The concept of Open Distance Learning (ODL) emerged from the correspondence courses run by universities and is now more oriented towards self-realisation and personal needs as well as continuing education, using modern technologies. It is intended to overcome constraints not only of distance and time but also of economic factors and demographic limitations.
The two books, produced under the auspices of Pan-Asia Network Distance Open Resources Access (PANdora) and funded by International Development Research Centre, discuss the whole gamut of issues related to distance education — quality, performance, cost effectiveness, use of modern technologies, et al — based on the experience in Asian countries.
Policy and Practice in Asian Distance Education examines the conceptual origins of distance education (DE), the cost factor, the use of media, and implementation in more than a dozen countries. The countries covered include those where DE is well-established (China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Pakistan) and those where it is in the nascent stage (Bhutan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, the Phillipines and Vietnam).
Cost-effective
What emerges from the country-level studies presented in the volume is that ODL is cost-effective, although the financial management procedures vary depending on the organisation and its operating systems. Self-evaluation and adoption of best practices in key areas have been helpful in ensuring quality. In respect of student assessment, methods similar to the conventional ones are in vogue, and E-assessment is adopted only to a limited extent.
More significantly, two factors have been identified as constraints on a wider use of media in DE programmes. One is the very limited access to internet facility, and the other is the perceived cultural preference for face-to-face interactive methods. It seems imperative therefore that the instructional design is made culturally appropriate.
The book, which also gives a list of international and regional organisations that are involved in distance education, is a valuable resource on the subject especially in respect of ODL activities in Asia.
The other book, Distance Education Technologies in Asia , provides a good snapshot of the development of distance education during the early years of the 21{+s}{+t} century. A wide range of educational technologies have been available in the western world for decades. For quite some time now, there have been attempts to apply those techniques, primarily internet-based, in the developing world. The results have been mixed. Such efforts have encountered problems, both cultural and technical.
Key areas
Some of the key areas the book covers are: accessibility, acceptance, and effects of distance education in south-east Asia; ICT-based DE in Bhutan; E-learning in Chinese schools and universities; mobile technology in non-formal DE; open-source software for learning management in Mongolia and Sri Lanka; and E-assessment methods for student evaluation in Asia.
This is perhaps the first attempt to collate massive organised data related to DE across a large number of Asian countries. The initiative has thrown up salutary findings about DE's impact, or the lack of it, and they deserve to be heeded seriously by policymakers and their advisers in the developing countries.
What stands out is that the DE methods that are standard in other parts of the world do not work as efficiently in Asia where the necessary infrastructure, accessibility and training are lacking. (The analysis of DE practices in China and Mongolia is particularly frank; it suggests that students, teachers, and managers tend to blame one another for the failures.)
The question is how to change this situation so that millions of students who would otherwise not have access to education will benefit. Quite a few of the suggestions made are, of course, already known — for instance, that over-dependence on a single technology like the internet must be avoided; and that an adequate student support system and facilities for training specialist teachers must be created. But the case for such measures has been made out coherently, forcefully, and on the strength of widely covered studies and rigorous analysis.
