Distance Learning Challenges Facing Two World Regional Universities

2012 ◽  
pp. 51-67
Author(s):  
Sandra Sookram ◽  
Robert Hogan
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Educational Access ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Regional Campuses ◽  
Learning History ◽  
Regional Universities ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
The University

The University of the West Indies and the University of the South Pacific are the only two regional universities in the world. Together they serve 29 small island nations spread over nearly 35 percent of the Earth’s surface. Many of these developing countries lack the educational resources to provide the educational access to develop strong economies and improve social conditions. Until recently, regional campuses and correspondence courses were the primary means of course delivery due to isolation and small population sizes. However, improved Internet access at a time of increased shipping and travel costs now makes Transnational Distance Learning (TDL) increasingly attractive. TDL is defined as online learning delivered to students in other countries or even other continents. TDL holds the promise of improving educational access, but there are challenges. This chapter discusses the distance-learning history, current practices, and future directions of these two regional universities. The chapter also discusses opportunities, competition from foreign universities, political issues that impact regional universities, and cultural/pedagogical challenges.

scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of Pedagogical Strategies Across Disciplines in Open Distance Learning at UnisaODL at Unisa

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kemlall Ramdass ◽  
Fulufhelo James Masithulela
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Pedagogical Strategies ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
The University

<p class="Style2">Re-engineering technological strategies in teaching and learning in an open distance learning (ODL) environment is paramount as the demand for access to quality higher education escalates drastically on a year to year basis. The organisational framework requires change in order to accommodate the increasing number of students. In view of the changing higher education landscape and the increase in the number of students qualifying for higher education acceptance, open distance education has been opened to residential institutions. Despite the fact that demands is greater than supply in the higher education sector, the University of South Africa (Unisa), in reaction to the “competitive threat,” has embarked on the re-evaluation of ODL as a component of its teaching and learning methodology. Unisa focussed on its pedagogical approaches as a primary means of maintaining its competitive edge.  The challenges in the higher education sector are also attributed to the basic education sector that does not prepare students sufficiently for higher education. ODL, if applied appropriately, could be a strategy to address the issues of access, equality, and equity in a democratic South Africa. Pedagogical strategies that are functional and appropriate need to be applied in the higher education sector. Hence the research question is to determine what ODL strategies can be implemented to ensure that students are on par with traditional universities. Therefore, this paper explores the pedagogical strategies that colleges may use with the intent to improve delivery of teaching and learning in an ODL environment.</p>

Teaching Political Philosophy as Plausible Reasoning

1985 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 8-8
Author(s):  
Larry Arnhart
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
State University ◽  
University Of Chicago ◽  
Distinctive Character ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Idaho State University ◽  
Plausible Reasoning ◽  
Northern Illinois University ◽  
The University

I have taught courses on political philosophy at four schools — the University of Chicago, Rosary College, Idaho State University, and Northern Illinois University. I have had to adjust the style of my teaching to conform to the distinctive character of each school. But I have found that the most fundamental obstacles to winning the attention of students have been the same.Many students have begun my courses with four unfavorable preconceptions. They believe that political philosophy is too abstract. And for that reason they also believe that it has no application to contemporary political issues. Moreover, many students assume that since the classic texts of political thought are old, the ideas they contain must therefore be obsolete. And finally they think that political philosophy is ultimately subjective because no philosopher can prove his ideas to be absolutely true.

DISTANCE LEARNING AND INFORMATION SECURITY

2021 ◽  
pp. 51-65
Author(s):  
Andrei V. Gavrilenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Information Security ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Learning Problems ◽  
Security Assessment ◽  
Critical Nodes ◽  
Distance Learning System ◽  
Principal Directions ◽  
The University

The article considers an issue of information security of the distance education systems. It analyzes the functions and architecture of the typical distance education system. With considering the requirements of information security it also discusses the university information system for solving the distance learning problems. The author defines valuable assets and information resources and describes the existing security threats. The subjects of interaction in the distance learning mode are presented. There is a consideration of the principal directions of the university’s activity in the distance learning system, requiring constant monitoring of information security. A threat model is worked out and the main security vulnerabilities are highlighted. The analysis of the causes and consequences of information security violation in the distance learning system is carried out and most vulnerable and critical nodes were identified. The hardware and software requirements for the remote mode work are regarded. A recommended list of hardware and software tools that ensure compliance with safety requirements is presented. The major lines of protection for distance learning systems are highlighted. The article proves the necessity of conducting a regular security assessment as a means for monitoring an effectiveness of the protection system.

scholarly journals SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF ETHNIC MINORITY HUMAN RESOURCE TRAINING THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY PREPARATION SYSTEM

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyễn Tuấn Anh
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Small Population ◽  
University System ◽  
University Preparation ◽  
Allocation Process ◽  
Human Resource Training ◽  
The University

The State’s and Party’s policy of foundation study for ethnic minority students to create high-quality ethnic minority human resources for mountainous provinces and ethnic minority areas has been effectively deployed at Pre-University schools across the country. However, there are still several difficulties in the recruitment, enrichment, and allocation process of the Pre-University system: there are no specialized policies for students who belong to ethnic minorities with small population size based on the ethnic structure of the province, the connection of Pre-University schools and province officials in the work of creating ethnic minority human resources is weak. This article proposes several solutions to improve the efficiency of human resource training for ethnic minority groups with local typical characteristics through the pre-university system.

scholarly journals ALGORITHM FOR THE FORMATION OF A PERSONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT BY MEANS OF STRUCTURING THE EDUCATIONAL SPACE OF THE UNIVERSITY BASED ON OFFICE365 AND MS TEAMS SERVICES

2020 ◽  
pp. 26-40
Author(s):  
Natalya Ivankova ◽  
Oleksii Ryzhov ◽  
Oleksii Androsov
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Cloud Services ◽  
Main Element ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Flexible Tool ◽  
Personal Learning ◽  
Personal Learning Environment ◽  
The University

The algorithm of formation of a personal learning environment (PLE) and learning group environment for the organization of electronic distance learning in medical higher education institutions is offered. It was noted that the introduction of the COVID-19 quarantine raised the issue of reorganization of the learning space and accelerated the process of introducing the distance learning model. The experience gained by the authors during quarantine made it possible to form the stages of deploying the learning environment in the medical higher education institution and to define the educational space of the group as the main element of this environment. The main technological steps of creating subsystems of the educational space of the university for using cloud services MSO365 were considered using the example of Zaporizhzhia State Medical University. The conditions that allow creating a hierarchy of the learning environment were defined, namely: a project of the structure of the learning environment with the coordination of departments; registration of all participants of the learning process and creation of their accounts in Active Directory of the university; automated procedure of transferring group members to AD MSO365. The paper provides an example of a hierarchy of names, which is a reflection of the structure of university departments in terms of staffing and determines the rights of access to the usage of services that ensure the implementation of the corresponding functions. The authors found that the user account is the first integrating service that allows the user to form a personal learning environment using OneDrive, web-site MS SharePoint, MS Forms and other office applications. It was noted that the user account is the lowest level of the hierarchy of the learning environment, the usage of which provides a learning space for groups. According to the authors, it is reasonable to use MS Groups to form academic groups. Using MS Teams, a teacher gets a flexible tool to form a learning environment for various organizational forms, namely: lectures, seminars, practical classes, independent work, etc. The authors proposed rules for forming group names in MS Groups and MS Teams. They presented an algorithm for deploying the department's learning environment and proposed a suggestion of structuring the subject's learning environment using MS Teams channels for a small number of groups in the department.

scholarly journals INVESTIGATING THE EVALUATION PROCEDURES FOR A DISTANCE LEARNING UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE IN LIS

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Susan D. Lithgow ◽  
Clare Thomas ◽  
Marianne Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Evaluation Data ◽  
Evaluation Procedures ◽  
Library Studies ◽  
The University

This article is based on a process evaluation carried out at the Department of Information and Library Studies (DILS) at the University of Wales Aberystwyth (UWA). The research investigated the effectiveness of the existing evaluation procedures for the BSc Econ in Information and Library Studies by distance learning. After briefly discussing the research process, the article then describes the findings in relation to the perceived gaps in the evaluation procedures, including the importance of disseminating the evaluation results. I t was found that changes to the course occurred in response to feedback from various sources and that evaluation data was used in ways that differ from their perceived purposes. Finally, the article relates these findings to the different concepts of quality found to be appropriate to a BSc ILS Distance Learning programme taught both on and off-campus.

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL SKILLS FOR FUTURE TEACHERS BASED ON CROSS-SUBJECT INTEGRATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-102
Author(s):  
G.K. Sholpankulova ◽  
◽  
Sh.Zh. Kolumbayeva ◽  
B.T. Mahmetova ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Future Teachers ◽  
Digital Skills ◽  
The University ◽  
Interdisciplinary Integration ◽  
Subject Integration

Today, the study of the problem of interdisciplinary integration in professional education is a historically formed direction and has been studied by scientists deeply enough. However, within the framework of the implementation of the competence-based approach in teaching, which is the focus of state compulsory education standards, the problem of interdisciplinary integration acquires a new meaning. The essence of the new meaning of interdisciplinary integration is substantiated by the modern socio-cultural conditions of globalization, informatization, interdisciplinarity, and digitalization. Interdisciplinary integration is the applied focus of the components of the educational process of the university (goal, result, content, form and methodology of teaching) and manifests itself in the relationship of academic disciplines with the content and technologies of professional activity of future teachers, as well as in the consistency of the processes of teaching and upbringing at the university. The globalization of education refers to the process of creating a worldwide unified education system, which erases the differences between the educational systems included in it. Informatization of education is a process when the sphere of education is provided with the methodology and practice of the development and optimal use of modern information technologies, focused on the implementation of the psychological and pedagogical goals of training and education. Digital skills in the modern world are necessary and must be complemented by cross-cutting interpersonal skills, as the ability to effectively interact in the current environment of distance learning. In the process of distance learning, video conferences using computer communication, virtual environment, online lectures and seminars are actively used. A distinctive feature of distance learning is computer-based learning, which contributes to the development of digital skills, since it is based on the student's independent cognitive activity, is active and personality-oriented. The above requires the development of digital skills in future teachers based on cross-subject integration. This article examines the problem of developing digital skills in future teachers based on interdisciplinary integration, and also provides a meaningful characteristic of digital skills.

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