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Indian Distance Education Association IDEA • Open & Distance Learning (ODL)

ODL Approach

IDEA’s understanding and approach towards Open & Distance Learning (ODL).

IDEA's understanding and approach towards ODL

Hence, coping with the developments in India and elsewhere, IDEA initiated several steps to develop a broad understanding of the system amongst the distance educators and created an understanding of what is to be done as a professional body of distance educators, which include the following:

  1. For distance educators 1962 has been the year of institutionalization of earlier form of ODL, the correspondence education began and the years 1982 and 1985, the emergence of Open University system, conceptually a more radical form of organization to promote mass education and the year 1995 has been considered as a year of consolidation expansion and development.
  2. For others it may be the landmark development of ODL in the country resulting in quality enhancement. To look back for a while, the year 1962 has witnessed the emergence of the first Correspondence Course Institute in the country at Delhi University and a decade and half later the 'Council for Correspondence Courses' was established b the 'initial leaders' in Correspondence Education. The appointment of Shrimali Committee by UGC, which examined the functioning of Correspondence course Institutes pointed out significant issues and the changing educational scene ever since the establishment of first School of Correspondence Course.
  3. The recommendations it suggested not only helped understand the problems of conventional correspondence course system but also shown the ways and means to strengthen the system. However the emergence of first Open University in Hyderabad in 1982 and the first National Open University in 1985 at New Delhi - both founded by Prof. G Ram Reddy and as a Founder Vice-Chancellor he has created a 'confidence' amongst those who have been involved and provided with a 'conceptual strength', a superior mediated technology in the backing and a needed quality perspective.
  4. IGNOU followed by the establishment of several SOUS and DEDs in several parts of the country and the efforts put in by the UGC (as an Apex Body) and IDEA (as a professional body of Distance Educators) in the initial years especially during the nineties through workshops, conferences, seminars and meetings have generated. The later years a very favorable climate for the transformation/ upgradation of Correspondence Courses Institutes to the Distance Education began in a concerted manner. It has been emphasized time and against especially offers year 2000 that every institution shall have to gear up their system to cope with the emerging demands of teaching-learning at a distance.
  5. Despite the revolutionary changes in the application of Science and Technology in OL & DE systems and their tremendous expansion in terms of student enrolment, number and variety of Programmes and Courses offered, the basic support services are still found to be most neglected in India as felt by IDEA, which deserve greater attention. Most important of which is the Student or Learner Support Services (SSS/LSS) which remained static over the years with wide gaps existing between what is promised and what is actually performed.
  6. IDEA has pointed out several times that a large number of institutions still rely mainly on using 'two and half century old technology' in producing teaching-learning materials and 'one and half century old' postal correspondence system in distributing the same. More than 80 percent of the Institutions still adopt in one way or the other the conventional face to face method of teaching as a supplementary support service to the print media. Other media is yet to be commissioned by most of the institutions. The story of Open Universities is also no different and with no exception even in those cases where multi-media technology is introduced, in reality the instruments are hardly used and found under lock and key as museum pieces.
  7. Innovations and quality frame work in management practices of SSS are rare and in the overall context institutional accountability to students in particular and society in general is confined to paper declarations! Consumer awareness is yet to take place a student community and the 'student-centre' planning and programming hardly exist. All this calls for a serious introspection as IDEA has been emphasizing at every level of each functionary both as individual faculty members and also as institutional manager's in- charge of specific DE activity in the system. IDEA has always focused its attention on this aspect and it has occupied a prominent place on the agenda of IDEA Conferences where it always focused its attention to throw light on various issues that require serious consideration towards developing improved strategies for better SSS in ODE.
  8. IDEA has also provided over the years a serious academic forum and/or a platform where the practicing distance educators interested in their professional training and the study of ODL while facilitating them to meet and exchange their views.
  9. IDEA has organized a number of useful seminars and workshops' wherein it could get together both academicians and practicing distance administrators from various institutions drawn from all over the country and abroad and created an environment for serious academic exercise, debate and discussions. It was able to prove itself as a dynamic agency for the improvement of educational practices so urgently needed.
  10. Having regard to the enormous expansion in the development tasks and responsibilities. IDEA is conscious that actual improvements in education depends upon numerous powerful factors which are not amenable to the exertions of a body like this.
  11. Nevertheless, IDEA shares the disappointment that was expressed by so many that it has not been able to build up, as it was justly hoped that it would, at least constitute and protect the nucleus and image of an organization which could release the necessary impulses and in course of time build up an effective impact for the betterment of the open and distance education system. In what follows, IDEA has set out its evaluation of the principal activities and the directions in which, they ought to be reoriented to achieve the larger purposes for which it was established.
  12. The other aspect, IDEA has focused its attention earlier was through its pre- conferences, workshops especially on 'Staff Training and Development in DE' being conducted at several places in the country helped promote professionalization in the field (firstly at Dr.BRAOU Hyderabad in 19915) and later in other places.
  13. The trends and analysis at the workshops indicate 'shocking realities' as several of the institutions with long standing experience of offering a large number of courses, admitting over and above four-figure mark number of students, hardly had any full time staff of their rolls. Wherever the full-time staff is available. the arrangement is either haphazard or irrational. No uniform staffing pattern would emerge in the ultimate national analysis and the staff so drafted for the work-both full time or part time are generally found neither fully motivated nor trained to acquire new skills and techniques for handling the distinct jobs for which they were appointed.
  14. This 'Universally neglected aspect' of OL and DE require serious consideration at every level starting from individual-institutional level to international collaboration level and IDEA has taken up the issue by not only evolving certain programmes to carry out on its own but impress up on others to initiate various training and staff development activities. It is believed that IDEA has an important part to play in the field of training of personnel in Open and Distance Learning areas.
  15. Even though a great deal remains to be done for providing adequate training facilities professionally to all distance educators, there exist here and there a couple of professional training establishments especially in IGNOU and stat OUS, not much work has been turned out by them. IDEA always believed that such training programmes should be professional, object-oriented and a practical bias. The focus should be mainly on the core activity of personnel where the effort to widen their comprehension is likely to be most rewarding. The training capabilities could be far more purposefully employed and better focused if they are properly oriented in the manner required.
  16. It cannot be denied that Distance Education is relatively a young Faculty in most of Indian Universities and that even from the point of view of improvement in the standards, a reinforcement focused at the academic level is very desirable. Yet at this stage, the improvement of pedagogic standards in the teaching-learning can be reckoned as one of the primary objectives of the IDEA. Besides, such improvement, it would seem, has to be and can be brought about, in the main, by the Universities themselves. High academic standards are one subject cannot be sought in isolation and divorced from the constant inter-play of inter-disciplinary exchange which can only be secured in the environment of a University. The IDEA, no doubt has a contribution to make to the enrichment of academic standards in the teaching-learning systems of the universities, offering ODE programmes and courses.
  17. One of the major deficiencies in this field of 'instruction' is the lack of suitable literature based on Indian conditions and Indian experience. The production of such literature through its research activities is one of the important areas in which IDEA could make a contribution. It is by sharing this experience and by making their special lines of communication available to the university personnel that IDEA has availed could make best of its contribution in this respect. IDEA is so placed as to serve as a special bridge between various ODL and other institutions concerned.
  18. IDEA has over the years has played its role, in the field of academic teaching-learning and research best in a complementary and supporting manner rather than by duplicating University facilities or appearing to be competing with them. The scope for research in India at the present moment is vast. However, the resources of IDEA are limited both in the matter of manpower and finances.
  19. While working out a programme of research, it was always considered essential to lay down a scheme of priorities and keep in view the relative importance of different problems. A balance has also been maintained between contemporary problems and problems in a somewhat longer perspective so that based on the availability of expertise, time and money, certain programmes had been evolved. And by the way a good amount of research output has been turned out.
  20. The detailed p of work has been drawn from time to time to specify the nature of studies to be undertaken, the manpower requirements, financial commitments, administrative support etc., and undertaken them as per the priority and convenience. The 'exposure' of the problems concerned as it could make is enormous and worthwhile.
  21. The above discussion indicate the 'conceptual thinking and orientation' of IDEA and based on its objectives, it was developed such a framework and designed its individual activities Though IDEA cannot fully claim anything concrete in reforming what is actually needed in this regard but nevertheless it was definitely successful in highlighting the gravity of the situation and need for introducing required changes in the system.
  22. In the proceeding pages however, attention is focused on certain important 'services' it rendered to its members. For, as discussed in its 'conceptual framework' in the earlier paras, IDEA has developed various activities relating to bringing individual faculty members together at various conferences and seminars, arranged workshops specially meant for research in Distance Education, Staff Development and Quality Assurance and initiated Collaborations and rendered other services. In the following pages structural pattern an of IDEA and some other issues have been discussed.