An e-learning approach to secondary education in Palestine: opportunities and challenges

Abstract

The rapid growth of ICT, especially the Internet, opens up the possibility of a new teaching and learning paradigm. The e-learning approach has internationally been deemed necessary to enable twenty-first century learners to adapt to global changes. This paper explores the potential of e-learning methods in conflict situation with mobility restrictions to enhance the educational process and to provide continuous learning for secondary students in Palestine. An interactive web-based application prototype called the Alaws Educational Network (AEN) developed providing a variety of methods for a student-centered learning process including virtual classrooms, a discussion forum and e-training courses. Students and teachers were asked to evaluate different aspects of the AEN in terms of usefulness, self-efficacy, willingness and challenges as indications of their ability and readiness to embrace e-learning. The results show that both students and teachers have positive attitudes towards the usefulness of e-learning methods but that they might not yet be ready to adopt them. This paper further highlights several challenges to implementing e-learning in public schools in developing countries and discusses the opportunities offered by e-learning technologies in a conflict context.