For too many years, many universities have developed an image of being too distant from real life problems. This course certainly changes that. The students work on projects that seek to address real social challenges in areas such as health, microfinance, entrepreneurship, education, and civic activism.
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| Students addressing real challenges |
This is a highly appropriate technological area to work in as it has such potential for bringing change to people's lives. For example, as governments try to provide higher education to people previously without access, they require flexible delivery methods to enable students to learn from anywhere and at anytime. Online education provides the methodology but problems of convenient access still remained until mobile technology tackled the challenge. This technology coupled with online distance education allows students to use readily available devices to learn without attending campus. Thus, whilst studying, they can continue working or staying at home to care for their family members. And the government doesn't have the expense of providing extra buildings for these additional students accessing by distance education.
And that just happens to be the topic of our forthcoming book in the series: Educational Design and Technology in the Knowledge Society edited by Stewart Marshall, The University of the West Indies and Wanjira Kinuthia, Georgia State University.
