HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF OPEN
AND DISTANCE LEARNING
PRESENTED BY
MOHD REHAN
MBA (HR, IB), CWG Hospitality Training
(IITTM), PGDG&C (A.M.U)
An Overview of Distance and
Open Learning
Distance education or distance learning, is a field of
education that focuses on teaching methods and technology
with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual
basis, to students who are not physically present in a
traditional educational setting such as a classroom. It has
been described as "a process to create and provide access to
learning when the source of information and the learners
are separated by time and distance, or both" Distance
education courses that require a physical on-site presence
for any reason (including taking examinations) have been
referred to as hybrid or blended courses of study.
History and Development of Open
and Distance Learning
Distance education dates to at least as early as 1728, when "an
advertisement in the Boston Gazette [named] 'Caleb Phillips, Teacher of the
new method of Short Hand" was seeking students for lessons to be sent
weekly.
Modern distance education initially relied on the development of
postal services in the 19th century and has been practised at least since
Isaac Pitman taught short hand in Great Britain via correspondence in the
1840s. The University of London claims to be the first university to offer
distance learning degrees, establishing its External Programme in 1858. In
the United States William Rainey Harper, first president of the
University of Chicago developed the concept of extended education,
whereby the research university had satellite colleges of education in the
wider community, and in 1892 he also encouraged the concept of
correspondence school courses to further promote education, an idea that
was put into practice by Columbia University. In Australia, the
University of Queensland established its Department of Correspondence
Studies in 1911.
More recently, Charles Wedemeyer of the
University of Wisconsin–Madison is considered significant in
promoting methods other than the postal service to deliver distance
education in America. From 1964 to 1968, the Carnegie Foundation
funded Wedemeyer's Articulated Instructional Media Project (AIM)
which brought in a variety of communications technologies aimed at
providing learning to an off-campus population. According to
Moore's recounting, AIM impressed the UK which imported these
ideas when establishing in 1969 The Open University, which initially
relied on radio and television broadcasts for much of its delivery.
Germany's Fern University in Hagen followed in 1974 and there are
now many similar institutions around the world, often with the
name Open University (in English or in the local language). All
"open universities" use distance education technologies as delivery
methodologies and some have grown to become 'mega-universities',
a term coined to denote institutions with more than 100,000 students.
The development of computers and the internet have made
distance learning distribution easier and faster and have given rise
to the 'virtual university, the entire educational offerings of which
are conducted online. In 1996 Jones International University was
launched and claims to be the first fully online university
accredited by a regional accrediting association in the US.
In 2006, the Sloan Consortium, a body which arguably has a
conflict of interest in the matter, reported that:
More than 96 percent of the very largest institutions (more than
15,000 total enrolments) have some online offerings, which is
more than double the rate observed for the smallest institutions.
And that almost 3.2 million US students were taking at least one
online course during the fall term of 2005.
HISTORY OF OPEN AND DISTANCE
LEARNING IN INDIA
The concept of distance learning was first initiated in
India through the Indira Gandhi National Open
University, popularly known as IGNOU. This was the
first distance learning school in India set up as early as
1985 by a parliamentary regulation. Currently there are
15 to 20 distance learning universities in India. The DEC
(Distance Education Council) has specified the norms of
setting up distance learning universities, which these
schools need to abide by. Distance learning schools are
also known as open universities because of their
flexibility to accommodate higher number of students at
any time without a limit on age or course choices.
Technologies used in open and
distance learning
Synchronous technology:- A mode of delivery where all participants
are "present" at the same time. It resembles traditional classroom
teaching methods despite the participants being located remotely. It
requires a timetable to be organized. Web conferencing and
videoconferencing are examples of synchronous technology, as are
direct-broadcast satellite, internet radio, live streaming, and telephone.
The asynchronous technology:- A mode of delivery where participants
access course materials on their own schedule and so is more flexible.
Students are not required to be together at the same time. Mail
correspondence, which is the oldest form of distance education, is an
asynchronous delivery technology and others include message board
forums, e-mail, video and audio recordings, print materials voicemail
and fax.
Major benefits of use: An institutional
perspective
Diana G. Oblinger, writing specifically of the US context,
has identified four broad reasons why educational
institutions might embrace distance learning:
Expanding access: distance education can assist in
meeting the demand for education and training demand
from the general populace and businesses, especially
because it offers the possibility of a flexibility to
accommodate the many time-constraints imposed by
personal responsibilities and commitments.
Alleviate capacity constraints: being mostly or entirely
conducted off-site, the system reduces the demand on
institutional infrastructure such as buildings.
Making money from emerging markets: she claims an
increasing acceptance from the population of the value of
lifelong learning, beyond the normal schooling age, and that
institutions can benefit financially from this by adopting
distance education. She sees sectors of education such as
courses for business executives as being "more lucrative than
traditional markets".
Catalyst for institutional transformation: the competitive modern
marketplace demands rapid change and innovation, for which she
believes distance education programs can act as a catalyst.
Current Prospects of Open and Distance Learning
Today, there are many private and public, non-profit
and for-profit institutions worldwide offering distance
education courses from the most basic instruction
through to the highest levels of degree and doctoral
programs. Levels of accreditation vary: some of the
institutions receive little outside oversight, and some
may be fraudulent diploma mills, although in many
jurisdictions, an institution may not use terms such as
"university" without accreditation and authorisation,
often overseen by the national government-
For example, theQuality Assurance Agency in the UK.
CONCLUSION
Distance learning schools have given hope to many
students from diverse backgrounds with diverse
interests. Education advocates in our country see
this as a new platform to increase interest among
students to complete their education and pursue
higher degrees and diplomas. This also would build
up the confidence of students who may be
introverted by nature or who may feel especially
susceptible to peer pressure. Distance learning
helps defuse high-pressure competition in class.
THANKS
