CEMCA: ODL FOR DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA
The Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) is a regional service of COL based in New Delhi, India. CEMCA’s purpose is to promote the meaningful, relevant and appropriate use of information and communication technology (ICT) to serve the educational and training needs of Commonwealth member states in Asia.
Working in partnership with COL, other international agencies, educational institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), CEMCA is effectively expanding the use of open and distance learning (ODL) for development through a number of innovative initiatives.
EASYNOW EMPOWERS TEACHERS FOR ODL
The proliferation of ICT means that education can be provided in multiple modes – written, oral and visual. This offers the potential to improve the quality of education, address various learning styles and reach drop-out or remote learners.
EasyNow Workshop at the Open University Malaysia
CEMCA’s EasyNow is a platform that brings together easy-to-use technologies that enable teachers to create learning materials in an array of delivery modes. What makes EasyNow special is that it allows multiple deliverables from a single electronic source.
For instance, a classroom lecture captured on video can be re-packaged and delivered in multiple forms including:
• A video lesson,
• An enriched video incorporating graphics,
• An audio lesson,
• A print-based output using text-to-speech tools,
• A slide show using PowerPoint or other presentation packages, and
• A print-based format.
EasyNow also integrates into formats for learners with visual impairments.
EasyNow offers fast downloads, which is particularly important for those with low bandwidth Internet connections.
Unlike many other proprietary technology packages that require users to invest in expensive hardware and software, EasyNow uses free and open source software that is readily downloadable from the Internet.
CEMCA has successfully demonstrated the efficacy of EasyNow in several ODL institutions in India, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. In five-day training workshops, participants working in groups master the simple technologies, record their lessons and deliver them in web-enabled ODL and other formats.
Since EasyNow is based on a basket of open source technologies, CEMCA can easily add on features to meet the institution’s need, demand and thrust area. Currently, CEMCA is adding value to the EasyNow package by integrating free IP-based teleconferencing (see below) and collaborative content development tools like WikiEducator.
www.cemca.org/easynow
ENSURING QUALITY IN MULTIMEDIA MATERIALS
With the rapid proliferation of multimedia-based learning materials in the education sector, quality assurance has become an important concern. CEMCA is spearheading an initiative to develop a framework for quality assurance in multimedia learning materials (QAMLM) with support from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.
In November 2007, CEMCA held a regional consultation of stakeholders from Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Since then, two groups in India and Malaysia comprising academics, practitioners and industry have been working on a framework for QAMLM. Wider consultations have also been held in both countries.
CEMCA is now seeking input from across the Commonwealth on a draft version of the framework. It is available on CEMCA’s website and on WikiEducator for review. Meanwhile, educational institutions such as Indira Gandhi National Open University and industry partners are field testing the framework. After incorporating feedback, CEMCA will profile the result at the Commonwealth Conference of Educational Ministers in Malaysia in June 2009. CEMCA then plans to hold regional workshops to introduce the framework to partner institutions for voluntary adoption.
www.wikieducator.org/Quality_Assurance_in_Multimedia_Learning_Materials
EXPANDING COMMUNITY RADIO
The Government of India recently expanded its Community Radio Policy and is now granting licenses to operate low-power transmitters to educational institutions and civil society organisations. Appointed by the Government of India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the nodal agency, CEMCA is helping communities appropriate radio as a development tool in several ways, including holding periodic awareness-building and outreach activities in different regions of India. Four such consultations were held between November 2007 and December 2008.
Each meeting drew more than 100 participants and focused on creating greater awareness of the potential of community radio as a tool for development. Delegates learned about all aspects of community radio including technology, how to set up a community radio station, building linkages with partners and participatory learning.
These meetings resulted in the completion of several license applications for community radio stations and helped build capacity among both new and existing community radio projects.
"Science for Women" participants take part in a baseline survey in Pondicherry.
COMMUNITY RADIO IN BANGLADESH
CEMCA is also playing a catalysing role in Bangladesh, where the Government has recently begun to grant community radio licenses. CEMCA’s activities include:
• Conducting the first community radio awareness workshop in Bangladesh in March 2008, in collaboration with local agencies,
• Facilitating a study tour of community radio in India so individuals from Bangladesh can learn best practices, and
• Conducting a series of capacity building exercises for community radio applicants.
“Community radio has tremendous potential to disseminate information and help people improve their livelihoods, especially those who live in remote areas,” says Dr. R. Sreedher, Director of CEMCA. “We are pleased to see that these regional consultations have sparked a lot of interest and activity in community radio across the country.”
COMMUNITY RADIO HELP DESK
CEMCA has set up a Help Desk to provide information and guidance at no cost to groups applying for community radio licenses. The service helps groups complete their online applications and provides technical advice about setting up a community radio station. To date, the Help Desk has assisted more than 30 institutions and civil society organisations.
www.cemca.org/crconsult.htm
“SCIENCE FOR WOMEN”
“Science for Women: Health and Nutrition” is a programme that provides illiterate women in resource-poor settings with access to learning about important health issues through community radio.
Initiated by the Indian Department of Science and Technology and implemented by CEMCA, Science for Women is an interactive radio series currently involving 12 community radio stations. This is a participatory process that includes the students and listening communities – the women learn radio production skills and create relevant content using information provided by university partners.
The focus is on health and nutrition, which addresses a significant challenge. While women traditionally bear primary responsibility for the well-being of their families, they are often denied access to education, health care services, job training, and the freedom to use health and family planning services. Women are also often discriminated against as consumers of services, which can lead to neglect of their own heath and well being. The overarching goal of “Science for Women” is behavioural change; an increase in the knowledge, awareness and practice of women towards health and nutrition for themselves and their families.
Every day a 15- to 30-minute “Science for Women” programme is broadcast on the community radio stations with a reach estimated at 12,000 women (and inevitably many men as well) across India. CEMCA is launching a second phase with participation being expanded to 20 community radio stations.
In addition to providing valuable health information, “Science for Women” is creating a bank of content that can be re-used. It is helping women gain skills as announcers, interviewers, writers and programme contributors, while also providing alternate means of livelihood for the community. And it is helping community radio stations gain an identity, an audience and a purpose.
IP-BASED TELECONFERENCING
CEMCA demonstrated the use of inexpensive interactive technology to reach out to learners in an experiment at Wawasan Open University in Malaysia. The IP-based teleconferencing system is useful for learners at small and mid-sized educational institutions in both face-to-face and ODL environments.
CEMCA demonstration of IP-based Teleconferencing at Wawasan Open University
The approach involves webcasting of lectures and interaction from learners. A lecture is presented through the Internet using a webcam and microphone (a professional camera and audio-video mixer will improve quality). The remote learner can listen, observe and ask questions using a webcam and Skype. The learner is projected on the screen so that other learners watching can see them and also share their queries. The audio and video quality is that of a CD/DVD and webcasting counters time lags. Learners are not aware of the time lag as they watch the webcast, however those who interact with the teacher may find the time lag irritating, a problem presently solved by closing the webcasting window and using the Skype window for the brief period of intervention The problem may be solved as the bandwidth availability increases. A major advantage is that lectures and interaction with learners happen in real time and in a synchronous mode. The system currently makes use of only the free Skype service and not paid phone calls.
The benefits of IP-based teleconferencing are significant and include:
• Wider outreach: students can access learning anywhere there is a computer rather than travelling to a study centre.
• Cost-effective: this approach avoids the use of expensive proprietary software and costly telecommunications links.
• Greater learner engagement: students can interact, ask questions and share information.
Contact CEMCA:
8/4 Sarv Priya Vihar, New Delhi – 110016
Telephone: +91-11-2653 7146, 2653 7148
Fax: +91-11-2653 7147
admin@cemca.org
www.cemca.org
A RISING STAR OF COMMUNITY RADIO
For Ms. Geetha Lakshmi a 35-year-old homemaker living in modest low-income housing in Jeeva Nagar, Thiruchinapally, until recently a day’s work consisted mainly of looking after the house and family, and writing occasional letters to the municipal commissioner to complain about poor civic amenities. All that changed, once the Community Radio Station was set up at the Holy Cross College. An enthusiastic participant in the Science for Women Project, Ms. Geetha Lakshmi took part in the baseline survey of her community and the capacity building workshop for content creation. There was no looking back for her.
Today, she is Assistant Station Manager of Holy Cross Community Radio, looking after content development and production including recording, editing and transmission. She produces programmes about health and hygiene, and has gained enough experience and confidence to do “live” shows, where she interacts with doctors and nutrition experts, addressing listener queries. She is especially happy to be associated with the programme because she is able to bring information to her community, where women (many of them Muslim) are shy and hesitant to talk about their health concerns or seek information even from doctors on issues such as reproductive health. Ms. Geetha Lakshmi’s Science for Women programme brings information into their homes, providing both anonymity and familiarity.
Ms. Geetha Lakshmi feels independent and empowered. She is earning income of her own, which she has put in a bank account in her own name. This new status has not only earned her the respect and admiration of her children and her husband, but has accorded her a “celebrity” status in her community as well, she says. She is undoubtedly the rising star of Holy Cross CR 90.4.
www.cemca.org/sciencewomen.htm