e-learning: A useful educational tool

Published in The Daily Star
Section: Star Tech
Date: Sat. January 07, 2006

Syed Tashfin Chowdhury

E-learning can be a potential tool that can bridge the gap between faculty and students thousands of miles apart from each other. This can prove to be a vital method of education in all academic streams," said Dr Badrul H. Khan, associate professor, George Washington University, USA at a seminar at Dhaka Medical College (DMC).

Khan was the key speaker at the seminar titled 'E-learning for Medical students and Health community'. The Computer club of Dhaka Medical College (CCDMC) organised the event on January 3.

Khan basically explained the necessary steps in the important framework of e-learning as pedagogical, institutional, ethical, resource support, management, evaluation, interface design and technological.

"Through e-learning, a teacher or a faculty in USA or UK can provide lessons to students in Bangladesh or in any other parts of the world," explained Khan.

Furthermore, he also explained that the resources in e-learning can prove to be more effective than the traditional learning methods.

He also pointed out that through e-learning researchers, faculties, students and others can also benefit from local knowledge and skills that lie in the numerous professions in the rural areas.

"There is an immense bank of untapped knowledge and skills that lie within some of these professions like fishing, farming, cattle herding etc," he said.

He pointed out that in the western countries, the knowledge of farmers and agriculturists are sought with great enthusiasm.

"But such is not the case here. Most academicians do not even want to go out of their own circle and learn from the other streams. This trend needs to be changed," he urged.

The seminar was presided over by Nurul Islam Hasib, president CCDMC while Dr Md Shafiullah, moderator of CCDMC spoke at the event. Professor Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam, head of the Department of Cardiology, DMC, Professor Dr. Md. Omar Ali, Surgery Department, DMC and Shahidul K K Shuvro, ICT journalist, also spoke at the seminar.

"This was our effort to create awareness amongst our peers and students about how useful computers and information technology can be even for doctors and physicians," said Nurul Islam Hasib, president of CCDMC while talking to Star Tech after the event.

Hasib hoped that CCDMC will be able to organise some more seminars and interactive sessions with such noted scholars like Khan in the near future.