Implications of the Shifting Paradigms in eLearning for Developing Countries like Pakistan

Abstract

This paper explores the multiplicity of paradigm shifts in eLearning applications of information and communication technologies (ICT) in higher education institutions (HEI) around the world. Education is reported as the biggest user of software products thus, intentional or unintentional, changes are occurring in user-perceptions, use, and use-environments. These are called #x2018;paradigm-shifts#x2019; in the structure and roles of higher education. The advances in educational technologies (ETS) are pressing users to change not only in practice but also in conceptions, attitudes, and culture. These shifts are occurring from: 1. technocracy to democracy, 2. behavior to belief, 3. computerization to personalization and 4. from teacher to student-centered learning. Catching up with these departures warrant hectic efforts by government, HEI, and the university constituents: teachers, students and administrators. Developed and developing states are handling it differently due to the diversities of technologies available, professionalism, and variations in political, economic, social and cultural contexts.