CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

The winners of COL's 2006 Excellence in Distance Education Awards were announced at a gala banquet on the final evening of the Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning. The awards recognise outstanding achievements by individuals and institutions from many Commonwealth countries.

Full citations and further details are available at www.col.org/edea. 

 

HONORARY FELLOWS OF COL

The designation of Honorary Fellow of COL recognises individual contributions to open and distance learning in leadership/service, published works (including courseware), lectures/presentations, international/national presence and mentorship.
COL salutes its 2006 Honorary Fellows:

• Dr. Felicity Binns, Projects Director, Cambridge Education, and former Executive Director of the International Extension College; Cambridge, United Kingdom
• Dato' Dr. Gajaraj Dhanarajan, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer, Wawasan Open University, and former President and Chief Executive Officer, Commonwealth of Learning; Penang, Malaysia
• The Honourable Zobaida Jalal, Women's and community education advocate, Minister for Social Welfare, and Special Education and former Minister for Education and Women; Islamabad, Pakistan
• Father T.V. Kunnunkal, Research Director, Indian Social Institute, and founding Chairman of India's National Open School (now the National Institute of Open Schooling); New Delhi, India
• The Honourable Fiamé Naomi Mata'afa, Minister for Women, Community and Social Development, former Minister of Education, and former member of COL's Board of Governors; Apia, Samoa
• HE Professor Michael Omolewa, Ambassador/permanent Delegate, The Permanent Delegation of Nigeria to UNESCO, and member of COL's Board of Governors; Paris, France
• The Honourable Burchell Whiteman, former Senator and Minister of Information and Minister of Education, Youth and Culture, and member of COL's Board of Governors; Kingston, Jamaica

NEW HONORARY FELLOWS OF COL AT THE EXCELLENCE IN DISTANCE EDUCATION AWARDS BANQUET (L TO R): FELICITY BINNS, BURCHELL WHITEMAN, MICHAEL OMOLEWA AND T.V. KUNNUNKAL. RAJ DHANARAJAN, ZOBAIDA JALAL AND FIAMÉ MATA'AFA RECIEVED THEIR HONORARY FELLOWSHIPS IN ABSENTIA.

 

 

DISTANCE EDUCATION MATERIALS

This award recognises excellence in distance education materials produced by publicly funded or not-for-profit organisations of Commonwealth countries.

CATEGORY A: PRINT OR OTHER "LOW-END" MEDIA MATERIALS AS PART OF A DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE/PROGRAMME

Advanced Certificate in Education in the Field of Learners with Special Educational Needs -Submitted by the School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Accepted by Ms. Judith Inglis

This six-module programme helps teachers meet the needs of all learners in their classroom. Developed over an eight-year period, this programme introduces teachers to the concept of inclusive education. It is recognised for its imaginative integration of conversational tone, pictures, dialogue and the forms of scaffolding. The programme was also cited for promoting wider societal goals.

Learning Skills for Open and Distance Learning - Submitted by the Open University Malaysia. Accepted by Mr. Abtar Kaur

These materials play an important role by orienting learners to ODL. The EDEA judges called these materials "well designed, interactive and learner-centred". Learners have found the materials relevant and useful, and the programme is linked to wider development goals.

A Facilitation Handbook for Women's Learning Group Facilitators -Submitted by the Women in Fishing Industry Project (WIFIP), Education and Development Trust, Kenya. Accepted by Ms. Jennipher Kere

This handbook is an integral part of an innovative programme to educate and empower women in the fishing industry in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya. It is described as learner-centred, interactive and an excellent example of teaching practice. The methods used are appropriate to the programme's objectives, which are to empower socially and educationally disadvantaged women working in the fishing industry.

CATEGORY B: INTERACTIVE, ELECTRONICALLY DELIVERED MATERIALS, WHICH MAY BE SUPPLEMENTED BY MATERIALS DEVELOPED IN OTHER MEDIA

PHARMALearn, Anticoagulation -Submitted by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada. Accepted by Ms. Theresa Schindel

This is the first phase of a comprehensive continuing education programme for pharmacists in the area of anticoagulation therapy. This professional development programme was recognised for incorporating movement and animation to enhance the attractiveness of the materials. The programme is easy to use, and learners can access materials at whatever point is appropriate for them.

NAMCOL Online, Welcome to the World of Physical Science Grade 12 -Submitted by the Namibian College of Open Learning. Accepted by Mrs. Frances J. Ferreira

This multi-media programme is successfully addressing high failure rates in Physical Science at junior and secondary school levels in Namibia. The electronic materials are lauded for being interactive, learner-centred and attractive to learners. The programme is described as "a good example of how technology can make a real contribution to the development and delivery of electronic materials and enhance education at the secondary and post-secondary levels."

Indigenous Approaches to Healing and Helping - Submitted by the School of Social Work, University of Victoria, Canada. Accepted by Ms. Dora Leigh Bjornson

A unique and high quality programme for Social Work students, these materials effectively use the indigenous oral tradition to achieve learning. The materials are recognised for embracing the culture of the target group by ensuring emotion and intellect are closely aligned, making learning enjoyable and effective.

 

INSTITUTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

This award honours significant achievements by institutions in the innovative and effective application of learning technologies and ODL methodologies to reach students who might otherwise not have participated in the learning or training experience.

Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) - Accepted by Dr. Daniel R. Tau, Director

Launched just eight years ago, BOCODOL is honoured for building a cost-effective system of ODL that provides school equivalency programmes as well as vocational, management and professional courses. BOCODOL facilitates equitable access to quality basic education, skill development and lifelong learning for young people and adults. The majority of its students are girls and women, thereby promoting two important Millennium Development Goals - universal basic education and the eradication of poverty and hunger.

Netaji Subhas Open University - Accepted by Professor Surabhi Banerjee, Vice Chancellor

Netaji Subhas Open University (NSOU) is recognised for significant achievements, including remarkable growth over the past five years. A small university offering just three courses to 3,000 students in 2001, NSOU now offers 65 courses ranging from vocational, technical and skill-oriented courses to undergraduate and post-graduate programmes. The university's more than 75,000 students learn through a cost-effective and accessible system of distance education supplemented by appropriate technology. Most importantly, NSOU supports adult learners to make positive changes in their lives and contribute towards building learning communities.

The University of the South Pacific - Accepted by Dr. Jennifer Evans, Head, Distance and Flexible Learning

Founded as a dual-mode university in 1969 with its main campus in Fiji, the University of the South Pacific (USP) caters to about 20,000 students, half of them through the distance/flexible learning mode. One of the university's main challenges is meeting the needs of students from 12 island nations spread throughout a large geographic area. USP offers education on campus and by distance and flexible learning through its 13 regional learning centres, thereby making a variety of higher education courses accessible to the learner population.

 

DISTANCE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

DEGREE GRANTING PROGRAMME: ACKNOWLEDGING A NOTABLE DISTANCE EDUCATION LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

Ms. Neelam Narayan, Suva, Fiji
Ms. Narayan was honoured for showing remarkable perseverance in pursuing her learning objectives. After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Education from the University of the South Pacific, she went on to obtain a postgraduate Certificate and then a Master's Degree in Online Education from the University of Southern Queensland.

Distance learning helped Ms. Narayan's professional development, but the more important outcome of her learning experience was her keenness to help and empower other distance learners across the Pacific in her job in the USP's Distance and Flexible Learning Support Centre. She put her instructional design skills to work and developed her own strategies for a more learner-friendly approach, thus improving the quality of distance education provided by her Centre.

The award recognises the indomitable spirit of this young learner who has dedicated her achievements to the cause of empowering other distance learners.

NEELAM NARAYAN, JOHN DANIEL AND NAJWA QAISY

eLEARNING EXPERIENCE IN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES: ACKNOWLEDGING THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNERS FROM INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS WHO HAVE COMPLETED THE COL-DEVELOPED AND DELIVERED WORKPLACE eLEARNING COURSES.

Ms. Najwa Qaisy, Disaster Management Manager, Iraq Delegation, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Baghdad, Iraq

This award celebrates learners from international organisations who have overcome significant challenges to successfully complete COL's workplace eLearning courses.

Ms. Najwa Qaisy is the Manager of the Disaster Management Department with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Baghdad, Iraq. Recognising that opportunities for learning are limited in war-torn Iraq, Ms. Qaisy enrolled in COL's "Writing Effectively" programme. Initially daunted by the rigorous course, she was encouraged to continue through e-mail communication with her Canadian tutor, Mr. Glenn Millar.

Ms. Qaisy completed the course during some of the worst days of the social unrest in June 2005. She often had to study without electricity. She hid her English workbook from raiding "death squads" who could burst into her home at any minute. One time, she was held at gunpoint for hours while on her way to an Internet café. Once she risked cross-fire and literally walked through bullets to get to a computer so she could submit an assignment to Mr. Millar.

In recommending Ms. Qaisy for this award, Mr. Millar commented: "Throughout the course, I marvelled at how this young woman could maintain her focus with the social turmoil of Iraq swirling around her."

When asked why she persisted with her studies in spite of the many dangers, Ms. Qaisy says it comes down to the great value she places on learning.

"We have a saying in our culture, 'It's true that you're knowledgeable, but you can always be better,'" she says. "I was determined to improve my communication skills. My experience shows that even if there's war going on and schools are destroyed, we can still find a way to learn."

The key to her success, Ms. Qaisy explains, is the learner support that she received.

"Glenn's support worked like magic. When I was overwhelmed, he encouraged me. He was always there for me. I wouldn't have completed the course without him."

Ms. Qaisy's appreciation of the value of her own experience led her to set up English classes for orphans and displaced children in her community. As the word spread, her class rapidly grew to 55 learners.

"This experience made me realise that one day when I look back at my lifetime achievements, I can proudly point out that I did something good for someone!" she says.

The award recognises Ms. Qaisy's unquenchable spirit, her love of learning and her inspiring application of the skills she learned to bring hope to dispossessed young people in her community through education.

I am sending you this message from an Internet cafe from a very dangerous area. It is the only cafe that I could find; all the rest have closed their doors due to security reasons. Sorry my message will have to be short since the shooting is very heavy now and I have to leave right now... they are still hunting some armed fugitives. Will try to check my mail within two days to see your comments on my second trial. Wish me luck to get home safely!

E-mail message from Najwa Qaisy to her tutor in Canada.