ICTs FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
BACKGROUNDER PREPARED BY COL FOR THE UNESCO WORLD CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION, PARIS, JULY 2009
Authors (COL staff): K. Balasubramanian, Willie Clarke-Okah, John Daniel, Frances Ferreira, Asha Kanwar, Angela Kwan, John Lesperance, Joshua Mallet, Abdurrahman Umar and Paul West.
ICTs for Higher Education provides a comprehensive and current review of the roles that information and communications technologies (ICTs) can play in strengthening the three traditional strands that make up the mission of higher education institutions: research, service to the community and teaching. The publication outlines the need for institutional and national policies to support the use of ICTs in research. It examines the role ICTs can play in reinforcing the development role of higher education institutions in their communities, as well as the role of ICTs in improving quality, widening access and cutting costs in the teaching function. It highlights, with examples, current trends in the use of ICTs and the new dynamics that they are creating in higher education. After explaining the essential elements of ICTs (hardware, software, connectivity and the Internet), the review looks at the role of ICTs in relation to the four key operational functions of higher education institutions: research, community engagement, teaching and administration.
www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=306
COL IN THE COMMONWEALTH, 2006-2009 COUNTRY REPORTS
A companion document to COL’s Three-Year Plan for 2009-2012, this report reviews COL’s work and results over the past three years, country by country and by region. The compendium also outlines COL’s Pan-Commonwealth activities and facilities.
www.col.org/reporting
RESULTS-BASED MONITORING AND EVALUATION
AT THE COMMONWEALTH OF LEARNING
Glen M. Farrell
A resource for COL staff, consultants and partner organisations, this handbook outlines COL’s approach to and expectations for results-based monitoring and evaluation. Since adopting results-based management (RBM) six years ago, COL has worked to improve and embed monitoring and evaluation processes, which are an important part of RBM. While much progress has been made and many lessons have been learned, the application of results-based monitoring and evaluation is, by definition, a process of continuous improvement. This handbook is part of COL’s commitment to that end.
www.col.org/MEHandbook
QUALITY ASSURANCE TOOLKIT FOR DISTANCE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND PROGRAMMES
Kondapalli Rama, Andrea Hope and Uma Coomaraswamy, Editors
Produced and published jointly by COL, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Higher Education and UNESCO, this new quality assurance toolkit seeks to support higher education institutions as they strive to meet growing demand for higher education while sustaining a culture of continuous improvement. It provides important background information about quality assurance, performance indicators and best practice case studies from across the Commonwealth. The toolkit will help distance teaching institutions evaluate and improve their internal systems, policies, plans and programmes.
COL also offers the Quality Assurance in Teacher Education Toolkit. Published by Indian’s National Assessment and Accreditation Council in collaboration with COL, this publication includes Quality Indicators and case studies demonstrating best practices from across the Commonwealth. Freely available on COL’s website, the Toolkit can be used for internal assessment by teacher education institutions or external assessment by Ministries of Education or quality assurance agencies.
www.col.org/QAToolkit_HE
www.col.org/QAToolkit_TE
LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER: USING DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR COMMUNITY PEACEBUILDING
Rawwida Baksh and Tanyss Munro, Editors
As the number of violent conflicts around the world escalates, peace-building is an increasingly important priority – particularly at the community level, where attitudes are often formed and reinforced. This book brings together accounts of a range of community peace-building experiences that apply open and distance learning (ODL) approaches. The case studies offer insights into the challenges and successes of these interventions and how they can be built upon. They show that ODL can be an effective and efficient way to involve many of the people most affected by conflict to become part of its prevention, mitigation and resolution.
www.col.org/LiveTogether
DISCOURAGING DEGREE MILLS
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and UNESCO have published a joint Statement on Effective Practice to Discourage Degree Mills in Higher Education. COL’s President, Sir John Daniel, participated in the experts group that developed this statement. “Toward Effective Practice: Discouraging Degree Mills in Higher Education” is available through COL’s website.
www.col.org/DegreeMills
www.chea.org/DegreeMills
www.unesco.org/education/portal/hed-institutions
MORE ONLINE RESOURCES
COL maintains a list of resources in education and technology in education, including organisations, databases, online journals, email and news digests and portals, national consortia and professional development resources.
www.col.org/resources/OtherResources
INNOVATION GUIDE FOR NGOs
Developed with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Human Centered Design Toolkit helps non-governmental organisation (NGO) staff and volunteers understand people’s needs in new ways, find innovative solutions and deliver solutions with financial sustainability in mind. The free kit is divided into four sections that bolster listening skills, running workshops and implementing ideas and is specially designed for NGOs and social enterprises working with communities of need in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
www.ideo.com
ACADEMICINFO
AcademicInfo is an online education resource centre that provides extensive subject guides and distance learning information for prospective and current students and researchers. It currently features more than 25,000 resources and is updated daily.
www.AcademicInfo.net
DISTANCE AND BLENDED LEARNING IN ASIA
By Colin Latchem and Insung Jung
This book draws upon Asian research and theory and is the first to describe developments and issues in all sectors of Asian education and training, from Japan to Turkey and from Sri Lanka to Mongolia. Distance and Blended Learning in Asia is a unique and comprehensive overview of open and distance learning and information and communications technologies. It draws conclusions from the successes and failures, and recommends ways in which planning, management and practice may be developed for the world’s largest concentration of adult open and distance learners. Published by Routledge Education.
www.routledgeeducation.com/books/Distance-and-Blended-Learning-in-Asia-isbn9780415994101