Post by Laoupdate on Jun 16, 2005 7:52:56 GMT -5
E-learning to close educational gap
Viengsavanh Phengphachan
E ducational links are bringing Laos and the Republic ofKorea closer together with the opening of the Laos-Korea Internet Plaza in Vientiane, supported by the Republic of Korea, to boost distance e-learning.
Up-to-date facilities, including 63 high-speed computers, to improve and encourage computer-facilitated study, have been installed for use by Lao students in the Centre for Skill Development in Phonphanao village. All the donated equipment is modern, and similar to that used by students in Korea .
Each computer has a camera and a headset, enabling students to see and hear teachers in a distant location, whether in Laos or in Korea .
E-learning allows students in different countries, using different languages, to share their learning experiences.
Access to the e-learning process will enable Lao students to exchange information and ideas through the Korean educational system.
Students here will be able to communicate with teachers in Korea through interpreters who will translate Lao into English in order for coordinators in Korea to disseminate information through the computer back to the students in Laos .
Educational experts from both countries believe that this system of distance learning will open up more opportunities for Lao teenagers and that they will benefit from the different teaching methods employed in Korea.
The Deputy Director of the Centre for Skill Development, Khonesy Mahavong, said the system provided a new challenge for Lao students to enhance their abilities through e-learning. ¡ÈThis is a new approach, so at first I think it will be quite hard for students,¡É said Khonesy. ¡ÈBut I think that when they get used to it they will benefit enormously.¡É
The Laos-Korea Internet Plaza has been set up by the Government of the Republic of Korea at a cost of around US$400,772. The assistance has been provided under the cooperation agreement between the Korean Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion (KADO) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
The project is being implemented this year and will continue until 2008, as agreed to under ASEAN+3 cooperation agreements.
During this period of assistance, Korean advisers will help to educate Lao students and also train staff at the Internet Plaza so that they can continue in a teaching capacity when Korean assistance comes to an end.
In addition, experts will also help to upgrade the IT knowledge of government officials.
Khonesy said the Korean government was very enthusiastic about its cooperation with Laos and was keen to improve education in Laos to bring it closer to the level of that in developed countries such as Korea .
¡ÈThey have been very generous and many high-ranking government officials came here from Korea to attend the opening of the Internet Plaza ,¡É said Khonesy.
¡ÈWe need to work together to close the digital divide,¡É said Member of the National Assembly of Korea , Lee Jongkul, who was present at the opening ceremony last month.
¡ÈI would like to introduce some of our special methods so that we can share the increasing number of digital opportunities with other nations,¡É said Lee, who is also an attorney at law and a patents attorney,
He advised that since high-quality IT equipment and technical experts were available for them, students should focus their attention on their studies so that they would not waste their time.
¡ÈWhen I see these youngsters I have great hope for the future of Laos and I believe the new generation will be able to help the country on its path to socio-economic development,¡É said Lee.
However, he also noted that information available on the Internet contained both positive and negative topics and stressed that children should have limited access to harmful information.
He said that teenagers in Korea spent a great deal of time on the Internet and recommended that Lao teenagers should do likewise. Familiarity with the Internet would profit them considerably, he said, and also help their employment prospects.
The Korean government has launched similar projects in countries worldwide, and has sent around 1,000 Internet volunteers to more than 40 countries.
Global Internet penetration in G7 countries in North America and Europe is more than 50 percent, while in most of Asia it is significantly lower.
Source: www.laostudents.ath.cx/board/
Vientianetimes.org.la
Photo: www.open.ac.uk/elearning/pics/i9753.jpg
Viengsavanh Phengphachan
E ducational links are bringing Laos and the Republic ofKorea closer together with the opening of the Laos-Korea Internet Plaza in Vientiane, supported by the Republic of Korea, to boost distance e-learning.
Up-to-date facilities, including 63 high-speed computers, to improve and encourage computer-facilitated study, have been installed for use by Lao students in the Centre for Skill Development in Phonphanao village. All the donated equipment is modern, and similar to that used by students in Korea .
Each computer has a camera and a headset, enabling students to see and hear teachers in a distant location, whether in Laos or in Korea .
E-learning allows students in different countries, using different languages, to share their learning experiences.
Access to the e-learning process will enable Lao students to exchange information and ideas through the Korean educational system.
Students here will be able to communicate with teachers in Korea through interpreters who will translate Lao into English in order for coordinators in Korea to disseminate information through the computer back to the students in Laos .
Educational experts from both countries believe that this system of distance learning will open up more opportunities for Lao teenagers and that they will benefit from the different teaching methods employed in Korea.
The Deputy Director of the Centre for Skill Development, Khonesy Mahavong, said the system provided a new challenge for Lao students to enhance their abilities through e-learning. ¡ÈThis is a new approach, so at first I think it will be quite hard for students,¡É said Khonesy. ¡ÈBut I think that when they get used to it they will benefit enormously.¡É
The Laos-Korea Internet Plaza has been set up by the Government of the Republic of Korea at a cost of around US$400,772. The assistance has been provided under the cooperation agreement between the Korean Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion (KADO) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
The project is being implemented this year and will continue until 2008, as agreed to under ASEAN+3 cooperation agreements.
During this period of assistance, Korean advisers will help to educate Lao students and also train staff at the Internet Plaza so that they can continue in a teaching capacity when Korean assistance comes to an end.
In addition, experts will also help to upgrade the IT knowledge of government officials.
Khonesy said the Korean government was very enthusiastic about its cooperation with Laos and was keen to improve education in Laos to bring it closer to the level of that in developed countries such as Korea .
¡ÈThey have been very generous and many high-ranking government officials came here from Korea to attend the opening of the Internet Plaza ,¡É said Khonesy.
¡ÈWe need to work together to close the digital divide,¡É said Member of the National Assembly of Korea , Lee Jongkul, who was present at the opening ceremony last month.
¡ÈI would like to introduce some of our special methods so that we can share the increasing number of digital opportunities with other nations,¡É said Lee, who is also an attorney at law and a patents attorney,
He advised that since high-quality IT equipment and technical experts were available for them, students should focus their attention on their studies so that they would not waste their time.
¡ÈWhen I see these youngsters I have great hope for the future of Laos and I believe the new generation will be able to help the country on its path to socio-economic development,¡É said Lee.
However, he also noted that information available on the Internet contained both positive and negative topics and stressed that children should have limited access to harmful information.
He said that teenagers in Korea spent a great deal of time on the Internet and recommended that Lao teenagers should do likewise. Familiarity with the Internet would profit them considerably, he said, and also help their employment prospects.
The Korean government has launched similar projects in countries worldwide, and has sent around 1,000 Internet volunteers to more than 40 countries.
Global Internet penetration in G7 countries in North America and Europe is more than 50 percent, while in most of Asia it is significantly lower.
Source: www.laostudents.ath.cx/board/
Vientianetimes.org.la
Photo: www.open.ac.uk/elearning/pics/i9753.jpg