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In March this year, Kenya launched educational digital TV to integrate
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education and
provide quality primary and secondary education to Kenyans. This is not
a switch over from analogue to digital mode of transmission. But
considering the huge potential of digital TV in eLearning, the country
decided not to deny its distance learning program the benefits of digital
TV till a complete analogue to digital switch over.
By the end of 2009, about 10 countries had replaced the analogue TV
transmission with its digital counterpart. Although the deadline set by
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for analogue to digital
switch is 2015, some countries had switched over to digital transmission
as early as 2006. Almost all the developed countries are at varying
stages of switching over to digital transmission, and many developing
ones have roadmaps for the transition by 2015 or beyond. Many others
however, don’t have any inkling as to what the heck digital TV transition
is.
The superb picture and sound quality of digital TV transmission is its
most popularly known merit. But ITU has not recommended digital TV just
to keep the quality conscious affluent class in good humor. The benefits
of digital TV are numerous. For one, this transmission mode uses the
spectrum far more efficiently. The transition from analogue to digital will
release huge bandwidth for other uses of this scarce resource. The
broadcasters also gain from the spectral efficiency of digital
transmission. A broadcaster can divide a single channel in to may be 4
sub-channels, each carrying a separate program. In the analogue
system, the broadcaster has to buy more spectrum for new channels to
telecast additional programs.
In not too distant a future, TV (digital) will become your shopping mall,
Internet browser, gaming center with multiple players online, healthcare
center, eLearning tool, eGovernance delivery and what not. One would
be able to receive SMS, email and even real time video streams from cell
phones and handhelds on TV. Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of
digital TV is its interactivity which comes handy in both entertainment and
eLearning programs. You can Pause even a live transmission for a quick
dash to washroom and then resume from where you left, with of course a
time lag. Conversely, one may decide to catch up with real time
transmission and skip the recently missed portion to revert back later.
This is made possible because digital TV can record incoming
transmission. You can be watching one program in real time and see
other simultaneous telecasts at your leisure later. This aspect
tremendously enhances the usefulness of digital TV as an eLearning
tool. Not only that students can pause, rewind and fast forward
educational programs, they can attend eLearning session at the time of
their choice and learn at their own pace. As against the passive learning
in front of a conventional TV, the digital TV actively engages the
students. True one can record a program of conventional analogue TV
transmission using a VCR. But accessing this information is time
consuming and cumbersome. If one is at the end of a VHS tape, going to
the beginning takes ages. On a digital TV, one can go to any part of a
program within seconds through interactive, intelligent and customizable
menus.
It is true that the grave nature of our national problems makes such
otherwise indispensable facilities as digital TV look irrelevant. But these
issues cannot be ignored altogether. Digital TV can also be a powerful
medium for eGovernance and digital inclusion. Solving the day to day
problems of the masses at their doorsteps can greatly improve the image
of the government. The digital age has placed very efficient tools of
social change in our hands. By ignoring the call of time, the government
is not only denying the impoverished masses a chance to improve their
condition, but also missing the opportunity of improving its image through
employing a powerful medium in its eGovernance initiative.
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