Online education market to expand sharply
South Korea’s online learning market is expected to grow rapidly by the year 2010, boosted by people’s passion for education and the country’s information technology (IT) infrastructure. The market for e-learning is forecast to rise to 1.9 trillion won (USD1.99 billion) for the full year of 2006 and expand at an average annual growth rate of 20 percent by 2010, accordingto a report of the Korea Electronics Technology Institute. The local elearning market came to 1.57 trillion won in 2005, up 316 billion won from a year ago. Last year, individuals spent 671.5 billion won on online education, up 0.38 percent from a year ago, while large companies’ spending jumped 22.9 percent to 668.1 billion won.
Five varsities in Philippines to develop e-learning agri programme Five state universities and colleges (SUC) are set to receive 6.5 million pesos from the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture to develop an e-learning and distance education programme for the country’s agricultural extension workers. The e-learning modules will mainly cover rice production, as well as two other products indigenous to the location of the five recipient SUCs. The schools in turn will digitise their production guides into one-page fact sheets that will be posted at the OPAPA website ( openacademy. community of the SUCs will also be formed and will link with local government units and extension workers with farmers’ cooperatives
‘Pepe’ does wonders for kids
Project Pepe or Promoting Excellence in Philippine Education programme of Bato Balani Foundation, the corporate foundation of Diwa Learning Systems Inc. (DLSI) in Philippines, believes that by creating an academic “ecosystem” in which public and private schools, the local government unit, teachers, tudents and their parents, work together for the good of the students, the quality of education will be improved. Under the project, First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities in Tanauan City was chosen as the hub university with 44 schools within the area named as partner-beneficiaries of the programme. As the hub school, First Asia provides facilities, teachers and training to help the other public and private schools in the area, as well as the students and their parents. First Asia and its partner, Diwa Learning, will also shoulder the fees to be incurred by a teacher or administrator from each Project Pepe school who wishes to pursue a Masters degree in education Among its primary programmes are the award-winning “How to be A Highly Effective Teacher,” “Tulong sa Paaralan,” “Tulay sa Kaunlaran” and “Quality Teacher” campaigns. ‘Internet-ready Access Centres’ in schools in Malaysia
Internet-ready Access Centres costing more than RM70mil in total are being set up in 1,500 schools around Malaysia.
Access Centres would be similar in concept to cybercafes, although its usage would focus on learning. Under the first phase, 1,500 schools would be provided with 15,000 personal computers and 1,500 printers as well as the necessary furniture and infrastructure. Another 12,900 computers would be provided to 1,290 schools next year. To date, 84 primary and secondary schools in the rural areas have been equipped with Access Centres.
UGC bid on more ICT-based programmes
Bangladesh will take initiative to develop more information and communication technology (ICT)- based academic and knowledge-based rogrammes in the higher education. Chairman of the UGC Asaduzzaman said this while expressing his satisfaction over the rapid growth of ICT and related fields in the country and the growing interest of the students in this connection as well as their participation ,
