2,850 research outputs found
Open and Distance Learning (ODL) as a Viable Provider of Quality Higher Education: The Case of Open University Malaysia (OUM)
With today’s highly intense international competition, countries, particularly those in the
developing world, have no choice but to turn to education to enhance the productive capability of their
human capital in order to remain competitive and sustainable. With the current global economic crisis,
this task has become even more urgent and pertinent. In this regard, open and distance learning (ODL)
has gained increasing acceptance as a provider of quality education to the masses in these countries.
This paper shares the experience of Open University Malaysia (OUM) as the first and foremost ODL
University in Malaysia in providing quality education to its learners. With its motto, “University for
All”, OUM utilises the blended mode of delivery, leveraging significantly on the latest appropriate
technology, to effectively contribute towards increasing access to higher education. The paper also
outlines OUM’s unique challenges as an ODL higher education institution (HEI) as well as measures
that had been undertaken to address them through appropriate policies, processes and practices. The
experience of OUM provides evidence to reaffirm the belief that an ODL HEI is indeed a viable
provider of quality higher education for all. (Author's abstract
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Quality Assessment for E-learning: a Benchmarking Approach (Third edition)
The primary purpose of this manual is to provide a set of benchmarks, quality criteria and notes for guidance against which e-learning programmes and their support systems may be judged. The manual should therefore be seen primarily as a reference tool for the assessment or review of e-learning programmes and the systems which support them.
However, the manual should also prove to be useful to staff in institutions concerned with the design, development, teaching, assessment and support of e-learning programmes. It is hoped that course developers, teachers and other stakeholders will see the manual as a useful development and/or improvement tool for incorporation in their own institutional systems of monitoring, evaluation and enhancement
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Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences
Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education.
This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience
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Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform.
With the rise in access to mobile multimedia devices, educational institutions have exploited the iTunes U platform as an additional channel to provide free educational resources with the aim of profile-raising and breaking down barriers to education. For those prepared to invest in content preparation, it is possible to produce interactive, portable material that can be made available globally. Commentators have questioned both the financial implications for platform-specific content production, and the availability of devices for learners to access it (Osborne, 2012).
The Open University (OU) makes its free educational resources available on iTunes U and via its web-based open educational resources (OER) platform, OpenLearn. The OU’s OER on iTunes U reached the 60 million download mark in 2013; its OpenLearn platform boasts 27 million unique visitors since 2006. This paper reports the results of a large-scale study of users of the OU’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. A survey of several thousand users revealed key differences in demographics between those accessing OER via the web and via iTunes U. In addition, the data allowed comparison between three groups: formal learners, informal learners and educators.
The study raises questions about whether university-provided OER meet the needs of users and makes recommendations for how content can be modified to suit their needs. As the publishing of OER becomes core to business, we reflect on reasons why understanding users’ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutions’ social mission
Strategies for embedding eLearning in traditional universities: drivers and barriers
This paper addresses the question: how can elearning be embedded in traditional universities so that it contributes to the transformation of the university? The paper examines elearning strategies in higher education, locating the institutional context within the broader framework of national and international policy drivers which link elearning with the achievement of strategic goals such as widening access to lifelong learning, and upskilling for the knowledge and information society. The focus will be on traditional universities i.e. universities whose main form of teaching is on-campus and face-to-face, rather than on open and distance teaching universities, which face different strategic issues in implementing elearning.
Reports on the adoption of elearning in traditional universities indicate extensive use of elearning to improve the quality of learning for on-campus students, but this has not yet translated into a significant increase in opportunities for lifelong learners in the workforce and those unable to attend on-campus. One vision of the future of universities is that ‘Virtualisation and remote working technologies will enable us to study at any university in the world, from home’. However, this paper will point out that realisation of this vision of ubiquitous and lifelong access to higher education requires that a fully articulated elearning strategy aims to have a ‘transformative’ rather than just a ‘sustaining’ effect on teaching functions carried out in traditional universities. In order words, rather than just facilitating universities to improve their teaching, elearning should transform how universities currently teach. However, to achieve this transformation, universities will have to introduce strategies and policies which implement flexible academic frameworks, innovative pedagogical approaches, new forms of assessments, cross-institutional accreditation and credit transfer agreements, institutional collaboration in development and delivery, and, most crucially, commitment to equivalence of access for students on and off-campus.
The insights in this paper are drawn from an action research case study involving both qualitative and quantitative approaches, utilising interviews, surveys and focus groups with stakeholders, in addition to comparative research on international best practice. The paper will review the drivers and rationales at international, national and institutional level which are leading to the development of elearning strategies, before outlining the outcomes of a case study of elearning strategy development in a traditional Irish university. This study examined the drivers and barriers which increase or decrease motivation to engage in elearning, and provides some insights into the challenges of embedding elearning in higher education. While recognising the desirability of reaching out to new students and engaging in innovative pedagogical approaches, many academic staff continue to prefer traditional lectures, and are sceptical about the potential for student learning in online settings. Extrinsic factors in terms of lack of time and support serve to decrease motivation and there are also fears of loss of academic control to central administration.
The paper concludes with some observations on how university elearning strategies must address staff concerns through capacity building, awareness raising and the establishment of effective support structures for embedding elearning
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