eLearning A Global Revolution Adnan Badran MIT LINC

e-Learning A Global Revolution Adnan Badran MIT LINC Conference, Dubai November 2007 1

What is e- Learning Is generally defined as any form of learning that utilizes a network for delivery, interaction, or facilitation. 2

ONLINE learning is the future schooling for providing: education for all and increasing potential of ICT to meet different educational objectives 3

Online Learning • Expands opportunity of education • Expands quality of learning. • Increases delivery of learning • Improves efficiency of teaching. 4

Memory - The Brain Old Days’ Memory: Today’s Memory: • “Central Nervous System” • “Digital Nervous System” • We used to use the book, • The knowledge is managed by a teacher store the knowledge in our memory, and retrieve them as required. It was an educational system of memorization and spoon –feeding of information. downloaded. The teacher is a full-time facilitator to manage information and construct knowledge to deliver skills. 5

Future of e- Learning • Nobody has the exact answer • Graduates will be exposed to new information in one year than their grandparents in a lifetime. • Memorizing facts will have lower value, than utilizing information for decision-making. 6

Future of e- Learning, cont’d • Multi-career. • Change of career. • Lifelong learning. • Just-in-Time (JIT) learning. • Career development: learning by the corporate • Telecommuting learning: distance 7

Traditional vs. e-Learning Traditional Learning Teacher Centered Single Media Isolated Work Information Delivery Factual-based Learning Bricks & Board Push approach E-Learning Student Centered Multimedia Collaborative Work Information Exchange Skills-based learning Technology-enabled learning Pull approach 8

Potential online-learning: Pros • New opportunities to maximize learning potentials • Customized and flexible learning • No commuting time or travel • No constraints of cost geographical location • Learning while working • Learning at her/his own pace • Just-In-Time (JIT) learning • Learning to fit busy schedule • Re-tooling for the • No campus space is required • Probably less costly • Greater learning resources unemployed available 9

Potential online-learning: Cons Instructors need to be effective Needs of students for equipment and service providers Hard for instructors to move traditional content online Academic integrity of online students Time consuming for individualized feedback Lack face-to-face interaction Technical training of learners Lack of regulations of learning practices and quality assurance Effectiveness of assessments Lack of e-learning culture 10

Potential online-learning: Cons Cont’d Equity of access to learners of E-learning must be integrated different backgrounds into the mainstream accreditation and quality assurance – guidance, design delivery and assessment Requires new skills and responsibility from learners Lack of policies of intellectual property rights to protect elearning content authors Content developers have to be Lack of social interactive trained in instructional design, aspects of campus and learning theory classrooms 11

ICT was the fastest growing technology during the last decades. Internet has reached 25% or the world's population, faster than any other innovation. Innovation Years Electricity 45 years Telephone 35 years Radio 22 years Television 26 years Cellular 13 years Internet 7 years 12

Number of Internet users in the world per language, 2007 other 13

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Internet Penetration: Top 10 OIC Countries Source: http: //www. internetworldstats. com and Zou’bi (2007) 16

Internet Penetration: Lowest 10 OIC Countries Source: http: //www. internetworldstats. com and Zou’bi (2007) 17

What might learning look like in the future? • Time flexible • Geography independent • Competitive cost / value • Learner-centered • Technology embracing • Ethnically diverse 18

Creativity and innovations • Change of schooling from disseminators to facilitators of • • • knowledge Learning to structure knowledge from avalanche of information Learning to learn, to think, to analyze, and solve problems – to create the analytical mind To develop the inquisitive mind to discover the unknown To integrate ICT in the learning process Self-learning and long-life learning To transfer knowledge into application and technology 19

ICT-based education • brain-intensive, knowledge-driven • Renovate educational system: blended integrated • • • approach Motivate bright students to take up careers in technology-enabled education ICT for all Assistantships, fellowships and training North-South and South-South post-doctoral programs Brain-gains into brain-bank for building capacity and excellence 20

Entrepreneurs • Stimulate educational environment to create • • • entrepreneurs Provide co-op education Access to incubators of creative ideas Graduation projects Provide time and space to nurture entrepreneurial trends Provide access to information through networks Access to venture capital 21

Organizations that deliver learning, need to consider: • Realize what market they serve • Be responsive to learner needs • Prove their value to learners • Listen closely to the needs of business • Upgrade the quality of instruction • Look for partnerships with other complementary organizations • Find creative ways to certify learning credentials 22

To predict learning for the future: • The corporate will compete directly with colleges and high schools. • Partnerships and mergers between learning institutions, publishers, technology providers will consolidate for the marketplace. • Schools and colleges will be taken over or will go out of business 23

To predict learning for the future: Cont’d • Role of instructors will be broken down into • • multiple positions: curriculum design, content delivery, classroom facilitator, learner support, etc. His role as a spoon feeder will vanish. Top instructors will be hired by the private sector for all the positions stated above. Fewer students will get the traditional on-campus degree, and most will get at least a portion of it online and off-campus. • A much greater percentage of learning (formal and informal) will take place online. 24

Why do people learn? Many answers Work? Wealth? Economy? Development? Opportunity? 25

Some intellectuals say that most of us make our living from ‘ thin air’ Do We? This is exactly what Bill Gates, is doing. 26

This is what is happening rd in the 3 millennium: generation of wealth is no more farms, lands or factories, but creativity and ideas 27

Jordan Initiative Educational Reform For Knowledge Economy Program COMPONENT 1 National Strategy and Public Relations Campaign Organizational Change Education Decision Support System ACCESS Monitoring and Evaluation EQUITY Institutional Arrangements COMPONENT 2 Curriculum Renewal Teacher Training Student Assessment Resources for Learning Effectiveness of the Process of Implementation QUALITY Appropriateness of the Substance of Implementation COMPONENT 3 Renovation of Existing Schools Building of New Schools PLANNING Computer Labs and Science Labs Kindergarten Classrooms COORDINATION LEADERSHIP Source: Ministry of Education - Jordan COMPONENT 4 KG Curriculum, Licensing and ECE Teacher Training Kindergartens for the Poor Public Awareness and Understanding 28

Finally, What can we do? • e-learning is a new culture of learning • Resistance to e-learning is not because of the product, but simply because human nature is reluctant to innovate and change. • It is expected that bureaucratic ministries of education and governments will gradually accredit and recognize e-learning or otherwise they become obsolete • It is us who can implant the technology – enabled education among our students • It is us who can change the rules and implant the culture of e-learning 29

Thank You 30