In the wake of globalization and the current deluge of technological innovations, the digital divide that is now appearing and the fact that virtuality sometimes seems more real than reality itself, this book on telecentres has placed itself as a perfect bridge, which spans the past, present, and future.
Telecentres can be defined as strategically located facilities providing access to ICT-based services and applications. Depending on rural or urban location and whether they reside in a developed or developing world, they vary in size, facilities and services, ranging from a basic telecommunication service such as "phone shops," to fully interactive Internet-based training. In this book, Latchem and Walker treat readers to a buffet of endeavors, which can be relevantly adapted to specific educational contexts.
The book presents 14 case studies chapters within a framework that captivatingly documents the essence of telecentres. It achieves this by highlighting the location and content, history, affiliations and strategic alliances, functions, costs and funding, accommodation, management, staffing, training managers, staff and users, publicity, access, technology, research and evaluation, conclusions and references, of each telecentre examined.
