WEEK 13 - ONLINE LEARNING IN THE PACIFIC

This week was another practicum week hosted by group 3. The learning objectives for this week were: -

1. Discuss the barriers to development of online learning in the Pacific.

2. Identify and discuss the appropriate strategies necessary to develop and improve e-learning in their settings.

 

Key Points

The following common obstacles, trends and recommendations were noted during the research on ICT in education in the Pacific nations. Although I could think of some barriers to e-learning in the Pacific (see reflection), I personally feel this site gives a comprehensive coverage of the major challenges and makes valid recommendations. This is adapted from the Pacific Elearning Observatory (PELO) which is hosted on the USP website. 

Common obstacles:

• High Costs: Equipment, Telecom rates
• Inadequate human resources
• Emigration of trained personnel
• Outdated curricula
• Hardware, infrastructure: sourcing & development
• Lack of incentives for schools and teachers, lack of job security
• Lack of awareness, uncertainty about role of ICT in curriculum
• Lack of software, collaborative platforms
• Lack of government vision, excessive beaurocracy
• Speed of change – pressure to upgrade, maintain and sustain initiatives
• Geographical isolation, wide dispersal of populations
• Evolution model: ICT in admin -> ICT in curriculum -> ICT in learning culture

Trends:

• Increase in delivery and demand for distance/flexible learning services
• Growing role of lifelong learning, multi-purpose online community centers
• Marrying old & new technology (eg. radio browsing, eco-friendly, low cost tech)

Recommendations:

• Offer incentives and Training Opportunities for teachers, personnel
• Encourage Champion teachers with rewards and incentives
• Save costs through collective planning, management
• National policies should align eLearning pedagogy & ICT practise
• Explore approaches to circumvent Telcos/monopolies
• Encourage local, district, regional coordination and experience sharing
• Develop national and regional SchoolNets to support, encourage online schools
• Support new teachers entering the system to gain ICT schools
• Encourage more Pilot Projects with clear medium and long-term goals
• Bring national senior, middle management in MoEs together to share experience
• Identify appropriate tools, software, common interoperable platforms
• Encourage and educate on FOSS
• Form broad public-private partnerships with specific ICT4D goals
• Education system data: Monitor, measure, evaluate -> chart progress
• Conduct detailed needs analysis and research on impact of ICT
• Design benchmarks for progress
• Improve community involvement in ICT in schools
• Provide scholarships for rural teacher trainees to receive high quality ICT training
• Develop local content: build on authentic values and local culture

 

 

Resources

A useful article titled 'E-Learning: A Survival Strategy for Developing Countries' by Robert Hogan & Akanisi Kedrayate

http://sta.uwi.edu/conferences/09/salises/documents/R%20Hogan.pdf

A local insightful article titled - 'Learners’ access to tools and experience with technology at the University of the South Pacific: Readiness for e-learning' by Shikha Raturi, Robert Hogan & Konai Helu Thaman

http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet27/raturi.pdf

Another useful report on the critical sucess factors of pacific learners.  http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/download/ng/file/group-996/n4006-critical-success-factors-for-effective-use-of-e-learning-by-pacific-learners.pdf

 

 

Reflection 

For this week one of the first things to do for this week was to discuss the unique barriers that the Pacific may face in its development of online learning.The Pacific is a diverse region with many small island developing states and territories with different land sizes, populations, natural resources, economies and cultures. Geographical isolation and small population with small land masses poses even greater challenge for development of online learning. 

On top of this because these small island nations are so small, economies of scale is hard to achieve and equally hard to compete with export markets that are very far away making these small island nations to rely heavily on donor funds from bigger developed nations. To develop advanced technology and up to par with international standard of online learning, it needs significant amounts of money, money which most of these small island nations don’t have so again if the donors are not interested in developing online learning (perhaps not on their agenda or foreign policy goals) then developing  online learning becomes sidelined.

Vulnerability to natural disasters is also a significant challenge. Hurricanes and flooding are common so technology infrastructure amongst all other types of infrastructure is constantly under assault from Mother Nature. Online learning is heavily reliant on technological infrastructure, electricity and cost effective internet providers. All of these supportive factors are non-existent on most remote islands in the Pacific.

Apart of the geographical isolation and natural disasters our small island nations struggle with good governance. Some of our islands are very rich in resources and are rich in $$$ so if they put their mind to it can afford to dramatically develop the education sector including online learning but corruption and lack of accountability have put these countries again in dire straits financially.

 

Personally I do not think that Pacific learners are very different from learners all over the world but we are unique in some ways for example we are brought up in a strong culture of partnerships and collaborations (useful traits for survival in isolated communities surrounded by miles of ocean!!) and western education is based on mainly individualistic achievements and competition with your peers. This can create conflict in the minds of pacific learners.

So extrapolating from how we are brought up in the Pacific, I think it would be a good idea to create active learning communities in an online environment from the very beginning.

The ‘Critical Success Factors for Effective Use of E-learning by Pasifika Learners’ report provides a literature review and summary of research into Pacific learning and Pacific e-learning. It states that the following factors will increase a pacific learner’s success - 

• Incorporation of Pacific cultures and knowledge into tertiary education
• Peer Support
• Supportive Staff
• Students Motivation
• Initiatives to increase students’ access, participation and success with the use of student centred teaching.