Social Technology - Leverage Technology to further Education in Rural Areas
Lack of education in rural areas has forever, been a challenge. The lack of education causes more societal, political and economic problems. Indeed if we could find a mechanism to teach the rural children, several of our problems could be easily resolved. However, simply opening up a school is not the solution. What we need is good teachers to help educate the kids in our remote areas. However, why would a good teacher not teach at an expensive school in a metro, where they are paid well? Unless, they are interested in social service, why would they go to a remote area and teach.kids for peanuts?
No wonder, then, we have to devise a mechanism to bring the remote locations and remote students to the good teachers in the metro areas and cities. Virtually.
Computer based trainings, remote tuitions using Skype or other video technologies are already popular in the market. Several universities also conduct distance learning programs. However, mostly the market of these companies are the cities and towns, students who have good internet access and good money. Also, such technologies have mostly been used for advanced studies, not for elementary education.
Having said that, their is no reason why such technologies cannot be adapted to impart distance education to remote and rural areas, where it is tough to find good teachers.
Players Involved:
Local/Government Authorities, Internet & Infrastructure providers, good teachers with a penchant for teaching and leveraging technology, students and parents, and local co-ordinator(s).
Local/Government authorities would need to work with internet providers and supporting infrastructure providers to internet enable villages and small towns so that live and hassle-free video conferences can be used to impart quality education. There is no need to build this infrastructure in the entire town or village; what is really needed is enhancing any existing school or public forum capable of holding several people with such infrastructure. Of course, good teachers with a penchant for using technology to provide education.
At the ground level, a local coordinator is also needed with basic computer education to provide local support and ensure local students are paying attention.
Formats
While live student-teacher interactions are the preferred format, it may always not be possible. At a minimum, elementary education would need all sessions to be live interactions. However, at middle and senior classes, some of courses offered could be pre-recorded computer based trainings.
Student coverage
Depending on the number of students, one or multiple villages/towns could have a single shared infrastructure, where students gather and get organized with the help of a local coordinator.
Implementation Considerations
A program of this size needs serious players who are collaborative and have the desire to be successful. An implementation using a pilot to test and learn would be ideal.
Lack of education in rural areas has forever, been a challenge. The lack of education causes more societal, political and economic problems. Indeed if we could find a mechanism to teach the rural children, several of our problems could be easily resolved. However, simply opening up a school is not the solution. What we need is good teachers to help educate the kids in our remote areas. However, why would a good teacher not teach at an expensive school in a metro, where they are paid well? Unless, they are interested in social service, why would they go to a remote area and teach.kids for peanuts?
No wonder, then, we have to devise a mechanism to bring the remote locations and remote students to the good teachers in the metro areas and cities. Virtually.
Computer based trainings, remote tuitions using Skype or other video technologies are already popular in the market. Several universities also conduct distance learning programs. However, mostly the market of these companies are the cities and towns, students who have good internet access and good money. Also, such technologies have mostly been used for advanced studies, not for elementary education.
Having said that, their is no reason why such technologies cannot be adapted to impart distance education to remote and rural areas, where it is tough to find good teachers.
Players Involved:
Local/Government Authorities, Internet & Infrastructure providers, good teachers with a penchant for teaching and leveraging technology, students and parents, and local co-ordinator(s).
Local/Government authorities would need to work with internet providers and supporting infrastructure providers to internet enable villages and small towns so that live and hassle-free video conferences can be used to impart quality education. There is no need to build this infrastructure in the entire town or village; what is really needed is enhancing any existing school or public forum capable of holding several people with such infrastructure. Of course, good teachers with a penchant for using technology to provide education.
At the ground level, a local coordinator is also needed with basic computer education to provide local support and ensure local students are paying attention.
Formats
While live student-teacher interactions are the preferred format, it may always not be possible. At a minimum, elementary education would need all sessions to be live interactions. However, at middle and senior classes, some of courses offered could be pre-recorded computer based trainings.
Student coverage
Depending on the number of students, one or multiple villages/towns could have a single shared infrastructure, where students gather and get organized with the help of a local coordinator.
Implementation Considerations
A program of this size needs serious players who are collaborative and have the desire to be successful. An implementation using a pilot to test and learn would be ideal.
