearch, advocacy and lobbying forsustainable and pro-people policyframeworks and effective programinterventions and increased investmentsin the education sector are among itsother important objectives.

Program Units of CAMPETo help achieve its objectives, CAMPEhas four major functional units:

Policy Advocacy and MassCommunication (PAMC) Unit

Institutional Development andContinuing Education (IDCE) Unit

Research, Monitoring, Evaluationand Documentation (RMED) Unit

Management and EFA CapacityBuilding Unit

CAMPE ActivitiesThe PAMC Unit organizes conferences,seminars, debates, roundtable dialogues,meetings and discussions on policyissues regarding literacy and educationaimed at creating opportunities fordialogue/lobbying with the government

and other policy makers. It also workswith the media, cultural groups and civilsociety in conducting several outreachevents and campaigns like literacy fairsand enrollment campaigns besidesbroadcasting/telecasting of motivationalprograms and observance of nationaland international days/events.

Networking with National andInternational OrganizationsNetworking being another key area,CAMPE is an elected Board Member ofGlobal Campaign for Education (GCE)and has a presence as a member inseveral other organizations with similarmandates like the Asian South PacificBureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE),Global Call to Action Against Poverty(GCAP), International Council for AdultEducation (ICAE), Asia JapanPartnership Network for PovertyReduction (AJPN), World Social Forum(WSF), Education Local ConsultativeSub-Group (ELCG) of donors inBangladesh, Federation of NGOs inBangladesh (FNB), Coordinating Councilfor Human Rights in Bangladesh(CCHRB) and the People’s Forum onMDGs (PFM).

BackgroundCampaign for Popular Education(CAMPE) is the outcome of collaborativeefforts by NGOs working in the educationsector of Bangladesh to start a populareducation movement. Following thedeclaration of the Jomtien WorldConference on Education for All (EFA)in 1990, a small group of literacy activistsfrom Bangladesh conceived the idea offorming a national network of educationNGOs. CAMPE was thus established thefollowing year with 15 major NGOs asmember organizations. Over the years ithas developed into a constituency-driven umbrella body of more than 700NGOs working all over Bangladesh. Theactivities of these NGOs focus primarilyon basic education.

Since its inception, CAMPE has beentrying to coordinate implementation ofEFA related program interventions withthe Government and other progressiveinstitutions to facilitate participation ofpeople in literacy and educationmovements.

Objectives of CAMPEThe major objectives of CAMPE are toincrease awareness among people of allclasses about the importance of populareducation in terms of literacy, democracyand human rights; establish andpromote a nation-wide network of

CAMPE Vision

A creative, democratic, secular andhumanitarian Bangladeshi societythat is the product of a dynamiceducation system.

CAMPE Mission

CAMPE is a national coalition ofNGOs working towards theimplementation of programinterventions in the educationsector. CAMPE encourages itsmembers and partner organiza-tions to develop quality materialsand innovative literacy models.

CAMPE is committed to formnetworks with organizationshaving similar vision towardsachieving the goal of Education forAll (EFA) both nationally andglobally.

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Programme HighlightsCEF: CAMPE, with the assistance ofCommonwealth Education Fund (CEF),has undertaken a project to strengthenthe capacity of civil society and policymakers in Bangladesh to help thegovernment ensure that the poor and themarginalized children are enrolled andcomplete quality primary education.

People’s Forum on MDGs (PFM),Bangladesh: Formed as a result of anational consultation in November 2004,to reflect on the progress of the stateinitiatives towards achieving the MDGs,largely attended by representatives fromcivil society organizations, sectoralnetworks, some development partners,media and relevant Governmentagencies, PFM is a civil society platform.In recent times, it has developedinto a broad-based coalition of 145organizations representing sectoralnetworks, umbrella bodies, professionalgroups, women’s movement, humanrights organizations and NGOs. CAMPEworks as the Secretariat of PFM. CAMPEis mainly focused on achieving theeducation related targets set in the MDGs(Goal 2 & 3) but as the Secretariat of PFMit is also part of the Global Call to ActionAgainst Poverty (GCAP) and is verymuch a part of the worldwide campaignto make poverty history.

Institutional Development &Continuing Education UnitThe IDCE unit focuses on facilitation oftraining programs to strengthen thecapacity of grassroots NGOs. It helps tosupplement the curriculum on basic andcontinuing education in addition topublishing relevant materials on the basisof needs identified by the stakeholders.The unit also takes initiatives topopularize emerging concepts oneducation through organizing actionresearch, meetings, seminars andworkshops. The IDCE unit comprises ofthree components namely InstitutionalDevelopment, Continuing Education andEarly Childhood Care and Development(ECCD). It has 2 sub-components namely“Environment Education” and “JuniorSecondary Education (JSE) for theunreached”. The IDCE provides trainingin wide ranging areas:

Literacy Program Management

Continuing Education ProgramManagement

Literacy Trainers’ Training

Literacy Program Monitoring andEvaluation

Training on Supervision Management

Teaching Learning Process

The unit also organizes tour andvisitation programs and providesneed-based Institutional Developmentsupport to selected NGOs.

Environment EducationCAMP, since October 1998 has beenimplementing the SustainableEnvironment Management Program(SEMP) a project of the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forest (MoEF) beingcarried out with UNDP grant. Aiming toraise general awareness of people onenvironmental issues and preparing eco-specific and specialized training andlearning materials under this initiativean Environment Education Curriculumhas been developed, a significantnumber of environmental awarenessmaterials and training manualsproduced and a group of environmentactivists developed. CAMPE has already

mainstreamed Environment Educationin its core programme.

Junior Secondary Education(JSE) for the Unreached/Hard toReachConsidering the importance ofequivalency of continuing education aswell as to provide cost effective secondchance education opportunities for theNGO graduates and dropouts fromformal schools, CAMPE has initiated theJSE project from July 2005 jointly withthe Bangladesh Open University.Preparation of curriculum and coursematerials for classes VI-VIII and trainingof concerned officials and teachers arethe main activities being undertakenunder this initiative.

Research, Monitoring,Evaluation and Documentation(RMED) UnitDocumentation, Monitoring andEvaluation are activities that are accordeda high degree of importance at CAMPEand the RMED assumes the mainresponsibility for these. One of its mostlauded achievements is the EducationWatch Reports which have beeninternationally accredited and also usedas ready reference by government, donors,researchers and practitioners. Active since1998, some of the reports include:

1. Hope not Complacency: State of PrimaryEducation in Bangladesh, 1999

2. A Question of Quality: State of PrimaryEducation in Bangladesh, 2000

3. Renewed Hope Daunting Challenges:State of Primary Education inBangladesh, 2001

4. Literacy in Bangladesh: Need for a NewVision, 2002

5. Quality with Equity: The PrimaryEducation Agenda, 2003/4

6. State of Secondary Education inBangladesh, 2005 (under publication).

Database Services andPublicationsPeriodically CAMPE initiates nation-wide surveys to obtain updatedinformation of NGOs working in the

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Mahila manthana: Using ICTMahila manthana: Using ICTMahila manthana: Using ICTMahila manthana: Using ICTMahila manthana: Using ICTs for women’s empowers for women’s empowers for women’s empowers for women’s empowers for women’s empowermentmentmentmentment

collectively. Says Dorothy Okello ofWOUGNET, “Women need to have asay in what applications are developedand promoted, and the only way is toget more women into the labs andfactories. Universal access entails agendered approach as well as giveswomen a chance to access learning andtraining opportunities, which will inturn build women’s technologicalcapacity.” (www.woughnet.org)

Areas of FocusGlobally, the projects around the worldthat focus on gender and ICT forempowerment can broadly be groupedinto projects that focus on

1. access to information for livelihoods2. using other ICT tools like community

radio3. creating storehouses of data4. education and training of women5. supporting women entrepreneurs6. linking of women producers to global

markets

1. Livelihoods information accessIn Eastern Europe, the Council of WomenFarmers, and the State Committee ofUkraine for EntrepreneurshipDevelopment, UNDP in cooperation withan NGO has started a telecentre projectin Ukraine to provide information onagriculture and farm management forsupporting women farmers whoidentified lack of information andnetworking tools as the majorobstacle for improved incomesfrom farming. The purpose ofthe telecentre is to provideaccess to information that iscritical for their livelihoods

Telecentres have been set upby many government agenciesas well as NGOs all across thecountry. The most importantservices that are providedrelate to livelihoods issues.

Information and CommunicationTechnologies (ICTs) can create,disseminate, store, bring value andmanage information in a way that fewcould have imagined. ICTs have made itpossible to reach the unreached women.It has provided them with an opportunityto participate in their own economic andsocial progress, and make informeddecisions on issues that affect them.

This issue of the ICTD Project newsletterthus reviews some of ICT for Developmentinitiatives for women and how ICTs havehelped in the empowerment of women.The latter part of the article shall dealwith the lessons from these projects incontext to the Mahiti Manthana project,supported by NISG and implemented byIT for Change, a Bangalore based NGOworking with Mahila Samakhya –Karnataka.

IntroductionSince the early 1990’s ICTs have beenincreasingly used by women andwomen’s organisations, for networkingand political advocacy. ICTs hold thepotential for giving women new space,for political action across nationalboundaries, for economic gain throughsupport for establishing localenterprises, and for enabling access tomarkets. Using ICTs to broadenperspectives, build up greaterunderstanding, and initiate interactiveprocesses for information exchange canaid women greatly. But the need to viewwomen as active interpreters ofinformation has been resoundedincreasingly across the globe.

A number of valuable resources areavailable on the web to assistorganisations working with women tolearn and use these digital technologies.The Women of Uganda Network(WOUGNET) is a non-governmentalorganisation was set up to develop theuse of ICTs among women as tools toshare information and address issues

Self Employed Women’s Association inGujarat, India, has set up TechnologyInformation Centres (TIC) in 11 districtsin Gujarat with the objective of providingcrafts related skills, computer skills, othermulti-media skills, and organizing andleadership training using ICTseffectively.

Connectivity through informationnetworks can support women’s accessto information, covering technicalinformation on sustainable agriculturalpractices and innovations, market newsand agricultural commodity prices,weather predictions and rainfallpatterns, recommended crops for theseason and information on institutionsthat provide expertise and training.

2. Using other ICT tools likecommunity radio, video etc.The Deccan Development Society (DDS)has trained poor dalit (the Indian socialclassification for the poorest anduntouchables in the caste system) womenin Medak district of Andhra Pradesh touse the video to represent their lives andredefine their status. Community radiohas become a popular media for womenand can play important role forempowerment and the right toinformation for rural women. DDS hasalso set up a community radio station inMachnoor village, with a 100-watt FMtransmitter having a 30-kilometer radiusreach. Supported by UNESCO, a smallteam of dalit women have recorded over300 hours of programming on issues

Case Study...Case Study...Case Study...Case Study...Case Study...

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related to women’s empowerment,agricultural needs of semi-arid regions,public health and hygiene, indigenousknowledge systems, biodiversity, foodsecurity and also local song and drama.Using multiple digital technologiesamong the communities has proved to bevery successful in initiating women tonew technologies and empowering them.

Self-Employed Women’s Association(SEWA) has used the video as a tool ofwomen’s empowerment from the mid- 80sonwards. SEWA’s cooperative, ‘VideoSEWA’, has produced video footage onmany issues including livelihoods of poorwomen. It has used the medium to shareinformation with their own members andalso as a tool for training and teachingnew skills, and to reach policy makers.Also, SEWA’s satellite technologyprogramme has enabled the organisationworking in over 10 districts of Gujarat, toprovide information on topics likePanchayati Raj (village governanceinstitutions), nursery raising and forestrymanagement, savings and credit throughthe use of satellite cable. Since a numberof women farmers and skilled worked inrural areas are unlettered, they prefer tolearn about the new methods and marketinformation through the video, phone,radio.

3. Creating storehouses of data

Women’s groups have been organizedin self-help groups, which focus onsavings and micro-credit programmes asa way to access small loans to start andrun their enterprises. This requireslearning a number of managementactivities like record maintenance, fundtransfers, etc. The Collectorate of WestGodavari, Andhra Pradesh, hasintroduced a software solution packagecalled ‘Mahila Spurthi’ that can do mostof the credit-related operations.

SEWA started using ICT by piloting itscomputerisation for a few activities likesavings and crafts activities limitingitself to one district. Today SEWA hassuccessfully developed software whichgenerates various customised reportssuch as community-wise artisanmembers, embroidery- wise member lists,grade-wise member lists.

4. Education and training ofwomen

The Delhi based Studies inInformation TechnologyApplications (SITA) providedcomputer skill training to poorand disadvantaged women.The aim was to empower low-income women from rural,suburban and urban areas,through computer training,customized to meet thedemands of both the publicand private sectors and generating ruralemployment.

Datamation Foundation’s ICT Centre atthe Babool-Ulm-Madarsa, Seelampur,North-East Delhi has been operatingsince March 2003 to take ICTs closer toMuslim women, whose mobility isrestricted by cultural prescriptions. Thecorner stone of the project is the use ofCDs for building skills of women. Morethan 40 vocational and skills-enrichmentmodules which include bead-making,dressmaking, carpentry, embroidery,candle-making, mehndi (henna),handbag-making, tailoring, etc. havebeen developed for income-generation.

5. Supporting women entrepreneurs

Self-employment through ICTs is anotherincome-earning area for the poor women.The Village Pay Phones project of theGrameen Bank in Bangladesh is asuccess story. The banks lend money torural women to buy cellular phones,which serve as Public Call Offices(PCOs). Due to cultural barriers womenoften cannot leave their homes to far awayplaces. These mobile PCOs also providean opportunity for women to getdevelopment information through thesupport of the NGO’s databases. A pilotprogram involving 300 villages revealedthat women were earning about US$700per year after covering all their costs, overtwice the per capital annual income inBangladesh.

6. Linking of women producers toglobal marketsOne of the most powerful applicationsof ICT in the domain of knowledge

networking is electronic commerce. e-Commerce is a field which, withorganisational support, can provideenormous opportunities for poor womenproducers to meet up the challenges ofselling their products in the globalmarket. SEWA’s Trade FacilitationCentre has considerable success in itse-Commerce endeavours supportedby its websites www.banascraft.org,www.kutchcraft.org and www.sewamart.com

In Lethem, a village in Guyana, anorganisation ‘Rupununi Weaver’sSociety’ formed by indigenous women oftwo tribes revived the ancient art of hand-weaving large hammocks from locallygrown cotton and then took theirexquisite wares online (http://www.gol.net.gy/rweavers/). Last year, theysold 17 hammocks to people around theworld for as much as $1,000 a piece- agigantic sum in this part of the world.

PEOPLink (http://www.peoplink.org/) hasbeen helping women communitiestraditionally involved with handicraftsto put their products online in the worldmarket. It is building up a global networkof Trading Partners (TPs) that willprovide services to several community-based artisan producer groups andpromote them to retail and wholesalebuyers in the industrialised countries.

The Mahiti Manthana ProjectThe above given projects provide insightsfor the newly launched project calledMahiti Manthana which is beingimplemented by IT for Change (ITfC), anot-for-profit organization, (www.itforchange.net) under the Women’sEmpowerment theme of the ICTD Projectbeing implemented by NISG.

9

Addressing Communication andIdentity Building NeedsParticipatory video techniques will beused and street plays, important ‘sangha’meetings and other ‘sangha’ events likeinteractions with panchayats andgovernment officials will be videorecorded. ‘Sangha’ women will beencouraged to video-document theirinsights and representations foradvocacy and for seeking interventionfrom authorities. A monthly newsletterwill be brought out for the Mysore districtprogramme of MSK, with contentcontributed by ‘sangha’ women,‘kishoris’ as well as by the MSKfunctionaries. Digital content producedlocally will also be put on the cable TV.As local media capabilityand processes are built, introducingcommunity radio will also be explored.

Meeting ICT Needs ofAdolescent Girls (Kishoris)The information and communicationneeds of the young adolescent girls or‘kishoris’ will be met by providingelementary computer literacy, leveragingIT to make available reading material inprint, providing life skills andconscientisation modules. The processesof making a vast choice of reading materialavailable to ‘kishoris’ will be workedthrough an innovative system over a digitalplatform called the ‘IT Enabled LibraryExtension Service’ (ITELES). The ITELESsoftware will allow ‘kishoris’ to browse acomplete list of books and journalsavailable at city/ taluka libraries. Therequest for books from each ‘sangha’ willbe aggregated and during the next visit ofany member to the taluka, books due forreturn will be carried back, and therequisitioned books collected.

Capacity Building ActivitiesThe key resource persons are the SeniorResource Persons, Junior ResourcePersons and Cluster Resource Personsat the district, taluka and cluster levelsrespectively. Increasingly, the ExecutiveCouncil (EC) members of the federationsand issue-based leaders of ‘sanghas’will also emerge as key resource persons.

The project is a response to a felt need ofan established grassroots programme-Mahila Samakhya (MS) and is beingpiloted in three talukas of Mysore districtof Karnataka- Hunsur, Nanjangud andPeriyapatna. MS is active in 9000 villagesof 60 districts in 10 states of India. TheMahila Samakhya, Karnataka (MSK)works in 9 districts of Karnataka. ITfCworks in the domain of technology forsocial change and has been partneringwith MSK on producing digital contentand supporting the development of ICTbased knowledge managementprocesses in the organisation.

This project strives to fulfill multipleobjectives at local and institutional level.It attempts to build the knowledge andcapacity of the self-help groups; addressthe communication needs of the ‘sangha’women and the adolescent girls besidesbuilding and sustaining the capacitiesof the MSK resource persons at variouslevels. Three other key objectives focuson intra-organisational knowledgesharing and process; access toknowledge and expertise throughhelpline, access to justice and legalredressal processes (both formal andinformal) and strengthen the governmentlinkages.

Meeting the Knowledge Needsof ‘Sangha’ WomenThe motto of Mahila Samakhya is‘education for empowerment’. Thisproject will make available theopportunity of using digital audio-visualmultimedia, chiefly VCDs and textualmedia to maximise absorption ofinformation and capacity by ‘sangha’women. Other digital technologies likedigital text, computers, e-mails, customsoftware, telephones, etc. will also beused to serve the objectives of MSK’sactivity. So while some ‘sanghas’ will beprovided the basic equipment to accessaudio-visual content (VCD players withTV sets and tape recorders) the otherswill have full-fledged networkedcomputers and peripherals. VCDs willbe developed in-house on importantthemes and well catalogued for easyreferencing.

All these resource persons will be trainedto access content from computers at theTaluka Resource Centre. Significantamount of content, organised through acustomised Content ManagementSystem (CMS), and interactive trainingmodules, will be prepared for theresource persons.

Knowledge ManagementActivities of MSKNew ICTs to support and developefficient information and communica-tion processes for the entire organisationof MSK will be used. It will coverknowledge management tools, anddigital platforms for better planningacross the tiers of the MSK. This entailsinternal office automation processes andpromoting the use of emails.

Other operational processes that will beautomated include a Project ManagementSystem (PMS) for MSK project monitoringand reporting; developing an MIS(Management Information System) forperiodic reporting; Extending the MISsystem to cover the subsequent levels ofthe talukas and villages; Digital supportfor SHG accounting, micro-credit andfinance management through SHGaccounting systems; and Significant andmeaningful web presence through anorganisation web-site.

Running ‘Santhwana’ Helplinefor Redressal and JusticeThe ‘Santhwana’ helpline will beoperated from the three taluka MahitiManthana Kendras to provide access tolegal information and redressal, and toprocesses of justice. The helpline willdevelop call-centre capabilities withvoice mail, effective call-classificationand content support through customsoftware, call recognition and recording,call classification for differentialprocessing, call-forwarding andteleconferencing with third parties,linkages with experts and with supportagencies like banks, etc. Telephones willbe the main channel to access thehelpline. ‘Sampark Sakhis’(communication facilitators) at thehelpline will be trained to give

10

information support as well as linkagesto experts and government authorities.

Strengthening Linkages toOutside AgenciesMSK women will use the offline digitalmulti-media (VCDs or video compactdiscs) for making petitions to government.The taluka Mahiti Manthana Kendraswill serve as the key digital connectionfor this purpose. The project will alsoexplore using simple e-governancesoftware with the district administration,for better efficiency, effectiveness andaccountability of linkage processes.

Extending the Services for Self-sustenanceOnce the ‘sangha’ is capable of, andcomfortable with, employing the newICTs for its own purposes, the MahitiManthana Kendra will be converted to acommunity telecentre, providing a rangeof information and services to the widercommunity. The project will also developlinks with the Panchayati RajInstitutions (PRIs). Financiallysustainable Mahiti Manthana Kendras

are expected to come up in other placeswith little or no additional investments.The model after piloting in Mysore, willbe absorbed in MSK activity throughoutKarnataka and then throughout the 10states in which MS operates.

Project Initiation ActivitiesITfC’s project management team willnetwork with the management structureof MSK, and a variety of expert consultantsof the project. The Project Co-ordinationoffice will be in Bangalore, ContentDistribution Unit, Training Unit andTechnical Support Unit will be in Mysoreand the Mahiti Manthana Kendras attaluka and village levels.

The project is in a needs assessment anda baseline survey phase. Since MahitiManthana is a meta-intervention, aimingto strengthen an existing intervention(Mahila Samakhya, Karnataka or MSK),the needs are being assessed at two levels.One, at the level of the ‘sangha’ women -for women’s empowerment, possiblythrough telecentres providing theinformation and communication needs ofthe whole village. The second level of

survey is at MSK level, exploring how canthe new technologies be used to maketraining and capacity building processesmore efficient, what knowledge bases canbe built which are easily accessible, howcan MSK’s internal information andcommunication can be made moreefficient etc.

ReferencesGurumurthy A, A review of ICT Initiatives thatfocus on Disadvantaged Women in South Asia,http://www. unifem.org.in/ bridging_the_gender/Nath V, Empowerment and Governance throughInformation and Communication Technologies:women’s perspective http://www.cddc.vt.edu/knownet/articles/womenandICT.htmLennie J, Rural women’s empowerment in acommunication technology project: somecontradictory effects http://rights.apc.org.au/gender/2005/04rural_womens_empowerment_in_an_ict_project.phpKole E, Internet Information for African Women’sEmpowerment http://www.xs4all.nl/~ekole/public/VIIOpaper.html http://www.un-instraw.org/revista hypermail/alltickers/en/0107.html http://www.kfaw.or.jp/english/00_10th1.html http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/ict2002/reports/week1.htmlwww.grameen-info.org

Printed with permission from NISG andi4d.

primary and basic education sub-sectorsand maintains a database to meet theevolving needs of stakeholders in termsof statistical data and quantitativeinformation. A Directory of NGOs withEducation Programme has been usinginformation from the database. Oneposter album - that is a chronologicalcompilation of posters - has beenpublished on Education & Literacy andthe second on environment issues isunderway. CAMPE also publishes amonthly magazine called ‘ShakkharataBulletin’ containing updates on literacyissues, features and other motivationalwrite-ups.

Information and CommunicationTechnologyCAMPE’s website (http://www.campebd.org) provides updatedinformation on its programme activities

and brief research findings for a wideraudience. Linked with differentstakeholders having an interest ineducation, CAMPE has a Local AreaNetwork (LAN) that consists of 40computers and other modern officeautomation equipment.

Management of CAMPEA Council comprising twenty-onemembers governs CAMPE. The Directorof CAMPE is the ex-officio member.The Council plays a pivotal role informulating policies and preparingoperational guidelines for theorganization. The Director is responsiblefor the overall management includingplanning and implementation ofprogrammes, finance and administ-ration of CAMPE. She is supported by aDeputy Director/Coordinator, who

helps coordinate all activities of the Unitsthrough the Programme Managers andother staff members.

Resources of CAMPELocated at Dhaka, CAMPE is currentlyfunded by SDC, RNE, NOVIB, CEF andMinistry of Environment and Forest(MoEF) of the Government ofBangladesh. However, CAMPE’s primeresources comprise its members’ time,expertise and assistance that have beenhelping it to survive and sustainitself through periods marked byuncertainty and constraints. CAMPE isalso proud to have a team of committedstaff members.

Dr. Rasheda Choudhury is Director,CAMPE and can be reached atinfo@campebd.org

Contd. from p.6

11

ICDE International Conferenceon Open Learning and DistanceEducationThe International Council for Open andDistance Education (ICDE) and theIndira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) successfully held theInternational Conference on OpenLearning and Distance Education atIGNOU in New Delhi from 19 to 23November 2005. The impressiveconference brought together over 400delegates and invitees from over 30countries. The workshop received anoverwhelming response with around 250full papers and nearly double the numberof abstracts being presented.

education, Vocational education,Training and professional developmentand Non-formal education.

Over a series of pre-conferenceworkshops, parallel sessions andworkshops, delegates shared views andconcerns about a wide range of issues.The occasion also coincided withIGNOU completing 20 impressive yearsin Distance Education and ProfessorH.P. Dikshit outlined the experiences andachievements of the pioneeringinstitution.

Vocational School Aims to Bridgethe Digital DivideKatha Information Technology ande-commerce School (KITES), a non-conventional school located in the heartof New Delhi’s large slum area,

Govindpuri, offers information andcommunication (ICT) training tochildren from the local community andaims to provide these children with skillsthat will help them to find employment.

Over 1,200 children currently attendKITES, which was founded bythe Delhi-based non-governmentalorganization (NGO) Katha four yearsago. Katha has been working for 15 years

with the urban poor in Delhi, India,focusing on women and children,particularly those who have either neverattended school or who have dropped out.

Several Information Technology (IT)companies have assisted in enablingKatha to reach these children. By supplyingcomputers and other equipment, these ITcompanies have contributed to bridgingthe digital divide between the haves andhave-nots, and to breaking the spiral ofpoverty and improving the quality of lifeof underprivileged children. Jyoti, Simoli,Irfan, Laxmi and Tehmina are some of theunderprivileged children who live inGovindpuri. They all love going to KITESbecause of the way they are taught and forthe sheer joy of getting to use the computersthat have been installed for them.

Aside from offering access to ICT andemployment-related training, KITESencourages children to attend school bydecreasing the monthly fee of Rs. 100(approximately US$2.25) in proportion to

Regional News...Regional News...Regional News...Regional News...Regional News...

The workshop was inaugurated by ShriArjun Singh, Minister for HumanResource Development, Government ofIndia and enriched by eminent keynotespeakers from across the world. BesidesProfessor H. P. Dikshit, Vice ChancellorIGNOU and Sir John Daniel, CEO andPresident COL, they included ProfessorJim Taylor, USQ, Australia; Professor Dr.Ing Helmut Hoyer, Germany; ProfessorFred Lockwood, MMU, UK; Professor Dr.Jan Olav Fretland and Dr. Dag RuneRamstad, Norway Opening Universities,Norway; and Professor Abdul W. Khan,UNESCO, Paris, France.

The conference addressed fivemajor themes - Internationalisation:collaboration and networking; ICT-enabled education; Quality andaccreditation; Globalisation, culture andODL and Distance Education forDevelopment. These followed fivedifferent stands: Basic, primary andsecondary education, Higher and further

such things as the regularity of attendanceand the frequency with which theirparents come to parent-teacher meetings.

Source: http://www.katha.org/KathaIT/KITES.html

NSOU organizes InternationalConference on “Toward aCulture of Quality”More than a hundred participants fromthe Netaji Subhas Open University andother ODL institutions in Indiainteracted with international highereducation experts at a conference on“Toward A Culture of Quality”supported by COL and UNESCO inKolkata from November 21 to 23rd.

The event was inaugurated bythe Minister for Higher Education,Government of West Bengal. Sir JohnDaniel, President and CEO, COLdelivered the keynote address.

Presentations from other internationalexperts included a discussion onUNESCO’s work in the area of qualityassurance in higher education byMs. Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic and MollyLee of UNESCO, the experience of HongKong presented by Ms. Wysome Yang,and the work of the InternationalNetwork of Quality Assurance Agenciesin Higher Education.

NIOS Develops QualityParameters for Learner SupportSystemsIn an effort to enhance the quality of itsown learner support systems, theNational Institute of Open Schoolingbrought together national expertisealong with representatives of their studycentres and NIOS officials on November29th to debate and arrive at indicatorsagainst which NIOS learner supportcould be benchmarked.

The lively brainstorming sessions andgroup discussions that followed helpedNIOS to come to terms with the issuesthat need to be critically addressed asthey seek to improve their offerings andthe ways in which they should evaluatethemselves, their study centres and thetutors at the centres.

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On M-Learning

Even as the developing countries are grappling with access and connectivity issues of technology, the developed world is allhyped up about the new kid on the block - the mobile learning device that is fast gaining acceptance as a teaching and learningoption. In this issue, we bring you a few links that focus on the potential of this new technology.

Readers may note that a few randomly selected commercial websites are included as examples of the range of services and products on offerand are not an endorsement. Editors.

http://www.educause.edu/er/erm05/erm0532.asp?bhcp=1 Enabling Mobile Learning. Article by Ellen D. Wagner, SeniorDirector of Global Education Solutions at Macromedia. There is a sense of anticipation in higher education technology circlesthese days, a feeling of prickly excitement that hasn’t been experienced since the heady days of the dot-com boom. Today, thereis a new buzz in the air—along with a growing cacophony of beeps, ring tones, vibrations, and occasional random soundeffects that startle and amuse.

http://www.nestafuturelab.org/viewpoint/vision/vision_01_04.htm The future of mobile technology: learning ‘on the run’?An article from Vision (Issue 1) - Future lab’s bi-annual magazine. Mobile technology has transformed our lives in ways that mighthave seemed unimaginable only 15 years ago. There are now more than 60 million mobile phones in use in the UK (one for everyman, woman and child), and they are no longer used just to make phone calls. Eighty-three million text messages are sent everyday, and sales of camera phones now outstrip those of ordinary phones.

http://ferl.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?page=65&catid= 192&resid=5194&printable=1 Describes the mobile technology availabletoday, compares the devices currently on offer, lists the benefits that the technology could bring to education, explains theaccessibility issues, lists some ongoing projects, and provides links for further information.

http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~nalinik/mobile.html Mobile Devices/SMS/Instant Messaging Social Science Research. NaliniP. Kotamraju shares her bibliography-in-progress on social science research about mobile devices, mobile phone uses, SMS/texting, and instant messaging.

http://www.w3schools.com/wap/default.asp WAP / WML Tutorial. The WAP protocol is the leading standard for informationservices on wireless terminals like digital mobile phones. WML is the language used to create pages to be displayed in a WAPbrowser. The WAP tutorial takes you through WAP and WML, and how to convert your HTML pages to pocket format, so thatyour information can be accessed from devices like mobile WAP phones.

http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT3908389811.html HOT TOPIC : Linux on a roll in mobile phones

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/devices/pocketpc/ppc/apac.mspx A Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC is ahandheld device that enables you to store and retrieve e-mail, contacts, appointments, play multimedia files, games, exchangetext messages with MSN Messenger, browse the Web, and more. You can also exchange, or synchronize, information with adesktop computer. Mobile-based Smartphone integrates PDA-type functionality into a voice-centric handset comparable insize to today’s mobile phones.

http://www.macromedia.com/mobile/ In the past, mobile devices, such as mobile phones, were used primarily for voiceconversations. Today, however, more and more people are using their mobile devices to read, play games, buy products or staycurrent with breaking news – things they would otherwise do on their laptops or desktop computers. Mobile is evolving as away for all of us to connect to our world – in a very personal way. But while this shift is a big opportunity for companies thatcan deliver relevant applications and content, consumers are demanding better user experience.

http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/Opera Mobile™ : Spinning the Web into handsets Take the Internet with you.

Worth While Web...Worth While Web...Worth While Web...Worth While Web...Worth While Web...

Appointments

Professor Surabhi Banerjee has been reappointed as Vice-Chancellor of Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata,India, under whose stewardship NSOU has moved from strength to strength, starting with an enrolment of6000 to its current 65,000.

13

Country Focus...Country Focus...Country Focus...Country Focus...Country Focus...

Malaysia

VVVVVideo Conferideo Conferideo Conferideo Conferideo ConferencingencingencingencingencingSystem-MotivatingSystem-MotivatingSystem-MotivatingSystem-MotivatingSystem-MotivatingDistance LearnersDistance LearnersDistance LearnersDistance LearnersDistance LearnersAt the School of Distance Education inUniversiti Sains Malaysia (SDE-USM),video conferencing system has beenutilized since 1995 as a deliverymechanism for teaching and learningactivities. The establishment of the videoconferencing system was a major boostfrom the earlier audio graphicsteletutorial system in terms of technicalofferings and features, thus allowinginteractive real time teleclasses to beconducted in a similar fashion, if notbetter, than the face-to-face conventionalclasses in certain aspects.

The video conferencing system at SDE-USM interconnects twelve videoconferencing sites dedicated for distanceeducation activities. Two of them are atthe SDE-USM building while the othersare located at various places throughoutthe country except in East Malaysia (thestates of Sabah and Sarawak). Due to thehigh telecommunication cost and smallnumber of students distributed over largegeographical areas, students residing atSabah and Sarawak are only providedwith the recorded version of the videoconferencing sessions. These studentshowever, may contact their lecturersthrough e-mail, telephone or interact withlecturers and other students via the SDE-USM portal. One of the sites at the SDE-USM building is the main video

conferencing studio for the lecturers todeliver teletutorials. Both the USMHealth Campus and EngineeringCampus have video conferencing studiosthat are parts of the entire video network.

Aside from the basic audio and videodevices, the main studio is also equippedwith several other peripherals, namely,a document camera, a computer, an LCDprojector and an electronic projectionscreen (electronic board). The documentcamera, which is also available at allother sites, is used to display anydocument and one can directly writeonto the document. It is particularlyuseful to discuss equations, graphs,maps or pictures. The availability of thedocument camera at other sites allowsthe students to respond to lecturers’questions in writing. Besides sharinginformation that is on a sheet of paper,the document camera may also be usedto show three-dimensional objects. Thecomputer, LCD projector and electronicboard are interconnected and integratedinto the system and provide analternative tool to deliver a teletutorial.

It is becoming the norm for lecturers toprepare presentation materials usingsoftware like MS PowerPoint. Thepresentation is projected onto theelectronic board and lecturers may write(virtually) on the board. Though the useof electronic presentation materials mayrequire a considerable amount of time toprepare, they can be used repeatedly andlecturers may opt to place the materialsin the portal and allow students todownload them. The computer is alsoused to run software such as moleculargraphics and compilers as well as showvideo clips.

The current set-up at SDE-USMis also capable of handling duovideo mode, the duo videofunction allows input signalsfrom two video sources to bestreamed, one from the maincamera and the other from eitherthe document camera or thecomputer. At the main site(lecturer’s studio), one monitordisplays what the remote sitessee (either the live video of the

lecturer, document camera or thecomputer signal). The secondary monitordisplays the live video signals from allother remote sites in small windows. Thisfeature is called Continuous Presence.Another feature called Voice Activated isalso incorporated into the system in whichthe live video signal from a remote site thattransmits the longest and loudest audiois shown in a larger window of thesecondary monitor at the lecturer’s studio.This allows the lecturer to easily identifywhich remote site is trying to communicate.

An important element in theinfrastructure set-up is the network thatinterconnects all the sites. Dedicatedtelecommunication lines are leased froma service provider to connect to sixremote sites, each with a bandwidth of768kbps. The video conferencing sites atthe Health and Engineering Campusesare connected at 2Mbps. Two moreremote sites are connected to the HealthCampus at 768Mbps while the two sitesat the SDE-USM building are connectedthrough a local area network and thewhole set-up forms the videonet in a treetopology. The bandwidth requirementfor the current set-up is considerablylower than the previous one due to bettercompression technologies. The presentsystem operates using the InternetProtocol (IP) under the H.323 videoconferencing standard and therefore isintegrated with the campus network(USMNet) through a router. Integrationwith USMNet is an important criterionin the design of the videonet so thatmeeting rooms and lecture hallsthroughout the campus can be connectedto the video conferencing system via theTCP/IP campus network.

Though the video conferencing systemmay operate at a much lower speed than768kbps, low bandwidth or congestednetwork affects the video quality. Basedon our experience, our set-up requires aminimum of 512kbps to achieve goodtransmission quality. The audio signal isnormally set at 64kbps, which producesexcellent audio quality.

Lecturers are not restricted to conductteletutorials from the main site at SDE-USM. Due to the full duplex nature of thesystem, teletutorials may be conducted

14

from any of the remote sites. This is a veryuseful feature of the system as it allowslecturers who have outstation duty to goto any nearby site and deliver theteletutorial. This feature also enablesstudents to present their final year projectwithout coming to the main campus.

The teletutorials are carefully plannedand scheduled, during weekends and inthe evening on weekdays so as tominimize the number of trips to the videoconferencing site that a student has tomake in an academic year.

As a measure to ensure that lecturersdeliver their teletutorials, a remindersystem named DEMon was developed atSDE-USM to automatically send e-mailto lecturers to remind them about theirupcoming teletutorial sessions. Tworeminders are generated for eachteletutorial, one is sent a day earlier andanother one is sent two hours before theteletutorial starts. A new version of thereminder system will operate very soonto send reminders to hand phone usingshort messaging service (SMS).

An important question about the systemis whether it contributes to students’

learning processes. A recentstudy among the SDE-USMstudents shows that learningprocesses do take place duringthe teletutorials. More thantwo-third of the students alsoindicated that teletutorialsessions are important inmotivating them to learn.Students also take theopportunity to exchangeinformation and interactamong themselves through the

system, either before or after teletutorialsessions. This is an encouraging findingand shows that visual communicationcan be translated into educational values.

Source: Dr. Shukri Bin Sulaiman, Assc. Prof.;School of Distance Education, USM;shukri@usm.my

Bangladesh

Bangladesh WBangladesh WBangladesh WBangladesh WBangladesh WorkshoporkshoporkshoporkshoporkshopTTTTTrains Prains Prains Prains Prains Participants in thearticipants in thearticipants in thearticipants in thearticipants in thePPPPPrrrrroduction of Digitaloduction of Digitaloduction of Digitaloduction of Digitaloduction of DigitalTTTTTalking Booksalking Booksalking Booksalking Booksalking Books

Youth Power in Social Action (YPSA) isa youth-led and youth-managed socialdevelopment organization. YPSAconvened the first “Focal Point Training”(FPT) session in Bangladesh for DAISYDigital Talking Books (DTB) Productionfrom 10 to 15 October 2005.

The major objectives of the trainingsession were to: develop the ability ofparticipants to use DAISY Productiontools to create DAISY 2.02 Digital TalkingBooks and to enhance the ability of

participants to create DAISY 2.02 files.Experts on ICT from Japan, Malaysia andIndia facilitated the workshop, whichwas held in Chittagong. The tenworkshop participants were selectedfrom YPSA-affiliated schools inChittagong and from organisations fromother parts of Bangladesh.

DAISY stands for Digital AccessibleInformation System and refers toaccessible and navigable multimediadocuments. In current practice, thesedocuments include: Digital Talking Books,digital text books, or a combination ofsynchronised audio and text books. Suchdocuments are useful for enabling peoplewith print disabilities (unable to read printdue to a disability) to gain access to, andshare, information and knowledge.

The DAISY Consortium was establishedin Switzerland by not-for-profitorganisations from around the worldand aims to not only assist the print-disabled, but help bridge the digitaldivide in developing regions of the worldand to ensure access to information forthe information disadvantaged,including: language minorities,indigenous populations who do not havetheir own script, and those who areilliterate.

YPSA set up in May 1985, the inter-national year of youth with an aim topromote sustainable developmentthrough a holistic approach. Over the past20 years YPSA’s development inter-ventions, staff, volunteers and networkhave grown considerably.

Source:http://independent-bangladesh.com/news/oct/14/14102005it.htm

GICT AWARDS RUNNERS-UP: BUILDING BUSINESS THROUGH ICTS IN INDIA AND MALAYSIA

“Putting ICTs in the Hands of the Poor”, a theme project ofthe Seelampur Community ICT Centre project is a tripartitealliance between Datamation Foundation Charitable Trust,the UNESCO, and the Babul-Uloom-Madrasa, an orthodoxMuslim religious school in India. Seelampur is a Muslimminority ghetto marked by extreme poverty. A modern ICTcentre was set up within the Babul-Uloom-Madrasa to providea venue for Muslim women to learn from interactivemultimedia packages on vocational skills, small businesses,and human and legal rights. (Case Study, Educom Asia,September 2005.)

The eHomemakers of Malaysia, was founded in 1998 as the

“Mothers for Mothers” network which empowers homeworkers, teleworkers, home business owners and those whowant home-based careers to improve their socio-economicstatus. The eHomemakers network targets women in thelow-income group, including unemployed single mothers withyoung/disabled children, the disabled and chronically ill, towork at home, through the strategic use of ICTs.

This year’s Gender and Information & CommunicationTechnology (GICT) Awards sponsored by the Associationfor Progressive Communications Women’s NetworkingSupport Programme (APC WNSP) and the Global KnowledgePartnership (GKP).

15

CEMCA Moves OfficeOn December 2, 2005, CEMCA moved to smart new premisesafter a brief informal inaugural ceremony that was attendedby CEMCA staff and a few consultants presently working onCEMCA programmes. Dr. Jagdish Singh, a long-time friendand associate of COL- CEMCA did the honour of lighting thetraditional lamp, symbolising new and bright beginnings.

CEMCA Bulletin Board...CEMCA Bulletin Board...CEMCA Bulletin Board...CEMCA Bulletin Board...CEMCA Bulletin Board...

The new office, providing smoother connectivity to CEMCA’sbusiness areas, is more centrally located, at:

Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for AsiaC-5/4 Safdarjung Development Area,New Delhi 110 016Telephone numbers: +91 (0) 11 2653 7146/ 2653 7148Fax: +91 (0) 11 2653 7147

Awards in Commonwealth Education GoodPractice for 16CCEM

Definition of an Education Good Practice

An education programme, project, policy strategy or significantintervention which has made a positive difference to the statusor condition of primary school children, their teachers or theeducation system of a country, in respect of one or more of the15CCEM Action Areas. The Commonwealth Education GoodPractice Awards programme was agreed to by EducationMinisters in October 2003 to recognize good and promisingpractices identified in our 53 member countries in the Six ActionAreas which emanated from 15CCEM in Edinburgh.The firstround of Education Good Practice Awards will be presentedat the 16CCEM Closing ceremony in Cape Town, South Africain December 2006. Finalists will be selected by a jury ofeducation specialists representative of the diversity of theCommonwealth.

Selection will be in two phases:

1. Initial short-listing in mid-2006 followed by

2. Selection of finalists just prior to 16CCEM in December2006. Good Practices which are short-listed for the finalselection process will also be presented to the ParallelSymposium during 16CCEM.

For the first round of the programme, the CommonwealthEducation Section is receiving technical assistance and supportfrom the Commonwealth Association for Public Administrationand Management (CAPAM) who coordinates a highlyacclaimed Innovation Awards programme for theCommonwealth public sector. Commonwealth Ministries ofEducation, civil society and non-governmental partners inEducation will be able to make Good Practice submissions ontheir work in one or more of the 15CCEM Six Action Areas.

Criteria for the Awards

The Good Practice must demonstrate:

Relevance:The Good Practice will demonstrate a socio-culturally sensitiveand economically appropriate response to the context andchallenge of education delivery in a specific country.

Measurable Impact and Effect:The value of the Good Practice is measured through Qualitativeand Quantitative indicators to demonstrate impact and effect.

Sustainability:The Good Practice is or can be projected to have positive impactand effect either intermittently, or on a consistent, continuousbasis as required, over the long-term.

Efficiency and Effectiveness:The Good Practice has demonstrated cost-savings and/or theefficient and effective use of resources in its implementation.

Community Participation and Contribution:The success of the Good Practice is enhanced or enrichedthrough community and civil society participation, ownershipor contribution.

Replication:Given similar conditions and circumstances, the Good Practicehas the potential to be replicated in the Education systems ofother Commonwealth countries.

For further information contact:

Dr. Roli Degazon-Johnson,Commonwealth Secretariat,Tel: +44 (0) 207 747 6289Email:r.degazon-johnson@commonwealth.int

h t t p : / / w w w . t h e c o m m o n w e a l t h . o r g / T e m p l a t e sInternal.asp?NodeID =146134&int2ndParentNodeID=38300

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(SLBC). The objective of this project wasto impart information to 60,000 familiesresettled downstream the Mahaweli riveron their day-to-day issues, help themshare experiences and acquire new skillsfrom each other. The interactionsbetween settlers and field officers madethe policy makers and senior officialsaware about various problems related towater distribution, health, education etc.and helped to address them.

In addition to Mahaweli, many othercommunity radio stations existed in SriLanka under the auspices of SLBC.However, it was widely debated whetherthese stations were actually communityradio or not as they were neithermanaged nor supported by communityor community-based organizations butthere was community participation atvaried levels. Moreover they weretotally dependent on SLBC for theirmaintenance as well as frequencies(Daskon, 2004)2.

The first truly community-owned andoperated Asian community radio stationswere established in the Philippineswith UNESCO supported ThambuliCommunity radio project. Under thisproject, a management and training teamwas set up that co-operated withcommunities to organize independentcommunity radio stations in lessdeveloped rural areas. So far, twentytwo community radio stations havebeen established in different ruralcommunities with local governance asone of the key issues.

The Sagarmatha radio station of Nepalestablished with financial and technicalassistance provided by UNESCO cateredto urban educated listeners of diverseethnic, religious and linguistic groupsaround the Kathmandu valley. Keepingin view the listener profile, the stationfocused on problems of air pollution,urbanization and its impact on heritagesites, tourism, threat of HIV/AIDS andso on. Nepal had nearly six communityradio stations in different parts of thecountry established by communitycooperative societies. However, thepolitical changes have gravely affectedthe working of these radio stations.

In Cambodia an NGO known asWomen Media Centre established acommunity radio station under aUNESCO programme entitled ‘WomenSpeaking to Women.’ Today, CMCwomen’s radio has become one of themost popular radio stations in Cambodia.

Community Radio in India:Some ExperiencesIn India, the roots of community radio canbe traced to the setting up of a local radiostation at Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu in 1984and later, five other local radio stations.The aim was to use broadcasting as themouthpiece of the local community, reflectand enrich their lives. However, this idealwas difficult to pursue as these local radiostations were a part of the nationwidenetwork of All India Radio in whichgovernment officials who were urbaneducated professionals were appointed.These local radio stations did not reflectthe needs and sensitivities of the locallisteners and were not community radioin the real sense of the term.

A strong movement to promotecommunity radio in India took root in1996 when a group of communicatorsand academicians pronounced theBangalore Declaration for CommunityRadio. Similar other initiatives led to theMinistry of Information & Broadcastingagreeing on principle to allot time slotson FM local radio stations forprogrammes on local issues developedby community groups and NGOs. Underthis scheme, the ownership of the radiostations vested with a public corporationand within this framework there havebeen some instances of communitybroadcasting in the country. Currently,there are four active community radioinitiatives in India and the communitiesthat produce these radio programmescablecast, narrowcast, or buy time fromthe AIR local radio stations.

Voices, an organisation working towardsthe cause of community radio in India incollaboration with MYRADA, an NGO,were given a slot on an experimental basis.The target group of the community radioNamma Dhwani initiative was thepopulation of Budhikote village in Kolardistrict which cablecast programmes on

health and family welfare, women’sempowerment, micro credit andwatershed management, rural develop-ment and non-formal education. Linkageswith other institutions for training, leasinga building for the studio and techno-managerial support enhanced the processof learning and sharing.

Kunjal Panje Kutch Ji, an initiative by theKutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan(KMVS) and Drishti Media Collective,Bhuj used the medium-wave broadcastchannel of AIR with the UNDP and theGovernment of India providing initialfinancial assistance. KMVS boughtairtime as part of its communicationstrategy for wider outreach of their projecton education of women in the panchayats(village level organizations).

Alternative for India Development,Bihar, which has a radio initiative inDaltonganj, in the Palamau District ofJharkhand, uses purchased air-time froma local AIR channel to air the firstcommunity participatory programme‘Chalo Ho Gaon Mein’ with focus onempowerment of communities withspecial emphasis on women.

The Pastapur initiative of the DeccanDevelopment Society (DDS) inZaheerabad in Medak District of AndhraPradesh uses the rich oral tradition of thecommunity, and is managed entirely byDalit women. The DDS has involvedaround 70 women’s organizations,consisting of nearly 4000 members in75 villages of the district, for the managingand production of the programmes for theradio station. The focus is on participatorydevelopment and empowerment ofwomen. The media used is FM radiostation having 100 watts transmitter,which could reach a radius of 30 kms.

Some other Indian initiatives includeCharkha’s Pechuwali Man Ker Swar inRanchi, Self Employed Women’sAssociation’s ‘Rudi no Radio’ in Gujaratand Agragamee’s (an NGO) ‘Ujjala’ inJeypore, Orissa.

Educational RadioThe Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment, Ministry of Information

Contd.on p. 20

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Research Shows...Research Shows...Research Shows...Research Shows...Research Shows...

While E-learning has become universal, standards inE-learning are far from it and are a widely debated issue. Webring you here results of a survey conducted recently across across section of persons from drawn from a wide range ofIndustries.

E-Learning Standards Survey September 2005For some, standards may have fallen off the e-learning radarscreen. But in reality, standards are and continue to be a partof all aspects of learning. To learn how—and whether—organizations are using e-learning standards, Learning Circuits,in conjunction with E-Learning Network News, ran a short surveyin July 2005. Here’s what respondents had to say. (Results arebased 248 responses).

3. How many years has your organization been usinge-learning standards?

4. On a scale of 1-5, how influential are e-learningstandards on your purchasing decisions?

1. Do you care about e-learning standards?

2. Does your organization use e-learning standards whenpurchasing or developing programs?

5. Which products used by your organization supporte-learning standards?

19

6. How do you decide which standards to follow?

7. Are you getting value out of following standards?

8. How do you stay up-to-date on new standard releasesand documentation?

9. What best describes you?

10. In what industry is your organization primarilyfunctioning?

Aerospace 0.7%

Commercial training (classroom or online) 7.4%

Computer hardware and/or software 5.9%

Consulting 7.8%

Custom instructional development 4.8%

Energy & petroleum 1.9%

Federal government 2.6%

Finance & investment management 10.0%

Healthcare 9.7%

Higher education (Universities, Colleges,and Tech Schools) 8.6%

Hospitality/food service 0.7%

Insurance 3.3%

K-12 Education 2.2%

“Copyright © September 2005 from Learning Circuits. Reprinted with permission of American Society for Training & Development”.

21

western countries or in developedregions. To begin with, financialconstraints and cultural differences donot always allow for direct transfer,primarily because western forms of tutor-learner interaction rely on the tutor’sunderstanding of the learner’s needs andpredilections, something which is bornout of a considerable amount ofcommunication between the tutor andthe learner.

Secondly, the authors draw attention tothe fact that western models may beimplemented without the support ofadequate infrastructure or humanexperience. Further, in many countrieswhere distance education (DE) isimplemented, few resources are availableto cater to the needs of a large studentpopulation, leading to a situation wherelearner support is inadequate, qualifiedtutors are unavailable and drop-out ornon-completion rates are high. Thirdly,the book discusses DE programmestructure and inter-institutionalcollaboration so that DE programmescan leverage on existing systems.Consequently, the authors advocate tutor-learner and learner-learner interaction asa way to circumvent problems arisingfrom poor learner support and structuralcomplexities of DE.

With regard to the point on culturaldifferences impacting the wholesaleimport of (western) models, the concerncannot be overstated. In many Asiancontexts, tutors communicating with, orgetting to know, their students beforeproviding appropriate or adequatetutoring support, is uncommon practice,and often not an expectation on the partof the student. Very often, tutors work ona top-down approach where there is abasic assumption or a commonunderstanding of the amount of materialto be learnt, and of the tutor’s (trained ornot) ability to deliver. Rarely is therenegotiation on how one may best fit intoindividual ways of knowing or learning.

In order to circumvent problems createdby conflicting cultural expectations,

financial constraints, a lack of qualifiedteaching personnel, telecommunicationsand transport, as well as centralizedprogramme structure, the authorspresent two recommendations: theprovision of tutorial support through

print or non-print learning materials;tutors and fellow learners or peers.

Among the strategies that arerecommended, language and study skillssupport takes precedence. Here, theauthors advocate contextualised use oflanguage, largely through content-specific language support, as well asstudy skills and strategies that areembedded in the materials themselves.There is also a discussion on the need toprovide for women learners, particularlyby including women-friendly strategiessuch as chunking learning content, usingmulti-modal delivery formats andconsidering the physical nature of thematerials that are provided. Finally,using a less-formal register and a varietyof voices, as well as separating thenavigational voice and the academicresources are seen as more learning-centred ways of reaching out tomultilingual or less-skilled learners.

In as far as the provision of tutorialsupport through tutors and peers isconcerned, The art of the possible relieslargely on Lentell O’Rourke’s (2003)work on learning support in DE. Usingseveral case-studies and programmesfrom low income countries, the authorspresent a case for the implementation ofthe following strategies: community-based delivery, accessing tutors whocan teach rather than focusing only ontutors within the learning community,diversifying the types, duration andmanagement of programmes andworking on the integration of DE andtraditional, regular education structures.By and large, this section provides aconvincing argument for consideringways of modeling DE instruction andDE programme structure on local needsand local strengths. However, issuesrelated to variance in tutor-made tests

RRRRReporteporteporteporteportThe art of the possible: Issues oflearner support in open and distancelearning in low income countries

Charlotte Creed, Terry Allsop, RogerMills & Ros Morpeth.

This report was prepared by theInternational Research Foundation forOpen Learning (IRFOL) for theCommonwealth of Learning (COL).

http://www.col.org/Consultancies/05ArtofPossible.htm

Kuldip Kaur

The art of the possible: Issues of learner supportin open and distance learning in low incomecountries provides insight on two areasthat are of direct relevance to open anddistance learning in low income countries:the provision of tutorial support withinlearning materials and through teachingpersonnel and peers. Central to the bookis the issue of selective knowledge transfer,that is, the need for educators to examinethe assumptions and parametersunderlying a model or practice beforetranslating it to a new context.

With reference to the issue of knowledgetransfer, The art of the possible presentsthree arguments against direct or‘wholesale’ import of models andpractices which (usually) originate in

Resource Review...Resource Review...Resource Review...Resource Review...Resource Review...

22

improve quality and cut costs - all at thesame time.

The contents of the book are groupedthematically as follows. The introductorychapter by Christopher McIntosh servesto outline the various issues that arebeing addressed by the experts. The nexttwo chapters by Suzy Halimi and MaryThorpe indicate some of the generaltrends, issues and challenges in theareas of distance higher education andlifelong learning in the present times.According to Halimi, lifelong learning,the indispensable key to the twenty firstcentury, now requires universities toradically review their structures, modesof functioning, and attitudes. On the basisof her experience at the Open University,U.K., Thorpe cautions that whiletechnology has enormous potential, thereis still need to invest in the developmentand continual improvement of effectiveapplications of ICTs.

Chapter 4 by Greville Rumble andFredric M. Litto addresses one of themajor issues, that of funding. Accordingto them, technology has changed thecost structure and funding requirementsof higher education and hence theymake a distinction between committedcosts, flexible costs, and businesssustaining costs.

The next three chapters are devoted toexperiences from three differentcountries, namely Senegal, China andFinland. Oliver Sagna, while concedingthat lifelong learning has been hard toput into practice in the African contextdue to general problems affectingeducation and training, and theobstacles of the digital divide, describesan initiative in Senegal that shows howa beginning can be made to put theconcept of lifelong learning into practiceby designing a certificate course thatlinks work experience with the use ofICTs. The chapter by Ding Xingfu, GuXiaoqing and Zhu Zhiting describes theefforts made by the Chinese governmentin developing ICT-based distanceeducation and e-learning as a way of

during multi-site teaching as welllearner motivation – which is notdiscussed in the book – ought to beconsidered too, as these can sometimesdisparage the effects most learning-friendly materials or the influence ofmotivated or qualified tutors.

As a book documenting the manychallenges and intricacies of DE in low-income countries, The art of the possible isa valuable addition to the field. Itprovides a realistic and comprehensiveview of the account of the practice of DE,from the issue of cross-border transfer ofknowledge and practice to the many offorms of tutorial support to be providedto learners.

Dr. Kuldeep Kaur is Associate Professor,Faculty of Education, Arts and Social ScienceOpen University Malaysia, (UniversitiTerbuka Malaysia) and can be reached at:kuldip@oum.edu.my Malaysia

BookBookBookBookBook

Perspectives on Distance Education:Lifelong Learning & Distance HigherEducation

Editor, Christopher McIntosh;Editorial coordinator ZeynepVaroglu, Commonwealth ofLearning/UNESCO Publishing,Vancouver, 2005

Anita Dighe

Rapid changes are taking place in thefield of higher education in the presenttimes. Terms such as ‘global economy,’‘post-industrial society,’ informationage,’ and ‘knowledge revolution’ are fastbecoming part of the discourse ofeducationists. Ensuring lifelong learningopportunities is becoming necessary inorder to ensure that individualscontinually update their skills in anincreasingly globalized knowledgesociety. The rapid development ofinformation and communicationtechnologies (ICTs), and the advent ofInternet, e-learning and virtualclassrooms are enabling higher

education to reach out, on a hithertounprecedented scale, both acrossgeographical areas and to sections of thepopulation previously unreached.Education is now crossing borders -national, regional, sectoral andinstitutional, with a growing role ofprivate sector providers.

It was in order to address some of theseissues, problems and trends that thepresent book was jointly commissionedby UNESCO and Commonwealth ofLearning (COL). The book is a collectionof papers by experts from differentcountries and aims to be both an up-to-date study of the important and relevantissues, problems and trends as well as apractical manual for planners anddecision makers engaged in distancehigher education.

In the Forward, Koichiro Matsuura,Director General of UNESCO, highlightsthe issues that need to be addressed.While acknowledging that varioustechnological developments havebrought the vision of a global knowledgesociety appreciably closer to attainment,he is concerned that the gap between thetechnological ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’persists and that the ‘digital divide’ willcontinue to widen unless urgent stepsare taken to close it. Other challengesinclude those of maintaining quality ofhigher education, accreditation and therecognition of qualifications. A dauntingchallenge for distance higher educationis how to operate in a global environmentwhile remaining responsive to the needs,capacities, traditions and values ofparticular countries and cultures.

In his Preface to the book, John Daniel,President, Commonwealth of Learning,emphasizes that by making learningpossible any time and anywhere,distance education has become apowerful tool for supporting lifelonglearning. While discounting some of thecommonly perceived misconceptions, heavers that the revolution of distancelearning allows us to widen access,

23

by the author. Each chapter also containsa list of relevant Websites. The finalchapter by Christopher McIntosh drawstogether the main threads of the bookand reiterates a large measure ofconsensus over key issues, trends, andchallenges in the field covered, whilepointing out a diversity of approachesand perspectives.

The book has appeared at a time whenthe field of higher education isundergoing rapid changes, and theconcept of lifelong learning, particularlyfor a large number of developingcountries, is still somewhat alien. Whileit could be said that most chapters of thebook have relevance for the developedcountries, the fact remains that if theproblem of digital divide has to beseriously addressed, then policy makersand planners from the developingcountries will need to take cognizance ofthe debate that is taking place, learn fromthe experiences, and understand theproblems and challenges, so that withineach specific context, realistic policies canbe formulated and clear road mapsworked out for using ICTs for distancehigher education.

Dr. Anita Dighe is a Freelance Consultantand can be reached at anita.dighe@gmail.com

ISSN 0972-284X

is published quarterly byCommonwealth Educational Media

Centre for Asia (CEMCA).

CEMCA, a centre ofCommonwealth of Learning

(COL) Vancouver, Canada, is aninternational agency.

CEMCA’s mission is to promote theapplication of media and technology in

education in Asian Commonwealthcountries. For more information,

visit us at:C-5/4 Safdarjung Development Area,

New Delhi 110016, INDIA

call us at:+91 (0) 11 2653 7146+91 (0) 11 2653 7148

Our Fax No. is+91 (0)11 2653 7147or visit our website:http://www.cemca.org

email: cemca@nda.vsnl.net.in

Editor-in-ChiefDr. Usha Vyasulu Reddi

ureddi@col.org

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You are welcome to reproduce or translateany material in this newsletter. Please credit

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not mean endorsement by CEMCA or COL.

meeting the growing demand for highereducation and the need for providingqualified personnel in a rapidlyexpanding economy. Marja Kylamadescribes how the Finnish VirtualUniversity (FVU), created in 2001 as acollaborative initiative of all the 20universities in Finland, is administeredand operated and how it may be a usefulmodel for similar initiatives elsewhere.

The next three chapters by Insung Jung &Zeynep Varoglu, Jindra Davis, AstridScholten & Anne Marie Mak deal withsome overarching issues. These relate toissues of quality assurance, accreditation,recognition of qualifications forcertification, and cross-border studentmobility, describing some national as wellas international initiatives in these areas.

Tony Bates reminds readers that despitelimitations, there is now a solid base ofresearch findings that provides clearguidelines for the establishment ofsuccessful distance education practice.However, he laments that institutionaldecision-makers are often unaware of theresearch literature, which is the reasonwhy a large number of distanceeducation initiatives fail.

Each chapter has a checklist of policyimplications relating to the area covered

RRRRRescheduledescheduledescheduledescheduledescheduled

Regional Workshop on Demystifying E-LearningDue to unavoidable circumstances the two regional workshops that CEMCA was toconduct have been rescheduled.

We regret any inconvenience caused due to the postponements.

Original Dates Rescheduled Dates Last dates for registration

In collaboration with January 30-February 3, 2006 December 31, 2005National Institute of at DelhiOpen Schooling (NIOS),New DelhiNovember 25-29, 2005

In collaboration with February 06-10, 2006 at January 15, 2006Osmania University, HyderabadHyderabadDecember 1-5, 2005

24

EKDUNIYA-MDG: Workshop “Enabling pro-poor governance:Leveraging the power of ICTs” in OWSA ARM 2006Theme : The workshop intends to attract policy-makers,practitioners, academicians and activists from the government,private sector and civil society organisations from the SouthAsian region. Key issues reviewed will be governance in MDGs;Effective services delivery: participation, anti-corruption,accountability and Monitoring and Evaluation; Publicadministration reform: decentralization and local governance,access to information and e-governance.Dates : 23-24 January, 2006Venue : Agra, IndiaOrganiser : OneWorld South Asia inFurther Details : http://arm.ekduniya.net/workshop5-concept.htmlContact Person : Atanu Garai, OneWorld South Asia, New Delhi

International Conference on Life Skills Education for YouthDevelopment, 30 January 2006 to 1 February 2006, Chennai,IndiaTheme : Theory and practice of Life Skills EducationDates : January 30-February 1,2006.Venue : Chennai, TamilNadu, IndiaOrganized by : University of Madras, Department of Adult andContinuing EducationE-mail : lifeskillseducation@yahoo.comContact name : Dr. N.V.R. Kapali

3rd International Conference on Measurement andEvaluation in Education, 13 to 15 February 2006 Penang,Penang, MalaysiaTheme : Platform to share ideas as well as discuss issues relatedto assessment, measurement and evaluation in education basedon experiences and research findings.Dates : 13 to 15 February 2006Venue : Penang, MalaysiaOrganized by : University Sains MalaysiaWebsite : http://www.ppip.usm.my/icmee3Contact name : Sharifah Norhaidah

The Media-Asia Research Group’s Inaugural Conference onMedia and Identity in Asia, 15 to 16 February 2006MIRI, Sarawak, Malaysia

Theme : The focus of the conference is on the media in Asia. Thepurpose of this conference is to address the shape of national,local, ethnicised and gendered identities being formulated byand in, the media in Asia in the 21st century.Dates : 15 to 16 February 2006Venue: MIRI, Sarawak, MalaysiaOrganised by : Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak,Malaysia and Curtin University of Technology, Perth

Website: http://mediaandidentity.curtin.edu.my \

Contact name: Dr. Thomas Jayaprakash & Dr. Denise Woods

International Education, A Matter of Heart, 13 to 16 February2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Theme : This conference will bring together those ‘at the frontline’, those who see, feel, experience, international educationto discuss the development and impact of internationaleducation on institutions, disciplines, identities and culture.

Dates : 13 to 16 February 2006

Venue : Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Organiser : Monash Univeristy and Institute for the Study ofGlobal Movements

Website : http://www.celts.monash.edu.au/InternationalEducation

Contact name: Assoc Prof Yoni Ryan

HealthComAsia: The Asia Forum on HealthCommunications, Singapore, 23-24 February, 2006

Theme : Over two days of keynotes, presentations andinteractive panel discussions, a number of issues of concern tohealth communications specialists, media, educators,policymakers and civil society will be addressedDates : 23-24 February, 2006Venue : Singapore.Organiser : This event is jointly organised by Asian MediaInformation and Communication Centre (AMIC), Asia’spremier media research and development agency, and BusinessIntelligence Group (BIG), a leading provider of educationaland training services in the region.Website : http://www.amic.org.sg

Forthcoming Events...Forthcoming Events...Forthcoming Events...Forthcoming Events...Forthcoming Events...

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Thanking you,

Dr. K.N. IlangovanPrincipal, District Institute of Education and Training, Perundurai, Erode District, Tamil Nadu,India

Thank you for your interest in Educomm Asia. We have placed you on our mailing list, so from now on you will receive regular copies. Educommcan also be accessed on our site http://www.cemca.org - Editors

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