Cultural transformation of E-Learning for South Asia

Abstract

With the boom of computers and the Internet, the growth of e learning too has increased along with it. The advantages of e-learning are many. The flexibility of time, pace, and location makes e-learning both attractive and popular. This new trend of learning is seen across the globe but with the exception in developing countries in South Asia and Latin America. According to the Economists Intelligent Unit e-Learning Readiness Rankings of 2003, countries like Sri Lanka and Pakistan are ranked 55 and 59 respectively, while most European countries are ranked among the lop. The ranking is done based on connectivity, capability, content, and culture. This paper focuses on the cultural dimensions, and attempts to identify which cultural factors cause the failure of e-learning in South Asia. The reasons are identified by the Cultural Framework developed by Terpstra & Sarathy. Among these reasons, the main reasons can be identified as language, education, and technology and material culture. Interviews were conducted with the problem owners to find out what cultural factor sexist as barriers to e-learning and what solutions have been proposed or implemented to address these. Several cultural factors were identified and recommended solutions are proposed to overcome these problems.