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ADB Review [ April-May 2006 ]

ADBI’s CD-ROM reviews are helping development practitioners better target ICT resource expenditures and find quality interactive CD-ROM tools

By Sarah Mayo,
Capacity Building and Training Associate
Asian Development Bank Institute

Shortly after assuming my role as CD-ROM Review Program Assistant for the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), I was given a chance to meet with ADBI Dean Peter McCawley to discuss the Institute’s CD-ROM review program and online library. Since it was my job to help stakeholders understand what the review program is all about, I wanted to better understand how a CD-ROM review could have an impact on development in the Asia and Pacific region. Here is 6what I learned.

The most basic question I have is why ADBI bothers to review a CD-ROM when so many Internet-based, e-learning, and multimedia training opportunities are available on the web?

Well, although the Internet’s penetration is high in many places, most people in developing countries do not have the bandwidth to stream multimedia. CD-ROMs can be one way for people to learn new skills and access development knowledge. Many CD-ROMs are free, but how good is the quality? This is what the program is about.

“ These CD-ROM reviews help sift through and identify relevant and good products for practitioners in developing countries ”

- Peter McCawley
Dean, ADBI

The review program is small, but growing. Now, over 66 CD-ROM reviews are posted on the ADBI website. Do you believe that these CD-ROM reviews assist development practitioners in Asia?

Absolutely. Particularly when you take into account the extraordinary revolution in access to global information and knowledge over the past 10 years. These days, the challenge is how to handle that huge amount of data rather than how to manage with so little data, as was the case a decade ago.

So against this background, these CD-ROM reviews help sift through and identify relevant and good products for practitioners in developing countries. Each review offers feedback to both producers and consumers and gives an expert opinion on different aspects of the CD-ROM. These opinions speak volumes about the product’s overall value to the consumer.

And because we commission reviews that cover all sorts of topics—from agriculture and rural development to health and gender issues—I believe that the review program spreads development information and knowledge around the Asia and Pacific region, which in a modest way supports ADB’s own development agenda.

How have CD-ROM producers responded to reviewer ratings, both low and high?

In general, the reaction from producers has been very supportive. Some producers come back to us delighted, and often provide links to the reviews on their own websites. Still, a few producers have protested a low rating; one producer even said that they would not send us CD-ROMs for review anymore!

What about the online library? It now has over 345 titles listed. Is the library favorably impacting access to development information and knowledge?

Yes, we are now steadily expanding our collection month by month.

The current CD-ROM library is really a bibliography of all the CD-ROMs that we have found may be of interest to people in the development community. The library provides a handy, easy-to-access, and searchable listing of development-related CD-ROMs for people to check through. All ordering information is included so users can readily get a copy.

Do you think interactive CD-ROM training tools are a cost-effective way to approach capacity building and training at the local level?

Probably, although we are learning as we go along. On the demand side, the need for new training tools to support capacity building and training in developing countries is immense. Literally hundreds of millions of people are keen to learn new skills and gain information and knowledge of all kinds. But on the delivery side, we are still learning how best to meet this need. “Blended” types of learning may be best, depending on the local situation.

For example, in a microfinance course that ADBI recently conducted with the World Bank and the United Nations, we combined three electronic modes: World Bank’s Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) of video-linked teaching classrooms, interactive CD-ROMs, and the web for tutorial discussions in between the scheduled GDLN “classroom” sessions. This particular type of “blended” learning worked very well.

What is the potential of the program to influence capacity building and training in the region?

We’ll have to see. If because of our reviews consumers learn about good and appropriate CD-ROMs to use for training and use them effectively, then the potential could be very considerable indeed.

According to ADBI’s internal web statistics, the CD-ROM library is the second most visited section of the ADBI website. What does that indicate to you?

It’s certainly very encouraging. Clearly, this provides ADBI with good information about what people who are accessing our website are interested in, and that we are meeting a need by providing these CDROM reviews and library listings.

Since we started, the CD-ROM program has made one thing abundantly clear: the production of development-related CD-ROMs is increasing, so our library and reviews are part of a growing segment of the information market in the developing world. And, of course, because more than a few of the CD-ROMs we review are free, people are naturally rather keen on checking out expert reviews of material that is available for free.

What are the other benefits of the CD-ROM review and library resources?

Some CD-ROMs provide excellent research and project information. For example, the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines produces an excellent compendium called the “Rice Knowledge Bank.” The reviewer described this CD-ROM as “the world’s rice knowledge repository. It is a state-of-the-art information source on general and specialized areas of the rice crop.” It was flagged as useful for a wide range of users—researchers, students, and the public.

How can ADBI expand the program to better meet the development needs in Asia?

ADBI could do two things to improve the outreach and effectiveness of CD-ROMs for teaching and research across Asia and the Pacific. First, we need to have CDROMs with local content that are customized for local use and are specifically designed for and produced in developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. Second, we need to look for ways to translate or produce CD-ROMs into local languages— in Chinese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and other languages.

How can ADB and ADBI staff contribute to the success and effectiveness of the CD-ROM library and review program?

That is easy. Support the program by telling us about quality CD-ROMs to list in the library and to review, and help us find qualified reviewers. And, of course, our colleagues can always direct others to this valuable resource.

For ADBI CD-ROM reviews, go to www.adbi.org/cdrom.reviews To see the ADBI CD-ROM Library, visit www.adbi.org/cdrom.library

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