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THE DISTINCTIVENESS OF AUSTRALIAN DISTANCE EDUCATION – THE PRESENT AND THE NEXT DECADE
Bruce King
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Plus ça change ...
“The Australian education scene has been subject to almost continuous change over the last decade, and distance education has been affected as much as any sector”
Keith Harry, 1999 – government policy Equally true 2011 – technological change Predicting 2021 – defensible guesses, likely
to fall short of actuality Question: Should we be optimistic or
pessimistic?
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Distance education?
Totality of arrangements made by institution
For students separated from teachers For whom some resources &
arrangements have to be prepared in advance
These might involve special systems & processes
Students require well-organised support Includes institutional attention to
logistics of communication
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My bias ...
Distance education is a purposeful, values-driven enterprise
“The arrangements” should follow the purposes of the program
They should not undermine values base of what we do
DE not synonomous with online or e-learning although they have enormous potential to enhance what we do
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Distinctive?
Any distinctiveness is product of a set of characteristics: Cross sectoral Strong equity rationale Almost exclusively dual mode No national DE specialist institution Small but hugely dispersed student population Early involvement with transnational education Parity with on-campus provision Limited engagement with notions of openness Limited use of face to face support Losing ground to flexible delivery for all Practitioners have lost their way
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Lost their way ...?
Fragmentation of distinctive clientele Marginalisation of ethos of DE Breaking down of specialist systems Removal of political support for DE Movement away from any intellectual
leadership Sense of personal dislocation in face of
change - educational values brushed aside in compromises with technological developments
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Changes in context of universities
Changing government attitudes Massification Accountability and standards Internationalisation and competition Resources and staffing Impact of technology
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Is there a distinctive role in future?
If there is, it will be because of we refocus on the needs of off-campus and regional students
Need to understand and accommodate their learning milieu
Should not just be good followers of technological developments but investigate potential to support distinctive needs of students
Focus should be less on teaching and more on student support
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Will we retain parity?
Only if we avoid cost saving strategies that diminish DE experience
Must avoid disaggregation of academic functions, especially assessment
Will be faced with real competition over performance
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Will we manage technology? Need to remember:
Enthusiasm for and expertise with technology is not equally spread
A sense of personal deficiency impacts on all professional functions
In mixed mode, too few have teaching qualifications on-campus and DE adds to personal difficulties
Rate of change of technologies can compound sense of under-performance
Professional development is expensive, time-consuming (although well understood)
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Will we be teaching well?
Not just a matter of the tools available, but an understanding of ethos of DE
Our role should be purposeful and value driven
All decisions should be driven by fostering learning, and not privilege other dimensions, e.g. student freedom
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Optimism or pessimism?
Much that is positive – options seem boundless But we could be confronting a perfect storm:
Casualisation Private challenges to monopoly on professional
accreditation Cost saving institutional strategies End of dual mode & sense of identity Potential demise of OUA - less flexibility For-profits exploiting customer relationship expertise Danger that we privilege teaching over support
Business as usual is just not an option