TEACHER EDUCATION THROUGH OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING
Patrick Alan Danaher and Abdurrahman Umar, Editors
The global need for teacher education is greater now than ever before. Half of the world’s countries will have to expand their stock of teachers significantly – some by tens of thousands – if the Dakar Framework for Action goal of Universal Primary Education is to be met by 2015. It is widely accepted that conventional face-to-face teacher training cannot meet this huge demand for new teachers and that open and distance learning (ODL) offers the potential of large-scale educational provision.
The newest book in COL’s Perspectives on Distance Education series explores how ODL can be applied to help meet current and projected shortfalls in teacher supply and teacher quality. The contributors to the 13 chapters in this book are nationally and internationally renowned scholars in teacher education and ODL. This is an authoritative, contemporary and thoughtful discussion of the promise and ongoing challenges of mobilising the benefits of teacher education through ODL.
www.col.org/PSTeacherEd
TEACHER EDUCATION: THE ROLE OF OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING
By Hilary Perraton
Participants at a meeting of partner agencies working in the field of teacher education in Vancouver, Canada in July noted a widespread lack of awareness within Ministries of Education about alternative approaches to teacher education, particularly the role of open and distance learning (ODL). The partners agreed to commission a review of the role of ODL in teacher education worldwide, as an important step in building understanding about the potential of these alternative methods.
Dr. Hilary Perraton, one of COL’s Honorary Fellows and an internationally recognised expert in the field, conducted the review. Presented by COL at UNESCO’s 2010 World Teachers’ Day on 5 October, Dr. Perraton’s report provides a relevant and timely assessment of how ODL is used to meet the challenge of creating “more and better teachers”.
www.col.org/TeacherEd_RoleODL
SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF MOBILE PHONES ON INDIAN AGRICULTURE
By Surabhi Mittal, Sanjay Gandhi and Gaurav Tripathi
Published by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
The rapid growth of mobile telephony and the recent introduction of mobile-enabled information services offer the potential to bridge the gap between the availability and delivery of agricultural inputs and agricultural infrastructure in India. This timely paper explores important aspects of this topic including information most valued by farmers, the impact of mobile phones on agriculture and factors impeding the full productivity of mobile phones in the agricultural sector.
This study, the first in India to look at the impact of mobile phones on the crop sector and, in particular, on small farmers, finds that mobile phones can act as a catalyst to rejuvenate the collapsing extension services in the country. But while there is evidence that mobiles are being used in ways that contribute to productivity enhancement, significant improvements in supporting infrastructure and capacity building among farmers are required.
www.esocialsciences.com/data/articles/Document1332010260.994549.pdf
DISTANCE EDUCATION: THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Selected speeches and website blogs of Sir John Daniel and colleagues
2009-2010
This collection of six speeches and nine blog postings from 2009-2010 by COL President Sir John Daniel and colleagues provides insight and opinion on issues ranging from combating degree mills and resistance to distance education to challenges of success and failure in the campaign for Universal Primary Education.
www.col.org/speeches
QUALITY ASSURANCE TOOLKIT FOR OPEN SCHOOLS
Created collaboratively by open schooling practitioners in several regions of the Commonwealth, this resource will help open schools address the challenge of quality assurance. Comprised of theoretical aspects of quality assurance, case studies and practical advice about creating and maintaining a quality culture, this toolkit is adaptable to open schools in different contexts.
www.col.org/QAToolkit_OS
ICT4E IN INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA
Information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly being used to deliver on promises of universal education. Despite a growing number of ICT for education (ICT4E) initiatives in South Asia, there was, until now, no up-to-date and comprehensive information about the sector. To fill this gap, infoDev commissioned a survey of ICT4E in India and South Asia. The result includes country-level studies, sub-national reports for five Indian states, two detailed essays on distance education and teacher training in Pakistan, and five thematic essays on cross-cutting issues.
Published by infoDev, June 2010
www.infodev.org/en/Publication.889.html