It is ironic that on one hand we see the rapid deployment of technology creating the need for the development of sustainable models of life-long learning, and on the other hand to see that the technologies used in our educational systems have changed very little over the last fifty years. Where they have been used, it has typically been to enhance traditional models of delivery and instruction of education.
Clearly, increasing the capacity for learning within our economies is critical. The recent Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the 21st Century brings this into focus by pointing out that one out of every five men, and two out of every five women, remain illiterate (UNESCO, 1996). The report also stresses that basic skills equivalent to secondary school level and the maintenance of the relevant skills of the workforce are critical to economic welfare. All of this adds up to an increased level of demand for learning that cannot be met through existing learning models. The Commission recommended the utilization of the new information and communication technologies as an important element in increasing the learning capacity of nations and the productivity of educational systems.
Implementation of that recommendation must, of course, be appropriate to, and sustainable in, the specific context. It must proceed with the understanding that the application of the technologies is as connected to learning as it is to production and work. In other words, technological changes that affect the way production and work are done in an economy has consequences for both what skills and knowledge need to be learned, as well as for the way they are learned. As the OECD report points out, human capital and technology are two faces of the same coin ñ two inseparable aspects of knowledge accumulation.
The utilization of information and communication technologies for learning faces a number of development challenges ñ the severity of these challenges being dependent upon circumstances in a given region:
Access to Networks
The lack of network infrastructure is, as pointed out earlier, a severe constraint in most developing countries. The development strategies to overcome them must not only be affordable and sustainable, but also culturally sensitive. However, the fact that these technologies are increasingly scaleable (that is, capable of being adopted on an incremental basis) together with the fact that they are amenable to aggregated demand (that is, to use the networks for multiple purposes such as health, business, public administration, as well as education) will make investment in their development more attractive to both the public and private sectors. Some argue that countries with little existing network infrastructure may be able to proceed directly to the use of wireless and fibre-optic technologies, thus leap-frogging the older technologies that form the infrastructure in most of the developed world.
Access to Appliances
A distinguishing feature of the new information and communication technologies is the capacity to enable interactivity. From a learning perspective this is critical because it enables learning formats that were previously only possible in a face-to-face environment. They also permit interactivity both asynchronously as well as in real time, thus enabling to learning to occur independent of time and place.
However, even in developed countries, access to the necessary appliances such as computers, modems, and voice and video conferencing equipment, is very uneven among socio-economic groups. If technology is to be effective in meeting learning-for-development needs, access to the necessary tools must be made available on a mass basis as a matter of public policy. Otherwise, the fault lines between those who benefit in the global knowledge economy and those who do not will continue to widen.
In response to this need, the concept of the ìcommunity-based learning centreî ñ a convenient location where people can go to access these appliances ñ is likely to be a hallmark of 21st Century educational systems. These centres can be created as needs and available financing dictate and can be integrated with existing physical infrastructure such as schools, community centres, libraries, and within the workplace. The evolution of the learning centre will meet another need ñ that of social interactivity. ìHigh techî and ìhigh touchî need not be mutually exclusive in the learning environment.
Development of User Skills
Clearly, creating access to the technologies for learning is necessary but not sufficient. Those who must use them need opportunities to develop the requisite skills. Indeed, the ability to develop these skills has become another facet of the definition of literacy and an important part of a foundation for development strategies that are sustainable.
