Bangladesh

In August of 2008, Dr. Mannan Mridha, the project coordinator of the rural ICT Centre at Nohata visited the local project partners. During the trip, Dr. Mridha noticed growing interest among the pupils that are taking part in the project. The project was initiated two years ago with SPIDER funding and promotes access to medical information for the rural health care providers.

The SPIDER-supported project "Virtual Interactive Classroom" in Bangladesh, a collaboration between Örebro University in Sweden and Open University in Bangladesh, uses an innovative teaching methodology based of television broadcasted seminars and SMS technology, This methodology enables students to attend classes outside regular school or office hours and regardless of where they live in the country. On May 15, the first lesson will be broadcasted on Bangladeshi national television. The course teaches English and consists of 28 lessons.

For further information about the project contact: Åke Grönlund gron@informatik.umu.se

This is an edited version of the first lesson.