Browsing by Author "Panda, Santosh"
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- ItemOpen AccessA Comparative Study on Training/Professional Development Needs of University Teachers on ODL Pre-Covid and Ongoing Pandemic in India(2022-09) Lakshmi, Pulla; Mythili, G; Panda, SantoshPCF10 Sub-theme: Fostering Lifelong Learning // Education is of utmost importance for social development and political change, regardless of whether it is dispensed through conventional, non-conventional or ODL mode. The Indian ODL system, geared toward this philosophy, is the second largest ODL system in the world, comprising 17 open universities and 110+ dual-mode distance education institutions. The Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) undertakes training needs assessment (TNA) studies from time to time for addressing the training needs of the ODL faculty in the country, (besides offering a PG Diploma and a Masters in DE as long-term professional development programmes, which at one point of time was offered in about 22 countries, largely supported by the Commonwealth of Learning). Recently, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the education sector to adopt changes in teaching-learning. Even though the adaptation of technologies started in the field of education prior to the pandemic, the educational institutions including ODL institutions had to go through compulsory remote online teaching during this period. It was thought prudent to undertake a TNA of ODL teachers during this pandemic and compare the variations in their training needs, which was conducted in pre-pandemic times. This paper reports the findings of a research focusing on the identification of training needs of teachers/ academics from IGNOU; their preferences on mode of training; and any difference in additional required competency during pre- and ongoing-pandemic. The data collected in January-February 2022 has been compared with the data collected in the pre-pandemic period of 2019, and implications for policy and practice on continuing professional development in ODL are drawn accordingly. // Paper ID 8780
- ItemOpen AccessDevelopments in TEL: Pushing the Boundaries of Open Education(2024-11-19) Panda, Santosh; Panda, SantoshWith the firm articulation by the first chancellor of the OU Lord Geoffrey Crowther, at the UKOU’s inaugural ceremony, that the open university is “open as to people, open as to places, open as to methods and open as to ideas” (Crowther, 1969, pp. 1-2; also reiterated by Perry, 1976), open education has evolved over the past decades and has come a long way to be understood and practised as open access, open learning, open educational resources, open sharing, open pedagogy, and open educational practices, among others. In its evolution, technology has played a significant role. In a review of open, distance and digital education in the Global South, Mays (2023) notes that open, distance and blended approaches in open schooling and higher educational institutions have increasingly embraced digital, cloud-based and connected approaches appropriate to diverse levels, disciplines and contexts, and, therefore, contextual understanding is crucial in any TEL design and application. Conole’s (2013) research review on pedagogical patterns and open educational resources, and learning design for an open world; and Selwyn et al’s (2020) caution about digital inclusion/exclusion, artificial intelligence/datafication, human learning/machine learning, and community approaches to design and implementation, will be of critical importance to TEL designers for open education. Our opening first paper in this issue of the Journal is an interesting and reflective discourse on open education and generative AI.
- ItemOpen AccessEditorial: Capacity Building for New Modes of Learning and Teaching(2022-11-21) Panda, Santosh; Panda, SantoshIn many educational development initiatives across the globe, and especially in the Commonwealth by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), capacity building at all levels and for all categories of people has been underlined as the foundation to shifting to new modes of teaching-learning-training during Covid and also in the post-COVID-19 era. The change management formulation through the model of ‘policy-technology-capacity building’ had emerged as a significantly effective strategy toward development and especially ‘learning for development’. We need more research evidence to further support this formulation, and also to contribute to possible directions for national, institutional and individual goal-setting and strategic applications in-context. It is hoped that the contributions to this issue of JL4D will further enlighten our understanding and suggest pathways toward implementation of education and training programmes in national, regional and institutional contexts.
- ItemOpen AccessEditorial: Changing Perceptions of ‘Learning for Development’ in the New Normal(2023-07-18) Panda, Santosh; Panda, SantoshIn the ‘Editorial’ to the first foundation issue of this journal, then Chief Editor Professor Alan Tait had underlined: “While in most cases education is seen as an essential contributor to the human capital that countries need to grow economically and socially, there is a counter view that education, especially at the tertiary level, provides legitimacy for a filter for the labour market and legitimation of elites, and for under and unemployment, as much as it provides real skill and knowledge essential for employment for the majority. Development is in other words a contested concept, and this journal will welcome contributions to the necessary debates about how development is conceived by those who contribute to it through the organisation of learning opportunities in all their range, informal as well as formal”.
- ItemOpen AccessEditorial: COVID-19 Pandemic and Innovations in Institutional Transformation, Technology and Pedagogy(2020-11-20) Panda, Santosh; Panda, SantoshGiven the concern and the context, the Editorial Board of JL4D at the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) took a considered decision to devote its November 2020 issue to ‘Covid and Learning for Development’. The 18 papers and one book review in this volume include five invited papers from leading global educationists, and papers comprising research articles, case studies, and field reports which, in one way or another, are related t oCOVID-19 and/or innovative teaching-learning in difficult or underdeveloped contexts.
- ItemOpen AccessEditorial: Improving Learning through DOL: The Importance of Instructional Design and Student Engagement(2024-03-23) Panda, Santosh; Panda, SantoshFurther development and expansion of open distance and online learning (DOL) and blended learning has been possible due to significant research in the areas of instructional/learning design (based on various learning theories) and how learners engage in authentic activities in the contexts of both individualised and collaborative learning. The recent analysis by Molenda (2023) and the analysis by Martin and Bolliger (2023) should be useful reads in this regard. A significant component of any instructional design or learning design for DOL is engagement of learners in self-directed and reflective learning in both individualised and collaborative learning contexts. There are well-researched theories of learner engagement, the most prominent being the Community of Inquiry framework of Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) encompassing teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence especially in asynchronous online learning environments. Further explanation to engagement at macro, meso and micro levels was given by Bond (2019) in which learning was assumed to occur within a given socio-cultural context.
- ItemOpen AccessEditorial: Learners as Focus in ‘Learning for Development’ (L4D)(2023-11-17) Panda, Santosh; Panda, SantoshThe JL4D focuses on research and case studies oriented to innovation and how does it contribute to development. In the past years, the dominant themes have been OER supporting TEL, the concept of L4D itself, and innovative technology applications to address contextual needs. As Mays (2023) points out “we need to keep thinking about the why (learning for development) and the how (technology-enabled) and keep evaluating what we are achieving (lessons of experience and research) in order to close the feedback loop into improved practice”. Within this framework, a major focus of L4D is the learner, and how learners are innovating and leveraging resources (especially technology-enabled learning resources) for self and community development. The present issue of the Journal is devoted to focusing on learners in ‘learning for development’.
- ItemOpen AccessEditorial: Learning for Development: Lessons from Diverse Contexts and Perspectives(2022-07-19) Panda, Santosh; Panda, SantoshThere has been a contemporary trend in educational delivery, as also in education research studies, toward technology-enabled learning, which offers scope for contexualisation and appropriateness for effective and quality individual and group learning. This trend, though, does not preclude the age-old and conventional campus-based learning. The trend, in fact, has more been toward diversified forms of ‘blended teaching-learning’ – with the nature of the ‘blend’ varying according to the context and current provision in respective educational/ national contexts. In the developing countries, the discourse is more vulnerable in respect of appropriate decision-making for an equitable and inclusive educational provision. Practical field experiences, as also rigorous research studies, should significantly contribute to such decision-making at governmental, institutional and faculty level. Keeping this in view, we have put together, in this issue of the Journal, the following research articles/ studies, case studies, reports from the field, and book reviews which may inform us in further visualising and implementing our actions.
- ItemOpen AccessEditorial: Teaching and Technology: Diverse Interactions for Diverse Contexts(2024-07-21) Panda, Santosh; Panda, SantoshThis is the second issue of the Scopus-indexed JL4D Volume 11, and the selected papers in this issue (seven research papers, five case studies, one field report, and two book reviews) represent researches and reflections on ‘teaching and technology’ applied in diversified contexts across the globe. Educational technology developments encompass their evolution from the early print, audio-visual aids and broadcasting technologies to the contemporary web-based learning, mobile learning/ubiquitous learning, learning in three-dimensional immersive environments, and AI-based learning. Alongside this, pedagogic theories evolved from the early behaviourism through cognitivist, constructivist, connectivist/connectionist strategies, and, of late, open pedagogies and open educational practices. It has been underlined that technology can facilitate/enhance student learning (Kirkwood & Price, 2013), and the latest technologies like augmented reality (AR) design, can improve students’ higher order thinking skills (Bower et al, 2014). However, technology itself does not do much unless technology relates to appropriate pedagogy (i.e., techno-pedagogy) in appropriate learning contexts, and therefore the interaction of technology and pedagogy will differ across contexts and learning interactions. The papers included in the present issue of the Journal focus on this theme of ‘teaching and technology’.
- ItemOpen AccessEditorial: Technology and Pedagogy for Learning and Capacity Building(2023-03-20) Panda, Santosh; Panda, SantoshIn any technology-enabled learning formulation, it is important to consider the pedagogic affordances of technology, and how to develop the required level of competency and concomitant capacity building to undertake teaching-learning and training activities of high quality. There are a variety of frameworks and guidelines available on TEL, and we, as teachers, trainers and researchers, need to consider reviewing the research literature, analysing the effective blending of pedagogy and technology, developing appropriate learning resources (and/or considering existing Open Educational Resources and MOOCs), understanding the challenges faced especially due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and appropriating the quality assurance frameworks and parameters, among others. The present issue of the Journal, comprising one invited paper, five research papers, two case studies, and two book reviews, addresses the above issues and concerns.
- ItemOpen AccessEducation for Digital World - Global Efforts(2008) Kanwar, Asha; Panda, SantoshWith Prof. Asha S. Kanwar, Vice President & Programme Director Commonwealth of Learning, Canada. Interviewer - Prof. S. Panda. Duration: 22:34.
- ItemMetadata onlyGetting Published in High Impact ODL Journals (Researching & Writing Panel Discussion)(2022-09) Naidu, Som; McGreal, Rory; Panda, SantoshPCF10 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
- ItemOpen AccessImpact Assessment of OER Repository of Bangladesh Open University(2019-09) Rahman, Md Mizanoor; Panigrahi, Manas Ranjan; Panda, SantoshThis article reports finding from a study with the students of Bangladesh Open University which replaced traditional textbooks prepared using in-house style with openly licensed books under creative commons (CC) license and other digital content such as video and audio lectures. BOU made a deliberate decision to make textbooks open for that were copyrighted under the Creative Commons license after adoption of OER Policy in 2014. This decision was based on the accessibility and flexibility in the delivery of course content provided by textbooks. In line with this the BOU developed a repository and subsequently it was upgraded through the technology support from Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA). The Repository is now full operational and with motivation of assessing the impact of the OER repository, this study has been conducted. Main stakeholders of the OER repository are the students and in Besser et al. (1999) found while students generally view textbooks as an important element of their courses and it also help classes. Distance learners attend in the tutorial sessions, and the soft copy of the learning materials has been effective in the sessions as well. BOU provides hard copies of print which are normally delay in delivery. Therefore, the students are getting used to downloading texts from the repository. More students accessed open textbooks than had handed hard copies of textbooks. Higher grades were correlated with courses that used open textbooks at BOU.// Paper ID 133
- ItemOpen AccessLinking Skill Programmes with Academic Programmes in Higher Education(2019) Panda, SantoshThough school VET is well articulated and also that the National Skill Qualifications Framework, and National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 are in place, there was a felt need to address the three areas of concern in higher education: i) vertical mobility within VET; ii) horizontal mobility between VET and HE; and iii) skilling for general higher education. COL/CEMCA took up the responsibility of reviewing the international good practices and develop further articulation and guidelines to operationalise the third area of concern, i.e. skilling and employability in undergraduate education. This write-up addresses the global meanings ascribed to skills and competencies; summarises the 21st century skills; reviews select international skill qualification frameworks for school education, VET and higher education; critically looks into the practice of VET and HE in three European countries of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland; discusses the Indian National Skill Qualifications Framework vis-à-vis the skilling system/practices in India (including those for higher education); and outlines guidelines for operationalising linage of skill programmes with higher education (UG) programmes in India.
- ItemOpen AccessPerception towards Online Teaching-Learning during Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case of IGNOU Teachers and Academics(2022-09) Asgar, Ali; Panda, SantoshPCF10 Sub-theme: Building Resilience // The pandemic erupted due to Covid-19 has disrupted normal life and different economic, social, and educational activities globally, and India was not an exception to this changing situation. In India, a phenomenal change occurred in the education sector where state and central governments instructed or made it compulsory for educational institutions to go online and continue academic activities in the online mode. In this context, IGNOU and state open universities in India also entered to the online mode for teaching-learning (TL) and providing academic support services to learners. Teachers posted at the IGNOU headquarters and academics at the different regional centers got engaged with learners online to perform their respective responsibilities. Against this perspective, this research was conducted to find out the perceptions of teachers and academics on the the effectiveness of online TL; the constraints faced by them; and also, to suggest measures toward making online and blended TL strategies more useful. To conduct this study, a structured online questionnaire comprising the above aspects was sent to teachers and academics of the university in the last week of January, 2022. A total of 63 responses from both the teachers and academics were received and analyzed. The findings of the study suggest academic functionaries of IGNOU were ready to take the challenge positively and self-efficacy helped them in adopting online and digital pedagogies; they improved their ICT skills, although requirement of further training in online pedagogies and instructional design was indicated by them; challenges like slow broadband and non-availability of robust technical support were also reported. The study may have implications for policy and practice of the world's second-largest university which operates within India and through 14 overseas study centers with accumulative learner enrolment of above three million. // Paper ID 0769
- ItemOpen AccessProfessional Development through ODL during the Pandemic: A Comparative Study of India and Guyana(2022-09) Priyadarshini, Anita; Panda, SantoshPCF10 Sub-theme: Building Resilience // The Covid-19 pandemic affected educational systems all over the world, leading to shift from face-to-face teaching-learning to a system of emergency remote learning. There are many studies that have examined the impact of these developments on conventional education as well as open and distance learning (ODL) systems. The present study is a transnational study of learners engaged in professional development in ODL institutions of India and Guyana. The study investigates comparative learner experiences with respect to four dimensions namely, quality of technology, engagement with teachers, student-student dialogue, and education-work-life balance while studying through virtual mode including in a cross-border learning scenario. // The study is a descriptive survey using a mixed mode methodology. The sample comprised 60 learners from India and Guyana enrolled in the Post Graduate Diploma in Distance Education (PGDDE) programme offered by the Indira Gandhi National Open University, India. The findings revealed that there were commonalities among learners in India and Guyana. Learners found live counseling sessions more engaging and interactive. It was seen that social media played a positive role in connecting learners during the pandemic and helping them to form their own learning communities. Learners in both countries felt that the education-work-life balance was disturbed during the pandemic. However there was determination among all learners to complete their online professional development programmes. This study will contribute to leveraging learners’ experiences for formulating future policy and designing practices for continuing professional development in developing countries for achieving SDG 4 for quality education. // Paper ID 8828
- ItemOpen AccessStatus of Distance Learning in India(2022-11) Panda, SantoshThe report presents a survey of a situation analysis of distance learning in India. It is based on both archival and field data.
- ItemOpen AccessStudy on Development of ICT-Enabled Vocational Education at the Bangladesh Open University(2022-09) Rahman, Md Mizanoor; Panigrahi, Manas Ranjan; Panda, SantoshPCF10 Sub-theme: Fostering Lifelong Learning // Around the globe, ICT is making major differences in the teaching-learning approaches and assessment. In line with this, Bangladesh implements ICT in education through its Access to Information (a2i) Programme, and puts emphasis on skilling people by using ICT for supporting SDGs by its ministries and associated agencies. In response to this, Bangladesh Open University in association with the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA/ COL) implements the project entitled ‘Impacting Education and Open Schooling through OER- Making a Difference among the Learners’. This research paper forms part of an action research under this project, and focuses on identifying the policy gaps and tutors’ attitudes towards ICT-enabled vocational education and training (VET) for skilling the disadvantaged learners. Desktop approach on open source materials was deployed for identifying the policy gap, and survey approach was used to collect 180 tutors’ attitude to ICT-enabled VET. Analysis of literature and reports indicate that Bangladesh possesses significant advantage due to the availability of ICT infrastructure for implementing ICT-enabled VET. The results also showed that tutors had a positive attitude towards the use of ICT in vocational education, and it’s use to help tutors be more effective in VET tutorials and in improving student learning. The results have been further interpreted in relation to the existing national and institutional policies and practices. // Paper ID 2796
- ItemOpen AccessTeacher Experiments and Experiences of Teaching Online during Covid-19 Pandemic – Study of School and College Teachers(2022-09) Dey, Niradhar; Panda, SantoshPCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations // During the Covid-19 outbreak, in India, specific instructions had been issued to the universities, colleges and schools by the Union Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission (UGC) to maintain academic calendar, examination, etc. through online teaching by using different online educational technologies (UGC Guidelines on 29th April, 6th July, and 24th Sept, 2020). Against this backdrop, the present paper analyses the experiments and experiences that teachers had undergone during the pandemic in terms of practicing online teaching. Descriptive survey method was used to conduct the study by using a mixed form of online questionnaire through Google Form to seek data from teachers at school and tertiary levels. Findings suggested that the teachers had experienced and experimented themselves in using new technology tools to teach online to the students and also created learning resources for the students. A group of teachers was also quite critical on the issues relating to availability of smart phones, internet facility in remote areas, absenteeism in online classes, difficulty to address the psychomotor and affective domains, assessment, etc. The implications of the study are that a positive confidence among the teachers had been built to use technologies in teaching both online and in the conventional mode. The study also implies that there is the need to orient teachers for using technology in teaching and facilitating student learning. It also implicates to develop required online teaching infrastructure by both governments and educational institutions. Further, in the post-pandemic situation, the study has the implication that a blended-learning environment is essential to be created in all modes of teaching and learning i.e. both campus-based and distance/online learning. // Paper ID 2354