[LINK] Will e-Learning Help or Harm Higher Education in Developing Nations?

[Tom Worthington]

Greetings from Colombo, Sri Lanka, where I am attending the 8th 
International Conference on Computer Science and Education (ICCSE 2013). 
In his opening speech, the Sri Lanka Minister of Technology Research and 
Atomic Energy, Patali Champika Ranawaka, emphasized the economic, 
environmental and social benefits of national investment in education.

Yesterday, before the formal conference, we had a tour of the main 
campus of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT). This 
private institution is affiliated with numerous Australian universities, 
some UK ones and accredited to deliver programs in Sri Lanaka. SLIIT 
focuses on ICT and business courses. The main campus looks like that of 
an Australian vocational institution in the tropics: http://www.sliit.lk/

I noticed a sign about mid semester one hour  examinations. SLIIT use 
Moodle for e-learning, but the primary teaching mode appears to be 
face-to-face in conventional classrooms. I noticed one course offered 
was Introduction to Renewable Energy from Curtin University: 
http://handbook.curtin.edu.au/units/31/314207.html

There may be scope for offering my ICT Sustainability course to the 
engineering, ICT and business students: 
http://www.tomw.net.au/ict_sustainability/

An interesting issue is what effect will e-learning have on institutions 
like SLIIT.  Currently SLIIT acts as a satellite campus and feeder to 
for overseas institutions. Students can complete lower level 
qualifications at SLIIT and travel overseas for advanced studies. 
However, if students can undertake much or all of their studies on-line, 
there may be less need for these partnerships. But,  it is more likely 
that the services offered at campuses will change, as they are in 
Australia, with fewer lecture theaters and more informal spaces for 
small groups of students.

More at: 
http://blog.tomw.net.au/2013/04/information-technology-education-in-sri.html


-- 
Tom Worthington FACS CP, TomW Communications Pty Ltd. t: 0419496150
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617, Australia  http://www.tomw.net.au
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards
Legislation

Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Research School of Computer Science,
Australian National University http://cs.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP7310/