Altilab2005 - Distance Education Blog

The end of the year - and time to look forward to the Learning Technologies Conference at the end of January.

You'll know that we have learning visionary Jay Cross keynoting, and also Nigel Paine, former head of L&D at the BBC.

I am delighted to say that neuro-scientific researcher Dr Itiel Dror will be delivering the third plenary.

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          Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established in September 1985 by an Act of the Parliament to advance and disseminate learning and knowledge by a diversity of means including the use of all possible information and communication technologies (ICTs). In the process it has to increasingly aim at democratization of higher education and maintenance of high standards covering larger segments of population, vocations and professions. Besides, it has to encourage and strengthen the open and distance education systems in the country and even outside the country.

       IGNOU provides access to higher education to all those who desire and need to improve their qualifications, skills and competence. The learner is free to study at his/her pace and time his/her studies according to his/her convenience. The important features are:

Ø  Relaxed entry qualifications for specified groups,

Ø  Study according to learner’s pace, place and convenience,

Ø  Flexibility in selecting courses and

Ø  Use of modern and appropriate educational and communication technologies.

School of Science

            The University has been offering various programmes of studies. Presently it has eleven schools of studies and School of Sciences is the principle school in developing programmes in science discipline. The various programmes, Diplomas and Certificates, on offer by the school are:

Ø  Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Botany

Ø  Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Chemistry

Ø  Bachelor of Science (Mathematics)

Ø  Bachelor of Science (Physics)

Ø  Bachelor of Science (Zoology)

Ø  Bachelor of Science (General)

Ø  Certificate Programme in Laboratory Technician (CPLT)

Ø  Certificate in Teaching Primary Mathematics (CTPM)

Ø  Diploma in Aquaculture

Ø  Postgraduate Diploma In Intellectual Property Rights (PGDIPR)

Ø  Postgraduate Diploma In Environment And Sustainable Development (PGDESD)

Ø   Awareness Course On Intellectual Property Rights (AIPR)

Ø  Appreciation Course on Environment (ACE)

               The School has developed courses in science at various levels (preparatory, electives and application oriented) for distance learners at different entry levels in two languages i.e., Hindi and English. The School has also contributed courses for various programmes for the University, namely, Preparatory program for Bachelor degree, Computing and Certificate in Environmental Studies programmes.

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)

            The School has been involved in launching and implementing the Bachelor’s in Science programme (B.Sc). This program was the pioneer programme of the School and also of the University in offering science courses through open and distance mode. The course development pertaining to these courses takes place in respective disciplines.

             The first science programme was started in the pilot phase in 1991. The first batch had 1100 students in 29 study centers scattered all over the country. Today there are about 6000 open science learners pursuing Bachelor in Science through 146 study centers in the country. The open science education programmes for undergraduate level of the University are given below:

Ø  Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Botany

Ø  Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Chemistry

Ø  Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) (Mathematics)

Ø  Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) (Physics)

Ø  Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) (Zoology)

Ø  Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) (General)

            This Bachelor Degree Programme in Science is a three years programme with 96 credits weightage. In the University learning load has been quantified in terms of credits. A credit worth of learning material signifies learning time of 30 hours for an average learner. It includes all activities pertaining to study one credit worth of learning material i.e., going through the material, doing assignments, viewing telecasts, listening to broadcasts and audio programmes in cassettes, radio and conventional counselling, library consultations, laboratory and other field based practical activities and so on.

Merit scholarships are typically awarded on the basis of academic, athletic or artistic merit, in addition to special interests. Some merit scholarships also consider financial need, but rewarding talent is the primary objective.

In most cases the scholarship sponsor has a set of criteria they use to select the winners from among the qualified applicants. (This is in contrast to scholarship lotteries which select winners randomly.) So a key to winning a scholarship is to identify the sponsor's criteria and tailor your application to those criteria.

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Today, I did it!!! I finally took the plunge!!!! I sent off my tuition for the chidiet.com HomeStudy program, which is Ann Wigmore-focused. I have looked at a number of programs, both "on location" and homestudy, and about a year ago, I finally homed in on this program as the best one available for someone of my focus. (There are some others I hope to study, but I am happy to start with this one).

I'm looking forward to sharing what I learn here, as well.
M

I am really psyched now because I have something to look forward to in the New Year. One day soon, I'll receive a package of materials to study. The idea takes my breath away.

I look forward to hearing some things I already know, and learning some new things right from the start. This is exciting.

You feel your current status in your work area is taking you absolutely no where some people choose to get some type of distance education by the use of the Internet. However, in some areas this isn't possible for the simple fact that most of these distance educations are somehow connected to local community colleges or vocational schools as well. Although in some states, there are ways of going through college courses by the use of the Internet but designed as distance education for the simple procedure that it isn't some big state college usually. They are considered local or under a government program however completely legitimate in obtaining a degree on the Internet. Some people are capable of getting assistance to further their learning with distance education programs while others pay monthly installments after a small initial fee to begin your distance education. This also depends on what it is you plan on taking as far as courses and how long you plan to take. Some colleges offer distance education programs and courses for 12, 18, and 36 months. Whichever one you choose is ultimately up to you in most cases, however there are exceptions to some of the courses. Meaning, in some courses the time frame may be limited to a certain period of time for the distance education, while others may be offered for longer periods of time, or you can receive extensions on your distance education courses. This of course all depends once again, on which college you choose to go through. When searching for the right college on the Internet you don't have to go with the first college you see in the search results. Do some reading and compare a few, to see which offers the distance education courses that will ultimately benefit you in the long term effect of your future.

Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to seven introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.

The project, called "Open Yale Courses," allows anyone with internet access get the Yale College courses for free online, the New Haven, Connecticut based University announced Tuesday. There is no "enrolment" in the courses and Yale does not offer credit for those who use the course materials.>> Read More

Those of you who are not only home educators but also among those who are lifelong learners, probably already know about MIT's OpenCourseWare project. However, if you haven't been to the site in a while you might want to consider it. In November 2007 MIT announced that the offerings from all of its 1800 courses (yup that's right, 1800 courses!) are now online, and available to the public free of charge. Additionally, there is now a section of the OCW that is intended for high school students and teachers. The following video will give you an introduction to OCW, and update those who have previously visited but not in recent weeks.

While OpenCourseWare is not the same as attending a university class, and does not offer credit, home educators will value it for the focus on sharing of resources and information (key to the open source concept.) You may find that following an OCW course allows you to update your own skills or explore a previously unfamiliar field. Content may also help you in creating a home education plan for your older home-schoolers. Keep in mind, too, that some universities and colleges are now offering credit for previous learning (non-credit courses or life experience.) If you can find someone in your entourage who will offer than "human link" that is missing with OCW (also check the OCW forum areas) your experience will be more complete!

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

I was chatting over tea this morning with Jenny Carruth of e-learning Age Magazine and we were discussing what everyone should know about learning technologies.

I thought it would make a decent blog entry.

Below are links to things I think everyone involved in learning technologies should know. What links would you suggest?

Learning Technologies Conference

What is e-learning 2.0?

Using Second Life for training

Informal Learning

What is e-learning?

What's new today in the world of e-learning tools?

Chances are you’ll know a student.  Indeed, if you’re reading this you might even be one!  Where does Massey get its students from though?  In 2005, we had over thirty-nine thousand enrolled students of which in excess of nineteen-thousand were studying extramurally – i.e. at a distance. 

Breaking these overall numbers down, almost four thousand were Maori – giving Massey the largest number of Maori students of any NZ university – and over nine thousand were studying at the postgraduate level. Our gender breakdown was 60% female, the rest – surprise, surprise male.  Almost thirty percent were aged 20 – 24 but around a quarter were aged forty or over.  Most of our students were drawn from the North Island but five percent were international students and three percent were New Zealanders (citizens or permanent residents) currently based overseas. Right, that’s quite enough figure work for one blog don’t you agree?

We’re “the country’s pre-eminent supplier of distance (extramural) education”.  Extramural students face unique challenges but more on these – and on how we help them to meet their challenges – in a later blog. If you’re thinking of becoming a student figures such as these could be important.  After all, you might want to study with people similar to yourself – or people from very different backgrounds.  Other things to think about though, are where the university is based; what the campus is like; how big your lecture and seminar groups might be; what support services are on offer; the reputation of the university and its programmes – to name but some. Massey has three main campuses – in Auckland, Palmerston North and Wellington and offers in excess of a hundred qualifications.