06. Pan-Commonwealth Forum 6 (PCF6), 2010
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Browsing 06. Pan-Commonwealth Forum 6 (PCF6), 2010 by Subject "Access"
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PublicationAccess and Quality in Self Organized Learning Environments( 2010-11)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. -
PublicationAccess and Success in Learning: Technologies for Scaling up Open and Distance Learning Programme in the Institute of Distance Learning, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana( 2010-11)In recent years, in the field of education and training, there is an increasing world-wide interest in students opting to read open and distance learning programmes and also stakeholders expanding their infrastructure and distance learning programmes. The terms open and distance learning (ODL) represent approaches that focus on opening access to education and freeing learners from the constraints of time and place and offering flexible learning opportunities to individuals/groups of learners (UNESCO, 1997). The distant learner sees ODL as a way of increasing access, flexibility and combination to work and education or a more learner-centered approach, with new ways of interaction. According to (UNESCO 2002) report on trends, policy and strategy considerations, the term ‘distance learning is used as a synonym for the more comprehensive and precise term distance education’. The main aim of distance education is to create wide opportunities for learners to study regardless of their geographic, socioeconomic conditions or other constraints. Distance learning would usually have the learners become responsible for what and how they learn, and who to ask for help.
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PublicationAccess to ODL programmes at NAMCOL through Recognition of Prior Learning( 2010-11)The Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL) aims to broaden access to education by providing alternatives to conventional means of education and training and facilitate life-long learning opportunities for Namibians. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is the process of identifying, matching, assessing and crediting the knowledge, skills and experience that candidates have gained through formal, informal or non-formal learning. Comparing relevant prior learning and experience against the set learning outcomes. // Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is seen as having the capacity to widen access to education and training and to enhance the qualification status of historically disadvantaged adults and youth. By enabling people to apply what they already know and can do, RPL can reduce barriers and create opportunities that will lead to greater social and economic prosperity // As of 2008 NAMCOL committed itself to implement Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as a route to admit adult learners to its programmes. This paper is discussing the NAMCOL RPL case study, sharing the achievement, challenges and way forward in using the RPL for access to ODL programmes at NAMCOL.
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PublicationThe accessibility of ODL to the disadvantaged-teenage employees( 2010-11)Most importantly, distance learning provides opportunity to those teenage employees, who could not continue with their education for various reasons. These include loosing parents due to HIV/AIDS, and having no one to take care of; parents being too poor due to being unemployed and therefore not having money to pay for their children for higher education. Some children do not perform well at primary school and therefore do not meet the minimum entry requirements for post-primary education. // In most cases, teenagers who end up not going further with education, due to various reasons mentioned above, go on to find employment, either as domestic workers, gardeners, herd boys, shopkeepers or labourers.
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PublicationBarriers to Learning: The Difference Distance Learning can make in Namibia( 2010-11)This paper will address the barriers to learning, including innovative structures and strategies put in place to overcome such barriers, with specific reference to rural distance education students in the Namibian context. Access to quality learning has been compromised for many years prior to the country’s independence in 1990. Distance education, having been around for a long time, has seen changes, innovations and vast improvements that contribute to enhancing quality learning. If we are to find means to improve the situation, it will be vital that everyone understand the importance of education- that it is not merely a means to obtain status in society, but rather, that it is the responsibility that society owes to itself. // The Polytechnic of Namibia, through its Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning (COLL), has recently fulfilled this responsibility to the rural society of Namibia when it established a network of Regional Centres across Namibia that has the function of coordinating and facilitating all the necessary instructional and support services to address the needs of distance education students throughout their learning process and to give them the academic tools they need to overcome unnecessary barriers in order to succeed. There are various drawbacks on the part of those who would like to pursue their studies through distance learning. Despite the fact that decentralisation of the support services has taken place through the establishment of the Regional Centres, all areas in Namibia are not covered and students face limitations due to factors like distance from the Centres, and affordability. // Making studying through distance education possible for more Namibians will require funding to students who are economically disadvantaged. eLearning is one way to bridge the gap and ensure easier access to education. Students become more pro-active in their pursuit of studying towards their desired qualification once the facilities that support their learning are brought closer to them. // The support services on offer through COLL, and in particular through the Regional Centres, ensure that barriers such as distance and affordability are overcome. Students, prospective students and the public should be educated about the facilities on offer, and how these can support their learning. They can then be encouraged to pursue studying on distance, knowing they have a good chance to succeed. In this case study, the strategies implemented to establish a well-functioning Regional Centre with good logistics and reliable infrastructure as an integral part of the delivery of Open and Distance Learning (ODL), including the support provided to rural distance education students are put forward.
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PublicationThe Botswana Experience in Developing the OERs( 2010-11)Botswana together with six other countries are taking part in the development of OERs for secondary level education through the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation /COL Partnership Project. A total of twelve officers are involved in the project (6 BOCODOL Staff members, 3 Curriculum Development Officers and 3 Secondary school teachers). // Botswana wants to share her experiences and in so doing, highlight what worked and what did not. Using non BOCODOL staff most of whom were being exposed to writing for distance learning for the first time, impacted on the project. Timely and regular access to computers as well as the workload also had an effect. That notwithstanding, the assumption is that the participants have gained valuable skills and knowledge. And if so, the major concern would be at the end of the Project, then what? // As a developing institution and country, we are happy with the opportunities that OERs presents to us. The OERs are making knowledge available to us as educators at a faster and more accessible manner than before. We are also aware of some of the concerns that affect this relatively new way of sharing. Some of the major concerns have to do with sustainability as opposed to the seemingly ongoing consumption. // The questions that this paper seeks to explore therefore are: • what skills and knowledge those that were involved have gained • how these skills and knowledge can be developed further in order to sustain growth in this new area. • What other uses can these be put to? • What are the quality imperatives associated with the development of OERs • to identify pre-requisites of a thriving OERs environment in terms of resources • what is the extent to which BOCODOL is amenable to thrive in this environment // The paper concludes by making a recommendation to the College to integrate technology to scale up its school equivalency programmes through the development of OERs.
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PublicationColorBoard: A Product and Process to Enable Quality Education for All( 2010-11)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).
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PublicationDeconstructing the Politics of Access: The Case of the University Student( 2010-11)As we address the issue of access to English for the large majority of young people in the country, i.e. those who have had many years of formal instruction solely devoted to teaching it as a subject in a vernacular medium school but with not much success, there are certain aspects that seem axiomatic. Therefore it is necessary to put them down right at the start to clarify the premise on which this paper is based.
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PublicationDemocratising higher education: the ignou initiatives( 2010-11)Starting with two courses and 4,000 students in 1985, IGNOU has reached the ladder of success being the world’s largest mega university, most diverse and inclusive institution offering over 3500 courses and catering to over 2.5 million students. IGNOU is committed to be accessible to all by ensuring learner convenience through its unique ‘age no bar, place no bar and pace no bar’ approach. This approach of IGNOU falls in line with the objectives of democratizing higher education as the current initiatives of IGNOU indicate. During last few years IGNOU has been experimenting various innovative ideas and methods for meeting the above mentioned objectives and ultimately to cater to the diverse needs of people. This has resulted into successful launching of number of programmes, courses, medium and modules. To name a few, Community College establishment, programmes for physically challenged, providing second career opportunity to Indian Army: Gyan Deep, Convergence of distance education and higher education, starting of face to face programmes, use of 3G technology for imparting education , Flexilearning mode, satellite based communication etc. // In this paper an attempt has been made to present an overview of the above mentioned innovations that has been carried out by IGNOU in order to align with the mission of democratising higher education. Also the current status of these innovations and the related issues are highlighted.
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PublicationEkalavyaism: Harness Neglected Skills to Build Talented Resource Pool( 2010-11)Sustainable end to world poverty as well as the path to peace and security requires that citizens of every country are empowered to make positive choices and provide for themselves and their families. Also, absence of opportunity to access education at an affordable cost withers away talents, and leads to loss of skilled human resource pool. Increasing the pool of literate people is essential to harness the poor, underprivileged and neglected masses; and to attain inclusive growth.
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PublicationEmpowerment through literature: potential & prospects of ODL( 2010-11)Increasingly, Distance Learning is becoming the medium of choice for education. Earlier, it was, to a great extent chosen out of compulsion due to various factors: geographical remoteness, professional commitments, lack of access to educational institutions and so on. Now, there is a marked shift away from conventional, formal education towards the open learning system and one can see students enrolling for ODL courses even if they are conveniently situated and within access to formal institutions of repute. Factors such as flexibility and independent study influence student choice to a significant extent. Formal education in a conventional, straitjacketed setup is now facing a stiff challenge from the more liberal – and liberating – open mode.
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PublicationEnabling Success of Students with Disabilities on Teacher-training Distance Education programs in Uganda: A comparison of Two Dual Mode Universities( 2010-11)Various universities in Uganda handle students with disabilities using several approaches. In some, access is difficult for student with specific disabilities because of the provisions and practices. Makerere University and Kyambogo University are both public Universities recognized by the National Council for Higher Education and they are two of the thirty one universities in Uganda (NCHE, 2010). They both offer teacher-training DE programs.
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PublicationIncreasing Access to Cost-effective, Equitable and Flexible Higher Education through Open and Distance Learning in Bangladesh( 2010-11)The objectives of this study were to (i) examine how BOU offers increasing access to cost-effective, equitable and flexible higher education compared to conventional systems by analyzing data from primary and secondary sources, (ii) identifies challenges impacting the continued growth of enrollment in distance education, and (iii) outlines opportunities for increasing access to higher education through scaling of distance initiatives.
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PublicationMapping Open Educational Resources for Access and Equity in Higher Education in India( 2010-11)This paper maps the scale and scope of Open Educational Resources initiatives and examines how well the development of OER address the core concern of providing wider access to quality higher education at an affordable cost. The paper also identifies the factors that help or hinder the drive to improve accessibility to OER and outlines a strategy to make effective use of OER for promoting access, equity and excellence in higher education in Indian.
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PublicationA Multimedia content development strategy: the NAMCOL Video Production Experience( 2010-11)This paper provides a theoretical framework on the importance of video lessons in Secondary Education specifically for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in Namibia. Due to the geographically layout of Namibia many secondary education students live in remote areas where they do not have access to schools. Network coverage in Namibia has improved tremendously and more people in Namibia have access to live television broadcast. The two broadcasters, One Africa Television and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) have extended their coverage over the last years to bring their service to the Namibian population.
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PublicationOpen and Distance Education: A Contribution to Poverty Alleviation and Empowerment of Women?( 2010-11)In Nigeria, as elsewhere in the world, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) is used as a major vehicle to break the three vectors - access, quality and cost – that has constrained education time immemorial in order to improve women’s wellbeing, reduce their vulnerability and act as a starting point in their empowerment. Using findings from two single-mode ODL institutions in Nigeria, - National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and National Teachers Institute (NTI) - this study explores the issues of poverty and women’s empowerment. First, it considers poverty from gender and economic sustainability perspectives, second, it evaluates the impacts of ODL on women empowerment and poverty alleviation, and third, it highlights the role of ODL in enhancing accessible education for women.
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PublicationOpen and Distance Learning (ODL): Quest for Social Justice beyond Access( 2010-11)Course correction steered by out-of-the-box thinking, far from the sickeningly dominant business-as-usual attitude, is imperative, should higher education in general and open and distance learning (ODL) in particular achieve social justice in terms of human development, i.e., improving the quality of life of people. Radical changes in such areas as governance, administration/management, funding patterns, faculty hiring, curriculum framing including instructional design and learner support systems, etc., therefore, are warranted in the context of ODL to make it sufficiently robust in order to be increasingly responsive to the learning needs of the society in which it operates. Are we prepared for, or at the least, inclined towards radical changes? With the emerging geopolitical scenario; ever-increasing digital societies that serendipitously flatten the world; emergence of new economic superpowers in the global South, etc., and their impact on demography, culture and particularly higher education, ODL has to, of necessity, come under the reformist scalpel to flush out some of its burdensome traditions. // Making education accessible is one thing, making quality education accessible is quite another, and it is the latter that will complement the social justice exercise undertaken in the education sector with the advent of the ODL in India about half a century ago. It is in this context that the paper urges all the stakeholders concerned to interpret social justice, as it pertains to ODL, against a broad canvass of quality human development, of which access is but a part.
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PublicationPerspectives on Democracy in E-Learning: A Case Study of National Open University of Nigeria( 2010-11)This paper intends to highlight the current efforts by the Nigerian government at adapting the use of modern facilities provided by the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the implementation of policies on education. It also aims at examining the use of electronic devices in the corporate governance of other sub-sectors of the State super-structure for a sustainable development.
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PublicationPie Edusols: Out of School Free Learning in Western Province of Kenya( 2010-11)The problem of being out of schools is quite a critical issue that creates not only problems of the uneducated future generation but also contributes to the proliferation of antisocial elements in the country for example, high unemployment levels, increased dependency ratios, increased criminals related activities, lack of technological advancement and economic growth // Education is therefore the only best strategic intervention through which these antisocial elements in a country can be eliminated. People acquire knowledge skills and attitudes about various things in life from various resources. Of these resources, formal education through schooling education, adult education, non formal education and Open distance learning (ODL). // Open and Education resources and Open learning centers will offer good intervention to potential learners. Open learning is predicted on the belief that openness in many forms is a key element to reaching out to many possibly removing some barriers presented by more traditional forms of education.
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PublicationReaching the Hard-to-Reach Nomads through Open and Distance Learning: A Case Study of Nomadic Education Programme in Nigeria( 2010-11)A Paper Presented at the Sixth Pan Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF6) on the Theme; Access and Success in Learning: Global Development Perspectives Held from 24- 28 November 2010 at Le-Meridian, Cochin Resort & Convention Centre (Kochi, Kerala), India // This paper attempts to examine the genesis and impact of the introduction of the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programme in the implementation of the Nomadic Education Programme (NEP) in Nigeria. The salient issues discussed include needs assessment, rationale, components, strategies, curriculum and mode of delivery, facilitators, teachers, instructional materials, achievements, challenges and lessons learnt. Similarly, major access factors and success indicators witnessed as a result of the systematic implementation of the programme were also identified and highlighted. The specific challenges and constraints of the programme were also analysed and various measures taken to overcome them pinpointed. The paper concluded that the Commission’s Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programme for more than a decade has been able to record successes in various facets. The modest achievements include increase in awareness, access and success in the provision of basic education, literacy, numeracy and life skills by the target group. It has also facilitated the promotion of social justice in terms of gender, socio-economic, cultural diversities and skills development. These have played and continue to play a key role in the quality assurance and success of NEP. The Nigerian model of ODL programme if adopted by other countries for their marginalized groups could overcome exclusion and fast track the attainment of Education for All (EFA) goals.