e-Learning in Asia

I'm just returning from a 2.5 week trip to Asia learning more about e-Learning there and trying to teach them more about the type and quality of e-Learning that is going on in the states. I visited Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, and Korea. Suffice it to say that pretty much everything I heard falls into one of these categories, in decreasing order of commonality:
  • questions about how e-Learning could possibly be any good (same questions we faced 8-10 years ago when things were just starting to get serious in the U.S.)
  • outright dismissal of the idea as something that doesn't merit serious consideration
  • shock and surprise that so many American students are choosing e-Learning as an option
  • a genuine curiosity about e-Learning as a delivery method and how it might impact international students who desire to earn U.S. degrees.
Of the countries visited, this is my ranking of the enrollment potential in U.S. e-Learning for each of the countries, starting with the highest potential:
1 - Korea
2 - Vietnam
3 - Indonesia
4 - Macau
5 - Hong Kong

Time to board the plane in Seoul. More later.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Barry;

A shame you didn't visit Singapore. While in the past Singapore has had a reputation for dry, "rote" learning methods, I've been really impressed lately with their online and mobile learning innovations, such as the Campus Moblog initiative (http://campusmoblog.com.ag), which is streets ahead of anything else I've seen in the world.

I would have loved to have heard if you'd had a chance to check it all out first hand and see if they're really forging ahead in other areas of technology-supported learning...

Oh well. I'd better find an excuse to visit there myself some time... :)
October 10, 2007 4:02 AM
Barry Dahl said…
Hello Leonard,
I did spend 8 hours in the Singapore airport on the way to the first stop in Jakarta, but I'm guessing you're talking about a more substantive visit.
Although this trip was set well in advance, I did lobby long and hard to the group leader for the possibility of adding Singapore to the next Asian tour. I will check out the mobile learning initiative which might help convince the powers that be of the importance of a stay in Singapore.
Thanks for your comment. Barry
October 10, 2007 8:34 PM
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