MALDIVES HIGHER EDUCATION PROJECT

AS PREPARED BY: LEONARD AMATTEY

PROJECT LEADER: REG. LIAN

PROGRAM DELIVERY NETWORK SYSTEM: one of the benefits of the proposed Education Research Centre is to explore the possibility of outreach education.

Maldives is divided into administrative districts called ATOLLS.   Most of the quality educational facilities in the Maldives are located in the capital city of Malé even though only a small percentage of the population is located there.  The quality of the educational facilities on the islands is not high, and in some case facilities do not exist at all.

As a result, without migration from the islands to the mainland, the opportunity for quality education is limited.

There is a critical need to reduce the variations in the quality of education and provide facilities for the islands where there are demands but lack the facilities due to economic constraints.

We must therefore find cost effective methods of delivering quality education to benefit all those who are willing and able to access higher education facilities in the Maldives regardless of the location of delivery.   A program delivery network system is therefore being proposed.

PROGRAM DELIVERY NETWORK SYSTEM: The proposal will involve technology intensive program delivery. The technology will help standardize quality educational program delivery locally and remotely, so remote islands will share the same quality education as that which is being delivered in Malé.

This method of program delivery will solve three educational problems currently being experienced in the Maldives:

1.  the unequal quality between mainland Malé and remote islands.

2.  the lack of facilities for educational program delivery on remote islands.

3.  the long-term cost of education.

THE TECHNOLOGY:  Users of this mode of learning will develop contacts through real-time experience or through analogue materials, such as video, films and tape recordings. Users may also establish contacts through digital distribution channels.

The state-of-the-art mechanism called the "SMART SYSTEM" developed in the United States can be employed to integrate all the education communication channels into one powerful decoder which will enable both onsite real time viewers, offsite real time viewers, and recorded information consumers to be served simultaneously in a timeless space. The delivery capability of this system is location-free because it benefits both classroom-based delivery as well as remote location learning options.

This technology can therefore customize the educational needs of the islands and deliver the materials based on a real-time delivery schedule independent of the size of the group or the proximity. These features will allow for home and classroom delivery of educational materials for both individual and group consumption provided both electronic infrastructure and equipment such as videos and computers are within reach.

While investment in equipment costs will be high, the system provides a broader, cheaper, and higher-quality educational model for the Maldives.

SMART SYSTEM TRACK RECORD: Below is the list of a few of the schools in the United States that use the smart system for education program delivery:

Washington State University, Duke University, North Eastern University, Georgia College and Cincinnati State University.

EXPECTED BENEFIT: The incorporation of technological advances will fundamentally change the process of learning, and the limiting factor to this change will be the user’s ability to assimilate and implement these changing processes.

LINKAGE OF CURRICULA TO TECHNOLOGY:   Curricula and media formats will have to be integrated to produce instructional materials to address the desired learning outcomes.

MALDIVES MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AGENDA:  The Maldives ministry of education will determine the scope of the higher education programs it intends to approve for delivery in the mainland and the islands.

1.  The infrastructure requirements needed to support the curricula integration with the technology applications will have to be made available.

2.  The size of the student population the ministry intends to service on the islands through technology applications will need to be determined.

3.  Timetable for program delivery to groups in classroom environments, and subsequent improvements to home environment delivery, will have to be designed.

TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT:  In order to properly assess the impact of technology on the learning process, we must examine the following:

1.  The impact of the specific course materials by the technology in relationship to achieving the desired learning outcome.

2.  The level of technical knowledge required for the instructor to incorporate the technology into the curriculum.

3.  The level of knowledge required for a student to access the curriculum using the technology.

4.  The barriers to using the technology by either the instructor or the student.

5.  Evaluation of the performance of the instructor and student in the adoption of the technology to achieve specific learning outcomes.

6.  The compilation and organization of source materials to maximize use and minimize difficulties of use as a result of the introduction of new technology and processes.

ONLINE PROGRAM DELIVERY LINKAGE:  In addition to providing local distribution of multimedia delivery in the Maldives, there will be an increasing requirement to access off-site databases as part of curricula delivery. This feature is important because access to online electronic program delivery (from Canada specifically and other countries in general) will be linked to the network program delivery system in the Maldives. As a result, it is expected that extensive use will be made of the Internet.

SYSTEM COMPONENTS: Incorporation of emerging technologies will require a supporting system containing the following elements:

1.  Source material on a variety of pre-recorded formats such as VHS tapes, CD ROM, computer files laser disc, 35 mm slides, 8mm/16mm film, BBS.

2.  Source material obtained real time in a variety of formats such as broadcast video, Internet material, locally generated audio/video and data.

3.  Centralized media devices essential for the distribution of source material.

4.  The control system integrating the various media and data devices employed in the network interfacing with the various delivery methods employed to provide easy access to the users.

5.  The user interface for scheduling and reserving materials either purchasing or leasing, providing selection and reservation of the system resources including source material, delivery methodologies for distribution of source material and media devices required for access to source material.

6.  The delivery system incorporating local cabling with connectivity to communication infrastructures provided by various carriers such as LANs, WANs and the Internet.

7.  The local user interface for viewing material, either digital or analogue, with the ability to seamlessly access either digital or analogue material, locally or remotely.

DELIVERY AND CONSUMING SOURCES INTERFACING COORDINATOR: A system analyst is required to coordinate the connectivity and application of the system at both the delivery and consuming sources of the system.

COORDINATOR'S MANDATE:

Review the above platform and provide the following analysis.

1.  Determine the feasibility of the system, or suggest an alternative system or modification to the proposed system.

2.  Determine the difficulty of procuring system components.

3.  Estimate the cost of the system, connectivity and delivery at both delivery and consuming ends of the sources.