Education for all can only be achieved through the use of information and communications technology (ICT), says said Dr Mohamed Ally,a renowned educator at the 20th iEARN International Conference and 17th Youth Summit at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC).
“The problem is our current educational system does not help us provide education for all. There is therefore a need for a paradigm shift in education. The use of ICT is the answer, the only solution to provide education for all,” said Dr Ally, Professor in Distance Education and a researcher in the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute at Athabasca University in Canada.
Dr Ally, known for his book “Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training” which won the Charles A Wedemeyer Award for significant contribution to distance education, said radical advocated a radical shift from a classroom-based learning through the use of ICT which caters to different types of learners with various types of learning styles and needs.
“Each learner has a peak time of the day to learn best. With ICT they can learn anywhere anytime,” he explained, adding the cost of education is very high because it is expensive to build and run schools.
“Education is human right and learners should not pay too much money to get educated,” he said, stressing the need to educate all including the homeless, the underprivileged in both developing and developed countries, indigenous people and nomads.
Information explosion, the fast-paced development of technology and new generation learners who quickly adapt to them were among other factors he mentioned to veer away from the traditional classroom-based education paradigm.
In addition, use of ICT to deliver education is “green learning” because of less travel and reduced use of paper, he added.
source:
Qatar chronicle
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