A cost-effective two-way active computer-aided tertiary education network for industrially developing countries

Abstract

A new and unique system is proposed for conducting two-way active computer-aided tertiary education in all the geographical areas of industrially developing countries. This educational network would be of especial value in the training, retraining and upgrading of skills in all areas of technology. The computer-aided tertiary educational programs will include theoretical, technical, vocational and industrial training courses.

The system will be based on commercially available individual personal computers. The computers selected will be of moderate cost, be flexible, versatile and amenable to easy updating as new or improved components become available.

The network will actively link the teaching centre(s) with the students and the students with the teaching centre. Interactive two-way communications will use satellites, ground-to-ground radio, and land and microwave telephone systems. This network is designed to be adaptable to new techniques as they become available. The instructional centres can be linked to, and/or broadcast from anywhere in the world.

This computer-aided tertiary educational network system lends itself to cost-effective updating as instructional, computational and communications arts advance. This will permit industrially developing countries with modest means to keep pace with the need to train, retrain and improve the training of large numbers of persons in many new fields of technology using the latest teaching methods and state-of-the-art communications systems. The network is very flexible and is geared to serving relatively remote geographical areas all over the world, in addition to fulfilling the very diverse needs of industrially developing countries in all forms of tertiary education and training.