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Prospects and obstacles for e-learning in rural communities of Lithuania |
ABSTRACT
Abstract. This article aims at exploring theoretical approaches to the diffusion of information communication technologies (ICT) and e-learning and presenting the evidence from a pilot study examining prospects and obstacles for e-learning in rural communities of Lithuania.
The development of an information society is strongly related to a stable and systematic diffusion of information communication technologies among the members of that certain social system. Information and knowledge empower individuals to participate successfully in nowadays society’s life and the Internet is considered to be one of the modern means to access the information and participate in life-long learning processes. This study tries to analyze one aspect of the possible use of the Internet among the rural residents, i.e. e-learning. Analyzing results of the pilot study, preliminary findings indicate that even people consider World Wide Web based learning as an effective mean to widen the opportunities of rural residents to be enrolled in learning processes and integrate socially excluded people into society’s life, but in practise, these people are unable to take learning via the Internet and rarely take advantage of the opportunities provided by ICT. This pilot study also has outlined some of the problems that were indicated as obstacles for diffusion of World Wide Web based learning and ICT itself in rural regions of Lithuania.
INTRODUCTION
The development of an information society is based on a stable and systematic diffusion of information communication technologies among the members of the certain society. Information communication technologies (ICT) change conditions of work and education: the increased demand for qualified personnel, new types of jobs and the emphasis on knowledge and information, as “information has come to be regarded as a symbol of the age in which we live” (Webster, 1996). Information and knowledge empower individuals to participate successfully in nowadays society’s life. The Internet and other ICT are the modern means to access the information and get enrolled into life-long learning processes.
But the diffusion of ICT and adoption in everyday life activities such as learning are rather complicated phenomena, depending on various characteristics of an individual and a certain social system. For example, considering the use of the Internet, it is obvious that socio-demographic characteristics determine a gap between different groups of the population. According to the data of a survey
Digital Lithuania 2001, performed in the framework of a study
Lithuanian Information Society, carried out by
The Open Society Fund (Šaulauskas, 2001), the Internet and other information technologies are mainly used by young, educated, well paid and urban consumers. The data of this survey showed that people at the age of 15 – 49, who have acquired higher education or live, or aim at living in Vilnius, Kaunas and other major cities of the country, and have high income are the most involved in the processes of information society development. The lowest awareness of the processes and opportunities of information society development is among the Lithuanians over 60, who have acquired secondary or special secondary education, live in villages, rural centres or towns and have rather low income. It is obvious that different socio-demographic characteristics have determined a gap between different groups of the population. This can lead to the information gap, when one part of the population uses digital devices, while the other part of the population is in a digital divide. Such tendencies are common not only to Lithuanian population; similar situation is in other countries as well (Slevin, 2002).
Thus the main question is whether the diffusion of ICT and the development of e-learning opportunities enable people who live in unfavourable social conditions to be enrolled in a learning process by using ICT, or, otherwise, this leads to the information gap, when one part of the population (haves of information) uses digital devices, while the other part of the population (non-haves) is in a digital divide and is unable to take learning via the Internet.
This article aims at exploring the theoretical approaches to the diffusion of ICT and e-learning and presenting the evidence from a pilot study examining prospects and obstacles for e-learning in rural communities of Lithuania.
In the first section of an article, the theoretical approaches to ICT diffusion and characteristics of e-learning are discussed.
The second section of an article is aimed at the analysis of empirical evidence from a pilot study.
The pilot study “
ICT diffusion in local communities of rural regions in Lithuania” is only a starting point at the analysis of this issue, just describing the common tendencies and exploring the main questions and areas that should be investigated more deeply in the further studies. In this pilot study 2
methods of investigation were employed:
(1) Quantitative: opinion survey; (2) Qualitative: focus group discussion.
Identification and selection of study participants. The target group of the pilot study is people from rural regions of Lithuania and representatives from educational sector. Taking into consideration that the similar sets of problems exist in all rural regions of Lithuania, residents of
Marijampole region and members of 2 local communities from townships
Balninkai and
Raudone were selected for the focus group discussions about the expected role of information communication technologies in a community’s life.
The conclusions and suggestions are discussed in the third section of the article.
THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO ICT DIFFUSION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF E-LEARNING
Information society is one of the major visions that characterize the end of 20th and the beginning of 21st century. This new type of society is characterised as “a new social and economic paradigm restructuring the traditional dimensions of time and space within which we live, work and interact” (Loader, p.3). Information communication technologies as itself do not change the social structure; the force for change is provided by the use of ICT in everyday life activities. We can talk about the information society just in case the “information revolution” affects almost all spheres of life and the diffusion of ICT is stable and systematic.
Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system (Rogers, 1983, p.5), thus the main 4 elements, which are identifiable in every diffusion research study, are (1) an innovation, (2) communication through certain channels, (3) time and (4) members of social system. In our case, we should analyse ICT communication through certain channels among the members of rural communities.
According to Rogers (1983), innovations such as ICT can be transmitted to the receiver using 2 types of communication channels: (1) interpersonal channels, and (2) mass media channels. First type implies direct (e.g. eye-to-eye) communication between transmitter and receiver; and the second type includes governmental policies communicated through TV, radio, newspapers, etc. This existing discourse makes an impact on beliefs and attitudes of people toward ICT use and is one of the means for ICT diffusion among society members.
ICT diffusion processes are strongly emphasized in European Union policies. European Union institutions have issued resolutions and strategies how “to accelerate the development of the information society in Europe and to ensure that the potential of the Internet is available to all citizens and all businesses in all the regions of the Member States” (eEurope 2002: European youth into the digital age). In order to accelerate ICT diffusion, the
eEurope Action Plan (eEurope 2005: An information society for all, 2002) has identified 5 benchmarking indicators with 10 priority areas, which are aimed at widening opportunities to get online services such as e-learning, e-health and e-government; promoting e-businesses; broadband penetration and creating secure information infrastructure (see Figure 1).
Seeking harmonious integration into the EU, Lithuanian national strategy makers are endeavouring to create an environment conducive to the rapid growth of individuals’ capabilities to use ICT and to promote the development of the Internet use at the level of both individuals and various institutions and organizations. These changes in Lithuania are aimed at integrating standards of education and capabilities of individuals to use ICT with the standards and objectives of EU countries. Many legal acts were passed to regulate this issue. Lithuanian policy toward the use of ICT in education is evident from the documents, such as “
The strategy of ICT implementation in education” issued by the Minister of Education and Science of the Lithuanian Republic in 2000 10 18, “
The Concept of Information Society Development in Lithuania” issued by the government of The Republic of Lithuania in 2001 02 28, “
Action Plan of Information Society Development in Lithuania” issued by the government of The Republic of Lithuania in 2001 08 10, “
The program of ICT implementation in education” issued by the Minister of Education and Science of the Lithuanian Republic in 2002 02 28, and others (final report of the project “The analysis of policy of implementation of information technologies into Lithuanian educational system”, 2002). Thus, the diffusion of ICT is emphasised not only in EU policies but in Lithuanian ones as well. How much such policy impacts the attitude of citizens toward ICT, still is a question. We can make the assumption that existing discourse facilitates the diffusion of ICT, but such hypothesis should be tested empirically and is not the aim of this study.
One of the main elements of information/knowledge society is learning. It empowers individuals to participate successfully in so rapidly changing life.
Learning is a process involving cognition and information handling (Marshall, 1998), thus in the context of ICT diffusion we face an issue of e-learning. Electronic learning is a process of information handling by means of the Internet and other information technologies. As defined by V.Waller and J.Wilson (2003), “e-learning is the effective learning process created by combining digitally delivered content with (learning) support and services”. The European
eLearning Action Plan (2001), describes e-learning as “the use of new multimedia technologies and the Internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to resources and services as well as remote exchanges and collaboration”. R.H.Jackson (2002), defining e-Learning, uses definitional dichotomy – he views this issue as (1) technology-enhanced learning (when learner audience has frequent opportunities to meet face-to-face with the instructor in traditional classroom) and as (2) technology-delivered learning, where leaner audience is never or very rarely in physical proximity to the instructor and instructor-led traditional classroom sessions are either eliminated, or replaced with real time “virtual classrooms”. This latter concept of e-learning can be described as educational situation in which the instructor and students are separated by time, location, or both and their communication is mediated by ICT.
ICT mediation in a learning process redefines the traditional teacher – learner relationship and establishes new forms and methods in education. It places emphasis on result of learning, i.e. the capability to access a wide range of information, but not on the environment of learning process (eye-to-eye communication, place, time). Such courses are delivered to remote locations via synchronous or asynchronous means of instruction, including CD-ROM, World Wide Web, audio- and videoconferencing, and interactive TV (Jackson, 2002).
One more aspect should be added to the conception of e-learning – we can understand this issue as (1) courses delivered by means of ICT and having tutors or supervisors and (2) as individual learning with no tutors or supervisors when person pursues for knowledge and tries to increase qualification on her/his own.
Information communication technologies have introduced a new set of educational opportunities for educators and students. Analyzing the advantages of IT mediated learning, different authors (such as Jackson, K.H. (2002), Gorski, P. (2001), Normantas, E., Rutkauskienė, D., Targamadzė, A., Vidžiūnas, A. (1999)) emphasize such ones:
- Increased amount of information. The resources and materials available via the World Wide Web expand information supply to a virtually infinite degree. The virtual libraries, collections of articles, dialogue forums, various databases, and historical archives from all around the world are available for everyone who uses the Internet.
- Opportunities of interactive learning. These interactive opportunities “can transcend the potential of most other educational media as a means to connect students with first person sources beyond classroom walls and national borders and across cultures. Most Web site creators provide an email address and/or other contact information so that teachers, students, and others can, in fact, contact them with questions, challenges, critiques, or comments” (Gorski, 2001).
Information technologies allow interactive communication: students can ask specific questions regarding any topic to an expert in the respective field. Many sites, such as Discussion Forums, are designed to facilitate dialogue and the sharing of ideas among educators and students.
- Interdisciplinary and multicultural perspectives in learning. At a global level e-learning provides individuals with wide intercultural competence, and social and global awareness. The use of WWW resources allows learner to view the same issue from different cultural, national, religious perspective that can not be done during traditional lesson/lecture.
- On-the-job training opportunities. e-Learning provides an opportunity to learn not leaving work place.
- Financial advantages due to savings on non-travelling and etc.
- Best results for kinaesthetic learners. Some individuals learn things the best when they touch them. Thus PC mediated learning suits the best for this kind of students.
- Opportunity to choose time and place for the studies. This opportunity makes e-learning suitable for non-typical audience (e.g. disabled people), where conventional education does not work, and for learners from rural regions, who have difficulties to reach educational institutions or are not willing to leave their homes.
However, new opportunities are usually accompanied by a series of new challenges. Educators are not willing to use ITC in teaching process and even if they use, this is not an easy practice.
“While training programs and instructional materials have made it easier for teachers to use the Internet more effectively in the classroom, recent research has shown that teachers still identify a lack of knowledge about the Internet as the primary reason they have not used it more often as a teaching tool” (Gorski, 2001)
Moreover, it is not very easy to find appropriate learning material and informative educational site. P.Gorski, who shares his experience in searching the useful educational material for his lectures, maintains that
“In my experience reviewing educational Web sites for the Multicultural Pavilion as well as publications in journals like Multicultural Perspectives and Multicultural Review, I have found that for every content-rich, credible educational Web site, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of sites that fit into one of several other categories including: 1) sites designed for commercial purposes, to sell a service or product; 2) sites that are primarily composed of links to other sites with little or no original content or resources; 3) sites with unidentified or unqualified content contributors; 4) sites that no longer exist or have been moved to a new, unknown server; and 5) sites that have been abandoned or not updated or several years” (Gorski, 2001).
These challenges concern all society members. Capabilities to use ICT are among the key requirements for personnel recruitment and successful career.
In the context of global transformations and the development of information society, electronic learning becomes a very important issue, vouching for the successful involvement of an individual into society’s life. That is why computer literacy and availability of the Internet are emphasized as key issues in governmental programs and policies of many countries.
PROSPECTS AND OBSTACLES FOR E-LEARNING IN RURAL COMMUNITIES OF LITHUANIA: RESULTS OF A PILOT STUDY
Methodology
One of the aspects that the pilot study “
ICT diffusion in local communities of rural regions in Lithuania” tries to explore is prospects and obstacles for e-learning in rural communities of Lithuania.
Methods of investigation:
(1) Quantitative: opinion survey;
(2) Qualitative: focus group discussion.
Quantitative: opinion survey. The pilot study represents the opinion of local communities’ leaders from different regions of Lithuania, who had participated in the conference
“Active communities. Transparent self-government. Information technologies” on 12th June, 2003. A survey is based on a sample of 72 respondents.
Qualitative: focus group discussion. The survey implies data from 4 focus group discussions:
- Decision-makers from educational sector (the first focus group). The participants from educational sector are enrolled in distance education courses at Marijampole College. Marijampole College was incorporated into the structure of Distance Education Network in the end of 2001. The distance learning class is open for more than two years. Participating in a project Phare 2000: The development of distance education system in Marijampole region they were able to create an infrastructure of 4 distance education classes in Marijampole region - in local communities of Vilkaviškis, Kazlų Rūda, Šakiai and Kalvarija (this qualitative study was one of the parts of the project mentioned above). Participants of this focus group discussion had an experience in organizing the Internet based learning, thus they were able to discuss about the opportunities of distance learning and share their observations.
- Decision-makers from business sector (the second focus group). The participants from business sector (organizations and private firms from rural settlements of Marijampole region) concentrated their attention on the discussion about the demand for distance learning courses.
- Members from local communities in townships Balninkai and Raudone (the third and fourth focus group). They expressed their opinion about the willingness to use the Internet in their everyday life activities.
There were 8-15 participants in each focus group discussion, data of which were used to illustrate the findings of opinion survey and to explore some details providing extra information about the issue in question.
Results of a pilot study
Lifelong learning becomes essential for living and working in so rapidly changing society. According to the results of focus group discussions in Marijampole, the work-related reasons are the main for being involved in lifelong learning. There is a relatively high level of unemployment in rural regions of Lithuania, thus a paid work is highly valued as the main source of household income. In order to be competitive in labour force market, people participate in learning processes. An expert from Marijampole College argues that “
the fear of unemployment is the main reason why adult people learn. Work guaranties income and financial security. On its turn, financial security creates moral comfort”. Other participants uphold this view:
“yes, work-related reasons are the main in the decision to study”.
The shift from centralized economy to market economy in Lithuania influenced changes in a labour market structure: the emergence of new professions and the dissolution of the other ones. Participants of focus group discussions in Marijampole considered these tendencies as very significant in providing impetus for adult learning:
“some profession became unnecessary, while new ones have emerged; so re-qualification is very important: people need new skills and new knowledge”, “the need for new skills in changing world is the reason for learning”, “everything is different now, new requirements for employees…even for ordinary service worker…”
The other group of reasons for being involved in learning is related to the individual’s pursue for self-actualization. Participants of focus group discussions in Marijampole emphasized that
“you should learn if you want actively participate in a knowledge society… Without learning you can not improve the quality of your life, the quality of yourself”.
Even the lifelong learning is important, however, nobody can force an individual to learn,
“it depends on an individual, on his/her motivation.” Unwillingness to learn in adulthood encompasses very different reasons, such as family duties, shortage of time (Long, 1983). Living in rural areas is one of the obstacles to be engaged in lifelong learning processes due to, for example, high costs and inconvenient timetables of transportation (Final report of the project “Lifelong learning opportunities in region: case study of Utena region”). In this situation the use of the Internet in learning is considered very helpful for rural residents. The diffusion of ICT can change the concept of rurality, empowering such residents with new opportunities of participating in society’s life.
According to the data of opinion survey, it is quite complicated to answer the question whether e-learning really empowers rural residents to participate in society’s life more effectively. As the data show, 35% of respondents think that there is a threat of social exclusion of some groups in Lithuania, while 30% of them consider that the traditional human relations are the most significant in community’s life, the users or non-users of ICT in Lithuanian society have the same opportunities, and 35% of them do not have any opinion about this issue.
Participants of all focus group discussions agree that, “
at one point, e-learning refers to the idea of educational equality for all individuals in diverse society”. As an ideal, it could empower socially excluded people, allowing them to participate in learning processes which previously were inaccessible, e.g. due to the shortage of time and unwillingness to leave their homes. The participants of the focus group discussion in township Raudone explain the reasons they are going to join e-learners after the establishment of public access in township Raudone:
“I could learn at evening after the feeding of my cows…”, “I can not leave my home for a long period of time, so I can learn via the Internet..”, “you do not need to travel 50 kilometres (1-2 hours) for the lesson that lasts 1-2 hours”. Thus, participants of focus group discussions agree that e-Learning opens new opportunity for the individuals from rural regions of Lithuania.
This can be the reason why participants of all focus group discussions have emphasized the need for World Wide Web based learning:
“The learning via the Internet is very important, particularly to residents of rural communities”(from focus group discussion in township Balninkai)
„We need it, because such learning enables us to obtain new skills and new knowledge” (from focus group discussion in township Balninkai)
“The Internet also can be used for the educational purpose”(from focus group discussion in township Raudone)
“There are a lot of different activities in countryside. You can not just go to the town for learning. So the Internet could be very convenient mean for learning. You can stay home and learn at the same time (from focus group discussion in Marijampole).
Talking about community’s everyday life activities and areas in which the Internet can be used, the respondents of a questionnaire-based survey were the most likely to emphasise “the search for information”. 95% of respondents indicated this area as the main (see Figure 2). Nevertheless, respondents pointed out that learning via the Internet is also important for communities’ members. 81% of respondents agree that World Wide Web can be used for the educational purposes (see Figure 2).
By means of the Internet based education, participants of the discussion in Marijampole would like study mainly these three areas:
- Modern languages (especially, English). Participants from business sector pointed out that online learning offers new opportunities for language learners: “Languages are increasingly important in nowadays life”, so via the Internet you can study “english for beginners and for advanced students”.
ICT related courses (computer literacy): “the ability to use information and communication technologies is also essential in many other activity sectors”.
Management and basics of cost accounting.
Participants of focus group discussion in Raudone added that courses for obtaining specific skills and qualifications are also vital: “the knowledge should be of a practical value”, “it could be courses for farmers”.
Although the role of the Internet in learning was greatly emphasized by participants of all focus group discussions, nevertheless some subjects (such as communicative abilities, spoken English, the very beginning of ICT basics) request traditional forms of learning.
In spite of the advantages and opportunities that rural residents see in e-learning, there were indicated the obstacles that e-learning and ICT diffusion itself meet in rural regions of Lithuania. According to the opinion of the resident from the township Raudone, “
the Internet based learning could be an important issue, but, first of all, we need PCs and connections to the Internet here…” Thus non-equal ICT infrastructure is one of the problems. ICT infrastructure is deployed with widely varying local and regional rates of penetration, depending on factors such as geography, age and income levels. According to the survey Digital Lithuania 2001, (Šaulauskas, 2001, p.79), in 2001 86.9% of Lithuanian residents, who do not use the Internet, pointed out that the main obstacle is uneven distribution of access to the Internet.
During the focus group discussion, people supported this data:
“it is easy to have an access to the Internet in town, but here, in country it is difficult…” (from the focus group discussion in Balninkai).
The diffusion of ICT often relies on a change agent who is the most technically competent (Rogers, 1983, p.19), but in rural communities the quality and number of professionals who maintain the network and provide ICT service is rather low. According to the focus group discussion in township Balninkai,
“the spread of ICT in [their] community mostly relies on the leader of the community centre [author’s note: who is not professional in ICT]
”. Their Web site was also created by a community member, who is not professional in ICT.
The challenging issue in e-learning at a global level is language. Most people in rural settlements of Lithuania are not able to read academic texts in foreign languages, thus foreign sites are not suitable for most rural e-learners from Lithuania:
“if you want to learn, you should know foreign languages”, “
in order to read foreign sites you should know English well” (from focus group discussion in Balninkai).
But the main obstacle for being engaged in e-learning are the costs of ICT. E-learning does require much financial resources. At a starting point individual should acquire ICT hardware and software products; Internet costs also are relatively high. Thus only financially strong people can allow themselves to acquire PC and connection to the Internet. According to the focus group discussion results, the price which business and individual consumers pay for the Internet access, personal commuter’s both hardware and software or for e-learning courses is extremely high: “
more people could afford the connection to the Internet if fees were lower, for example, 30 litas per month [author’s note: approximately 9 EUR]” (from focus group discussion in Balninkai
), “the distance education courses should be free. It is certainly true that the price should be directly related to demand for the particular subject and to the quality of knowledge provided to the learner. But in any case the price should not be too high…” (from focus group discussion in Raudone).
As residents from rural regions where low-income levels cannot support high-priced ICT items argue, public access is essential in making the Internet available to greater numbers of individuals and firms: “
Internet cafes and community information centres assume great importance in making the Internet available to those who do not have personal access at home or at work”.
Considering the categories of the Internet users, respondents of the questionnaire-based survey pointed out that, according to their opinion, the leading users of the Internet in the rural regions of Lithuania (thus the potential e-learners) are:
(1) schoolchildren,
(2) teachers and librarians,
(3) municipality officials and other governmental officers,
(4) members of community centre (see Figure 3).
As shown in Figure 3, almost all respondents (97%) agree that the Internet is mostly used by schoolchildren. The retired, elderly and unemployed people are among those who use the Internet the least. Nobody of the respondents consider retired people as active users of the Internet. These findings correspond to the data of the survey
Digital Lithuania 2001, (Šaulauskas, 2001).
Data of this pilot study show that socially excluded groups (retired, elderly and unemployed people) use the Internet very little or do not use it at all. Thus even e-learning could be considered as an effective mean to integrate socially excluded people into society’s life, but now this is not yet achieved in Lithuania.
Conclusions
E-Learning is relatively new form of learning for members of Lithuanian society. Motives for enrolment in e-learning, first of all, are related to the changes in labour market (fear of unemployment, aspirations for a better new job, etc.) and, secondly, are related to the need for self-actualization.
According to the pilot survey results, rural residents consider the Internet as a useful mean and new opportunity for being involved in lifelong learning processes. But also they indicate some obstacles that e-learning and ICT diffusion meets in Lithuania. Non-equal ICT infrastructure at regional level, the low number of professionals who maintain the network and provide ICT service in rural regions of Lithuania, lack of knowledge in foreign languages, and relatively high costs of ICT (the prices for the Internet access or personal commuter’s both hardware and software) are the main obstacles for rural residents to be engaged in learning via the Internet. Public access is emphasised as one of the ways in making the Internet available to greater numbers of individuals and firms in rural regions of Lithuania.
According to the pilot study results, the development of e-learning widens the opportunities of all people to be enrolled in a learning process by using IT. But socially excluded groups (retired, elderly and unemployed people) use the Internet very little or do not use it at all. Thus even e-learning could be considered as an effective mean to integrate socially excluded people into society’s life, but now this is not yet achieved in Lithuania. In practise, these people are unable to take learning via the Internet and rarely take advantage of the opportunities provided by ICT.
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