The Adoption of e-publishing for e-learning : towards a model for developing countries

Electronic publishing and electronic learning are very closely related IT applications. According to Mason and Rennie (2004) it is essential for e-learning to take into consideration two aspects: the technological infrastructure as well as pedagogical readiness. Pedagogical readiness is not always necessary for e-publishing nevertheless the use of appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT) are necessary for both physical and human resources systems for successful adoption of e-publishing and e-learning. Currently there is a large discrepancy between the proportions of people in developing and developed countries who have access to higher education. In developing countries a challenge will be to provide for 125 million post-secondary students by 2025 (Daniel, Paul, Antoni and Stamenka, 2005). The use of e-learning systems in developing countries is one of the strategies that will need to be used to meet this education need. This chapter identifies the problems and issues associated with the adoption of e-publishing for e-learning in a developing country. It then outlines components of a model for e-publishing in a developing country such as Bangladesh that would enable progressive adoption of e-publishing for e-learning that uses full online capabilities for education and training purposes.