Applications of e-learning for international development: Lessons from world bank institute's e-courses

In the past five years the World Bank Institute has been pioneering the use of elearning and other distance learning for bridging the knowledge divide. This paper discusses the issues, trends, lessons learned and the challenges ahead. The first section suggests that addressing the knowledge divide is a more significant challenge than addressing the digital divide. The next two sections describe the organization of the World Bank Institute and the Global Distance Learning Program (GDLN), the two principal organizations involved in this effort of using distance learning to narrow the knowledge divide and thereby improve development impact. The fourth section describes the components and pedagogy of blended learning as being practiced, while the fifth section summarizes the lessons learned. The last section discusses the challenges that still lie ahead.