The Open Learning, Distance Education and e-Learning System: An Introduction | Dr. Primo Garcia

Summary

This video script delves into the structure and management of open and distance e-learning (ODL) systems in universities. It outlines the key subsystems: course design and development, course delivery, instruction, student support, and management. The script emphasizes the importance of strategic planning, technology integration, and quality assurance to ensure a sustainable and effective ODL experience for geographically dispersed learners.

Takeaways

• 🏫 Open and Distance e-Learning (ODL) systems are structured differently from traditional universities due to the geographical and temporal separation of learners and teachers.
• 🌐 ODL can be implemented through various organizational structures such as single mode institutions, dual mode, consortia, or individual teachers.
• 📚 The course design subsystem involves learner analysis, task analysis, lesson structuring, and designing assessments to align with learning outcomes.
• 🛠️ Course materials can be developed using an 'unbundled' approach, where specialists contribute to different aspects of material development, or a 'bundled' approach, where a single academic editor oversees the process.
• 📘 Course materials can be self-contained, similar to textbooks, or come in the form of course packages with study guides and additional resources.
• 🌐 Delivery systems for ODL courses depend on the target learners, cost, technology availability, and the institution's mission and vision, and can include print, online, or a learning management system (LMS).
• 👨‍🏫 The role of teachers in ODL shifts from content providers to facilitators of learning, requiring skills in instructional design, technology use, and student motivation.
• 👥 Large enrollments in ODL courses may necessitate the unbundling of teaching tasks, with the hiring of tutors or markers to assist with instruction.
• 💼 Student support services are crucial in ODL and can include tutoring, counseling, library services, tech support, and administrative assistance.
• 🔍 Management's role in ODL involves needs assessment, resource allocation, personnel recruitment and training, monitoring and evaluation, and establishing a quality assurance system.

Q & A

What is an open and distance e-learning (ODEL) system?

An ODEL system refers to an educational setup where learning occurs outside a traditional classroom setting, often due to geographical or time separation between learners and teachers. It includes unique practices and subsystems tailored to facilitate learning at a distance.

How does the organizational structure of ODEL differ from a conventional university?

While ODEL systems are not wildly different from conventional universities, they have unique subsystems and practices due to the time and geographical differences between learners and teachers. This often leads to a more flexible and technology-enhanced approach to education.

What are the different organizational structures through which ODEL can be implemented?

ODEL can be implemented through single mode institutions, dual mode institutions, consortia, and individual teachers. Single mode focuses solely on ODEL, dual mode offers a mix of traditional and ODEL, consortia involve multiple universities sharing resources, and individual teachers may integrate online learning into their courses.

What are the key subsystems that make up the ODEL system?

The ODEL system consists of the course design subsystem, course delivery subsystem, instruction subsystem, student support subsystem, and management subsystem. Each plays a crucial role in the strategic management and delivery of distance education.

What is involved in the course design and development subsystem?

The course design and development subsystem includes learner analysis, task analysis, lesson structuring, and designing assessments. It also involves determining how to organize the development of learning materials, which can be done through an unbundled or bundled approach.

How do self-contained course materials differ from course packages?

Self-contained course materials are akin to textbooks with lessons contained in one material, while course packages are collections of readily accessible learning resources assembled by the course author with a study guide for learners.

What are the various delivery systems available for ODEL courses?

Delivery systems for ODEL courses include print materials, online platforms, and learning management systems (LMS). The choice of system depends on target learners, cost, technology availability, and the institution's mission and vision.

What is the role of a teacher in the ODEL system?

In the ODEL system, teachers act as facilitators of learning rather than mere content providers. They prepare and present learning materials, advise students, monitor progress, assess outcomes, provide feedback, and manage the learning environment.

How can large class sizes be managed in the ODEL system?

Large class sizes in ODEL can be managed by unbundling the teaching tasks, similar to course development, where tutors or test markers are hired to assist teachers. Institutions must decide on the teaching roles, staffing, and compensation for large enrollments.

What are the essential student support services in ODEL?

Essential student support services in ODEL include tutoring, counseling, library services, tech support, administrative assistance, and the organization of study or learning centers. These services ensure a successful learning experience at a distance.

What strategies can be used to ensure the financial viability of ODEL programs?

Strategies for ensuring financial viability include pre-testing materials, using electronic formats for easier revision, leveraging open educational resources, sharing costs with publishers or authors, and using a mix of technologies to balance equipment and labor costs.

Why is quality assurance important in ODEL, and what are some common areas of focus?

Quality assurance is crucial in ODEL to maintain stakeholder trust and ensure program effectiveness. Common areas of focus include course design, instructional materials, student support services, and the overall learning experience.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ Open and Distance E-Learning Systems

This paragraph introduces the concept of open and distance e-learning (Odell) systems in universities, highlighting the need for educational leaders to understand this system. It contrasts Odell with traditional universities, emphasizing the unique practices and subsystems that arise due to the geographical and temporal separation between learners and teachers. The video aims to explain the components of the Odell system and their interrelations for strategic management. It outlines different organizational structures for implementing Odell, such as single mode, dual mode, consortia, and individual teachers. The paragraph then delves into the subsystems that make up the Odell system at the institutional level: course design and development, course delivery, instruction, student support, and management. The focus is on the course design and development subsystem, which includes learner analysis, task analysis, lesson structuring, and designing assessments. It discusses different approaches to organizing course material development, such as the unbundled and bundled methods, and the creation of self-contained or course-package materials.

05:00

🌐 Course Delivery and Instruction in Odell

This paragraph discusses the course delivery subsystem in Odell, which involves getting course materials to geographically dispersed or online learners. It outlines various delivery systems available to educational institutions, such as print and online, with the latter often using a Learning Management System (LMS) as a virtual classroom. The role of teachers in Odell is that of facilitators, preparing and presenting learning materials, advising students, monitoring progress, assessing outcomes, providing feedback, and managing the online learning environment. The paragraph also touches on the unbundling of teaching tasks, such as hiring tutors or testers to assist teachers. It emphasizes the need for institutions to consider the scale of student enrollments, teaching roles, and compensation for teaching staff. Additionally, it stresses the importance of providing accessible student support services, such as tutoring, counseling, library services, and technical support, to ensure a successful learning experience at a distance.

10:01

🛠️ Management and Quality Assurance in Odell

The final paragraph focuses on the management subsystem in Odell, which integrates all other subsystems. It discusses the role of management in needs assessment, resource allocation, personnel recruitment and training, monitoring and evaluation, and policymaking. The paragraph highlights the importance of financial viability and cost management in implementing Odell, suggesting strategies such as pre-testing materials, using electronic formats, and leveraging open educational resources. It also addresses the need for staff development activities to equip academic and student support staff with the necessary skills for Odell. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of quality assurance in Odell, suggesting areas for quality assurance and the establishment of a continuous improvement process that includes planning, design, production, delivery, evaluation, and maintenance.

Keywords

💡Odell (Open and Distance E-Learning)

Odell refers to an education system where learning occurs remotely, facilitated by technology, often without the need for physical presence in a traditional classroom. In the video, Odell is compared to conventional educational systems but noted for its unique practices due to the separation between learners and teachers, making it crucial to strategically manage this system.

💡Single Mode Institutions

These are educational institutions that offer programs exclusively through distance education or e-learning methods. Open and virtual universities are examples, as highlighted in the video, where Odell is the sole mode of instruction.

💡Dual Mode Institutions

Dual mode institutions offer both face-to-face and online (Odell) modes of education, allowing students to choose their preferred delivery method. The video discusses how many conventional universities have adopted this model, blending traditional and digital learning.

💡Course Design and Development Subsystem

This subsystem involves tasks such as analyzing learners' needs, structuring lessons, and designing assessments. It's central to creating educational materials in the Odell system. The video emphasizes how this system ensures course content is accessible and engaging for remote learners.

💡Learning Management System (LMS)

An LMS is a platform used to deliver, track, and manage online courses. It functions as a virtual classroom for online education. In the video, LMS tools are mentioned as essential for institutions offering Odell courses, providing a cohesive environment for teachers and learners.

💡Unbundled Approach

This approach to course development divides the tasks among multiple specialists such as course authors, content reviewers, and multimedia specialists. The video contrasts this with the bundled approach, explaining how the unbundled method is often used in institutions to optimize course development in Odell.

💡Student Support Subsystem

This subsystem ensures students receive necessary support in distance education, such as tutoring, tech support, and library access. The video stresses the importance of student support to maintain quality learning experiences in Odell, where students are often geographically dispersed.

💡Course Delivery Subsystem

This subsystem focuses on the various methods used to deliver educational content to learners. The video discusses how delivery systems can vary based on institutional goals and resources, from printed materials to fully online courses, all requiring different levels of infrastructure and technology.

💡Quality Assurance

Quality assurance refers to the continuous process of ensuring that the educational content, delivery, and support services meet certain standards. The video highlights the need for educational institutions to implement, monitor, and evaluate QA systems to maintain the effectiveness of Odell programs.

💡Technology Mix

Technology mix refers to the different technologies used to deliver courses and manage learning experiences. In the video, it is mentioned as a factor institutions need to consider based on cost, student needs, and available resources to optimize the Odell system.

Highlights

Universities are increasingly offering academic programs through distance education or technology-enhanced learning.

The open and distance e-learning (ODL) system has unique practices and subsystems due to time and geographical differences.

ODL can be implemented through single mode, dual mode, consortia, or individual teacher initiatives.

The ODL system at the institutional level includes course design, delivery, instruction, student support, and management subsystems.

Course design involves learner analysis, task analysis, lesson structuring, and designing assessments.

Course materials can be self-contained or in the form of course packages with study guides.

Delivery systems for ODL courses depend on target learners, cost, technology availability, and institutional mission.

Learning management systems (LMS) are commonly used for online course delivery.

ODL teachers act as facilitators of learning, with roles including presenting materials, advising students, and assessing outcomes.

In large ODL classes, teaching tasks can be unbundled, with tutors or test administrators assisting teachers.

Student support services in ODL are crucial and include tutoring, counseling, library services, and tech support.

Management's role in ODL focuses on needs assessment, resource allocation, personnel training, monitoring, and policymaking.

Financial viability of ODL programs is ensured through strategies like pre-testing materials and using open educational resources.

Staff development activities are essential for the success of ODL programs.

Quality assurance in ODL involves establishing, implementing, and evaluating a system to maintain quality.

ODL is a continuous process of improvement, starting with planning and going through design, production, delivery, evaluation, and maintenance.

Transcripts

[Music]

in recent years more and more

universities are planning to offer

academic programs either through

distance education or technology

enhanced learning whether the programs

are offered fully online or in Blended

mode leaders of educational institutions

need to be aware of what constitutes the

open and distance e-learning system the

odal system is not wildly different from

the organizational system of a

conventional University however the time

and geographical difference between

Learners and teachers in Odell has led

to a unique set of practices and

subsystems in this video we shall

introduce you to the parts that make up

the Odell system and how these are

related to one another that way you'll

have a better idea of what it is that

you need to strategically manage before

we proceed with the Odell system allow

me to mention that Odell can be

implemented through different

organizational structures first there

are the single mode institutions whose

programs are offered solely through

Odell open and virtual universities are

a good example of this second there is a

dual mode in which academic programs are

offered in phase to face and odal modes

students have the option to choose

between the two tracks of delivery most

conventional universities that are

engaged in online learning can be

classified under this structure there is

also the consortia where different

universities pull the resources and

offer academic programs through Odell

the teachers are drawn from the

participating universities while cost

and income sharing are agreed upon by

the member universities

at the most basic level would be the

individual teachers this would include

the teachers who upon their own

initiative have introduced aspects of

online learning in their own courses for

this video we shall focus more on the

Odell system at the institutional or at

the University or college-wide level the

odel system is composed of the following

parts or subsystem the course design

subsystem the course delivery subsystem

the instruction subsystem

the student support subsystem and the

management subsystem we shall touch on

these different subsystems one by one

let's start with the course design and

development subsystem course design and

development consists of the following

task learner

analysis understanding the profile of

the target Learners in terms of their

previous educational background work

experience cultural background digital

skills learning styles and access to

technology task analysis involves

identifying the task of the course

course in terms of learning outcomes

lesson structuring involves a chunking

of the course topics in smaller bites so

distance Learners can easily digest the

lessons at a reasonable Pace designing

assessment requires the development of

assessment tools that correspond to the

learning outcomes and also authentic to

the experience of the target Learners as

an organization a university or college

needs to determine how it wants to

organize the development of its learning

materials one common approach is the

unbundled method in this approach the

different tasks involved in developing

the course material is handled by

different persons each of whom has been

specifically trained in doing his or her

assigned task in the example shown on

the screen the course author who is the

subject matters expert and actually

prepares The Learning Materials is

assisted by a Content reviewer

instructional designer a multimedia

specialist and a language editor in the

bundled approach an academic editor who

is well versed in instructional design

supervises the development work of

several course authors the course

authors perform much of the course

development task the design of the

courses is followed by the development

of the actual Learning Materials course

materials can either be self-contained

or come in the form of course packages

with study guides self-contained course

materials are akin to textbooks the

lessons are contained in one material

written in a reader friendly manner by

the course author it usually contains

some self- assessment activities to help

the Learners better understand the

content in the course package the course

author carefully chooses readily

accessible learning resources either in

print or electronic formats and

assembles them in a fashion that can be

easily appreciated by the Learners to

help the Learners better understand the

learning resources in the light of the

target learning outcomes the teacher

prepares a study guide which provides a

learner some specific guidelines on what

resources to read or View how the

resources are connected to each other

what lessons need to be highlighted just

like in the self-contained materials

self assessment questions or activities

may also be embedded in the study guide

once the course materials have been

developed it needs to be delivered to

the students who in Odell are either

geographically dispersed or spend part

of their classes online and not in the

classroom there are different Delivery

Systems available to educational

institutions as shown on the screen the

delivery system shall depend on your

target Learners cost and availability of

technology and organizational mission

and vision each type of delivery system

requires different distribution

infrastructure courses delivered

primarily in print will require

institution to consider the printing of

materials Courier or Postal Services

warehousing and inventory management of

the print materials courses delivered

online need to maintain internet

connectivity for all its academic and

support staff most educational

institutions that deliver their courses

online make use of a learning management

system or LMS to act as their virtual

classroom you can see on the screen the

different LMS available both open and

non-open license for some institutions

who are either starting out and may not

have the resources to set up and

maintain an LMS they may opt to use

cloud-based tools that are readily

available on the web whether the course

is delivered face Toof face or online

the teacher plays an important role in

the learning process since the content

is already made available in Odell

through the learning materials the role

of an odal teacher is more of a

facilitator of learning the role of a de

teacher are to prepare and present

learning materials and tasks using

appropriate design advise students and

monitor learner progress assess learning

outcomes provide feedback to students to

facilitate learning build student

motivation assist students on

technological diffic ulties establish an

effective environment for student

teacher and student student interaction

and evaluate course Effectiveness the

roles of an odal teacher is not only

pedagogical but also social Technical

and administrative as such odal teachers

must not only be equipped in how to

develop course materials and assessment

tools but also in how to motivate Odell

Learners use Technologies not only for

teaching but also for motivating

students and manage the administrative

aspects of online learning environment

since Odell eliminates a constraint of

limited classroom Odell courses can

accommodate large number of enroles

Institutions must decide how the

teaching function will be performed in

large classes the task of a teacher can

also be unbundled just like in course

development in many open universities it

is customary to hire Tutors or test MERS

to assist teachers institutions that are

planning to get into Odell must

therefore take into consideration how

large their student enrollments would be

how the teaching roles will be performed

and by whom and how will the teaching

staff be compensated in dual

institutions they will need to consider

if their current teachers are prepared

to teach at a distance and how their

work as odal teachers will be recognized

and compensated in other words

administrators would have to make

decisions on how Odell in their

respective institutions can be

financially sustained while maintaining

the quality of Learners experience since

the Learners are separated from the

teachers and other University staff

educational institutions getting into

Odell must provide accessible student

Support Services to their Learners

student support is essential to ensure

successful delivery of learning

experience at a distance student Support

Services include tutoring counseling

Library Services help desk tech support

organization of study or Learning

Centers and administrative concerns

educational institutions must have staff

members are competent in delivering

these services and also decide how these

services will be facilitated some

universities have established Learning

Centers in areas where their students

are concentrated as a conduit for these

Services While others have tapped the

web to deliver the same online lastly we

have the management subsystem which is

the integrator of all the subsystems

Management's role in model focuses on

needs assessment and prioritizing

resource allocation and

administration personnal Recruitment and

training monitoring and evaluation and

policymaking for Odell to be sustainable

the financial viability of the program

must be ensured University administrator

should be concerned about the sources of

cost in implementing Odell the following

are the major cost factors student

enrollment number of courses number of

years over which courses are offered

without change cost can be better

managed using the following strategies

pre- testing of materials before release

electronic formats to allow easier

revision of materials and the use of

open educational resources course

development cost can be minimized using

these approaches share publication cost

with Publisher share income with authors

through licensing or through the use of

wraparound textbooks technology mix will

depend on the equipment use labor costs

involved in the development production

and delivery of materials carried by the

technology in terms of level of student

support for a more efficient student

support system design good student

manuals and develop information

resources for students working practices

you can rationalize human resource

expenses by hiring contractual staff per

student basis Outsourcing certain

services and streamlining course

development team

management must also ensure that the

academic and student support staff are

equipped in performing their Odell task

some of the staff development activities

that can be implemented include the

following training or orientation to

Odell pedagogy instructional design

materials development subject specific

training and assistance to course

authors Hands-On writing workshops

contextualizing online resources course

development manuals and models and

reward system for course author

as Educators we are accountable to our

stakeholders hence we need to ensure

that our Odell programs are of quality

it is also Management's responsibility

to establish Implement Monitor and

evaluate a quality assurance system in

Odell some of the more common QA areas

in Odell are shown on the

screen and finally Odell is just like

any organization activity it is a

continuous process of improvement it

starts with planning goes through design

production delivery evaluation and

maintenance until the next round of

planning comes along in this video we

have learned that odel is composed of

different subsystems course design and

development course delivery instructions

stent support and management depending

on the target learner needs and context

the resources available to the

university and then mission and vision

of the institution a university May

organize these subsystems in different

ways the role of management is to ensure

internal consistency and coordination

between these

subsystems the odel system is also a

process which starts with planning

followed by Design production delivery

evaluation and maintenance in reality

however the process is less linear and

requires iterations along the way thank

you for watching

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