Teaching with Technology in the Caribbean
Monica Masino
University of West Indies, Barbados
As educational institutions and other training facilities search for a more economical ways to deliver education and training, the Internet has become the main mode of choice because its reach is farther and wider than that of other educational technologies. The Internet is also an inexpensive tool that delivers access to education and training to persons previously thought impossible to reach. One could say that the Internet has widened access to education and training to persons that were once excluded due to working hours, family obligations, and other external commitments (Masino, 1998).
At the same time, there is a movement away from the previous modes used to deliver education and training at a distance. The concern in this regard is that there seems to be a disparity between the availability of education via the Internet and access for those persons without Internet access. The issue of access to education and training through the Internet should cause institutions to reevaluate previous modes of distance learning delivery and either infuse or supplement those model platforms into current modes of distance learning channeled through the Internet (Masino, 1998).
The purpose of this paper is to examine and discuss how the Internet has been effectively used to provide distance education and training to people within the Caribbean Region. The paper will also address the results of a planned survey that will be used to capture perceptions of distance learning in various academic institutions through the Caribbean.