The availability of bandwidth is a topic that comes up at every conference or discussion on information and communications technologies (ICTs), e-learning or telecommunications. Internet access points are popping up in many countries where one can drop in and use an existing computer (such as an Internet cafe) or upload and download your e-mail via wireless connection (WiFi). The limitation of WiFi in most offices, hotels and Internet cafes is that computers have to be within about 20 metres of the WiFi hub (transmitter/receiver) to be effective. This distance may be extended to about 100 metres in some installations, but connectivity is severely limited.
An emerging technology called WiMAX breaks the distance barrier of WiFi and extends the range up to about 50 kilometres. This technology, requiring no telephone or television cables, has been implemented in Australia and is due out in South Africa by early 2005. The international WiMAX standard, known as "802.16" provides a broadband wireless connection that is faster than either cable modems or ADSL telephone lines can provide. Being a wireless technology and able to cover much larger sections of a city at a time, it is likely to gain a foot-hold in high-density cities where people who are moving about the region are demanding faster Internet access than they can get through conventional dial-up telephone lines.
The WiMAX technology is being backed internationally by Intel and Nokia while its implementation is carried out by local companies. Once a system has been rolled out in a city, a typical user of a notebook PC would have both the WiFi and a WiMAX installed, and the PC will switch automatically between the networks depending on which gives the better signal and where the user has an Internet access account.
Governments, telecommunications agencies and educational institutions who are considering WiMAX as an additional means of providing Internet access for their people should keep in mind that a principal connection to the Internet, via satellite or other high-speed link, will still be required if it is not already available. WiMAX may be used once the signal is "on the ground" and can be redistributed via a ground-based network including telephone, WiFi and WiMAX.
The available bandwidth will no doubt always be outstripped by user demand and, therefore, good bandwidth management is also required. One tool for this is the implementation of proxy cache servers. These are designed to maintain local copies of the majority of Internet pages that people use so that multiple calls on the same page do not require additional Internet access. These are drawn, instead, from the local server. Whether the web pages drawn from the Internet or the cache makes little difference to the user - except that the pages come from the cache will be delivered much faster than the same page coming through the Internet.
pcmag.com
cellular.co.za
budde.com.au
www.squid-cache.org
Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education in Asia and the Pacific 2003-2004 . This is the first survey that maps the use of ICTs in the education systems of an entire region. The project, conducted by UNESCO with the support of Japanese Funds-in-Trust, gathered information on 44 UNESCO member states and provides an up-to-date overview of the state of ICT use in primary and secondary, non-formal, technical and vocational education across Asia and the Pacific. It has a special focus on using ICTs to achieve Education for All goals and also includes a chapter discussing issues relating to ICT use and gender equality, which identifies areas for further efforts to ensure girls and women are not excluded from the educational benefits that ICTs can offer. The survey was edited by Glen Farrell and Cédric Wachholz and published by UNESCO Bangkok.
A group of decision-makers and practitioners recently met in Nairobi, Kenya, to review the implications of implementing e-learning in their institutions. Delegates from ten countries agreed on a statement of intent and created a draft "e-learning policy" document to take back to their institution for internal review. After the policymakers had departed, the practitioners continued on with a skills-enhancement programme that enabled them to gain skills in the creation of e-learning content suitable for storing in a "learning object repository". They also learned about the facilitation of online learning using synchronous and asynchronous chat.
The conventional implementation of online learning may not always be suitable and needs to be adjusted depending on each country's and institution's circumstances. A learning centre may productively use content stored in a learning object repository if it is able to download the material and make it available to learners who are studying in an offline mode. E-learning techniques may therefore be productively used to support many learners whether they be online or offline. In many cases, e-learning methods may be used to support learning facilitators or tutors who, in turn, support learners.
The workshop in Nairobi was conducted in collaboration with the African Virtual University with financial support from both the World Bank and COL.
Readings on e-learning
Moderating e-learning discussions
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Moderating online, by Gilly Salmon and Ken Giles
What has been done before, how has it been achieved, and what challenges are there?
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Reaching wider audiences through innovative approaches, by the Honourable Ann Ndong-Jatta, Minister of Education, The Gambia (delivered at COL's Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, July 2004): www.col.org/speeches
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Case studies from around the world: The virtual university and e-learning, UNESCO, Susan D'Antoni, ed., 2004
Overview of e-learning - COL's Knowledge Series:
Resource sites:
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e-Learning Centre's Guide to e-learning 2-7-2 - examples of online courses and tutorials
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Virtual Training Suite, Image Collections: www.vts.rdn.ac.uk
E-book resources:
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Effective networked learning in higher education: Notes and guidelines, Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology, Lancaster University, 2001
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Instructional use of learning objects, online version, Edited by David Wiley: http://reusability.org/read/#1
