06. Pan-Commonwealth Forum 6 (PCF6), 2010

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Browsing 06. Pan-Commonwealth Forum 6 (PCF6), 2010 by Region "Europe"

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    Open Access
    Disabilities & ICTs for learning: developing an accessible learning environment from a User Centred Design perspective
    (2010-11) Gill-Rodríguez, E P; Rebaque-Rivas, P; Sabaté-Jardí, L; Bourg-Arceo, L
    In today’s society, people with disabilities are increasingly socially integrated. However, this process still needs to be developed to achieve overall integration. In this sense, information and communication technologies (ICT) are both an opportunity to improve this overall integration and a risk known as the digital divide. // The eduWAI project (funded by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade) was created in order to develop a specific learning environment for the inclusion of people with disabilities into the job market. To achieve this aim, a user-centred perspective is needed to flag up the needs of people with disabilities and detect opportunities for improvement through ICT. The aim of eduWAI is to achieve this improvement through the use of user-centred development methodologies.
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    Open Access
    Going the Distance: Making Distance Learning (DL) Work
    (2010-11) Lentell, Helen
    Distance learning (DL) is back in vogue in the UK. It is out of the doldrums in terms of institutional and national interest, which is where it has been for a while. I mean DL, not e –learning or flexible learning or open learning or technology enhanced learning. It is possible that all of these things are in the mind of the new promoters of DL. But the idea that is so appealing to the new advocates is that students do not have to be full time, will pay fees – high fees perhaps – will not demand much in terms of campus services and may well live overseas and not be counted against HEFC grant income. (The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) distributes public money to universities and colleges in England that provide higher education.) Politicians as well as educational leaders are talking DL. David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science in the UK, has recently suggested that DL is the way to go. None of this is surprising given the cuts in public expenditure and thus funding going to Universities, the cap on student numbers, the pressure on Universities to diversity their funding and restricted immigration and visa approvals. In addition, in the UK, the costs of undertaking a full time degree coupled with the recession has led many young people to consider DL. The UK Open University for instance is experiencing an "unprecedented" 34% increase in 18 to 24-year-olds applying for distance learning degrees (BBCa).
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    Open Access
    Open and Distance Learning Accreditation Agencies: Doing What it Says on the Tin
    (2010-11) Tyrer, Rod
    This paper will examine the role and practice of agencies that accredit courses offered by education providers in the open and distance learning mode that provide, in the main, vocational training courses. The rationale for doing is that students who look to improve themselves and their employment prospects, particularly those who fund themselves, may fall prey to unscrupulous education providers whose main motivation is to make money, not to provide a quality education.