Connections/EdTech News, January 1999

ARCHIVE DOCUMENT

News and Events
From Connections, January 1999
(Compiled based on selected news items, meeting reports and event notices
appearing in Connections, COL's quarterly newsletter)

 
Wang Gungwu

Renowned historian to deliver Briggs Lecture

Professor Wang Gungwu will deliver the Asa Briggs Lecture at the Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning in Brunei in March. His address will be entitled, "Education and bridging cultures."

Currently Director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore and Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, Professor Wang is best known as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1995. Previously, he was a history professor at The University of Malaya (in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur) and at the Australian National University's Research School of Pacific Studies.

"Professor Wang brings the best traditions of Eastern and Western scholarship to any discussion relating to education, society and history, which is his special field of expertise," said COL President, Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan. "His research on and academic contribution to the history of the Chinese Diaspora are seminal works in the field; and as an academic leader and university administrator he has won acclaim from peers, colleagues and governments throughout both the Asia-Pacific region and the Commonwealth. We are fortunate to have him present the Asa Briggs Lecture at the Pan-Commonwealth Forum."

The Asa Briggs Lecture honours COL's founding Chairman, the Rt. Hon. Lord Briggs of Lewes, also a world-renowned historian.

Papers to provide wide insights

Programme development is continuing at a fast pace for the Pan-Commonwealth Forum. Programme Manager, Professor Colin Latchem, reports that well over 100 delegates will present their work and ideas through case study presentations, workshops and posters. While not all of the papers are in at the time of writing, they promise to provide wide and fascinating insights into open learning across the full spectrum of education and training in the developed and developing countries of the Commonwealth.

Case studies will range from open schooling through adult and non-formal community education to higher education, covering staff development, research and evaluation, quality assurance, course development and delivery, media and technology, library and information services, student support and organisation and management. Papers received to date come from Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Britain, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Malawi, Malaysia, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

With the Forum designed to facilitate the sharing of experiences, knowledge and ideas, these case studies will be grouped by topic and the parallel sessions will follow a format that allows presenters to put forward key points and then discuss and compare these with the other delegates' experiences, concerns and suggestions.

Workshops, which will build upon the presenters' experiences in their own institutions, focus on such issues as the Internet and World Wide Web, librarianship and accessing global information, professional development, introducing open and flexible learning, empowering adult learners and dealing with intellectual property and copyright issues.

Posters will be featured in common areas in the magnificent Brunei Darussalam International Convention Centre. The exhibition will also include print, audio-visual, computer-based and online courseware developed by delegates and their colleagues, along with information booths set up by commercial providers of hardware, software and services.

Round Tables on the first day of the Forum will receive reports from open educators from around the Commonwealth. They will be facilitated and chaired by Dr. Abdul Khan, Vice-Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University and Dr. Ros Morpeth, Director of the UK National Extension College.

The Forum also features keynote and plenary presentations by distinguished speakers from many fields, and a range of social events and educational visits.

The Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning will celebrate the tenth anniversary of The Commonwealth of Learning. The event will be co-hosted by COL, the Brunei Darussalam Ministry of Education and Universiti Brunei Darussalam, and is being organised in collaboration with the Commonwealth's open and distance learning professional associations. It will be held in Bandar Seri Begawan from 1 - 5 March 1999.

Virtual conferences

Two of the four online "virtual conferences" leading up to the Pan-Commonwealth Forum have now concluded. Distance Education and Challenged Communities was moderated by COL's President, Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan in October and Library/Information Systems and Student Support was led by Ms. Elizabeth Watson, of the University of the West Indies, and Dr. Neela Jagannathan, of the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Both were well subscribed and discussion was lively. The summaries will be a meaningful contribution to the Forum proceedings.

The first virtual conference was featured on the World Bank's redesigned web site (www.worldbank.org) that was launched during the same time period. As a Global Knowledge partner, the COL conference was one of the first to be included in the "Development Forum" section of the new site.

The COL virtual conferences continue with Accreditation, Quality Assurance and Credit Banking taking place from 11 - 29 January (moderated by Dr. David Woodhouse, New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit) and Staff Development going online from 1 - 20 February (moderated by Ms. Bernadette Robinson, an international training consultant). The conferences are e-mail based, with archives of postings available on the web for subscribers.

Further information on the Pan-Commonwealth Forum and the virtual conferences, summaries of previous discussions and instructions on how to join are all available on the Forum web site (www.col.org/forum) or by contacting the Forum secretariat at COL's Vancouver headquarters (forum@col.org).

Funding update

The Commonwealth of Learning gratefully acknowledges contributions to its core funding, received to date during current year (from 1 July 1998), from Australia, Barbados, the Province of British Columbia (Canada), Canada, Cyprus, Guyana, Maldives, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Samoa, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Swaziland, Tonga and the United Kingdom.

At their meeting in November, Commonwealth Senior Officials commended COL for the valuable work it is doing to promote distance education and open learning, and they urged member governments to help place COL on a sounder financial footing.

Canada, New Zealand and UK support Forum

The Honourable Diane Marleau, Canada's Minister for International Cooperation (responsible for the Canadian International Development Agency), has announced a new CDN$110,000 contribution to COL to support the travel costs of selected delegates from developing Commonwealth countries to enable them to present papers or act as resource persons at the Pan-Commonwealth Forum in Brunei. Industry Canada has also contributed some funds for the same purpose and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has agreed to sponsor the travel costs of keynote speaker, the Honourable Maurice Strong, Chairman of the Earth Council.

In addition, New Zealand's Official Development Assistance (NZODA) will assist with travel costs for Pacific Islanders and the British Council will provide transportation for two plenary presenters, Dr. Ros Morpeth, Director of the National Extension College, and Sir John Daniel, Vice-Chancellor of the UK Open University.

Database of online courses

COL joins others in supporting Canadian initiative

COL is supporting TeleEducation NB (Province of New Brunswick, Canada) in the further development of the TeleCampus Online Course Database, an initiative to index online courses from around the world into a single Web-based source.

The Online Course Database currently lists over 8,100 courses from 530 institutions in 12 countries. It contains the most comprehensive listing of online courses and programmes available world-wide. These are courses that can be accessed by students from anywhere if they have a computer and an Internet connection - although many require the payment of fees.

All educational sectors are represented, from pre-schoolers to retirees, and courses vary from graduate level engineering (e.g., Introduction to Orbital Mechanics) to simple "How to" instructions (e.g., How to Open a Coconut).

The Online Course Database is sponsored by the World Bank Group, The Commonwealth of Learning, the Office of Learning Technologies (Industry Canada, Government of Canada), the Government of New Brunswick, L'Agence de la Francophonie, Le Consortium international francophone de formation à distance (CIFFAD) and Le Centre international pour le développement de l'inforoute en français (CIDIF).

Those interested in learning more about TeleCampus can visit the web site (http://telecampus.edu). To search the database, click on "Courses."

Presenting legislative drafting certificates in Kuala Lumpur. From left to right: Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, The Honourable Dato' Ahmad Zaki bin Haji Husin (Deputy Parliamentary Draftsman, Malaysia, officiating), Mrs. Rozita binti Ramli (receiving her certificate) and Ms. Haslina binti Mansor (assisting with the ceremony)

First legislative drafting students complete course

Four Malaysians and two Singaporeans were recognised by the Commonwealth Distance Training Programme in Legislative Drafting in a ceremony held on 4 December in the Attorney General's Chambers in Kuala Lumpur. They are among the first to fulfil the requirements of the new international programme.

The course, print materials, audio tapes and assignments were designed specifically for independent study of the principles and practices of legislative drafting and the processes of preparing government legislation. While a course co-ordinator in England guided student progress, experienced professionals within local drafting workplaces also provided support.

The course was developed jointly by The Commonwealth of Learning and the Commonwealth Secretariat to meet the needs of member jurisdictions by providing workplace training rather than having to send trainees overseas for an extended period.

Certificates were presented to Ms. Chan Bee Keng, Ms. Rozita binti Ramli, Ms. Mazni binti Nawi of Malaysia and to Mr. Lee Chuan Huei and Mr. David Lim (in absentia) of Singapore. The Programme also issued completion certificates to legislative drafters in Cyprus, Falkland Islands and India.

Radio Makuleke hits the air

Community radio

COL has installed portable "briefcase" community broadcasting stations in several locations, most recently in Southern Africa.

In October 1998, the low-cost, Canadian-built radio station was set up in the main community centre of the Makuleke people who are located in the Northern Province of South Africa. The station is configured to transmit over a 30 to 40 kilometre area. Training covered both technical matters and the aspects of organising community productions and broadcasts.

Over 30,000 local residents can now listen to the educational broadcasts on their FM radios. Initial programming includes community discussions regarding health care and education.

A second COL installation is now transmitting in Lusaka, Zambia, operated by the country's Technical Education and Vocational Entrepreneurship Training Authority.

Caribbean teacher education inventory

COL regularly facilitates meetings of Chief Education Officers from throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean, including UK associated states, so that they can help in programme evaluation and development of new activities. The meetings also give the CEOs an opportunity to share experiences and reduce duplication of efforts throughout the region.

When they met again in Barbados in October, they received an Inventory and report on teacher education materials and programmes in the Commonwealth Caribbean, which was prepared by Ms. Christine Marrett, of the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC), and Dr. Claudia Harvey, UNESCO Sub-regional Education Adviser for the Caribbean. The research was organised and supported by COL, UWIDEC and UNESCO. The executive summary is available on COL's web site at: www.col.org/consultancies or linked from the COL home page through "Consultancies".

Appreciation for COL's continuing work in the region was also expressed by ministers responsible for human resource development and education who were attending the second annual meeting of the CARICOM Council on Human and Social Development in Georgetown, Guyana, in November 1998.

TVET Net

To encourage and facilitate discussion among vocational educators throughout the Commonwealth and beyond, COL has created an electronic forum, specifically for discussions relating to technical/vocational education and training (TVET).

You are invited to join: send an e-mail message to majordomo@hub.col.org, with "subscribe tvet <your e-mail address>" in the body of the message (without the punctuation).

The Majordomo software provides a simple, automated vehicle for reaching people quickly and at no cost. All you require is an e-mail address. Access to the World Wide Web is not necessary (unless that's how you access your e-mail).

The TVET forum will also provide information on the online resources of other organisations and systems that advertise employment opportunities, facilitate research and provide news.

Global Distance Education Net launched

Joining the launch of the World Bank's redesigned web site was the unveiling of the Global Distance Education Network (DistEdNet), a web-accessible collection of documents about distance education and development.

DistEdNet is a knowledge guide to distance education designed to help clients of the World Bank and policy makers and practitioners, particularly in developing countries, with quick and straightforward access to critical information and documents on using distance education for human development. The Network consists of a core site located at the World Bank and regional sites in all parts of the world. The principal source of documents on distance education is the International Centre for Distance Learning (ICDL), headquartered at the UK Open University. COL is a "partner institution", specialising in small states. Other partner institutions are providing current materials from Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, Canada and Europe.

For more information visit www.worldbank.org and click on "Development topics" then "Education & training" and then on "Global Distance Education Network."

Eastern Africa

With encouragement and support from COL, three new distance and open learning professional associations have been established in Eastern Africa. National associations were formed in both Kenya and Uganda in October and November, preceded by the inaugural meeting of the Open Learning and Distance Education Association of Eastern Africa (OLDEA-EA) in Dar Es Salaam in September.

Dr. Egino M. Chale, Registrar of The Open University of Tanzania, was elected OLDEA-EA's first Chairperson. Earlier in the year, he was also re-elected Chairman of the Distance Education Association of Tanzania.

South Asia

In October 1998, The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) launched a new certificate programme for laboratory technicians in Sri Lanka's university system. It is the first programme offering based on learning materials, encouragement and regional adaptation workshops provided and sponsored by COL and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Says OUSL Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ranjith Arthenayake, "OUSL took this to the logical conclusion by offering the opportunity, in the first instance, to about 70 University Technical Officers nominated by science-based faculties of several Sri Lankan universities to follow the inaugural programme. A long-standing need and lacuna in the tertiary education system in Sri Lanka has thus been met as a result of the welcome facilitating role of COL to enable the sharing of study material."

The inauguration of the revamped Commonwealth Certificate in Youth in Development Work was held at The Open University of Sri Lanka in September 1998. Forty-eight students, all sponsored by the Ministry of Samurdhi, Youth Affairs and Sports, were enrolled at the ceremony. The certificate programme is an initiative of the Commonwealth Youth Programme (Commonwealth Secretariat) and is now available in a distance education format that was designed in co-operation with COL. It is being implemented throughout South and Southeast Asia.

At the end of January 1999, the Government of Sri Lanka will be hosting the inaugural meeting of the Forum of Vice Chancellors of Open Universities of member countries in the South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC). SAARC Heads of State and Government established the Forum at their summit, held in July 1998 in Colombo, to share resources, develop joint programmes, and explore the possibilities of sharing information technology within the region in open and distance education.

T & T launches national distance learning system

The formal launch of Trinidad & Tobago's nationally co-ordinated Distance Learning System took place in Port of Spain in December 1998. COL was represented at the launch by its Regional Adviser, Dr. Dennis Irvine, who delivered a presentation at the opening ceremony on the potential that distance education holds for the Caribbean. COL was also among the institutions that were invited to showcase their work in an exhibition.

A highlight of the occasion was the awarding of certificates to the successful local participants in COL's Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship Scheme. Post-graduate diplomas were presented to seven students, with four also receiving their Master's of Arts in Distance Education degrees, both conferred by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (India).

People

Dennis Irvine

Dr. Dennis Irvine, COL's Regional Adviser to the President for the Caribbean, has been named the Outstanding Educator in Jamaica for 1997/98 by the country's Joint Committee on Tertiary Education. A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Dr. Irvine served as COL's Director of both Caribbean programmes and materials acquisition and development from 1989 - 1994. He is known for his energy, creativity and as a source of sound advice.

The new Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education in Tanzania has joined the growing list of world leaders who have had first-hand experience with distance education systems. The Honourable Dr. Pius Y. Ng'wandu is currently a fourth year student with the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) reading law. Dr. Ng'wandu has held ministerial portfolios before and was most recently Tanzania's Ambassador to Japan. Also at OUT, a prison inmate has been admitted to the LL.B. programme for the first time in Tanzania.

COL has appointed two new Regional Advisers to the President. Professor N. Ranjith Arthenayake, Vice-Chancellor, The Open University of Sri Lanka, will assist COL in South Asia and Mr. Esekia Solofa, Vice-Chancellor, University of the South Pacific, will provide support within the Pacific.

Ms. Rama Raghu Iyer joined the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia in November 1998 as Programme Officer, Multimedia. She brings with her ten years of experience in designing electronic and multmedia learning systems for a variety of clients.

Two Chief Programme Officers from the Commonwealth Secretariat's Education Department left London in October to head up regional programmes. Mr. Jeff Bost has taken on the regional directorship of the Commonwealth Youth Programme's South Pacific Centre in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Dr. Lucy Steward has been appointed Registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council in St. Michael, Barbados. COL is grateful for their assistance in the past but is pleased to know that there will be continuing liaison and collaboration in their new roles.

Ian Macdonald                     Gajaraj Dhanarajan

Terms extended for COL Chairman and President

At its meeting held in September in Vancouver, COL's Board of Governors acclaimed Dr. H. Ian Macdonald, O.C. as Chairman for a special third term, running from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2002, and unanimously approved a further extension of the term of office for its President and Chief Executive Officer, Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan.

Dr. Macdonald has had a distinguished career in academia and government. He served the Canadian Province of Ontario as Deputy Minister of Treasury, Economics, and Intergovernmental Affairs and, later, as President of York University, a position he held for more than ten years. He was then Director of York International for another ten years. He is now President Emeritus and Professor of Economics and Public Policy at York University and Director of the Master of Public Administration Program. He has chaired the COL Board of Governors since January 1994.

Professor Dhanarajan has an international reputation as an expert on and advocate for open and distance learning and the application of appropriate educational technologies. Early in his career, he helped to develop distance education programmes at the University of Science in Malaysia and other South Asian institutions. In 1989, he joined the newly established Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong (now the Open University of Hong Kong) as Associate Director (Academic), and served as Director from 1991 to 1995. He became President of COL in September 1995.

Open schooling in India

With funding support from UNESCO, and in conjunction with India's National Open School (NOS), a national conference on networking and collaboration in open schooling was convened in Goa in November. The symposium was attended by secretaries of state education from throughout India as well as by directors of state open schools.

The purpose and result of the meeting was to encourage the establishment of state open schools throughout India, in order to increase access to educational opportunities at the basic schooling level, and to explore the roles that NOS can play, such as in the provision of learning materials, staff training and administrative support.

Southern Africa collaboration

Two meetings were held in September to further the collaboration among eight Southern African countries toward COL-facilitated programmes:

"Strategic contact persons" met in Harare and developed a plan of action for the implementation of a project to increase access to secondary school level education through the production of quality learning materials.

A regional training workshop for curriculum team leaders in the development of distance education training programmes for teachers of lower/junior secondary science, technology and mathematics subjects ("STAMP 2000+") was held in Pretoria (with funding assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat).

STAMP 2000+ writers workshops were held in November in Gaborone, Botswana, and in December in Kariba, Zimbabwe - and the COL Programme Advisory Committee for Southern Africa also met in Gaborone in November.

Barriers to technology for women

In collaboration with the British Council in New Delhi, COL convened an international meeting to develop strategies to overcome identified obstacles encountered by women in accessing communications and information technologies in open and distance learning. A number of recommendations and three draft project proposals were also produced.

Experts from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka attended the meeting. Funding support from local British Council offices in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Sri Lanka enabled participation from those countries.

AAOU '98

The 12th annual conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) was hosted by The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) in November 1998. COL co-sponsored a pre-conference workshop on distance librarianship and COL's President delivered a plenary address. Professor Tam Sheung-wai, Vice-Chancellor of OUHK, was elected AAOU President for 1998/99.

Innovations in development communications

An International Forum on Innovations in Development Communications for rural and disadvantaged communities was held in Bangalore, India, in March 1999. The workshop was sponsored by The Commonwealth of Learning and hosted by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Don Richardson, of the Ontario Agricultural College (University of Guelph, Canada) and TeleCommons Development Group, participated in the Forum and has created a web site containing an overview of the meeting, available papers and information on resources. It is designed to assist participants and others to share information on the resources available and to foster further collaboration. It is located at: www.telecommons.com/documents.cfm?documentid=90  [link no longer works, Nov/03]

The meeting addressed issues related to participatory and community-driven approaches and to accessibility. Participants explored the role and potential of various media as contributing factors to viable, sustainable sources of knowledge, information and skills.