1^st Seminar:

eLEARNING and RURAL TERRITORIES

1st march 2007, Le Puy en Velay (FR)

"The objective of the seminar held in France was to show that e-learning is adapted for rural areas and that various approaches are possible to set up initiatives adapted to the needs of rural inhabitants.

The Local government has shown its interest by facilitating the use of its premises and with the participation of a political representative who has explained the policy regarding the deployment of IT. The Regional government has talked about its plans to support e-learning.

Macro and micro experiences from other regions have been presented and discussed with the aim to disseminate ideas and practices and to evaluate transfer possibilities.

E-learning in rural areas is specific in several ways.

Firstly comes the physical access to networks because large bandwidth are not usual. When people cannot be connected individually, it is possible to develop group solutions, that in their turn can stimulate specific forms of e-learning and the development of uses.

Secondly, e-learning is very much purpose oriented, training and uses being strongly interrelated.

E-learning may be organised with the objective of supporting further e-activities (traditional activities that can survive because technologies reach new customers or provide new services, or tele-activities). A group of e-learners can generate also rural development activities. With isolated persons, collaboration is more needed and provide additional benefits (individual and collective).

Thirdly, workers from rural areas have specific continuous training needs. How e-learning can satisfy them?

These topics have been developed during the seminar among 70 participants, combining local practitioners experiences, global territorial approaches and experts analysis”

Reports are available online: