Diffusion of Appropriate Educational Technology in Open and Distance Learning in Developing Commonwealth Countries

Consultant's report

Diffusion of Appropriate Educational Technology 
in Open and Distance Learning 
in Developing Commonwealth Countries

Professor Roy Williams, Internet Learning Trust, U.K.

August 2000

Executive Summary

Introduction

The goal of the  Diffusion of Appropriate Educational Technology in Open & Distance Learning in Developing Commonwealth Countries project was to systematise some of what was known anecdotally, primarily for developing countries.  It aimed to investigate why and how various factors seem to impede the wider and more effective use of educational technologies, and what environments would be more conducive to their use.  It took place over the years 1996-2000.  

Aims

The aims of the project were:

1.   To assess

·        The use of educational technologies and communications media,

·        The awareness of their potential

·        Factors constraining wider use

·        The impact of new technologies

2.   And to explore possible solutions and strategies.

Process

The project consisted of three phases: literature search and document review, survey and in-country research of selected programmes and institutions, and field study trials.  The project has been successful in identifying a broad and fairly inclusive range of these factors. 

·        Policy (in telecommunications and broadcasting);

·        Attitude of administrators and academics

·        Absolute (add-on) costs

·        Culture and availability of English and indigenous language materials.

·        Macro-economic planning, and particularly investment strategies and commitments

·        Restructuring and change management, and flexible resource management and decentralisation

·        Access to telecommunication networks

·        Training 

·        Awareness of local potential of media.

·        Hardware facilities, skills and technical support

The survey consisted of two phases: a survey of administrators and academics attitudes to educational technology and barriers to the diffusion in selected developing Commonwealth countries, and in-country research regarding selected barriers to the diffusion of educational technology within those countries.  

The surveys were carried out in:   

·        Africa: Ghana and Tanzania

·        Asia: India, Malaysia, Maldives

·        Caribbean: Guyana

·        Pacific: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.

This was followed by the field trials phase, which decided to trial each of these in one county: Ghana, Guyana, India and the Solomon Islands.  The Solomon Islands trial was unfortunately cancelled because of unrest.

Overall Results and Trends

The overall trends were:

·        All regions face a lack of skilled personnel, data transmission lines, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

·        Africa needs more infrastructure, particularly in telecommunications.  Broadcasting should continue to be used in the interim. 

·        Asian infrastructure is good, but it should be more widely utilised, for culturally appropriate learning.

·        The Caribbean is said to be enthusiastic about multi-mode delivery.

·        The Pacific has good infrastructure, but need more policy and coordination..

·        Software:  Public - private partnerships could assist for software development (i.e. courseware).

·        Hardware and networks:  Non-networked solutions are advocated, in the absence of infrastructure.  Long term implications need to be spelt out, as well as hybrid/growth and development strategies.

·        Inhibiting factors are:

·        Costs  - by which is meant additional costs, are seen to be the major problem.

·        Access to services.

·        Pedagogical value of courseware does not seem to have been demonstrated widely.

Field Trials

In addition, the field trials showed that:

·        Training in new systems is essential for their use

·        If users are informed of the benefits of change, they will be more likely to consider it seriously and work to support its adoption

·        Policy and vision is necessary for change, and for the management of complex systems, such as multi-channel ODL (Open & Distance Learning).

Issues and Questions for Further Research

The issues and questions for further research that follow from the project gave rise to a number of particular questions, concerning:

·        Country status and strategy as an information/knowledge society

·        Institution status and strategy as a learning institution, and potentially as a digital/e-learning institution

·        Macro critical change factors, and the way they impinge on learning institutions.

Additional sources were consulted, the issues were re-examined and where necessary re-formulated, and some strategic tools have been put together to provide an initial framework for dealing with some of these issues.  These tools include the Mansell and Wehn Footprints of country participation in Knowledge Societies, and the Connections for Learning Maps for linking strategies on learning systems and learning outcomes.

Recommendations

There are three broad areas in which the work of the project should be taken forward:

·        Strategic Planning and Policy

·        Research and Knowledge Bases

·        Developing and demonstrating new approaches and models, and offering training and support for them.

Strategic Planning and Policy

The combination of the Mansell and Wehn footprints, and the Connections for Learning maps should enable countries, institutions, educators and even learners to develop strategies and policies based on an analysis of the learning opportunities they want to develop, and their relationship to possible developments in a variety of alternative systems.  What is important is to be able to make decisions on the trade-offs between the alternatives: in learning outcomes, in systems/technologies and media, and between the two. 

The footprints are important at a country and international level, and would serve the strategic needs at a Departments of Trade and Industry and at a macro-economic level.  The maps also contain information and indices on infrastructure.  However, these have been selectively "transcribed" to provide a systems perspective for connections for learning, and management issues have been added: institutional, ICT, and human resource management.

This makes up a map with two halves - the Learning Environment, and Systems.  When they are juxtaposed in this way, strategies can be discussed across systems/ learning/ and management issues.  The development (and "diffusion") of learning can be analysed and planned at learning programme, institution, and country level.  In terms of Government Ministries, this map should facilitate an integrated discussion on learning strategy between all the Ministries involved in learning and in systems and infrastructure.   

Research and Knowledge Bases

Research

There is a need for further research.  At a micro level best practices still need to be documented, analysed and evaluated.  At a systems levels there is, if anything,  a much greater need to research best strategy rather than just best practice.  A strategic evaluation (or impact analysis) needs to take all of the following into account: costing, financing, technology and systems, access, and the value of the learning.   The new media environment makes it possible to do so many interesting things.  The question is: Which of them are appropriate - for the present time, and to form a basis for future developments?

Knowledge Bases

There are always opportunities for building knowledge bases.  But the question of appropriacy applies here too.  At a relatively simple level, it would be possible to consider the following parallel developments:

The development of a set of strategic evaluation and planning tools.  The footprints and maps could form the basis for this.  They should of course be revised and developed and added to if necessary.  They can be made available as a series of diagrams and texts.

Alongside these texts and diagrams - quite literally: on one side of the screen (on-line or off-line on CD-ROM media), it might be useful to set up a series of icons, just like the ones around any standard word processing screen, which would link to a series of examples of best practice (and best strategy).  These  icons could link to examples by: country, region, media & technologies, institution, government sector, types of communities (rural, peri-urban, etc), and education and training sectors.

This might usefully inform the conceptual and analytical texts in the strategic tools.  It could be made available on- and off-line, at little cost, and updated in the off-line version a few times a year.  

The Diffusion of Technologies project has explored a number of factors, and the questions and issues that have arisen from the project point the way to some useful areas of future work: in strategic planning, in research, and in the related development of knowledge bases.

Demonstrating new approaches and models, and training.

There is a demonstrable benefit to assisting institutions to consider, plan, and develop new approaches to learning, using different combinations of technologies and media. 

The field projects demonstrated the value of raising awareness of new technologies and combinations of technologies.  These projects as well as the work of the Commonwealth of Learning in other projects demonstrates the value of assisting people to take the next steps too: to do needs analyses, feasibility studies, and start-up and support, in order to build and demonstrate models of effective learning. 

The crucial issue is to ensure that both the new development, and further training and support are sustainable, within a well costed, long-term scenario.