A novel framework for distance education using asynchronous interaction

Abstract

Unavailability of skilled teachers is a major hindrance to the spread of education, especially in the remote areas of rural India and many developing nations. We propose a novel framework for distance education, which enables asynchronous interaction between city-based expert teachers and rural classrooms, so that the teacher's outreach extends to a much larger student community. The education delivery system is consciously based on low-cost equipment, familiar to the rural community. The solution complements DirectTo-Home (DTH) television network based delivery of video lectures with slow-speed Internet to support asynchronous interactivity. A specially designed low-cost hardware seamlessly integrates DTH with Internet and uses TV as the display device in a classroom setup. The technology solution is complemented with a revenue-sharing model to attract skilled teachers to create quality contents and builds an ecosystem of partners of educators and service providers.