2.2: The Scenario in Developing Countries
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It is necessary to understand the scenario in Afro-Asian countries. Although they differ appreciably in their policies and plans most of them are committed to improving the life and education of people by legislating several different national documents. Almost all national institutions have formulated vision, mission, and values statements. For example, in Botswana, there is the longterm vision document Vision 2016: Prosperity for All (1997), which is being implemented and monitored in a phased manner. Alongside it are the National Education Policy, National ICT Policy and University Policies on Shaping the Future, as well as a Computer-aided Learning, Digital Outreach Policy, etc. At the time of writing, the Botswana National Development Plan 10 is being created, and the University is including digital learning and outreach. The University’s Vision and Mission statements are available in the Annual Calendar (2007).
Likewise, policy documents committing themselves to higher education and national development exist in almost all African and Asian countries. Some are, however, short of ground realities, mainly due to lack of financial resources. In Africa, design courses are offered at several universities in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, and elsewhere. All design courses require actual or virtual design environments. It is, therefore, important that all of them be aware about evolving technologies and their relevance to their own developmental priorities.
There are some networks in Africa which become active every now and then. For example, the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA, 2005) is an association for the 63 publicly funded universities located in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). SARUA aims are to:
- promote, strengthen, and increase higher education, training and research through expanded interinstitutional collaboration and capacity building initiatives across the region;
- promote universities as major contributors towards national and regional socio-economic development.
Another well-established network is the African University Network (AFUNET), also known as the Global Virtual University (GVU, 2000), which was created as a practical response to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Plan of Action. It is designed to enhance the capabilities of African universities to take advantage of the opportunities associated with the emergence of global information society, akin to the National Science Foundation in the US. Despite challenges of operation, it holds promise to integrate the African continent into the global information society and economy. The AFUNET project is currently handled by the Association of African Universities (AAU), which has also set up a parallel Research and Networking Unit.
Developing countries are also catching up with the emerging pedagogical paradigms. In this aspect, students appear to be ahead of teachers! One may summarize the paradigms from the students’ perspective (Thomas, 2007) as follows:
Students wish to:
- maximize their learning by interaction and communication with others than by reading alone. They appear to use all available resources, particularly the Internet by click-click and ‘thinking together’.
- become more active, flexible and ubiquitous in their sociological environment.
- construct new knowledge by engaging in learning on their own.
It appears that the new type of learner expecting the learning context to be interactive, collaborative, and socially exciting, looking for learning materials in flexible format is already born. This paradigm shift is conducive to the spread of virtual learning. Once facilities are made available, students are keen to engage themselves, even by working beyond their normal timetable.
The University of Botswana, with an enrollment of 15,000, provides a good example of the students’ willingness for e-learning. Though WebCT was launched in 2002 with only 21 online courses, it did so with considerable drive by the Centre for Academic Development. Students began to ask for more online courses, thus urging lecturers to work, resulting in 450 courses on WebCT/Blackboard format in 2007. The university is also moving towards online journals, digital repositories, and virtual sites in the wake of the digital revolution. In doing so, academics are keeping abreast of the latest developments in their fields by accessing information, writing articles and publishing papers online.
Conventional Studio Environment
Design practice is a very important component of all design-related programs, and one or more design studios should be provided for this purpose. Every student needs to be allocated a seat in a studio, where he or she may work any time of the working day.
A design studio in an institution, as shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) and a special materials (bamboo) design studio shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) are large enough spaces to accommodate 20 to 30 students with provisions for the following:
- sketching, drawing, writing, modelling, etc.
- pin-up boards, display stands, whiteboards, and easels with charts, etc.
- free movement to comment and critique by fellow students, staff, and visitors in an informal environment individually or in small groups.
Design studios in industry, Figures \(\PageIndex{3}\) and \(\PageIndex{4}\), may look a bit different, that is, with just one or two designs being studied in great detail from several different points of view, such as shape, form, aerodynamic profiling, general appeal, ergonomic suitability, turning wheel, braking system of a new motor car.
It costs a great deal of money to get space and infrastructure to make a good studio. And then, there is always a risk of loss and vandalism of expensive items. Moreover, it cannot be open all day and night and one has to come to the studio to do anything; one may be living several kilometres away so that by the time one arrives, some ideas may have already evaporated or gone with the wind! Therefore, with all the advantages of a real studio, there are associated problems and limitations, including the following:
- fixed place and limited time for access to the studio
- safety and security problems from within and without!
- requires more funds for updating every time
- no provision for distance and open learning
- no scope to expand for larger number of students
- no interaction with students elsewhere, i.e., outside the institution and
- no access to/by design professionals except by special invitation.
Virtual Design Studio Environment
The concept of a virtual studio is not new, and some studies have been reported by authors (Wojtowicz, 1995, Al-Qawasmi, 2005, and Chen et al. 1994). The latest studies, however, reveal that there have been a number of limitations which must be overcome (Mather, Simoff & Cicognani, 2006). The infrastructure of a virtual studio should not only match but also outsmart the infrastructure of a real-life studio in terms of the following:
- provision for sketching, drawing, printing and computer modelling, etc.
- virtual pin-up boards, displays, writing surfaces, space for models and exhibits in a pleasing environment and
- free access to comment and critique by fellow students, staff and visitors whenever and wherever they like!
One such virtual studio created at the university Web link (Kumar, 2007) is shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\), with gardenlike entry and similar interiors with five different designs posted in it; one of them is shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\)
Virtual studios are likely to be more flexible than real-life studios by permitting the following:
- any place and any time; 24/7 access
- completely safe and secure, since there no removable items
- not requiring any more funds for updating and for larger number of designers
- allowing interaction with students located anywhere across the globe and
- permitting free access to/by design professionals by shared login and passwords
A number of telephone systems are becoming available which can be used to interact instantly between the designers. Web phone and cell phones can be used to advantage. A recent leap forward with Skype offering free-of-cost one to one or a group telephone conferencing opens up a new possibility. A number of staff members in Africa are already employing it to converse with counterparts in other design institutions. A recent Skype advertisement proposes free business conference calls, and goes as follows:
Talk to more people at once: Conference call the easy way. Start a ten-person call or invite others into a call you are already having. Perfect for business and when you need to chat to a few friends at once. Catch up on the latest news!
The new arrival, Iphone, advertised as “breaking the mould”, is indeed a welcome addition in Africa and Asia as elsewhere. Likewise, the onset of podcasting is being felt through the Internet, both on PCs and Macs. Examples of real dialogues are as follows:
Interaction with Julien in France
Professor: Bonjour Julien, Are you there?
Julien: Oui, Prof, I am here! You like my new design of the kiddies’ potter’s wheel?
Professor: Ya, but does it suit the kids’ anthropometrics and likes/dislikes?
Julien: But then, I must decide the type of design and then select a group of kids (8–12 years) to measure their dimensions and the pulling force to find if they can pull-start the wheel or I shall have to use a battery just like starting a car!
Interaction with Sepopo in Botswana
Professor: Dumelang Sepopo, can I see your progress on the coin sorter?
Sepopo: Yes, Prof (showing three models) I have to decide which of these is the best to go ahead!
Professor: Don’t you think that the spiral slope design would take less space compared to the linear slope design?
Sepopo: So, that’s the best one because the third design appears so complicated to me.
Interaction with the Professor from Netherlands
Jan: Morning Prof! I see you online! Look at this “special” coffin design!
Professor: Ehe, Jan, can it be assembled quickly before selling?
Jan: Ya, that’s the idea! Over 100 sheets can be transported by a pick-up van, stored in a small space and assembled one only when ordered by the customer!
Professor: Impressive! This design has a great business potential! You can become an entrepreneur!
Jan: No Prof, you know, it is an industry sponsored project; I am paid to design it!
Podcasting is becoming increasingly popular in Africa and Asia as in the rest of the world (Wikipedia, 2008). Podcasts, collections of digital media distributed over the Internet, often employ syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players, e.g., iPod, MP3 player, and PCs. Several thousand podcast episodes can be stored in iTunes stores and retrieved at will, enabling us to use them in teaching, learning, demonstration, etc. Requirement of podcasting equipment, mechanism of podcasting, and practical examples are available at various websites, e.g., Podcasting Tools (2008).
Interaction Through Videoconferencing
Desktop web camera installed on computers and adequate bandwidth made available, it is easy to confer with one another in vision in real time, as shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\)
It is quite possible today that a professor, carrying a laptop equipped with web camera and two-way audio, can interact with design students via videoconferencing while traveling abroad, simply by plugging the USB cable into the Internet socket in the hotel room. For example, I would still be able to log on to the UB Web link and interact with my design student Mr. Nyati in Botswana as follows:
Prof: Dumelang Nyati! Can you hear me?
Nyati: Yes, Prof (showing the model) I can hear you and see you. U look sleepy!
Prof: It is the time difference; I just woke up to talk to you while you are awake! The model looks good! What diameter, weight and speed of the rotating wheel?
Nyati: Not yet, I have to work it out by way of an experiment. Ask me tomorrow, when you wake up, Prof!
Several open schools and universities across the world are committed to employing videoconferencing. For example, Roger Edmonds from the Open Access College (Edmonds, 1994), using Tryst compressed video system, stated:
We are managing a project trial of desktop compressed video conferencing to deliver its curriculum of distance education to school based students.
Their early indications of its immense capability to offer enhanced learning opportunities, enabling more group work and social interaction between students, have taken place over the years.