Internet as a medium to deliver educational material to Pashtuns in Pashto language

[Toramana]

If standard lectures in Pashto are prepared in different subjects and uploaded to Internet for learners in Afghanistan and KP, etc., what about that? I think in technical areas, there is much need for such a thing.

Opinion?

[Toramana]

Why are people shying away from this---Is it due to lack of guts or what?

[tor_khan]

If standard lectures in Pashto are prepared in different subjects and uploaded to Internet for learners in Afghanistan and KP, etc., what about that? I think in technical areas, there is much need for such a thing.

Opinion?

As with many of these things, we have to look at feasibility re: time/uptake. Educational content has almost got to be taken to the people who need it rather than just being hosted on the internet. For one, the people who need it may not have access to the internet.

Last year I was involved in a program that aimed to deliver the Afghan Ministry of Ed adult literacy program through mobile phone technologies. This material was being converted so that even older phones operating on symbian technology (able to run java) would be able to hold the content from the adult ed program. Even in the developing world, this type of wireless technology can really be utilised to deliver content.

Remember, student-content interaction is key, otherwise it becomes a 'passive' learning experience with little room for growth and not much different to the teaching on offer in the region in general. My involvement was in whether the first batch of content being designed by techies in Kabul was appropriate in terms of student-instructor interaction.

I've discovered that it is a much slower process because even whilst the Afghan adult literacy program materials have all been prepared, the transfer of this into a smaller mobile-phone compatible format is a lot of work.

In Pakhtunkhwa, I suspect that their curriculums would be slightly different and I'm still not sure how much of the adult literacy teaching/learning is in Pashto or whether learners prefer Urdu/English. I'm willing to work with people who will give this type of initiative a push, but I don't really have the contacts there. In Afghanistan whilst there is still a lot of red tape, I've met some of the key people and I know that the various Ministries are generally supportive of these types of initiatives.

[Toramana]

As with many of these things, we have to look at feasibility re: time/uptake. Educational content has almost got to be taken to the people who need it rather than just being hosted on the internet. For one, the people who need it may not have access to the internet.

Last year I was involved in a program that aimed to deliver the Afghan Ministry of Ed adult literacy program through mobile phone technologies. This material was being converted so that even older phones operating on symbian technology (able to run java) would be able to hold the content from the adult ed program. Even in the developing world, this type of wireless technology can really be utilised to deliver content.

Remember, student-content interaction is key, otherwise it becomes a 'passive' learning experience with little room for growth and not much different to the teaching on offer in the region in general. My involvement was in whether the first batch of content being designed by techies in Kabul was appropriate in terms of student-instructor interaction.

I've discovered that it is a much slower process because even whilst the Afghan adult literacy program materials have all been prepared, the transfer of this into a smaller mobile-phone compatible format is a lot of work.

In Pakhtunkhwa, I suspect that their curriculums would be slightly different and I'm still not sure how much of the adult literacy teaching/learning is in Pashto or whether learners prefer Urdu/English. I'm willing to work with people who will give this type of initiative a push, but I don't really have the contacts there. In Afghanistan whilst there is still a lot of red tape, I've met some of the key people and I know that the various Ministries are generally supportive of these types of initiatives.

tor_khan thanks for that comment. I actually was talking about technical material at the higher secondary and early university level e.g., lectures of different subjects maths, physics, computer, etc. I think if CDs are prepared and floated, that may be more effective although it would be passive mode.

Usually, students can't grasp the concept due to language barrier and lack of good teachers.

I think your ideas of adult education are excellent. If ANP came to power again, one can talk with them. They would be very receptive to the idea.

[tor_khan]

^Toramana. Trust me, I'd dedicate my time to get this up and running.

As for the technical programs you are talking about, I think it's a good idea.

We still have to crack the real elementary educational needs though, I think. Simple things like basic female literacy for example.

[Toramana]

^Toramana. Trust me, I'd dedicate my time to get this up and running.

As for the technical programs you are talking about, I think it's a good idea.

We still have to crack the real elementary educational needs though, I think. Simple things like basic female literacy for example.

That would be very nice. Let us see what political scenario emerges in a year, then one can go ahead and talk to the political people---if some accessible party came to power, that would make it easy. If the strategy was successful in Afg, that would be rather better.

[Admin Khan]

I started recording a calculus 1 video series, but later lost interest.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

You know where would be a great place to start? KhanAcademy, they're asking people to translate KhanAcademy videos into various languages, you have a great command of Pushto, so perhaps you can start working with them?