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Comparing and Contrasting Open Universities in the UK and India According to Otto Peters (2010, p. 58), the British Open University in the United Kingdom (OUUK) that was founded in 1969 introduced new pedagogical approaches in higher education and catapulted a wide-spread global adoption of many other open universities in the world in just a short span of forty years. Sarah Guri-Rosenblit (2009), describes these open universities as single-mode distance teaching universities that were originally founded in effort of providing education to distance students exclusively and standing out among other universities for being more affordable. One of the open universities that followed in the footsteps of OUUK in particular is the Indira Ghandi National Open University (IGNOU) in India founded in 1985 (Peters, 2010, p. 60). One might easily consider the OUUK to be a distance education institution in a developed country and the IGNOU to be a distance education institution in an underdeveloped country, but both open universities have similarities and differences that demonstrate the importance of and the need for continual improvements in single-mode distance teaching universities.
Mission and Population Served Otto Peters (2011, p. 62), explains the goal of open universities was to provide equal educational opportunity to all in an egalitarian effort of serving the underprivileged in society. Various open universities have a wide range of goals different from other types of universities to include, but are not limited to, expanding the country’s resources, producing more graduates at lower costs, providing more opportunity for equal education, innovating higher education, and promoting social equality within the country (Peters, 2011, p.70-71). According to Rumble & Harry (as cited in Peters, 2010, p. 70), the OUUK in particular is mandated to “increase the numbers of graduate teachers and qualified scientists and technologists.” The OUUK goal is focused on producing more graduates in certain fields. Perry and Ramanujam (as cited in Peters, 2010, p. 70), describe the IGNOU having a number of mandates to include establishing flexible learning, and providing and promoting equal educational opportunity to establish a new flexible and cheap system that offers opportunities to all including the disadvantaged population. The IGNOU goals are focused on a number of endeavors compared to the OUUK, but both have goals in common and IGNOU having additional goals is contributive to the continual development of open universities altogether. History/ Reason for Existence The “movement towards open learning” began in the 1960s and 1970s as educators and politicians believed education could improve the welfare of society which, at the time, open learning was being experimented (Peters, 2011, p. 65). Soon after, the OUUK was founded in 1969 and the IGNOU would follow 16 years later in 1985 based on the principle of providing equal opportunity to all for upward social mobility. Not only did this movement and these open universities open educational opportunity to a wide range of people, but they also broke social, economic, and political barriers and challenged existing and introduced new pedagogical approaches. Values Inherent to the Institution Tony Bates (2011) mentions the value inherent to the Open University being that it “filled a major gap in the higher education system” for those who did not have access to higher education but wanted the opportunity for self-improvement and politicians pushed these new pedagogical approaches because they saw value in education improving society overall. Since other open universities followed in the footsteps of OUUK, one could easily infer that the value in all open universities is similar based on the original mission. Although, differences of values can also be noted because the OUUK mainly values promoting and providing educational opportunities to produce more educators while the IGNOU mainly endeavors to provide equal educational opportunity to the disadvantaged (Peters, 2010, p. 70). Organization/Systems of Operation There are two main organizational systems in open universities to include research and teaching and operating technological system (Peters, 2010, pp. 71-72). The organization of research and teaching follows patterns of “traditional academic organization” used by traditional on-campus based universities in effort of open universities maintaining respectability (Peters, 2010, p. 71). According to Rumble (as cited in Peters, 2010, p. 72), the organization of the operating technological system provides “course creation, production and distribution, student services, management of tutors and counselors and quality control” through a number of units including, but not limited to, designing, computing, technical support, and library. In short, both of these organization systems in open universities work together as a system for all professionals involved in the educational process to commit to and fulfill the mission of open universities. The organizational structure of OUUK relies on the respectability of faculty rather than the school itself (Peters, 2010, p. 71). The organizational structure of IGNOU not only provides distance education, but also “promotes, coordinates, and maintains standards in distance education in India,” is “responsible for staff development” in all distance education institutions in India, and offers 49 varied courses (Perraton, Robinson, & Creed, 2007, pp. 140). The organization and structure of operations in both open universities provide a wide range of academic service units to contribute to mission accomplishment. Model of Teaching and Learning Open universities caused many shifts in the model of teaching and learning to include shifting from teaching children to teaching adults, from a small number to a large number of students, from traditional to new types of students, from oral to computer-mediated communication, and from traditional to new functions of higher education (Peters, 2010, p. 69). New types of students in open universities consist of students wanting a second chance, graduate students continuing studies, students with several degrees looking to gain more, and workers seeking further professional development (Peters, 2010, pp. 77-78). There are many teaching tasks involved in open universities which expands the division of labor in distance education which is why Peters (2010) considered distance education, to include open universities, to be the most industrialized form of education. Both the OUUK and the IGNOU have a large number of students with fewer teachers and have varied types of students which influences a more learner-centered model of teaching and learning due to the disproportionate teacher-to-student ratios and life responsibilities of students outside of the university. Use of Technologies Open universities heavily rely on numerous technology to produce and deliver learning material and enhance the teaching and learning experience (Peters, 2010, p. 73). Among the common technology used, such as “print, radio, television, audio and video cassettes, computer, the net, correspondence, e-mail, telephone and fax,” multimedia and networked computers are two innovative technological approaches largely used in open universities (Peters, 2010, p. 73). In the late 1960s and early 1970s when OUUK was being established, the multimedia approach was being encouraged and adopted by educators in several countries (Peters, 2010, p. 73). A few decades later in the 1990s, computers and internet were explored by open universities as well (Peters, 2010, p. 73). Even though the OUUK has served as a leading example for other open universities to use print-based, audio, and visual material, it still relies heavily on the use of printed material and is only slowly moving towards web-based material (Perraton, Robinson, & Creed, 2007, pp.74-75). While the IGNOU is equipped to facilitate the use of various multi-media technologies on campus, most students use printed material and postal services only and audio and video cassettes are only used occasionally (Perraton, Robinson, & Creed, 2007, pp.146-147). Both distance educational institutions seem to have access to numerous technologies, but still rely on printed-material the most which can be limiting to the teaching and learning process. Conclusion After gaining a better understanding of open universities in general and comparing and contrasting the OUUK and the IGNOU, it is clear that open universities are embraced in both developed and underdeveloped countries. Ironically enough, it would seem as though IGNOU is a more developed open university than the OUUK given that it’s a distance education institution in an underdeveloped country compared to the OUUK which operates in a developed country. This is perhaps because open universities are the primary focus in underdeveloped countries with more disadvantaged populations and not as common in developed countries that offer many other types of educational universities. References Bates, A. W. (2011, November). The second wave of distance education and history of the Open University United Kingdom. [Video interview]. Available from http://vimeo.com/32292234. Transcript: http://www.box.com/s/cvygk4334sub0i6atrn8 Guri-Rosenblit, S. (2009). Diverse models of distance teaching universities. Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, 2, 727-733. Available from http://www.box.com/s/51sbixtccnccfxboh1uk Perraton, H., Robinson, B., & Creed, C. (2007). International case studies of teacher education at a distance. Oldenburg, Germany: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg. Retrieved from: https://www.uni oldenburg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/c3l/master/mde/download/ASFVolume12_Ebook.pdf Peters, O. (2010). The greatest achievement of industrialized education: Open universities. In O. Peters, Distance education in transition: Developments and issues (5), 57-81. Oldenburg, Germany: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg. Available from http://www.box.com/shared/ktx7ipccetotqrr11mct Media and Equality in Distance Education In this week’s literature, Holmberg’s definition of distance education is most similar to my own regarding the deliverance of education through technology and Haughey’s description of the development of distance education in the late 1900s is most similar to my definition regarding opportunities of students reaching educational equality. While separate and unique, both theories go hand-in-hand in illustrating the important role both media and equality issues have played in the development of modern-day distance education. According to Holmberg (2005, p. 9), “distance education is characterized by teaching and learning being brought about by media: in principle students and their teachers do not meet face to face.” Holmberg’s definition of distance education most closely matches mine in how I define distance education to be a “multi-faceted, modern form of learning that involves various types of learning, programs, and technology” (Fisher, 2018). While I generally defined distance education as utilizing various types of technology and Holmberg (2005, p. 9) specifically described media utilized in distance education to include “print, audio, video, and computer,” these same tools are also the majority of the subcategories demonstrated under media technology in Figure 1 below. Holmberg (2005, p. 11) later mentions the terms “e-learning and m-learning” to describe distance education parallel to mobile smartphones and internet as media technology for distance education that I also included in Figure 1 below. Holmberg (2005, p. 11) also notes the different types of students that take advantage of distance education to include, but not limited to, students who are pursuing an education while having a family and working. While my general definition does not specifically include this particular group, my mentioning of the distance education involving different forms of learning and programs is centered around the different groups of people pursuing distance education. More specifically, my own understanding of how different types of learning and programs are advantageous to particular students requiring the affordability, availability, accessibility, convenience and flexibility offered in distance education to achieve a work-life balance is demonstrated in Figure 1 below. In addition to Holmberg’s definition closely matching my own in regards to the utilization of media technology, Haughey’s (2010, pp. 48-49) description of how World War I and II acted as a catalyst for modern distance education due to the disadvantaged students being relocated for long periods of time also supports my own understanding of distance education as well. I define distance education as “a multi-faceted, modern form of learning that bridges the gaps of social and economic inequality by offering opportunities for disadvantaged individuals, groups, and communities, who would not have had the benefit of education if it were not for distance education, to achieve upward mobility (Fisher, 2018).” Even though Haughey (2010, pp. 48-49) describes a specific disadvantaged group and community within a specific time frame that was not specifically included in Figure 1 below, we both share commonalities in our understanding of how distance education is a form of learning that enables certain students to acquire an education that could not have otherwise. While both Holmberg and Haughey describe significant factors that have allowed modern-day distance education to thrive, both are not mutually exclusive. My definition of distance education incorporates both philosophies and stands to further strengthen the role distance education plays in today’s higher education arena. Figure 1 represents my own understanding of distance education and visually illustrates the parallelism of the definitions and descriptions of distance education in the provided literature compared to my own. As demonstrated in Figure 1, distance education is a multi-faceted, modern form of learning that involves the utilization of many media technologies and bridges the gap of social and economic inequality. Figure 1. My mind map of distance education. February 11, 2018. References
Haughey, M. (2010). Teaching and learning in distance education before the digital age. In An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp. 46-66). Retrieved from: https://ares.umuc.edu/nonshib/ares.dll?Action=10&Type=10&Value=329184 Holmberg, B. (2005). Concepts and terminology - Student bodies. In The evolution, principles, and practice of distance education (pp. 9-11). Retrieved from http://www.box.com/shared/y97qyc7m0t Fisher, W. (2018). Mindmap. Retrieved from https://wincyafisher.weebly.com I originally defined distance education as an online learning environment in which students and teachers can virtually collaborate academically through the use of technology without restrictions of social, financial, geographic, and professional commitments. I created the mind map using the Mind Meister web site. This mind map represents my initial visualization of distance education which was quick and easy to construct in the following format, but challenging to download the image which required me to edit it through a screenshot. I hope to learn how to retrieve the image of the mind map more proficiently in the future.
In my opinion, distance education is an online learning environment in which students and teachers can virtually collaborate academically through the use of technology without restrictions of social, financial, geographic, and professional commitments.
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AuthorWincy Fisher's artifacts and assignments in the Distance Education and E-Learning Master's Program. Archives
April 2018
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