08. Pan-Commonwealth Forum 8 (PCF8), 2016
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- ItemOpen AccessThe 2016 Kuala Lumpur Declaration (30 November 2016)(2016-11-30)The Kuala Lumpur Declaration was presented on November 30, 2016 at the Closing Ceremony of the Eighth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With the Charter of the Commonwealth 2013, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UNESCO’s Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action, Education 2030, and the 2012 UNESCO-COL Paris Declaration on Open Educational Resources (OER) in mind, it presents a set of recommendations. It also proposes that the set of recommendations be brought to the next Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) for further consideration and implementation.
- ItemOpen AccessAccelerating Sustainable Development through Flexible Learning: Re-Orienting Entrepreneurship Education(2016-11) Rono, Agnes J; Tarno, Edwin; Abdi, Tiony KOne approach to enhancing entrepreneurial activity and enterprise growth in developing countries is to create an ‘enterprise culture’. To achieve a widespread enterprise culture in the long run, education and training programs in Kenya and in other developing countries need to integrate business, technology and entrepreneurship for self employment into the curriculum. Also, given the widely accepted notion that entrepreneurial ventures are the key to innovation, productivity, and effective competition; the question of whether entrepreneurship can be taught is obsolete. The teaming mass of unemployed youths in the country and the global economic crisis has increased the urgency for countries to identify new sources of growth and develop a sustainable path to economic success. This urgent need for re-orientation calls for a revolution in the system of education that we run as a nation. This study used extant literature reviews and actual observations. Data was collected from academic papers, reports, the media as well as personal education and experience in the field. Data was analyzed in a systematically come about entrepreneurship education and training and then examined the flexible learning and teaching approaches giving recommendations on policy priorities. The paper argues that flexible and open learning is the perspective the entrepreneurship educators should adopt to not only leverage on accessible, flexible and student-fit content and learning, but also life-long availability of content for nascent and practicing entrepreneurs to learn and relearn relevant skills for creation, management, growth and innovation of competitive business ventures. Along with this, it recommends a strategic model and strong government commitment to information and communication technology (ICT) as one of several critical elements needed to accelerate entrepreneurship. We also address both benefits and challenges to anticipate when using flexible learning in entrepreneurship education and training. // Paper ID 184
- ItemOpen AccessAcceptance of Tablet Apps for E-learning by Senior Users: A Test of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology(2016-11) Riaz, Adnan; Adnan, AfiaLearning is a continuous process. The contemporary environment emphasizes also on delearning and re-learning. This prompts the need to acquire knowledge and develop skills throughout the life cycle. Employees belonging to different sectors and hierarchical levels can now continue education through e-learning. Particularly considering the senior students (50+ years of age), they are more reluctant to accept technological resources. This study mainly examines the acceptance of Tablet PC (TPC) apps as a learning tool among senior users and what factors may accelerate TPCs use. Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was applied with slight modifications and responses of 173 senior users were collected. Results not only unfolded the repulsive behavior of senior students’ to use TPCs as learning device but also highlighted the influence of performance expectancy and facilitating conditions if policy makers wish to increase tablet apps use. // Paper ID 363
- ItemOpen AccessAccess and Inclusion Through Open Education Resources in Botswana(2016-11) Modesto, Stanslaus TThis Paper investigates the implementation of Open Education Resources (OER) in education as a much-talked-about problem that is not much in evidence in practice among institutions in developing countries. Inspiration for this paper was drawn from the initiative by the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC), a Commonwealth organization that, among other objectives, gives guidance about OER. The Paper shares initiatives by the Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) by answering these questions: i. How has the institution gone about the uptake of OER in the Botswana education context? ii. What challenges have been faced in the educational initiative? iii. What impact has the initiative of offering OER programmes had? // To answer the research questions, documents on enrolment over the past four years were analysed, and these yielded quantitative data, showing statistics of enrolment by gender and the demand for the programmes. The sequential explanatory design was used, starting with quantitative data on enrolment statistics, followed by qualitative data derived from interviews of key stakeholders, namely, students, lecturers, and government officials. Some of the findings were that there is a high demand for the new programmes, with more females than males enrolled, and that the College was unable to meet demand due to under-funding. This led to a number of conclusions and observations including lessons learnt. These included researched evidence on how BOCODOL leverages on OER under guidance of the VUSSC, as well as showing that despite constraints, the effort yields positive results. This is a recommendation that comparable institutions in the small states of the Commonwealth could emulate. // Paper ID 34
- ItemOpen AccessAccessibility and Quality Education of Persons with Disabilities in India: An Open Schooling Perspective(2016-11) Mahapatra, Sukanta KRecently under the Sustainable Development Goal 4, all the countries including India are mandated to achieve the goal to eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and children in vulnerable situations by 2030(4.5.) and 4.a: build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all. Various countries including India have taken proactive steps and mobilized huge resources for achieving Education for All by 2015. There were some policies and programmes devised to meet the goal of Education for All. However, the goal is still elusive. In this context, it is important to note how these children with Disabilities can be streamlined in the system of education, particularly through open schooling system. The paper discusses how NIOS as one of the largest open schooling system, has used various strategies for providing accessible and quality education for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). NIOS emphasizes on using Media and ICT support both in academic and evaluation system, recognizing and accommodating learners’ needs and interests to provide them the quality education. The paper recommends for awareness and collaboration not only to provide accessibility but also to improve the usability of services rendered to the learners so that the goal of equitable participation of persons with disabilities in education can be ensured. // Paper ID 147
- ItemOpen AccessAccessibility Strategies for Making MOOCs for People with Visual impairments: A Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Perspective(2016-11) Ngubane-Mokiwa, Sindile AMassive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were designed to enhance access to education to all that desire it. The open access drive seeks to promote free and equitable access to basic, higher, formal and informal education. The main aim of MOOCs is to de-institutionalize education moving it from the formalized class to the open platform where there are no admission requirements. The second aim of MOOCs is to provide access to lifelong learning for those who want to learn for the sake of knowing and developing their competencies. The objective of this document analysis based paper is to analyze primary qualitative-research academic sources dealing with strategies to make MOOCs accessible to people with visual impairments. This paper uses Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles as a lens through which accessibility of MOOCs to people with visual impairments is examined. The document analysis involved a careful examination of research methodologies that had been used to gather data. Fifteen academic sources were sought through formidable search engines. Specified inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to select the articles that were analyzed to answer the research question: What accessibility strategies can be employed to make MOOCs accessible to people with visual impairments? Lastly, recommendations are made towards making MOOCs more accessible for people with visual impairments. // Paper ID 174
- ItemOpen AccessActivating and Nurturing the Investment of Heutagogical Resources for Equity and Quality in Self-Determined, Open, Online and Distance Learning(2016-11) Nkuyubwatsi, BernardExpansion of access to higher education and learning opportunities is often inhibited by the lack of teachers, limited physical facilities, the shortage of financial resources and limited technological infrastructure. Due to the rivalrous nature of these resources, many of them are accessed in a way that inhibits the same access privilege to others, especially when the need is higher than the supply. This paper discusses a framework for collaborative investment in opening up higher education on the basis of a combination of rivalrous and non-rivalrous resources. Then, selected transformative outcomes from a PhD study that had a transformative design and other results of studies on self-determined learning are presented and discussed: 1) from secondary education graduation in teacher-training to successful completions of a) undergraduate education in Physics and b) a master’s degree program in Applied Mathematics, 2) from a pass grade to a first class and 3) from intention to drop out to completion of an online master’s degree program in a British university with distinction. Strategies for academics, institutions and policy makers to activate and nurture the investment of heutagogical resources in selfdetermined, open, online and distance learning are discussed. This presentation may benefit educators, institutions and policy makers who are interested in expansion of higher education opportunities to underprivileged learners through open and distance learning without undermining the learning quality. // Paper ID 213
- ItemOpen AccessAdapting Quality Assurance to Innovative Programmes(2016-11) Uvalic-Trumbic, Stamenka; Daniel, JohnPromoting equity by opening up higher education has posed challenges to quality assurance and even to the definition of quality in higher education. However, certain fundamental principles underpin all forms of higher education, no matter what the curricula or delivery mode. // Quality assurance needs to find news ways to adapt to innovative providers and programmes of higher education. This paper reports on four developments that relate to this need. // Paper ID 411
- ItemOpen AccessAdvocacy, Sesitization and Development of OER Policy for Provincial Education Ministries in Sri Lanka(2016-11) Karunanayaka, Shironica P; Abeywardena, Ishan SWith the objective of providing direction in the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) to increase access to and support quality teaching and learning in the school education system in Sri Lanka, an advocacy program was conducted leading to the development of draft OER policies for the Provincial Ministries of Education, representing the nine provinces of the country. This paper discusses the procedures, challenges and outcomes of this process. // Paper ID 133
- ItemOpen AccessAlienation at the Open University of Mauritius: A Conceptual Framework for Interpretation of Learner Feelings and Emotions(2016-11) Jutton, TeenahThere is a growing focus on how to widen access and inclusion in higher education, however there is a strong link between alienation and attrition. This study aimed at understanding distance learners’ experiences of alienation at the Open University of Mauritius. A qualitative research design was adopted. Focus group discussions and face-to-face interviews were conducted with distance learners both in the system and those who had left. The findings indicate that several factors including isolation, inadequate learner support and institutional presence generate negative feelings and emotions that lead distance learners to experience alienation and to suspend or abandon their studies. The study recommends among other things; learner friendly policies, strategies, a robust learner-centred support system with a strong focus on retention and well-being of distance learners and a deeper understanding of the alienation phenomenon by ODL managers and practitioners. // Paper ID 92
- ItemOpen AccessAnalysing Education Policies for the Future: Realising the Vision of Open Distance Learning in 2030(2016-11) Makoe, MpineThe future of economic development depends on people who are equipped with competencies and skills that are needed for the knowledge economy. To ensure the sustainability of economic growth, higher education institutions are expected to open up opportunities and provide high level of education to a large number of people. Distance and online education based model has proved to be efficient in expanding access into education by providing a cost effective training to both under skilled and unskilled people. The provision of education at this scale is even more critical in African countries where there is a huge need for skilled and trained workforce to enhance economic growth and global competitiveness. If the problem of capacity for knowledge economy is not addressed, many of African countries may not realise the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 – “towards an inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all”. To achieve this goal, there is a need for national education policies to provide direction on how this goal can be reached. In this paper the Futures Research Methodology is employed to assist us understand probable development in education and to articulate and work towards the desired outcome. This will be done through analysing national education policies for Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa in order to identify strategies and actions that may impact on the implementation of policies in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. // Paper ID 93
- ItemOpen AccessArticulation of Group Dynamics of Undergraduate Students in Social Media(2016-11) Islam, Md Kabirul; Islam, Yousuf M; Hossain, Mohamed E; Hoque, Mohammed SThe main aim of this study is to investigate the students’ group dynamics during their online activities within the framework of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory of Vygotsky and the potential of more capable peers for knowledge construction in an undergraduate course. A social media environment was used as a support tool in a blended approach. The students were given a task set on computer programming in the social media and asked to support each other for solving problems with no teacher intervention. Pre and post tests were conducted and t-test of the scores (out of 15 marks) obtained by the students was done to discern any improvement of learning as a result of students’ engagement in problem solving in the social media. The results of the t-test indicated an improvement of acquisition of knowledge in the topic of basic programming. The conversation of the students in the form of textual messages showed that the students who experienced a problem in order to solve the set task were in the ZPD and ultimately did it successfully with a little assistance and scaffolding from a more capable peer. In fact, the members of the peer groups provided support to bridge the gap between the existing skills and abilities of programming and their intended goal, that is, completing the tasks given by the course teacher. Additionally, the students felt that peer interaction improved their understanding of the computer programming and problem solving competency. // Paper ID 56
- ItemOpen AccessAsa Briggs Lecture: Re-drawing the Map of Learning(2016-11-27) Daniel, JohnAsa Briggs Lecture presented by Sir John Daniel, former President & CEO, Commonwealth of Learning, at the Eighth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, 27 November 2016, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- ItemOpen AccessAssessing E-Learning Maturity @ University Of Mauritius Using EMM V2.3 as a Benchmark(2016-11) Issack, Santally M; Chu Sun Wah, Anna C; Bahadur, GooneshThe e-Learning initiative at the University was launched in 2001 with the setting up of the Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies. Fifteen years later, the initiative has attained a level of maturity where 4 programmes of studies are offered on a mainly online mode of delivery. The Centre has developed capabilities over time in the area of content development, instructional design, educational technology, and online course delivery and support through which the University of Mauritius has been able to deliver fully online programmes. Quality assurance is an important component when it comes to the credibility and perceived value of online courses, and in this context the Victoria University of Wellington has developed the e-Learning Maturity model, by which institutions ‘can assess and compare their capability to sustainably develop, deploy and support elearning’. The model consists of five key areas of assessment, namely Learning, Development, Support, Evaluation and Organisation. This work essentially aims to benchmark the eLearning practices at the University of Mauritius with version 2.3 of the eMM. It will help us identify gaps and address issues inherent within our current operational model to improve our existing processes and quality delivery of online courses. // Paper ID 434
- ItemOpen AccessAssessment of Teacher Education in Kenya(2016-11) Otieno, Marygorety AExamination of education systems from ancient times to the present day reveals elaborate and deliberate practices of teacher education. This study sought to assess the teacher education in Kenya today and in the recent past using participant observation as a one-time teacher trainer and classroom teacher. Changes in the curriculum and overhaul of the education system has been made without regarding the teacher trainer for decades now. Introduction of technology has been done in the classroom whereas the teacher trainer has been left out missing out on the new pedagogies to use. As a result key areas in education such as listening, talking, reading and writing has suffered a great deal thus leaving learners in upper classes and high school unable to do well in all subjects. This has filtered into institutions of higher learning. // Paper ID 41
- ItemOpen AccessBachelor of Software Engineering: A Case Study for an Effective Degree Programme(2016-11) Ratnayake, H U W; Udugama, L S KHow can the application of open, online and flexible education provide employability at the highest professional level? This is made possible with the Bachelor of Software Engineering (BSE) Degree programme offered at The Open University of Sri Lanka applying appropriate technology and innovative approaches meeting the demand in software industry. In this paper, we discuss the effectiveness of the programme according to the graduate employability and employer satisfaction. The degree programme was initiated due to enormous demand from the industry for IT specialists. Accordingly, the main objective of the programme was set as producing quality graduates to meet the software industry requirements. The curriculum was designed considering IEEE/ACM guidelines matching any benchmark. As the industry partnership and collaboration are important in curriculum/syllabi design and providing industry placements, an MOU was signed with Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies. The effectiveness of the degree programme has been qualitatively analysed from the responses of the graduates of the BSE programme. Seven batches of students have been enrolled to date, 53 have graduated and 130 are currently following the programme. Our survey indicates higher employability of the graduates in the software industry while others work in IT related occupations or are entrepreneurs. Employers are highly satisfied with the graduates. We believe that, the commencement of this degree programme has been a timely venture when open and flexible learning is becoming very popular in the world today. These graduates will contribute actively and constructively towards future challenging endeavours that would have a significant impact in the development of Sri Lanka. // Paper ID 384
- ItemOpen AccessBlended Learning - What Mix? Flexible Learning - How Supple?(2016-11) Daniel, John; Uvalic-Trumbic, StamenkaOnline technology already permeates higher education - whether programmes are formally offered online or not. We adopt the definitions of the Babson surveys in distinguishing between face-to-face, blended, and online learning. We ask first whether the current fashion for blended learning is a rearguard action against the trend to move much of higher education towards fully online learning, or whether blended learning has special merits. If so, what are those merits? // Flexible learning is a term also used to describe various combinations of classroom and online teaching. Is flexibility a purely positive phenomenon or does it have limits? If so, what are those limits? // Finally, we hear that higher education is being unbundled. How far can it be unbundled without falling apart and losing the respect of the public on whom it depends? // Paper ID 410
- ItemOpen AccessBringing Learning Closer to the Workplace: An Online Course for Librarians in Developing Countries(2016-11) Wild, Joanna; Murugesan, Ravi; Schaeffler, Veronika; Powell, AnneFace-to-face training workshops are frequently used in a capacity development context. However, the workshop approach has its limitations as the application of learning in practice can only happen once the learners are back at their workplaces. Unfortunately, once back at work, participants are often pulled into day-to-day responsibilities and rarely get immediate opportunities to apply their learning, and knowledge gained from the training is lost as the time passes. Therefore, we decided to redesign a workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation of Electronic Resource Use (MEERU) – an important topic for university libraries and librarians – from a face-toface workshop into a fully online course. Our goal was twofold: to train more librarians in INASP’s partner countries in the developing world, and to support an immediate application of learning in the workplace. We used a learning design approach to put the learners’ needs and experience at the heart of course development. We situated the learning in the librarians’ work context through a careful combination of interactive ‘guided readings’, activities for discussion and reflection, and a course assignment structured in parts so that the learning from each unit could be immediately applied in practice. The course was piloted for eight weeks in May to June 2016 with 23 librarians from five developing countries. Here we present the approach to the course design, the evaluation outcomes, and lessons learnt. // Paper ID 535
- ItemOpen AccessBuilding a Vibrant Online Community that Transcends Geographies, Distance, Cultures and Traditions and Leveraging the Expertise and Experience of Partners(2016-11) Ferreira, FrancesGIRLS Inspire is a Commonwealth of Learning (COL) project designed to leverage the power of open and distance learning (ODL) to end the cycle of child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) and to address other barriers that prevent girls’ economic participation. Through the use of ODL, community organisations and institutions in Bangladesh, India, Mozambique, Pakistan and Tanzania are mobilised to provide schooling and skills training to girls and women. With funding from the governments of Canada and Australia, GIRLS Inspire aims to reach some of the world’s most vulnerable and hard-to-reach women and girls through technology-enabled learning. To convince girls, community leaders and parents that girls can access education in a safe and gender-friendly environment, institutions’ capacity to offer technology-enabled learning need to be strengthened. GIRLS Inspire committed to creating a network through an online community of practice (CoP) as one of the strategies to enhance the capacity of partner organisations. Through this CoP, conscious efforts are made to form a strong network among the partners and other development agencies for knowledge exchange and capacity building that transcends geographies. Using a case study approach, this paper will explore (1) the innovative use of technology to build a vibrant online CoP (2) the factors contributing to partner engagement on the online community and provide (3) evidence on how partner’s capacity were enhanced through the CoP on issues such as CEFM, Gender Equality; Monitoring & Evaluation; community engagement; and online strategies for awareness raising. The following data collection methods will be utilised: direct observations, participant observation, interviews and document analysis. It is envisaged that this paper will contribute to sustainable practice of capacity building, as it captures the change taking place over time and varying geographic regions which can be used to measure the progress of this project as envisaged in its theory of change. // Paper ID 361
- ItemOpen AccessBuilding an Efficient and Effective Test Management System in an ODL Institution(2016-11) Yusof, Safiah M; Lim, TickMeng; Png, Leo; Khatab, Zainuriyah A; Singh, Harvinder K DOpen University Malaysia (OUM) is progressively moving towards implementing assessment on demand and online assessment. This move is deemed necessary for OUM to continue to be the leading provider of flexible learning. OUM serves a very large number of students each semester and these students are vastly distributed throughout the country. As the number of learners keeps growing, the task of managing and administrating examinations every semester has become increasingly laborious, time consuming and costly. In trying to deal with this situation and improve the assessment processes, OUM has embarked on the development and employment of a test management system. This test management system is named OUM QBank. The initial objectives of QBank development were aimed at enabling the systematic classification and storage of test items, as well as the auto-generation of test papers based on the required criteria. However, it was later agreed that the QBank should be a more comprehensive test management system that not just manages all assessment items but also includes the features to facilitate quality control and flexibility of use. These include the functionality to perform item analyses and also online examination. This paper identifies the key elements and the important theoretical basis in ensuring the design and development of an effective and efficient system. // Paper ID 549