Overcoming Barriers to e-Learning in Bangladesh: A Case Study

1. Barriers in Promoting e-Learning in Developing Countries: A Case Study on Bangladesh Presented By Muhammad AsifHossain Khan Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

2. Points to be Discussed • What is e-Learning? • e-Learning in Bangladesh • Reasons Behind Limited Use • Prospective Areas for e-Learning • Barriers Likely to be Faced • Summary

3. What is e-Learning? • A concept of using computers and web technology to teach and to learn. • Includes • computer-based learning, • web-based learning, • virtual classrooms etc. • Two types • synchronous • asynchronous

4. Points to be Discussed • What is e-Learning? • e-Learning in Bangladesh • Reasons Behind Limited Use • Prospective Areas for e-Learning • Barriers Likely to be Faced • Summary

5. e-Learning in Bangladesh • By Bangladeshi organizations - NONE.  • Mainly used in different training programs such as Cisco (CCNA), Oracle (OCP) etc. • Online practices for different aptitude tests like TOEFL, SAT, GRE, GMAT are now being popular.

6. Points to be Discussed • What is e-Learning? • e-Learning in Bangladesh • Reasons Behind Limited Use • Prospective Areas for e-Learning • Barriers Likely to be Faced • Summary

7. Reasons Behind Limited Use • Unawareness of the Benefits • lack of initiatives of those grasping the concept • lack of concept of those making the policies • Few Internet Users • high access cost • limited bandwidth • improper infrastructure • small telephone network • absence of alternative means of internet access • low PC density

8. PC Density in Indian-Subcontinent Fig.: PC Density (per 100 in habitants) in Subcontinent

9. Tele density in Some Asian Countries

10. Points to be Discussed • What is e-Learning? • e-Learning in Bangladesh • Reasons Behind Limited Use • Prospective Areas for e-Learning • Barriers Likely to be Faced • Summary

11. Prospective Areas for e-Learning in Bangladesh • Training Programs • Government officials • Officials from private organizations • Small organizations having limited work force • Distance Learning Programs • Adult Education

12. Training Programs • Government officials • BPATC arranges training programs for them • About 1200 participate every year • Officials from private organizations • Consultants are hired at high cost • Off site training programs are arranged • Drawback • Officers either take duty leaves or they have to make time after normal office hours

13. Small organizations having limited work force • Facts • Difficult and expensive to send officers off site • Disrupts productivity • Takes away irreplaceable work-hours • Consequence • Organizations avoid sending employees • Remedy • Web-based training programs offered through web portals

14. Distance Learning Programs • Reputed academic institutions are situated around two or three major cities • Consequence • Students from all over the country have to rush to these cities • Education becomes expensive • Many cannot make it • Solution • Web-based distant education programs can ensure quality education for everyone

15. Adult Education • Financial crisis forces many to give up of education early • At later time they wish to continue with what they had left behind • Problem • Impossible to attend regular programs • Difficult to attend programs run after office hours • Solution • Asynchronous web-based degree programs • Can participate at any time convenient for them

16. Points to be Discussed • What is e-Learning? • e-Learning in Bangladesh • Reasons Behind Limited Use • Prospective Areas for e-Learning • Barriers Likely to be Faced • Summary

17. Barriers Likely to be Faced • Unfamiliarity with PCs • Poor English Proficiency • Slow Internet Speed • Costly Internet Access • Social and Cultural Issues • Economic Disparity

18. Unfamiliarity with PCs • Most people are unfamiliar with computers • Reasons • High price of PC • No use of PC in daily activity whatsoever • Consequences • E-learning will be hard to make popular • Programs might not be cost effective

19. Poor English Proficiency • Reasons • Everyone speaks the same language - Bengali • Medium of education is mostly Bengali • Consequences • A huge translation job • Translation might lead to distortion

20. Slow Internet Speed • Reason • Most people are connected through dialup connections • Unavailability of broadband or DSL connections • Consequences • Highly interactive multimedia courses will lose interactivity • Courses depended on rich graphics and animation will be received poorly • Might be impossible to achieve objective

21. Costly Internet Access • Facts • Per capita income is less than 500 USD • Internet access cost is at the minimum $1/hour • Metered charging of internet use • Usage is 30% higher in countries with unlettered pricing • Time spent online is 35% higher • Consequence • Will incur added cost on e-learning • Will limit the benefits that e-learning promises

22. Social and Cultural Issues • Facts • Very sensitive regarding religious beliefs • Approach of discussion differ from western world • Consequences • Already existent contents might not be used without modification • Have to be careful in content development

23. Economic Disparity • Facts • The gap between different economic classes is large • People from different classes posses different mentalities and share different realities • Consequence • The same topic might require different presentation

24. Conclusion • Bangladesh very soon is going to be connected with the information super highway. • We hope that this will decrease the cost of Internet access and will increase the Internet access speed. • Suitable ways has to be found to tackle other barriers pointed out here. • We believe that if the launching ground can be prepared, e-Learning will be very popular in Bangladesh within short time. • The massive popularity of Cisco/Oracle Training Programs and huge registration for computer based certificate tests gives that indication.

25. Acknowledgement Thanks to ICTP for giving me the opportunity to come here and participate in this wonderful workshop. Thanks to all of you for being patience.