PAN DORA : Pan Asia Network Distance and Open Resource Access

1)	Accessibility, Acceptance and Effects of DLT in South Asia

2)	The Viability of Mobile SMS Technologies for Non-formal DL in Asia

3)	Evaluation and Adaptation of Open Source Software for DL in Asia

4)	Distance-based Teacher Education in Bhutan

5)	Instructional Design Training for ICT-based DL in Asia

6)	A Repository of Reusable Learning Objects for DL in Asia

7)	E-assessment Methods and Models for Student Evaluation in Asia

8)	Best practices in DL Technology for Capacity Building in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam

9)	Evaluation of DL Practices for Policy Recommendations in China and Mongolia

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Virtual University of Pakistan
M.A. Jinnah Campus
Defence Road,
Lahore, Pakistan

The Viability of Mobile SMS Technologies for Non-formal Distance Learning in Asia

Participating Institutions:

Molave Development Foundation, Inc., Philippines
Health Sciences University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar
ESP Foundation, Ulaanbaatar
University of the Philippines Open University

Research Team:

Dr. Angelo Juan Ramos, Molave Foundation ( project leader )
Dr. Amarsaikhan Dashtseren, HSUM
Dr. David Lambert, ESP Foundation
Professor Felix Librero, Chancellor, UPOU

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Project Overview:

The objectives of this project were to test the feasibility and acceptability of using short message system (SMS) technologies for delivering non-formal distance learning (DL) to different socio-economic, cultural and gender groups; and to determine the motivation of users for distance learning purposes.

The outputs includes SMS Learning Packs - courseware in SMS format and other ancillary materials (i.e. booklets, cassettes, CD-ROMs, etc.) - on different subjects and topics identified as learning needs of different groups; an SMS server in each partner country (i.e. Philippine and Mongolia) to handle student registration, storage, and deployment of the educational materials, trained personnel on SMS-enabled technologies, a set of standardized assessment tools and forms for use by partner countries, shared online educational materials, research tools/ methodologies for use by project partners, publications, and a set of suggestions for policy guidelines and standards for the use of the SMS platform in DL.

The Philippines is a world leader in the use of mobile and short message systems technology, and Mongolia is a leader in the development of high-compression methods techniques facilitating these technologies in rural areas. This project, a collaboration between specialists in these two countries, explored the innovative possibilities of mobile SMS technologies in community development contexts, and provided a bridge between these non-formal uses of the media and those of the formal DL situation. The cross-fertilization of these two fields represents a valuable contribution to the international literature of DL, in demonstrating that efficient DL evolves from a strong community understanding of the DL media's potential.