Exploring the diffusion of e-learning: general and enabling guidelines for implementation of computer-aided teaching in developing countries.
2012 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor)
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
The purpose of the study was to create guidelines regarding effective diffusion of elearning
to and within developing countries. Another aim of the study was to identify
challenges and problems related to the diffusion of e-learning, as well as identifying what
characterizes a successful ICT diffusion project. To achieve the purpose of the study a
case study was performed in Thailand, where two different schools, i.e. two cases that
had been targeted by ICT diffusion projects were studied. In combination to studying the
schools, the donor side of the project were also included in the study. The study was
conducted with a qualitative research approach, and was divided into one inductive and
exploratory phase, which generated a theory, and one deductive phase where the theory
was both theoretically and empirically validated. To gather the empirical material, eight
semi-structured interviews were conducted of which six included staffs from the two
schools, and two included donors that were involved in one of the studied ICT diffusion
projects. Yet another semi-structured interview was performed with a person involved in
an ICT diffusion project, which helped to perform the empirical validation of the
generated theory. With the help of the collected empirical material as well as through
existing theories it was possible to identify numerous of challenges regarding diffusion of
e-learning to and within developing countries. The challenges were primarily connected
to language, culture, governmental, lack of computer knowledge and infrastructural. To
tackle the challenges a number of characteristics regarding effective ICT diffusion
projects in developing countries were identified. These characteristics included the
importance of doing a proper investigation about the recipients, follow ups, provided
right amount of computers, provided software that had been adapted and provided
education about how computers should be used. Based on the challenges and
characteristics guidelines for effective diffusion of e-learning to and within developing
countries were designed. The knowledge about challenges and characteristics led to the
identification of two important findings. The first was that the diffusion of e-learning to
developing countries is highly dependant on the diffusion of ICT to the schools, as an
evident problem that existed was that the schools lacked the proper technical
infrastructure to be able to support computer-aided teaching. The other finding was that
in order for the diffusion process to be effective, it is vital to provide information and
education about the technology in advance of the implementation. These two findings
lead to that the 19 created guidelines were divided into two categories; basic guidelines
for diffusion of ICT and enabling guidelines for diffusion of e-learning.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
University of Borås/School of Business and IT , 2012.
Series
Kandidatuppsats ; 2012KANI13
Keywords [en]
e-learning, computer-aided teaching, diffusion, guidelines, ICT, developing countries, rural areas
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-16645Local ID: 2320/11114OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hb-16645DiVA, id: diva2:1308533
Note
Program: Dataekonomutbildningen
2019-04-302019-04-302025-09-24