Interactive Materials Development Using the Rapid e-Learning Method - Examples from the Field

Abstract

In this paper we present the rapid e-learning method that allows educators, practitioners and elearning professionals to quickly develop curriculum-related interactive learning materials that they can use in classroom environment, in an online learning environment or in other forms of e-learning. This technique does not need advanced ICT skills development and training and shortens considerably the development time of interactive resources if these were to be developed by a core group of developers. This technique has a number of benefits, both at individual practice or at systemic levels. For example, in Mauritius the Sankore project was implemented a few years ago with the support of the French and British government that embarked on equipping primary schools with one interactive whiteboard, such classroom commonly referred to as the Sankore classroom. At the same time, tablets were delivered in secondary schools to students and teachers alike and the tablet PC project is widely described today as a failure, while the Sankore project has been criticized by many educators for issues like faulty whiteboards, lack of technical support, and lack of resources covering the curriculum. The paradox with technology implementation in schools is that the lifespan of technological gadgets is quite short and obsolescence is a major constraint as this requires constant investment resulting very often in unsatisfactory outcomes. The idea we promote in this paper is to decentralize content development process through empowerment of educators to develop and share their own resources as open educational resources. This will result in an exponential increase of the rate of development and release of resources to the schools to ensure maximum use of digital resources, using the existing equipment such as Interactive Whiteboards and Tablets. We provide field examples to illustrate how the technique has been applied in different educational contexts. // Paper ID 553