Introduction

In Unit 1, we considered the many aspects of the ‘digital divide' such as access to appliances, connectivity, skills, training and infrastructure among others. Despite the ‘digital divide', educational systems worldwide have resorted to a variety of strategies to bridge the divide. In the case of delivering good quality education with ICT support, the challenge for nations has been to overcome three major difficulties. These are:

1. Geographical isolation and poor infrastructure such absence or low quality electric and telecommunication services, poor conditions for the acquisition and maintenance of hardware.
2. Size of schools and non availability of specialised staff.
3. Cultural conditions of rural communities which normally lack technological resources and professional isolation of teachers.

In this section, we shall look at strategies both here in our country as well as other countries around the world in addressing these difficulties. In Section 5.1 of this Unit we considered the ICT policy objectives for use of ICT in education. If you recollect, one of the thrusts of the policy is "... for ICT in education (to focus) on the special education group including juveniles, aborigines, and students with special needs to give them equal opportunity as Malaysia progresses towards a high-income nation." (Policy on ICT in Education 2010, 34) As part of that arrangement our present Minister of Education recently declared "I have decided to come up with a rural education transformation plan which will focus on rural schools and improve their academic standing". The transformation plan envisages the development of:

1. Teaching staff: whether teachers' expertise can meet school needs
2. Facilities: whether school buildings are comfortable with well-equipped labs and infrastructure
3. Quality of education: how subjects, especially core subjects, are taught
4. Resources: the allocation for rural schools might be increased depending on the need
5. Parental role: a study may be conducted on the students' home environment and the role of parent-teacher associations

Source: New Straits Times (2012) ‘Plan to transform rural schools', http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/plan-to-transform-rural-schools-1.64196

Malaysia is considered to be ahead of many countries in the manner in which it has taken on the challenge of the digital divide to support learning in remote communities. Remoteness is not necessarily determined by barriers of distance alone. There are other types of barriers as well. Can you think of any other barriers to applying ICT in this situation? In this section (5.3), we shall look at strategies that have been found to be helpful in using ICT to support learning of remote, isolated and marginalised communities. We shall also consider Malaysia's approach to the challenge.

Title	Text Resources	Multimedia Resources
Strategies to reach remote communities using ICT	Technology in Schools: Education, ICT and Knowledge Society Chapter VII 'Rural Schools: A Special Case' http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/78200- 1099079877269/547664-1099079947580/ICT_report_oct04a.pdf	Computer Assisted Learning with Dell in China's Poor Rural Areas http://youtu.be/hevH7WQfvPk
Malaysian approach to introducing ICT in rural schools	Technology in Schools: Education, ICT and Knowledge Society http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200- 1099079877269/547664-1099079947580/ICT_report_oct04a.pdf
A Malaysian case study	Work with Computing Systems: Bridging the Digital Divide - the E-Bario and E-Bedian Telecommunication Framework http://www.unimas.my/ebario/eBarioOrig/output/058.pdf
Distance education