Quality as Defining Element

Every age has its defining elements, which define the purpose and nature of social processes of that age. It is generally assumed that the tradition is the defining element of ancient society; religion is the defining element of the middle ages; reason is the defining element of modern society; and quality is the defining element of the knowledge society i.e., the society of the 21st century. Quality, in terms of fitness for purpose, excellence, perfection, standards, value for money, consistency, transformation and relevance, defines in different ways all the activities of knowledge society. Quality makes the knowledge relevant to social and individual needs. Quality also enables the persons, societies and nations to acquire the competencies required for living meaningfully in a competitive globalised world.

Education as Quality

Many educationists and other eminent scholars emphasize the unity of theory and practice in education. Somewhere we have missed this link in the practice of education, which is one of the concerns, particularly in developing countries. More than unemployment, unemployable graduates are a serious concern in developing countries. How does one relate to the world of work is the key issue of concern and debate. Maybe an answer to this debate will provide the framework for describing quality education. There  is a strong feeling that higher education graduates' skills no longer match the needs and the expectations of employment sectors. In one of the surveys in Britain, employers identified the top five skills required in the workforce as

1) Time management,
2) Ability to working under pressure,
3) Accuracy and attention to detail,
4) Oral communication skills and
5) Managing different tasks and obligations at the same time.

Is the education system providing necessary training to students to acquire these skills? The answer in most of the cases is no. The UNESCO document on “Thematic Debate: The Requirements of the World of Work” critically examined this issue and made many useful observations and suggestions. To quote the report: “If we look in detail at the wealth of proposals made in various countries by employers and committees considering the future of higher education, and the majority of researchers analyzing the connections between higher education and work, graduates are  expected to:

A well-defined efficient education and training system capable of meeting the educational requirements of diverse sections of society is a must for development. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are considered as the basic directional framework for the educational institutions in the new millennium. Basic education, poverty alleviation, good governance, health care are some of the components of these MDGs. These goals provide the benchmarks for the quality of higher education in the new millennium.

Technology as an anchor of quality education

In this knowledge society Information Communication Technology (ICT) is extensively used for education and training. Sir John Daniel rightly observes that throughout history, education has been constrained by an eternal triangle of quality, access and cost. But we want wider access to quality education at low cost. But conventional teaching methods cannot deliver that combination. With conventional methods quality tends to go down when you increase access or cut costs. Sir John Daniel further says that open universities are revolutionary because they have broken this eternal triangle, by providing more access to quality education at lower costs. The technology further enables access to education to everyone overcoming the limitations of space and time. This internationalization / globalization of educational processes has resulted in greater competition stimulating the drive for more quality. Intermeshing pedagogy and the quality of ICT enabled  education and training is a challenging task. In the context of global competition only the best  will survive. This leads us to  discuss the place of best practices in quality assurance.

Best practices as images of quality

Best practices are the images of the system. Aristotle said that  it is impossible to think without images. The best practices followed by different institutions not only provide images to the institutions, but also stimulate the replication of the process by other institutions. The National Assessment Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous accreditation agency has identified Healthy Practices as one of the seven parameters to assess the quality of higher education institutions in India. The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) strongly advocated the encouragement and consideration of good practices as one of the parameters of quality education. The University Grants Commission and Ministry of Human Resource Development have designed many schemes to encourage Best Practices in higher education.

In addition to this complex problem of criteria/benchmarks of best practices, there are a few other concerns in the sharing and adoption of best practices by the institutions. Some of these are:

There is a strong oral tradition in the Indian education system. The recording of practices is very sketchy and mechanical. A reliable database is also necessary for preparing records. Proper recording of best practices is a pre-condition for assessment and adaptation. The NAAC self-study Report Format is useful to record practices. Maybe a more analytical format will have to be developed which will facilitate the better appreciation of the processes and outcomes of the best practices. The Peer Team Reports of NAAC also provide useful information on best practices of the accredited institutions.

Access to information on best practices

Every institution in some sense is a world in itself. The contextualization of best practices i.e., adaptation of the practices to suit the needs of the institution is a daunting task. Steve Rivrein and Fraser Seitel in their book Idea wise observe -- “the best ideas are borrowed ideas”. According to them the genius is in adapting someone else's solution to your problem. Your ideas need to be original only in their adaptation to the problem you are currently working on. Creativity in a fresh application of existing knowledge is required for contextualisation of best practices.

One of the setbacks quality education receives is due to the fact that best practices are mostly leader-centric. It is true that the transformative leaders i.e., leaders who have the ability to translate intentions into reality, play a critical role in the development of any institution. But it should be also realized that it is equally important to institutionalize the best practices to sustain them. The institutionalization refers to a process of making the best practices an integral part of the institutional working. What is left after the leader has left is the merit of the leader and this, which brings credibility to the institution rather than what is done when he is present. V.C. Kulandai Swamy, distinguished former Vice- Chancellor of three universities and eminent educationist has rightly titled his essay on his contribution to education as “My Legacy: Measure of My Merit”.

The Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) is a worldwide network of organizations committed to harnessing the potentials of information and communication technologies (ICT) for sustainable development. It is the world's first multi-stakeholder ICT for Development (ICT4D) partnership at the global level, with members comprising governments, donor agencies, private sector companies, civil society, networks and international institutions.

In June 1997, development stakeholders from 144 countries came together for the first Global Knowledge Conference (GK97) in Canada. Hosted by the World Bank and the Government of Canada, and supported by a large group of public and private organisations, this was the first conference of its kind in the world to address Information Age challenges facing developed countries and the international community. Five months later in New York, the GKP emerged. Building on the success of GK97, the Government of Malaysia hosted the second Global Knowledge Conference (GKII) in 2000, which saw a 75 per cent representation from developing countries. GKII effectively brought the voices of these nations to the attention of the development community, and areas for collective action were identified.

In 2001, the GKP Secretariat moved from the World Bank Institute to Kuala Lumpur under a new EXCOMM chaired by the Government of Switzerland, represented by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Partnership Principles

Commitment to effective partnerships sits at the core of the GKP. This is encapsulated in its core principles:

· All Partners maintain their own identity and autonomy have equal rights and are enabled to design their own future.
· Shared values and mutual respect are key.
· Transparency and trust are essential.



Areas of Activity

The GKP maximizes its impact by facilitating advocacy in global policy dialogues on ICT for Development, providing services that enhance its members' individual and collective efficiency and effectiveness, and increasing  the availability of information and knowledge on ICT for development and empowerment.

GKP Thematic Focus Areas

GKP is harnessing the Partnership's knowledge and experiences on ICT4D programmes that focus on gender, youth, media & communications, poverty reduction, governance, local content & indigenous knowledge, multistake holder partnerships and financing ICT4D.

GKP conducted a member consultation which brought in lessons learned from concrete GKP member projects on the ground from around the world The GKP contribution helped the Dot Force consult non G-8 members, particularly those in the developing world and outside of official government channels, on the proposed Dot Force plan of action.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the GKP and the UN ICT  Task Force

(www.unicttaskforce.org) in the third quarter of 2002 paved the way for future collaboration and joint action in various areas. These include the sharing of information and knowledge, including lessons learned by GKP members and joint regional thematic events. In addition, GKP members are represented in the UN ICT TF membership and the advisory panel.

GKP co-organized a Gathering of Stakeholders with the Global Digital Divide Initiative (GDDI) of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in conjunction with the East Asia Business Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur in October 2002. WEF expressed interest in further working collaborations with the GKP.

The Secretariat of the World  Summit on the Information Society (www.geneva2003.org) has recognized the importance of the GKP as an organization that represents and embodies multi stake holder approaches and initiatives towards realizing an information society. The GKP will bring its knowledge and experience to the WSIS process and events by channeling developing country views and concerns, facilitating the participation and advocacy

of marginalised stakeholder groups, providing thematic inputs based on consultations and co-organising thematic events.

The "Youth Creating Digital Opportunities" (YCDO) Coalition, the core component of the GKP Youth Strategy, was launched at a reception held in conjunction with WSIS PrepCom2 in Geneva on 20 February 2003. Spearheaded by GKP, Taking ITGlobal and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the YCDO Coalition is comprised of organizations committed to realizing the potential of young people as leaders in using information and communications technologies (ICTs) to achieve more sustainable development in their communities and around the world.

At GKII in 2000, GKP enabled gender issues in ICT4D to be pushed to the fore in terms of the inclusion of a cross-cutting gender perspective as well as gender specific recommendations. GKII outcomes were then channeled into the ASEAN Biennial Meeting of  the Confederation of Women's Organisations and the UN Beijing+5 General Assembly on "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century".

Current/Upcoming GKP Initiatives

The e-Awareness Seminar Series for Asian Parliamentarians (e-ASSAP)

To sensitize high-level Asian parliamentarians on the use of ICT for the development and transformations of their constituencies and nation, the GKP, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Asia- Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP) are organising  3 regional seminars in Hanoi, Vietnam (for Parliamentarians from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, China and South Korea) ; Colombo, Sri Lanka (for parliamentarians from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan) and Delhi, India (for parliamentarians from India).

Forum on ICTs and Gender

GKP is co-organizing this event along with the Commonwealth of Learning in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia from 20-23 August 2003 to foster a greater appreciation of the gender related barriers that exist in developing and developed

countries, to develop an understanding of why women need access to ICT, and to discuss strategies for overcoming these barriers. This will translate into policies that support women's access to ICT and successful networking to enhance women's participation in the information economy, especially in the developing world.

ICT4D Platform@WSIS

GKP and the Government of  Switzerland, represented by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) are organizing an ICT4D platform at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, 10-12 Dec 2003, to encourage joint action in increasing access to knowledge and information through ICT,  strengthen the voice of the disadvantaged by promoting the use of ICT, facilitate networking and knowledge-sharing; and showcase worldwide ICT4D best practices and lessons learnt. All stakeholders in ICT4D are invited to participate in the Platform. Stakeholders can present their programs, exchange experiences and build up new partnerships at the ICT4D marketplace, workshops, discussions and forums. More info: http://www.ict-4d.org

The GKP Youth Award aims to reward and bring international recognition to the outstanding work  of young people who have used information communication technologies (ICT) for the promotion of development around the world. The winner of the USD10,000 award will be honored at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)  2003 in Geneva, Switzerland.

GKP Gender & ICTs Awards

GKP and the Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) have initiated 'The Gender and ICT Awards'. Inviting submissions under the "Multi-stakeholder" and "Community-based/Individual" categories, the US$8,000 per category  Awards aim to recognise gender and ICT

initiatives globally and provide further impetus for others to mainstream gender in the field of ICTs; and therefore support a number of internationally agreed recommendations for gender equality, women's rights and empowerment.

Supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), GKP invites project proposals for pilot projects or from new or ongoing small-scale initiatives, not exceeding US$25,000, with a focus on developing countries. Projects proposed should facilitate innovation using ICTs from the ground-up to further strengthen and promote the growth and maturity of civil society participation in the Information Society. Furthermore, they should promote and facilitate the fertilization of multistakeholder partnerships for the up-scaling and/or replication of small scale and community-based initiatives.

ICT & Media Training Programme for Women's Journalists in South Asia

As an outcome of the ICT & Media Workshop held during the GKP South Asia Regional Meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh (15-17 September 2002), a training programme for South Asian women journalists was mooted to

familiarise them to the potential of using new media, the internet, websites, mailing lists and discussion forums, newsgroups and multimedia for communications.

For more information about the GKP and its initiatives, please contact:

EduComm Asia Reader's Survey

Results of the EduComm Asia reader's survey show very encouraging results, and endorse some of our understanding of the needs of the professionals working in the field of media and education. To our survey 81.4 % of male and 18.6% of female readers responded. Respondents indicated their areas of interests as: Educational Technology (11.51%), e-Learning (9.92%), Multimedia and Distance Learning (9.52%), Training and Development (9.13%) amongst others. Their main occupations are in the areas of: Education and Training (31.11%), Research (28.89%), Development (13.33%), and Policymaking (8.89%). All the sections of the newsletter received excellent and good ratings, and the most interesting sections were (in order): Guest Column, Case Study, Book Review and Worth While Web, and SMART Tips and Forthcoming Events. 57.5% of the respondents said  they preserved the copy of EduComm Asia for future reference. The readership is quite satisfactory, as on average 4 persons read every copy of EduComm Asia.



Educational Media Database

As an ongoing project CEMCA has been developing and maintaining a database of educational audio and video  programmes produced in the region. The database currently has more than 6000 records. The purpose of the  database is to act as a reference point for sharing of information and resources. Educational institutions in the region are requested to continuously send us list of audio and video programmes produced by them for updating the database. By submitting information for inclusion in the database you are actually making it available to a wider community of users through our online website and the offline CD ROM. Now, it has also been decided to supply  the database and its regular updates to participating institutions. Therefore please share information about your audio and video programmes and co-operate in updating this database.

For further details contact: Director, CEMCA.

Often courses are developed in a vacuum without defining clearly what the qualified person needs to know and be able to do (knowledge and skills) to operate effectively in their chosen field. In consequence, such courses tend to become a mixture of sociology, psychology, human growth and development and other subjects. A more systematic analysis of the needs of those who practice youth in development work, and those who employ them, points to:

a.) a broader academic curriculum including, for example, moral philosophy, ethics, social psychology, management theory; and

b.) more specific coverage of the skills required for the work and the range of settings in which it will take place.

These disparate elements are given coherence by the underpinning theory of youth in development work, which informs the students about what they are expected to familiarize themselves and to articulate clearly to others. Particularly in an emerging area  such as 'Youth in Development Work', it is easy for language to obscure the nature of the tasks to be performed. There is a danger of assuming that a consensus exists about what they need to be able to  do, and to juxtapose it against an allied field. To raise the profile of  the work it is necessary to describe what is done, how it is done and why it is done. It is all the more important when establishing partnerships with other institutions to deliver or accredit training programmes. The real requirements of the work to be done should control the curriculum.

Although youth in development work will carry out their roles in a wide range of settings, it is possible to identify the generic core competencies they require if they are to be effective practitioners. These define distinctive character of the work not only the specific knowledge and skills required, but the ethos. Functional analysis is a useful tool to describe the many components of a professional role, but training needs equally to be animated by the spirit and the prevailing tone of the work. In order to achieve this, the generic core competencies for the programme are organized under three main functions. These are enabling, ensuring, and empowering:

· Enabling is about creating the conditions in which young  people can act on their own behalf, and on their own terms, rather than relying on other people and especially professionals to do things for them.

· Ensuring is about operating in accordance with the value systems which give a sense of purpose and meaning to how young people use their skills and knowledge. ·

Empowering is about putting democratic principles into action in the fullest sense, so that young people can play an assertive and constructive part in the decision-making that affects them at different levels of society.

Youth in Development Work is concerned with the personal and social development of young people in its broadest sense. It uses the methods of informal education, which seek learning opportunities that arise outside the formal  worlds of education, training and work. It is influenced by community development in that it works with young people in the context of the community in which they live; it builds community by using its strengths and skills in the development of services; it accepts its accountability to the communities in which it operates.


The Youth in Development Work programme provides a framework for consultation and partnership amongst various agencies in implementing the programme, and since it is an international programme, it crosses the barriers and boundaries of ethnicity, gender, culture and language.

Prof. Prabha Chawla is currently Coordinator of the CYP- Youth in Development Work at Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. This case study is based on the Tutor's Manual of the programme. She can be reached at prabhachawla@hotmail.com

Multimedia has always fascinated the educationists for its strengths to communicate difficult concepts in simple ways. With the availability of more and more sophisticated computers with multimedia capabilities, the potentialities to use multimedia have also grown tremendously. In the world of Open and Distance Education dependent on self-learning materials, the use of multimedia enriches the teaching learning experiences by providing a multi-sensory perspective. While it has been acknowledged that multimedia can be useful in teaching and learning scenario in both face-to-face and distance learning, educators tend to have a notion that, developing multimedia requires knowledge of high-end programming. This is true only to some extent. But today, availability of software like Flash, Director, 3D Studio Max, etc enables us to develop multimedia lessons with little practice of the software. This handbook intends to help teachers in clarifying the basic concepts of multimedia and will take them through the various issues involved in development of educational multimedia.

Naidu, Som (2003) E-Learning: A Guidebook of Principles, Procedures and Practices, CEMCA: New Delhi ISBN: 81-88770-01-9

This guidebook will help you to systematically approach your engagement with e-learning, irrespective  of the educational sector or level within which you may be working. The content of this guidebook has been carefully selected to enable you to consider all the issues in relation to e-learning. Besides the great deal of resources that you have access to in this guidebook, its unique feature is the opportunity it provides you to “tell us a story” about your experiences in relation to the issue or subject under discussion. Telling a story requires you to pause, slow down, reflect, learn, access and share your experiences or connect in a meaningful way with others. These are opportunities designed to remind you of relevant experiences, which will enable you to reflect upon your experiences and those of your colleagues. They will enable you to make better sense of what you are reading in this guidebook.

This book features contributions from leading experts around the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Canada and India. It outlines the crucial issues surrounding in- and out-of school distance learning, provides best-practice examples and also inspiring case studies that illustrate both established success stories and the latest groundbreaking developments.

Littlejohn, Allison (2003) Reusing Online Resources, Kogan Page: London ISBN: 0-7494-3950-5

PhD Programme on Distance Education at BRAOU

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad recently launched its PhD programme in Open and Distance Education in a th simple ceremony held on 19 May 2003. The PhD programme will be offered under the G. Ram Reddy Research Academy of Distance Education (GRADE) of the University. Prof. C. Subba Rao, Chairman, AP State Council of Higher Education, Chief Guest for the occasion, released the following publications of BRAOU:

The Union Labour Ministry of Govt. of India will use the services of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in enhancing skills of employees, both in the public and organized sectors. This includes training of vocational instructors at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country. "Skill development is required for all sections of society. Lack of education shouldn't stop a skilled worker from excelling in his/her field. Distance education, with its scope for using facilities like teleconferencing and interactive electronic media support, alone can ensure proper training, testing and certification of  the existing workforce in the country," Labour Minister Sahib Singh said recently. He was inaugurating a special  interactive teleconferencing session at IGNOU's Electronic Media Production Center to explore the  possibilities of collaboration between the Labour Ministry and the University in training employees of the institutions under the Ministry. IGNOU Vice- Chancellor H P Dikshit said the University was ready to take up the  challenge of catering to the invisible, distant learner in the country and abroad.

Jeevika 2003

The Centre for Civil Society, India invites documentaries for JEEVIKA 2003: A National Livelihood Documentary Competition. It is the first national level documentary Competition focussing on livelihood--an issue that affects us all.

People earn their livelihood in myriad ways: catch fish; collect medicinal leaves and fuel wood in forests; work on the farm or in the factory; pull a cycle-rickshaw, sell water, vegetables, or food on the roadside; market information, opinion, and entertainment; rent land, money, or property; run an enterprise of a repair shop or road construction. The economic freedom to produce and sell a product or a service is as critical as political and civil liberties. Its  infringement affects as much a fisherman, a farmer, as a factory worker.

The documentary shall focus on legal and regulatory restrictions, bureaucratic process of approvals  and licenses with attendant extortion and harassment as well as social and cultural norms and religious practices that prevent or constrain people from earning an honest living in the vocation of their choice. These procedures and practices coupled with the lack of rule of law, absence of transparency and accountability in governance, and poor enforcement of individual rights including property rights take away the freedom to earn a living. Zoom in on a mode of livelihood and capture the struggles! Young Indian filmmakers are particularly encouraged to participate in the competition. For details, please visit http://www.ccsindia.org/jeevika.htm

Kerala to set up Virtual University

A Virtual University would be set  up in Kerala, India, which would  help the state acquire timely information on agricultural trade  and marketing as per the recommendation of the M S Swaminanthan Commission on WTO concerns on agriculture, K R Gowri, Minister for Agriculture, has said. Honurable Minister for Agriculture, Govt. Of Kerala, K R Gowri recently said that a herbal bio-valley for conserving herbal plants would also be set up in the state and steps would be taken to protect the agricultural produce in accordance with geographical indications. A high-level committee on biotechnology and IT had been formed to study the diseases affecting crops and the decline in agricultural production. The panel's recommendations would be submitted to the Government soon.

Source: http://www.keralanext.com/news/print.asp?id=10991

The Internet and its World Wide Web has become a great source of information. However, finding quality and reliable information is still a problem. In this issue we focus on Mailing List Software and Services. We hope these links would be useful to you in design and developments of electronic discussion groups. All the links were working fine at the time of going to the press.

Free Mailing List Management Software Listserv Free Edition: The Free Edition is a freeware version of LISTSERV Lite, limited to a maximum of 10 mailing lists with up to 500 subscribers each. This version costs  absolutely nothing as long as the licensee does not derive a profit, directly or indirectly, from using the software. You can download the Free Edition from our WWW or FTP servers.

http://www.lsoft.com/download/default.asp?item=listservfree

Email2Group 0.5: Send HTML personalized e-mail  for newsletters or others. Specify the compatible text version for older e-mail clients. Use Dreamweaver, Frontpage, or your favorite HTML editor to create the e-mail.

http://download.com.com/3000-2367-10206768.html?tag=lst-0-14

Npust email List Manager 1.01: Npust email list manager is a high performance mailing list management application  that will allow you to manage your email lists faster and easier than ever before. Npust email list manager is freeware for personal use. Commercial use is not authorized without agreement.

http://download.com.com/3000-2369-10170842.html?tag=lst-0-16

Mojo Mail is an easy E-mail List Management System to use on your website. It works on any site that can run CGI scripts, and can be set up in minutes.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mojomail/

Mailman is the GNU mailing list manager. It provides standard list management features, integrated with a web interface.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mailman/

Mailing Lists is a phpWebSite 0.9.x module that allows administrators to send out mass messages to visitors who have subscribed to various lists. This module is ideal for community news websites using php WebSite.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mailinglists/

ListProc is a UNIX based automated information distribution and retrieval system for electronic mailing lists and file archives. ListProc is intended to be easy to maintain, support and use.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/listproc/

Majordomo is a program, which automates the management of Internet mailing lists. Commands are sent to Majordomo via electronic mail to handle all aspects of list maintenance. Once a list is set up, virtually all operations can be performed remotely by email, requiring no intervention upon the postmaster of the list site.

http://www.greatcircle.com/majordomo/

Free Mailing List Services

The services listed on below provides free mailing list to webmasters, content providers, clubs, friends, colleagues, families, etc. Mailing lists will enhance the power of your email allowing your user group or community to communicate and share ideas quickly via email. Mailing lists are perfect for sharing files, collaborate for research and discuss issues of mutual interest worldwide.

Coollist : http://www.coollist.com/

Notifylist : http://www.notifylist.com/

QuickTopic :  http://www.quicktopic.com/

Topica : http://www.topica.com/

YahooGroups :  http://groups.yahoo.com/

Compiled from the World Wide Web by Sanjaya Mishra, PhD

Research, Scholarship and Publishing in Distance Education: Opportunities and Challenges

Som Naidu

The changing nature of distance education

The practice of distance education (DE) has undergone significant changes over the past few decades. A few decades ago when our predecessors were blazing the trail in this field, what we know as "open and distance learning" passed by in the name of correspondence education, external or extramural studies. In those days also, these sorts of educational activities were generally confined to the periphery of mainstream conventional faceto-face teaching and learning. Things are quite different now. Open and distance learning (ODL), is being widely adopted as a valid and feasible alternative approach to teaching and learning across all sectors of our educational system.

Some of the forces that are influencing this rise in prominence of distance education over recent times include improving capabilities of information and communications technology, the changing conditions of the workplace; the changing composition of the student population and their improving learning capabilities. Although, these are also influencing conventional educational practices, they have had an even greater influence on open, flexible and distance learning because of its reliance on mediated forms for communication between the  teachers and learners, and the flexibility of place and pace that it  affords. Of all these factors, clearly advancements in information and communications technology have  ad the greatest impact on distance education practices. The printed text was clearly at the core of the correspondence mode of teaching and learning. The use of radio, telephone, and television came a  little later. We have come a long  way from those days of the Guttenberg technology. The possibilities now include use of the printed text, audio and video communications, computer mediated communications, audio graphic telecommunications, multimedia, the Internet and the World Wide Web (see for instance, Nipper, 1989).

Distance education has traditionally  implied the physical separation of learners from their teachers for much of the duration of the study period (see Keegan,1990). The basic tenets of print-based distance education systems have  been textbooks, study guides, and local centers for private study and tutoring. For the most part, in such settings, communications between teachers and distance learners is non-contiguous. Increasingly more affordable, and accessible information and communications technology is changing this practice. These days, for better or for worse, the use of the Internet and the WWW is placing a much reduced emphasis on local center support services that have been a basic feature of distance education systems. This transformation has brought about a change in the essential nature of distance education activity, much like the change it brought about in emerging as a viable alternative to conventional face-to-face  instruction. For some observers, this is a cause for much concern but for others, this means a strengthening of distance education activity.

Newer information and communications technologies (ICT) are leveraging many learning and teaching activities in ways that were not possible via the print medium. Some of these include demonstrations of critical learning activities such as simulations and laboratory experiments, and three dimensional representations of objects and processes. The expanding capabilities of information and communications technology have enabled all sorts of learning opportunities. These developments have significantly influenced the way subject matter content is delivered to distance learners, and the ways in which they are able to access and use study materials. The print technology is a static medium. What is produced remains in the same state until it is revised. The WWW on the other hand, enables the housing of "live" documents, which can be revised easily and cheaply. These developments are influencing the nature of the teaching and learning  transaction.

Information and communications technologies have also led to improvements in the capability of educational institutions both in terms of resources that they are able to use for distance education as well as empowering their teaching staff. These improvements in the capability of educators and educational institutions have been of particular interest to the changing workplace environment. A technology rich working  environment is creating the need for continuing professional education and training. Educational institutions are under pressure to  deliver education and  training in innovative and flexible ways and "just-in time".

Opportunities, strengths and weaknesses of  research in DE

Not very long ago there were a handful of peer-reviewed and other  professional publications covering distance education. Today there are several focussed specifically on this field and many others that cover distance education as well, apart from their own core areas. These are too many to list here, and in any case the point is not the growing numbers of such outlets but their previous core focus and patronage. Some of these that have the potential for greatest impact on distance education practice are virtual/on-line learning and teaching, Internet and the World
Wide Web, and other technology enhanced educational environments. Foremost, this means that there are a greater number of competing outlets for research and developments in the field of DE. That is certainly a good thing for research and as well as the researchers as it gives them and their work much broader exposure than was possible before. An increasing number of professional publications with converging goals has also meant that work being carried out in the field of DE is seen as having potential benefit to other areas of learning and teaching, including face-to-face conventional education. This has meant that competition for good research  output from the field of DE is now more intense.

With increased competition for publication outlets we have seen significant improvements in the quality of research and researchers in DE. A cursory overview of the DE literature shows that in the past a great deal of attention was focussed on "descriptive" research, which was work that aimed to describe the status quo and take a critical look at the DE phenomenon. This focus led to some interesting work on defining the nature of distance education activity and theorizing about learning and teaching at a distance by the likes of Otto Peters, Borje Holmberg, Desmond Keegan, Michael Moore and David Sewart (to name a few). With experience there has been increasing focus on assessing the quality of learning and teaching experience in the distance education mode, and also on the numerous influences of technology in this regard. This research has drawn from what we already know about human cognition, learning and teaching, and about the effects of educational technology including how to go about ascertaining their effects validly and reliably. It has become apparent that any consideration of distance education activity, because of  its fundamental differences from  conventional teaching and learning practices necessitates a reconsideration of the learning and teaching process.

But despite these positive developments, it would not be erroneous to suggest that research and scholarship in this  broad field of DE is still somewhat weak from several perspectives. Part of this may lie in the multidisciplinary nature of the field, which restricts the emergence of one or more clearly defined and widely accepted research methodologies. Researchers in this field tend to adopt research methods from other areas such as education or the social sciences, and sometimes applied less rigorously than in those disciplines. A recent study prepared by The (United States) Institute for Higher Education Policy in Washington, DC for The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association  (Phipps & Merisotis, April, 1999, http://www.ihep.com/ difference.pdf) observed some serious limitations with existing research practices in DE.

This report is based on written material published during the 1990s, and it places particular attention on those types of technologies currently being used by the majority of institutions. It concentrates primarily on an evaluation of the original research including experimental, descriptive, correlational, and case studies and summarizes the key information  and findings of the other policy papers, articles, and essays that dominate the literature. The authors claim that while this review of  original research does not encompass every study published since 1990, it does capture the most important and salient of these works. From this limited group of  original research they found that the three broad measures of the effectiveness of distance education usually examined are: student outcomes such as grades and test scores; student attitudes towards learning through distance education; and student satisfaction toward distance learning.

The authors claim that most of  the studies they surveyed conclude that, regardless of the technology used, distance learning courses compare favorably with classroom based instruction and enjoy high student satisfaction. For  example, many experimental studies indicate that students participating in distance learning courses perform as well as their counterparts in a traditional classroom setting. These studies suggest that the distance learning students have similar grades or test scores, or have the same attitudes toward the course. The descriptive analysis and case studies focus on student and faculty attitudes and perceptions of distance learning. The purpose of many of these types of research is to develop recommendations to improve distance learning. These studies typically conclude that students and faculty have a positive view toward distance learning.

The Phipps and Merisotis report claims that a closer look at this research, however, reveals that it may not be prudent to accept these findings at face value because of problems with the conclusions reached through this research. It claims that the most significant problem is that the overall quality of the original research is questionable and thereby renders many of the findings inconclusive. They suggest that findings of the original research must be read with some caution. Assessing the quality of the original research requires a determination that the studies adhered to commonly accepted principles of good research. They argue that these principles are essential if the results of the studies are to be considered valid and generalizable. If a study does not abide by these principles, the results can be erroneous or misleading. The report flags the following issues as the shortcomings of the surveyed literature:

! Most of the studies do not use randomly selected subjects.
! Much of the research does not control for extraneous variables  and therefore cannot show cause and effect.
! The validity and reliability of the instruments used to measure student outcomes and attitudes are questionable.
! Many studies do not adequately control for the feelings and attitudes of the students and faculty what the educational  research refers to as “reactive effects.”

These are interesting observation of the report and worth some serious consideration by researchers in the filed. Phipps and Merisotis go on to offer some useful guidelines for various types of research in the field. These are outlined in the following paragraphs.

Descriptive research

Descriptive research involves the collection of data to answer specific questions. In distance education, typical descriptive studies are concerned with the assessment of attitudes, opinions, and conditions. Data are usually collected through questionnaires, interviews, or standardized attitude scales. Some of this data can be collected through direct observations with the help of structured or semi-structured observation tools. An important component of descriptive research  is the validation of these measurement tools in order to determine if they measure what they were supposed to measure.

Case study research

Case study research is an in-depth investigation of one “unit" or "course". The researcher can use a  variety of methods to gather such data, however, the explanation of the unit is generally written in narrative form. In distance learning, the case study usually involves a class of students taking a course through some alternative  delivery format. The problem with much of this type of research is that the bulk of the reports do not go beyond much more than a "dry"  and boring description of the delivery technology. They lack any significant focus on any innovative learning design within that context, or a critical analysis of the experiences of stakeholders.

Correlational research

Correlational research involves collecting data in order to determine whether, and to what extent a relationship exists between two or more quantifiable variables. In this form of research an estimate is provided of just how related two variables are. For instance, if two variables are highly related, a correlation coefficient near +1.00 (or -1.00) will be obtained; and if two variables are not related, a coefficient near .00 will be obtained. One example of a correlational study might be determining the relationship (correlation) between student  satisfaction with an instructor and the type of technology used. It is important to note that correlational research never establishes "cause and effect", it only reveals relationships. This is a trap that correlational studies fall into.

Experimental research

Experimental research is the only type of research that can truly test hypotheses concerning "cause and effect" relationships. In an experimental study the researcher manipulates at least one independent variable and observes its  effects on one or more  dependent variables. In other words, the researcher determines "who gets what", and which  group of "subjects" will get which treatment (i.e., the independent variable). The groups of subjects in the study are generally referred to as experimental and control groups. Ideally, in experimental research the groups of subjects to be studied are randomly formed before the experiment to eliminate any bias due to sampling. This is a procedure that is not followed in other methods of research. The essence of experimentation is the concepts of "prediction" and "control". A researcher strives to ensure that the experiences of all the groups are as equal as possible on all the important variables except the independent variable. Experimental research is very hard to carry out properly in distance education contexts due to the difficulty of controlling for confounding variables in such "open" settings.

How can "Distance Education" help with research?

The stated aim of Distance Education is "to engender and disseminate research and scholarship in distance education, open learning and flexible delivery systems". The "dissemination" part of this aim is clear enough as the journal achieves this by publishing and distributing to its readership articles, reports, surveys and book reviews on the subject after these have gone through a rigorous peer review process. The goal of "engendering" research and scholarship is not all that clear. Currently this is achieved largely  through the process of peer-review. The Editors and members of the Editorial Board play a major role in this regard. For instance, it is not an uncommon practice to have authors go through one or more iterations of their original submission for publication consideration before it is sent out for peer-review. Many of the papers go through some revision work before they are accepted for publication. Some of the papers are revised and resubmitted to its original reviewers if this had been suggested as part of the reviewers' recommendations. Some of the papers are revised so substantially that they are submitted for publication consideration and the complete review process all over. The journal also accepts ideas, feedback and rejoinders on its contents. It also invites book reviews and suggestions for Special Issues of the journal. In these ways, the journal attempts to nurture a culture of research and scholarship among its subscribers and readership although this is not very systematically carried out. There are several other possibilities for achieving these goals more fully and which may or may not be congruent with the goals of a peer-reviewed journal. These include: a) running a "commentary" section in the journal which allows publication of comments to be made on a thread or theme, or in fact on any relevant issue and perhaps inviting guest editors to moderate this commentary; b) running an online discussion for members of the Editorial Board to discuss issues related to this agenda as well as other matters related to the editorial process (this could be moderated by the Editors of the journal).

Concluding Remark

This paper set out to explore trends, issues and future directions in research, scholarship and publishing in the field of open, flexible and distance learning. Its purpose is to trigger useful debate and discussion on the subject with the expectation that from such discourse would emerge, an improved awareness of the issues that confront researchers   in this vibrant multidisciplinary field. As such, this paper is somewhat conversational and purposefully open-ended with many of the issues it raises. This is to allow readers and participants in a discussion of its contents, to bring to it their own commentary and draw their own conclusions.

References

Keegan, D. (1990). Foundations of distance nd education. 2 Edition, London, UK: Routledge.

Nipper, S. (1998) Third generation distance learning and computer conferencing. In Mindweave: Communication, Computers, and Distance Education. Edited by Robin Mason and Anthony Kaye, pages 63-72, London, UK: Pergamon.

Phipps, R., & Merisotis, J. (April, 1999) (http://www.ihep.com/difference.pdf). What's the difference? A review of contemporary research on the effectiveness of distance learning in higher education. The Institute for Higher th Education Policy, 1320, 19 Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036. Associate Professor Som Naidu is Head of Research and Evaluation, Department of Teaching, Learning and Research Support at The University of Melbourne, Australia. He can be reached at Email: s.naidu@unimelb.edu.au  Dr. Naidu is Editor of Distance Education, the journal of Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA), published by Carfax.

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COL Attachment Programme

Dr. P.K. Biswas, Reader at Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education at Indira Gandhi National

Open University visited Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) under the COL attachment programme from 4-24 March 2003. The main objectives of the attachment were to study the course design and development process at OUHK; Online support services; tutor orientation and training; and  research activities of Centre for Research in Distance and Adult Learning. Dr. Biswas visited all Schools of Studies, Divisions, Centres and Laboratories in the University and discussed various issues with faculty members. He participated in two seminars and presented a seminar on “Developing Distance Educators in India and abroad” during his visit. Dr. Biswas made use of the electronic library in the University. According to Dr. Biswas, the attachment programme sponsored by COL provided him an “opportunity to understand the OUHK practices in distance learning”. Exposure to the working style and interaction with the academic and support staff of OUHK have made him more confident in conducting research in Open and Distance Learning, he said.

Lewis Perinbam Appointed Chairman of COL

Lewis Perinbam, O.C., a former Vice President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) who has represented the World Bank at the United Nations and was sometime Secretary General of the Canadian National Commission for UNESCO and the World University Service of Canada, has been named Chair of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) for a three-year term.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Donald McKinnon, on behalf of the organization's Board of Governors, made the announcement recently in Vancouver.

Perinbam is a Vancouver resident who, until he assumed this position, was Senior Adviser (External Relations) at COL. He succeeds Dr. H. Ian Macdonald, O.C., President Emeritus of York university, Toronto, and is the second Canadian to hold this post.

Perinbam was the Chair of the 2000 Federal Government Task Force on the Participation of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien recently appointed him a Governor of the Canadian Centre for Management Development.

Global Virtual University Opens

GDE Net South Asia Node Activated

New Publications from CEMCA

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