Open and Distance Education:History, Status and Conceptual analyses
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Sanjaya Mishra
Let’s Begin with the Terminologies…
Correspondence education
Home study
Independent study
External studies
Continuing education
Distance teaching Self instruction
Open learningFlexible learning
Distributed learning
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Open Learning
• medium or media, whether print, on-line, television or video;
• place of study, whether at home, in the workplace or on campus;
• pace of study, whether closely paced or unstructured;
• support mechanisms, whether tutors on demand, audio conferences or computer-assisted learning; and
• entry and exit points.
The educational philosophy of open learning emphasizes giving learners choices about:
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Distance Learning
• separation of teacher and learner in time or place, or in both time and place;
• institutional accreditation; that is, learning is accredited or certified by some institution or agency. This type of learning is distinct from learning through your own effort without the official recognition of a learning institution;
• use of mixed-media courseware, including print, radio and television broadcasts, video and audio cassettes, computer-based learning and telecommunications. Courseware tends to be pre-tested and validated before use;
Most definitions of distance learning pay attention to the following
characteristics:
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• two-way communication allows learners and tutors to interact as distinguished from the passive recipient of broadcast signals. Communication can be synchronous or asynchronous;
• possibility of face-to-face meetings for tutorials, learner–learner interaction, library study and laboratory or practice sessions; and
• use of industrialised processes; that is, in large-scale open and distance learning operations, labour is divided and tasks are assigned to various staff who work together in course development teams.
Distance LearningCont’d…
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Teaching-Learning Scenario
Same time Different time
Same place Classroom teaching, face-to-face tutorials and seminars, workshops and residential schools
Learning resource centres, which learners visit at their leisure.
Different place
Audio conferences and video conferences; television with one-way video, two-way audio; radio with listener–response capability; and telephone tutorials.
Home study, computer conferencing, tutorial support by e-mail and fax communication.
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History of ODL• Boston Gazette, March 20, 1728:
Advertisement for Short hand course
• Popularly known, 1840: Sir Isaac Pitman's Short hand course
• First distance teaching university, University of South Africa in 15 Feb 1946:
• First Open University, 1969: UKOU
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The Idea of Open University• China's Imperial Examination system in
6th century• Rabindranath Tagore's idea of home-
based study influenced Leonard Elmhirst (Agricultural adviser), who started Dartington Hall. Michael Young was a pupil there who went on to propose the idea of the UK Open University and started the National Extension College as a pilot
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Status• Over 90 Open Universities around the
World• 15 in India alone• First Open University in India started in
1982; and the National Open University of India was established in 1985.
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Open University Movement• Principle of egalitarianism (open to all)• Principle of equality of educational
opportunities (barriers of caste, economy, gender to be removed)
• Principle of lifelong and ubiquitous learning• Principle of flexible curricula• Principle of learner-orientation• Principle of autonomous learning• Principle of learning through communication
and interaction
Source: Peters, 2008
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Generations of Distance Education
First Generation-Correspondence Model: Only print based
Second Generation-Multi-media Model: Print, Audio, Video, CBL(CAI/CML)
Third Generation-Telelearning Model: Audio Teleconferencing, Video
Teleconferencing, Audiographics, Broadcast Radio/TV
Fourth Generation-Flexible Learning Model: Interactive Multimedia, Internet/WWW,
CMC
Fifth Generation-Interactive Flexible Learning Model: Automated response
systems, Virtual Learning space
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Advantages of ODL
• Overcoming physical distance
• Solving time and scheduling problems
• Expanding the limited number of space available
• Democratizing education
• Bringing quality education to the doorstep of millions
• Dealing with cultural, religious and political considerations
• Cost-effective education suitable to developing nations
• Provides second chance to those who miss education
• Enables lifelong learning
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Limitations?
• Attitudinal bias
• Believed as second rate
• Quality is questioned all the time
• Difficult to start – takes lot of planning time
• Requires trained, committed human resources
• Any other?
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Why ODL?
• Access and reach
• Equity and Gender
• Quality and effectiveness
• Relevance and lifelong learning
• Globalization and Technology
• Cost and EfficiencyIGN
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Access and Reach
• 880 millions illiterate population
• By 2015 about 100 million school aged children would not be in school
• Only 668 millions enrolment in Primary schools
• Education is a basic human right, and how are we going to achieve the gigantic task
• School enrolment rate have to be increased up to 10% for many countries to meet the goals of Education for All by 2015
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Equity and Gender
• Equity refers to the fairness in distribution of educational resources
• Equity in gender
• Equitable access to education for people in rural, hilly, and remote islands
• Female enrolment in all stages of education is less than 50%
• 64% of the total illiterate population is female; in China female illiteracy is more than 70%
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Quality and Effectiveness
• Not just access, people need access to quality education
• Effect of HIV/AIDS on supply of education services: In Zambia the mortality rate amongst teachers because of HIV/AIDS was more than the general adult population
• World average for teachers is just 16 for 1000 population; in developing countries it is more less
• Technology and student-centred design has a strong role to play in improving quality
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Relevance and Lifelong Learning
• Societal change from labour intensive work to knowledge intensive work
• Need to teach the 7Cs:
• Constant change and advancement in technology
• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• Collaboration
• Cross-cultural understanding• Communication• Computing• Career development
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Globalization and Technology
• Globalization refers to the package of economic reforms including liberalization, privatization and decentralization
• Education as a commodity and trans-boarder flow of knowledge
• Technology is the mover in the age of globalization, especially the Internet, and its WWW
• Increasing digital divide: only 4.8 persons per thousand online
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Cost and Efficiency• Governments are by far the largest funding bodies in
education
• In spite of commitment, Governments are not in a position to invest more as there are other important areas like health, environment, etc.
• The public expenditure in education varies between 2-6% of GNP in many countries; world average is just 4.8% of GNP
• Private participation required to increase efficiency; Governments can focus more on primary education
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ODL: Issues and Challenges• Mandate vs performance• Quality of teaching and learning• Dropouts and cost-effectiveness• Faculty workload• Research on ODL teaching and learning
practices• Flexibility vs professional demands• Incorporating technology mediated
synchronous learning• Virtualization and emergence of Cyber
universities
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