Talk:Slideshow demo/Archive

Hi Wayne and all WikiEducators,

the possibility for an instructor to easily create a slide show on WikiEd is not only a “good idea”, it is absolutely revolutionary. Why? With such a “simple” tool, we could multiply our audience by factor - I don’t know - 10?! Why?

1) Because we can reach illiterate persons. And a high percentage of people in developing countries especially in Africa are ether illiterate or poor in reading and writing. This tool alone could really make a big step forward to bridge the digital divide, which is only partly a technical phenomenon.

2) We should not restrict ourselves to English but open up our ears to the need to use the native languages of our learners! And imagine how much easier it would be for a translator to convert an audio text into an indigenous language than a written text.

3) For instructors producing such a audio-slide-show is like using another medium than written text. And this new medium will suit much more the needs in the developing world than text alone. It is more emotional, more lively, more concrete, less abstract.

4) You can reach with this new medium learners that are more of the visual and audio type. And many many learners are visual types!!!

5) This new medium could help to bring forward a fundamental paradigm change in African teaching and learning methods, as demanded by Bob Day, writer of the chapter “ICT-enhanced open and distance learning, a toy for Africa’s current elite, or an essential tool for Africa’s sustainable development?” in “Trends and issues in distance education, edited by Yusra Laila Visser a.o., Information Age Publishing, Inc. 2005.”

So, please go on with this great great idea!

Günther