Today technology in teaching learning is being explored and implemented as never before. Face-to-face conventional education and online education are witnessing the use of technology in every possible way. Nevertheless there are few voices questioning the credibility of online education in addressing some areas of education, like affective and psycho-motor domain; skill development. Blended Learning emerges as Madhayam Marg — blending best of the both worlds — Face-to-Face and Online Education. In fact the Madhayam Marg as propounded by Lord Buddha appears to be true here too.
Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy and it employs almost 50% of the labour force. The main source of livelihood for more than 80% of the rural poor is agriculture and allied sectors in the country. The human resource development in the field of agriculture plays an important role for sustaining the agriculture production and productivity. Keeping this in view, the School of Agriculture (SOA), established in 2005 at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), strives for a flagship role in turning the rural unemployed youth to first rate agricultural entrepreneurs and agri-business managers of tomorrow. Since 2006, the school is offering a number of skill based educational programmes through its robust network of Learner Support System i.e. Regional Centers and Study Centers. The school faces a number of challenges in offering these practical based agriculture programmes to the target group in different parts of the country. The study undertaken has identified various issues and challenges related to pedagogy and implementation. The data were collected from the stakeholders involved in implementation of the nine certificate and diploma level programmes of School of Agriculture viz. Regional Centres and Study Centres. The outcome of the present study will aid in improving the implementation strategies for cost effective and sustainable human resource in agriculture and allied sectors through Open and Distance learning mode.
Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) since its inception has been conducting/organizing capacity building activities/training programmes for the non-teaching staff of IGNOU. It has organized numerous orientation-cum-training programmes/workshops on various aspects and themes covering various functions of ODL system — financial and administrative matters. Indira Gandhi National Open University appointed 13 candidates at the post of JAT (Junior Assistant-cum-Typist) on compassionate ground. Out of 13 candidates 12 reported for their joining at the Establishment Section and were temporarily posted in Administration Division of the University. Most of them did not posses any work experience. Therefore, in order to enhance their overall ability and skill to enable them to attend the day-to-day office work, an awareness-cum-training programme was organized by STRIDE and Administration Division. This training programme envisaged to supplement their own efforts to increase their awareness of the basic office functions, procedures and exposure to the overall working system of the University.
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), is a pioneer in the ODL system as it champions the cause of accessibility and equity. The University reaches out to learners who either wish to update themselves or wish to rejoin the mainstream through education. This includes learners who are left unserved by the formal system, and also includes those who are located in remote areas. The main motto of IGNOU is to reach the unreached; therefore it becomes essential for the university to constantly innovate in the ways and means to reach out to various sections. The University believes in offering Programmes, which are relevant and which offer employable skills, which will help the students to achieve sustainable livelihood options. The Sustainable Development Goal 9 of the United Nations also adopted by India aims to achieve the targets to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation by 2030. Keeping this goal in mind it is essential for all organizations and especially educational institutions to foster innovative ecosystem. This study has been conducted with the aim to analyze (i) flexibility of IGNOU as educational institution to promote innovation in programme being offered (ii) the interplay of the stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem of IGNOU. This is a case study and is based on a programme which has been awarded Gold Medal for Innovation by IGNOU. The study provides information to focus on the right ecosystem in terms of processes, which will facilitate innovation in the distance learning process. This will involve all the relevant stakeholders as an essential participant in course design for the programmes of IGNOU.
The incorporation of staff and students' views is so central in the transformation of learner support management and delivery in distance education. This study explored the staff and students' perceptions of the nature of learner support in distance education at Uganda Martyrs University in Uganda. The study used a qualitative research approach involving focus groups and in-depth interviews with selected university students and staff. The study results showed that the nature of learner support services focused on; academic advising, library and technology, counselling and career, communication and administrative services. The results provide valuable information on how to strategize learner support planning in distance education by synthesising and incorporating the voices of the students and staff. University administrators need to address the staff and students' concerns about learner support to nurture a sustainable quality support culture.
The industrial sector in India today is witnessing a huge gap between demand and supply of trained human resources. We have an increasing supply of new entrants into the workforce as well as existing workers looking for new jobs who do not have the requisite skills for these openings. The industry needs today has to meet the growing business requirements. It has been realized by the policy makers that there is a need for launching more skill-based academic programmes and capacity building initiatives as per the industrial needs. Keeping these situations in mind and realizing growing demands of skilled workers, School of Vocational Education and Training (SOVET), Indira Gandhi National Open University has developed many programmes thereby contributing towards developing employability skills of country’s educated youth and capacity building of present workforce. Major skill based programmes are being offered through blended learning mode. Therefore one of the objectives of the present paper was to discuss two selected programmes and their major course components. Moreover student’s satisfaction in terms of learning materials, academic counselling, various support services and overall satisfaction level about the programme have also been examined in this paper. The present study is based on primary data collected through structured questionnaire and secondary data taken from published documents and reports etc.
Physicians worldwide, follow the International Code of Medical Ethics. Medical ethics is focused on medical practices, whereas the broad area is Bioethics. Recognizing the need for Bioethics, School of Health Sciences (IGNOU) in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research launched one year Post Graduate Diploma in BioEthics programme in 2011. The design of the programme followed pedagogical steps. The innovative features of the programme were the Curriculum, Interactive Design, which included appropriate media, OERs, interactivity, assessment, discussion forum. The programme will help the students to put into practice ethical principles while conducting bio-medical research and health research.
Soldiers join the Armed Forces soon after completing their schooling, knowing fully well that they will retire pre-maturely between the age of 35 to 45 years, when they are at the peak of their social and personal responsibilities, with no assurance of a second career. At the time of their retirement these personnel are well groomed, disciplined, trained, and dedicated. The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has developed a Scheme to facilitate the educational upliftment and career advancement of the personnel of the Armed Forces, by recognizing their in-service training/courses undergone by them at their own Training Institutes/Schools/Establishments, and allowing them vertical mobility into the final year of the Bachelor’s degree programme. Since majority of the Defence personnel superannuate in their mid- lives, a Bachelor’s degree should facilitate them in their second innings, to begin a new career. The purpose of this study was to find out how the IGNOU degrees provided career opportunities, enhanced the social status and improved the academic competencies of the defence personnel. There is a felt need to undertake such a study in order to find out the benefits derived by the defence personnel by obtaining civil degrees from IGNOU, and how it has impacted their lives pre and post- retirement.
Web-based technology emerged as a powerful means of learning in today’s world. It is not just limited to classroom process. It has extended beyond the four walls of classroom to facilitate and promote student support services in the ODL system. Management of learning efficiency depends upon the quality of student support services. Quality of student support services can be made meaningful with adaptation of web-based technology. Utilization of the potential capabilities and strength of technology in ODL system is the real need of the hour. Technology mediated student support system has multiplier effort for providing better access, quality and equality. It’s a challenge to make it learner friendly and a means to spread digital literacy among all learners. IGNOU is emerged as a leader in the field of ODL system in terms of bringing innovations in designing and developing technology enabled learning environment. We have a long way to go in terms of effective and efficient implementation of web based technology for having an appropriate Learning Management System (LMS) in ODL system. This demands capacity building of all functionaries to adapt to new technology. IGNOU Regional Centre (RC) Jaipur took a major initiative to experiment utilization of web based technology to bring a revolution in LMS by effective and efficient integration of technology. The following specific technology mediated features are integrated with student support services of RC Jaipur to address the issues of access, equity and quality of implementation of programmes through ODL mode and bringing efficiency in routine office management system of RC & Learning Centres in the region. Online Quick Contact: Asynchronous Learners Query Management System. Online Confirmation of Admission and Re-Registration Online Study Material Tracking System Online Monthly Monitoring Report: A mechanism of academic monitoring and monitoring of administrative and financial activities of Learner Support Centres (LSCs) Online Processing of Bills and Vouchers of Finance and Accounts Section of LSCs: A mechanism to bring accuracy and transparency in financial management The present paper is an attempt to explain the potentials of web based experiments of RC Jaipur to facilitate LMS as well as developing transparency in academic administration and management. It would help us to think of bringing a systemic revolution in ODL system in our country.
As food processing is a sun rising sector, demands for trained human resources for food industry are growing fast. The conventional educational institutions are producing a limited number of graduates and post graduates in this area, hence there is wide gap between the supply and the demand of trained persons. Considering the potential of the Open Distance and eLearning (ODeL) system for strengthening the Human Resource Development (HRD) in this area, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) developed a PG Diploma Programme in Food Science and Technology (PGDFT), which was offered through blended mode. The purpose of offering the programme through blended mode was to enhance the theoretical knowledge of the learners through online course content and video lectures and to develop and upgrade the skills by conducting practical and hands-on industrial training. The programme was offered through this mode in two academic sessions. The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of this programme in knowledge enhancement and skill development of the learners. The study was designed using mixed method of COL PREST A5 and data was collected from the registered learners in this programme using a questionnaire/Likert type scale developed by the researcher and validated by the experts. The questionnaire was focused to assess the effectiveness of the blended mode for programme delivery in capacity building of the learners through study of different components like quality of e-content, online lectures, support services, delivery of the programme, evaluation, skills development and so on. The learners were also asked to express their opinion about the strengths and weaknesses of this programme, reasons for dropping out and also to provide suggestions for improvement of this programme. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for data analysis. The results would help to improve the quality of the programme and suggest alternative strategies for capacity building in future in the backdrop of new interventions such as SWAYAM and SWAYAM Prabha by the Govt. of India.
Education and skill development are foundations of the Digital India dream. Matching future needs to future technologies demand need for the education system to be redesigned or reimagined. The time has come for all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to explore and embrace new technological interventions in all their operations and adopt new pedagogical approaches suited for the evolving ecosystem. For the education of tomorrow the present pedagogies are inadequate and irrelevant in the future globalized and technologically advanced environment. HEIs need to prepare their learners for this exponential change in knowledge, skills and abilities — the requirements of the Digital Age. A disruptive educational pedagogical model which is aligned to future needs is to be developed in order to support the learners in a way that will be responsive both to their needs and those of the economy. The digital technologies are disrupting both the traditional Conventional Education System and the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system. There is an urgent need to redefine the ODL system: from ‘Open and Distance Learning’ to ‘Open and Digital Learning’. This paper examines the issue of redefining Open and Distance Learning, as Open and Digital Learning. The role of the Government of India and its policies in bringing about the transformation in the Digital Age has been outlined. The adoption of digital technologies by some Open Universities (OUs) across the world have been showcased. An attempt has also been made to enumerate the radical changes that the OUs need to usher into their system in order to redefine themselves as ‘Open and Digital Learning’ institutions in order to meet the needs of a Digital India1.
This paper explores some of the issues in working across time and space boundaries for professional development of online educators. It focuses on voluntary aspects of professional development within the context of networked learning communities. It also places an emphasis on ways of respecting and acknowledging cultural and individual difference within such voluntary communities in ways that also respond to the wider needs of others in the community. A sampling of current practice in networked learning communities is offered as a backdrop to a more detailed review of our own collaborative practice and the development of the World Association for Online Education (WAOE) as one example of a virtual community. As a way of describing our design and response to cultural diversity that exists within our community each of us also offers our own individual ‘story’ of our involvement in the collaborative development process. This is offered to illustrate the way that our provision will function and also acknowledge ourselves as a sub-community seeking to research and understand our own collaborative practice.’
The study makes an attempt to analyse the level of satisfaction and performance of academic counsellors of various distance learning institutes in India in an online training programme i.e. Academic Counsellor Training Online — ACT-Online developed by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). The training programme is designed specifically for those who are engaged in tutoring and counselling services, evaluation, and providing other support to distance learners. The contents of the ACT-Online are hyperlinked properly, which include text materials, Power Point presentations, video clips, etc. The online training environment includes interaction, individual and group activities, online discussion board, collaboration, and so on. The main objective of the study was to assess the relation between the level of satisfaction and performance of the academic counsellors. A total of 722 authentic trainees, activated by providing user id and password for the training took part in this study. Two questionnaires were developed to examine the performance and satisfaction levels. The questionnaires were administered online. The trainees have shown significant improvement in their post training assessment scores. Female trainees have shown significantly greater improvement in scores than the male trainees. A majority of ACT-Online trainees were satisfied with the information on the ACT-Online website, regular interaction between the facilitator and trainees, regular interaction among the trainees, e-content available on online training portal, support material including video and Power Point presentations and content of the response/feedback received from the facilitators. To study the relation between the level of satisfaction and improvement in performances four sub-groups were identified based on the level of improvement of performances shown after the training (as revealed by the improved scores). The sub-group with lowest improvement in scores displayed the lowest satisfaction rate, whilst, the sub-group with the highest improvement in scores showed the highest level of satisfaction. The results showed that the improvement in performance was positively related to the overall satisfaction level of the trainees of the ACT Online training programme.
As a part of its ongoing efforts for offering Information and Communication Technology enabled learner-friendly services, IGNOU has designed and developed an Online Admission System which was launched in May 2015. In the new system of admission, the prospective learners submit their application forms online and they receive instant confirmation about successful submission of their application form through email as well as through SMS. Besides it, there is a provision of online submission of the documents and online payment of programme fee through online payment gateway. IGNOU is offering admission through online as well as offline mode. But the admission data of both the systems is transferred to the centralised database through the Registration Data Transfer System. The hybrid model of admission has been successfully implemented for four admission sessions. Besides highlighting the salient features and architectural design of the learner friendly hybrid model of admission in IGNOU, the present paper discusses about the design, development, implementation and benefits of the online admission system. The paper also discusses about the first hand feedback from the prospective learners of IGNOU and further it explores the possibilities of improvements and research in the newly designed system of Online Admission at IGNOU.
The study attempted to examine the learning styles and study habits of the meritorious learners (gold medalists of different programmes) of the 28 th Convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). The Felder and Silverman’s Learning Style Model (FSLSM) which has four dimensions was used for the current study. The study found that respondents in majority were: ‘reflective’, ‘sensing’, ‘visual’ and ‘sequential’ learners. However, the respondents who adopted other learning styles also had excelled in their respective programmes. The respondents might have mastered more than one learning style and these learning styles helped them in i) choosing relevant activities and study material suited to their learning styles, and ii) organising their studies on the basis of their preferences, and thus, acted as a means of achieving their educational goals. The analysis of the responses regarding study habits indicated that a majority of the respondents had a flexible study schedule, devoted up to four hours daily for studies, did not have a fixed place for study, maintained the schedule though, with little difficulty, made all preparations and subsequently used a table and a chair for study purposes, completed one subject at a time, devoted time slots for completing different learning activities, took small breaks during their studies, and used IGNOU study material for preparations.
The purpose of this study was to assess main challenges in implementation of a distance education (DE) programme at tertiary level at University of Ghana. Quantitative data was collected from 49 tutors and 139 students. The key survey questions to tutors were on their background education, training received, challenges in tutoring, courses taught and inter-relationship between them. The important survey questions to students were on their profile, challenges in registration process, adequacy of tutorials, timeliness, prompt evaluation and feedback related to assignments. Qualitative data was also obtained from coordinators and organizers on main challenges inhibiting the implementation of the distance education programme. Inadequacy of training, inadequate financial motivation, learners shifting from one tutor to the other, inadequacy of time allocated for tutorial, late attendance of students, faulty public address systems, late delivery of modules to students and overloaded modules to be treated within the semester were major challenges reported by tutors. Majority of the students felt that registration process at the beginning of the semester was very difficult, tutorial periods were not enough and they were not enthused with assignments given to them during tutorials. The coordinators felt that some members of the implementation committee were not experts in the field of distance learning and that they had to learn on the job. Other major problems faced in implementation of the programme included the difficulty of getting course writers and low fee for writing the modules. To address the challenges it is recommended that finance and other logistics should be ensured beforehand and all stake holders should be duly informed and offered the necessary training to equip them with the requisite skills and knowledge to take part in new programmes.
The present study is aimed at discerning the awareness of teacher educators on Open Educational Resources (OER) as well as to identify the barriers in the success of OER. Mixed method employing questionnaire and interview is used for data collection. Data is collected from 40 teacher educators of Maharshi Dayanand University and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. The results of the study reveal a high degree of uncertainty about OER among teacher educators and; also identifies a lack of knowledge about finding and using OER to be the main barrier in the success of OER. The study highlights the importance of campaigns and workshops on OER for taking it to the masses.
Despite the recognised need for the use of adequate and relevant technological devices in the distance mode of learning to transform teaching and learning, the Institute of Extra Mural Studies (IEMS) of the National University of Lesotho (NUL) faces an enormous challenge of adopting the use of desirable technological devices. The IEMS is mandated to widen access to educational opportunities through distance education. This mode of learning separates learners from the teaching institution as well as deprives them of regular contact with their peers. Hence, it is mandatory that students be able to access learning materials from various technological devices to enable them achieve their academic goals. Students enrolled in the Adult Education Programme (ADE) are geographically separated from the institution because of the nature of the mode of learning they have opted for. The distance mode of learning deprives learners of access to learning resources available at the institute. Therefore, learners have to supplement the prescribed self-instructional materials by accessing additional information through various technological devices. Primarily, the study investigated the usefulness of technological devices in ADE in distance mode at IEMS. Qualitative data was collected from 20 students and 10 academic staff through focus group discussions. Findings from the study revealed that there was dissatisfaction regarding technological support. The students have minimal access to computers either at the main centre or designated regional centres. In addition, participants also reported that IEMS did not equip them with relevant and adequate technological skills to prepare them for the world of work. Interventions to improve use of relevant technological devices to transform teaching and learning are suggested.
