Distance Education Technologies in Asia

Book excerpt: In Asia, Distance Education (DE) is providing major solutions in the areas of education and training. DE methods that are standard in other parts of the world, however, have yet to demonstrate their full potential in Asia. Covering nine DE projects by 39 researchers from 13 countries, this book analyses the DE scenario in Asia, the successes, the failures and the reasons behind them. This book is a unique collation of the results of studies of educational technologies across an extensive network of Asian countries. It also provides a useful snapshot of DE's development in Asia in the early years of the 21st century. The surveys reported cover different DE contexts, methodologies, and levels of generalisability, and add to the existing scholarship on the subject by providing previously unavailable, firm evidence about DE's prospects in Asia. The contributors give important recommendations that can be translated into practical and political actions to help solve critical socio-economic problems of Asia as well as other parts of the world.