Open and Distance Learning in the Twenty First Century: a Commonwealth perspective

Abstract

ICT for Sustainable Development, WITFOR, Hanoi, 26-28th August, 2009, Open and Distance Learning in the Twenty first Century: a Commonwealth perspective, Professor Asha Kanwar & Sir John Daniel, Commonwealth of Learning // It is an honour to speak to such a distinguished audience. I have prepared this presentation jointly with my President Sir John Daniel, and I bring to you his greetings. // Our title today is Open and Distance Learning in the 21st Century. Even though distance education has been in existence for over 150 years, yet it is only in the last forty years that its growth has been so phenomenal. Today open and distance learning or ODL is seen as a cost effective tool for providing education and training at all levels and for a variety of disciplines and professions. This has been due largely to developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) which have made it possible to make effective pedagogic interventions for providing unlimited flexible learning options to different constituencies of learners. We will hear from three major institutions, the UK Open University, the Open University of Malaysia and Wawasan Open University about how they are extending the frontiers of ODL to meet the changing need of the twenty first century. // In this presentation, we shall begin by outlining three key trends, move on to list three achievements and three challenges before we come to the conclusions.