Experts have said that online learning
should take the centre stage in West African education as traditional
learning structures will not be enough to cater for the bustling
education needs in the region. This was the fulcrum of the Conference on
Campus Automation, eLearning & Faculty Development held in Lagos
recently.
In his lecture, An introduction to
eLearning and teaching, the Registrar, Ghana Technology University
College, Prof. Patrick Otoo Bobbie said: “It is imperative that we bring
to our people in Ghana and Nigeria, ways to make education accessible
to all. And the only way we can do that is through online learning.
Education is the key, it is the equalizer for any society, and if we do
not focus on it, we will not have a legacy to leave to generations
unborn.
“The institutions and countries that do
not follow the trend of online learning will be left behind, because we
cannot build enough traditional structures that can take care of the
entire educational system, this is why online learning is imperative. If
we have our communication systems in place, our students will be able
to learn a whole lot more. At GTUC, we are looking at having at least 50
per cent of all our students online very soon.”
Online learning can be practiced
synchronously in real time, or asynchronously when it is recorded and
can be played back anytime, anywhere. It is however, most effective when
it is taught by experts in the various subject matter. For students,
the advantages of online learning abound, they include but are not
limited to: design content with individual learning styles in mind;
collaborative learning that involves active participants and coherent
thinking; easy access to global resources; experiential learning through
multimedia presentation.
According to Prof. Bobbie, “there is
also a wide array of advantages for teachers such as: convenience,
inspired creativity, professional satisfaction which comes from teaching
a variety of students worldwide, expansion of curriculum in a way that
will appeal to different kinds of people.”
He also spoke on the challenges
associated with online audience. “There is the challenge of time,” he
said, “but this is an upfront payment that makes life easier in the long
run. There is the issue of lack of familiarity with the online
environment, lack of access to the internet, and then the fact that
there is not always immediate feedback and teachers may not be able to
provide quick response to students’ questions.
There are, however, ways of overcoming
these challenges. We must teach students to be computer savvy, tell them
where to go for what information, where to take tests and assignments,
create small groups and buddy systems to facilitate student to student
and faculty to student interaction.
Dr. Josephine Larbi-Apau is the Director
of the Center for Online Learning and Teaching, (COLT), GTUC. While
speaking on the imperative behind the COLT initiative, she said: “Only
about 6 per cent of those who go through Senor Secondary School in Ghana
have the opportunity of attending the public tertiary institutions. Let
us assume that about 15 per cent go to private schools, what about the
others?”
Larbi-Apau added that people who are
skeptical about online education worry that the quality of online
learning may not be as good as that of face to face learning. “These
beliefs are unfounded,” she said, “because it is the same lecturers who
are teaching face to face that are also in charge of online learning. In
other words, the credibility of such an education should be based on
the quality of the faculty in charge, and not on its online nature.”
“Online learning is the future of
education; this is why COLT is seeking to provide institutional designs
and technology, as well as develop educational technology programmes in
the area at the diploma, graduate and post-graduate levels.”
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