One thing leads to another

Everyday(well maybe not every day) I struggle with my crusade for technology implementation in developing countries. Studying in the United States and being exposed to all the wonderful technologies available in the schools, I can't help but be "amped" about possible implementation in my home land. At one point, I had forgotten about the underlying infrastructure that needed to be in place for implementation of these technologies to be successful. This is a very dangerous place to be because there have been individuals that leave the United States(and other industralised nations) and rush to developing economies like mine and embark on this technology implementation journey and it falls flat because adequate infrastructure is not available to support their efforts. Many developing economies are investing in infrastructural developments to support technology implementation but their progress is slower than most will like. My question is how can these countries work towards bridging the digital divide(gap between people/countries with adequate technology and those without) that exists between them and the developed nations, so they can reap the fruits of globalization. This might be where implementing appropriate technologies comes in.

An appropriate technology is simply technology that fits (http://journeytoforever.org/at.html). Wikipedia defined it as technology that is designed with special consideration to the environmental, ethical, cultural, social and economical aspects of the community it is intended. I like Wikipedia's definition because it appealed to me better than the others I found. A few weeks ago, I found myself in the middle of an informal round table discussion with people also interested in technology integration and someone pointed out that appropriate technologies do nothing to enhance growth in a society and will do nothing in helping developing economies bridge the digital divide. His comment was immediately shut down by the rest of the table, everyone else seemed to agree that the rush to introduce modern technologies(without considering its appropriateness) especially in education just creates a greater gap. The gigantic expenses incured from implementing these technologies leaves little investment for the other important aspects of implementation such as initial training, ongoing support(in terms of technology support and teaching and learning support) for students and teachers. These aspects are often ignored and resistance occurs causing the newly implemented technologies to fail and all that money is wasted and the digital divide still exists and might get wider.

Once the discussion/debate was over, I realised one thing; appropriate technology or not, innovations by way of technology implementation fail because of the way they are introduced into a society. If I think about my country, and the ongoing advancements in technology infrastructure...I start to make sense of why certain things are not "catching on". Lecturers are asked to used WebCT for example, they get a one day workshop and are sent on their merry way to teach with this tool. No one is going to use it because a one day workshop without ongoing support and development opportunities.

Going back to one of my first thoughts, the necessary infrastructure needs to be in place for any technology to be successful. Implementers think of infrastructure(the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization) mainly in terms of electricity, hardware..etc but forget that alleviating users fears by providing proper support can make or break any innovation.

**Today's blog was me "thinking out loud" in preparation for a paper I am putting together and my thoughts might be all over the place :)**

Catching up

I've been having "blogger's block". There have been so many interesting things going on in the world of learning technologies but the block got the best of me. I know we have talked about this issue time over but I am beginning to think of effective and appropriate learning technologies that should be made available to our classrooms. I think of everything from technologies that students bring into class like personal computers to the overhead projector etc. I will focus on "student-provided" technology.

I always think of learning technologies and its application or diffusion into developing or emerging communities (I don't know what we are referred to these days). I think of my future classroom in my home country, we are having class in one of the computer labs or all my students have their own laptops (as in becoming the case today)...how do I keep my students focused on the activities happening in class? It is one thing to send your student out of the class when you catch them texting or reading the newspaper (my blood boils over when I think of someone doing that) but how do you control the student doing everything but paying attention? What are your experiences? Is there a technology that lets the instructor/facilitator control the computers in the classroom or monitor personal computer activity (and this monitoring only happens during classtime so technically I would not be invading anyone's privacy). What can we do?

Putting Faculty on blast (in a good way)

The chronicle of higher ed was also my source of news this week, there is an interesting piece on a new website aimed at displaying inventions of university faculty members to scientists and practitioners in various fields. I thought this was amazing because I have seen and heard of AMAZING ideas, concepts, work that have been developed at universities that sometimes go un-noticed because of lack of funds to further research or lack of right connections to put the invention to good use.

The piece says "
The site, iBridge Network, ... lets institutions share information about inventions and research tools developed by their faculty members. It also includes features that allow scientists or companies to sign up for alerts about new developments in certain fields. In some cases, they will be able to license rights to technologies listed on the site with the click of a button...the iBridge site will make those exchanges easier. It will also be a way for industry to learn about the work of academics that might be of commercial interest.

I hope this website is advertised properly because it has great potential. Our own UGA Research foundation is registered on the site. I am excited to hear about collaborations that will be conceived from this concept.

Google playing its part to bridge the gap

This post is inspired by an article sent to me by our ever resourceful Tony. This New York Times article focused on Google's latest experiment in an East African town called Entasopia. The technology giant has financed a small satellite dish powered by a solar panel, to connect a handful of computers in the town's community center to the internet. This recent development is a huge step for rural developments and will open a lot of doors for citizens of that region. Individuals have the opportunity to access various educational sources that they would not have had access to in the past(there are educated individuals that reside in the rural areas for various reasons ranging from high cost of city living to caring for their aged parents), they can take advantage of Kenya's online university. Missionaries that visit small towns like Entasopia can use the internet to gather training materials for the locals.
The community center can use this opportunity to train community members on becoming computer literate and learning how to use the internet as a tool for personal growth and enrichment.
People might argue that small towns like Entasopia need basic amenities and basic education before they can consider large scale upgrades like internet connection. I agree 20%, the other 80% of me says such developments are good because of the opportunities mentioned above and it can be a source of empowerment for the small town citizens. What Google did will either open the government's eyes to do better or draw attention from other organizations that will invest in Entasopia's development.
I give Google a big thumps up for this one. Although I worry about the cost of maintaining such a satellite and lack of computer infrastructure(aside from computers in the community center) available to the people, I am sure that Google will take advantage of he widespread use of mobile cellphones as another means to connect Entasopia to the internet.

LMS' and CMS'

Is there a difference between Learning Management Systems(LMS) and Course Management Systems(CMS)???
If there is, I'd be the first to say I am guilty of using the two interchangeably. I had to look into them when someone asked me about the best LMS in the market and the best CMS in the market. After I gave my best "finally a chance to show off my one semester of graduate school" smile...I started rambling on in confusion, starting off with "they are the same thing"...my friend was not convinced by my weak explanation and to tell the truth, I wasn't either. At that point, I made a mental note to really understand what both systems are and their differences(if any).
During my research, I got even more confused as the many sources on google also implied that both systems are one and the same. Here are some interesting findings-

• LMS capture what CMS do and more, they have the ability to track the entire learning/teaching process of a particular course or learning episode. They can include performance management systems. The short of it is they deliver, track and manage learning and are suitable for corporate settings.
• CMS support academic learning and LMS support corporate training (This paper made some sense to me) Its a paper by Saul Carliner-Course Management Systems vs Learning Management Systems.
  

My confusion escalated when I went to Moodle.org and they introduced it as "a Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)"...Yikes!!!! I turn back to google and head straight to wikipedia and they agree that these two systems are different(phew); but wikipedia also confused me further by somehow inferring that a course management system is a content management system(this one is for another day) and then calling one of their identified content management systems, a learning management system.(content management system e.g WebCT, as a system focused on development, management and publishing of the content that will typically be delivered via an LMS and further down they identified WebCT as an LMS). At this point, I'm thinking(in lame man) CMS is the child per say, it is an environment within the LMS. Arggh, I'm back to square one.
At this point in time, I would appreciate any reputable source that explains the difference between LMS and CMS'(both course and content). I will continue to look into it, hopefully I can come back and give a better definition, with their differences or similarities.

Welcome to my blog!!!!

I am trying to get excited about blogging. I am an avid blog follower but have never started one of my own...until now. Stay tuned as I grow as a blogger. Feel free to leave tips, comments and suggestions on my various posts. Have a great day!!!!