Malta’s wiki projects falter: and other stories

Around the World is your first port of call for international e-learning news. With a mix of stories from across the globe, we aim to reflect the diversity and ingenuity of online education. This week, universities in the UK are making waves – and in Burma, seafarers have a new initiative to be thankful for. Meanwhile, some of the online resources we take for granted seem to be lost on the island of Malta…

UK: the country’s biggest online learning project has been launched, with over 20 universities offering free courses online (BBC)

AFGHANISTAN: despite the constant threat of instability, this year almost 240,000 Afghans, a fifth of them women, are heading to college – up from 7,870 before in 2001 (NEWS JOURNAL)

CANADA: e-learning company CEO Bob Thomas lost his wife to cancer nine years ago. After watching his sons struggle to cope with grief, he quit his job to found Rainbows, a counselling service supported by the latest digital technology (LAKE FORESTER)

BURMA: the country’s 70,000 seafarers now have access to e-learning through courses from the Maritime University (MIZZIMA)

WORLD: a study has found that broadband access – partly by allowing access to e-learning and business services – can increase household incomes by $120 in OECD countries – $46 in Brazil, India and China (SILICON REPUBLIC)

and in other news…

MALTA: the tiny island state has above-average Internet connection for an EU country – but wikis, led worldwide by Wikipedia, don’t seem to be catching on. A Maltese wiki project is holding its first editathon to try to bolster the online community (TIMES OF MALTA)