Using Collective Adaptive Networks to Solve Education Problems in Poor Countries

Can education problems in poor countries be successfully addressed using knowledge economics? The old development model posits that poor countries must follow the route of richer countries, progressing up a scale of development. But an emerging theory of development and collective adaptive applications applied to new learning theory suggests new possibilities. This paper outlines a pilot project underway in Zambia. The idea is based on a global network, which supports collective adaptive knowledge construction and local learning, representing a substantial deviation from standard foreign aid. Using the small pilot school in Zambia local knowledge is gathered and combined with global knowledge, to generate content that has, heretofore, been unavailable on the Web. This approach is fundamentally different from e-learning, which delivered lectures from afar. It builds a knowledge base that is relevant to poor countries, enabling them to advance their local economy.