Learning Technologies in Developing Nations

Digital Nations , a project sponsored by the MIT Media Lab, "aims to address major social challenges (improving education, enhancing health care, supporting community development) through the innovative design and use of new technologies.

The consortium's ultimate goal is to empower people in all walks of life to invent new opportunities for themselves and their societies. The consortium focuses especially on populations with the greatest needs — children and seniors, underserved communities, and developing nations."

This is yet another example of the creative and innovative ways technology is being used to empower and change lives through education. Of particular note, is this entry on their "research themes" page:

Transforming Learning and Education — Today’s approaches to learning and education are woefully outmoded. Digital technologies provide an historic opportunity to transform how and what people learn—in schools, in workplaces, and in their everyday lives. We are developing new technologies and new strategies to support a “constructionist” approach to learning, helping people take charge of their own learning throughout the day and throughout their lives.

The BBC News series, Digital Destinations, also explores how web-based Information Communication Technology (ICT) is changing lives in developing nations.

Along with several case studies, the BBC series also includes a web-cast, picture gallery, and radio program on how various organizations are using ICT to provide education opportunities for children as a means to lift their communities out of poverty.

One of the most interesting stories in this series is how the wireless web is being used to provide education for children in Bangladesh and Senegal.

How will the introduction of social software and other Web 2.0 technologies further impact the learning and education of students in developing nations? Will mLearning be the solution? Or will educational podcasts be the most effective and easiest way to distribute elearning content to students in Saipan, Bangladesh, Senegal, or for that matter, Appalacia?



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