TECHTRENDS
Ike
Seneres
We are so spoiled by
newer technologies, and because of that, we always want to do everything
online, and real time at that! We always want to use high technology, but the
problem is, we always fall victim to bad connectivity. But that is actually a
happy problem so to speak, because the low income families among us have no
connectivity at all, as in they have absolutely no access to the internet. Back
in those days when I was Director General of the National Computer Center, I
have always said before as I still say it now that the so-called “digital
divide” is really just an outcome of the very real “social divide”.
When the
lockdown order was issued by the government, the immediate reaction of many
schools was to move their courses online, a move that was thought to be
practical at first, until everyone realized that it was really antisocial,
because not everyone had connectivity at home and even if they did, it was very
slow and unstable.
So that is how it came
to be, that in the interest of levelling the playing field, the noble goal of
online learning was levelled to the ground. But is the situation really that
hopeless? Is there really no solution to the question of having home based learning
during the lockdown?
In search of
an answer, I asked satellite and telecoms expert Mr. William Sia whether he has
a solution or not, and both of us quickly arrived at the conclusion that the
answer to the problem of delivering educational content is not the first option
of using the newer technologies per se, but rather the second option of using a
hybrid mix of both older and newer technologies. Before we go any further, I
could not resist the temptation of saying for the record that both the older and
newer technologies are using radio frequencies (RF), and that no matter how new
a communications technology seems to look, everything is still broken down into
packets.
Drawing from
his long experience, Mr. Sia came up with the brilliant idea of simply making
the older technologies as the default, but purposely mixing it with all the
newer technologies that are now available.
What he meant
by that is that the default should be live videos of teachers delivered via
broadcast television. He said that it is simply a matter of scheduling what
subjects will be broadcasted at what time and at what channel, and the students
will be able to tune in to the station of their choice, without worrying about
connectivity or the money to pay for the connectivity. As I understand it, what
he meant by the most basic default is free to air television, and not cable
television or satellite television.
In reality
however, most of the channels available via free to air television is also
available via cable or satellite, and also the digital broadcast boxes. Using
any language, this is really what “universal access” is all about, wherein
anyone can access anything without any limitations. And what about those who
have internet access also? That is really more of an opportunity than a
problem, because the same learning content that is broadcasted live in the
analog channels can also be streamed live via internet protocol (IP), using a
technology called “Over the Top” (OTT) programming.
In layman
terms, we know that to be Facebook Live and You Tube.
So there you go. With a
mixed solution like this, all students in both the public schools and the
private schools could now go back to their learning. It is now just a question
of scheduling who will teach what subject at what time in what channel.
The good news
is that, the infrastructure for both solutions are ready and could be used
right away. Billions worth of broadcast equipment are ready to be used, and
millions of television sets are rarely being used. Just as the cable and satellite
companies are ready, the internet service providers are also ready, with both
wired and wireless choices. And by the way, the satellite companies have the
advantage of offering both broadcast and internet solutions.
Contact me
09088877282 or iseneres@yahoo.com
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