Browsing by Author "McGreal, Rory"

Now showing 1 - 14 of 14
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    Open Access
    Book Review : Education and Blockchain
    (2023-11-17) McGreal, Rory; Panda, Santosh
    Education and Blockchain is an excellent primer for educational leaders, administrators, teachers, and students. The book is divided into an executive summary, followed by four sections. These are: 1. The foundational principles and concepts of blockchain; 2. Blockchain applications in education. 3. How blockchain is being used in education; and 4. The humanistic principles to be considered when implementing blockchain. The book is well laid out and includes a glossary of terms which are clearly explained for the uninitiated. The authors also propose different applications of blockchain in a variety of educational contexts. Both the benefits and constraints related to blockchain as a de-centralised transparent ledger are explained in a manner understandable to the non-technical reader.
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    Creating, Using and Sharing Open Educational Resources
    (2013) McGreal, Rory
    Open Educational Resources (OER) are free learning resources available on the Internet. OER can be openly licensed or in the public domain, and can be used or reused for free. They can exist in many formats: text (either print or digital); audio, video, multimedia or hypermedia; or various combinations of these. They can be based on a single learning point, a lesson, a series of lessons (a module), a whole course or even an entire programme of study. They can support a specific learning methodology or approach — whether that be behaviourist, constructivist, connectivist, etc. — or any combination of methodologies or approaches. Although they may differ in format, structure or approach, they share a common characteristic: their openness. The Knowledge Series is a topical, start-up guide to distance education practice and delivery.
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    Developing Partnerships to Acquire Impact: The Role of Three Regional Centres’ Capacity Building Efforts for ODL Adoption in the Emerging World
    (2021-07-20) Perris, Kirk; McGreal, Rory; Panda, Santosh
    Partnerships are central to the awareness, implementation and development of open and distance learning (ODL). It is an attribute that is distinct in the higher education sector, where ODL has made a large footprint by dispelling the notion that university enrolment is reserved for a narrow and elite demographic. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) operates to advance the uptake of ODL amongst the 54 member states of the Commonwealth. COL leverages its work through various channels, and the COL Regional Centres play a pivotal role as partners to COL and, in turn, to acquire new partners that may benefit from COL’s technical expertise. The Regional Centres, strategically located across the Commonwealth, engage primarily in capacity building for ODL. Their constituents include governments, institutions, and individual learners. This paper explores the role of COL Regional Centres to grow existing partnerships and to form new ones in the pursuit of ODL expansion. The formation of partnerships is understudied in the ODL space, yet it has been pivotal in augmenting the visibility and importance of ODL around the world. Drawing on data from an evaluation of three COL Regional Centres conducted at the end of 2019, and reporting on follow-up activities to the mid-point of 2021, this paper highlights how the RCs are achieving their mandate to engage partners and, in the process, have achieved short- and long-term outcomes since 2018. Findings provide insight into the effectiveness of RC activities, relative to the number of institutions and individuals reached, complemented with inputs from RC stakeholders, mostly comprised of RC staff. Recommendations are offered, with the paper positing that the role of the Regional Centres should continue and expand to other areas of the Commonwealth premised on their ability to build and sustain partnerships through capacity building efforts.
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    Evaluation Report on Three Regional Centres Established by the Commonwealth of Learning
    (2020-12) McGreal, Rory
    This evaluation report reflects on the activities of three Regional Centres (RCs) established by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and regional partners. Regional Centres engage in capacity building and expansion of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in their respective regions, and to complement COL initiatives, particularly those relating to Technology Enabled Learning, Teacher Education, Technical/Vocational Education, and Higher Education. The RCs featured in this report include: the Regional Training and Research Institute for Open and Distance Learning (RETRIDOL), based in Nigeria; the Pacific Centre for Flexible and Open Learning for Development (PACFOLD), based in Fiji; and the Southern African Development Community Centre for Distance Education (SADC-CDE), based in Botswana.
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    Getting Published in High Impact ODL Journals (Researching & Writing Panel Discussion)
    (2022-09) Naidu, Som; McGreal, Rory; Panda, Santosh
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations [PRESENTATION] // Prof Som Naidu will talk to the following: Open, flexible and distance education draws its foundations from an eclectic knowledge base. While this provides scope for multiple perspectives, it also poses serious challenges for writing, researching and getting published in the field. Key issues among these are 1) a lack of awareness of the basic principles of open and distance learning; 2) lack of awareness of lessons already learned, and 3) lack of methodological rigour. This discussion will engage participants with a critical examination of these issues and challenges and how best to approach them. // Prof Rory McGreal will talk to the following: This session will provide prospective authors of scholarly articles with useful information on how to write a paper to increase the chances of acceptance. An adapted version of Reyes guidelines for scholarly articles will be used to provoke questions, comments and suggestions from the audience. Descriptions of journals that are accepting articles specifically on open and distance education research will be provided. The OER Knowledge Cloud will be introduced along with an explanation of how it can best be used for research. // Information will also be provided on the landscape of scholarly journals relevant to open and distance education research, including explanations of impact factors, h-index, ESCI (Emerging Sources Citation Index) and citation rankings. A description of the open access publishing environment will aim to enlighten participants on the main issues regarding what is wrong with academic publishing. The different types of openness (green, gold, etc.) will be discussed. // Prof Santosh Panda will talk to the following: The Journal of Learning for Development provides a forum for the publication of research with a focus on innovation in learning, in particular but not exclusively open and distance learning, and its contribution to development. Content includes interventions that change social and/or economic relations, especially in terms of improving equity. // JL4D publishes research articles, book reviews and reports from the field from researchers, scholars and practitioners, and seeks to engage a broad audience across that spectrum. It aims to encourage contributors starting their careers, as well as to publish the work of established and senior scholars from the Commonwealth and beyond. // Paper ID 7880
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    Introducing MOOCs to Africa: New Economy Skills for Africa Program - ICT
    (2014-01) Boga, Sandi; McGreal, Rory; Athabasca University
    MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are highly interactive online courses open to all on the World Wide Web. Some use OER and others rely on commercial content that can include video, multimedia and computer applications as well as text and graphics. MOOCs have the potential to enhance online education in developing countries by facilitating collaboration between people, places and technology. In fact, Coursera, the prominent American MOOC platform provider, has recently partnered with the World Bank and the Tanzanian government to provide MOOCs to African students in an ICT education initiative. In this paper, the Tanzanian pilot project is investigated as a lens through which to examine the strengths and weaknesses of MOOCs in the developing world.
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    Keynote Address, Plenary: Skills Development
    (2013-11) McGreal, Rory
    Seventh Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, Keynote Address, Plenary: Skills Development, 3 December 2013, International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria. Presented by Professor Rory McGreal, Commonwealth of Learning/UNESCO Chair in Open Educational Resources; Professor, Centre for Distance Education, Athabasca University; Director, Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute (TEKRI)
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    Micro-Credentials as Catalysts for Supporting Strategic Development Goals in Education in the Commonwealth Caribbean, 2024
    (2024-08) McGreal, Rory; Commonwealth of Learning (COL); the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC)
    The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®) spearheaded an initiative to explore the integration of micro-credentials (MCs) in the Caribbean region’s educational infrastructure. The initiative comprises five phases – research, analysis, policy support, regulation capacity building, and education system integration – to enable the education ecosystem in the region to introduce and standardise the adoption of MCs in the secondary and post-secondary levels. This report covers Phase 1 of the project, the scoping study, which explores the adoption and potential impact of MCs across several Commonwealth Caribbean countries, with a focus on their application in democratising education and enhancing regional development. MCs offer a promising avenue for supporting educational goals in the Commonwealth Caribbean by providing flexible, targeted learning opportunities aligned with specific skills and contemporary needs. Effective implementation will require collaborative efforts to overcome existing barriers and fully harness the potential of MCs to transform the Caribbean region’s educational landscape.
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    Mobile devices and the future of free education 2010
    (2010-11) McGreal, Rory
    The costs of education can never be totally eliminated, but present trends point to the possibility of an asymptotic curve, where the education costs will continue to approach zero, without ever quite reaching it. These curves can be deceiving as the drop in costs increases exponentially. OpenCourseware or Open Educational Resources (OER) are becoming important resources for both learners and instructors as the quantity and quality of the online content increases. Combine this with the growing ubiquity of mobile devices and the possibility of free education becomes possible for the first time. M-learning is an emerging area of distance education. The rising availability of open access learning materials that are interoperable, reusable and re-purposable by many learners and learning institutions is inevitable. Learners can access this free content from anywhere at anytime because of the ever increasing ubiquity of small powerful computers or mobile devices.
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    Panel discusson on Open Educational Resources for Development
    (2013-11) McGreal, Rory
    An international panel of experts in OER will provide their views on the state of the art in OER creation and deployment. This will include reports on OER activities on four continents and regions and on the development in the assessment and accreditation of learners who study informally using OER and other resources available on the Internet. The impact of OER on development will also be considered from Asian and African perspectives. The relationship between OER and increased accessibility to the internet using mobile devices will be explored. Panelists are being recruited and will be announced when confirmed. // Paper ID: 232
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    Report on the Assessment and Accreditation of Learners using OER
    (2013) Conrad, Dianne; Mackintosh, Wayne; McGreal, Rory; Murphy, Angela; Witthaus, Gabi
    This report shares the findings and lessons learned from an investigation into the economics of disaggregated models for assessing and accrediting informal learners, with particular attention to the OER University (OERu) consortium. It also relies on data from a small-scale survey conducted by two of the authors on perceptions, practices and policies relating to openness in assessment and accreditation in post-secondary institutions (Murphy & Witthaus, 2012). These investigations include the perceptions of stakeholders in post-secondary education towards the OERu concept, combined with a look at economic models for universities to consider in implementing OER assessment and accreditation policies.
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    Skills Development
    (2013-12-03) McGreal, Rory
    Transcript of "Skills Development," Seventh Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, Keynote, Plenary - Skills Development, 3 December 2013, International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria by Professor Rory McGreal, Commonwealth of Learning/UNESCO Chair in Open Educational Resources, Professor, Centre for Distance Education, Athabasca University, Director, Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute (TEKRI)
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    Tele-Education NB And the Tele-Campus On-Line Course Database: Building the Learning Industry in New Brunswick
    (1999-03) McGreal, Rory
    PCF1 // The TeleCampus online course database (http://database.telecampus.com) is a project of TeleEducation NB. It has implemented as a comprehensive online course database sponsored by Industry Canada, the World Bank, the Commonwealth of Learning, Le centre international pour le développement de l’inforoute en français, and other organizations. The online course database is a central repository of course information for students. Prior to the existence of the online course database, students wishing to access courses had to do some sophisticated searching. The on-line course database is the focus for any students wishing to take on-line courses as well as for any institutions and companies that wish to make their courses accessible. // Presently, there are more than 10 000 fully Web-based courses on line. In two years, we believe there will be more than 20 000. By being the first to establish a comprehensive on-line course database, we hope to capture the loyalties of students and institutions and become the world’s on-line course centre. Educational institutions and training companies from many different countries are beginning to offer courses and programmes on line using the World Wide Web. Students can now take these courses from anywhere that has an Internet connection, without being bound to any specific time, place or institution. //
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    UNESCO/Commonwealth of Learning Chairs in OER
    (2013-11) McGreal, Rory; Mackintosh, Wayne
    There are now two UNESCO/COL Chairs in OER, one in Canada at Athabasca University (Rory McGreal) and the other in New Zealand at Otago Polytechnic (Wayne Mackintosh). They are working with the UNESCO Chair in OER at the Dutch Open University (Fred Mulder) and the UNESCO Chair in OER at the University of Campinas (Tel Amiel) Brazil. // The co-operating Chairs have agreed on a global Plan of Action that can add value to the voluminous worldwide activity that is already there in the field of OER. We distinguish four main Lines of Action, each championed by one of the Chairs: 1. Global OER Graduate Network (Open University of the Netherlands); 2. OER Knowledge Cloud (Athabasca University); 3. The OER university (Otago Polytechnic); and 4. K12 initiatives (University of Campinas) to come. and two enabling Lines of Action: 5. Global OER Map of national and institutional OER initiatives 6. Global balance in the network of UNESCO Chairs in OER, connected in a UNESCO UNITWIN network. // Paper ID: 38