1 Policy Issues and Challenges in Planning and Implementing e-Learning in Teacher Education

‘In Nigeria, over 50 million school-age children are undereducated. Only a handful of youths have used computers or know how to apply technology tools in their daily lives for learning and improving their communities. A few schools have one or two computers that are often not used because they are outdated or the teachers lack the adequate skills to utilize them. Traditional teaching methodologies of a black board and four walls are not well suited in this area of education as they tend to be too far removed from practical reality to effectively instill the requisite technology skills and understanding. In addition, technology training and courses are not part of the educational curriculum in the 'early-adopter ' stages of primary and secondary school levels, when youth are more likely to take an interest in learning new technologies.’ Njideka Ugwuegbu, 2002 This chapter examines the policy issues and challenges in planning and implementing e-learning in teacher education. The most significant issue is that implementing e-learning requires organizational and attitudinal change; in other words, e-learning requires the understanding an