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Robert Ndlovu
THIS is a pretty catchy and colourful phrase. Often used blindly without actually any examination as to what it is and what it should achieve.
E-learning is defined as “use of ICT to enhance acquisition of knowledge commonly known as learning”.
That definition is accurate enough but taken as it is, it does not give a complete, holistic picture on what is involved and needed.
Because this definition has been adopted from developed countries, the assumption that it takes is that the physical infrastructure to deploy e-learning is up and running.
This is usually the case in developed countries. Availability of high speed internet, electricity and computing hardware is NOT an issue.
It is in Africa, more so in Zimbabwe where we have persistent and constant power outages.
Broadband penetration is low but certainly on the rise. Even in the remotest of areas of Zimbabwe, you can still successfully deploy and avail e-learning facilities at reasonable costs.
Never mind there is no 3G or Wi-Fi coverage deep in Muzarabani or Tsholotsho, there is satellite technology available for use, VSAT.
Power
The first port of call is to address the power and connectivity issues. The word “e-learning” is self-explanatory. The letter “e” stands for electronic, so if there is no electricity, there cannot be any e-learning.
Sizing power needed by an e-learning system will depend on the gadgets, hardware and up time of the target system.
If you have 20 Dell computers with 20 flat screen monitors, a router, a printer, lighting and cabling you will need to compute the amount of power your system will need for a given period, say eight hours during the day.
Each of the components connected to your system draws certain amount of power (Watts) from your power source – ZESA or something else solar or wind.
So before you order your computers you must know what their power rating is. Experience has taught us that you are better off buying thin clients, which consume less power than desktops, which increase your bill for solar panels and storage batteries.
Thin clients are computers with optimised hardware than give you the same work rate for e-learning tasks.
The idea is to work backwards. First size your power needs, which will determine how many solar panels windmills and batteries you will.
The most common mistake people do is to work from the power supply end to the load.
This is a tricky one because most people would want to stretch their dollar by getting the minimum power system that will “at least” power up their gadgets and hardware.
An initial honest effort to save money might result in you buying more panels and batteries and you incurring extra installation costs.
How long do you expect a 24V battery that you buy at $ 30 to last? Get a qualified electrician to help you size you load and do the installation.
Also if you can afford a diesel powered generator daily – so be it!
Connectivity
The way you connect to web or internet is important as this will determine your ability and capacity to pull and push data between your e-learning centre and the rest of the world.
Your location, number of connected end points (computers), usage pattern and your pocket will basically determine what connection suits you best.
Available from service providers is fibre optics (ideal), ADSL, WiMax and satellite. If you are a secondary school located in Sakubva or Luveve chances are that ADSL from a fixed line operator will suits your needs. But if you happen to be very close any fibre connection is it via underground or overhead cables go for it.
I suspect schools like Prince Edward I Harare and Eveline Girls High in Bulawayo can access fibre just as an example. However, if you are a school in an area where the service providers are not too keen to erect base stations or bury some underground cables, your option could be limited to satellite technology.
The installation and bandwidth costs of this have gone southwards over the last couple of years.
A more practical, work around and cost effective solution for rural communities is in the form of “EduCentres” that can invoice, say for schools in the district. Spread the cost and bring the information highway home.
Everything else is the same for the rural school from an electricity stand point. This part calls for a clear and actionable plan by the relevant ministries, namely education and ICT.
Standardisation of the design, setup and deployment of these centres would help reduce the learning curve and eliminate trial and error.
A leaf should be taken from the program being rolled out by POTRAZ under USF, which has now reached standard deployment metrics. No need to re-invent the wheel – just inflate it.
As stated before the number of connected and active devices will suggest the amount of bandwidth that you need.
If you will be conducting video transmissions you will need a fat pipe. If it’s for audio, text and data then you should not worry too much about your wallet.
This part is normally taken care of by the service provider of which we have lots of them.
Among them are Africom, Aptics , Telco Internet , ZOL , Powertel , Telone , Utande and Aquiva Wireless.
I have not included the three mobile network operators which provide internet via 3G to phones , tablets and via dongles. I must state however that the price of data in Zimbabwe is still on the high side. But like any service whose subscribers increase daily, the price will come down due to economies of scale and reasonable sharing of infrastructure.
Speeds have improved indeed, 15 years ago we use to connect users using dial up modems at 19.6kbps.
System
The actual e-learning system is determined by the objectives it is meant to fulfil. We have various systems being churned out by different vendors at this stage. So it is very difficult to say which one meets our e-learning needs. Whichever way you look at it we need a home grown system that a bare minimum can avail things like “O” and “A” level syllabuses, past examination papers, academic audio files and even videos. A system that will enhance the learning experience of pupils. A system with the ability for end users to engage in self-paced lessons is it programming, arts, writing, science etc. I do not want to overstate the dire need of a low level development of programming skills. A good reference point would be India. They outsource their skills to anywhere in the world. They need NOT come to Zimbabwe to write a certain program. The programming culture and use of ICT must be instilled at a school level.
Other
Naturally when you have deployed such a system ensure that you have local persons who have been trained to do basic trouble shooting and resolve issues otherwise you will be down for days dues to a cable that has slipped out of position.
Teachers have been ignored in setting up e-learning systems, and no wonder why they have not been a big hit from a curriculum point of view.
Train the teacher who spends more time with students. ICT training must be made compulsory at all colleges and institutions of higher learning.
This is stuff that happens when you have a number of people using a system. Also things will break down and mind you, you might be dealing with teenagers whose interest does not lie on the education part of the e-learning system but elsewhere. Also you want to be able to filter what can and cannot be assessed.
No Internet Access
Do not worry. You can create a digital library where a central server holds tonnes of different kinds of information, which end users can access via their workstations.
This is like a local internet where you load up the server with material that you want to make available to your audience. This alone is a separate write up.
Refurbished buses have been used in certain parts of Africa to house computers in a digital library kind of set up. These are naturally fitted with solar panels and a battery bank to provide of grid power.
Robert Ndlovu is an ICT consultant based in Bulawayo and writing in his personal capacity and can be contacted via [email protected] and App/Text 0776 002 605
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