As we move to the use of collaborative web technologies (social networks, blogs, podcasts, Wikis, RSS, mashups), what infrastructure is needed to make sure that students learn from anywhere, anytime using mobile phones, smartphones, laptops or PCs especially in developing nations?
There is a staggering number of variables inherent in your question, John. However, as somebody who has made a speciality of such work, I can offer a few suggestions as starting points for further discussion.
Particularly in a developing-world context, you have to anticipate a heterogeneous client technology environment. Your users will have a wide range of devices, pushing you away from solutions that look attractive but ultimately lock you into a narrowly-defined client & server architecture. (Unfortunately, vendors of such systems usually have big budgets and will send you impressive-looking brochures, selling solutions with massive up-front and/or ongoing licensing costs.)
I have successfully deployed collaborative web tech using lightweight virtual machine appliances running within a VMWare ESXi environment on modest server hardware. You'll need a server (two if you'd like to have fault tolerance and high availability), two modest gigabit switches, and a backup system. Your exact office location and the reliability of data centers will determine where you ought to house your infrastructure. (The presence of cloud service providers might even allow you to avoid a capital investment in hardware.)
While the hardware (or cloud alternatives) are not cheap, your software costs could be very reasonable. Depending on your budgetary constraints, you could establish a flexible, powerful e-learning and collaborative learning environment using nothing but freely available open-source software: Moodle, Diaspora (or Elgg), MediaWiki, and Wordpress would be a fine start.
Of course, you have to factor in system integration costs, training for your (?) in-house tech staff, and training for your teachers / administrators. You could get started with a very modest capital investment and grow your capabilities as opportunities and budgets allow.
Michael, I appreciate for your detailed suggestion.
As we continue debating, what other infrastructure (outside the institution) that need to be considered especially when we want our students and staff to use collaborative web tech off-campus? Do we need to assess the availability of ISP, etc.? Let us discuss.
John,
its not clear to me whether you are asking about infrastructure or an approach to guarantee learning using web 2.0 tools. sticking to infrastructures and as mentioned in Michael's answer you can use decentralized learning environments such as blogs or mash up tools. In an approaches for the 3rd generation fo LMS our center (http://htk.tlu.ee/new/) for educational technology is developing what we call Dippler and Edu-feeder (see attached presentation) to enable off-campus online learning.
http://www.slideshare.net/hanspoldoja/2013-1004-dippler-edu-feedr
regards,
Mohammad
Michael Friesen and Mohammad AL-Smad thank you for your contribution. I am preparing a project on blended learning. I want to assess first the available infrastructure outside the universities in African state on things that will enable students have access to remote servers and curricula materials via blogs, social networks, dedicated websites, portals, podcasts, wikis and RSS. Then, secondly I will look for the best way to use these tools in learning. So what infrastructure in the first objective is needed?
Hi, John. As a minimal starting point, you'll need one fast and reliable internet connection. Beyond that, a great deal depends on the intended scale of your project. How many users, and what is the expected content load on your systems? Although most of the software is free and will scale fairly easily, the hardware requirements require more advance planning. What level of availability are you targeting? If you cannot afford ANY outages, then you'll have to build a more complicated infrastructure.
The number of expected users and the services you intend to offer are the biggest determinants of the project's budget. Because blogs, social networks, and wikis are text/photo oriented, the bandwidth & CPU demands are typically modest. Streaming media -- such as podcasts -- are far more bandwidth-hungry, so you might want to establish the other services first. Unless you absolutely MUST spend huge amounts of money quickly, it's best to plan for a phased implementation of services and features. If you plan adequately, you can establish a solid foundation for manageable growth.
Currently in developing countries, there is a fast adoption of the use of Collaborative Web Technologies (CWT) in social, business, education, and general social services provision. This is motivated by the the presence of increasing reliable internet connection, now up to 4G, and the wide spread of Fibre Optic Network. The presence of and increasing use of PDAs, smart phones and pagers, as well as mobile phones is another motivating factor. Additionally there is a positive attitude towards the use and acceptability of mobile devices for a wide range of applications in the society. Now does this and other factors guarantee the use of CWTs for learning and teaching in developing countries include the Eastern African, Western, Southern, and Central Africa., and the Asian-Pacific?
The use of Web tools in teaching and learning has continuously attracted many lecturers. The tools are portable and light even with limited internet access.
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