01. Research & Publications

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Open Access
A Systematic Study of the Literature on Career Guidance Expert Systems for Students: Implications for ODL
(2022-11-21) Gunwant, Shilpa; Panda, Santosh
The continual evolution of employment opportunities in the present industrial era has raised the need for career-long expert advice. Similar to other fields, thankfully technology has come to our rescue in the area of career guidance also. This paper presents a systematic review of Expert Systems (ES) developed for career guidance, course selection and evaluation of students in the past ten years. The popular research databases Google Scholar and Science Direct were used for obtaining the relevant research papers through broad keywords. The keywords were refined to identify the articles related to rule-based, case-based and fuzzy logic-based ES used for career guidance. A total of twenty-five peer-reviewed relevant articles with full-text available online was selected for the final study. In order to avoid duplicity, technical reports and unreferenced literature were excluded. The review identifies the relatively high weight given by the researchers to rule-based systems owing to their simplicity and broad applicability. However, the relative merits and demerits of rule-based, case-based and fuzzy logic-based ES are highly dependent on the field of application. Nevertheless, ES find wide applications in the area of career guidance and have the potential to enhance the career guidance accessibility of the most remote students.
Open Access
Academic Silver Linings in a Philippine State University Amid the Early Stages of Pandemic Cases
(2021-07-20) Toquero, Cathy Mae; Panda, Santosh
The primary role of the academe is knowledge building, however, due to the prevailing digital divide, some institutions of higher learning were not able to offer even Emergency Online Teaching (EOT) for continuous formal education during the early stages of the pandemic. This article highlights diversified ways that a state university from a developing country (Philippines) responded to the crisis to offer assistance towards the social development of the stakeholders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Open Access
Accelerating Gender Parity
(2016-03-08) Kanwar, Asha
Video message delivered for International Women's Day 2016, 8 March 2016 by Professor Asha Kanwar, President & CEO, Commonwealth of Learning.
Open Access
Access and Affordability in Higher Education (Pre-print)
(2018-06) Kanwar, Asha; Mishra, Sanjaya
The demand for Higher education continues to rise. A key driver of this demand, according to a recent World Bank working paper, is the steady return on investment. The average rate of return on investment for private and social costs is estimated at 15.8% and 10.5% respectively. The returns are higher in lower-income countries relative to higher-income countries (Psacharopoulos & Patrinos, 2018). A study from the London School of Economics revealed that doubling the number of universities is associated with over 4% higher GDP per capita in a region (Valero & Reenen, 2016). The estimated global enrolment in tertiary education is expected to rise to 262 million by 2025 (Maslen, 2012) and 522 million by 2035 (Calderon, 2012). In real terms it means that if we are to accommodate the children who will reach enrolment age between now and 2025, we will need to build four new universities with a capacity of 30,000, every single week. // This item is published as "Staying Ahead: Open Learning in the Commonwealth" in the ACU Bulletin, no. 194, August 2018, pages 22-23 .
Open Access
Achieving Community Development through an Agricultural Extension Programme: Technology Dissemination for Mushroom Farmers
(2021-07-20) De Silva, Nilantha; Wijeratne, Mahinda; Panda, Santosh
Mushroom production is a small-scale business unit in rural areas. The Life Long Learning for Farmers (L3F) Programme aims to enhance the socio-economic conditions for them, increasing their access to and use of knowledge and technology. This study evaluates the outcomes of the L3F Programme at the community level. Data were collected through a pre-tested questionnaire survey. The sample consisted of 30 L3F farmers. Farmers’ achievement was assessed by the Farmer Performance Index (FPI). Results indicate that mushroom farmers have scaled up their production; have improved their productivity; designed new experiments to minimise the impact of pests and diseases; focused on environmental sustainability and scientific mushroom production; and improved the quality of packaging. The mobile app Bimmal Govi, blended with Information and Communication Technology, helped them to move with the latest technological advancements. The L3F Programme has increased the standards of mushroom production, helping the farmers become promising entrepreneurs.
Open Access
Acquiring Accreditation in Distance Learning
(2007) Kilfoil, Wendy R
In the higher education community, distance education (DE) has been perceived as not being as good as contact education or as a last resort. Actually, it is just a different way of delivering education and is often the first choice of the working adult. However, the perception of inferior quality means that DE needs to show it is at least as good as contact education, and can meet the same rigorous academic standards.
Open Access
Adapting Learning Materials for Distance Learning
(2007) Wright, Clayton R
In face-to-face education, instructors are present to guide the instructional/ learning process. In distance education (DE) instructors and students are separated and instructors have limited opportunity to observe, challenge, motivate and provide corrective feedback. DE materials must address these missing instructional functions. For example, to use a traditional classroom handout for DE you must supplement it with information about student objectives, provide practice activities and identify additional learning resources.
Open Access
Addressing the Learning Needs of Out-of-School Children and Youths through the Expansion of Open Schooling
(2020-12) Mays, Tony; Singh, Rajiv Kumar
At any one time, about 300 million children of school going age are not in school. Experience indicates that when schooling is disrupted, whether by a pandemic, a natural disaster or other reasons, not all children return to the classroom. In addition, most countries have growing numbers of young people who have not completed schooling, or not well enough to progress, and who find themselves neither in employment nor in further education and training. Open schooling can create learning opportunities for those not in school, those who left school and those who are in school but not learning effectively. // There is no single model for open schooling provision which might offer a complementary or alternative curriculum, or both. However, all models can benefit from greater use of open educational resources; open, distance and flexible methods and open educational practices. In this way it is possible to address issues of access, quality and affordability in a sustainable way. // Addressing the Learning Needs of Out-of-School Children and Youths through the Expansion of Open Schooling makes a case for open schooling to be an integral part of future-looking education systems that will be more resilient to changing contexts and needs. // The nine chapters in Part A of the book explore the need for and nature of open schooling as well as cross-cutting issues related to curriculum, open educational resources, technology enabled learning, monitoring and evaluation, finance, open and distance learning methods and open educational practices, as well as gender and policy. The first four chapters in Part B then explore open schooling practice in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific. In the final chapter, the editors summarise the key issues which policy and practice need to address. // This book offers guidelines and examples that will be of use to teachers, managers, policy-makers and education leaders interested to ensure that the education system meets the needs of all children and youths.
Open Access
Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary Education
(2010) Daniel, John
The report card of the global campaign to achieve universal primary education (UPE), which began at the Jomtien Conference in 1990 and was reinforced by the Dakar Forum in 2000, is a blend of success and failure. Both present new challenges. Getting 40 million additional children into primary school between 1999 and 2007 was a considerable success. It has created a growing surge of children now looking for secondary schooling. In many developing countries they will not find it. However, on current projections the 20-year campaign for UPE will still leave 50 million children out of primary school by the target date of 2015. The paper proposes responses to each challenge. 400 million children aged 12 to 17 are not in secondary school. All feasible methods must be used to expand secondary systems. Open schooling, the application of distance learning at the secondary level, is a cost-effective way of increasing access. A primary requisite for completing the UPE campaign is to recruit and train 2 million teachers. To expand secondary education and replace retiring teachers will require an additional 8 million teachers. Scaling up teacher education requires much wider use of distance learning, which also provides a mechanism for the desirable reform of moving the focus from pre-service to in-service training.
Open Access
Administrative Structures for Distance Education
(1991) Perraton, Hilary
The purpose of this book is to help anyone considering the use of distance education and trying to decide how it should be organised. The acclaimed success of the world's 25+ open universities gives the impression that learning at a distance demands the establishment of an open university. But, in practice, there are many different ways in which governments, universities, or private bodies can teach students at a distance. The book explores and compares the options that may be possible.
Open Access
Advanced Cybersecurity Training for Teachers (ACTT) 2
(2021-09) Commonwealth of Learning
The shift to online learning and teaching has drawn increasing attention to the cyber risks likely to be faced in a learning institution. In recent times, cybercriminals have disrupted learning using various attacks, including ransomware, Zoombombing, denial of service, and data theft. It is, therefore, crucial for educators to be cognisant of these threats and be equipped to defend against them. The Advanced Cybersecurity Training for Teachers (ACTT) course is designed to provide teachers, teacher educators and education practitioners with superior knowledge necessary to protect themselves and their students online, as well as create awareness for parents and other stakeholders in digital learning. The course enables participants to proactively protect the digital spaces they use to engage with learners and also adopt good practice for a safe and effective online learning experience.
Open Access
Advanced Cybersecurity Training for Teachers (ACTT) 3
(2022-12) Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
Brochure for Advanced Cybersecurity Training for Teachers (ACTT) 3 // The shift to online learning and teaching has drawn increasing attention to the cyber risks likely to be faced in a learning institution. In recent times, cybercriminals have disrupted learning using various attacks, including ransomware, Zoombombing, denial of service, and data theft. It is, therefore, crucial for educators to be cognisant of these threats and be equipped to defend against them. The Advanced Cybersecurity Training for Teachers (ACTT) course is designed to provide teachers, teacher educators and education practitioners with superior knowledge necessary to protect themselves and their students online, as well as create awareness for parents and other stakeholders in digital learning. The course enables participants to proactively protect the digital spaces they use to engage with learners and also adopt good practice for a safe and effective online learning experience.
Open Access
Advanced ICT Skills Development Project
(2019-08) Commonwealth of Learning
With 60 per cent of the Commonwealth’s population under 30 years of age, the skilling of youth is a top priority for governments. The Commonwealth of Learning’s (COL) current focus includes course and programme development for information and communication technologies (ICT) and media skills that lead to employability and livelihoods. The Advanced ICT Skills Development project aims to reach 30,000 learners (of whom at least 50 per cent are to be women) through 60 innovative courses developed in partner institutions as open educational resources (OER).
Open Access
Advanced Mobile Learning with Multimedia (AMLM)
(2021-10) Commonwealth of Learning
The Advanced Mobile Learning with Multimedia MOOC builds upon the introductory Mobile Learning with Multimedia MOOC. It targets primary and secondary school teachers as well as other practitioners in education and is designed to provide advanced knowledge in authoring multimedia based OER learning materials. // Participants will gain practical skills in creating infographics, synchronous and asynchronous video-based learning resources, creating accessible multimedia, as well as identify the opportunities presented by Augmented and Virtual Reality. // The key focus is for the teachers to gain familiarity with and choose from a wide range of tools and resources to apply in their different contexts, for effective teaching and learning.
Open Access
Agricultural Extension Agents' Use of Learning-Based Extension Methods in Trinidad and Tobago
(2020-07-20) Ramjattan, Jeet; Chowdhury, Ataharul; Ganpat, Wayne
Agricultural extension agents are highly credited for their roles of providing advice to farmers and supporting their learning and decision-making to improve livelihoods. The use of appropriate methods to promote learning in developing countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, has often been highlighted as a development priority. Nevertheless, agricultural extension agents encounter difficulties in applying new competencies. Understanding and utilising appropriate methods based on farmers’ learning needs is critical. This study sought to investigate extension agents’ use of learning-based extension methods. A survey was conducted with 106 extension agents. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to analyse data. The findings show that male agents prefer Plant Clinics and Farmer Field School learning methods. Social influence and networking among organisations had a significant influence on the use of Discovery Based Learning methods. The positive influence of social pressure motivated the agents. The study recommends supporting facilitative conditions through a coordinated programme and to focus on farmers’ learning as a critical consideration for improving the use and impact of learning-based methods.
Open Access
Agriculture MOOCs: Learnings from Five AgMOOCs
(2016) Mishra, Gaurav
IIT Kanpur and the Commonwealth of Learning delivered five agriculture based massive open online courses (MOOCs). This report provides insights on learners’ feedback on the course pedagogy and its relevance, content, convenience and ease of use of the technological medium, and overall perceptions of learners towards the delivered courses.
Open Access
An Off-the-Shelf Mobile App Portfolio for Distance Education
(2015) Abeywardena, Ishan
Mobile technology has become a near-necessity in our modern lives, be it professional, personal and social. It is then not surprising to see mobile technology play a key role in how we are educated as well. To this extent, Mobile Learning (mLearning) has gained much significance over the past few years. With the design of new pedagogies and paradigm shifts, mLearning has become a new academic discipline on its own with a focus on the use of bespoke mobile technologies such as purpose built mobile apps to achieve the set learning outcomes. However, the design, development and implementation of such bespoke technologies require a substantial investmentboth monetarily and time wise. Many Distance Education (DE) practitioners would not have this privilege in terms of delivering their courses. In contrast, there are thousands of mobile applications available for free which can be leveraged to deliver a DE course more effectively and efficiently. In this light, this brief paper introduces how these off-the-shelf applications can be systematically incorporated into each stage of the learning process. // The remaining sections of this paper will explore how DE has evolved from paper based, to plastic to virtual; the divide between digital natives and immigrants; the current mobile application landscape; and 95 free off-the-shelf mobile apps for the Android platform which could form a rich portfolio for teaching and learning in DE.
Open Access
Analysing Costs/Benefits for Distance Education Programmes
(2001) Rumble, Greville
Through cost analysis you can find out how much something actually costs, set a budget, determine a price and compare the costs of different options. In distance education, the main areas are:- Correspondence systems based around text (print based - Educational/instructional television and radio systems, possible supported by audio and video cassette programmes or involving radio,telephone, and e-mail feedback loops - Multi media systems (text, audio, video, and computer-basedmaterials) - E-education systems, delivering computer-based multi media materials and communications synchronously and asynchronously
Open Access
An Analysis of Heutagogical Practices through Mobile Device Usage in a Teacher Training Programme in Malawi
(2020-07-20) Chimpololo, Andrew
This paper analyses the mediation of heutagogical practices using mobile devices in a teacher training programme in Malawi. Existing literature suggests that the use of mobile devices facilitates the development of heutagogy, an educational approach characterised by interdependent learning, double- and triple-loop learning and participation in communities of practice. The study draws on three major heutagogical principles for its theoretical foundation. It adopts the case study method, and uses questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and personal diaries for data collection. Mobile phone ownership is almost universal at the college and most of the student-teachers possess at least one Internet-enabled device. Despite laptop ownership and institutional access to computers being low, a relatively high number of student-teachers frequently use computers in their studies to complement mobile phones. Regarding heutagogical practices, few student-teachers claim to engage in interdependent learning as well as double- and triple-loop learning. Conversely, most of them tend to participate in communities of practice, particularly those involving students only. In addition, few student-teachers hold the intention to use their devices in their own teaching.
Open Access
Analysis of ICT Competencies Among Distance Learning Students in selected Study Centres of the National Open University of Nigeria
(2020-03-20) Amini, Moses; Oluyide, Oluwaseun
The research evaluated the ICT competencies of Distance learning students of the National Open University of Nigeria, as a pre-requisite for their effectiveness in a computer-based learning environment. 186 students (66 males and 120 females) responded to the questionnaire: Learners’ Competency in the use of ICT (LC in CT), which was adopted from the UNESCO Competency Standard (2008). Results show that distance learning students of the National Open University of Nigeria show competencies in the use of ICT to deepen knowledge. However, only a few can use technology and ICT to create knowledge. This is despite many of the students showing a high level of literacy in computer and technology. The result of hypotheses shows that students’ qualification influences their competency in ICT but their gender never affects ICT competency. The research recommends the strengthening of General Studies (GST) course in computer and technology.

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