Pre Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning
2006 virtual conference
THEME 1: FOUNDATIONS
10-28 July 2006
Report of the Moderator
Dr. Jocelyn Calvert
Participants and participation
At the end of the first week, there were 137 subscribers to the online conference. Fifty subscribers posted approximately 270 messages.
Foundations theme
The program announcement described the foundations theme as follows:
This sub-theme addresses those aspects of what we do that are grounded in good practice and lead to development impact. So here we will be looking among other things for contributions that address ODL policy and management, practice based research, monitoring and evaluation, tutoring and learner support, professional development and access and equity.
Participants were invited to consider the relevance of lessons and issues outlined in the background paper to education for development and achieving development goals. One participant suggested that there were issues unique to development contexts but others did not pick up on this:
The issues that seem to me to differ most in the development context are access and policy, since strategies for accessing learning may need to be more innovative where infrastructure is limited, and how the government supports ODL infrastructure and policy can also make a big difference in its acceptance and use.
This report summarizes the discussion threads.
Quality in ODL
Three message threads were concerned with how to assure quality in ODL:
Assuring that students have submitted their own work was the one with the largest number of postings. The majority of those who wrote on this subject said or implied that this is an issue of concern for institutions, whatever the technologies used. One participant also pointed out that this problem is not unique to ODL but can also happen in face-to-face learning environments. Several gave examples of how they try to ensure that students' achievements are their own. These include: having students sign a statement of commitment; using a variety of different assignment and testing methods; giving assignments that are cumulative or project-based, involve fieldwork or require collaboration with instructors and peers; incorporating a face-to-face assessment; requiring students to sit an exam in circumstances where their identity can be verified; and using software to detect plagiarism when assignments are available electronically. One participant noted that strategies to accommodate students with a disability are sometimes seen as permitting such students to 'cheat'.
Accountability and accreditation of ODL service providers was an issue raised by a participant who was concerned that students may be lured into programmes that are not recognised and thus may not achieve the career outcomes they expect. This raised the question of whether, since the overall credibility of ODL can be adversely affected by public awareness of bad examples, it should be a foundation principle that appropriate bodies (e.g. governments, professional and trade associations, industry groups) put in place mechanisms for monitoring and accreditation. monitoring graduate outcomes. Participants advocated: publishing lists of regional and international accreditation bodies; seeking ISO and similar forms of certification; and establishing joint curricula recognised by all parties. One participant observed that conventional systems of accreditation may work against ODL by specifying traditional teaching and learning methods and not recognising equally effective alternatives.
Third, some participants commented that the ideas of people involved in operational aspects are not sought or acted on by management. They felt a need for internal feedback mechanisms and attention to the creative and innovative ideas of staff as a foundational principle.
Access and equity
With respect to access, participants discussed:
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the enormous need for basic education to achieve millennium development goals;
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examples where institutions and NGOs are providing opportunities for students across national boundaries;
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the need for technologies to accommodate students with a disability;
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issues of online access for students in both developed and developing countries, including the preference of some students for more traditional face-to-face and distance learning approaches; and
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how technical problems with online access, as the conference illustrated, are not confined to developing countries - during the conference a storm in Canada left the moderator without power for a day and a weekend power failure at COL knocked out the server which required two days to repair.
With respect to equity, participants were concerned that:
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all learners in ODL have a rich and engaging learning experience;
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institutions monitor student progress and graduate outcomes to ensure that their graduates are being prepared to achieve their goals; and
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institutions work to ensure that the qualifications they issue to ODL graduates are recognised, both locally and internationally.
Library support
Library support was seen as an integral part of ODL for development. Participants wrote about:
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using library support to develop a reading culture and literacy skills which learners often lack in development contexts;
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developing information literacy which includes learning how to seek information and the ethical use of information sources;
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virtual library developments, including software and cooperative initiatives, that extend the potential of library services; and
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collaboration in library services with other educational institutions and libraries.
It appears that, as information technology comes into widespread use, the role of the library and librarians is enhanced by their increasing ability to provide resources and services to students at all levels of learning and to staff. One participant drew our attention to an article that advocates collaboration of course administrators, teachers and librarians to enhance students' learning outcomes and maximize the benefits of course materials and library resources (Shank and Bell, http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=46).
Multi-national collaboration
Throughout the online conference, participants made reference to multi-national collaboration. One interesting report concerned a program wherein a US-based organisation enables tutors in a developing country (Guatemala) provide synchronous audio/video Spanish language instruction to people worldwide.
Participants made reference to the role of inter-governmental organisations and NGOs in facilitating cooperation in both capacity building and collaboration in particular educational programmes. They also wrote about inter-institutional cooperation and illustrated, through their peripheral communication, the value of electronic communication for the sharing of information. On the technological side, open source software and freeware entered the discussion.
The convergence of resources, learning activities and learner support
One thing apparent from the early discussion is that there is a trend away from the ODL tradition of separating learner resources, learning activities and learner support which together constitute a pedagogic approach. One reason for this is that technologies enable the integration of resource preparation and distribution with learning activities and support in a way that is familiar to teachers who can enhance learning on the spot. A second reason was put forward by a number of participants who advocated blending traditional and ODL strategies in ways that are appropriate to their students and contexts. One participant wrote that the approach must take account of the individuals or communities for whom the learning is designed, the educational goals of the program and the cultural and environmental contexts of the students.
Learner resources
Participants discussed several aspects of learner resources:
First, a variety of media are used for learning resources and what media are used depends on local conditions. Some are restricted by circumstances to print while others are using a mix of media.
Second, there seemed to be a widespread desire to use online resources where that is feasible, regardless of location. The group's discussion of digital library services pointed to the fact that this may be a way of making a greater range of resources available in countries where resources are limited. However, there were concerns about the appropriate design of online learning resources. Comments by one participant about the tendency to simply put print resources online initiated this discussion. We noted that the failure of online learning to live up to its promise was a topic of discussion at the last Pan-Commonwealth Forum in Dunedin and wondered how much progress has been made since then on appropriate models.
Third, several wrote of the continuing need for teamwork in the development of resources, with a variety of technical as well as academic experts making contributions. This has been a tradition in ODL, but one participant described a case where an institution disbanded its educational design unit, believing that a learning management system made it unnecessary, only to reinvent the unit later.
Fourth, quite a few participants appeared to have experience of adapting materials developed elsewhere, jointly developing courses with people from other countries or working with experts from other countries, perhaps in donor-funded projects. There was an extensive discussion of what one referred to as cultural appropriateness and contextual relevance, and there was consensus that local expertise is essential to make resources (and, for that matter, learning experiences in general) culturally and socially appropriate. One said that if these matters are not taken into account during the design stage, they need to be addressed during editing. Another suggested that, through multi-national teams, courses could contain examples from different countries, giving students a broader perspective.
Fifth, participants mentioned sources of free online resources including Project Gutenberg and open content projects of the UKOU.
Sixth, a group of participants had a particular interest in making resources, particularly online resources, accessible to students with a disability.
Learner support
Throughout the online conference, the need for basic education and the serious problem of illiteracy were frequently mentioned. Several also wrote with reference to teacher education. It is possibly the case that comments about learner support were made with these student groups in mind.
It was clear from the discussion that many of those writing on the topic of learner support did not see learner support as largely informational, administrative and advisory. One wrote that 'many distance learners are largely dependent on learning at tutorial sessions because they lack the skills for academic study and its focus on reading to learn'. She suggested that 'changing access into success will depend on how well support services are integrated or embedded into distance learning programmes to facilitate learning from text'. Others wrote about the need to help students to become critical and reflective learners and develop skills in finding and evaluating information. Some of the discussion suggested that education is not just learning content but also developing new ways of thinking about and understanding oneself and the world.
Several wrote about the need to blend learning and teaching strategies and to include in this blend interaction with teachers and other students. In some contexts this interaction may take place online but there were as many references to face-to-face group activities. One made reference to the PNG/South Pacific culture of communal activity. Mention also was made of the value of working on group projects or meeting to discuss a radio broadcast of a video clip. One participant pointed out that such activities are consistent with a constructivist approach to designing learning environments.
The general point I draw from all this is that, while learning resources are important, the learning experience needs to be more than working individually with those resources. As one participant summarised the point:
[In] ODL environs ... enriched with flexible learning strategies, [competent tutors seem] to be more and more essential rather than a 'good-to-have' value add-on....
Professional development
One participant raised the issue of 'supporting the supporters': 'Many ODL institutions do little to help support staff - Student Counselors, Instructional Facilitators, Knowledge Technologists etc. to further develop themselves; yet you cannot give what you do not have.' We should not lose sight of the fact that those who support teachers as well as those who support students need professional development to keep up with changing times.
There was more discussion about the challenges for teachers using new methods and technologies:
Several commented on issues surrounding a shift from print-based distance learning or face-to-face teaching to the use of online technologies. But then it appears that this is not an either-or matter - many are using a blend of strategies and methods which makes things more complicated for teachers.
A few also commented on changing conceptions of learning and teaching, including active learning involving group activities and constructivist approaches. For example, one commented that, to incorporate the social aspect, some teachers may need to 'change their perception of the learning situation and the place of the learner.' Another referred to 'teaching styles and the professional development of teachers [to enhance] the social aspect of ODL.'
Working in teams was seen as one form of professional development. In addition, one participant described an Australian project that 'provid[es] an opportunity for teachers (and administrators and managers) to actually experience online engagement' through 'communities of practice' that bring together groups online to discuss matters of mutual interest.
Jocelyn Calvert
16 October 2006
