ICT As An Enabler For Lifelong Learning Opportunities For The Elderly

• Main Authors: Ramli Bahroom, Rosila Abu Zarin
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education; LC5800 Distance education
• Online Access: http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/556/1/ict_as_an_enabler.pdf; http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/556/
• Institution: Open University Malaysia

The 2000 Census indicated that 6.3% of Malaysia’s population were aged 60 years and above. Currently, about 10.7 million of Malaysia’s total population of 27.7 million are in the workforce of which 22.5% are between 40–49 years old and 15.0% between 50–65 years old. The above statistics, coupled with declining birth rates and higher life expectancies, will see Malaysia having higher percentage of older citizens in the near future. While this segment of the population are out of their productive manpower category, their potentials can still be harnessed to benefit the society. A National Policy on Elderly, established in 1995, has one of its objectives “to develop the potential of the elderly so that they remain active and productive in national development and to create opportunities for them to continue to live independently”. How can this be achieved? It is generally agreed that lifelong learning is one way for the elderly to develop their potentials and provide opportunities to enrich their lives. In the past two decades, advances in ICT has transformed the way we live, work, interact and acquire knowledge. Open University Malaysia (OUM) has effectively leveraged on ICT and other technologies to offer flexible, affordable and quality education. This paper describes how OUM leverages on ICT to provide education experience that is responsive to the varying learners’ needs and aspirations. More specifically, it examines the issues and challenges in utilising ICT to provide education for all (including the elderly). The paper also demonstrates that ICT can be an effective enabler in providing lifelong learning opportunities to the elderly to enhance their potentials. (Authors' abstract)