8/14/2019 e Learning in Timor-Leste, paper by Sara Moreira on e Learning at the National University of Timor Loro Sa'e

1/3

DEFINING AND USING AN E-LEARNING PLATFORM IN THE NATIONAL

UNIVERSITY OF EAST TIMOR

Sara Moreira, Prof. Francisco Restivo, Prof. Francisco Dionsio

Project developed at Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto

(DEI - FEUP e DM ISTUTL,SQIG-Instituto de Telecomunicaes))

1. MotivationIn this paper is presented an unusual scenario of

technology platforms adoption: Moodle at the

National University of East Timor (UNTL) [Mor09].

We intend to answer questions concerned with the

challenges that technology needs to face when

making the first steps in bringing IT to an

inhospitable environment, and the depth of the

impact of technology while promoting the digitalinclusion in East Timor.

2. Main GoalsMain goals of the project were

To enhance UNTLs capabilities through ICT byproviding the first information system there.

To support the future of Portuguese Cooperationproject at UNTL by analysing the legacy

bureaucratic procedures and carrying them to the

digital era.

To improve higher education in East Timor, bymaking more contents available for the studentsand promoting their contact with ICT

To understand the issues that lead to the successof a Project of this kind, while redefining

pedagogical and administrative workflows, and

its impact in users habits.

To create a critical mass for future developmentsin a broader scope.

3. Work DescriptionIn order to illustrate the path leading to the above

main goals, we begin by focusing digital divide

realities and we define the potentiality of e-learningtools in bringing education and knowledge to that

kind of places. We then describe the adoption project

itself, concerning informatics issues such as the

installation and configuration of Moodle, its

resources and the users training and support. In the

end, we discuss specific difficulties associated to the

project development and related with the definition

and use of such a system in this context.

3.1. Digital Divide ContextsIn the Digital Divide Network, the concept of digital

divide is defined as "the distance between those who

took advantage of the benefits of digital technology

and those people whose lives could be significantly

improved by them." This social gap among those who

have access to and use computers and the Internet

[Wil01] is not necessarily a problem from developing

countries it is usually applies to the gap between

rural vs. urban areas, but it also may be related to

other issues such as gender.

It is often questioned what is the added value that

technology can bring to places where there is hunger,

poverty or other conflicts. In response, we present

case studies where technology is introduced tosupport education, build an economy or simply bring

new channels of communication to those who were

previously isolated. There are many successful cases

in bringing technology to remote places while

creating development opportunities.

Focusing in East Timor, which is the first

independent country of this millennium and still

recovering from the violent events at the time of

independence, the reality is that people have little

contact to new technologies and computers.

Moreover, East Timor is one of the poorest countries

in Asia, lacking infra structures of all sorts, including

communication and digital infra structures [AF05].3.2. E-Learning PlatformsLooking to the technology gap as an opportunity

rather than as a disadvantage, distance-learning tools

and learning management systems may play an

important role in these environments, being

simultaneously tools to improve the access to

education and a motivation to adopt digital

technologies.

Firstly, a key factor in the case of Timor-Leste -

specifically the UNTL - is the fact that Internet access

at this time is entirely inappropriate (in terms of

price, speed and quality of service - QoS). UNTL

does not have a geographically distributed structure.Even if it did, the Internet connection without

minimum conditions, isolate that institution from the

outset.

Another interesting point is that there is no budget for

project implementation. Thus, the software must be

licensed with "Free" or "Open Source" official

(recognized by the Free Software Foundation or the

Open Source Initiative), preferably running on Linux

with an Apache server and a system of database

management MySQL database

This set of requirements leads to the selection of a

platform based on widespread technology, for

example PHP / MySQL, and a large user base to

8/14/2019 e Learning in Timor-Leste, paper by Sara Moreira on e Learning at the National University of Timor Loro Sa'e

2/3

support standardized learning objects. There is a

platform that stands out clearly not only in number of

sites and users and also shows a robust and

appropriate to the situation in question - the Moodle

platform. Although the investment for the

development of a course can be high, resources can

be reused, transferred and adapted. This can lead to

education and knowledge to those who would

otherwise not purchased, providing more content to

students and promoting contact them with ICT.

This tool serves not only from the technological point

of view, but also as a representation for training,

education, and administrative tasks.

3.3 Moodle at the National University of East

Timor

Moodle was adopted in order to support the future of

UNTL after completion of the Portuguese

Cooperation ten years project in that institution,

providing an useful and secure storage for interactiveinformation.

We present the definition of the problem to solve at

the National University of East Timor, and the

solution found in Moodle e-Learning platform.

The project began with a team of four people with the

following main tasks:

Modelling of documents flow at the PortugueseCooperation Project (FUP) in UNTL.

Administrative requirements analysis. Pre-Installing in an internal server and activating

Moodle at FUP.

Fig. 1 Teachers data workflow at UNTL.

While adapting current workflow, Moodle was

structured with the equivalent courses organization:

Fig. 2 Home Page of Moodle at UNTL.

The next goal was to promote the use of Moodle by

different kinds of users. We created a "Fast Moodle

guideline of procedures for teachers and students, and

completed it with a period of training for them. Soon

the actual use of the platform started with a pilotcourse on Operating Systems (OS) through Moodle.

Concerning education, we used Moodle as a tool to

support classes, where different types of educational

resources and content would be available each week

to carry out practical exercises related to OS. Moodle

also served as a channel of communication within

and outside the classroom, as students, highly

motivated by the increased contact with ICT, used it

for several educational activities (such as the

submission of assignments and discussion on related

subjects). Moodle was also used in more fun ways,

through chat and blogs.

Upon completion of the school year, we evaluated theuse of Moodle through a survey. 11 answers were

received from a total of 36 enquiries.

Most students found Moodle intuitive and agreed that

it improved the learning process. The students were

also confident about the usefulness and use of ICT at

all levels.

3.3. Future PerspectivesAfter evaluating the process involved on the project

development, and based in the problems arisen, it is

stated an essay about future perspectives for the

University, the country and similar places.

Besides all the difficulties faced, the Project has

created the opportunity to install an e-learning

solution at the UNTL, and has shown that there are

more things to be done, that will need peoples

involvement. Moodle has not yet become a

mandatory tool in the UNTL, but in the future that

situation may change.

The Project has shown that it is possible to go

forward, even though at a slow pace and it creates

expectations that may challenge others to adopt

and improve the project. A good engineering solution

may play an important role.

8/14/2019 e Learning in Timor-Leste, paper by Sara Moreira on e Learning at the National University of Timor Loro Sa'e

3/3

4. ConclusionsThe use of e-Learning platforms enables better

organization for administrative and curricular

information, as well as allowing new channels for the

distribution of pedagogical and educational contents.

While the evaluation of the results much depends on

the expectations at the outset, through this project we

confirmed that UNTL students truly recognized the

advantages of the tool and adopted it for college

work. The availability of contents and the access to

electronic information is clearly important and the

number of education, evaluation and monitoring

projects is increasing, acting on contents assessment,

using platforms such as Moodle, for various subject

areas, such as in neighbouring Indonesia [HS05].

The adoption of Moodle (open source and free

software) in UNTL played an important role in the

dissemination of information within the organization.

Moreover projects of this kind are not necessarilyexpensive. The biggest challenge is finding the

human resources required for the production and / or

reuse of meaningful and useful content. UNTL and

Timor-Leste must enhance the general infrastructure

of digital communication and Internet services which

can provide sustainable channels of interactivity.

Even at an international level, the potential is big for

the spread of digital literacy in this context.

In order to optimize the impact of ICT projects in

Timor-Leste, the country needs to recognize the

importance of telecommunications and Internet

development, focusing on creative solutions in the

ICT sector and training people who can drive newimplementations. Despite the delay that exists in

terms of services and infrastructure support for now

prove insufficient; the centralization of digital

learning and knowledge through such tools is an

engine of development.

In conclusion, not only we evidently expect future

development in UNTL, but we also expect to

reproduce and adapt the project in other institutions

responsible for the transmission of knowledge. The

result of this work is seen as positive and it provides

well framed guideline for the Timorese reality. Asmentioned, it should not be forgotten that the greatest

needs Timor-Leste faces in terms of ICT must be met

quickly to give way to leverage knowledge and

development.

5. References[AF05] ABIDIN, Abdullah Zanol, FREITAS, Joo

Cncio, .tp / .tl Timor-Leste, Publicao Digital

Review of Asia-Pacific, 2005

[HS05] HASIBUAN, Z.A., SANTOSO, H.B., The

use of e-learning towards new learning paradigm:

case study student centered e-learning environment

at Faculty of Computer Science - University ofIndonesia, Fac. of Comput. Sci., Indonesia Univ.,

Depok, Indonesia, 2005

[Mor09] MOREIRA, S., Adopo de uma

Ferramenta de e-Learning na Universidade Nacional

de Timor-Leste: O Desafio da Tecnologia, O Impacto

da Mudana, Faculdade de Engenharia da

Universidade do Porto, 2009

[Wil01] WILLIAMS, K., What is the digital divide?,

working paper, University of Michigan, 2001

saritamoreira@gmail.com | +351938305344