CDE seminar conducted by Dr Endrit Kromidha (Teaching Fellow in Technology Information Management and Strategy / International Business, School of Management, Royal Holloway University of London) Many achievements in technology and information systems have made possible the improvement of public services. However, in many countries, education remains behind some other sectors, regardless of its purpose towards future generations or the resources spent therein. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the opportunities and policy challenges of distance learning in a developing region’s context. The discussion will start with a general overview of new democracies and countries in the Western Balkans. Secondly, this study intends to analyse how online distance learning has evolved and can guide educational policy for higher access and development. Finally, the presentation intends to open a discussion on the policy challenges and their implementation in practice. The research is based on specific numbers and figures taken from reports on Western Balkan countries. Alongside the regional perspective, this seminar is aimed at anyone with an interest in the developing context for how information and communication technologies can have a positive impact, and how online distance learning can be related to policies for development.

2. Structure of the presentation
 The Western Balkans: Regional background
 Western Balkans and UK distance learning
 VLE trends and opportunities
 The policy problem and an alternative view
 Conclusions and discussion

3. The Western Balkans:
Regional background
 Communist past
 EU prospects
 Middle-income
countries
 Regional border
conflicts

4. Source: The World Bank

5. Source: The World Bank

6. Western Balkans and UK distance
learning - Overview
 British Council country offices: The hubs of distance education
 University Qualifications
 Professional qualifications:
 ACCADEMY: For ACCA’s qualifications available at any time, anywhere in the
world.
 DISTANCE DELTA: Preparing teachers for the Cambridge Diploma in English
Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA).
 For A level, GCSE, adult and vocational training courses.
 LEARN DIRECT, NATIONAL EXTENSION COLLEGE, OPEN LEARNING ACADEMY,
OXFORD OPEN LEARNING etc.

7. Western Balkans and UK education
relationships - Free courses
 BEGINNERS TUTORIALS - Provides hundreds of free online
tutorials and software applications.
 LEARN DIRECT FOR BUSINESS - Taster courses in ICT,
Business/Management and Basic Skills. Includes quizzes and
games.
 NUTROCKER - Free online courses and tutorials on software,
programming, etc.
 ONLINE WEB PRACTICALS - Software applications, IT and
chemistry from Oxford University.
 THE WRITERS BUREAU - Home-study courses in creative
writing, journalism and poetry.

8. MOOCs: World and Western Balkans
‘1 million enrolled
students on
Coursera across 196
countries’
From the Balkan
countries only
Serbia appears in
these figures at 0.3%
and Croatia at 0.25%
(http://blog.coursera.org/ on
9 Aug 2012)

9. Online Distance Learning
Some figures about Moodle
Registered sites 75,026
Countries 227
Courses 7,007,818
Users 65,205,380
Teachers 1,292,504
Enrolments 53,966,569
Forum posts 116,501,343
Resources 62,565,943
Quiz questions 143,558,314
Source: https://moodle.org/stats/ as of 8 Feb 2013

10. Country comparison
Top Countries Moodle
Registrations
United States 12,732
Spain 6,503
Brazil 5,419
United Kingdom 4,105
Mexico 3,136
Germany 3,096
Portugal 2,218
Colombia 2,122
Australia 1,824
Italy 1,787
Source: https://moodle.org/stats/ as of 8 Feb 2013
What matters?
West
Balkans
Moodle
Registrations
Population in
2011
according to
World Bank
Albania 18 3,215,988
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
62 3,752,228
Croatia 138 4,407,000
Kosovo (n/a) 1,794,303
Macedonia 38 2,063,893
Montenegro 9 632,261
Serbia 210 7,261,000

13. Information technologies and e-literacy
Source: UNPAN E-Government Survey Reports

14. Technology acceptance and adaptation?
In general, not a problem!
Source: https://moodle.org/stats/ as of 8 Feb 2013

15. ‘GOVERNANCE’The policy problem view
Education Policies
Economic policies
Telecommunication
policies
Internet
Fast and Wireless
Devices
Mobile and Smart
Accredited Content
Virtual and OpenAccess
Costs
Resources
Based on some ideas and critique on New Public Management
(Margetts 2009, Dunleavy et al. 2006, Pollitt, Bouckaert 2011, Barzelay 2001, Lane 2000, Hood 2000)

16. An alternative view
Education Policies
Economic policies
Telecommunication
policies
Internet
Fast and Wireless
Devices
Mobile and Smart
Accredited Content
Virtual and Open
GOVERNANCE COLLABORATION
JOINTPOLICY-MAKING
NATIONAL INTERNATIONAL

17. Back to a basic problem:
 Are Massive Open Online Courses and open online
learning the solution for education in developing
countries?

18. My view on MOOCs for
development
 Yes,
 They provide easy access to education.
 They are ‘free’ for users .
 They are ‘free’ for governments.
 But,
 Are one-size-fits all, thus missing the local development
context of different countries and learners.
 There are issues with the intellectual property of the
learning content if blended into local HE programmes.
 Are not accredited nor recognized yet in the job market.

19. Some concluding thoughts
It is not the technology, but the new
forms of accreditation, e-literacy,
assessment, and policy that are
changing online distance education
for development.

20. However, looking towards the
future,
There should be no surprise if soon
we see reverse education via online
distance learning and MOOCs from
developing to developed countries ,
as we have seen reverse innovation
in business.