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

Permanent URI for this collection

http://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/1721

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 35

Open Access
Access and Quality in Self Organized Learning Environments
(2010-11) Kulkarni, Suneeta; Mitra, Sugata
Learning Environments in remote areas: // Almost no one in the world will deny that children need to have access to meaningful learning experiences if they are to truly gain from these experiences and go beyond rote memorization for the sake of passing an examination without understanding the concepts involved. This concern becomes even more critical in disadvantaged and remote settings, where it is even harder to find ‘good’ teachers and schools. // Typically, remoteness is understood in geographical terms. The focus is often on distances from city and urban centres with the corollary assumption that these settings are far from the resources, services, facilities that one has come to associate with urban life. However, in the context of the current effort of Self Organized Learning Environments [SOLEs] and its basis, the Hole in the Wall [HiW] the concept of remoteness and thence access, goes way beyond simple geographical distance from an urban setting. Remoteness is understood to exist in resource poor, underprivileged, economically and socially deprived sections of society. Many of these exist within the heart of the city, in slums, or other areas where freedom of movement, of interaction, of choice, of thought, and therefore access, is often dictated by stringent social norms. All these aspects have implications for the quality of educational facilities available to children as well as the manner of participation in learning that is possible on part of the children. Even in these locations in the midst of the city, ‘good’, trained teachers are hard to come by, since neither the salary that can be given to them, nor the setting in which they would have to work, make this an appealing proposition. The quality of education naturally suffers. [Mitra, Dangwal, Thadani 2008] // Yet the need to provide children with quality education remains a prime concern.
Open Access
Access to Equality in Education for Children with Disability through Inclusive Education
(2010-11) Singh, Vandana
This paper will attempt to analyze the origin, concept and practices of inclusive education; also it focuses on a critical element of the inclusive education as a challenge towards achievement of equity for students with disabilities. It will also explain the nature of barriers will be confronted to inclusive education and suggest the approach for successful its implementation.
Open Access
Assessing the need for a quality framework designed specifically for managing the provision of online distance education in developing countries
(2010-11) Inglis, Alistair
Quality assurance and quality improvement processes employ quality frameworks to ensure comprehensive coverage of the factors affecting students’ experiences of learning. The importance of quality frameworks has increased with the shift to online delivery of courses. // A number of quality frameworks for use in quality management in relation to delivery of courses online at a distance may be found in the educational literature. However, most of these frameworks have been designed for use in a developed country context. Such frameworks may not be suitable for use in a developing country context where factors such as the robustness of the communications infrastructure, capacity of teachers to use technology, students’ access to technology, the affordability of technology, and a range of other factors can have a much greater impact on students’ learning experiences. // Designing a new quality framework for use specifically in a developing country context is a substantial project. Before embarking on such an enterprise one needs to be satisfied that existing frameworks are unsuitable for the task and that adapting an existing framework would not offer a most cost-effective solution than moving on to the development of a new framework. // This paper draws on the research literature to identify the range of known challenges faced in delivering programs by online distance education in a developing country context. It then examines the extent to which a number of existing quality frameworks capture information on institutional performance in relation to these challenges. Finally, it considers whether a case can be made for development of a new quality framework specifically designed for use in a developing country context.
Open Access
Can we really learn from mobile handheld devices?
(2010-11) Gaskell, Anne
There is much evidence that mobile technologies are playing an increasing role in education. For the most part, this role has been limited to administrative reminders and some elements of learner support particularly in relation to increasing access. It is clear that mobile technologies and especially 3rd Generation mobile phones will become ubiquitous as they become cheaper and connection charges reduce. // The paper will note that the use of mobile technologies is increasing in the developed world in a number of areas, for instance in context related education, and also illustrate how hand-held devices can be used for basic language, skills, numeracy and health and safety training and some aspects of teaching and learning across the developing and developed world. // But how far can mobile technologies replace existing distance education media in the successful support of student learning and academic teaching? And how far does this depend on the affordances provided by particular hand-held devices and so exclude many who can afford only basic mobiles? // This paper will examine some of the core issues that this raises: • The potential of mobile technologies to extend access has been demonstrated; how can this be mainstreamed and best used for learning support? • How far can hand-held mobile devices support distance learning and teaching as it is currently practised? • How far do mobile technologies promote new forms of learning and teaching which may supersede current practices? • Will mobile technologies ever become a mainstream educational medium as print-based and online learning through full-size computing devices are acknowledged to be today? // The paper concludes with a series of questions around these core issues.
Open Access
ColorBoard: A Product and Process to Enable Quality Education for All
(2010-11) Crichton, Susan; Onguko, Brown
This paper 1) proposes both a product and a process to provide access and opportunity to learning, 2) offers a way to encourage the participatory development of appropriate, relevant resources, and 3) shares findings from a recent field trial of our approach in East Africa. We recognize many of us have offices filled with more resources – books, materials, and technologies - than many classrooms or entire schools in developing contexts, so it is with extreme humility we share an approach to bridge this obscene chasm between have and have not populations, recognizing that “Knowledge [has the potential] to make everything easier” (Maeda, p. 33, 2006).
Open Access
Continuity education in emergency and conflict situations: the case for using open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL)
(2010-11) Morpeth, Ros; Creed, Charlotte
Emergency and conflict in countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Haiti and Afghanistan have made us more aware of the long-term serial disruption and psychosocial damage faced by people caught up in emergency and conflict areas. Open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) has sometimes been employed in these regions to maintain a degree of continuity in education. For the most part, however, this role has been ad hoc, short-term and often bearing limited relation to the psychosocial and educational needs of the displaced or traumatised populations it serves. // But could ODFL play a more planned, significant and relevant role in emergency and conflict regions and if so, how? This paper will address this core question. We identify particular aspects of ODFL programmes, which are especially useful in reaching and extending basic and secondary education to hard-to-reach children and those in emergency and conflict contexts. Through a specific case study of the recent conflict in Sri Lanka, we show how ODFL is currently being used for these groups and to what effect. We argue that by building on proven achievements and integrating ODFL more systematically into the existing national planning for conflict and emergency zones, it could play a significant and cost-effective role in these regions and also, more widely, in facilitating links between the non-formal and formal sectors and improving the quality of provision.
Open Access
Developing Strategies for successful Science and Technology programmes in Open Universities of Developing countries
(2010-11) Rangappa, K S; Narasimharao, B Panduranga
As human civilization progresses from one era to another era the education and its delivery also undergoes changes and transformations as per the experience and needs of the society of that era. The present day system had arisen and developed as per Humboldt's or Newman's vision born of the experience of nineteenth century. Since then there has been revolutionary developments lead by science and technology in all spheres of human life giving rise to a society based on knowledge and knowledge workers which is far more than a social change and considered to create changes in the human condition (Drucker, 1994). As Magrath (2006) says the 21st century University which has great educational and intellectual talents within its faculty and staff is an educational enterprise and must use the educational talents available to serve society. We may say in line with this, there are some important concepts and models evolving to make education nearer to societal needs - university-industry collaboration/cooperation, model 1 & 2 models, triple helix, National innovation systems, regional innovation systems, higher education for sustainable development, consortium & cluster concept, public-private-panchayat partnership, skill development mission, finishing schools, university outreach and engagement, open and distance learning, corporate education, service learning, community learning, scholarship of engagement, centres of excellence and relevance, community colleges etc. // One of the developments which saw large expansion with respect to India is Open University (OU) concept. Though the potential of open distance learning system (ODL) in addressing higher education needs of the society is well argued in the literature, there is still skepticism about the legitimacy of distance education in countries as different as Swaziland, China, Canada and some European countries (Harry & Perraton, 1999). It is not surprising that the ODL system is often considered as 'second chance' and even 'second grade' system in developing countries like India. This may be mainly due to the fact that the system's potential is being focused often providing access to education (making the open distance learning as an alternative system to education) rather than for meeting the needs and demands of knowledge society and knowledge economy (making open distance learning an essential system of education). As Gidley et al (2010) point out access, which is often treated as synonymous with social inclusion, is only the first step in providing higher education. Along with the access, success is an important aspect in social inclusion. The third concept introduced by them, participation is an important factor in knowledge society where knowledge production is socially distributed and subject to multiple accountabilities. All these three concepts (access, participation and success) can be seen to reflect degrees of social inclusion and we need to see that ODL system cover these three concepts to move to the real of knowledge society. Narasimharao and Nair (2010) while discussing universities and corporate education concludes that the 21st century responsibility of universities in developing countries lies in broader involvement of universities with society by developing strategies to integrate the recent trends in higher education to make the universities to link to their space and also to integrate the recent trends in higher education to make the universities to link to their place and also to integrate entrepreneurial and traditional functions needed for the well being of the society. The present paper discusses on developing strategies for successful science and technology (S & T) programmes in open universities of developing countries.
Open Access
Education at Your Doorstep: Does the Doors Open for All?
(2010-11) Nayak, Abhilash
The growth and development of education in the developed and developing countries occur along diverse parameters. In the words of Prof Ramanujam, “What really distinguishes the distance education of the developed countries from that of the developing world is the overall aim set for it In the developed countries the broad aim is to provide education to individuals who need it at different levels with different individual needs. In the developing countries the aim becomes collective one such as nation building, eradication of illiteracy, rural development, health education, women’s education, tribal education, education of the socially disadvantaged etc, besides the usual academic, technical and vocational programmes. (Ramanujam, 2002, 33). ODL has crucial significance in addressing critical educational challenges posed due to globalisation such as access, equity, cost, reaching disadvantaged groups and communities, need for lifelong learning and relevance (Khan, A., 200, p.462). But the world of globalization has been one where the rich have become richer while the developing world struggles to gain a share of world’s wealth. // The potential of distance education is stretched too far to meet every individual need which has not been met so far. This has put tremendous pressure on the systems of distance education, which are yet to take firm roots. (Ramanujam, 2002, 32-33) In one way, distance education is perceived as the solution for all the shortcomings of conventional face-to-face education in the developing countries. In another way, it is projected as the cost-effective, and therefore a cheep way of meeting the demands of education. In the process too little money is allocated to meet too many educational needs. As a matter of fact, much of the economic crises in the developing world can be traced to the same economic arguments. Because the educational budgets in these countries have been usually small, the standard and quality of education have not been very high. The spread of literacy and the expansion of education at different levels have suffered precisely because of the meager allocation made to all the educational projects. (Ramanujam, 2002, 33). // The educational advancement of a country over other countries is determined by the quality of education imparted through both the face to face and distance modes of teaching as well as the quantity of people who are benefited from such programmes. In other words, as long as the enrollment of learners in a system is not directly proportional to the rate of their success, no educational programme can be successful. Besides, the rate of success has to be uniform across all sections of students, particularly the disadvantaged ones.
Open Access
Enhancing Quality Learning in a Fragile Environment: Case of the Palestinian Refugees
(2010-11) Menon, Mohan
UNRWA Support to Palestinian Refugees // United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been providing services to Palestine refugees for the last 60 years in not only relief and rehabilitation but also in development areas including health and education in five regions/fields viz. Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. This paper attempts to discuss the complexity of providing quality education in the Palestine region with different socio-political and conflict situations facing also additional problems in inter-field travel and transportation. The Agency has been adopting traditional ways of education and training through mainly face to face mode within institutional context, but lately has started working on use of information and communication technologies and other innovative practices for educating the refugee children/youth and training teachers and other support personnel. While the Programme has done fairly well in providing access to refugee children for basic education, it has not achieved in maintaining quality in its provision due to many internal and external factors affecting the Programme. This paper attempts to describe the conflict ridden and fragile environment in which the programme operates, highlights its achievement especially in almost universal access of refugee children to basic education, identifies the quality issues inherent in the system and describe the various ICT applications and other innovative practices being adopted and planned for enhancing the quality of educational provision including coverage of learners with special educational needs. Discussion will focus on how these applications are helping or expected to help in increasing access as well as enhancing quality of the education and training provisions. // UNESCO-UNRWA Education Programme // As a result of an agreement signed between UNESCO and UNRWA in 1951, UNESCO assumed the technical responsibility of the Education Programme through the secondment of a number of technical and managerial staff on a non-reimbursable loan to the Agency. Since 1995, UNESCO has been directly recruiting the Director of Education and Chief of Educationa Planning and Management and also been sponsoring some four senior-level local area staff for advise to UNRWA’s Commissioner-General on all policy aspects of the operational and technical activities of the Education Programme. Thanks to the ongoing technical support from UNESCO the Education Programme of UNRWA has made significant contributions to Palestinian human development, shaping the lives, aspirations and futures of three generations of Palestine refugees. Historically, the Agency has enjoyed a reputation for innovation, dynamism and vision in its approach and commitment to education. As of 2008, there were approximately 4.7 million refugees registered with UNRWA. Almost 40% of the 4.7 million registered refugees are estimated to be children below the age of 18 Years. UNRWA has been providing education services for over 60 years.
Open Access
Entrepreneurial Skill Development: Harnessing Experience While Building Formal Knowledge and Qualifications in Business
(2010-11) Ellis, Darren J
Defining what it means to be an entrepreneur is no easy task. Harding (2006, p. 5) contends that one must ‘define the concept from the ground up’. Franco and Haase (2009, p. 637) maintain that a broader definition is required that views entrepreneurs as continual learners. A recent World Economic Forum report into entrepreneurship education defines an entrepreneur as someone who is creative, innovative and risk taking, and has an ability to translate ‘ideas into action’ (Volkmann et al 2009, p. 18). Dana (2001, p. 405) highlights the fact that ‘there is no universally-accepted definition of entrepreneurs or of entrepreneurship’ in the literature. This evident lack of a comprehensive and widely accepted definition does not detract from the reality that entrepreneurship possesses distinctive features including ‘a capacity for innovation’ (Bruni, Gherardi & Poggio 2004, p. 258). Nor does this apparent definition deficit alter the fundamental and important role that entrepreneurship plays in promoting economic development and vitality. Thus, linking entrepreneurship and education has for quite some time been considered crucial in limiting and reducing rates ‘of long term unemployment’ (Mueller et al 2006, p. 3). Entrepreneurship also widens and strengthens participation in economic activity, particularly for historically marginalised groups such as women (Hisrich & Ozturk 1999).
Open Access
Global Agricultural Knowledge Initiative: Strengthening the Global Competence of Students, Faculty and Extension Agents
(2010-11) Holz-Clause, Mary; Dileepkumar, Guntuku
Education and Training traditionally involve learning from teachers and other pedagogical standards. The role of the teacher is to impart knowledge to those who do not possess them. Teachers talk in front of the class, and the pupils have to listen and write down what the “knowing” teacher says. This top-down method is not only used in the formal education system, also training staff uses this method to train the people. Even though this way of teaching and learning is part of our culture, the changing scenarios and expectation of today’s learners demand that teachers adapt new ways to update their skills and knowledge for making information and knowledge available to farmers. // Advent of Internet and advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and specifically in Multimedia, Networking, and Software Engineering have promoted the enormous amount of learning resources and Learning Management Systems (LMSs). During the last years, thousands of electronic texts, images, movies, or Java applet based learning resources have been developed for learning purposes in Internet environments. To take advantage of this situation, new services were developed for creating synchronous (Chat, Flash meetings, Breeze meeting, Teleconferencing and Video Conferencing to name a few) and asynchronous (Internet education portals, web based learning management systems, Forums, and wiki’s to name a few) learning environments. With the help of these contemporary Information and Communication Technology based services, the search, classification, organization, and peer-to-peer exchange of learning resources by learners, instructors, and course developers are becoming commonplace. However most of these technologies and virtual knowledge networks are part of corporate knowledge management. Academia has yet to recognize and fully explore the significance of systematic network development tools for agricultural education purposes. A dynamic computer-based model of knowledge management can now be applied to agricultural research done at any university anywhere on the globe and this research can be exchanged in a matter of seconds among faculty scientists, private industry, and students.
Open Access
ICT in Open Distance Learning: Issues and Challenges
(2010-11) Rao, A Murali M
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is playing a vital role in open and distance learning (ODL) to meet the requirements and expectations of the learners’ in large scale. It is difficult to perform the same using any traditional institutional system due to its limited resources. ICT has various proven tools and technologies to meet the requirements of a learner at various phases of learning cycle viz the admission phase, the learning phase, the evaluation phase and finally the certification phase as a service. Due to heterogeneous requirements in open distance learning, there are issues and challenges that are to be addressed in usage of the technology and the service(s) being provided through ICT. The paper emphasizes the issues and challenges on the computing & network infrastructure, portability with respect to hardware & software and various learner support services. The paper also presents on security issues of a service in terms of its availability, authenticity, confidentiality and access control so that one can ensure a service to the utmost satisfaction of a learner in open distance learning system.
Open Access
Integrating Community Partnership Perspective in University Functions: A Strategic Approach to Strengthen University-Community Linkage
(2010-11) Tripathi, Shiv K; Rathnam, B V; Tripathi, S L
Looking into the complexities of the issue, the present paper has been conceptualized around the broader research question of ‘how we can develop sustainable university-community partnership in the university organization?’ In order to address this research issue, the paper aims to accomplish the following research objectives; • To review the selected developments in the theory and practice of university-community partnerships; • To analyze university functions using emerging approaches; • To identify the possible functional areas of university-community partnership; • To suggest a generic model for university-community partnership;and • To analyze the possible application of the approach in open and distance learning systems. // The paper is conceptual in nature and is based on the secondary literature review and experience based observations into higher education management. The insights drawn from the interaction with the different higher education managers during training programmes have also been used in analysis of the issues. The paper aims to suggest a generic framework for developing university-community integration by incorporating the different stakeholder perspective under varying environmental conditions. An attempt has been made to identify and apply the possible application areas in open and distance learning systems. In broader terms, the paper addresses the issue of micro level university organization management and aims to contribute to the knowledge development in the area of ‘strategic higher education management’ in general, and community partnership strategic planning in particular. // The proposed model is based on the tested concepts of the management, applicable across different organizational settings. However, being conceptual in nature, it suffers from the usual weaknesses associated with such frameworks. The framework requires significant improvements based on testing and implementation in the real university management situation.
Open Access
Learner Support Services in Open and Distance Learning: Issues and Evidences from the State of Assam
(2010-11) Sarmah, Bhaskar; Das, Kandarpa
Distance education in its organized form, is one of the path breaking innovations in the field of education of the Twentieth century. The period between “1960-1985” has witnessed remarkable growth of distance education all around the world (The International Scene -1, 2001). In our country as well, correspondence education started in as early as 1960s. However, with the establishment of the B.R. Ambedkar State Open University in 1982 and the IGNOU in 1985, distance education has emerged as a distinct educational system. In fact, governments in all around the world and in the developing countries in particular today have accepted ODL (Open and Distance Learning) as a legitimate means of meeting educational goals. For example, Government of India (GOI) in its Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) aimed for wide expansion of the ODL institutions with an aim to enroll 40% of all tertiary students in such institutions by 2007. The governments of Namibia and Ghana declared their national policy to be of dual mode instruction. Similarly, national open universities have been established in other SouthAsian countries viz. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, and Bangladesh to meet respective national policy objectives (Raza, 2008).
Open Access
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.
Open Access
ODL Programmes Through M-learning Technology
(2010-11) Kothamasu, Kiran K
M-Learning technologies are a perfect complement to Open and Distance Learning (ODL). It provides communication with learners beyond their traditional places of learning. It also supports face-to-face learning by reaching out to learners outside the traditional classroom. m-learning technologies deliver education at reduced costs by leveraging the relatively cheap mobile infrastructure. m-learning technology is an aid for the people who are suffering from a lack of interactivity. Many online classes simply provide recorded instructor lectures to which distance students listen after downloading. They have developed a cutting-edge mobile learning system that can deliver live broadcasts of real-time classroom teaching to online students with mobile devices. Their system allows students to customize their means of content-reception, based on when and where the students are tuning into the broadcast. This system also supports short text-messaging and instant polls. Through these features, students can ask questions and make suggestions in real time, and the instructor can respond immediately. Mobile devices have a strong appeal among young adults that helps to provide flexible learning opportunities regardless of the time or the location of learners. In this paper we show how it can be used to support ODL, using technologies such as context and location awareness, mobile learning management systems, and mobile RSS. We show how classroom learning can be supported with m-Learning technologies that deliver concise course notes, summaries, assignments, and tutorials directly to individual learners after each class or topic is covered. The technology supports opinions and other forms of student interaction and communicates information on timetables/schedules, deadlines, news, alerts, etc. to an entire class. This paper describes this system in detail.
Open Access
Open and Distance Learning and Feminism: Discourses of Access to Justice, Liberty and Livelihood
(2010-11) Ogbonna-Nwaogu, Ifeyinwa
Based on this narrative, this paper will examine how ODE’s policy of accessibility to education will facilitate women’s socio-economic development so as to meet the democratic aspiration of education for all by the year 2015-the target date for the global attainment of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).
Open Access
Open Learning Communities for Development: Revisiting the Gender Dimensions
(2010-11) Thomas, A J
Although learning may enable mobility, new alignments and identifications, a contrasting reality suggests that women may not be able to fully exercise choice. Open learning communities cannot succeed unless they acknowledge and celebrate differences, seeking to create and construct pluralistic environments which promote and foster these differences (Jain 1997). Conceptual models which emphasize notions of co-evolution (learning and changing together) and partnership between open learning communities (OLCs) need to be developed and expanded.
Open Access
Pedagogical Designs for Generation of Contents for the Community
(2010-11) Saxena, Anurag
When one talks about growth of technology applications in education, one normally asks a question: we are moving towards what? Probably the appropriate answer is, towards a convergence point of technologies & what is that? The answer is, towards a Virtual Reality i.e. a "virtual classroom" & what is a virtual classroom? The answer is, where the distance between the teacher and the taught is nil. And finally, how one can make the distance nil? The answer is by generating good e-contents and by making them available to all those who wish to learn. E-contents are basically a package that satisfies the conditions like i.e. minimization of the distance, cost effectiveness, user-friendliness and adaptability to local conditions. As per www.answers.com, we can define e-content as follows // E-content: digital content that can be transmitted over a computer network such as the Internet. // Digital content: Products available in digital form. It typically refers to music, information and images that are available for download or distribution on electronic media. // According to Webster dictionary, "pedagogy" refers to the whole context of instruction, learning, and the actual operations involved therein. So our task in this section would be to define how to develop strategies so that the e-content that we offer our students come good with respect to the context of instruction as well as learning. It would also entail the operations i.e. the accessibility, acceptability and user-friendliness of these contents. In this section, we discuss various pedagogies involved in generation of e-content. We have further talked about various types of educational contents that are suitable for treatment as e-content.
Open Access
A Pedagogy/Andragogy-Neutral Learning Platform for Improving Effectiveness of Online Learning
(2010-11) Menon, Satish
Conversations about education are still dominated by discussions and discourses on what is wrong with the educational system today and how to fix it. Given the wealth of experience and research in this field, it is natural for experts to hold differing opinions on what is wrong and how to fix it. However, something the experts will agree on is the belief that individualized instruction (if it can be achieved at scale) is better than a more traditional, one-size-fits-all approach (Sprenger 2003). There is little argument that instruction or guidance, when tailored to a learner’s capabilities and preferences, will be more effective (compared to the alternative) in helping a learner accomplish his/her desired goals (Sawyer 2005). In addition to helping learners reach their immediate desired goals, education should also include the development of certain core life skills, such as helping a learner developing critical thinking skills (Weimer 2002). // While significant theories and strategies exist that provide guidance on how to accomplish individualized instruction, it has been difficult to determine how to offer this instruction using technology. To date, very few systems have been able to operationalize the collective knowledge in this domain. Even fewer systems have provided any quantifiable evidence on their effectiveness, especially in a commercial setting, against a wide variety of curriculum and a large sets of learners with varied cognitive, ethnographic, and other relevant profiles. Despite much conversation about individualized instruction, a big chasm exists between research-generated insights and knowledge and the educational products offered in the market, such as learning management systems that provide learning delivery. // Our goal is the construction of a personalized, or individualized, learning platform – one that offers a great experience – an experience that is highly relevant and contextual (in relation to learners’ needs and goals). We are working to create a system that provides great feedback to the learner and the teacher – a system that has the capability to support the use of the ‘right’ instructional strategies deemed to be optimal to accomplish the task at hand (Smith 1999). We want the system to be intelligent in turning data into actionable insights, so learners can know where they stand and what they need to do. This also enables teachers to be able to learn what works or doesn’t work, and use this information as guidance.

Browse

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

Results Per Page

Sort Options