E-learning is a welcome gesture. It seems the government is finally thinking in the right direction. In the recent times computers have overtaken all other things used in work to become number one most essential tool. You can even call it the way of life and the internet is following in that path. The funny aspect of the arrival of fiber optic cables is that it has and will put the country in a desperate need for massive local content, a fact that has been worrying the government officials as confirmed by Mr.Bitange Ndemo PS Ministry Of Information and Communications during skunkworks meeting in Teleposta Towers.

Before you give the government all the credit looks at this statement from Minister of Education Mr.Sam Ongeri according to Standard

He said all budget allocations to schools for purchase of course books would now be transferred to purchase of diskettes for the curriculum.

Purchase of what??????? Do they even exist anymore, if so where I can get one. Ok, if you were born three years ago you probably have not met Mr.Diskette

How about the computers which will accommodate them.? Most computers bought in the last two years don?t have floppy drive, and I wonder whether Mr. Ongeri is preparing schools as a dump site for the archaic old computers probably lying in the government offices.

Let assume that we are lucky and the government will realize the need of buying good computers and flash disks or external hard disk for the purpose of learning, what are the benefits of e-learning?

Convenience and Portability

Yeah Mr.Onyango on his weekend holiday to extreme end of Kenya, known as Mombasa will not need to worry about preparing for his Monday lesson. He just need his latest blackberry or Apple iphone and the lesson will be ready as he takes his cool juice somewhere on the beach.

Greater Collaboration

The students who are dreaming of getting exams papers from high performing schools will not have to be stressed anymore. They can actually study together, even if you are from my rocky shagz neighborhood school called Migingo. Technology tools make collaboration among students easier. And as been witnessed before many projects involve collaborative learning and there is no better way to do it than the use of technology.

On-demand availability

Good news to slow learners, all students can?t get it at the same time, a fact that some teachers may not appreciate. This will enable students to complete training conveniently at off-hours or from home. The parents will also have opportunity to help out

Reduced costs for parents.

Buying of books for students more so in high schools is not a mean feet, especially for the poor folks. After paying fees in most cases parents remain without money to buy books. So now that the learning materials will be available electronically, the world can never be a better place than that.