Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Why e learning will have a positive impact in South Africa

Why e learning will have a positive impact in South Africa

Education South Africa
Education South Africa
Why e learning will have a positive impact in South Africa
By: Abraham Motsoane
Business Manager: Learning e-Varsity
Introduction
Some of the biggest challenges that face our country today are:
  • How do we create a society that is able to cope with the injustices of the past and still manage to thrive in this ever-competitive global economy?
  • How can we ensure that our educational system (by far one the hardest hit industries/systems) is able to redress the wrongs that were created by the previous government?
To some people these questions seem to be looking in the past, but in fact, the paradox is that they address the very future that we are all trying so hard to build.  The reality of any situation is that one cannot even begin to attempt to find a solution when clearly there seems to be no problem.  So, to dig and indeed look for problems is one way that the thriving economies in the world have done extremely well.  Examples are the Japanese, Chinese Germans and other great first world countries.  The fact that they were leaders in certain domains did not make them complacent; instead, on the contrary, they pressed forth trying to find new markets, to find possible things that could go wrong with a seemingly perfect design.  One of the most popular Japanese practices is that, as soon as they release a product, the let people test it and give as much feedback as possible; then back to the lab, once the modified version has been released, the process starts from scratch, as though the product is new (which in fact, based on the modifications, they believe it is a new product – by virtue of the fact that some of the functionalities might be removed, and other be added).
So the learning curve in these countries is never flat, if anything, they want this curve to exist for as long as their civilization exists.
Then I suppose that next question to ask is: What has this got to do with e learning? EVERYTHING!
The fact that the Internet is one of the most revolutionary (& evolutionary) inventions ever, means that so many things change.  How people view the world has changed, how shopping is done changed, how information is shred changed, and how people learn has changed.  The e learning model is not a blanket cover for all Education-related problems, but it certainly answers many of these questions; and it reaches corners that traditional learning methods have not even thought of doing.  For example, the cellular phone has changed how people view communication; and Learning e-Varsity uses this as another advantage to enhance e learning.  What used to be a barrier to education, no man can control and only allow some sectors of the population, and deny others.  The previously marginalized people can now rise, without fear and March through the gates of educational freedom.
The argument bar has now been raised from people needing education, to people being able to use the education they gave acquired.  Through e learning, learners not only acquire the skill/trade that they are interested in, computer skills become almost an automatic acquisition.  The possibilities now start seeming endless; with the advent of mobile and social learning; with both the cellphone and social media breaking all known records with regards to information circulation….
With that, we say:
VIVA e learning….. VIVA!!
VIVA education….. VIVA!!
VIVA online learning….. VIVA!!
Conclusion
No matter what kind of background you come from, with Technology as your weapon, and the desire to succeed as your map, nothing can get in the way of you making a change to your future, and the future of your country.  The global economy will be impacted by the way information is shared today……

Friday, October 14, 2011

Steve Jobs: One More Thing To Learn….

Steve Jobs: One More Thing To Learn….

Steve-Jobs
Steve-Jobs-1955-2011
A rather sad (and VERY sad for that matter), phase in the history of our technological world and the world as a whole.  Very rarely do you have an individual having an impact on the world at this larger a scale.  What started as a passion, a hobby perhaps, and developed into a phenomena that would touch the world.  Steve Jobs always wanted people to learn, innovate, improve, enjoy and share with their surroundings.
After watching a few of Steve Jobs’ presentations, I am convinced that he had meant to release every Apple product so that people can be inspired, and then do something differently or even do different things altogether.  We were all somehow impacted by Steve Jobs in one way or another: From first world countries to other countries; people enjoyed iPods, iPhones and Ipads; clearly this man was present in every industry.  From kids just playing around, to music producers, artists, teachers, techno-freaks, University Professors all the way to International Corporate Executives, one would find at least one of Steve’s inventions in these people’s possession.
Then we ask ourselves: Was there something that Steve wanted us to learn whilst he was alive? YES, YES, YES….Indeed, my interpretation of his message is that, WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED SOMETHING….there is always….ONE MORE THING or ONE LAST THING….Such is the spirit of the human race, that it should never be content, or satisfied with the way things are; there is always something MORE, something better, something bigger, something nicer, something faster, something smaller, something you know, something you don’t know, something you ought to know, something smarter, something easier.
And I am glad that Steve’s spirit is with us, all around us and that MORE is exactly that….as we say at Learning e-Varsity:
THINK more. LEARN more. DO more. ACHIEVE more. (Thanks Steve, I can see you smiling…)
There is: One Last thing...  Enjoy these clips below (a MUST see):
http://www.markflavinblog.com/steve-jobs-secrets-to-a-great-presentation/
Thought to ponder: I think the Seacom cable is mourning the death of Steve Jobs….(again, just a thought)