Abstract
Methodologies involving issues to empower remotely distributed communities localized with sub-standard or lower-standard information backbone are still in demand of imperative attention from the policy initiation level in each country. Hence, particular attention should be given to grassroot-level participants in formulating non-conventional approaches to elucidate on demand-driven content by articulating grassroots communities in homogeneous coherence, and at the same time emulating to multifarious conjunctures of socio-economic elements. Efforts have been given in this chapter in synthesizing contents dependent on technologies, meant for distant mode of education and online education including analytical approaches to develop a pragmatic repository of the education system.
TopIntroduction
When groups of users interact simultaneously and intensively through some medium, they progressively constitute a community. The community feeling does not automatically emerge because groups use electronic communications as it takes a lot of time and a lot of interactions. It requires sharing goals and, whatever that means, sharing experiences (Dillenbourg, 2000). However, the focus of the concurrent interactive learning systems is mainly evolving around the grass roots communities, who are deprived of basic livelihood pre-requisites. Therefore, this has become a competitive challenge for the global leaders to provide them with basic literacy, health and other supports to improve their livelihood. In these contexts: information, free flow of information, and easy access to it, can be treated as the primary ingredient to empower the grass roots communities for learning, livelihood management and knowledge development (Rahman, 2003a).
Effective utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) has lead the educators and researchers to avail means of innovative methodologies to reach out to the learners at the outskirts of the education belt. Though, initially intended for dropouts, or residuals of the under-developed society, but the distant mode of education, at its concurrent Diaspora, is no longer lies within, and has achieved overwhelming success in consolidating the core stakeholders of the society.
Extending the conventional norms of learning processes towards interactive and collaborative learning; physical networks towards virtual communication platform; point-to-point connectivity towards multi-point interactive connectivity; stand alone data warehouse towards inter-connected distributed repositories, a homogeneous backbone of education system can effectively be realized through the appropriate utilization of ICT methods (Rahman, 2003a). The intention of this research is to portray the current contexts, effective utilization and appropriate application for the benefit and improvement of learning and knowledge development for the grass roots communities.
The effectual manipulate of network technology to deliver training to the remotely located grass roots communities is the latest trend in the training and development industry and has been heralded as the ‘e-learning revolution’ is rapidly emerging across the globe. In an effort to separate hype from reality, this chapter reviews practitioner and research literature on e-learning, incorporating unpublished information from interviews with managers and consultants directly involved in e-learning initiatives. Specific attention is given to why organizations use e-learning, what the potential draw-backs to e-learning are, what we know from research about e-learning and what the future of e-learning may hold for the betterment of communities at large (Welsh, et. al., 2003).
It has been observed that ICT mediated learning provides utilities for achieving the goal of education for all, and in turn acts as an enabler in reducing the digital divide, reducing poverty, and promoting social inclusion across the globe. However, the integration of ICTs in education sector deserves considerable investment in terms of time and resources. Consequently, during planning and development stages for the integration of ICTs in evidence-based information for making sound decisions by the end users incorporate extensive research and sharing of critical information along different phases of planning remains as a challenge. Furthermore, implementation of ICT based learning demands in depth analysis and intelligent feedback of the processes. It should be understood that the technology does not improve learning in a straight way and the fundamental question remains always unanswered, in assessing the effectiveness of ICTs or assessing the effectiveness of instructional treatments that were initially (and effectively) less than perfect (Rahman, 2003b). This chapter has tried to critically analyze the effective role of ICT methods in learning and put forwards several success cases of learning mechanisms that assisted in socioeconomic empowerment and at the same time, provided a few futuristic recommendations in establishing similar endeavors in promising economies.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Civil Society: A non-profit, organized groups, clubs and associations in society that operate independently from government and the state. Examples of groups in civil society include universities, non-governmental organizations, voluntary associations, organizations, movements and networks that live and work in the social space outside the state and the private sector, environmental movements, indigenous peoples' associations, organized local communities and trade unions. A civil society can be organized at the local, national, and international level.
Collaborative Learning: It is a learning environment in which individual learners support and add to an emerging pool of knowledge of a group; it emphasizes peer relationships as learners work together creating learning communities. It is a form of teaching and learning where students work in teams toward a common goal. It can also be seen as an instructional approach in which students of varying abilities and interests work together in small groups to solve a problem, complete a project, or achieve a common goal. Collaborative learning can refer to any instruction method in which students work together in small groups toward a common goal.
Tertiary Education: The term has been taken to cover both further and higher education. It can be a form of education, usually very specialized in nature, and leading to high-level qualifications at the post-secondary level.
Knowledge Network: Knowledge is defined as the remembering of previously learned material. It represents the lowest level of learning outcomes in the cognitive domain. Network is an interconnected system of things or people. A knowledge network is a form of network through which information can be evaluated and organized in the human mind so that it can be used for empowerment.
Development Process: Development is systematic use of the knowledge or understanding gained from research, directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including design and development of prototypes. Development process is a project-specific process for delivering an application or other products to the end user.
Synchronous: Synchronous communication technologies require the simultaneous participation of the communicating parties. In this system, both the learners and educators interact to each other on the same platform and at the same time.
Distributed Learning: A type of distance learning that makes use of information technology, and facilitated by an instructor who uses video conferencing or similar means of technology to unite a class. It is a student-centered approach to learning that incorporates the use of technology in the learning process. This system of learning supports different learning styles by using mixed media, builds on the learner's perspective through interactive educational experiences, builds learning skills and social skills through collaboration among learners and with the community, and integrates the learning into daily life by doing authentic tasks.
Asynchronous: Refers to processes that proceed independently of each other. An asynchronous course is one in which the instruction is delivered at one time and the work can be done at a different time. In asynchronous classes, learners and educators use e-mail, listservs or other technologies which allow them to communicate without having to be in the same place and at the same time.