The Barriers of Using Technologies in Primary Public Schools in Developing Countries - Case Study Example

Technology can be used to improve learning engagement, since it can increase interest and hold attention among children (Nayak and Kalyankar, 2010: 208), although adult (teacher/parents/caregivers) supervision (school and home) may be critical to its success (Eagle, 2012; Plowman et al., 2008).The Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has taken initiative in advancing the adoption and development of e-learning (Almegren, al-Yafei, and Hashem, 2007). In 2008, the KSA designed a national plan that aimed to expand the adoption of ICT in the nation.

The plan recommended e-learning and distance learning for the educational sector (Chanchary and Islam, 2011: 1). The Saudi Ministry of Higher Education has formed the National Centre of e-learning and Distance Learning, the ELC, to lead the preparation and promotion of e-learning systems and curricula (Chanchary and Islam, 2011: 1). The Ministry of Education has plans to further embed e-learning across all educational levels, although concrete details are not yet sufficiently discussed in public or examined further through empirical studies.

E-learning presents significant benefits to learners and teachers, however, education scholars are divided into the benefits and limitations of e-learning. On the one hand, several studies attested to the benefits of learning to students’ cognitive, social, language, and emotional development (Shin, Sutherland, Norris, and Soloway, 2012), assistance for children with special needs (Batorowicz, Missiuna, and Pollock, 2012), enhancement of social relationships (adult-child and child-child) (Schmidt et al., 2012), and development of positive attitudes toward educational technology and e-learning (Lan and Chiu, 2011).

On the part of educators, some of the benefits of e-learning are convenience, cost-effectiveness in the long run, and adaptability (Huang et al., 2010).