The Executive Times (ET): What inspired you to study e-learning?

Badrul Huda Khan (BHK): I was born and raised in Chittagong, Bangladesh. I came to the United States in July 1981 as an international student and received my formal academic training in Chemistry and Sciences (undergraduate) and Instructional Systems Technology (graduate).  My analytical skills in the field of sciences coupled with my doctoral training in instructional design and technology provided me with a broad understanding of learning environments. I was very fortunate to have two great thinkers in education as my mentors; Dr. Charles Reigeluth and Dr. Bela Banathy's system design of education and Reigeluth's systemic change in education inspired me to "think out of the box" for designing flexible  learning environments for diverse learners.
 
While growing up in Bangladesh during the 1970s, I used to dream about having access to the well designed technology based learning resources available to students in industrial countries. In the '70s it was unthinkable to have equal access to those resources. Therefore, it has been my passion to learn about innovative learning technologies that can benefit learners all over the world.  Through my research and teaching, I am convinced that we need comprehensive and systemic understanding of both soft technologies (e.g., learning theories and instructional strategies) and hard technologies (e.g., TV, radio, computer, and Internet) to create rich learning environments supported by well-designed resources for diverse learners worldwide. We must have innovative instructional design processes and the learning/instructional theories that can allow us to create highly effective, motivating, and flexible (adaptive) resources in a highly cost-effective manner by taking maximum advantage of the powerful capabilities of advanced information technologies. With this in mind, I started my research on how to create meaningful flexible learning environments for open and distributed learning systems using innovative technologies.
 
In the '90s, with the emergence of the World Wide Web, my dream of equal access to quality learning resources became a reality. My desire for broadly available open and distributed learning systems and my training in the field of educational systems design and technology have enabled me to present a total vision for educational and training possibilities of the new worldwide communications technologies. With a great enthusiasm and excitement, I took a leadership role in defining the critical dimensions of this new field of inquiry and practice at all levels of education with which I developed the pioneering first book Web-Based Instruction (1997). That was obviously a great moment for the field of e learning and I am proud to be part of that endeavour. That's how my entry into the field of e learning.

ET: Tell us more about your book Web-based Instruction.

BHK: Web-Based Instruction (WBI) book was a compilation of great works of researchers and practitioners in open learning and educational technology from all over the world. The majority of the contributors (authors) of the WBI book are still active in research and practice in open learning. The WBI book led the formation of new discipline which guided the new way of thinking for learning design using emerging technologies. The message of WBI book is still alive which basically emphasizes designing meaningful learning opportunities for diverse learners. I hope, for the years to come, the field of e learning and blended learning would strive for the same vision for open learning as the WBI book.

ET:How important is e-learning for a developing nation?
 
BHK: In the Information society, the advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has created a digital society and broadened the scope of sharing innovations globally. In this digital society, people use electronic (digital) devices in almost anything they do in their lives: from brushing teeth to driving a car. In the fast moving digital society, people are encountering newer features associated with emerging technologies including (but not limited to) computers, appliances, machines, mobile communication devices, software applications, and Websites. Linkage between a digital society and globalization has tremendous implications for everything we do including education, governance, health and commerce.
 
Where do we start? Among all sectors, the education system must be targeted first. Education is the key to all aspects of our national development. No matter whether a country is a developing or developed nation, we are already part of that global digital society. Therefore, no country should lag behind in integrating digital technologies to improve the conditions of the people. E learning therefore should lead          the way.

ET: E-learning apart, a number of learning-related terms have evolved with the advancement of technology which many people find difficult to relate to.

BHK:There are numerous names for open and distributed learning activities, including E-Learning, Web-Based Learning (WBL), Web-Based Instruction (WBI), Web-Based Training (WBT), Internet-Based Training (IBT), Distributed Learning (DL), Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL), Distance Learning, Online Learning (OL), Virtual Learning, Mobile Learning (or m-Learning) or Nomadic Learning, Remote Learning, Off-site Learning, a Learning (anytime, anyplace, anywhere learning), etc. No matter how you decide to call an open learning activity, you must determine whether meaningful learning is achievable using emerging technologies for your target audience.

ET: In Bangladesh, as in many other developing countries, achieving academic recognition of online education is a problem.
 
BHK: In the United States, many universities are providing stand alone online degree programs. These programs are accredited. In developing countries, we have to change our mindsets. We should recognize online education as a viable way of providing education and training if they are created with high quality interactive contents. All developing countries must have virtual education policies which should provide guidelines for universities to create high quality online programs. It is true that online education may face challenges in communities where traditional classroom based education is preferred. We, in e learning, should create high quality and interactive learning materials that genuinely help students learn and make a difference in the communities they serve.

ET: Which university, in your opinion, is the best in the world in terms of providing online education?

BHK: I am not in a position to endorse any institution. Any online programs in an institution with higher student retention rate, and a greater stakeholders' satisfaction should be considered as successful institution. However, with my personal research since 1997, I recommend that an institution should consider critical factors for e learning in order to establish its own online programs.

ET: What are the criteria for developing effective e-learning programs?

BHK: As we are accustomed to teaching or learning in a closed system, the openness of e-learning is new to us. In order to create effective environments for diverse learners, however, we need to jump out of our closed system learning design mentality. We need to change our mindset-that's the paradigm shift. In order to facilitate such a shift, and in response to the range of issues I saw in my research, I created the E-Learning Framework. The purpose of this framework is to help you think through every aspect of what you are doing during the steps of the e learning design process.

I found that numerous factors help to create a meaningful learning environment, and many of these factors are systemically interrelated and interdependent. A systemic understanding of these factors can help designers create meaningful learning environments. I clustered these factors into eight dimensions: institutional, management, technological, pedagogical, ethical, interface design, resource support, and evaluation (Table 1).

I think institutions interested in e learning should develop a plan for e learning by carefully considering critical issues within the eight dimensions of the framework in order for them to establish successful online programs.
 
ET: What about McWeadon Education?

BHK: I established McWeadon Education (www.McWeadon.com) to provide high quality, flexible courses, designed to fit the time demands of globally diverse learners. We use a blend of learning approaches in our strategies to get the right content into the right format to the right people at the right time. McWeadon offer an interactive, learner-centered, and facilitated learning environment using open source (free) learning technologies. Courses are taught by instructors from the United States and facilitated by qualified local based facilitators. Our instructors have years of experience teaching courses at prestigious United States Universities. McWeadon's model allows the instructor to teach courses they are passionate about and that are mutually beneficial for them and the students. This is a good thing for McWeadon students because they are able to realize that their mentors are engaged and actively involved with the learning process. We are able to offer accredited professional development and academic courses from the USA at the lowest cost because we use free and open source learning technologies, and we try to keep our operating costs to the minimum. McWeadon is planning to offer e-learning in Bangladesh. Under the McWeadon University initiative, several academic programs can be made available to the students in Bangladesh in the most cost-effective manner.
 
ET: Finally, any comments on Digital Bangladesh?

BHK: The Digital Bangladesh (DB) initiative is a positive step forward for educational systems in Bangladesh. If it is implemented with intended goals, DB can provide meaningful infrastructure for the delivery of e learning contents in Bangladesh. I was very excited about the DB and wrote several articles on virtual learning and digital Bangladesh. One of them was "Digital Bangladesh: Meeting the Challenge"1  in which I outlined elements of eEducation in Bangladesh. I love Bangladesh and it is my duty to support eEducation in Bangladesh.