What is Open and Distance Learning (ODL)? Open and Distance Learning what is it?

? Open learning and distance education refers to approaches to learning that focus on freeing learners from constraints of time and place while offering flexible learning opportunities. For many students, open and distance learning (ODL) is a way of combining work and family responsibilities with educational opportunities. Distance education (sometimes referred to as distributed learning or distance learning) is any educational process in which all or most of the teaching is conducted by someone geographically removed from the learner, with all or most of the communication between teachers and learners being conducted through electronic or print mediums. The open nature of distance learning might be formally institutionalized in such policies as open admissions, and freedom of selection of what, when and where to learn. The openness of distance learning is also seen in relatively flexible organizational structures, delivery and communication patterns as well as the use of various technologies to support learning. Who offers ODL ? How is ODL delivered? What is the value of a qualification earned by ODL? Who offers ODL ? ODL at the tertiary level is offered by single-mode institutions, an increasing number of traditional universities, dual-mode institutions, consortia of universities and virtual universities. In addition, recent years have seen the increasing emergence of new non-traditional providers of higher education such as private companies. Single-mode institutions are those in which distance education is the sole mission to which teachers and administrative staff are exclusively dedicated. Course

development, instruction, evaluation and other educational processes are tailored to the distance learner. In dual-mode institutions there may be an administrative staff whose sole responsibilities are distance education, but usually it is the teachers of the parent body who provide the teaching. There is some allowance for distance teaching methods in course design, instruction and evaluation and teachers may have some special training. Distance learning consortia consist of two or more distance learning institutions who share either in the design or delivery of programmes, or both. A virtual university has no campus and no faculty of its own; instead a virtual university makes available programmes and courses offered by other universities and colleges using technologies. Increasingly, non-traditional providers including private, profit-oriented new companies are entering the global market, selling educational services online, especially to adult learners in the labour force. Some traditional education institutions are responding to such competition by establishing their own for-profit affiliates. How is ODL delivered? ODL is delivered using a variety of print and electronic systems either through synchronous communication (learning in which all parties participate at the same time) or through asynchronous communication (learning in which parties participate at different times). The main systems are mediated by correspondence, audiovisual means (television and radio), multimedia (audio and text files), and the Internet. - Correspondence delivery centres around a printed study guide, often accompanied by audio and video components such as records and slides. Interaction is by letters and other written or printed documents sent through postal systems.

- Educational television and radio delivery uses various delivery technologies terrestrial, satellite and cable television and radio to deliver live or recorded lectures to both individual home-based learners and groups of learners in remote classrooms where face-to-face support might be provided. Some systems offer limited audio or video conferencing links back to the lecturer or a moderator at a central point. - Multimedia delivery includes text, audio, video and computer-based materials and usually has face-to-face learner support delivered to both individuals and groups. this approach, instruction is no longer an individuals work, but the work of teams of specialists, media specialists, information specialists, instructional design specialists and learning specialists. Programmes are prepared for distribution to large numbers of learners usually located across a large geographical area. - Internet-based systems refer to those in which multimedia (text, audio, video and computer-based) materials in electronic format are delivered to individuals through computers along with access to databases and electronic libraries. These systems enable teacher-student and student-student one-to-one, one-tomany and many-to-many interactions synchronously or asynchronously through email, computer conferences, bulletin boards, etc. What is the value of a qualification earned by ODL? ODL poses new challenges to learners in assessing the value of their qualifications to either continue their studies or to find employment. Before registering in an ODL course, it is important to ask key questions concerning the learning experience, and the status of the institution. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET) have each developed resources aimed at assisting learners to evaluate the learning experience offered by higher education providers. These resources are developed for students intending to continue their studies in United States higher education institutions, but are of interest to all students as they address key issues.

CHEA provides a list of questions concerning the external review, accreditation status as well as the acceptance of credits and courses by (future) employers. These questions, reproduced in this section with the kind permission of CHEA as well as further electronic and print resources are also available on the CHEA site. WCET has produced a Distance Education Consumers Guide for Students, to assist students in better understanding the learning experience offered. Other resources including Principles of Good Practice for Electronically Offered Academic Degree and Certificate Programs, are available on the WCET site.