Open Learning

Tacluyan, Kris Ann

Definition:
Itisaninnovativemovementineducation
thatemergedinthe1970sandevolved
intofieldsofpracticeandstudy.
Thetermrefersgenerallytoactivitiesthat
eitherenhancelearningopportunities
withinformaleducationsystemsor
broadenlearningopportunitiesbeyond
formaleducationsystems

Openlearning
Itisanumbrellatermforanyschemeof
educationortrainingthatseeks
systematicallytoremovebarriersto
learning,whethertheyareconcernedwith
age,time,placeorspace.

Open Learning
The educational philosophy of open learning emphasizes
giving learners choices about:

medium or media, whether print, on-line, television

or video;
place of study, whether at home, in the workplace or
on campus;
pace of study, whether closely paced or
unstructured;
support mechanisms, whether tutors on demand,
audio conferences or computer-assisted learning;
and
entry and exit points.

Teaching-Learning Scenario

Sametime

Differenttime

Sameplace

Classroomteaching,
face-to-facetutorials
andseminars,
workshopsand
residentialschools

Learningresource
centres,which
learnersvisitattheir
leisure.

Different
place

Audioconferencesand
videoconferences;
televisionwithonewayvideo,two-way
audio;radiowith
listenerresponse
capability;and
telephonetutorials.

Homestudy,
computer
conferencing,tutorial
supportbye-mail
andfax
communication.

History
BostonGazette,March20,1728:
AdvertisementforShorthandcourse
Popularlyknown,1840:SirIsaac
Pitman'sShorthandcourse
Firstdistanceteachinguniversity,
UniversityofSouthAfricain15Feb1946:
FirstOpenUniversity,1969:UKOU

Advantages
Overcoming physical distance
Solving time and scheduling problems
Expanding the limited number of space available
Democratizing education
Bringing quality education to the doorstep of millions
Dealing with cultural, religious and political
considerations
Cost-effective education suitable to developing nations
Provides second chance to those who miss education
Enables lifelong learning

Limitations?
Attitudinal bias
Believed as second rate
Quality is questioned all the time
Difficult to start takes lot of planning time
Requires trained, committed human resources

Why Open Learning?

Access and reach
Equity and Gender
Quality and effectiveness
Relevance and lifelong learning
Globalization and Technology
Cost and Efficiency

Access and Reach

880 millions illiterate population
Only 668 millions enrolment in Primary schools
By 2015 about 100 million school aged children would
not be in school
School enrolment rate have to be increased up to 10% for
many countries to meet the goals of Education for All by 2015
Education is a basic human right, and how are we
going to achieve the gigantic task

Equity and Gender

Equity refers to the fairness in distribution of educational
resources
Equitable access to education for people in rural, hilly,
and remote islands
Equity in gender
64% of the total illiterate population is female; in China female
illiteracy is more than 70%
Female enrolment in all stages of education is less than
50%

Quality and Effectiveness

Not just access, people need access to quality education
World average for teachers is just 16 for 1000 population; in
developing countries it is more less
Effect of HIV/AIDS on supply of education services: In Zambia
the mortality rate amongst teachers because of HIV/AIDS was
more than the general adult population
Technology and student-centred design has a strong
role to play in improving quality

Relevance and Lifelong

Learning
Societal change from labour intensive work to knowledge
intensive work
Constant change and advancement in technology
Need to teach the 7Cs:
Critical thinking
Creativity

Collaboration
Cross-cultural understanding
Communication
Computing
Career development

Globalization and Technology

Globalization refers to the package of economic reforms
including liberalization, privatization and decentralization
Technology is the mover in the age of globalization,
especially the Internet, and its WWW
Education as a commodity and trans-boarder flow of
knowledge
Increasing digital divide: only 4.8 persons per thousand online

Cost and Efficiency

Governments are by far the largest funding bodies in
education
The public expenditure in education varies between 2-6% of
GNP in many countries; world average is just 4.8% of GNP
In spite of commitment, Governments are not in a position to
invest more as there are other important areas like health,
environment, etc.
Private participation required to increase efficiency;
Governments can focus more on primary education

IssuesandChallenges

Mandatevsperformance
Qualityofteachingandlearning
Dropoutsandcost-effectiveness
Facultyworkload
ResearchonODLteachingandlearning
practices
Flexibilityvsprofessionaldemands
Incorporatingtechnologymediated
synchronouslearning
VirtualizationandemergenceofCyber
universities