A mobile e-learning environment for developing countries : The Bangladesh Virtual Interactive Classroom

• This paper reports a project working to improve distance education in Bangladesh by means of a low-cost, large-scale interactive learning environment using video, mobile phones, SMS-based tools administered in a Learning Management System, and innovative pedagogy based on the student-centred learning model. The paper addresses the question of, how to use existing mobile telephony technical infrastructure to create interactive learning environments which can reach the majority of the population, be able to include many thousand students, and be sustainable from a resource perspective including the operational model of institutions providing education. This question includes challenges relating to pedagogy and teaching methods, technical tools for learning and communication, and institutional arrangements. The paper addresses these challenges by the illustrative case of the Bangladesh Virtual Interactive Classroom testing the tools and ideas in course at Bangladesh Open University (BOU). We find that our tools are feasible and usable but also that sustainability requires meeting organizational and social challenges. This research contributes by providing the first LMS that can be fully used from standard mobile phones and by showing how to arrange low-cost distance tuition with only minimal ICT infrastructure, an example transferable to other developing countries.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Data- och informationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Computer and Information Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

E-learning

m-learning

SMS

mobile phones

pedagogy

student-centred learning

LMS

learning management system

Informatics, computer and systems science

Informatik, data- och systemvetenskap

Informatik

Informatics

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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