Open and Distance Learning (ODL)
Open learning describes policies and practices that permit entry to learning with no barriers or minimal barriers of age, gender or time while recognising prior learning. Distance education is the delivery of learning or training to learners who are separated, mostly by time and space, from those who are teaching and training. Conceptually distinct, yet complementary, these two phenomena come together in the term open and distance learning. (COL, 2009)
ODL provides flexible learning opportunities and has been key to enabling more people to overcome barriers to access education for reasons of age, gender or physical remoteness. Open approaches can also help to scale initiatives so that curricula, teaching materials and other learning content can be freely accessed and adapted to other contexts.
Distance learning is best known in formal contexts; the successor to correspondence education, it generally leads to qualifications from colleges and universities and, more recently, secondary schools. Distance education approaches have been important in reaching adult populations with other commitments – full time jobs, families and other responsibilities where physical and time separation are mediated by some form of technology.
Various media may be used to teach learners, including printed texts, radio or other audio formats, television or other video formats, the Internet, mobile devices or Web 2.0 technologies. Historically, distance education materials tend to have been text-based. Increasing use is now being made of online learning, including web-based learning management systems, email, chat rooms and other computer-based tools to support learners.
Non-formal ODL
Learning can be loosely described as the acquisition of new knowledge, skills and attitudes, and is informed by feedback from the learner in order to ensure learning is taking place and to facilitate deeper understanding of concepts.
While ODL is one of the fastest growing areas of formal education, it is also gaining traction in expanding opportunities for professional training and non-formal education, particularly in relation to community development and the promotion of “innovation and opportunities for lifelong learning”; it is still in its early stages in nonformal education settings but the potential for growth and innovation in this area is considerable (Khvilon et al., 2002).
ODL for community development
Community development initiatives through ODL using localised content can be very powerful, whether the focus is to improve health conditions or to promote new innovations, e.g. in agricultural practice. For example, ODL can play an important role in reaching marginalised groups with highly contextualised approaches and facilitating more participatory approaches to development education.
In designing programmes in ways that meaningfully and positively engage learners, it is useful for learning programmes to have a practical orientation and work with the whole group using traditional social tools such as discussion, storytelling and drama, rather than adopting a more conventional individual learner approach. In this way, learners can more easily acquire skills and knowledge while being supported by peers and can, as a group, directly apply concepts learned to difficult situations in their community.
From the simple to the high end, it is important to use technology that is readily available, economical and accessible to the learners. While many communities in developing areas of the world lack access to the internet, most communities have access to radio or other audio media (e.g., tape recorders), which can be used to raise awareness of issues and engage many in discussion across communities, helping to transform community situations. In many environments the use of mobile telephones is also growing quickly. Innovative use is being made of mobile devices both for sharing learning content, albeit often in small (60 second) packages, and for interaction and learner support.
A blended ODL approach – one that combines the use of audio or audio-visual materials, print and face-to-face training – is often employed effectively for non-formal development education. Programmes may be designed to include some text and images, video, audio and, in some situations, access to a computer to view a disc or get online. For example, Wan Smolbag, a theatre group in Vanuatu, develops, performs, records and distributes CDs and DVDs with text materials to schools and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) about conflict resolution, land rights and use, gender issues, domestic violence, electoral rights and other issues. In addition to being contextualised so that it reflects the local reality, material becomes more meaningful even on the basis of learners hearing voices in their own dialect and seeing familiar faces.
Participation and engagement
Engaging learners is critical to the success of ODL, particularly as it applies to non-formal learning and community development. Participatory community approaches to education, including the promotion of voice and empowerment and interactivity among learners and teachers, lend themselves particularly well to addressing localised development challenges where building the capacity of learners can help lead to community and societal transformation.
One major risk for non-formal education approaches is the neglect of the learning part of ODL. Using technology to transmit messages or push information does not promote learning. There are many examples of programming, intended to be educational, that does not actually focus on the learner and where there is therefore probably little or no real learning taking place.
Engaging learners is difficult, particularly when they are at a distance from one another or tutors, yet the more the learner actively participates and interacts in the learning process, the more effective the learning. A good ODL learning for development programme should include interactive formats in its design and real opportunities for the learner to discuss and debate issues and concepts with others. Interaction allows learners to grasp new perceptions and viewpoints more easily – it facilitates reflection on concepts and ideas introduced based on learner’s own experiences and existing knowledge. Deeper reflection can be facilitated through posing to the learner “challenging questions, invitations to explain and argue for or against propositions, discuss and criticize, summarize arguments and propose ideas and actions” (Holmberg, 2005). This approach can provide a feedback loop to further inform content creation.
Adapted from Munro, T. & Pringle, I. (2009) “Using Open and Distance Learning for Community Development”. In Baksh, R. & Munro, T. (Eds.), Learning to Live Together: Using Distance Education for Community Peacebuilding (pp. 13-22). Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning
References
Holmberg, B. (2005) . The Evolution, Principles and Practices of Distance Education. Oldenburg, Germany: Biblioteks- und informationssystem der Universität Oldenburg.
Khvilon, E., Patru, M., Moore, M.M., Tait, A., et al. (2002). Open and Distance Learning: Trends, Policy and Strategy Considerations. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).