A mobile e-learning environment for developing countries: the Bangladesh Virtual Interactive Classroom

Abstract

This paper reports a project working to improve distance education in Bangladesh by means of a low-cost, large-scale interactive learning environment using video, mobile phones, SMS-based tools administered in a learning management system, and innovative pedagogy based on the student-centered learning model. The paper addresses the question of how to use existing mobile telephony technical infrastructure to create interactive learning environments which can reach a majority of the population, be able to include thousands of students, and be sustainable from a resource perspective. This question includes challenges relating to pedagogy and teaching methods, technical tools for learning and communication, and institutional arrangements. The paper addresses these challenges by the illustrative case of the Bangladesh Virtual Interactive Classroom testing the tools and ideas in course at Bangladesh Open University. We find that our tools are feasible and usable but also that sustainability requires meeting organizational and social challenges.

Peter Wolcott is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.

Keywords:

• e-learning
• m-learning
• SMS
• mobile phones
• student-centered learning

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by SPIDER, the Swedish Program for IT in Developing Regions (http://www.spidercenter.org/).

Notes

Peter Wolcott is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.

Official statistics are lacking, but during our investigations we came across a PhD thesis, Rahman (2002), that studied the nature of drop outs from courses of BOU. Out of 700,000 students registered, only a total of about 35,000 sat exams in the seven faculties of BOU.