Technology Enabled Delivery of Distance Education: Challenges and Opportunities in Sri Lanka

This paper discusses challenges and opportunities that arise when attempting to transform the tertiary and vocational education in SriLanka from traditional forms into modern based on technology. In all aspects of learning, technology can make a big impact. Technology, when used appropriately, can be very effective in terms of interactivity among learners, between learners and the content and between learners and teachers, especially in contrast to print-based traditional distance education. Most difficulties that arise due to constraints of scale, time and space can be effectively addressed using technology. Learners, teachers and educational institutions all can gain and be empowered. Opportunities created in such a context for a country like SriLanka are enormous. At the same time, there are several challenges to be addressed when moving into this new way of learning. A major national initiative in SriLanka, the National Online Distance Education Service (NODES) is discussed in this context