Towards a more holistic model of eLearning (eLA 2007)
 The mission of SPIDER is to support developing countries in the promotion and deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). At eLearning Africa 2007, Spider member Peter Mozelius will present the results of some of his work. As a Subject Matter Expert in the department of Computer and System Sciences (DSV) in Kista, Sweden, a joint department of Stockholm University and Kungliga Tekniska högskolan (Royal Institute of Technology), he has developed a number of courses that can be classified as “blended learning”, comprising features of both eLearning and distance education.
SPIDER member Annika Sophie Andersson is a PhD student of Informatics at Örebro University (Sweden). Her research is focused ob Electronic Government and ICT4D. She has authored many publications and has also been called as an ICT consultant for the Swedish government. Her main interest lies in the area of identifying the factors that facilitate or inhibit eLearning in developing countries.
By Nina Wittrock
Experience has shown that successful eLearning depends on many different factors that have to do with both student skills and motivation, teacher support, and organizational arrangement. “Traditional teaching and learning activities have to find their new forms in modern eLearning,” SPIDER associate Peter Mozelius from Stockholm University is convinced.
His idea of efficient eLearning in an African context is based on two factors. The first is the stimulation of “multi-senses” with the help of user-friendly kits for developing high-quality online applications. The second is that these kits have to be affordable. He sees these kits, which allow educators to produce their own materials, as being more useful than just investing in state-of-the-art technology.
As an experienced teacher, Peter Mozelius adds that it is crucial that visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles be addressed. Students with an auditory learning style, for example, learn a lot from listening to lectures and participating in lessons. Individuals with a more kinesthetic learning style, on the other hand, have a need for hands-on activities and practical assignments. However he emphasizes, “An appropriate eLearning toolkit to meet all these needs must not cost more than 1000 Euros”.
Annika Andersson agrees with Peter’s comprehensive approach to eLearning. “It is necessary to make the discussion of e-learning more sophisticated so as to distinguish technological factors from those that are pedagogical, cultural, individual, and so forth,” she says. But in her point of view, what must come first is a paradigm shift towards a more active, participatory style of learning among African students. Without this shift, attempts to establish eLearning activities would fail. Today, course drop-out statistics in developing countries are commonly higher than in developed nations. Thus Annika Andersson’s team seeks to find out more about factors that facilitate or inhibit the success of eLearning.
Annika Andersson stated, “The majority of models are focused on one or a few selected factors, such as computer anxiety or one specific level. We want to identify all the actors and agencies beyond the success or failure of eLearning – to see the whole picture and to put together the whole puzzle”.
At eLearning Africa 2007 Peter Mozelius will give his presentation on Tuesday, May 29, 14.00 – 15.30; Annika Andersson will speak on Tuesday, May 29, 11.15 – 12.45
 http://www.spidercenter.org/
 Newsportal: eLearning Supported by Development Partners
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