One of the most impressive uses of information and communication technology is the advent of e-learning. The current E-learning system mainly plays a role of learning assistance such as providing learning content or learning information, and sometime it provides channels or platform in the learning environment for discussion and interaction. In…

This article argues that the concept and practice of "self-organized learning", as pioneered by Sugata Mitra (and his team) in the "Hole-in-the-Wall" experiments (1999-2005) that inspired the novel "Q & A" (2006) and the resulting movie, "Slumdog millionaire" (2008) bear direct, but not uncritical…

Creation of knowledge workers holds key for success of a country. Unfortunately, many of the countries though having chain of human resources yet are unable to transform human resources to their advantage as they face multiple challenges like poverty, poor economy, poor infrastructure, limited access to education and inadequate technological…

Different technologies have been used for decades to support adult education and learning. These include radio, television and audio and video cassettes. More recently digital ICTs such as computers, tablets, e-books, and mobile technology have spread at great speed and also found their way into the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy…

In the techno-driven world, mobile learning is an indispensable element of teaching-learning activities. It helps distance learners in many ways by providing their required facilities. The paper discusses about these facilities in an eclectic and summary manner. Thus, by implication, it is popularized among distance learners across the globe.…

The advent of technology is almost in the field of education for teaching -- learning and cannot be ignored. Students are exposed to superior quality product of advance technologies in other fields around them. In such a scenario whether chalk and black board education is relevant in today's multicoloured and multidimensional digital age? The…

Hole-in-the-Wall as a concept has attracted worldwide attention. It involves providing unconditional access to computer-equipped kiosks in playgrounds and out-of-school settings, children taking ownership of their learning and learning driven by the children's natural curiosity. It is posited that this approach, which is being used in India,…

In order to understand the Open Schooling system in India, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), and its operations, the author scanned and read a large number of documents in a short span of time. These readings formed the basis of his discussions with a range of stakeholders with whom he conducted interviews/interaction to gather…

Training, organizational support, attitude and national culture were explored in relation to college students' Internet usage. Samples were drawn from India, Mauritius and Reunion Island (an overseas Department of France). Each nation differs culturally from the others. Questionnaire data was collected on students' Internet usage as well as the…

Automated essay grading or scoring systems are no more a myth, but they are a reality. As of today, the human written (not hand written) essays are corrected not only by examiners/teachers but also by machines. The TOEFL exam is one of the best examples of this application. The students' essays are evaluated both by human and web based automated…

While the conventional education system with different forms of E-learning and rigid academic instructive curriculum could not bring desired changes in specified timeframe work at rural level in the targeted communities and groups, a multipronged sociological approach with a sociable and flexible curriculum in new E-Learning programs becomes need…

Earlier work at unsupervised playground computer kiosks in rural India, popularly called "hole-in-the-wall", showed that children exposed to these kiosks learn to use computers on their own and that they are able to clear school examinations in computer science, without any classroom teaching for it. Extending this, our recent research…

Lack of education causes and is caused by poverty. In urban areas, it adds to the vulnerability of the poor, resulting in inaccessible schools and irrelevant curricula. Building urban communities and harnessing social capital can create an environment where the poor will have greater opportunities for making decisions that influence their lives.…

This study sought to measure the relationship between national culture and the usability of an e-Learning system by using Hofstede's cultural dimensions and Nielson's usability attributes. The study revealed that high uncertainty avoidance cultures found the system more frustrating to use. The study also revealed that individuals from cultures…

Despite improvements in educational indicators, such as enrolment, significant challenges remain with regard to the delivery of quality education in developing countries, particularly in rural and remote regions. In the attempt to find viable solutions to these challenges, much hope has been placed in new information and communication technologies…