The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has created an ASEAN Community e-Classroom Project. The project is an initiative under the ASEAN ICT Master Plan 2015, and is aimed at harnessing the ICT skills of people with disabilities, whether they are blind, deaf, or mobility impaired.
The virtual classroom offers several ICT courses whose goal is to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped with the necessary ICT skills to be a part of a competitive ICT workforce. Users create accounts and choose one of eight track options: Smart ASEAN Citizen, Smart ASEAN for the Youth, Smart ASEAN for Women, Smart ASEAN aged citizen, Smart ASEAN with physical disabilities, Smart ASEAN blind, Smart ASEAN deaf, and Learning disabilities guardian.
ASEAN delegates recently gathered to discuss eLearning initiatives and ways to strengthen them. Professor Srisakdi Charmonman of Siam Technology College began the presentation on eLearning by stating, “Internet will change the way we learn. Internet will change the way we live. Internet will change everything.”
ASEAN aspires to attain a free labor movement by 2015. Through this program, it hopes to create a pool of trained professionals equipped with the skill sets necessary to help the Southeast Asian Nations become an Economic Community.
Creative Commons Love: AK Rockefeller on Flickr.com
Written by Nina Thurau