Distance Education in Developing Countries: Opportunities and Challenges.

Global civilization means simultaneously progress for everybody and destruction of the ethical and mythical nucleus of individual cultures. The role of education in the global world would be to start a universal dialogue between all the cultural groups of the world. Education will save the values now in danger, because a multicultural dialogue may rescue endangered cultures. Computer-based distance education and training in developing countries ought to fulfill the same goals as the whole educational system to prepare people for the oncoming globalization. A virtual college is one expression of a growing virtual society that also includes virtual corporations, telework, telemedicine, and teledemocracy. Many new technologies have a potential application in education: the Internet, intranets, World Wide Web, electronic mail, groupware videoconferencing, workflow, CD-ROMS, and interactive television. A virtual college project based on e-mail has been proposed. The structure includes a virtual classroom, subscription to lists, virtual library, virtual administrative office, and virtual company. Courses are organized according to a schedule that includes dates for registration, distribution of lessons, and evaluation. Students are always given a manual with course details, scheduling, curricula and specific instruction, bibliography, and information about homework evaluation, certificates, and qualification. (Contains 12 references.) (YLB)