EC-6-Open-and-Distance-Learning-English-munotes

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OVERVIEW OF OPEN AND DISTANCE
LEARNING
Unit structure:
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Distance Education vis-à-vis Traditional Education
1.2.1 Learner-centredness/ learner autonomy
1.2.2 Indirect education
1.2.3 Education in real-life settings
1.3 What is Distance Education
1.4 Distance Education : How
1.5 A clarification of terms
1.5.1 Correspondence education
1.5.2 Open Education
1.6 Significant aspects of Distance Education
1.7 Let us Sum up
1.8 Unit End Exercise
1.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit, we intend to give you an overview of what we mean by
‘distance education’. however, it should be clear that we can not
capture the term in a conclusive and straitjacketed definition. The
attempt is essentially, therefore, to put together the views of various
thinkers in order to arrive at satisfactory working definition of the term
‘distance education’. In this context, we have also tou ched upon formal
education, non-formal education, correspondence education, etc.,
because this will help us distinguish distance education from other
learning systems.

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2 By the end of this unit, you should be able to
 argue that distance education is a learning activity;
 distinguish distance education from other learning/teaching
processes/ activities; and
 explain how distance education becomes a structured system of
learning.
1.1 INTRODUC TION
Distance education is characterised by a non-conformist and non-
traditional approach which, in effect, questions existing norms of
traditional education and seeks to provide a new orientation to educational
processes. It assumes premises about the nature of learning that are
vastly different from those governing the traditional system of education.
Moreover, it has its own dialectic register which arises out of its
ende avour to overcome the problems that are implicit in imparting
instruction to students who are at a distance from the teacher and/or
the institution.
This clearly shows that distance education does not exist in a vacuum.
It is in fact, an outcome of certain socio-historical compulsions and
technological growth: it is a system which is firmly related to social and
cultural environments. The most important development in this regard
is the advancements made in the field of electronic mass media. For
instance, technological growth opens up n ew channels of
communication which, when put to use, can replace the usual chann el, i.e.
oral communication.
1.2 DISTANCE EDUCATION VIS-A VIS
TRADITIONAL EDU CATION
Distance education, in comparison with the conventional educational
system, is a wider system in terms of both connotation and denotat ion. Its
connotation is wider because it works in a much larger learning situation:
a situation in which many factors remain indeterminate and inchoate. It
has a wider denotation in that it covers a considerable distance in
order to effect academic communication.
However, this does not mean that open/ distance learning can be
defined in any precise manne r. It has as many critics as it has
enthusiasts. It remains imprecise and that perhaps enables it to
accommodate many different ideas and aims. Perhaps as Keegan (1986)
suggests, it con not be used in an administrative context. It can be
carried out both in face-to-face encounters and at a distance. Many
distance teaching university have closed, rigid
structures and are slow to respond to the community’s educational needs.
And yet what makes distance teaching distinct is perhaps the fact that
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3 Education technology itself is a developing field which today includes
audio-visual, aids, the computer, the mass media, etc. It is this fact (i.e.
educational technology is a developing field) that helps make distance
education dynamic and exciting. Along with distance education, one
can also list various other non- traditional forms of education. These
are extension programmes which make available the expertise of a
university or of a college to new populations; adult education programmes
which provide non- traditional learning to adults in selected areas, and
extended campuses that provide lectures at various locations which are
far removed from the official campus.
Nevertheless, following Keegan, one can use ‘distance education’ as a
gene ric term. It would then include a range of teaching/learning strategies
referred to as correspondence education, home study, indep endent
study, external studies or teaching at a distance. Before we proceed any
further, let us work out the following exercise.
Check your progress 1
1. Define the term ‘conventional education’.
The concepts on the basis of which distance education operates distinctly
distinguish it from the traditional educational system.
It operates mainly on the following concepts:
i) Learner – centredness/learner autonomy ii) Indirect education
iii) Education in real-life setting
We have given below a brief account of each of these concepts.
1.2.1 Learner –centredness/learner-autonomy
Unlike formal education, distance education puts the client, i.e. the
student, first and then the institution. Distance education, in
fact, lays empha sis on the needs and covenience of the learners while
taking into account the individual diversity among them and indeed
makes this an operative condition. It works on a concept of time which is
not arbitrary in the sense that it permits individual variation in the time
span required for purposes of study. Further, it does not advocate a
definite time frame for any course of study. In that sense, it is a flexible
kind of system which adapts itself to the needs of the learners as they
actually exist and arise from time to time and place to place. It does not
distinguish between the young learner and the old learner, but provides
them with a possibility that permits individuals to programme their
specific cource of study.
These principles, however, should be unde rstood not in the absolute
sense but in the relative sense. For example, an on- campus
educational programme of th ree years duration meant for young students
of a particular age with prescribed previous education and economic munotes.in

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4 and social status is restrictive. If the same programme is made a little
flexible by relaxing the age limit, formal qualifications, the choice of
place to study, and the duration within which the programme could be
completed, then, the degree of learner centredne ss will increase. In
relative terms, a three year programme becomes learner centred, if it
can be completed in six to eight years. Similarly, in all other aspects
too, if the programme is made suitable to the needs of the learners, it
becomes learner centred.
1.2.2 Indirect education
Indirect education sugge sts the existence of a form of education that is
direct. Direct education may be understood as one which assumes the
presence of face-to-face communication. In this context, distance
education can be called ‘indirect’ education because the provision for
face-to-face interaction here is minimal. It is indirect also in the sense
that it provides for as many inputs to learning as can be maintained and
preserved. These inputs to learning are placed at the disposal of the
learner, within whom lies the crucial ability to learn and to make use
of these inputs. Of course, the learners must have the minimum
preparedness and the abilities to learn and complete the course.
1.2.3 Education in real-life setting
One feels that distance education does not have the kind of recognisable
and apparent structure that formal education possesses. It seems
to be amorphous, supine and bloodless, lacking the obvious
dynamism that an oral communicator necessarily imparts. While it
is true that it suffers from an absence of a certain kind of vitality which
only the presence of a teacher can gene rate, it nevertheless compensates
for this by making use of as
many inputs to learning as are possible and by structuring itself around
the actual learning experience of the students. The recent development in
the telecommunication and computer technologies, have increased the
possibilities of teacher-student dialogue and peer group interaction.
Through e-mail and internet facilities, collaborative learning has become
a reality. Given the access to these facilities, distance learners would
feel less lonely and alienated. If some sort of face-to-face teaching-
learning component in the form of summer schools and contact
programmes can be arranged, the loneliness of distance learners can be
reduced still further.
Having touched upon the concepts on which distance education operates,
we shall now unravel the mystery around a few terms which are
commonly used interchangea bly with ‘distance education’. The question
is whether we are correct in doing so.
The confusion over the use of the terms stems from the fact the various
expressions, such as non-formal education, distance education, non-
traditional education and open education, which are currently used in the
field of education are either not properly unde rstood or not adequately munotes.in

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5 defined. The reason simply is that educational process unde rlying the
expressions are similar in one or the other aspect, either in terms of their
philosophy or in their procedures. In other words unless one is clear about
the philosophy unde rlying these expressions and also the procedures
which they imply, there is bound to be an element of confusion,
which we should resolve, before we proceed any further.
1.3 WHAT IS DISTANCE EDU CATION
What, then, is distance education? There is no one meaning of the term
distance education. it is known by a variety of names, viz.
‘Correspond ence Education’, ‘Home Study’, Indepen dent study’,
‘External study’, ‘Off-campus Study’, ‘Open Lea rning’, ‘Open
education,’ etc. In Australia, its official name is External system.
“This description is not very much appreciated because it carries vibes of
old Lond on external system which usually provides examination but not
teaching.” This system is prevalent in India also. In some countries,
the term ‘Corresponden ce Edu cation’ is widely used. But it has
increasingly been replaced by the term
‘Independent study’ in North America. ‘Home study’ is sometimes used
to describe correspondence programmes of private schools both in North
America and Europe. This is also disliked by many mainly because some
of the corresponden ce institutions have only profit motive, particularly the
private ones. No doubt, some of them enjoy very good reputation, but
several of them are far from it. Further, several correspond ence
institutions depe nd only on one medium, viz. the print material. The
distance education today lays empha sis not only on print medium but also
on other media. In fact, multi-media approach is the corner-stone of
distance education systems.
In France, it is known as ‘tele-enseignement’. In Germany, it is
described as ‘Frenstudium’ or ‘Fernunterricht’. In Spanish speaking
countries, it is described as ‘education a distancia’. ‘Off- campus’ is a
term which is popularly used for distance education in Australia. ‘Extra-
mural’ refers to distance education in New Zealand. These terms
have come into vogue because of the historical circumstance in
various countries. They have peculiar characteristics of their own, most of
which are similar to distance education. for instance, all of them
emphasise separation of the student from the teacher.
In India, we have been using three terms: ‘External Appe arance’ (private
appearance), ‘Correspondence Education’, and ‘Distance Education’. I
would not regard the first as distance education, because, here a
university permits a student to take the examination as a private
candidate, and if he passes, he is given the degree. The university does
not take any responsibility to impart education to the student. As a
result, he is one his own and very often at the mercy of the mercenary
tutorial institutions. Since university does not give any education, what is
being done under external appearance can best be called ‘private study’
but not distance education. the second, correspondence education, has munotes.in

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6 been quite popular in this country. Lately some of them have designated
themselves as Distance Education and Open University System.
In this connection, I would like to invite your attention to the two terms
which are used inter-changeab ly and about which there has been some
controversy. They are ‘Open learning’ and ‘Distance Education’.
‘Open Learning’ covers “a wide range of innovations and reforms in the
educational sector.” Included are changes that aim to improve such
things as the participation of learners, instructional design, methods of
transmitting information and support of learners. A very comprehensive
document entitled “Open Learning” by Mackenzie, Postgate and
Scupham which was brought out by the UNESCO in 1975 describes open
learning as follows: “Such systems are designed to offer oppo rtunities for
part- time study, for learning at a distance and for innovations in the
curriculum. They are intended to allow access to wider section of adult
population, to enable students to compensate for lost oppo rtunities in the
past or to acquire new skills and qualifications for the future. Open
learning systems aim to redress social or educational inequality and to
offer oppo rtunities not provided by conventional colleges or
universities.” In this system, restrictions on learning are few than those in
formal educational institutions. Educational opportunities are planned
deliberately to that access to knowledge is available to individuals in spite
of barriers such as geog raphical distance. It is argued by some that
while distance education is accommodated by an open learning system,
the opposite premise may not be true. As Ruggles and his associates
argue: “Not all the distance education programmes have the
characteristics of an open learning system. Some are very rigid and
inflexible.” In their view, this term may symbolise a new and
emerging philosophy that will become more closely associated with
learning at a distance.
“The term ‘open’ gene rally refers to four aspects: (i) People, where it
would not debar app licants on account of their lack of educational
qualifications; (ii) Place, in the sense that learning would be home-
based and not restricted to class rooms or a campus: (iii) The use of
new methods of teaching: and (iv) Ideas. However, writers on the
subject find the term ‘open learning’ or ‘distance education’
unsatisfactory.
Doubtless, there are several similarities between ‘open learning’ and
‘distance education’. However the term ‘open learning’ conveys
certain amount of vagueness about it. Moreover, when we look at the
open universities and open learning institutions, we find all that is
conveyed by ‘open ness’ is not to be found in quite a few of these
institutions. Open learning, therefore, is always synonymous with Open
University or d istance education. Several open universities and open
learning institutions prescribe certain entry qualifications and they
debar those who do not fulfil the conditions laid down by them.
Therefore, if the idea is to provide educational facilities to larger number
of people scattered all over, i.e. providing greater access to education,
the term ‘distance education’ would be mo re appropriate. This term munotes.in

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7 basically empha sises separation of the teacher and the learner, and
planning of educational programmes and material by an educational
organisation and use of technical media on a large scale.
Distance education has the following important characteristics:
 The quasi-permanent separation of teacher and learner
throughout the length of the learning process; this distinguishes it
from conventional face-to-face education.
 The influence of an educational organisation both in planning and
preparation of learning materials and in the provision of student
suppo rt services; this distinguishes it from private study and teach
yourself programmes.
 The use of technical media; print, audio, video or computer, to un ite
teachers and learners and carry the content of the course.
 The provision of two-way communication so that the student may
benefit from or even initiate a dialogue; this distinguishes it
from other uses of technology in education.
 The quasi-permanent absence of a learning group throughout the
length of the learning process so that people are usually taught as
individuals and not in groups, with the possibility of occasional
meetings for both didactic and socialisation purposes.
1.4 DISTANCE EDU CATION – HOW
Earlier we have explained the concept of distance education. In this
country, broadly, we have two types of distance education institutions:
correspondence courses and open universities. Let me first deal with the
correspondence courses. Before I do that, a reference may briefly be
made to ‘private appea rance’ which is provided by a number of
institutions.
With a view to overcoming the deficiencies of private appea rance and
also to improving the quality of education, correspondence courses have
been introduced by a number of universities. It was in 1961 that the
Central Advisory Board of Education decided to introduce the system of
corresponden ce courses and a Committee was appointed under the
chairmanship of Dr. D. S. Kothari who was the then Chairman of UGC
which recommended in 1961 the starting of such courses. The first
School of Correspondence Courses was started by the University of
Delhi in 1962. The objective of the correspondence courses were clearly
spelt out by Dr. K. L. Shrimali, the then Union Minister of Education
while inaugurating the course. They were:
(i) “to provide an efficient and less expensive method of educational
instruction at a higher level in the context of national development of
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(ii) to provide facilities to pu rsue higher education to all qualified and
willing persons who had failed to join regular university courses due to
personal and economic reasons or because of their inability to get
admission to a regular college, and
(iii) to provide opportunities of academic pu rsuits to educated citizens
through correspondence instruction without disturbing their present
employment.”
The University Grants Commission also encouraged the starting of
correspondence courses and said that these courses are expected to cater
to the following categories of students:
(1) Students who had to discontinue their formal education owing
to pecuniary and other circumstances:
(2) Students in geographically remote areas:
(3) Students who has to discontinue their education because of lack of
aptitude and motivation but who may later on become motivated:
(4) Students who con not find a seat or do not wish to join a regular
college or un iversity department although they have the necessary
qualifications to pursue higher educations;
(5) Individuals who look upon education as a life-long activity
and may either like to pursue their knowledge in an existing
discipline or to acquire knowledge in new areas; and
(6) In-service persons.
Impressd by the potentialities of this form of distance education, i.e.
correspondence courses, the Education Commission (1964-66) in India
recommended strengthening of this system. It observed:
“The correspondence or home-study course is a well-tried and tested
technique. Experience of correspond ence courses in other countries of
the world such as the USA, S weden, USSR, Japan and Australia
where they have been used extensively for a long time…… encourages
us to recommend fuller exploitations of the method of a wide range
of purposes. There is hardly any ground for apprehension that
correspondence courses are an inferior form of education than what is
given in regular school and colleges. Experience abroad and experiments
in India have shown results which on balance tend to strengthen the case
for correspondence education….. The opportunities for part-time
education through programmes like evening colleges and part-time
education through programmes like correspondence courses should
be extended as widely as possible and should also include courses in
science and technology (either at the degree of diploma level). They will
reduce the capital cost to a substantial extent especially as enrolments
grow. They are the only means to provide higher education to those who munotes.in

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9 desire to study further but are compelled on economic grounds to take up
employment at the end of the school stage. We suggest that by 1986, at
least one-third of the to tal enrolment in higher education could, with
advantage, be provided through a system of correspondence courses and
evening colleges.”
In response to such encouragem ent, several institutions of higher
learning have introduced correspondence courses. There are now 14
state open universities and more than 200 universities which offer
corresponden ce courses. A Committee appointed by the UGC (Mrs.
Muley Committee) has gone into the working of the correspondence
institutions in the country and has highlighted their deficiencies. In some
of the meeting of the Directors of Correspondence Courses also, such
issues have been raised. Broadly speaking, they are:
(i) Correspondence education is looked down upon and is treated as
a second class system of education.
(ii) Most correspondence institutes provide arts and not science courses.
(iii) Most of them offer the same courses which are offered in the formal
system. As a result, they have the same rigidities with regard to
admissions and examinations.
(iv) Most of them use only one Medium, i.e. print, and are not multi-
media based.
(v) Very few educational institutions in th is country make proper
resource provided by the U.G.C. is very insignificant and
insufficient.
(v) There is practically no co-ordination among correspondence courses
within the country as well as within a State which has led to
duplication of effort and wastage.
(vii) Organisationally, corresponden ce institutes, in the
universities are very weak. They are not given the status they
deserve. The heads of corresponden ce institutes in many
universities are not pernanent. They do not have much voice in the
decision making bodies of the university.
The second type of distance education institutions in India are very
few and new, i.e. the open universities. Several countries of the world
have started open universities to provided innovative education and to
strengthen distance education. They are to be found in the UK, West
Germany, Spain, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Canada and
Japan.
The main features of open universities are:
 They are, like their conventional counterparts, autonomo us
bodies and are free to take their own decisions and formulate their
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10  They use multi-media for instructional purposes-electronic
media is an important component.
 There is a strong student support service.
 The material is prepared by teams of experts.
 Entry qualifications are flexible and relaxed.
 One can study according to his own pace of convenience.
 There is uniformity in the quality of education, i.e. the students
have access to the same high quality education.
The people working in the se institutions devote their entire time to
distance education. To them it is a cult. What is more, the open
university specialises in distance education and provides multi-media
instruction to its students.
In India we have been very slow in establishing full-fledged open
universities. The Government of India took the initiative in the early 70s
when it appo inted a Committee under the chairmanship of Shri G.
parthasarathty, the then Vice-Chancellor of the JNU, to look into the
feasibility of establishing a National Open University in the country. The
Committee, after a good deal of deliberations, strongly favoured the
establishment of a National Open University.
“In situation of this type where the expansion of enrolments in higher
education has to continue at a terrific pace and where available
resources in terms of men and money are limited, the obvious solution, if
proper standa rds are to be maintained and the demand for higher
education from different sections of the peop le is to be met, is to adopt
the Open University system with its provision of higher education on
part-time basis. The group, therefore, recommends that the
Government of India should establish as early as possible, a
national Open University by an Act of pa rliament.”
The Committee further added that the bene fits of this experiment direct
and indirect are likely to be very substantial. It is interesting to note that
the Parthasarathy Committee took note of the pressures on the
education system and came to a firm view that it was necessary to start an
Open University not only to meet the pressure, but also to give quality
education. We understand that the report of the Committee was
accepted by the Government and a draft bill was also prepared. It is not
known why it was not pursued. Later, the Government of West Bengal
also announced its intention to start an Open University in early
1982. However, it was the Government of Andhra Pradesh which
initiated action earlier than other. 22 Since then it seems to have caught
on and a few other State in the country are showing interest in it.
The University Enqu iry Commission appointed by the Government of
Bihar has suggested that the State Government should start an munotes.in

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11 Open University to promote education in the non-formal sector. It argues
that in the altered conditions of life and increasing rush for higher
education, it is desirable to open a venues for non-formal education and
encourage self-effort on the part of the candidates to study when they
can spare time instead of forcing them to waste their money and time by
joining sub-standard colleges. The purpose of Open University has been
very aptly described by this Commission as follows:
“The object of this university should be to help those who wish to
get higher education through self-effort and to provide a wider range
of courses of studies suited to the needs, occupational or personal,
and interests of the students. The university system need not force
anyone whether employed in some occupation or not, to join a
college for receiving education for studying for a university degree. It
should be open to all to employ their spare hours to learn through self-
effort for qua lifying themselves for the university degrees. The Open
University should provide high quality of courses especially suited to
the n eeds of such students and o rganise such guidance and aids which
would help self-learning by those who wish to do so.”
More than in the advanced countries, there is a strong case of
promoting open education systems in a vast country like India. The
conditions prevailing in the country demand this approach to education.
It is accepted by all that there is tremendous pressure for education and
this pressure can not be met by starting formal institutions. The State
have neither the resources nor the qualified personnel to expand formal
education. Therefore, the present policy concerning education has to be
re-examined critically. “The only hope lies in redical and innovative
approach through the avenues of no n-formal education and adoption
of modern educational technology and encouraging self-learning.”
Realising the utility and importance of distance education and with a
view to strengthening it, the Government of India decided to set-up
a National Open University. It was first anno unced by the prime
Minister, Shri Rajiv Gandhi in his broadcast to the nation in Janua ry
1985. Imme diately after that the Ministry of Education initiated action for
setting up this university. A Committee of distinguished educationists was
appointed. Within six months, not only the project Report was prepared,
but also the Bill relating to its setting up was p assed by the
parliament and the University formally came into existence towards the
end of September 1985.
The University has two important functions to perform: (a) to function as
an Open University; and
(b) to maintain and co-ordinate distance education in the country. Its
jurisdiction is the whole country.
The origin of distance education lies basically in the philosophy that
the society has a responsibility to provide educational opportunities
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12 system. There is the case of Eklavya mythology who wanted to learn
under the guru, Dronacharya, who as we all know, refused to take him as
a student because he was neither a Brahmin nor a Kshatriya. However,
Eklavya was determined to learn and what happe ned subsequently is
known to all of us. (The legend goes that Eklavya built a figure in the
image of Dronacharya and started practising archery under its feet.
Subsequently, his skills in archery surprised those of the best pupil of
Dronacharya. What happ ened subsequently is not relevant here. The
point, however, that needs to be made is that today a motivated
learner cannot be and must not be ignored for any reason
whatsoever). In those days a Dronacharya could refuse to take and
Eklavya as a student and the society would tolerate it. Today’s democratic
society cannot afford to overlook the interest of Eklavyas nor can
Dronacharyas say ‘no’ to them. Distance education and the Open
University facilitate this. Open Universities are universities for the
modern Eklavyas. Availability of communication technologies make
this possible today. It is said that there was a time when, if a student
wanted to learn, he had to go to the Aristotle. Today we have the means
to take the Aristotle to the student. Therefore, let us take full advantage
of the technologies available for extending educational opportunities to
all those who want to have access to it.
1.5 A CLARIFICATION OF TERMS
It is an improvement over the single ‘corresponden ce’ mode, since
distance education uses all th e available media for educational
delivery. ‘Open Education’ refers to the approach or the philosophy
behind it.
By formal education we mean the campus-based education at the
school, college and the University levels where curricula and syllabi have
certain established patte rns. The a ge groups, training, methods of
teaching, mate rials (textbooks) used, evaluation etc. are known to the
teacher and the taught. By non-formal education we mean any other
approach to take education to those who have not been able to get formal
education. Distance education refers to the ‘mode’ which does not require
the physical contiguity of the teacher and the learner at all times.
It is not unusual to confuse the terms ‘Correspondence Education’,
‘Distance Education’ and ‘Open Education’ with each other. It is true
openness to metho dology is a characteristic of distance education, but
it should be noted that ‘non-distance
education’ or ‘face-to-face education’ may also use ‘open’ methodologies.
Moreover, ‘distance education’ is possible without being ‘open’. For
example, it can be argued that distance education, as practised at
the German Open University at Hagen, may not come under the category
of ‘open education’, as this University is ‘open’ in limited sense only.
It should be clear that there can be various degree of ‘openness’ of
education. however, at the moment it is difficult to say as to which munotes.in

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13 level of ‘openness’ may legitimize the nomenclature ‘open university ‘
for a university,
‘Distance education’ is an expression which officially replaced the earlier
term ‘correspondence education’ in the Twelfth World Conference of the
International Council of Corresponden ce Education, held in Canada in
1982. Since then the Council was renamed as the International Council
for Distance Education. The debate on the search for an appropriate
expression to encompass all the characteristics which had, of late,
come to be associated with what was known as correspond ence
education till recently was accelerated by the emergence of the British
Open University in 1969 and the consensus, as indicated above, was
achieved in 1982. The expression marks a deviation from the
earlier distribution-strategy-based nomenclature to the nomenclature
representative of the spatial and temporal relationship between the sources
and the receiver of education. Having said this, now let us touch upon
‘correspondence education’ and open education’.
Correspondence Education
The distinction between corresponden ce education and distance education
lies in their aims, meth ods, and orientation. Whereas correspondence
education becomes an extension of conventional education as far as its
imparting of prescribed knowledge for issuing of certificates is
concerned, distance education aims at mo re varied goals. These
include personal growth, training for better job prospects and job
enhancement, a change in att itude, etc., in addition to imparting of
knowledge. Distance education also employs a multimedia approach
including human contact. Correspondence education, on the other hand,
depe nds mostly on printed mate rials distributed by post. The procedure
adopted mostly on printed mate rials distributed by post. The procedure
adopted for admissions to the courses and examinations are more or less
the same as have been in use over the centuries in the traditional college/
university education. Thus, correspondence education is essentially a
system based on the mode of
i) distribution to teaching materials, and
ii) of effecting interaction, if needed, between the teacher and the taught.
Distance education contrastingly is oriented towards peda gogy: it tries to
build the teacher in the materials. Now we may turn to the concept of
‘openness’.
Open Education
We may define ‘open education’ as a system of education that does
not ope rate through traditional conventions which are essentially
restrictive in nature – admission restrictions, attendance restrictions,
restrictions on the candidature for examinations, restrictions on the period
of time to be devoted to a course, restrictions on the number of
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14 combinations for a particular degree, restrictions on the modes of
didactic communication and the didactic tasks, etc. The larger the
number of such restrictions left unobserved, the higher the degree of the
‘openn ess’ of the types of education under consideration. We should
make clear our point that ‘correspondence/distance education institutes’
may or may not be ‘open’ in the sense we have referred to above, or
may be open only to a limited degree. And in the same way, even a
traditional college/university may become ‘open’ to a recognisable
degree. Research programmes like M. Phil and D. may be put under this
category.
What have we said above?
A diagrammatic representation of what we have discussed is given
below:


(a) Correspondence Distance (c) Open Education
Education Education

refers to the
traditional type of
education given
mainly through
printed materials,
by t he postal
system.




The difference
between (a) a nd (b)
is characterised
essentially by the
advanced strategies
and technologies of
communication
used in (b). obviously, the shift has been effected by advanced in
communication
technology refer to non-
traditional
innovative type of
education that uses all the
possible means of
commu nication,
the postal system
being only one of them.
refers to that kind
of non-conventional
education which has
been weaning away
from
the conventional /
the traditional
school/college/univer
sity education.




The relationship between (b) and (c) is that open
education can be effected easily through distance
education system on the one
hand, and on the ot her advances in the practice of
distance education help and
encourage education to
become more and more
open. Naturally, the two go
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Overview of Open and Distance Learning of work and economy
15 Besides these three terms, there are a few more in use currently, but
in the main their currency is localised. They are as follows:
i) External system/studies: This term is in use in Australia. It does
confuse one, when one thinks of the ‘external system’ as it functioned
in London years ago. The London model of ‘external system’
makes it possible for learners to sit for recognised examinations,
but teaching is not necessarily associated with the system. It is obvious
that the term does not connote all that is meant by the term ‘distance
education’ tod ay.
ii) Extra-mural system: This expression is used in New Zealand to
convey what distance education means to most of us.
iii) Independent study: Wedemeyer’s definition of distance education. in
fact, it is through his writings that this term gained currency in North
America.
iv) Home Study: This term is localised mainly in Europe, probab ly
under the influence of Swedish schools of correspondence courses.
However, it is also being used at a few places in Canada and the
USA.
V) Off-campus studies: To denote a contrast with the on- campus
traditional type of studies the expression ‘off-campus studies’ is widely
used in the pacific region – Australia and South-East Asian Countries.
As indicated above, these terms do have local currency. But the term
‘distance education’ enjoys international currency. It may be that these
localised terms are not replaced entirely and immediately by the more
acceptable term ‘distance education’. The fact, however, remains that
most of the current literature and reports on all kinds of activity in the
field are presented under the label ‘distance education’ and /or ‘open
learning’.
1.6 SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS OF DISTANCE
EDUCATION
Obviously, the qu estion of defining distance education is open, and
it will remain so for quite some time to come. The purpose of the
above details will have been served if they enable you to identify the
various characteristics of distance education as it is unde rstood today.
This is exactly what Keegan has already done for us. He brings together
various aspects of these definitions in order to clarify the nature of
distance education. These aspects are
i) the separation of teacher and learner.
ii) the role of the educational organisation
iii) the people of the technical media
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16 v) the separation of the learner from his peer group
vi) industrialisation
Each of these may be considered briefly as follows:
i) The teacher and the learner are separated from each other and this is
a central characteristic of this form of education.
ii) Distance education is an institutional kind of educational
system. It is, therefore, distinct from private study which may result from
private reading or watching TV or attending a talk, etc.
iii) Distance education makes use of the various technically
advanced media such as printing, telephone, audio-video, broadcasting,
computer, etc.
iv) It is two-way communication because the student is able
therefore can receive through assignment-responses or other media and
therefore can receive feedback. The student thus enters into a dialogue
with the institution.
v) Each student is separated from his/her peer group in the sense that
although the learners form a fairly sizable population they do not have
face-to-face interaction among themselves. Thus distance education
becomes a highly individualised learning system. In this sense, it
remains one of the most individualised of all educational systems. Even
though study groups may be formed un der distance education learning
programmes, these may not be compulsory and the student is free to work
entirely on his/her own.
vi) Distance education is a specific answer to a specific need. It is the
developed industrial society that has created a need for a more capsular
kind of education. At the same time, it is the same society that has
developed the necessary technology to be able to structure an
educational system that will cater to such a specialised kind of need for
education.
In the sense, one can say that distance education is an offshoot of
industrial development. Thus, today one can define distance education
as that field of educational endea vour in which
 the learner is quasi-permanently separated from the teacher
throughout the duration of the learning process;
 the learner is quasi-permanently separated from the learning group
throughout the duration of the learning process;
 a technological medium replaces the inter-personal communication of
conventional, oral group-based education;
 the teaching/learning process is institutionalised (thus distinguishing
it from Teach-yourself Programmes) and,
 two-way communication is possible between both the student
and t he teacher (thus distinguishing it from other forms of
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Overview of Open and Distance Learning of work and economy
17 In essence, it represents individualisation of the educational processes.
Finally, one must recognise that the concept of distance education is
basically a democratic idea. This is, perhaps, what makes it most
unique. What a lecture says as part of his/her oral and spontaneous
communication within the classroom is in many ways private. At least, it
is restricted to a definite and small number of persons and con not be
captured in any medium for review or revision.
On the other hand, the information that is communicated in a distance
education learning programme is something that is open to public
inspection. Such learning resources, therefore, can be publicly
criticised and can be reviewed and revised from time to time. Hence
one might conclude by saying that the democratistation of the
educational process is possibly achieved in some measure by the
process of distance education. Currently there are 14 state open
Universities and more than 200 Distance Education Institutes are
engaged in imparting education through ODL catering to about 25
percent of enrolment in Higher education institutions.
1.7 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we attemp ted to give you an overview of the term ‘distance
education’ – with a word of caution that it is not easy to define the term
comprehensively. The attempt was carried out by distinguishing the
system of distance teaching and learning from the other systems of
education. To ward off naïve criticisms against this mode of teaching, we
have, towards the end of the unit, said a few words in justifying
distance education as a learning activity, which is more effective than
the traditional systems of education.
1.8 UN IT END EXER CISE
1. Describe the historical developments of ODL in India.
2. Discuss in detail how distance education is an improvement over
correspondence education.
3. What are the characteristics of distance education?
4. What are the features of open university system.
Reference :
Koul, B.N., Singh, Baushise; Ansari, M. M. (ed) 1988. Studies in
Distance education. New Delhi, AIU.
IGNOU (2008). Growth and Philosophis of D.E. New Delhi, Study
material of PGDDE programme
Harichandan, D (199). Open University System : A broad based attempt
at Distance Education. University News, V0127 No. 36 pages 3-7,
New Delhi, AIU.
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18 2

BASES OF CURRICULUM FOR ODL
Unit Structure :
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Determinants of Curriculum
2.3 Sociological Bases of Curriculum
2.4 Philosophical Bases of Curriculum
2.5 Psychological Bases of Curriculum
2.6 Let us sum up
2.7 Unit End Exercise
2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
Understand the determinants of curriculum construction.
State the philosophical determinant of curriculum construction.
State the psychological determinant of curriculum construction
State the sociological determinant of curriculum construction.
2.1 INTRODUC TION
Alas with a faith in deep-rooted fundamental unity we began the task of
national reconstruction of curriculum for Indian education system.
During the last few decades we have achieved a lot. But the path which
the Indian Society had traversed and is traversing now has always been
full of challenges. Education of a society which has such peculiar
characteristic described above is really a very complex task. To form
the educational policies and execute them is much more difficult. The
education system framed was with much conscious efforts with uniting
all the complexes.
i.e. formal, informal and non-formal.
Non-formal education is an arrange ment wherein flexibility is the key
word. Such a system is an open one with regards to various aspect munotes.in

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Bases of Curriculum for ODL
19 of education i.e., admission, place of instruction, mode of instruction,
duration and of course curriculum.
2.2 DETERMINANTS OF CURRICULUM:-
It is everywhere seen that the form of the curriculum undergoes a change
whenever the aims of education are altered to suit changed conditions in
society. For this reason, it is necessary to define the various bases of
curriculum, of which the more important are sociological, philosophical
and psychological.
1) Sociological : To promote social values of co-operation, team spirit &
developing social skills.
2) P hilosophical :- Based upon fundamental principles of Educational
philosophy, National objectives and school of educational thought.
3) Psychological:- Learner abilities, capacities, interests, aspects of
individual difference I.D. stages of physical & mental
development is very important.
2.3 SOCIOLOGICAL BASES OF CURRICULUM
It is consider very much desirable that the curriculum is organized,
so that it may help in the achievement of social aims. Upon curriculum
depend the social progress. This is the reason why educational
sociologist considers it essential to organize the curriculum properly.
Accordingly the curriculum should be planned keeping in view two
important things
1. The curriculum should be such that it helps in the achievement of
the social aims of the education and
2. Curriculum is so organized and its relationships with
instructional methods should be such that it becomes an effective
medium to keep a control over society.
Let us try to unde rstand the different social structure and its relation with
curriculum.
Education socially speaking, is a process of transmission of culture. To
the sociologist, culture has a much wider meaning than its popular
reference. It refers to the total ways of life of a society. Its knowledge,
belief, attitudes, values, skills and beha vior patterns – and not just to
what is best or most important in that way of life, or to art, music or
literature. Culture, to the sociologist, is a natural term that includes
everything that is learned and manmade. Schools are formal
institution specially set up for the preservation and transmission of
culture by the society. Institutions seek to discharge this function through
the curriculum, which is nothing but the sum total of learning experiences
provided under its auspices.
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20 SOCIAL CLASS AND CURRICULU M
The curriculum should represent class-free, non- controversial fund of
knowledge that was good for all children that came under the fold of the
school had till recently been taken for granted. Early sociological research
on educational opportunity certainly treated as unproblematic the concept
of “what it is to be educated” or the nature of the education pu pil
failed at. Of late however school-curriculum has become target of
severe criticism in the context of the ideals of social justice and
equalization of oppo rtunity, the charge against it being that it is
invariably conceived in narrow middle class terms and the refore acts
against the interest of the children coming from improvised lower socio-
economic classes. Why school-success should be judged in terms of
high score in languages or mathematics rather than in work or social
service?
EQUALITY OF CURRICUL UM
A different kind of curriculum may be common curriculum that takes
the form that one subculture or culture is as good as any other. It is also
accepted that those who found it difficult to respond to such curricular
treatment, either because of poor home- background or the other socio-
economic reasons should be given compensatory education to ma ke up
for their cultural disadvantages and deprivations. Thus the curriculum
should be culture free, t ransmit knowledge, languages, science,
mathematics, arts and crafts and so on which is believed to be needed
by one and all for the all round development of one’s personality
SOCIAL LEARNING AND CURR ICULU M
How the social class factors affect the school achievement unfavorably of
learner, especially of the unskilled working class- has been brought
out by many studies. The most well known of these is Basil
Bernstein’s work in social learning. His findings were that since child
learns his social structure through its language, spoken langua ge
powerfully conditions what is learned and how it is learned and so
influences his future learning. The school by simply substituting a
formal language, which is not necessarily a logical, impersonal,
emotionally eviscerated language cut off the individual from his
traditional relationships and perhaps alienate him from them. So the
schools should maintain the choice of language.
Thus for non-formal system of education curriculum should be framed
keeping in mind the individualistic need and of the dynamic society.
They are:
The curriculum should be flexible and changeable according to the
needs of an individual and society.
It should be confirmed to the level of individual development.
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21 It should inspire an individual to become responsible citizen.
It should include variety of assignment.
It should emphasize more and practical work rather than
theoretical.
It should make individual capable for their livelihood.
Through curriculum the cultural values should be brought to light
and through it the high ideas of the society should be transmitted to
the generation.
The method of teaching should promote demo cratic feeling, ideals
and value.
Check Your Progress
1. Explain the sociological bases of curriculum construction. Illustrate its
application in curriculum construction.
2.4 PHILOSOPHICAL BASES OF CURR ICULUM
The kind of educational objectives which the learners are to achieve
may depend much upon the philosophy of education adhe red to by the
teachers. The involved learner’s philosophy adds input into the
curriculum. Pressures from the community at large also modify
philosophical thinking pertaining to teaching-learning situations. Each
philosophical school of thought has unique objectives for learner to
acquire. Let us try to understand different schools of philosophy in
relation to curriculum.
IDEALISM AND THE CURR ICULU M
Idealists believe that one cannot know the real world as it is and as it
exists. One can however seek and obtain ideas pertaining to reality. The
perceiver of the use of the sense obtains ideas only about their
phen omena.
To an idealist, ideas are moiré important than materialistic things. A good
teacher can communicate ideas effectively to pupils. Mental and
intellectual development of pupil is of utmost importance. Thus
knowledge of worthwhile subject matter needs to be acquired by pupils.
Each pupil should have access to good education in liberal arts and should
acquire vital skills like reading, writing, listening and speaking. A
comprehensive study of history, geog raphy, science, art, music, literature
and math ematics must be suitably emphasized in the curriculum.
Pupil may achieve universal idea from a quality liberal art curriculum,
ideas which are enduring and have stood the test time. Immanuel Kant
(1724-1804), emphasized the importance of each human being treating
others as ends and not as means to an end. The golden rule is stable and munotes.in

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22 not subject to continuous modification and change. It can apply to all
persons regardless of creed, origin or religion.
Universal ideas in dep th must be sought continuously by the learner. The
mind must be creative and flexible to seek universal truths. That which
exists in the natural or physical environment does not represents the
ultimate reality.
Now the question arise that what objectives then might an idealistic
teacher emphasize?
Which assist pupil to think critically and creatively i.e. mental
development.
Which reflect vital subject-matter that has endured in space and time.
Which emphasize learning acquired in liberal arts
Which reflect universal content in relating one human being to
another involving ethics.
That emphasizes individual pupils moving away from being finite to
increasingly becoming infinite human being.
REALISM AND THE CURR ICULUM
Realist believes that an individual may know reality as it truly is. One
does not merely obtain ideas pertaining to the natural or social
environment, but ea ch person may actually see, feel, taste, touch and
smell that which is real. An objective reality then exists for each
person. The natural or social environment, as it exists, imprints itself
upon the mind of the observer. Science and mathemat ics are two vital
curriculum areas for a curriculum adhe ring to realism as a
philosophy of education. Accuracy and precision are vital in the arena
of science and mathematics can provide numerical description of
reality. Other curriculum areas which objectified content may well
include subjects where values which have stood the test of time. A
realistic curriculum does not empha size change in society as
experimentalists do.
Realistic teacher may then emphasize the following objectives:
Pupil should experience in particular a quality curriculum.
Precise measurably stated objectives can be emphasized in
teaching learning situations. The content should be accurate and
verifiable.
Other curriculum areas also need to receive adequate emphasis the
class setting. Accurate facts, concept and generalization need to be
emphasized which adhe re to scientific methods in acquiring content.
Options might receive relatively little empha sis in teaching and
learning. More of action oriented projects are suggested.
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Bases of Curriculum for ODL
23 Pupil should be guided to receive exact content as it truly is in the
environment. i.e. more of practical experiences.
Learner need to realize that direct experiences makes leaning more
effective an everlasting
EXPERIMENTALISM AND THE CURR ICULUM
Experimentalists believe in experience representing ultimate reality. One
can know that which is experienced in here and now. What is true today
may not be true tomorrow is a key generalization empha sized by
experimentalists. Since changes exist in society, new problems arise.
These problems need to be identified and solved. The solutions are
tentative and subjected to testing in actual life situations. What does
not work in terms of solutions, needs modification?
Generally, groups of individuals select and attempt to solve identified
problems in society. Thus, committee work needs to be amply
emphasized in the class setting. Individual endeavors are need ed to
implement school curriculum and the curriculum of life. With groups or
individuals identifying and attempting to solve problem, interest and
purpose are involved in ongoing learning endea vors. Efforts put forth
come from inherent interest of problem solvers. Interest and efforts are
not separated from each other. They become integrated entities.
Experimentalist teacher might well emphasize objectives such as the
following:
Problem solving objectives being highly significant the curriculum
should assign such methodologies
Data gathering from a variety of resources to solve problems
Developing hypotheses in answer to identified problems
Testing and revising hypotheses, if evidence warrants
Working effectively in committee settings
Accepting the consequences of acts performed and lastly
Change should be continuously in evidence in the curriculum of life.
EXISTENTIALISM AND THE CURRICULUM
Existentialism tends to emphasize rugged individualism in the
curriculum. The involved person chooses and makes decision in free
environment. Ideally, existentialists would say that complete freedom
needs to exist for pupils in deciding what to learn (the objectives)
and how to learn (activities and experience). Young learners in general,
no doubt, need more assistance in learning as compared to older pupils.
The existentialist teacher attempts to develop a learning environment
where pupil increasingly makes decision to determine their destinies.
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24 decision for the individual learner, however, these characteristics of being
human may be lacking.
If the learner chooses goals and learning activities in the class
setting within a very flexible framework, the responsibility rests upon
the involved pupil. It, truly, is difficult to make personal choices which
are perceived as being worthwhile. The responsibility is great indeed.
There certainly is a moral dimension involved in learning. Each decision
made, in degrees, has moral component s. To choose freely and also
be moral, presents problems. To go along with the crowd or to do
what is popular may not harmonize with that which is ethical and good.
It can be appealing to realize one’s freedom and within that framework be
entirely responsible for choices he makes. Others, then, cannot be used as
scapegoats for consequences of one’s pe rsonal choices and decision.
Each human being is born and lives his life. He/she did not choose to
come into this world. It follows that human beings individually, now,
need to determine their own goals. These goals are not given to any
one person nor do they come from God. Rather the involved person by
choosing and acting determines his/her destiny. The consequences
involved in the making of decision can lead to perceived desirable
results. The opposite may also occur – alienation, loneliness, and
unhappiness. The n atural, social environment does not present rational
choices rather absurd, ridiculous situations may arise.
Which objectives then might an existentialist teacher empha size
 Pupil need to be guided to choose what to learn as well as
learning activities to achieve the desired ends. Learning centers may
emphasize, in deg rees, existentialist thinking. Individualized
learning may also harmonize well with existentialists thinking.
 There needs to be much pupil/teacher planning in the class
setting. True input, not manipulation of the learner, needs to be in
evidence. The involved pupils must increasingly, be free to select
their own destiny and value system. A teacher determined
curriculum would de finitely not harmonize with existentialist
thinking.
 Learners need to study and analyze the human dilemma.
Learner need to look at the outcomes of the solutions. Were the
outcomes rational, irrational or in between.
 Pupil with teacher guidance needs to notice absurd, ridiculous
situations in life. How can moral decisions be made within the
framework of these irrational setting? A major objective of
existentialist teacher is to have pupil accept the inconsistencies in
society and still attempt to operate morally in the environment.
 The teacher needs to stress continuously the importance of making
personal choices and commitments by e ach pupil. Committed
individuals, who have personal conscience, reflect the thinking of
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Bases of Curriculum for ODL
25 In a nut shell, curriculum should be child centered. In non- formal more
the following th ings should be kept in mind. Only those subjects
should be included in the curriculum which are directly relevant to
actual living because of its relevance the curriculum becomes life
oriented. As the basic philosophy of education is perseverance of culture
and civilization, the subjects which convey the knowledge and
understanding of culture should be included. It should be create in
learner/individual and a sense of dignity. Thus, a comprehensive and
wholesome curriculum should have languages, social sciences, arithmetic,
biology, science, literature and subject promoting vocational efficiency.
Curriculum organized must be more functional and application oriented.
Check Your Progress
1. Explain the philosophical bases of curriculum construction.
Illustrate its application in curriculum construction.
2.5 PSY CHOLOGICAL BASES OF CURRICULUM
Psychological basis of education emphasizes that the learner is
center of educational process. Education is for the learner and learner
is not for education. Psychology has established the fact that a learner
develops through various stages, with respect to non-formal education
system curriculum should be framed keeping the age level of the learner.
The individual differences in the interest, impulse, urges, needs,
capacities and abilities among the learner.
Let us see the various factors affecting the curriculum construction which
are very essential for curriculum construction.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE LEARNER AND
THE CURR ICULU M
While the division of curriculum experiences by age and by broad
periods is of substantial help in curriculum planning, it is inadequate
from the p oint of view of the individual differences among
individuals. In the development of children it is commonly found that
sequences i.e. the order of events is fairly constant from child to child.
Thus a child holds up his head before he walks he walks before he runs.
But the rate at which each child learns is always different. Thus no two
individuals can be same even the identical twins. The tempo and
timings of age incidence of the events in a sequence varies greatly in
children.Therefore the curriculum should be flexible to me et the
individual differences effectively and allow each one to learn and develop
along his/her natural path and progress at his/her own pace. For this the
curriculum should contain various creative activities like seminar
presentat ion, research, projects and useful developing experience.
INTELLIGENCE AND THE CURRICULU M
Intellectual or mental development is of critical concern to the school,
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26 important objectives of school-curriculum. The nature of intelligence and
the factors influencing its development have been a favorite’s area
of research- interest among psychologist. Differences in intellectual
capacity have been studied most in relationship to the ability of children
to profit by experiences in school. The application is best seen in
some of the modern- curriculum projects which have at tempted to
present the basic ideas of the different disciplines in the though t-forms
of children and gradually deepen their understanding of them by enabling
them to use then in progressively. As in every field of knowledge
perspective has grown with time and research the results of the
application of intelligence tests in the growing period are usually
described in the terms of mental age. Thus a mental age of ten years
means that the child performs like average ten years child with
chronological age of ten. The intelligence quotient (I.Q.) is the ratio of
mental age (M.A) and chronological age (C.A.). Thus the curriculum
should be according to the normal average intelligence.
THE LEARNING PROCESS AND THE CURRICULU M
The problem of how human being learns has been a favorite problem of
psychologists since the early days of psychology and has brought
forth various kinds of answer. The first fifty century has been
characterized by a rapid spread of experimental ideas. Such experiments
have had a wholesome effect on unchecked speculation. Often the ef fect
has been demonstrate that what some people knew for certainty was
really in the area of chance and that they had been misled by some
uncontrolled factor in the situation such as an representative sample of the
population. In many ways research connected with the curriculum has
done more to clear away the brush of misconceptions than it has
contributed to new or starting discoveries. Such clarification, however,
has often given a surer and more precise knowledge on which to build.
The detailed experiments often have a limited range of applicability.
The different theories of learning result in different curricular
implications. The curriculum emanating from the mental discipline-
theory tends to be narrow in objectives and unitary in scope, and the
aspects of sequence of content and continuity of learning experiences are
likely to be ignored. The behaviorist theory with its empha sis on
repetition, reinforcement and conditioning is likely to result in
curriculum, built on learning material arranged in the form of
programmes and taught through teaching machines. The field theory, on
the other hand leads to an organization of curriculum- content, that
stresses context, relationships and organized unde rstanding and to
a curriculum designed to serve multiple objectives representing a wider
range of learnings. The influence of this theory cab be seen in mod ern
curriculum-projects in the different subjects where stress is on intuitive
perception of relationships.
School curriculum should, thus provide for varieties of learning and
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Bases of Curriculum for ODL
27 Check Your Progress
1. Explain the psychological bases of curriculum construction.
Illustrate its application in curriculum construction.
2. Explain the three bases of curriculum construction. Discuss its
application in curriculum construction.
2.6 LET US SUM UP
In free India numbe rs of attempts were made to renovate and revamp
the curriculum to make it suitable to the growing need, aspirations and
demand of a modernizing egalitarian society. In the nutshell the
curriculum should be constructed in accordance with the needs,
requirement, condition and aspirations of society so that the qualities of
sociability and citizenship is inculcated. The curriculum should contain
various activities like survey, visits to places, discussion where the social
contact can be improved upon.
2.7 UN IT END EXERCISE
Q.1 What are the bases of curriculum construction? Explain the
Philosophical bases of curriculum construction.
Q.2 Write short notes on :
a) Realism & curriculum
b) Individual difference & curriculum c) Determinants of curriculum
Reference:
1. S.S.Chandra & Rajendra Sharma: “SOCIOLOGY OF EDUC ATION”,
Atlantic Publishers and Distributors ,2004.
2.Dr. S.S .Mathur: “A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO INDIAN
EDUC ATION”, Vinod Pustak Mandir, Dr. Rangeya Ragha va Marg,
Agra-2.
3.Yogend ra K. Sharma: “SOCIOLOGICAL PHILOSOPHY OF
EDUC ATION”, Kanshka Publishers, New Delhi. 2007
4. WW W.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm

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28 3
CURRICULAR ISSUES RELATED TO ODL
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Instructional issues
3.2.1 Philosophical level
3.2.2 Pragmatic level
3.3 Discipline based issues
3.3.1 Science
3.3.2 Social Sciences & Humanities
3.4 Individual based curriculum
3.5 Relevance based issues
3.6 Curriculum & Ideology at andragogic level
3.6.1 Curriculum & Ideology
3.6.2 Andragogy
3.7 Curricula in global environment
3.8 Let Us Sum Up
3.9 Unit End Exercise
3.0 OBJECTIVES :
After reading this unit you wo uld be able to :
 Explain different curricular issues with specific reference to ODL
 Describe ideological undercurrents that shape curricular pattern.
 Outline relationship of curriculum, ideology and andragogy.
 Identify curricular challenges for global envi ronment.
3.1 INTRODUCTION :
We now understand that the basis of curriculum and the foundations that
shapes the learning processes in ODL from unit -3. We must remember
that these processes have socio -political and cultural contexts having munotes.in

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29 Philosophical and Pedagogic basis with ideological implications. In spite
of the fact that curriculum for ODL face new challenges from time to time,
there are fundamental issues that are common to any ODL programme.
In this unit we would explore instructional, discipline -based, individual -
based curriculum and relevance -based issues.
3.2 INSTRUCTIONAL ISSUES :
Instruction is the means by which learning is achieved and curriculum
essentially defines the design for learning. You know that learning in any
educational process foc us on knowledge and/or skills that are judged to be
important while defining curriculum. In ODL instructional issues related
to curriculum can be viewed at various levels, broadly categorised as
Philosophical and Pragmatic levels. At the Philosophical leve l, various
principles behind theories of learning and concept of curriculum itself
influence curriculum planners. Whereas at pragmatic or practical level
there are host of instructional issues at various stages of educational
process. We need to address co urse planning, course production, media
choice, student support services, evaluation, feedback system and so on.
We would be discussing theories of learning in the next unit. Here, lts look
at Philosophical issues related to ODL.
3.2.1 Philosophical level :
We need to understand that each theory of learning defines the worldview
about teacher as well as learner besides the entire process of teaching -
learner besides the entire process of teaching -learning. The nature of
understanding of curriculum planner wo uld influence all curricular
decisions in the process.
We have discussed theories of learning at length in unit -5.1. Here, let us
briefly understand how instructional issues related to curriculum are
impacted by Philosophy of curricular planner.
Behaviori sm:- Based on the experiments conducted on animals, birds and
children, this theory focuses on ‘stimulus -response’. Curricular planner,
who ignores power of human mind, believes that teacher has absolute
control over learner, and assumes learners as passiv e beings, designs
instructions within behaviorist theory. Also this theory basis instructions
on the assumption that biological behavior of learners can be conductional
or manipulated by the instructor or the teacher.
Cognitive Psychology :- Unlike behavior ism, Cognitive Psychology
places human mind at the centre of the learning process. Instructions under
this theory based on German Gestalt Psychologists, emphasises primacy of
mind. Unlike behaviorists which view learning as relationship between
stimulus an d response, cognitivists uses previous knowledge of learners as
base and considers learning as insight. This theory contributes in terms of
unlinking new learning to cognitive structure and aids in comprehension
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30 Eclecticism :- As a synt hesis of behavior and cognitivists worldviews,
Robert M. Gagrie an educational psychologist, described learning as a
process that takes place inside an individual’s brain depending upon both;
internal and external environments. He identified nine stages of cognitive
processing which has been discussed at length in unit – 5, 5.1.
In brief, lets understand how theories of learning has implications for
curriculum development in ODL.
a) Curricular planner inclined towards behaviorism tend to ignore role
of learner and may devise structured, controlled bureaucratic curriculum.
b) Curricular planners choosing eclectic or to an extent cognitive
approach would focus on degree of freedom for learners and give them
choices to decide what and how they want to learn.
3.2.2 Pragmatic level :
At operational, practical or pragmatic level we make decisions about
strategies of teaching and support services for learners within ODL
framework. Those decisions are made in such a way that learners can learn
without much difficulties.
The decisions about strategies of teaching will focus around course
structure, text design, choices of media. The content load, mode of
presentation, format of text, audio -visual material and so on would
influence teaching strategies. The decisions about me dia choices has to
consider weather course would be offered through one medium or would
have multi -media approach and it so what would be the availability of
financial, technological and human resources. Validity and educational
effectiveness of media has to be considered while making media choices.
Some questions that we can ask before developing and launching a new
course through ODL are :
a) What is the proportions across media, if we are choosing multi media?
b) What would be the type of assignments -tutor marked or computer
marked or both and if both what proportions?
c) What would be the assessment weightage for assignments in an overall
assessment and evaluation procedure?
d) What would be the tune -frames and turn -around tune in assignments -
response, assessing and returning them to the students ?
e) What kind of help the tutor would offer to the students ?
f) What are the feedback mechanisms for the course, student response,
effectiveness of feedback ?
g) What would be the frequency of face -to-face o f tutor -student
meetings ?
h) Are the facilities provided by the study centers accessible to the
students ? munotes.in

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31 Undoubtedly we can further analyse each of the above questions but we
would stop here. Having looked at philosophical and pragmatic issu es lets
revise before we go further.
Check your progress -1
1. Compare behaviorist and cognitivist approaches to learning. Give five
lines to state the difference.
3.3 DISCIPLINE -BASED ISSUES :
Respective disciplines make curricular issues more specific. Depending
upon the disciplines philosophical and pragmatic issues would vary. For
example, if you are developing curricula for chemistry, the principles and
applications of those principles would be vary different from that for the
course let us say in his tory. Let us take few examples from different
disciplines.
3.3.1 Science :
The philosophical and practical considerations for science courses in ODL
would make certain demands on the institutions designing as well as
offering those courses. The basic infra structural facilities necessary for the
practice and success of science related programmes. Importance given to
theoretical as well as practical components in science subjects has to
consider availability of laboratory facilities, scientific equipment, nat ure of
assignments, frequency of face -to-face contact and so on. Even from the
student perspective possibility of engaging in practicals and accessing the
availability of infrastructural facilities have to be considered at the
curricular stage. Tutor suppo rt and its administrator implications for ODL
in science -related subjects demands pre -planning and logistic execution.
The students may also find it difficult to collaborate and conduct
experiments needed to develop body of knowledge. In brief, the set of
behaviorist principles that operate for curriculum in science differs from
that in social science or humanities.
3.3.2 Social Science & Humanities :
The curricular decisions in social science and humanities demand
understanding of pedagogical/andragogical and ideological issues. There
may or may not be practicals but issues related to teaching strategies and
learning support have to be decided within ODL framework. For examples
the issues related to literature, economics, political science, mass
communicati on though require flexibility and ideological tolerance,
reasonable degree of objectivity has to be maintained. We can at least
attempt to represent diverse worldviews related to the subject. An open,
free play of ideas and interpretations can help the stu dent to make
informed choices with reference to approaches, ideologies, interpretations
and so on. If we are aware about the differences, it can make the
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32 Anticipation of issues pertaining to each discipline, th us, can provide for
effective implementation at least from the design perspective. If we have
not paid attention to discipline -based issues while devising curriculum in
ODL most well intended curriculum can become narrow and ineffective.
Traditionally the focus of curricula had been on disciplines/ subjects. The
shift today had been on learner and as essential in ODL individual -based
curriculum issues have to be understood.
3.4 INDIVIDUAL -BASED ISSUES :
Educational thought process has given currency to lea rner autonomy. ODL
has a foundation of individual choice and freedom. The ODL curriculum
itself has to provide for flexibility, independent study and learner
autonomy. The flexibility of curriculum in ODL needs to be interpreted in
realistic terms. The tim e frame envisaged for the completion of a course
should be reasonably flexible in such a way that student does not have to
disrupt social, domestic, personal or professional commitments. But at the
same time the flexibility can not be treated in absolute t erms.
The curriculum for ODL has to take into account diverse individual needs,
different learning styles and study habits of students. The curriculum
should allow individualized learning in geographical, sociological and
pedagogical/andragogical sense. T he students dispersed in different
geographical locations (rural, urban, remote) irrespective of their social
status should be able to take courses they need.
Based on sample surveys or market needs, ODL courses for specific
segments (subjects or student g roups) can be devised. For example, a
lecturer wants to do a course in research writing or medical practitioner
wishes to learn new technology in medical field. Such individual needs
can be addressed by offering ODL programme by isolating specific
topics/a reas of knowledge. Once the individual -based needs are identified
and flexibility of curricula is defined, considerations have to be made
about learner objectives, preference for learning methods, modes of
evaluation, logistics, costs etc. Some individuals may just want
information whereas others want certification, few may merely wish to
give examination to qualify. All these factor would impact final outcome
of individual -based curriculum. The next and last issue with reference to
curriculum for ODL is re levance. Let us now talk about relevance -based
issues.
3.5 RELEVANCE -BASED ISSUES :
Individual needs and society change with time. A curriculum that was very
effective and useful may become irrelevant due to variety of factors. It
may also happen that mos t updated and complete curriculum become
irrelevant since it does not suit needs and interests of individuals.
In situations when schools/colleges teach subjects containing outdated
information, curriculum becomes the bottleneck for knowledge munotes.in

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33 generation. A t the same time, a new curriculum which yet to has gain
social recognition and acceptability might produce students having no
employment prospects. We need to review, revise or change curricula
according to changing educational needs. In this context, can you visualise
problems that ODL institute can face.
There are two problems that need to be addressed.
a) The curriculas designed for traditional institutions does not provide
for flexibility in course combination. Most of the distance education
institutes/ Di rectorates/departments attached to traditional universities still
operate in the similar framework.
b) At times the courses designed to address needs of small group of
people may not become administratively viable. ODL programme
curriculas designed without ha ving long term implications may fail. The
life of the course factor needs to be decided while considering relevance of
the course.
Check your progress – 2
1. Write note on issues that impact individual -based curriculum and how it
is interlinked to relevanc e based issues.
3.6 CURRICULUM & IDEOLOGY AT ANDRAGOGIC
LEVEL :
By now you would be feeling lost with discussions and debates on
curriculum (concept, theory, content, etc.). As you are aware any
educational activity comprises of two way process; teaching a nd learning.
Curriculum is systematic organisation of requisite components of an
educational programme. Having understood theories of learning that
impact curricula at philosophical level, let us here discuss how ideology
and curriculum need to be explored at andragogic level for ODL
programme.
3.6.1 Curriculum & Ideology :
Curriculum as specification of any educational process represents
worldview about who, what and why of educational activity. Early
definitions of curriculum relate to course and content of teaching
programme gradually it included activities involved in learning situation
and whole range of learning experiences.
In developing countries the ideology of education is closer to liberal or
individualist but the terminology used gives impression of being socialist.
A UNESCO report on education around the world states, “Serious
anomalies appear where educational system has been set up recently, and
has been copied from foreign models. Curriculum in the context of ODL
get influenced by ideological issues in at least four major aspects; theory,
development, implementation and evaluation. munotes.in

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34 Following Table -1 shows how ideologically
Table – 1 Curricular models
Classical Romantic
 Subject centeredness  Learner centeredness
 Focus on skill development  Focu s on creativity of the learner
 Stress on instruction rather than
learning  Provision for learning by
discover
 Transmission of information  Focus on awareness, originality
and freedom
 Emphasise on discipline,
obedience and conformity  Aims at developing pos itive
attitudes and values
 Aims at acquiring knowledge  Emphasise on real life experience
as content
 Application of method of
competition & didactic instruction  Application of method of learner
involvement & co -operation
 Stress on evaluation  Stress on se lf-assessment and
self-improvement

classical and romantic models differ. In the next section we would
discussing about andragogy. The elements in romantic curriculum
coincide with the micro adult education theory of andragogy.
3.6.2 Andragogy :
Andragogy is a concept parallel to pedagogy, which is art and science of
helping adults learn. Though the term was used much easier, knowless
popularised it. The five assumptions of andragogy are :
i) Self-concept
ii) Experience
iii) Learning orientation
iv) Readi ness to learn
v) Motivation
It suggests that adults are motivated and self -directed learners. They bring
their experiences of learning which are more problem -centered and less
subject -centered. It would be unwise to view andragogy as opposite to
pedagogy b ecause a child may also contain self motivated traits. The
centric concept to andragogy is the individual ‘self’ that grows throughout
the life, and self -directed learner needs independence to learn to help the
‘self’ to grow. munotes.in

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35 3.7 CURRICULA IN GLOBAL ENVIR ONMENT :

Open universities Australia (OUA) is a consortium of seven Australian
Universities. Deden (2006), Elaborates OUA case of building curriculum
through collaboration. OUA has generated newer curricula in two ways;
market -based request from OUA itsel f or by a university on its own
initiative. Since global environment makes educational process also global
ODL curriculum can reach out to student across cultures and societies.
The institute can devise courses for universal audiences.
3.8 LET US SUM UP
In this unit we hve discussed the following curricular issues:
Instructional issues :Instructional issues are related to
i) Philosophical level &
ii) Pragmatic level.
Discipline based issues : This issues are related to :
Science
Social Sci ence &
Humanities
Individual based issues : This is related to learner autonomy.
Referane based issues : This is related to the life of the course.
Curriculam issues are related to both the level -Pedagogy & Andragogy .
Adults are motivated & self derect ed learners .
3.9 UNIT END EXERCISE :
Q.1 What are the curricular issues related to ODL? Explain the relevance
based issues in curriculum.
Q.2 Explain the curriculum models.
Q.3 What is andragogy? Explain the curricular ideology at andragogic
level.

 munotes.in

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36 4
CURR ICULAR TRENDS IN ODL
Unit Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Curricular trends in ODL
4.3 Mass education
4.4 Community Development
4.5 Rural Development
4.6 National Development
4.7 Let us sum up
4.8 Un it End Exercise
4.0 OBJECTIVES:
After reading this unit you would be able to:
 Describe the role of ODL in mass/community education and
rural/national development.
 Outline important curricular trends in ODL in India and around
the world.
 Understand how ODL is interconnected with rural and national
development in India.
 Able to identify curricular trends in global environment.
4.1 INTRODUC TION:
We now unde rstand the curriculum is impacted by diverse issues of
design, discipline, relevance and ideology. We would now look at
curricular trends in ODL in this unit.
Curriculum is suggestive of the course of (programme of studies or
course content) as well as time (planned learning experiences, intended
outcomes) having interplay of teaching and leanring. We should also
understand that curricular trends can not be e xplored without
unde rstanding history of curriculum but is interlinked to the history of
education. Also as we know, surriculum is not only defined by
educational philosophers but also by societal nee ds. munotes.in

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37 Traditionally curriculum was confined to regligion-based orientation.
Curriculum in the p re-World War era focused on subject-centredne ss
emphasizing factual details. The social conditions following World War
II made the world in three parts: the communist block, the Western non-
communist block and the rest of the world. Mid-1960s witnessed
humanistic goals, congnitive and asthetic and experimental learning
activities. ODL began in seventies and gained ground in Western
block taking a decade to reach India. Late twentieth century witnessed
collapsing of communist block in most part of the world. Early
twentieth centry also witnessed shift from sectarian education to liberal
education. Curriculum shifted from knowing to understanding and
application.
We in India inherited British educational system and curricular
design in 1947. In January 1961 The Central Advisory Board of
Education, the highest policy making body in India for education,
established committee under the chairmanship of Prof D S Kothari to
formulate proposals for establishment of correspondence education in
india. The University of Delhi after necessary amendments to the
University Act started first ever course in correspondence education in
1962. Sixties and seventies saw expansion of correspondence education in
India. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
published curricular framework for school education in December 2005.
National policy of education in 1968 marked an important step in the
history of education in post-independent India. It aimed towards national
progress, a sense of common citizenship and culture, and promotion of
national integration. The constitutional ammendement of 1976 which
included education in concurrent list, was a far-reaching stand making
education joint responsibility of the Union and the state. National policy
of education in 1986 prepared the ground to take India into twentyfirst
century. It empha sized the role of lifelong learning as a cherished
goal of educational process.
After early twentieth century, in recent times curriculum has unde rgone
dramat ic changes. The direction it has taken has been:
 Increasing empha ise and shift to utilitatirian mode
 Unlike compartmentalized it is more inter-disciplinary
 Importance given to needs and demands of learners and students
 Not static but dynamic nature of curriculum as per societal nee ds
 Increasing importance on technology and instructional delivery
than on content
 Not vocationalised but more driven to lifelong, continuing
professional education for anyone and everyone
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38 4.2 CURRICULAR TRENDS IN ODL
Curricula in ODL especially in the third world, now known as emerging
econom ies, aimed mainly at national development. Diverse groups
like women, tribals, youth or drop out children turned to ODL for
variety of reasons. ODL to an extent could address needs of women
who moved out of formal system of education for personal or social
reasons, rural or tribal population whose needs were not satisfied by
the mainstream educational processes, youth who wanted vocational
education, people with disabilities who could not attend regular schools,
all these people could turn to ODL for achieving their respective goals.
Adult education and worker education as well as courricula in
unconventional courses, like for example, ideology of Paulo Freire in
Latin America especially Columbia, Brazil and Chile and similar
experiments by Deccan Development Society or Self- Employed
women’s Association in Ahme dabad at some stage integrated principles
of ODL in face-t-face situations. Curricular trends in ODL can be
classified into four broad categories:
1) Mass education: ODL curricula that add ress requirement of
masses for attainment of their individual goals contribute to mass
education. It can be the individual need to be called sheer ‘graduate’,
urge to gain ‘knowledge’ or to even get ‘degree for the job’ or
inability to take on ‘regular’ education that pushes masses towards
ODL.
2) Community development: The educational curricula to
address the community requirements for the betterment of their lives
have been elaborated in community development curricular trends.
Most ODL institutes in India today offer community development
curricula through courses for diverse clientel.
3) Rural developm ent: Curricula that has been evolved with the rural
focus and needs and which can lead to betterment of lives in rural areas.
4) National developm ent: The broad aim of all the educational
processes is improvement of individual knowledge, abilities, skills,
practices. ODL curricula in global south always targeted at national
development by making educational opportunities available to the poorest
of the poor and creating trained human resource through education.
ODL curricula for diverse industries, depend ing upon the country-
specific strengthes and global requirements can lead to national
development.
4.3 MASS EDU CATION
In Ind ia over the years various State ODL institutions have created
visibility for themselves by creating mass education oppo rtunities for the
masses. Post Dr. B R A mbedkar open University in Hyderabad in
1982 and national university in form of Indira Gandhi National Open munotes.in

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39 University in 1985, State open universities at Kota named Vardhman
Mahaveer Open University in 1987, Nalanda Open University in
1987, MP Bhoj Univeristy in 1991, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open
University in Gujarat in 1994, Karnataka Open University in M ysore
in 1996, Netaji Subh ash open university at Kolkata in 1997, UP Rajashri
Tandon Open University at Allahabad in 1998 and Tamil Nadu Open
University at Chennai in 2002 has created curriculas according to state
languages and learners. Punjabi University at Patiyala introduced M.Phil
course in English and Punjabi through distance mode in 1991.
For example, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open Univeristy
(YCMOU) which was established in July 1989 offers Degree (B.A.,
B.Com as well as Science and Technology, Applied electronics) and has
226 academic programmaes having average annual enrollment of
2,50,000 students and cumulative enrollment of 1,7,00,000 students
(http://ycmou.digitaluniversity.ac). Indira Gandhi National Open
University (IGNOU) has 175 programmes on offer through its 21 schools
of study has enrollment crossing two million mark.
In a country of diverse linguistic, climatic, geographic, cultural
climate, ODL can and has proved itself as viable solution to large
majority of illiterates leading to mass education. Developments of
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have made mass
education through ODL feasible across time and space. Inability to reach
out to large majority through formal as well as non-formal educational
systems makes ODL all the more relevant and meaningful.
In the decade spann ing 1992 to 2002, with the advancement in interactive
communication technologies lead to many courses in computer education,
management programmes with various specialisations, programmes in
foreign trade, environmental management, human rights, pollution
management, yoga and astrology. Technical and paramedical programmes
gained importance through ODL in th is decade. Distance Education
Council in the year 2004 reports 429 academic programmes with 3483
courses across 11 ODL institutions across India.
Check your progress -1
1. List five changes that curricula has faced over the last two
decade.
4.4 COMMUN ITY DEVELOPMENT
For many communities like disabled, temporary physical disordered,
geographically remote residents, ODL is not a choice but only option
in those situations. At the same time lack of access to technology,
absence of electric or digital connectivity, computer or particular
language illiteracy etc. can impact acceptance of ODL in a specific
context.
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNC DF) developed
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40 2002. The course is designed for student s, working professionals,
practitioners, policy makers, donor staff, socially responsible investors
and others working in development. The courseware is a pacage with two
CD-ROMs and other selection of reading. Though designed as tutored
course it also works as stad- alone basis available online free of charge at
http:// www.uncd.org/mfdl.
IGNOU has o ver 100 of community colleges across India are an
alternative system of education which aims to empo wer
individuals through appropriate skill development leading to gainful
employment in collaboration with the local industry and community.They
offer the advantage of tailoring programmes to local needs and state-
based requirements by using approaches that will be most acceptable to
workers in the given community. These colleges are a source of
econom ic growth because they provide an educated and skilled
workforce that improves the quality of life for individuals students,
communities, and the nation (http:// ieg.ignou.ac.in/wiki). IGNOU
developed variety of community development programmes for non-
literate and neo-literate rural disadvantaged section with emphasise on
women and unemployed youth.
Table-4.1 Community development programmes of IGNOU
No Programme Features
1 Mod ular programme in
science and technology for
sustainable development  Suitable for rural masses and
focused at women and
disadvantages sections in rural
areas.
 Provide training facilities and
employment in rural areas.
 Impart capacity building and skil
training for no n-literates, neo-
literates and unemployed for
gainful self-employment and income generation. 2 Certificate and Diploma
programmes on Art, Craft
and Design
3 Certifcate programme
for construction workers  Particular industry specific
 Impart training facilities and
employment in selected centres
 Provide opening for workers in the
industry for their vertical mobility
 Provide opportunities for self-
employment. 4 Certifcate programme
for leather processing
workers
5 Certifcate programme for leather industry workers 6 Certifcate programme
for motor cycle
technicians
7 Certifcate programme
for machine operators
8 Certifcate and Diploma
programmes in renewable
energy technologies
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41 Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) Act in 1992 became effective
from June 1993. RCI was assigned task of recognition of institution
offering training programmes for those engag ed in rehabilitation. RCI
signed MOU with Mdhya Pradesh Bhoj (Open) University (MPBOU) to
develop Bachelors in Education (BEd) Diploma and career advancement
programmes in special education through distance mode. The course was
launched in 2001. MPB OU conducts three teacher education programmes
through distance mode: Foundation course on education of children with
disabilities, BEd special education and PG professional diploma in special
education. RCI also developed Masters in Ed ucation (special education)
based on credit system. Uttar Pradesh Rajashri Tandon
Open University A llahabad and Netaji Subhash Open University
Kolkatta translated BEd (Special Education Distance Education) materials
in Hindi and Bengali respectively.
Bang lore University is offering a course in community based
rehabilitation using distance mode. National institute of open schooling
offers programmes in seven disability areas but the number of
beneficiaries remains low. RCI has signed an MOU with Manipal
Academy of Higher Education for launching a Postgraduate Diploma
in Disability Manage ment for medical doctors. The need emerged
from the nationalwide traning short- term course for Primary Health
Centre doctors focusing on prevention, early indentification and
intervention for people with disabilities.
Check your progress -2
1. List three agencies in India that have used ODL for community
development.
4.5 RURAL DEVE LOPMENT
India has one of the most impressive systems of agriculture education at
the tertiary level that was credited with green revolution. YCMOU
launched certificate and diploma level agricultural programmes for
five subjects- gardening, fruit products, vegetarian profducts, floriculture
and landscape gardening. YCMOU adopted novel approach to identify
target groups and courses appropriate to their levels. First group is
functional literacy programme based on life work skills for illiterates,
semi-literate and non-literates, Second group is less educated for whom
vocational, technical and skill based programmes and third group of
educated and higher educated programmes for doctoral, postgraduate and
degree programmes for professional, vocational and general continuing
education. Union Government prioritized rural development and food and
nutrition to develop academic programmes for awareness and skill
development.
Community development programmes of IGNOU have been conceived
as empowerment and income gene ration programmes for the rural
masses and unemployed youth. IGNOU has signed Memorandum of
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42 Commission (KVIC), construction Industry Development Council
(CIDC), Central Leather Research Institute,
Hero Honda Motors Limited and so on. Food and Agricutural Association
(FAO) has prepared a framework to explore utilization of distance
education and training startagies to address challenges of food security
and rural developme nt.
The ODL programmes on agriculture raises primary concern about farm
experience and laboratory experimentations. Agricuture being applied
science the need for development in aogn itive, asychomot or and affective
domains to achieve quality is essential. YCMOU experiences indicated
that with appropriate pedagogy the ODL limitations can be overcome.
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan committee report on education for agriculture
recommended establishment of State Agricultural Universities (SAU’s)
independent cell for distance education for rural youth to impart skills
in agriculture and allied sciences. The committee also sugge sted for
Agricutural Media Development Centres to development multimedia
capsules for dissemination of knowledge and information empowerment
to increase agricultural production through improved productivity.
The Consultative Group on International Agaricutlural Research
(CGIAR) has established Global Open Food and Agricuture
University (GO-FAU) for open distance leanring and capacity
strengthening that serves traditional and open universities in developing
and developed countries. The university would use traditional text, CD
ROMs and other technologies in variety of languages so that participants
can benefit.
4.6 NATIONAL DEV ELOPMENT
Open and Distance Leraning has been an established and acceptable form
of continuing education in management, computer and tertiary level
education. Thenmozhi (2009) narrates case of University of Mad ra
management education through distance mode course launched in 2002
and modified 2006 where students expect plausibility and flexibility in
courses offered, duration is vital factor in opting for courses. Sending
project report by post and abolishing viva eradicated t ime and
grographical barriers, study material in Self Instructional Mode
exclusively prepared for distance education through highly participative
methodology gave interest/motivation to students.
Salooja (2006) narrates how food processing industry has been influenced
by ODL programmes. Garg and others (2006) complies cases ODL in
variety of sectors impacting the national development in India. Broadly
speaking various rural development, mass education and community
development programmes offered by ODL institutes across india also
contribute to the national development of the country.
Today apart from universities and ODL institutions, different institutions
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43 different target groups. Training and Development Communication
Channel at Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU),
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is utilized by government,
non-government, corporate, academic sectors.
Indian Medical Association (IMA) is providing programmes in family
medicine, geriantric care, etc. and Nutritional Institution of Health and
Family Welfare is offering programmes in hospital management, health
and family welfare manageme nt etc. Medical and health programmes of
IGNOU are suppo rted by World Health Organisation (WHO), Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare, Asian Heart Foundat ion, Academy of
Hospital Administration, Association of Rural Surgeons of India (ARSI),
Trained Nurses Association of India (TNAI), and so on. Most of the
health related programmes are knowledge based and not skill based. The
practical component is taken through contact sessions. The skill based
health programmes are in the field of dietatics and nutrition, yoga and
counselling.
4.7 LET US SUM UP
Curriculum should focus on three goal; Social, Technical and ultimate
goals of hu man rights/dignity, freedom, justice, peace. Social goals
needs to be value-based, based on cross-cultural communal harmony,
sensationalisation against social evils and promotion of social values.
ODL employs multimedia technology for ensuring equity, access and
quality education in a cost-effective manner. It has been an proven
method to reach out to those who seek to acquire knowledge and
technical know-how through low- cost quality education.
4.8 UN IT END EXER CISE:
Q.1 What is Community development. Explain the programme &
features of Community development programme of IGNOU.
Q.2 What is rural development? Explain the different programmes of
ODL for rural development.
References
 Kumar Ajit, Vijayshri and Suresh Garg (2006) Sustainable
Community Development: The IGNOU Experience, Ch-32, p-
437-450 in Garg Suresh, Santosh Panda, CRK Murthy and Sanjaya
Mishra (ed.) Open and Distance Education in Global Environment,
Opportunities for collaborations, Viva Books, New Delhi.
 Salooja M K (2006) Open and Distance Learning Interventions for
Development of Human Resources for Food processing industries in
Garg et.al. (ed.) Op.Cit.
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44  Thenmozhi S (2009) Changing trends in opting Management
courses through distance Education in Institute of Distance Education,
University of Madras: A Case study, ch-31, p-223- 231, In
Haruchandan D (ed.) Open and Distance Learning- Exploring new
frontiers and developments, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai.
 Finch Curtis R and John R Crunkilton (1979) Curriculum
Development in Vocational and Technical education: Planning
Content and Implementat ion, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.
 Garg Suresh, V Venkaniah, Chambi Puranik and Santosh
Panda (2006) Four decades of distance education in india, Viva
Books, New Delhi.
 Shah Masood (2004) Distance education for agriculture and
extension education, University News, 42(35), 85.
 Powar K B (2004) (ed.) Food, Health, Education for all- the role of
open and distance learning, Anamaya Publishers, New Delhi.
 Singh Panjab and M K Salooja (2004) Using Information and
Communication Technology in agriculture e xtension: Planning
issues for building a framework, Indian Journal of Open
Learning, 13 (2), 181-189.
 Ved Prakash and K Biswal (2008) Perspectives onj education and
development- Revisiting education commission and after, National
University of educational planning and administration, New Delhi.
 Wagner T, Kegan R, Lahey L, Lemons, R Garnier J, Helsing D,
Howell A Rasmussen H (2006) Change leadership: A Pratical guide
to transforming our schools, Jossey Bass, Sanfranscisc o quoted in
Partnership for twenty first century skills, URL:
http:// www.vtsbdc.org
 Bhardwaj Renu (2006) Regional languag es and distance
education, Ch-12, p-153-168, In Gurg (ed.) Ibid.


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45 5
CURRICULUM PLANNING FOR ODL
Unit Structure :
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Theories of Learning
5.2.1 The Behaviourist Theory
5.2.2 Cognitive Learning Theory
5.2.3 Constructivist Learning Theory
5.3 Theories of Communication
5.4 Designing inst ruction for ODL
5.5 Let us sum up
5.6 Unit End Exercise
5.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit you will be able to :
 Explain salient features of behaviouristic theory of learning.
 Distinguish basic features of behaviouristic, cognitivism and
constructivism.
 Analyse implications of different theories of learning to curriculum
design of ODL.
 Explain the significance of communication theory in course
development of ODL
 Identify different elements of course design for ODL.
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Curricu lum of ODL means sum total of learning activities and experiences
provided to learner under the auspices of any institution of Open Distance
Learning. When we talk about learning activities and experiences as key
component of curriculum it is essential to understand what is the nature of
learning and how learning is perceived function of ODL from different
perspectives of learning theories. For instance, in one situation a learner is
required to go through study material in a structured sequence and arriv e
at the end as decided by the course writer. In another case the distance munotes.in

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46 learner is guided to conduct a project, discover relationship between
different situations and events and generalize the findings. In the third
situation, a group of distance learne rs interact with each other on an
emerging problem, analyse the solutions already advocated by the experts
and give a fresh look to the problem and search for innovative solutions
under the support of ODL system. These, three different cases have their
roots in different theoretical frameworks of learning viz, behaviorism,
cognitivism and constructivism. In this unit, you will be exposed to the
nature of different schools of thoughts on learning and their implications
in ODL.
5.2 THEORIES OF LEARNING
5.2.1 The Behaviourist Theory :
The Behaviourist Theory (also known Empiricism, Behaviourism,
Behavioural Theory, Stimulus -response Theory) stands among the major
theoretical perspectives within the field of first language acquisition. It
began as a reaction ag ainst the introspective psychology of the late 19th
and early 20th century and dominated the study of learning throughout the
first half of the twentieth century. Although its ascendancy was blurred by
the emergence of the innate Theory in the mid 20th century, still today
much language learning programmes firmly stands on the foundation laid
by the Behaviourist Theory.
Theoretical Assumptions
The theoretical assumptions underlying the Behaviourist Theory are as
follows :
 Language learning is a habit form ation resembling the formation of
other habits. In other words, Language is learned in the way in which
other habits are learned.
 Language learning is nothing more than the acquisition of new
behaviour or knowledge, it takes place when experience or pract ice
causes a change in a person’s knowledge or behaviour.
 Language learning is an external event, because it involves an
observable change in behavior brought about by the stimuli coming
from the environment, it does not invoive any unobservable change in
mental knowledge. All behaviors can be explained without the need
to consider internal mental states or consciousness.
 Only human beings have the capacity for language learning. They
acquire a language as discrete units of habits, independently trained,
not as an integrated system.
Background of the Theory
The behaviourist school of thought ran concurrent with the psychoanalysis
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47 first introduced in 1913 by the American psychologist John B. Watson .
Watson is credited by some with coining the term “behaviourism”
Watson’s view was largely influenced by the research of Russian
physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov during the early 1900s. The most influential
version of this theory is put forward b y B. F. Skinner in 1959. His version
of Behavioursim is best known as Radical Behaviourism . Skinner,
sought to give ethical grounding to behaviourism, relating it to
pragmatism.
Types of Behavioural Learning
Experiments by the behaviourists identify cond itioning as a universal
learning process. Conditioning are primarily of two types, each yielding a
different behavioural pattern :
1. Classical conditioning : This conditioning was first described by the
Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov , in 1903 through his e xperiment on
dogs. The general idea of Pavlov’s experiment is this : Pavlov presented
dogs with food to examine their salivary response. He rang a bell just
before serving the food. At first the dogs did not salivate until the food is
served. However, when the bell was rung at repeated feedings, the sound
of bell alone caused the dogs to salivate.
Food (Unconditioned Stimulus Salivation (Unconditioned response)
Food+Bell (conditioned Stimulus) Salivation (conditioned response)
Bell (conditioned Stimulus) Salivation (conditioned response)
Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
Thus in classical conditioning an unconditioned stimulus (food) is paired
with a conditioned stimulus (bell). When they repeated ly occur in pair, the
conditioned stimulus acquires the capacity to produce a conditioned
response (salivation). Subsequently, the conditioned stimulus alone can
produce a conditioned response.
Subsequently, it was studied in infants by John B. Watson . Like Pavlov,
he was originally involved in animal research, but later became involved
in the study of human behaviour. Watson believed that humans are born
with a few reflexes and the emotional reactions of love and rage. All other
behaviour is established t hrough stimulus -response associations through
conditioning.
Watson demonstrated classical conditioning in an experiment involving a
young child (Albert) and a white rat. Originally, Albert was unafraid of the
rat; but Watson created a sudden loud noise wh enever Albert touched the
rat. Because Albert was frightened by the loud noise, he soon became
conditioned to fear and avoid the rat. The fear was generalized to other
small animals. Watson then extinguished the fear by presenting the rat
without the loud noise. Some accounts of the study suggest that the
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48 2. Instrumental or Operant Conditioning : Expanding on Watson’s
basic stimulus -response model, Skinner developed a more comprehensive
view of conditioning, known as operant conditioning. Skinner’s model
was based on the premise that effective language behaviour consists of
producing response (behaviors) to the correct stimuli (situation). When a
response is followed by a reinforcer (reward) then it is conditioned to
occur again. Thus operant conditioning was used by skinner to describe
the effects of the consequences of a particular behaviour on the future
occurrence of the behaviour. Reinforcement and punishment are the ideas
of operant cond itioning :
Reinforcement : A reinforcer is a stimulus (encouraging activity) that
increase the frequency / occurrence of a response it follows. The act of
following a response with a reinforcer is called reinforcement.
Reinforcement (prize) can be classifi ed into the following types :
i) Positive Reinforcement : Positive reinforcement is the encouragement
of a desired response (behaviour) by a pleasant stimulus. It increases the
probability of the reoccurrence of the same response to the same situation.
For ex ample : If the child produces an alternative which is appropriate to
the situation, the mother will reward him/her with some sign of approval
(such as smiles, hugs, or food). This approval or reward will encourage
him to repeat the same response to the sam e situation.
ii) Negative Reinforcement : Negative reinforcement is the
discouragement of an undesired response (behaviour) by an unpleasant
stimulus. It decreases the probability of the reoccurrence of the same
response to the same situation. For example, If the child produces an
utterance which is inappropriate to the situation, he/she will not be
rewarded. Consequently, the child will not repeat the same response to the
same situation.
Punishment : Punishment is used to erase undesirable behviours by
presen ting a distressing stimulus when the behaviror occurs. Punishment
can be classified into the following types :
i) Positive Punishment : An undesirable stimulus is received after a
behviour occurs. For example, if the learner fails to follow the class then
he will be given detention.
ii) Negative Punishment : A desirable stimulus is lost or removed after a
behaviour occurs. For example, if the learner fails to follow the class rules
then he will not be given any recess hour.
Thus, it is quite visible that the Beh aviourist Theory (as propounded by
Skinner) is represented as a “stimulus - response - reinforcement” chain.
For better understanding, this chain can be demonstrated in the following
illustration :
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49 Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement Stimulus Chlld Response

The Behaviourist Theory explains two major aspects. It firstly explains
how the child produces speech. It secondly explains how he/she
understands speech. Positive and negative reinforcement contain various
adult utterances which function a s discriminating stimuli for the
production of the child’s responses (behaviour). When the child hears
these adult utterances he / she tries to imitate them to produce an
utterances which is appropriate to the situation. Reinforcement can come
from differe nt sources. The mother is the primary source of reinforcement
because she has to take care of the child almost all the time. The people
around him / her can also provide reinforcement.
Drawbacks
Although sound in may ways, the theory is not free from lim itations. The
shortcomings of this theory are as follows :
Firstly, the Behaviourist Theory completely ignores the inborn aspect of
human knowledge.
Secondly, the theory puts over emphasis on the role of imitation and
ignores completely the creativity of the child, making him / her somewhat
passive viewer than actor in the process of language acquisition.
Thirdly, The Behaviourist Theory seems to be somewhat mechanical in
nature, since the child is considered a passive object.
Fourthly, it cannot develop the child’s problem solving skills. The child
may find himself/herself in a situation where the stimulus to the correct
response does not occur. In such cases the child won’t be able to respond.
Fifthly, it falls to explain how the child understands utte rances he/ she has
never heard before, or produces new and unique utterances.
Finally, the Behaviourist Theory cannot explain how the child proceeds in
his/her journey of language acquisition at such a young age.
Anyway this theory has it’s impact on ODL in the following ways :
 PLM
 Computer assisted learning package
 self instruction materials.
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50 Conclusion
The Behaviousit Theory came under fierce attack when Chomsky
proposed his Innate Theory in 1959. Chomsky’s theory strongly proved
that the child is n ot a tabula rasa; rather he is born with an innate
capability to learn language. Nevertheless, along with all of its limitations,
the Behaviourist Theory was able to govern the direction of the
psychological explanation of language acquisition quite produc tively.
After its emergence, this theory was passively accepted by the influential
Bloomfieldian structuralist school of linguistics and produced some well -
known models of foreign language teaching, most notably, the Audio
Lingual Method . For many years, t he concepts from the Behaviourist
Theory formed the basis of most of the learning theory applied in child
rearing and in classrooms. Parents and teachers still find that, in many
instances, individuals do learn when provided with the appropriate blend
of s timulus, reinforcement, and punishments. Especially with small
children and simpler tasks, behaviourist principles are often effective.
Thus, the contribution of the Behaviourist Theory as an explanation of
child language development cannot be overlooked a ltogether.
Check your Progress - I
Q.1 What are the theoretical assumptions underlying the behaviourist
theory? Explain the operant conditioning theory and it’s impact on
ODL.
5.2.2 Cognitive Learning Theory :
Process
History of theorists and their contr ibutions
Noam Chomsky (1957)
Bruner, Goodnow, and Austin (1956)
Ulric Neisser (1967)
Jerome Bruner
David Ausubel
Edward Tolman
A prominent learning theorist during the heyday of behaviorism, yet his
work had a distinctly cognitive flair. Tolman develope d his mentalistic
view of learning by using adaptive versions of behaviorist research. There
are several central ideas of his theory :
1. Behavior should be studied at a molar level.
2. Learning can occur without reinforcement.
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51 4. Intervening variables must be considered.
5. Behaviour is purposive.
6. Expectations affect behaviour.
7. Learning results in an organized body of information.
The Gestalt psychologists of Germany
 Marx Wertheimer
 Wolfgang Kohler
 Kurt Koffka
Gestalt psychologists emphasized the importance of organizational
processes in perception, learning and problem solving and believed that
individuals were predisposed to organize information in particular ways.
There are several basic ideas of the Gestalt Theory :
1. Perception is often different from reality.
2. The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
3. The organism structures and organizes experience.
4. The organism is predisposed to organize experience in particular ways.
5. Learning follows the law of Pragna nz.
6. Problem solving involves restructuring and insight.
Jean Piaget
Piaget focused on mental events - logical reasoning processes and the
structure of knowledge. It incorporates such diverse topics as language,
logical reasoning, moral judgements, and c onceptions of time, space, and
number, the major components of Piaget’s r esearch in volve the following
1. People are active processors of information.
2. knowledge can be described in terms of structures that change with
development.
3. Cognitive development res ults from the interactions that children have
with their physical and social environments.
4. The process through which people interact with the environment
remain constant.
5. People are intrinsically motivated to try to make sense of the world
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52 6. Cognitive development occurs in distinct stages, with thought
processes at each stage being qualitatively different from those at other
stages.
Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky died at a young age, but had several influential ideas in the field
of cognitivism, such a s :
1. Complex mental process begin as social activities; as children develop,
they gradually internalize these processes and can use them
independently of those around them.
2. Thought and language initially develop independently of each other,
the two become independent when children are about two years old.
3. Children can accomplish more difficult tasks when they have the
assistance of people more advanced and competent than themselves.
4. Tasks within the zone of proximal development promote maximum
cognitive g rowth.
Critical components / principles
Some of the critical components of cognitivisim are :
 A Dual - Store Model of Memory : there are many types of input and
information being received by an individual at any given time.
 Sensory Register : informati on is filterd by the individual and short -
term memory begins processing.
 Moving Information on to Working Memory : The Role of Attention
 Working Memory : the learner makes a decision to “work” with a
particular piece of information, continuing to process the information.
 Long -Term Memory : at some point the information of importance to
the learner has been organized and stored for later retrieval.
 Are Working Memory and Long - Term Memory really Different?
Learning / Information Process ( Relation to Eve nts of Instruction )
1. Reception of patterns
2. Executive control process
3. Retrieval of prior learning.
4. Selective perception
5. Semantic encoding
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53 7. Reinforcement
8. Activating Retrieval for Reinforcement
9. Strategies for Retrieval
There are variou s perspectives within cognitivism :
 Information Processing Theory (shown above)
 Constructivism
 Contextual Views
There are those who would then integrate the different cognitive
perspectives.
Basic Concepts
Learning vs. Memory
Learning is the acquisition of new information. Memory is related to the
ability to recall information that has previously been learned.
Storage
The process of “putting” new information in memory.
Encoding
The process of storing information in memory and modifying it in some
way.
Retrieval
The process by which people “find” information they have previously
stored in memory so that they can use it again.
During this information processing, there are various things to consider :
Characteristics of the Sensory Register
1. Capacity
2. Form of Storage
3. Duration
Factors Influencing Attention
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54 5. Emotion
6. Personal Significance
Information is constantly
processed through the sensory
registers. There are various
factors that influence an
individual’s ability to process
information. Information goes
into our short -term / working
memory for mere seconds. We
organize the information and
decide what to keep and what to
discard. Stored information is in
our long -term memory for later
retrieval. Characteristics of W orking Memory

1. Capacity
2. Form of Storage
3. Duration


Control Processes in Working Memory
1. Organization
2. Retrieval
3. Maintenance Rehearsal
Characteristics of Long -Term Memory
1. Capacity
2. Form of Storage
3. Duration
Control Processes in Long -Term Memory
1. Storage
2. Retrieval
Ideas how this theory informs Instructional Design
Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction
(Relation to Processes of Learning)
1. Gaining attention
2. Informing the learner of the objective
3. stimulating recall of prerequisite knowledge
4. Presenting the stimulus material
5. Providing learning guidance
6. Eliciting the performance
7. Providing feedback about performance
8. Assessing the performance
9. Enhancing retention and transfer
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55 These nine steps of instruction directly relate to the learning / information
proce ss.
5.2.3 Constructivist Learning Theory :
Introduction :
The latest catchword in educational circles is “constructivism,” applied
both to learning theory and to epistemology --- both to how people learn,
and to the nature of knowledge. We don’t need to s uccumb to each new
fad, but we do need to think about our work in relation to theories of
learning and knowledge. So we need to ask : what is constructivism, what
does it have to tell us that is new and relevant, and how do we apply it to
our work? As far as I can see, there is nothing dramatically new in
constructivism: the core ideas expressed by it, have been clearly
enunciated by John Dewey among others, but there is a new, widespread
acceptance of this old set of ideas, and new research in cognitive
psychology to support it. I would like to give a brief exposition of ideas
central to constructivism and widely accepted today by educators.
Constructivism
What is meant by constructivism? The term refers to the idea that learners
construct knowledge for th emselves --- each learner individually (and
socially) constructs meaning --- as he or she learns. Constructing meaning
is learning; there is no other kind. The dramatic consequences of this view
are twofold;
1) We have to focus on the learner in thinking abou t learning (not on the
subject / lesson to be taught) :
2) There is no knowledge independent of the meaning attributed to
experience (constructed) by the learner, or community of learners.
Let me discuss the second point first because, although it appears ra dical
on an everyday level, it is a position which has been frequently adopted
ever since people began to ponder epistemology. If we accept
constructivist theory (which means we are willing to follow in the path of
Dewey, Piaget and Vigotsky among others), then we have to give up
Platonic and all subsequent realistic views of epistemology. We have to
recognize that there is no such thing as knowledge “out there” independent
of the knower, but only knowledge we construct for ourselves as we learn.
Learning i s not understanding the “true” nature of things, nor is it (as Plato
suggested) remembering dimly perceived perfect ideas, but rather a
personal and social construction of meaning out of the bewildering array
of sensations which have no order or structure besides the explanations
(and I stress the plural) which we fabricate for them.
I’m sure that many of you have had philosophy courses which exposed
you to these concepts, and you may accept this basic premise that there is
no such entity as a Ding an sich whether or not we can perceive it. Yet we
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56 Johnson did, by kicking the stone and feeling real pain. The more
important question is, does it actually make any difference in our everyd ay
work whether deep down we consider knowledge to be about some “real”
world independent of us, or whether we consider knowledge to be of our
own making? The answer is yes, it does make a difference, because of the
first point I suggested above: in our pr ofession our epistemological views
dictate our pedagogic views.
If we believe that knowledge consists of learning about the real world out
there, then we endeavor first and foremost to understand that world,
organize it in the most rational way possible, and as teachers, present it to
the learner. This view may still engage us in providing the learner with
activities, with hands - on learning, with opportunities to experiment and
manipulate the objects of the world, but the intention is always to make
clear to the learner the structure of the world independent of the learner.
We help the learner understand the world. But we don’t ask him to
construct his or her own world.
The great triumph of Western intellectual history from the Enlightenment
until the be ginning of the 20th century rested on its ability to organize the
knowledge of the world in a rational way independent of the learner,
determined by some structure of the subject. Disciplines were developed,
taxonomic schemes established, and all these cat egories were viewed as
components of a vast mechanical machine in which the parts could be
explained in terms of their relationship to each other, and each part
contributed to making the whole function smoothly. Nowhere in this
description does the learner appear. The task of the teacher was to make
clear to the learner the working of this machine and any accommodation to
the learner was only to account for different appropriate entry points for
different learners.
However, as I have indicated above, const ructivist theory requires that we
turn our attention by 180 degrees we must turn our back on any idea of an
all-encompassing machine which describes nature and instead look
towards all those wonderful, individual living beings --- the learners ---
each of whom creates his or her own model to explain nature. If we accept
the constructivist position we are inevitably required to follow a pedagogy
which argues that we must provide learners with the opportunity to : a)
interact with sensory data, and b) constru ct their own world.
This second point is a little harder for us to swallow, and most of us
constantly vacillate between faith that our learners will indeed construct
meaning which we will find acceptable (whatever we mean by that) and
our need to construc t meaning for them; that is, to structure situations that
are not free for learners to carry out their own mental actions, but
“learning” situations which channel them into our ideas about the meaning
of experience. A common example of the unresolved tensi on is our
attitude towards museum tours which explain exhibits to the visitor. I have
repeatedly asked museum professionals if they personally enjoy guided
tours, and they almost universally tell me that they try to avoid them at all
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57 through galleries, insisting on presenting the expert guide’s interpretation,
pace and selection to influence the viewer’s perception and learning. It is
this tension between our desire as teachers to teach th e truth, to present the
world “as it really is”, and our desire to let learners construct their own
world which requires us to think seriously about epistemology and
pedagogy.
Principles of learning
What are some guiding principles of constructivist thinki ng that we must
keep in mind when we consider our role as educators? I will outline a few
ideas, all predicated on the belief that learning consists of individuals’
constructed meanings and then indicate how they influence education.
1. Learning is an active process in which the learner uses sensory input
and constructs meaning out of it. The more traditional formulation of this
idea involves the terminology of the active learner (Dewey’s term)
stressing that the learner needs to do something; that learning i s not the
passive acceptance of knowledge which exists “out there” but that learning
involves the learners engaging with the world.
2. People learn to learn as they learn; learning consists both of
constructing meaning and constructing systems of meaning. For example,
if we learn the chronology of dates of a series of historical events, we are
simultaneously learning the meaning of a chronology. Each meaning we
construct makes us better able to give meaning to other sensations which
can fit a similar pattern.
3. The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental: it happens in the
mind. Physical actions, hands -on experience may be necessary for
learning, especially for children, but it is not sufficient; we need to provide
activities which engage the mind as wel l as the hands. (Dewey called this
reflective activity.)
4. Learning involves language: the language we use influences learning.
On the empirical level, researchers have noted that people talk to
themselves as they learn. On a more general level. There is a c ollection of
arguments, presented most forcefully by Vigotsky, that language and
learning are inextricably intertwined. The desire to have material and
programs in their own language was an important request by many
members of various communities.
5. Learnin g is a social activity : our learning is intimately associated with
our connection with other human beings, our teachers, our peers, our
family as well as casual acquaintances, including the people before us or
next to us at the exhibit. We are more likely to be successful in our efforts
to educate if we recognize this principle rather than try to avoid it. Much
of traditional education, as Dewey pointed out, is directed towards
isolating the learner from all social interaction, and towards seeing
education as a one -on-one relationship between the learner and the
objective material to be learned. In contrast, progressive education (to
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58 learning and uses conversation, interaction with others, and the application
of knowledge as an integral aspect of learning.
6. Learning is contextual : we do not learn isolated facts and theories in
some abstract ethereal land of the mind separate from the rest of our lives :
we learn in relationship to what else we know, what we believe, our
prejudices and our fears. On reflection, it becomes clear that this point is
actually a corollary of the idea that learning is active and social. We
cannot divorce our learning from our lives.
7. One needs knowledge to learn : i t is not possible to assimilate new
knowledge without having some structure developed from previous
knowledge to build on. The more we know, the more we can learn.
Therefore any effort to teach must be connected to the state of the learner,
must provide a path into the subject for the learner based on that learner’s
previous knowledge.
8. It takes time to learn : learning is not instantaneous. For significant
learning we need to revisit ideals, ponder them try them out, play with
them and use them. This cannot happen in the 5 -10 minutes usually spent
in a gallery (and certainly not in the few seconds usually spent
contemplating a single museum object.) If you reflect on anything you
have learned, you soon realize that it is the product of repeated exposure
and thought. Even, or especially, moments of profound insight, can be
traced back to longer periods of preparation.
9. Motivation is a key component in learning. Not only is it the case that
motivation helps learning, it is essential for learning. This ideas of
motivation as described here is broadly conceived to include an
understanding of ways in which the knowledge can be used. Unless we
know “the reasons why”, we may not be very involved in using the
knowledge that may be instilled in us, even by the most sev er and direct
teaching.
Check your progress - II
Q.1 What are the principles of learning according to constructivist
thinking? Explain the implication of constructivism to education.
Q.2 Explain Gagne’s ideas of instructional design.
5.3 THEORIES OF COMM UNICATION AND ODL
Introduction :
In our daily life we read news papers, watch TV, talk to our friends by
mobile phone. By doing these activities we get information, become
emotionally attached to a character, express views on certain events and so
on. It i s possible because of different means of communication. Distance
education implies imparting varied learning experiences to learners
located at far fetched geographical situations. The means of providing
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59 activities in distance education situation are different from those of
traditional face to face mode situation. A thorough understanding of
communication theories and process help us to design curriculum of open
distance learning sit uation. In this unit you will also be exposed to the
concept of communication, models of communication, types of
communication, means of communication and theories of communication.
You will be able to visualize the implications of communication theories
in ODL system.
Meaning & Characteristics of Communication :
Communication is the meaningful interaction with people in such a
manner that the ideal thought is same and getting the feedback also.
Communication is commonly defined as “the exchange of thought s, ideas,
feelings, information, opinions, and knowledge”. It also involves
mutuality of understanding.
Definitions of Communication :
 Communication is meaningful interaction.
 Communication is information sharing.
 Communication is a link force.
 Communi cation is understanding.
 Communication is fundamental requisite of life.
Important Characteristics of Communication :
 It is a 2 - way process.
 Communication process happens between or among two or more
parties. (Sender and Receiver)
 Communication involv es exchange of ideas, feelings, information,
thoughts, and knowledge.
 Communication involves mutuality of understanding between Sender
and Receiver.
 There are two types of Communication i.e., Verbal and Non -Verbal
Communication.
Forms / Types of Communi cation :
Verbal Communication :
1. Oral Communication : Oral communication is information spoken by
mouth; the use of speech. Some of the examples of Oral Communication
are : Face to face communication, telephonic Communication, Public
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60 Visual Media (Radio, TV), Lectures, Conference - Interchange of views,
Meetings, Cultural Affairs.
2. Written Communication : Communication by means of written
symbols (either printed or handwritten). Some of the e xamples are :
Orders, Instructions, Letters, Memos, Reports, Policy manuals,
Information Bulletin, Complaint System, Suggestion System, etc.
Nonverbal Communication :
1. Body Language includes facial expression, eye contact, postures,
gestures, touch.
2. Para L anguage is the way we say something rather than what we say,
is another nonverbal code.
3. Space and Time Language :
Space Language includes surroundings (Design & Language). It
communicates social status also.
4. Sign Language : A sign language is a language which, instead of
conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns.
Human communication is understood in various ways by those who
identify with the field. This diversity is the result of communication being
a relatively young field of stu dy, composed of a very broad constituency
of disciplines. It includes work taken from scholars of Rhetoric,
Journalism, Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, and Semiotics, among
others.
Cognate areas include bio communication , which investigates
communic ative processes within and among non -humans such as bacteria,
animals, fungi and plants, and information theory, which provides a
mathematical model for measuring communication within and among
systems.
Generally, human communication is concerned with the making of
meaning and the exchange of understanding about human development.
One model of communication considers it from the perspective of
transmitting information from one person to another. In fact, many
scholars of communication take this as a workin g definition, and use
Lasswell’s maxim, “who says what to whom in which channel with what
effect,” as a means of circumscribing the field of communication theory.
Among those who subscribe to the transmission model are those who
identify themselves with th e communication sciences, and finds its roots
in the studies of propaganda and mass media of the early 20th century.
Other commentators claim that a ritual process of communication exists,
one not artificially divorcible from a particular historical and s ocial
context. This tradition is largely associated with early scholars of symbolic
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61 Constructionist Models :
There is an additional working definition of communication to consider
that authors like Richard A. Lan ham (2003) and as far back as Erving
Goffman (1959) have highlighted. This is a progression from Lasswell’s
attempt to define human communication through to this century and
revolutionized into the constructionist model. Constructionists believe that
the p rocess of communication is in itself the only messages that exist. The
packaging can not be separated from the social and historical context from
which it arose, therefore the substance to look at in communication theory
is style for Richard Lanham and the performance of self for Erving
Goffman.
Lanham chose to view communication as the rival to the over
encompassing use of CBS model (which pursued to further the
transmission model). CBS model argues that Clarity, Brevity, and
Sincerity are the only purpos e to prose discourse, therefore
communication. Lanham wrote, “If words matter too, if the whole range of
human motive is seen as animating prose discourse, then rhetoric analysis
leads us to the essential questions about prose style” (Lanham 10). This is
saying that rhetoric and style are fundamentally important; they are not
errors to what we actually intend to transmit. The process which we
construct and deconstruct meaning deserves analysis.
Erving Goffman sees the performances of self as the most impor tant frame
to understand communication. Goffman wrote, “What does, seem to be
required of the individual is that he learnt enough pieces of expression to
be to ‘fill in’ and manage, more or less, any part that he is likely to be
given” (Goffman 73) The tru th in both cases is the articulation of the
message and the package as one. The construction of the message from
social and historical context is the seed as is the pre -existing message is
for the transmission model. Therefore any look into communication t heory
should include the possibilities drafted by such great scholars as Richard
A. Lanham and Erving Goffman that style and performance is the whole
process. Communication stands so deeply rooted in human behaviors and
the structures of society that schol ars have difficulty thinking of it while
excluding social or behavioral events. Because communication theory
remains a relatively young field or inquiry and integrates itself with other
disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, and sociology, one probabl y
cannot yet except a consensus conceptualization of communication across
disciplines.
Communication Model Terms as provided by Rothwell:
Noise; interference with effective transmission and reception of a
message.
For example; physical noise or external noise which are environmental
distractions such as poorly heated rooms, startling sounds, appearances of
things, music playing some where else, and someone talking really loudly
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62 Physiological noise are biological influences that distract you fro m
communicating competently such as sweaty palms, pounding heart,
butterfly in the stomach, induced by speech anxiety, or feeling sick,
exhausted at work, the ringing noise in your ear, being really hungry, and
if you have a runny noise or a cough.
Psycho logical noise are the preconception bias and assumptions such as
thinking someone who speaks like a valley girl is dumb, or someone from
a foreign country can’t speak English well so you speak loudly and slowly
to them.
Semantic noise are word choices tha t are confusing and distracting such as
using the word tri -syllabic instead of three syllables.
Sender, the initiator and encoder of a message Receiver, the one that
receives the message (the listener) and the decoder of a message.
Decode; translates the senders spoken idea / message into something the
receiver understands by using their knowledge of language from personal
experience.
Encode; puts the idea into spoken language while putting their own
meaning into the word/message.
Channel; the medium thr ough which the message travels such as through
oral communication (radio, television, phone, in person) or written
communication (letters, email, text messages)
Feedback; the receivers verbal and nonverbal responses to a message such
as a nod for understan ding (nonverbal), a raised eyebrow for being
confused (nonverbal), or asking a question to clarify the message (verbal).
Message; the verbal and nonverbal components of language that is sent to
the receiver by the sender which conveys an idea.
Linear Mode l - is a one way model to communicate with others. it consists
of the sender encoding a message and channeling it to the receiver in the
presence of noise. Draw backs - the linear model assumes that there is a
clear cut beginning and end to communication. It also displays no
feedback from the receiver.
For example; a letter, email, text message, lecture.
Interactive Model - is two linear models stacked on top of each other. The
sender channels a message to the receiver and the receiver then becomes
the se nder and channels a message to the original sender. This model has
added feedback, indicates that communication is not a one way but a two
way process. It also has “field of experience” which includes our cultural
background, ethnicity geographic location, extend of travel, and general
personal experiences accumulated over the course of your lifetime. Draw
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63 For example - instant messaging (IM). The sender sends an IM to the
receiver, then the original se nder has to wait for the IM from the original
receiver to react. Or a question / answer session where you just ask a
question then you get an answer.
Transactional Model - assumes that people are connected through
communication; they engage in transaction . Firstly, it recognizes that each
of us is a sender - receiver, not merely a sender or a receiver. Secondly, it
recognizes that communication affects all parties involved. So
communication is fluid / simultaneous. This is how most conversations are
like. The transactional model also contains ellipses that symbolize the
communication environment (how you interpret the data that you are
given). Where the ellipses meet is the most effect communication area
because both communicators share the same meaning of the message.
For example - talking / listening to friends. While your friend is talking
you are constantly giving them feedback on what you think through you
facial expression verbal feedback without necessarily stopping your friend
from talking.
History of Communication Theory
The Academic Study of Communication
Communication has existed since the beginning of human beings, but it
was not until the 20th century that people began to study the process. As
communication technologies developed, so did the serious study of
communication. When World War I ended, the interest in studying
communication intensified. The social - science study was fully
recognized as a legitimate discipline after World War II.
Before becoming simply communication, or communicati on studies, the
discipline was formed from three other major studies : psychology,
sociology, and anthropology. Psychology is the study of human behavior,
Sociology is the study of society and social and social process, and
anthropology is the study of com munication as a factor which develops,
maintains, and changes culture.
Communication studies focus on communication as central to the human
experience, which involves understanding how people behave in creating,
exchanging, and interpreting messages.
Com munication Theory has one universal law posited by S. F. Scudder
(1980). The Universal Communication Law states that, “All living entities,
beings and creatures communicate.” All life communicates through
movements, sounds, reactions, physical changes, ges tures, languages, and
breath. Communication is a means of survival. Examples – the cry of a
child (communicating that it is hungry, hurt or cold); the browing of a leaf
(communicating that it is dehydrated, thirsty per se, or dying); the cry of
an animal ( communicating that it is injured, hungry or angry). Everything
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64 Communication Theory Framework
It is helpful to examine communication and communication theory
through one of the following viewpoints:
 Mechanist ic: This view considers communication as a perfect
transaction of a message from the sender to the receiver.
 Psychological : This view considers communication as the act of the
sending a message to a receiver, and the felling and thoughts of the
receiver upon interpreting the message.
 Social Constructionist (Symbolic Interactionist): This view considers
communication to be the product of the interactants sharing and creating
meaning. The Constructionist View can also be defined as, how you say
something de termines what the message is. The Constructionist View
assumes that “Truth” and “ideas” are constructed or invented through the
social process of communication. Robert T. Craig saw the Constructionist
View or the constitutive as it’s called in his article, as “…an ongoing
process that symbolically forms and re -forms our personal identities.”
(Craig). The other view of communication, the Transmission Model, sees
communication as robotic and computer -like. The Transmission Model
sees communication as a way of sending or receiving messages and the
perfection of that. But, the Constructionist View sees communications as,
“… in human life, information does not behave as simply as bits in an
electronic stream. In human life, information flow is far more like an
electric current running from one landmine to another” (Lanham). The
Constructionist View is a more realistic view of communication because it
involves the interacting of human beings and the free sharing of thoughts
and ideas. Daniel Chandler look to prove that the Transmission Model is a
lesser way of communicating by saying “The transmission model is not
merely a gross over -simplification but a dangerously misleading
representation of the nature of human communication” (Chandler).
Humans do not communicate simply as computers or robots to that’s why
its essential to truly understand the Constructionist View of
Communication well. We do not simply send facts and data to one
another, but we take facts and data and they acquire meaning through the
process of c ommunication; or through interaction with others.
 Systemic: This view considers communication to be the new messages
created via “through -put”, or what happens as the message is being
interpreted and re -interpreted as it travels through people.
 Critical: This view considers communication as a source of power and
oppression of individuals and social groups.
Inspection of a particular theory on this level will provide a framework on
the nature or communication as seen within the confines of the theory .
Theories can also be studied and organized according to the ontological,
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65 Ontology essentially poses the question of what, exactly, it is the theorist
is examining. One must consider the very nature of reality. The answer
usually falls in one of three realms depending on whether the theorist sees
the phenomena through the lens of a realist, nominalist, or social
constructionist. Realist perspective views the world objectively, believing
that there is a world outside of our own experience and cognitions.
Nominalists see the world subjectively, claiming that everything outside of
one’s cognitions is simply names and labels. Social constructionists
straddle the fence between objective and subj ective reality, claiming that
reality is what we create together.
Epistemology is an examination of how the theorist studies the chosen
phenomena. In studying epistemology, particularly from a positivist
perspective, objective knowledge is said to be the r esult of a systematic
look at the causal relationships of phenomena. This knowledge is usually
attained through use of the scientific method. Scholars often think that
empirical evidence collected in an objective manner is most likely to
reflect truth in t he findings. Theories of this ilk are usually crated to
predict a phenomenon. Subjective theory holds that understanding is based
on situated knowledge, typically found using interpretative methodology
such as ethnography and also interviews. Subjective th eories are typically
developed to explain or understand phenomena in the social world.
Axiology is concerned with how values inform research and theory
development. Most communication theory is guided by one of three
axiological approaches. The first appro ach recognizes that values will
influence theorists interests but suggests that those values must be set
aside once actual research begins. Outside replication of research findings
is particularly important in this approach to prevent individual researcher s
values from contaminating their findings and interpretations. The second
approach rejects the idea that values can be eliminated from any stage of
theory development. Within this approach, theorists do not try to divorce
their values from inquiry. Instea d, they remain mindful of their values so
that they understand how those values contextualize. Influence or skew
their findings. The third approach not only rejects the idea that values can
be separated from research and theory, but rejects the idea that t hey should
be separated. This approach is often adopted by critical theorists who
believe that the role of communication theory is to identify oppression and
produce social change. In this axiological approach, theorists embrace
their values and work to re produce those value in their research and theory
development.
Mapping the theoretical landscape
A discipline gets defined in large part by its theoretical structure.
Communication studies often borrow theories from other social sciences.
This theoretical v ariation makes it difficult to come to terms with the field
as a whole. That said, some common taxonomies exist that serve to divide
up the range of communication research. Two common mappings involve
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66 Contexts
May authors and res earchers divide communication by what they
sometimes called ”Contexts” or “levels”, but which more often represent
institutional histories. The study of communication in the US, while
occurring within departments of psychology, sociology, Iinguistics, and
anthropology (among others), generally developed from schools of
rhetoric and from schools of journalism. While many of these have
become “departments of communication”, they often retain their historical
roots, adhering largely to theories from speech com munication in the
former case, and from mass media in the latter. The great divide between
speech communication and mass communication becomes complicated by
a number of smaller sub -areas of communication research, including
intercultural and international communication, small group
communication, communication technology, policy and legal studies of
communication. Telecommunication, and work done under a variety of
other labels. Some of these departments take a largely social -scientific
perspective, others tend more heavily toward the humanities, and still
others gear themselves more toward production and professional
preparation.
These “levels” of communication provide some way of grouping
communication theories, but inevitably, some theories and concepts leak
from one area to another, or fail to find a home at all.
The Constitutive Metamodel
Another way of dividing up the communication field emphasizes the
assumptions that undergird particular theories, models, and approaches.
Robert T. Craig suggests that the field of communication as a whole can
be understood as several different traditions who have a specific view on
communication. By showing the similarities and differences between these
traditions, Craig argues that the different traditions will be abl e to engage
each other in dialogue rather than ignore each other. Craig proposes seven
different traditions which are:
1. Rhetorical: views communication as the practical art of discourse.
2. Semiotic: views communication as the mediation by signs.
3. Phenomenolog ical: communication is the experience of dialogue with
others.
4. Cybernetic: communication is the flow of information.
5. Socio -psychological: communication is the interaction of individuals.
6. Socio -cultural: communication is the production and reproduction of
the social order.
7. Critical: Communication is the process in which all assumptions can
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67 Craig finds each of these clearly defined against the others, and remaining
cohesive approaches to describing communicative behavior. As a
taxonomic aid, th ese labels help to organize theory by its assumptions.
And help researchers to understand why some theories may seem
incommensurable.
While communication theorists very commonly use these approaches,
theorists decentralize the place of language and machine s as
communicative technologies. The idea (as argued by Vygotsky) of
communication as the primary tool of a species defined by its tools
remains on the outskirts of communication theory. It finds some
representation in the Toronto School of communication t heory
(alternatively sometimes called medium theory) as represented by the
work of Innis, McLuhan, and others. It seems that the ways in which
individuals and groups use the technologies of communication – and in
some cases are used by them – remain centra l to what communication
researchers do. The ideas that surround this, and in particular the place of
persuasion. remain constants across both the “traditions” and “levels” of
communication theory.
Role of Communication in ODL
Communication has a vital role in ODL system. Its criticality arises due to
distributed nature of program delivery and student support services. For a
distance learner waiting for crucial information at various stages of study,
the information must be made available at the earliest and with clarity.
Lack of appropriate communication has been cited as one of the reasons
for student attritions (Fozdaret al, 2006). This makes it imperative to
ensure inculcation of communication skills among the staff at all levels.
The scale of requirement can be realized, if we trace the recent
developments. The distance education institutions have changed the
scenario by offering education to a mass scale. The advent of ICT has to
doubt made communication faster and easier; still, it has raised the
expect ation level of the learners. It has also a compelling effect on the
institutions to change the style and format of official correspondence
(Moran and Rumble, 2004, p.). The distance education institutions, even if
they adopt dual mode, have to generate fun ds to sustain their operations;
this segment, barring the government run open universities, is not offered
any government grant. The institutions have to work hard to get a sizable
enrolment. In such a competitive environment, the institutions have to be
alert in adapting to changing modes of technology to offer quality service
to the clientele. In the self financing context, the institutions desire to
expand their ambit of operations through unconventional modes. The
result is corporate tie -up for the offe r of many executive training
programs. It is possible that many of these institutions could wait for
collaborative ventures with foreign higher education institutions for even
back office operations, once the Indian Parliament gives final clearance
for the ir entry into Indian soil. Significant number of institutions are also
waiting for approval for GATS related issues, since it could support new
ventures. Newer delivery models and partnerships could emerge. All these munotes.in

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68 developments have placed considerable d emand for skill enhancement of
the staff in the distance education institutions.
Implications of different theories of communication in development of
curriculum of ODL’s are:
 Identifying objectives
 Learner characteristics
 Resource analysis
 Course content
 Media input & material production
 Tutor/ Counsellor/ Expert input
 Delivery Mechanism
 Evaluation and Feedback
Check Your Progress - III
1. Explain the models of communication and role of communication in
ODL.
5.4 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN FOR OPEN AND
DISTANCE LEARNING
Instructional system of Open and Distance Learning is very complex.
Unlike face to face mode instruction in classrooms and learning
experiences provided in college campus distance education institution
facilitates learning through various forms. Instructional inputs and process
in distance education take care of special feature of distance learners and
instructional goals and objectives. How to proceed with instructional
design in ODL context is a complex question. For instance keeping in
view the mission and nature of Open Distance Learning System the aims
and objectives of distance education programme are very much wide. The
major challenge before a course designer in ODL context is to be clear
about theoretical and applied contexts of the system so that appropriate
instructional packages can be designed for distance learners. In the
following unit you will be exposed to different components of
instructional system, the steps of development of instructional packages
and writing of instructional un its.
5.4.1 Setting Educational Goals
General Educational goals are framed on the following basis.
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69 -Statement of aims (Examples of M.A, Education programme: To develop
To inculcate
To foster appreciation
5.4.2 Defining Course O bjectives
Defining course objectives is the action form statement of course
objective: Learners will be ‘able to do at the end” (which can be witnessed
in learners performance) objectives are framed under the three domain
- Cognitive
- Affective
- Psychomotor
Example of Aims – To develop
To inculcate
To faster an appreciation
Example of Objectives:
A statement of objective help learners to understand the thrust of a course
unit and to organize their study accordi ngly.
5.4.3 Deciding learning experiences:
Learning experiences can be decided in any form of the following.
Study guidePrint Based
Radio broadcast
Face to face Practical
TV Lesson
Computer assisted instructionPLMOLMHand book
5.4.4 Organisation of learning experiences
Content
Selecting subject matter
Criteria for ordering material
-Topic – by topic topic 1
2
3
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70 - Sequence – What precedes what?
Time

- Structural logic approach – disciplines own logical approach


- Concentric Circle approa ch

- Problemcentred approach


- Spiral approach



Moving from specific to general
Known to unknown
Simple tom complex
5.4.5 Deciding evaluation schemes
Learner evaluation: Self Assessment

Inbuilt part of content

Assignment – Tutor marked
Peer ev aluation – Microteaching
Practicals -
Computer – marked assessment
Term and assessment
Check Your progress –IV
Q.1 Explain how will you organize leaning experiences?



ProblemSolution
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71 5.5 LET US SUM UP
In this unit we have discussed theories of learning, theories of
comm unication & designing instruction for ODL. Under theories of
leaning we have touched the following theories:
 Behaviorist theories of learning focuses only on the objectively
observable aspect of learning.
 Cognitive theory look beyond behaviour to explain b rain bsed
learning.
 Constructivist theory views learning as a process in which the learner
actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts.
Theories of communication have vital role in ODL system. Different
models of communication helps in this directi on.
Instructional design for ODL follows some steps like:
 Setting educational goals on the basis of philosophy & socio -
psychology
 Defining course objectives under cognitive conative & affective
domain
 Deciding learning experiences from print based and stud y slides
 Organizing learning experiences on the basis of content, sequence
approach
 Deciding schemes.
Curriculum can be framed for ODL on the basis of different the theories
discussed.
5.6 UNIT END EXERCISE
Q.1 What are the different theories of learning? Explain the theory which
you think is more associated with ODL.
Q.2 Write short notes on:
a) Models of communication
b) Characteristics of constructivist learning
c) Deciding evaluation scheme.
Reference
 Mangal, s. K. (1998) Educational Psychology.
 IGNO U (2008 study materials of PGDDE.

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72 6
CURRICULUM TRANSACTION OF ODL -
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Unit Structure :
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Instructional Design: What it is and Why it is Important In ODL
6.3 Analysing Systems Re quirement: A Systems Approach T o Open
and Distance Learnin g
6.4 Designing an Instructional System
6.5 Evaluating Systems Effectiveness
6.5.1 Learner Characteristics
6.5.2 Instructional Media
6.5.3 Types of E valuation
6.6 Let Us Sum Up
6.7 Unit End Exercise
6.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit deal s with a brief introduction to instructional designs and its
importance in the ODL, an understanding of the stage of system
requirements which is a necessary step in the designing of an instructional
system for ODL. This sub unit is followed by the steps o f designing an
instructional system and evaluating systems effectiveness with regard to
learner characteristics, instructional media and types of evaluation that can
be used. Hence by the end of the unit you will be able to:
 Describe the importance of inst ructional designs in ODL,
 Explain the need for instructional designs in ODL with respect to the
advantages of ODL,
 Discuss the steps for analyzing systems requirements,
 Describe the steps for designing an instructional system,
 State the different types of evaluation of an instructional system with
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ODL - Instructional Design
73  Explain the need for terminal and continuous evaluation systems
effectiveness.
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Open and distance learning (ODL) combines two forms of education –
open and distance – that focus on expanding access to learning. It is
characterised by two factors: its philosophy and its use of technology.
Most ODL systems have a philosophy that aims to:
• remove barriers to education, and
• allow studen ts to study what they want, when they want and where they
want.
In short, ODL is about increasing educational access and increasing
educational choice .
ODL systems typically use technology to mediate learning, for example:
• printed workbooks
• audio casse ttes
• radio
• the web.
There is no one method for providing ODL, so a wide variety of courses
are described as ‘open learning’ or as ‘distance learning’. Some typical
examples are shown in Figure 1. The variety is instructive. In some cases,
students work almost entirely by themselves (e.g., correspondence
courses); in others they study in groups (e.g., interactive radio); and in still
others they might meet together at intervals (e.g., distance teacher
training). There is an equally wide variety of purpos es to which ODL is
put, ranging from primary education to post -school study of the secondary
curriculum and, ultimately, professional updating.
6.2 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN: WHAT IT IS AND WHY
IT IS IMPORTANT IN ODL
This part looks at how instructional design is used to create learning
materials that will replicate what the teacher does in the classroom.
Definitions of instructional design are provided and the main steps in the
process of creating materials are described.
The three main theoretical approaches t o instructional design used in the
history of ODL are then presented. The point is also made, however, that
despite theories and the systematic approaches, ‘the field of instructional
design is more like a craft while it claims to be a technology’ (Elen an d
Clarebout, 2001). There are several words and phraseologies associated
with the word 'Instruction'. Most common ones are , and . According to munotes.in

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74 Mukopadhyay (2001) 'Instructional Science provides the theoretical
construct to the process of instruction'. 'In structional Technology is the
applied aspect of Instructional Science based on Instructional Design'. The
meaning of Instructional Design is indicated by the word 'Design' itself.
Design has been claimed as a science by itself. (van Patten, 1989). In
layma n's language, 'Instructional Design means the plan of action with a
purpose'. For our understanding in this section we will describe
instructional design as a separate entity, which is separate from
Instructional Science and Technology. Instructional Desig n is a discipline
of study and has evolved over the last forty years as a science. It is a
young profession deriving its inspiration and contents from areas of
communication, psychology, media etc. to form its own theory. Various
authors have defined instr uctional design in their own way. Instructional
Design simply means using a systematic process to understand a human
performance problem, figuring out what to do about it and then doing
something about it (McArdle, 1991). Instructional Design is the scienc e of
creating detailed specifications for the development, evaluation and
maintenance of situations which facilitate the learning (Richey, 1986).
Instructional Design is the entire process of analysis of learning needs and
goals and the development of a de livery system to meet the needs (Briggs,
1977). In simple words, instructional design is a pedagogic or teaching
device that makes instruction as well as the instructional material more
engaging, effective and efficient. The statement .whereas physicians
engineer health, architects engineer space, instructional designers engineer
human performance. (van Patten, 1989) focuses on the importance of
instructional design. Learning theories have significant bearing on
instructional design, as there is a logical d evelopment from learning to
instruction. Instructional design optimizes learning outcomes while
learning theories are the backbone of any instructional design.
Instructional design is the articulation or the manifestation of the learning
theories, and its main aim is to optimize learning by using the known
theories of learning. Strain (1994) states that a wide divergence of views
exists among the researchers in instructional design regarding the relative
contribution of various schools of psychology and cla ims that instructional
design has grown out of the systems approach with its roots firmly in
behaviorists psychology that has dominated instructional design since the
1960s. However, Hannafin and Reiber (1989) point out that instructional
design developed in the 1980s by Gagne, Merrill, Reigeluth and Scandura
is largely due to the influence of cognitive theories of learning. Of course
the emphasis has been on how information is retrieved, selected, processed
and perceived. More recent developments are due t o Constructivist
learning theories. Instructional designers no longer depend on any one
theory. They draw upon and incorporate from different learning theories,
mix those with other information and apply the results to meet human
needs (van Patten, 1989).
Now that we have looked at the meaning of instructional designs in order
to understand the importance of instructional designs in ODL we need to
re look at the advantages of ODL and this will give us an understanding to
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75 Advantages of Open and Distance Learning
Open and distance learning offers a number of advantages to both learners
and to providers of opportunities for learning. Problems such as distance
and time, which are barriers to conventional learning, are overcome in
open and distance learning.
Overcoming physical distance
Open and distance learning can overcome problems of physical distance
for:
 learners in remote locations who are unable or unwilling to physically
attend a ca mpus; and learners and teachers geographically separated in
that teachers in urban settings instruct learners in rural settings.
Solving time or scheduling problems
Open and distance learning can solve time or scheduling for:
 client groups unwilling or unable to assemble together frequently;
 learners engaged in full -time or part -time work, both waged and
volunteer; and
 family and community commitments.
Expanding the limited number of places available
Open and distance learnin g can expand the limited number of places
available for:
 campus -based institutions few in number; and
 stringent entrance requirements.
Accommodating low or dispersed enrolments
Open and distance learning can accommodate:
 low enrolments over a long period o f time; and
 low enrolments in one geographic region but additional enrolments
elsewhere.
Making best use of the limited number of teachers available
Open and distance learning can make the best use of the few teachers
available when:
 there is a lack of tra ined teaching personnel relative to demand;
 teachers are geographically concentrated; and
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Dealing with cultural, religious and political considerations
Open and distance learning can deal with differ ences, and consequently:
 widens women’s opportunities to learn;
 meets the needs of populations affected by violence, war or
displacement; and
 makes learning possible even when group assemblies are prescribed.
On looking at the various advantages one sees that therefore there is a
need for an instructional system using an instructional design that has a
systemic view of ODL.
Check Your progress :
Q.1 What is Instructional design? How it is related to Instructional
science?
6.3. ANALYSING SYSTEMS REQUIREMEN T:A SYSTEMS
APPROACH TO OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING
A systems approach sets the conditions for proceeding in an orderly way.
A systems approach also recognises that all the components of the system
are interrelated. A change in one component will bring abou t changes in
the others.
Open and distance learning programmes, units and institutions use a
phased model for problem solving:
analyse , design , develop , implement ,evaluate , revise
Analysis: a detailed examination of all facets of the problem
 What is t he problem to be solved?
 Is the problem an instructional problem or an environmental problem?
 Who has the problem?
 What are the resources available to solve the problem?
 What are the constraints or limitations to be faced?
Output from the analysis phase:
 a clear statement of the problem
 a detailed description of the target population
 identification of the resources and constraints

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77 Design: requires the preparation of a detailed solution
 Who are the target population and other stakeholders?
 What will the solution accomplish?
 How will the participants be different after the course or programme?
 How will the participants achieve the objectives?
 How will the course or programme be developed?
 How will you know your solution is effective?
Output from the design phase :
a detailed plan that describes how, when, by whom and at what cost the
problem will be solved
Development: must address the following kinds of questions
 What strategies, media and methods will be used for each objective or
task?
 What learning resources will be required?
 Where, when and how will learners be ensured of feedback as they
practise their skills?
 Where, how and when will evaluation activities be used?
 What will be the consequences of success or failure or both?
 How will the instruction be eva luated and revised?
Output from the development phase:
 a complete course or programme package, including all materials,
tools, equipment and plans for delivery, learner support, learner
evaluation and course evaluations
Implementation: putting the solution into practice
 Are all necessary resources (human, physical, financial) in place?
 Are data collection mechanisms in place?
 Are problem -solving and recording mechanisms in place?
Output from the implementation phase:
 learner progress and performance records
 data from a variety of sources (for example, records and solutions)
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78 Evaluation: not an ‘add -on’ but an integral component
 How well does the system meet the goals initially identified?
 How w ell does it meet the needs of the learners and other
stakeholders?
 Do you have sufficient specific information? How will you obtain it?
 What specific changes can be made to improve the system?
Output from the evaluation phase:
 analyses of records and dat a
 specific solutions, including time, cost and other resource estimates
Revision: including a review of all decisions and activities of previous
phases
 Were the original analyses complete and correct?
 Have circumstances changed sufficiently to require a m ajor review of
the analyses?
 What changes, modifications or improvements are evident in the
evaluation data?
 Are sufficient resources available to complete the recommended
changes?
 What action needs to be taken?
Output from the revision phase:
 revised cou rse or programme, including the course materials, learner
support and evaluation plan, and a revised course evaluation plan
6.4. DESIGNING THE SYSTEM
All instructional designers agree on the need for effective planning of the
design and development process . The success of this process largely
depends on the preparation of a document, often called a plan or a
blueprint, with essential elements such as clear indications of what will be
done, who will do it and by when. These are added to the general
descripti on, which has the usual study elements of content, assessment and
time schedules. The following outline provides brief descriptions of the
parts of a typical plan. Note that for the plan to be of most use, it should be
treated as a working document that is regularly updated as changes occur
in the development and production phases.

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79
INTRODUCTION
This should provide a brief overview of what is in the plan, along with any
necessary background information.
THE STAFF
This section should list those involved an d answer the following key
questions:
 Who will be developing and teaching the course?
 What support staff would be involved?
 What will the respective roles of the team members be?
 Who will be the projects coordinator?
THE STUDENTS
This question needs to be carefully considered and should address the
following:
 Who will be studying the course?
 What are their expected backgrounds and learning needs?
 What learning experiences will they bring to their study?
 What support and preparation in adapting to flexible l earning will they
require?
SUBJECT DESCRIPTION
This section should first outline any necessary institutional requirements,
like the subject title, points value, level and prerequisites.
The subject’s relation to the rest of the course should be explained.
Subject content and the approach should be briefly outlined. This
information will often be readily available in existing course approval
documents.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aims are the overall goals for student learning. The objectives are
more specific, setting out what learners should be able to do, understand
and value after completing their study. Well -designed objectives can
provide a basis for later construction of assessment items. This section can
also include an outline of ways in which individual aims and objectives,
set by the learners themselves, will be met. Note that the term .learning
outcomes. will sometimes be used rather than .objectives.. Though there
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80 CONTENT OUTLI NE
This shows what the students are expected to learn in order to meet the
aims and objectives. The content outline can be a list of specific main
topics and sub -topics, which for a modularised course can be presented
under the module headings. It can also be a diagram illustrating the
relationship between major concepts.
THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
This vital component determines what teaching and learning methods will
be employed for students to achieve the objectives. The learning
environment determines how the students are going to learn the content.
By addressing this challenge, development teams can move well beyond
simply presenting content and devising tests to check students
understanding. Consideration can be given to the overall approach,
focusing o n the learning activities or the process rather than the content.
Examples of ways the learning environment can be constructed include
problem -based learning, case study approaches, clinical teaching,
experiential learning, videoconferencing and computer -based learning. A
useful device in designing the learning environment is to construct an
organisational outline that shows the essential components of the subject,
along with how they fit together. As well as describing the learning
resources (online elemen ts, multi media resources, print based materials or
lectures), it should clearly indicate the relationship between the key
components. This can be done as a table, which lists the learning resources
and shows the amount of time that learners are expected t o spend with
each resource during their study. Its value lies in its ability to show the
expected total study time of the learners, and to identify areas where
learning demands might exceed available time.
INTERACTION AND ACTIVITIES
This section indicates how students will interact with academic staff and
with each other, and describes the learning activities. For example, the
kind of expected interaction during tutorials will be explained along with
whether the students are to use the online facility for i nformation or
communication purposes, searching for web resources, or working with
multi media learning material. Any proposed use of group -based learning
should also be included.
ASSESSMENT
This provides an indication of the overall assessment structure, including
the balance between assessment items and a description of the nature of
the items (examinations, essays, reports, investigations or problems). The
mode of submission of assessment items, whether electronic or hard copy,
will be detailed. Time lin es and policy on late submission can be included.
Note that clear indication must be given as to how the assessment meets
the objectives.
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81 LEARNING MATERIALS
This section should identify all materials students need to complete the
course, such as texts, re adings, audio visual and multi media elements, and
should include which of them the learners will need to purchase.
STUDENT REQUIREMENTS
It is important to clearly indicate anything particular that students might
need to study effectively, such as Internet access. Listing specific
requirements is specifically important for technology related learning.
LEARNER SUPPORT
Learner support elements such as tutorials, library, information
technology, administration, learner -teacher contact or learner -learner
contac t, should be clearly outlined.
DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE
The schedule is usually a table which lists the major components of the
course, indicating when and by whom the components will be developed.
For large and complex development projects, the use of project
management software can prove very beneficial.
LEARNER SUPPORT
Learner support elements such as tutorials, library, information
technology, administration, learner -teacher contact or learner -learner
contact, should be clearly outlined.
DEVELOPMENT SCHEDUL E
The schedule is usually a table which lists the major components of the
course, indicating when and by whom the components will be developed.
For large and complex development projects, the use of project
management software can prove very beneficial.
EVALUATION
Overall evaluation strategies should include the formative evaluation that
will take place during the development phase. This can be peer evaluation,
trials or other approaches designed to ensure that potential problems are
addressed well before t he course is offered. Plans for summative
evaluation, which will take place as the first students experience the
learning environment, should also be outlined. Such evaluation, which
normally includes both teachers and learners, is through interviews, focu s
group discussions and questionnaires.


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82 Check your progress -II
Q.1 Write short notes on :
a) Assessment c) Learner support
b) Evaluation d) Content outline
6.5. EVALUATING SYSTEM EFFECTIVENESS
Evaluation is testing of curriculum transaction in ODL fu lfils the
objectives set, and suggesting improvements it requires to make the
programme useful for its target audience. Evaluation is not a uniform
process and evaluation cannot be identical for all programmes. Evaluation
invariably will have to be made of the objectives that the ODL program.
For our purpose, we may say, evaluation will involve testing of the content
it transacts vis -à-vis the target learners, keeping in view the prime
objective of the expected learning which may take place in the learners
after they go through the programme.
At the broadest level, evaluation of a system should be done at two levels:
at the level of content and at the level of technology or the instructional
media employed. Technology plays the role of only the means to atta in the
identified objectives. Optimal use of technology is desirable and in
evaluating ODL it needs to be kept in mind that the technology itself
should not become too cumbersome for the users, because the competence
level of individuals using technology v aries a lot.
Computers today can provide unlimited facilities for search, navigation,
print etc. but it is dangerous to employ all the facilities without proper
understanding and navigating skills because the learners may have to
spend more or most of the time learning about these. Ease of use of the
technology and its optimal use should be paramount on the developers'
mind. Developers should refrain from using all that they know or have
ever used and should primarily focus on the feasible and practical asp ects
from the points of view of the course objectives and the learner
competence in using the technology.
6.5.1. LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS IN ODL
According to Brookfield (1986), adult learners have the following nine
characteristics.
• Adults maintain the abil ity to learn.
• Adults are a highly diversified group of individuals with widely
differing preferences, needs, backgrounds, and skills.
• Adults experience a gradual decline in physical and sensory
capabilities.
• The learner’s experience is a major resource in learning situations. munotes.in

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83 • Self-concept moves from dependence to independence as individuals
grow in responsibilities, experience, and confidence.
• Adults tend to be life -centred in their orientation to learning.
• Adults are motivated to learn by a variety of fact ors.
• Active learner participation in the learning process contributes to
learning.
• A comfortable, supportive environment is a key to successful learning.
It is important to realise that adults’ past experiences of learning may act
against them as well as a cting in their favour. For many adult learners,
their previous education was marked by lack of success, exclusion, and
frustration. Therefore coming back to studying as an adult can be a
daunting task. In addition, as adults, learners generally have more
commitments than do children, and the place studying takes in their lives
is therefore quite different. This can be a positive factor, in that it enables
some adult learners to keep the stresses of studying in better perspective;
or a negative factor, in th at studying must compete with essential life
maintenance activities such as keeping a family, growing food, holding
down a job, and finding enough money to get by on.
Understanding Learning and Learner for Evaluating the Systems
Effectiveness in ODL
Every learner has his/her own way of learning; pace varies, timing varies
and so do various other habits. Computers have provided us the facility to
adapt these facilities according to one's own needs and liking. A major
quality of ODL is interaction, which the machine performs with the
learners. So, while designing ODL software it has to be paramount on our
minds that the learner should be able to interact with the programme and
make it suitable to his/her requirements and liking. A major tenet of ODL
education is the acceptance of the fact that no single method or medium is
appropriate and perfect for all individuals. Every individual has his/her
own preferred methods of information reception and processing. The ideal
condition would be to provide numerous optio ns to learners. However, if
numerous options cannot be made available, a number of alternative
instructional options based on various learning approaches must be given.
This is what an ODL programme offers.
In this chapter, we shall use the term to mean al l devices and materials
used in the teaching and learning processes. This definition is close to a
broader definition such as that of
6.5.2. Instructional Media in ODL
Romiszowski (1981: 339) which includes not only electronic
communications media, but al so such devices as slides, photographs,
teacher -made diagrams, charts, real objects and handouts that we use in
the process of planned instruction. Figure 6.1 gives examples of some
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84 Print
Pamphlets, handouts, study guides, manuals
Visual
Charts, real objects, photographs, transparencies
Audiovisual
Slides, tapes, films, filmstrips, television, video, multimedia
Static/display
Chalkboard, feltboard, display easels, flip charts, cloth board, magnetic
board
Electronic
Radio, comput ers, electronic mail, CD -ROM, multimedia
According to Percival and Ellington (1988), you should evaluate your
instructional media at the completion of production and during its use. At
the production stage, you should determine whether:
The materials meet your original objectives;
 content and technical aspects meet the expected standards;
 the material is of suitable length, and information flow is smooth;
 there are any gaps, errors, inaccuracies;
 the particular medium will integrate with other media.
When evaluating media, you should seek information from students,
former students, colleagues, administrators and technicians. For your
evaluation instruments, you can use formal and informal interviews or
questionnaires. Chapter 2 presents an overview on asses sment methods;
see particularly. - Kemp and Dayton (1985:67) suggest that you should
design questions that will give you helpful answers.
For instance:
 How well do students accomplish the objectives upon which the
media are based?
 Do reactions indicate th e medium appeals to the class or to
individual students?
 If the media do not meet the objectives or if they lack appeal, what
revision can be made?
 Are the arrangements for use of the media convenient for you and
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85  Was any difficulty encountere d in using the hardware?
 What were the development costs of the media (professional and
staff time, materials, services)?
 What are the operational costs (staff time, materials, facilities)?
On the basis of your answers to these questions, you should revise the
instructional media and/or the way you use them. It is advisable to repeat
the evaluation periodically to maintain a standard of effectiveness.
6.5.3. Types of Evaluation: Continuous and Terminal
There are certain decisions, which need to be taken bef ore starting the
process of software development. These decisions guide the process of
software development. In fact these decisions become the guiding
principles and the software developers have to keep asking the questions,
if they are fulfilling the obj ectives decided upon in the planning process.
Once the prototype of the software is ready, it is tested and once again the
objectives can be re -examined and reformulated on the basis of feedback
and evaluation. Evaluation is basically of two types: Continu ous and
terminal. We shall discuss them below:
Continuous Evaluation
Continuous evaluation is done as a continuous process in the development
of ODl and even before the development process actually starts. Decisions
taken at the beginning of the process of software development affect
various aspects of the software. Answers to questions like who, why,
where, and how become the guidelines for the development of the
software. Depending upon the time and resources, both quantitative and
qualitative methods of feedback are utilized in continuous evaluation. No
instructional system can fulfil all requirements of all learners. In fact, if a
single programme can provide all the information, and answer all queries
on a single topic, it should be considered successfu l. So, every software
developer must decide and delimit the scope of the software beforehand.
In other words, we have to spell out the objectives of the programme.
Some questions like the following ones need to be answered because these
will affect the con tent and the selection of technology.
(i) Who are the target users of this software and what the level of the
target is users?
(ii) What is the level of computer familiarity expected of the learners?
(iii) What would be the objective (in terms of content) to be covered by
the Instructional system?
(iv) How will the programme be used?
a. as supplementary to classroom teaching?
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86 Once decisions on the above are made, the cognitive aspects of learning
are to be considered. The socio -cultural background of the target users will
affect content selection and treatment of the topic. In arranging the
content, the learning habits of the users would influence the decision about
sequencing of information, quality of information (through various media)
provided through every screen, and supplementary information to be
provided through links.
It is often mentioned that no programme should aspire to be complete or
self sufficient, but it should lead the users to rele vant information. The
software developer should provide relevant links and the content expert
should word the text and place other relevant media material in a manner
that they raise more inquisitiveness in the learners and they go for further
search and s elf study.
Terminal Evaluation
After the completion of the development of the programme, the software
is released for use. The actual users, then, make suggestions and these
suggestions form the basis of summative evaluation. Summative
evaluation is the en d of the system evaluation. Some programmes involve
a number of teams to develop various components of larger software,
which finally integrate into the end product. While working with
Microsoft Office you must have used the numerous facilities it offers. For
example if you click on the Accessories it provides Calculator, Games,
etc. These must have been developed by different groups separately and
then finally joined to make a final product. Summative evaluation, as
mentioned earlier, should be conducted f or each of the components and
also for the final product. As summative evaluation is targeted at the end -
users, in educational software a major focus of study is the software's
pedagogic effectiveness . The teaching learning objectives identified
during t he needs analysis become the base of summative evaluation of
academic software. Evaluation should keep the educational, entertainment,
ease of use or design features in mind while conducting summative
evaluation of these and then overall impact on learning . Suggestions on
the basis of summative evaluation may be for (i) short -term and (ii) long -
term changes in the programme. Short -term changes may be based on your
own observations and the feedback from the users and the long -term
changes may be made on the basis of the decisions of the curricular design
and on the basis of suggestions given by the development agencies and the
organisations using your software, if it is being used outside your
institution.
6.6 LET US SUM UP
In this unit we discussed the follo wing so as to explain the role of
instructional design in curriculum transaction in ODL.
Instructional design is the plan of action with a purpose. Learning theories
are the backbone of any instructional design. It needs planning &
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87 characteristics. Instructional media are also fixed on the basis of the
learner’s characteristics. Evaluation is necessary to evaluate the
effectiveness of the design planned. It should be evaluated continuously
and at the end also.
6.7 UNIT END EXERCISES:
1. Describe the importance of instructional designs in ODL.
2. Explain the need for instructional designs in ODL with respect to the
advantages of ODL.
3. Discuss with the help of examples the steps for analyzing syste ms
requirements.
4. Describe the help of an example the steps for designing an
instructional system.
5. State the different types of evaluation; critically evaluate each type of
evaluation.
6. “Evaluation of systems effectiveness should be based on Learner
characteristics and instructional media” Discuss.
General Resources And Links
www -icdl.open.ac.uk: The International Centre for Distance Learning
(ICDL), an international centre for research , teaching, consultancy,
information and publishing activities based at the Open University in the
UK.
www/cisnet.com/~cattales/Deducation.html: The World Wide Web
Virtual Library.s list of resources on distance education.
www.gwu.edu/~etl/programs.html: L ists of links on distance education.
ccism.pc.athabascau.ca/html/ccism/deresrce/de.htm: Resources in distance
education from Athabasca University.
www.distance -educator.com/portals/o4designers.html: The designers.
section of a US -based web site dedicated t o distance education.
www.usqonline.com.au: The University of Southern Queensland has a
number of online courses, and its demonstration course is closely related
to many of the issues in this article. Click on the .Demo Subject. button
and follow the instr uctions. The procedure is slightly tedious, but it.s
worth the effort!
www.bookstoread.com/e/et/top10id.htm: This site provides the top ten
books on instructional design, as chosen by a number of leaders in the
field such as Bela
Banathy and Michael Hannaf in. Those who know his work will be
surprised by some of the books on David Merrill.s list! munotes.in

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88 www.col.org/irc: The Commonwealth of Learning Information Resource
Centre at the COL web site.
ONLINE ARTICLES AND JOURNALS
www.futureu.com/cmscomp/cms_comp.html: Comparative Features
Analysis of Leading Course Management Software., an article for those
contemplating using existing software as a platform for an online distance
education course.
www.seas.gwu.edu/~sbraxton/ISD/isd_homepage.html: .Instructional
Design Me thodologies and Techniques. from The George Washington
University in Washington, D.C.
www.atl.ualberta.ca/articles/idesign/activel.cfm: .The Web: Design for
Active Learning. from the University of Alberta.
www.irrodl.org: Online journal, International Revi ew of Research in Open
and Distance Learning , from Athabasca University.
www.slis.indiana.edu/CSI/wp00 -01.html: The other side: an article on the
frustrations experienced by a group of distance learners



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89 7
ENHANCING CURRICULAR
TRANSACTIONS
Unit Structure:
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Embeding study skills in SLM
7.2.1 Structure and function of SLM
7.2.2 Study skills in SLM
7.2.3 Significance of Study Skills
7.2.4 Concept Mapping
7.2.5 Reading Skill and Comprehension
7.3 Counselling and Tutoring
7.3.1 What is Counselling
7.3.2 Categories of Counselling
7.3.3 Tutoring
7.4 Feedback mechanism, Assignments and Term End Examinations
7.4.1 Feedback Mechanisms
7.4.2 Assignments
7.4.3 Term End Examinati on
7.5 Let us Sum up
7.6 Unit End Exercise
7.0 OBJECTIVES :
In this unit, we have discussed what is the study skills. How it is useful in
SLM. After working through this unit, you should be able to :
1. Define structure of SLM in a broader sense
2. Use of SLM
3. Study skills in SLM
4. Significance of Study skills munotes.in

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90 5. Reading
6. Counselling and tutoring
7. Feedback Mechanism and Assignment
7.1 INTRODUCTION :
Curriculum transaction is based on multivarious dimensions which have
direct or indirect effe ct on improving the quality of the teaching learning
process. In the present scenario, various strategies and mostly ICT
initiatives have been taken up for classroom processes and achievement of
children. In an effective transaction of curriculum, major key indicators
relate to : Existing curriculum and its coverage, curriculum revision and
exercises, competency based materials, availability of text books to
children, text book production and distribution, availability of teaching
learning materials and i ts use, classroom organization (sitting
arrangements and classroom settings), grouping of classroom (PTR),
methods of introducing the topic, teaching learning processes (pedagogy),
students initiatives in teaching learning process, assessment procedure and
frequency of assessment tools used for monitoring and evaluation.
In order to transact any curriculum one should read to learn about the
learners, their age, their previous training or education, the things they
already know, the things they were interest ed in and the things that were
important to them, their personal goals and problems. Generally learners
come to class with a background of knowledge and experience. A good
curriculum uses that prior knowledge as the foundation for new learning.
The curr iculum introduces new ideas generally and encourages the
learners to use whet they already know and to make sense of the new
ideas.
To enhance / enriching curriculum means –
(1) Connecting to real life experiences, relevance to the life outside the
school. This will make learning more meaningful.
(2) Learning should be shifted away from rote methods, encourage
learning through practices, problem solving, creative thinking and
critical thinking.
(3) Curriculum should enriched through overall development of children
rather than focusing on receiving of information from text books.
(4) Flexibility and variety need to be built into all the programmes.
Evaluation should be made more flexible and integrated into
classroom life.
(5) Child centredness, curriculum should be account of individual
differences, interests and abilities of the learners. It should be need
based and child centred.
(6) Curriculum should give sufficient scope for correlation and
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91 (7) It should be relevant, u tilitarian and learnable experiences should be
imparted through curriculum.
(8) Curriculum should be activity oriented, well graded, sequentially
structured with educational experiences.
7.2 EMBEDING STUDY SKILL IN SLM :
7.2.1 Structure :
The self learni ng material is to tackle the subject related difficulties faced
by you, so that you may not have to face any problem, while teaching in
the class. Although these hard facts have been identified by the teachers
themselves, it may be possible that you might have faced during teaching
the subject may not have been included in this material. SLM is an
important component of distance education. Each unit begins with an
introduction. The objectives tell us about the knowledge that we shall
acquire after the s tudy of the unit and what effective changes would be
there in the learning process. After every section and subsection, “self
check exercises” including provision for answering the questions in the
units are given where in questions have been asked about the text of the
unit. One should expect to go ahead only after attempting the small
exercises. Appropriate margin or space has been provided in each page
for writing notes. One may use it, so that knowledge or skills are
enhanced.
Efforts have been made to provide appropriate pictures, diagrams etc in
the booklet so that one may be able to teach the students effectively. At
the end of each unit, summary of the unit has been included in the form of
main points under the title ‘we have learnt’ and after t hat exercises and
answers to “self check exercises” are given. One should expect to check
the answers only after writing the answers of these questions.
Self Exercise SLM
SummarySuggested
reading
ComprehensionReading
Writing We have
learntProgress
overview

Diagram 1 : Study skills in SLM munotes.in

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92 These questions are meant not only t o check your progress but also to
increase the utility and effectiveness of the study material.
7.2.2 Study Skills in SLM :
Depending upon various needs, different thinkers give different labels or
definitions to the term study skill. The labels commonl y associated with
study skills are : a tool kit, the best ways of acquiring knowledge, a set of
organization skills, micro skills and systematic study habits and so on. For
some study skills, strategies are to be developed by a learner to derive the
great est possible benefits from activities like listening, speaking, reading
and writing. For other study skills are “advanced skills” which are not
purely mechanical but essentially involved some amount of creative
thinking. These skills acquire active menta l exercise on the part of the
learner. The essential skills that a learner requires in order to gain
maximum benefits from his / her studies. Study skills are the skills on
strategies that a learner employs to study and come to grip with the study
materi als independently and efficiently. It is however difficult to
categorically specify all the skills that a learner uses either to get across
his / her message or to decode some one’s message.
The term ‘Study’ refers to –
 Follow a course of lectures and ta king notes.
 Being acquainted with and being taught all that is necessary to know
about the subject.
 Cramming chunks out of or the whole of subject matter.
 The dedicating and systematic pursuit of understanding and dedicating
one’s thoughts and energies to learning study involves in setting up
goals and choosing methods, solving problems, performing
experiments, going through tests, collecting information, segregating
facts from opinions or suggestions, comparing facts, weighing up
opinions and considering s uggestions and finally looking for proof and
truth. ‘Study’ thus demands you to analyze and criticize not only your
own ideas but also those of other people – whether you hear them in
lectures or discussions or read them on books. You will have to
furthe r make brief but efficient notes and summarizes to help yourself
remember what you have read and to clarify your thinking.
Study Skills and Distance Teaching / Learning :
It should be highlighted here how essential study skills are for a system in
which te achers and learners are at a distance for most of the teaching
learning process. The means used in distance education to improve the
study skills of distance learners. Study strategies play a vital role in
distance education. The learner being away from the teacher and the
Institution, depends mainly upon his / her course materials for her / his
studies. If he / she has not developed proper study skills to tackle the text
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93 also on audio – video material. Again how efficiently he / she deduces
meaning out of them primarily depends on how well one develop study
strategies.
7.2.3 Significance of Study Skills :
Learners should be helped to acquire good study strategies as early as
possible certainly before they develop either poor study habits or wrong
concepts concerning studying. Teaching study skills would help the
learners spend less time in studying and learn more. Studying requires a
certain amount of tension, concentration a nd in a specific direction. Of
course, the amount of tension varies with different individuals. Three vital
concerns in building good study habits. These are when to study?, where
to study? How much time to spend on study?
When to Study?
Some learners study only just before the terminal examination or an
announced test. Some may even study the whole night and cram answers.
All of use have probably done this at least once or twice. Rote learning,
however does not bring about any real learning.
A good learner must plan one’s study time and spread over a period of
time. Of course the ability to study and more so, the ability to plan our
studies is not something we are born with. It is a set of skills that must be
learned. Teaching the learners to plan their study is therefore a major
responsibility of the teacher. Learners should be made to realize that
regular planning would prevent confusion and help them to retain and
organize what they are studying.
In a class room situation, for example, the lear ner may be advised to study
each subject as close as possible to the class, period for the subject before
or after the class period. This chiefly depends on the form that, class
period usually takes. That is, if it is a straight forward informational
lecture a study session right after the lecture will be useful to review notes
and check whether it has been understood. A study session just before a
seminar / discussion gives learners a chance to read upon the background
information that will help them ma ke an effective contribution in the
classroom.
Where to Study?
Ideally you should be able to study any where in a quiet library or on a
crowded bus or train. But let us be realistic. Most of us can not entirely
shut off our minds to distractions. By imp lication, the place of study,
should be as free as possible from such surroundings as might steal away
the attention of the learner. As for the conditions for study, the place
should be well lit and properly ventilated and neither too hot or too cold.
We should also mention here that it can be difficult to get every thing the
learner wants, for example, if staying in a hostel or some one else’s house
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94 Now our physical postures have something to do w ith our study. The best
position for study is to sit upright at a table or desk. Bed of course may be
attractive and enticing but once you lie down, the ensuring sleep is
inevitable. Even an easy chair may prevent you from effective effort.
How much tim e to spend on study?
The third step is to determine the amount of time to spend in studying. It
must be recognized that the amount of time the learners spend in studying
will depend on the subject and how well they know it. It is therefore,
unrealistic t o set a hard and first rule about the amount of time learners
should spend on a specific subject. It varies, yet (over learning happens
when individuals continue practicing activities, exercises, etc. even after
they think that they have learned them.)
7.2.4 Concept Mapping :
When learners study they can make a chart like graphic representation of
the material they are studying or have studied. This chart is the ‘concept
map’ representing what they have studied preparing a good concept /
semantic map requ ires that learners be good critical thinkers because they
must make insightful judgements on what format, words and phrases best
represent the information which they have gone through and what will
help them to recall the information whenever they need it. “Concept
mapping” have evolved as a useful strategy for leading students towards
meaningful learning. “Ausubel suggests that when meaningful learning
occurs, it produces a series of changes within our entire cognitive
structure, modifying existing conce pts and forming new linkages between
concepts.
Hence learner could use –
i) Choose and determine the amount of information for studying.
ii) Read through the whole material that has been choosen for studying.
iii) Locate the central idea / theme of what is being read.
iv) Re-read each paragraph. This will enable them to identify the main
topic (of each paragraph).
v) Note down the central idea and the topics of the paragraphs studied
in an easily accessible format. This is concept map.
The correct way of construction of ‘Concept Map’ are outlining, note
taking / marking and summarizing.
Outlining : It helps learners to organize long, written compositions,
assignments, responses etc. An outline also is useful for study purpose
because it serves as a guide for the logical arrangement of the material.
The learner should be therefore, taught ‘outlining.’ The teachers can give
activities asking the learners to identify and write the main topic and sub
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95 Note making : It is a study ski ll which helps the learners to learn better.
The teacher should therefore convey important information about note
taking to the learners and give them practice in taking notes. Notes
usually consists of words and phrases that help one remember important
points. They need not be complete sentences. Notes can be taken while
listening to a lecture, reading a text, watching a video programme,
participating in a discussion or even while thinking on a subject / issue.
Summarizing : Summarizing learning mater ials is a mode of learning
that helps one to retain the most important concepts and facts in a unit /
lesson / long passage. It forces learners to think about what they have read
and to identify and organize the essential information.
Concept Map
Super ordinate
Concept
Most
GeneralTopCoordinating
Concepts
organise
conceptsSubordinate
concepts
Subordinate
concepts
Coordinating
Conceptsis athas
helps relateFound
atRelated
to
Proposition
Connections StoryMeaning shown byhas
CategoriesLink uses
Bottom

Diagram 2 : Concept map for Concept maps
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96 Living things
can be
PlantsAnimals
water
Molecules
Motion Solid Gas Liquidin
increased by
HeatMoleculescan be
can becan becan be

Diagram 3 : Example of a Concept map
The distance learners develop many study skills such as : determining
word meanings from the context, finding main ideas, drawing inferences,
drawing conclusions, making generalizations, recognizing cause and effect
relations recognizing analogies, categorizing and concept maping
distinguish between facts and opinions, finding inconsistencies and
detecting propaganda and bias.
7.2.5 Reading, Skills and Comprehension :
The study skills generally associated with the sub skills of reading and
writing. Reading is a total integrative process that includes the following
three domains of learning.
i) the cognitive
ii) the perceptual and
iii) the affective
The Cognitive domain : A reader constantly interacts with a text to get
the message of the writer, we imply that reading is an act of thinking.
Learners who have difficulty in working at different levels of cognition
will have difficult y in comprehending what they are reading. They can
not involve themselves in selecting, transferring, organizing and
remembering information. Readers have to, relate what they are reading
to their past experiences, interpret information, infer meanings f rom it,
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97 The cognitive domain, thus, include all the comprehension skills.
Teachers can help learners in developing thinking skills by helping them
acquire necessary strategies and by giving the m practice in using these
strategies.
The perceptual domain : The term ‘perception’ can be defined as giving
meaning to sensations or the ability to organize stimuli on a particular
area. Our background, experiences and our sensory preceptors organize
our stimuli. Visual perception is most important factor as eye movements
influence and control what the reader perceives.
Generally, depending on how a learner perceives a word as a whole or
individual letters she / he will be called either a good or bad rea der.
Sensory preceptors, the perceptual process is also influenced by effective
factors. If the reader, for example, is biased towards a topic she / he
deletes, adds to or distorts what is being read.
The process of decoding the written words and interac ting with the text
depends mainly upon the factors –
i) Motivation the attitudinal factor, the need to identify the unknown
part or parts of particular text / word.
ii) Attention – as a powerful selector or stimulus
iii) Grouping of stimuli – recognizable syllabus and other patterns for
making optimum use of a limited span of attention.
iv) Contrast – the contrastive letter patterns that present contrastive
sound patterns and
v) Feedback – a cyclic process ranging from the examination of letter
grouping o f the written word to the sounds of the spoken word, for
example, the application of the skills of word perception to the
written word during silent reading.
The affective domain : This domain includes our feelings emotions and
attitudes. The perceptual p rocess is influenced by affective factors.










Diagram 4 : Reading includes the 3 domain
Reading

Cognitive
Perceptual
Affective
Selecting
Transferring
Organizing
Remembering
Information
Develop
Comprehension
Skills Ability to
organize
Stimuli
Background
Experiences
Visual
Perceptions Feelings
Emotions
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98 Reading comprehension, according to Barrett’s taxonomy as a model,
passes through in the process of reading, from lower to higher education.
These are as follo ws :










Diagram 5 : Stages of Reading
The above diagram shows that no reading can takes place without word
recognition, majority of learners will have mastered the skill of word
recognition by the time they come to higher education. The words shou ld
be read, understood and learned. Literal comprehension involves some
important sub skills reading for facts and central ideas. Reading requires
she / he learns to understand implied meaning.
Reading skills involves SQ 3R Technique :
SQ 3R stands for t he initial letters at the five steps that should be taken in
studying a text.
i) Survey
ii) Question
iii) Read
iv) Recall
v) Review
Survey refers – to a quick glance through the title page, preface, chapter
leadings etc. of a text which includes –
i) the general subject area
ii) the author’s name
iii) the level of approach and the data and place of publication.


Reading
Comprehension Recognition of words
Association of me aning with symbols
Literal Comprehension
Interpretation
Critical Reading
Creative Reading
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99 Question : One can ask herself / himself :
 How far can I depend on this book?
 Will the book be helpful to me as its preface suggests?
 Why should be author devote a whole chapter to this or that topic?
Read : Reading text material demands a critical mind when we read a text
we apply our minds with all their critical skills. Unless we read actively
the questions which have been formulated can never be answered.
Recall : Regular attempts to recall will help to improve your learning in
three ways – help improve concentration, give you a chance to remedy
misinterpretation(s) and develop critical reading.
Review : The purpose of reviewing is to check the validating of our recall.
The best way to do this is to do a quick repeat of the other four steps –
Survey, questions, read and recall.
Reading is a secondary linguistic skill which needs some forms of explicit
instruction and is different from the prima ry linguistic act of speech which
is more natural. It involves “Inter pretation of signs and arbitrary symbols
deliberately created and used for the purpose of communication. Several
studies have shown that reading ability and visual perceptions are close ly
interrelated.
Comprehension is a multi dimensional skill involving linguistic,
perceptual, cognitive and motivational components. Understanding the
meaning of the printed page or the comprehension of the text is a higher
order process that involves a n umber of skills. Reading comprehension is
a complex skill that involves attaching meaning to the visual symbol and
understanding the message communicated by the combination of symbols
presented in the paragraph. It requires certain level of language and
understanding skills because of higher order operation of abstracting and
reasoning. The process of comprehension occurs only when the reader is
able to eliminate some or all the alternate meanings conveyed by the
visual information. Mature readers typica lly engage themselves in
comprehension, monitoring. Since Comprehension is an intentional
action, it may be that improving student’s awareness of comprehension
will improve their comprehension of the text.
Check your progress :
Q.1 Why the Self Learning Material is important in Distance and Open
Learning System?
Q.2 Write in brief the significance of study skills?
Q.3 What is Concept Mapping?
Q.4 How Reading Skill and Comprehension is affecting the study skill?
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100 7.3 COUNSELLING AND TUTORING :
A good tea cher is always a good counselor, because counselling is part of
all successful teaching methods.
Teaching : Ultimately course centred, communications are directed
substantially from the teacher towards learner; the teachers need to be a
good talker.
Counse ling : Ultimately the learner centred; communications take place
the other way around, from the learner to the counsellor, the counsellor
needs to be a good listener.
Counseling in distance education possesses 3 characteristics : the
characteristics of lea rners, of the Institution and of the learning process.
The characteristics of distance learners :
 May be isolated, both from other learners and Institution
 Will certainly have previous educational experience which may have
positive or negative.
 Are very l ikely to have other substantial time commitments in terms of
their home and work.
 Will come from a wide variety of backgrounds, both educational and
occupational.
 Will be thoroughly committed, provided the courses they are taking at
suitable level are meet ing their real needs.
The characteristics of the Institution :
Counselling is important in helping to individualize services to learners
and in overcoming the problems of system. An Institution which develops
a regional network of services is still likel y to have its offices hundreds of
miles away from its learners. But in countries where communications are
difficult that remoteness is compounded by delays and problems in the
delivery of course materials.
An Institution that is trying to produce course m aterials of several
different kinds, and deliver them to learners as well as provide support
services is likely to develop a complex bureaucratic system of
administration such systems can very effective in dealing with large
number of learners but may be i nflexible and damaging when dealing with
individuals.
Learning Characteristics :
A learner must develop an effective set of appropriate learning strategies
or study skills. Some learners may already possess these, some may need
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101 Counselling is important in helping people to develop their own individual
strategy for studying under a distance education system.
Counselling may be appropriate – at a decision point or when some kind
of barriers appear. Decision points can occur at several stages of a
learner’s progress such as :
 Whether to apply for a course or not
 Which courses to take
 What career possibilities to aim for
 Whether to withdraw or to keep going
 How much time to devote to family / job / course
These are substantial decisions.
 Whether or not to miss an assignment
 Which methods of taking notes to follow
 Whether or not ask to questions in tutorials
 The best way to approach the topic in an essay.
Barriers : Barriers can occur at many stages of a learner’s progress.
Study related : to do with findings, ways of studying effectively,
completing assignments and exams.
Time related : Finding or rationing time adequately.
Personal : domestic / carrier / financial / health barriers.
Instituti onal : barriers erected, probably unintentionally, by the Institution
– regulations, mailing delays and so on.
Substantial barriers :
Small barriers at the wrong time can be equally difficult.
 A tutor returns work late
 A badly timed holiday
 Extra pressure at work
The tutors work became more varied. The tutor and the student may have
time to achieve a better mutual understanding. The tutor is able to point
out relationships between the courses and to help the students, transfer
knowledge from one course t o another. It is also possible for a tutor to
take responsibility for general counselling of the student.
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102 7.3.1 What is Counselling :
The term “Counselling” may have different connotations for different
people. In correspondence education, tution normal ly means marking and
commenting on assignments, in some cases including other types of
student tutor communication, such as face -to-face teaching, telephone
tutoring, audio cassettes, and today even videophone. Computer
communication etc. as additional el ements. By counselling we understand
all other interactions between students and institute which are not directly
subject related. The counselling function thus embraces advice on general
problems related to part time and distance study, course choices a nd
further training, examinations, registrations, financial support and
payment. In other words, counselling in distance education covers
activities which under another broad term can be described as student
support services.
Counselling :
The counselling plays a very important role in helping learners to quickly
grasp the system of education that the university uses. The counselling
section also gives advice on the selection of study areas, study in different
courses, vocational guidance and personal pro blems. In addition the
counselling section provides orientation to newly enrolled learners through
various media such as radio and television broadcasts and news letter. It
also provides telephone and mail guidance services which are responsible
for the supervision.
In the experiment one person integrates the roles of different tutors in
different subjects, as well as student advisors / counselors. Within the
responsibilities of this tutor we also tried to include other measures which
we believe are imp ortant to help the distance learner, to complete studies
in short, which would constitute a ‘new’ way of organizing the tutors work
during the initial phases of study period. The emphasis is on increasing
the experienced quality of the functions of the di stance tutor and the two
way communication between the tutor and the student.
Categories of Counselling :
Learners might seek counselling of some kind. In this connection the
counselling responses appropriate to particular issues raised by the
learners. There is certainly more than one way of classifying counselling
and indeed we have, the Informing – Advising – Counselling (IAC)
spectrum which is not only a definition but an activity based classification
as well. The IAC relates to two other classificat ions : developmental /
problem solving and Academic / Non Academic.



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103 7.3.2 Developmental Counselling and Problem Solving Counselling :
It is concerned with the development of learners so it covers issues such as
:
































Entry Study Skills
Institutional requirements
Orientation to study at a distance
Preparing Assignments





Pre Entry Course Information
Alternative Courses and Informations
Preparatory advice
Institutional Information
Entry requirement






Course Choice Course Information
Recognition of Courses
Levels of difficulty
Relationship to Other Courses
Possible career directions






Career Choice Dealing with overall career
Specific career wishes
Qualifications, Experiences
Possibilities of Employment munotes.in

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104








Developmental Counselling is easier than problem solving counselling. It
is usually unstressed. The learners are not in a particular hurry to make a
decision and so there is time to explore appropriate directions.
Problem solving Counselling is often the most appropriate responses to
barriers in the learners progress.





















Withdrawal Suggesting
Alternating Courses
Encouraging return to study






Motivation al Clarification of motives for study
Remotivating for appropriate Courses Organizing and structuring time and
social demand






Institutional Dealing with system breakdowns
Dealing with unsuccessful appeals
Changing tutors






Pers onal Illness, disability, marital breakdown
Childcare unemployment
Re-employment
Learner’s progress






Study Appropriate study methods
Improve concentration
Reading speeds, adopting to distance
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Late assignments, group st udy methods munotes.in

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105








Academic and Non Academic counselling :
It is particularly helpful when considering the way in which counselling
services are organized in an Institution a nd the time of year at which they
occur, that is, who does what and when.
Academic Counselling : Covers all course and course based topics, such
as preparation, specific course study difficulties and exam techniques.
Academic Counselling tends to relate t o specific and cognitive issues.
Non Academic Counselling : Covers all other areas of counselling. As
such course choice, general study difficulties, and exam anxiety. Non
academic counselling tends to related general and affective issues.
Tutoring :
A tutor provides expertise, experience and encouragement. They do not
provide “answers” but rather assist in problem solving in getting answers.
The challenge is to focus on assignments within the context they are
assigned.
 Tutors should not be expected to diagnose learning disabilities :
Diagnosis should take place outside of the tutoring process by a
professional academic counsellor.
 Tutoring Strategies
 Seek out training to be a more effective tutor : This includes subject
matter as well as the tutoring p rocedure.
 Clearly establish expectations for your learner : What are the
expectations of your learner? of the teacher? and of those close to the
learner (Classmate, department, school, family etc.)
 Keep and follow a consistent set of rules : Write them d own, post
them, refer to them, Rules are necessary but must be mutually agreed
upon with the learner. They must be fair and enforced consistently.





Assessment Easy writing skills
Dealing with exam anxiety






Time Organizing and structuring time
Prioritizing activities
Clarifying motivation
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106  Have a clear idea of your own strengths and limitations – and what
skills or knowledge you can offer as a tu tor. One reward of tutoring is
the opportunity to use and apply what you have learned.
 Know the learner : Discover her / his strengths and challenges in
learning. Under what circumstances does he / she learn best? Poorly?
(Do not assume that every one’s learning styles or conditions are the
same or similar to yours.)
Build a relationship and trust :
 Be aware of the difference between you and the learner, (Not trying to
change the learner, but to accommodate and use their learning styles in
order to compl ete the task. Since you are more experienced, it is your
challenge, adjust, adapt or find a way).
 Be open and honest : We do not tutor to impress, but rather to help.
 Do not afraid to acknowledge : that the chemistry between the tutor
and the learner is n ot right that another tutor may be more effective.
The goal is to help not endure.
The tutoring session :
 Listen closely to work, out the real problem : Check to see if the
learner has prepared with some time and effort and attempted the
assignment.
 Asses s the situation : Think in terms of realistic objects, develop a
‘contract’ of
o Agreed upon learning outcomes
o Expectation of communication (availability, one / several sessions,
means of communication, face to face, e -mail, telephone etc.)
 Use questions to enhance a problem solving
 Demonstrate or model similar process
 Don’t be afraid to reveal that you don’t know something
o You can refer the learners to more sources, including the teacher. You
can take the opportunity to learn / problem solve and bring bac k
answers and demonstrate that you are in a learning process as well.
 Give positive feedback, encouraging vocabulary
 Find success and reinforce efforts, in even minor accomplishment.
 Summarize and review – Enable follow up
 Celebrate accomplishment
 Keep rec ords for future references.
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107 Role of tutors and tutor Counsellor :
According to (Kaye and Ramble 1981) : at UKOU
(a) Commenting on written work : grading written work submitted,
assisting learners to understand course materials through discussion,
conduct ing discussions face -to-face or occasionally be telephone,
organizing self help groups of learners, providing feedback on course
materials and learner problems to full time staff.
(b) Answering learner quarries about the system : helping learners plan
their works, negotiating with the institution on behalf of learners when
problems occur, advising applicants if required, inducting new learners
into the course, advising learners on course choice, giving guidance on
problems of an administrative, nature such as ‘fee payment late
submission of work, helping learners develop study skills.
Recently computer assisted distance tutoring has introduced at various
places in the west. Such tutoring consists of the computer processing the
answer written by the learners , and then preparing tutorial comments
which are computer printed, and passed on to the learner, whatever
evidence is available today it appears that computer comments work better
than the traditional tutor comments. (Computers can thus lessen the heavy
burden on distance teachers and give them more time to work on open
assignments, which is also an advantage for the learners.
To inspire the learners individually, a distance teaching institution
naturally arranges for tutorials. A tutorial among other thi ngs, means a
period of individual instruction given by a college tutor. This definition
also implies : (i) tutorials pertain to higher education and that (ii) objective
of a tutorial is to provide individual instruction to the learner, Tutorial is
suppose d to provide effective didactic communication between the learner
and the teacher. The effective communication is effected by
i) Allowing more time for individual interaction with the teacher
ii) Creating a more congenial academic atmosphere in which all types of
learners find it convenient to express themselves : and
iii) Providing for close relationships among the learners and the teacher
on the other
In a classroom situation the teacher addresses him / herself to a group of
30 to 120 learners, where a s a tutorial group may consist of about 10 / 12
learners. Classroom teaching, in most cases ends up as process that is
teacher -centred (in general, learned remain passive most of the time),
unidirectional, impersonal (teacher can not build personal relatio nship
with a large number of learners. The teaching and learning process in a
tutorial can be learner -centred (if the teacher does not dominate the
situation purposely), multi -directional and intimate (not only the teacher
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108 However, tutorials ‘individualists’ learning; It compliments what is
achieved in an impersonal way in the classroom situation; it also functions
as a corrective operation. In Distance Education, the purpose of the
classroom appears to be served by the study materials sent to the learners
and the purposes of the tutorial get served through the work of assignment.
Tutorials constitute one of the academic services that the university
arranges for the benefit of its learne rs. Through tutorials academic staff
provides knowledge, enrichment of knowledge, a wider and deeper
understanding of the content of course blocks which learners study on
their own. Tutorial also help to clarify the problems, learners may have
with the t eaching materials they are studying. Tutorials are conducted on
weekends in local study centres.
Check your progress :
Q.1 What is counselling and how it is different from Lecturing?
Q.2 What are the major difference between Developmental Counseling
and Problem solving Counselling?
Q.3 A good tutor is not a good teacher justify it?
Q.4 Is it compulsory to attend counselling for the learner? If yes then
why?
7.4 FEEDBACK MECHANISMS, ASSIGNMENTS AND
TERM END EXAMINATION :
Feedback is the return of some of the output of a system as input so as to
exert some control in the process, feedback is negative when return exerts
an inhabitory control, positive when it exerts a stimulating effect.
1) Information produced by a receiver and perceived by a sender that
informs the sender of the receiver’s reaction to the message. Feedback
is a cyclic part of the process of communication that regulates and
modifies the content of message.
2) The return of some of the output so as to exert some control in the
process.
A pos itive feedback loop or mechanisms is when an action causes a
reaction and the reaction causes more of the action, which in turn causes
more reaction, and so forth.
A teacher who assumes that a child is intelligent and so treats that child as
though he / sh e is intelligent, the child then acts intelligently because of
the way he is treated. This reinforces the teachers belief that the child is
intelligent. So he acts on this belief with even more conviction, so the
child responds even more and so forth.
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109 Generally a positive feedback mechanism results in explosive growth and
can only be stopped when a limit is reached, or by external means, for
example, when the teacher can not treat the child any better, or the child
can not act any better, or the child is placed in a different class.
While positive feedback mechanisms have positive results as in the
example of teacher and student, the results can also be unwanted and
negative.
Negative feedback mechanisms are self regulating responses to changes,
experienc ed by a system or organism, usually due to external influences.
These mechanisms feed some of the output of these changes back into the
system to trigger counter responses which result in restoring the system to
its previous undisturbed state or mitigatin g the effects, of the initial
change. It is this characteristics of ‘negating’, the impact of changes
which defines such operations as “negative feedback mechanism.”
7.4.1 Providing Feedback in Distance Learning Course :
Positive feedback focused on an as signment has a positive effect on
learners in terms of their attitude and achievement. One of the principles is
that good practice gives prompt feedback. By providing feedback to
students in all classes, format is important, more challenging than in the
classroom. By providing quality, feedback help distance learning students
to learn. Quality feedbacks all have to be generated and provide
substantive replies to questions and comments on assignments, but there
are also ways you can automate feedback to s tudents.
Benefits :
 Students feel more connected to the class making them feel more
comfortable.
 Students get a better sense of what content they have mastered and
what areas they are weak in, allowing them to focus their effects where
they are the eveakes t.
 Students feel more positive about the learning process because they
feel as though some one is interested in their progress.
Two main types of feedback :
1. Information Feedback : This type of feedback is evaluative in nature.
It is often given in resp onse to a student, question or assignment grade
and comments.
2. Acknowledgement Feedback : This type of feedback confirms or
assures the student that some event has taken place.
Feedback is a special input about the system and its environmental
conditions and about its functioning. This enables the system to take
corrective steps to adjust its malfunctioning, if there is any. Feedback
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110 and achieving the desired objective. The teache r should get information
about how his / her materials / units, audio or video programmes are being
received and assimilated by the students. Such information will make
communication more effective and will eliminate errors in decoding and
the problem cau sed by ‘noise’ in the entire teaching / learning process.
On the other hand the students should also get feedback on their progress
of comprehension of the content discussed. Feedback about their
performance will motivate the students to draw more from th e learning
material. The entire process is as follows :
TeacherSubject matter
facts, concepts etcMaterial audio video
component
Feedback
Students
Change in behaviour
knowledgeComprehension of
subject matterLearning
Environment
Level of motivation
Preentation

Entire Communication Process
Feedback refers to any process by which the sender obtains information as
to whether and how his / her intended receiver received the i nformation.
The receiver in turn, raises his / her queries or doubts for further
clarification and tries to confirm whether or not she / he has understood
the information correctly, or as it is intended by the source.
Feedback influences one’s on going or future communication behaviour.
In a face -to-face situation feedback can be verbal or non -verbal. Feedback
takes different forms. There can be two types of feedback – immediate
feedback and delayed feedback. In face -to-face teaching, the students get
immediate feedback from their teachers. Even in computer assisted
learning the student can get immediate feedback on his / her progress. But
since the student prepares his / her assignment responses and submits them
to the evaluators for their comments a nd grading, she / he gets feedback on
the work after a few days whether immediate or delayed feedback is
important to make communication effective and to ensure the intended
effect on the students.
7.4.2 Assignments :
Assignment provides home work, help t o the students of class KG – to,
college or university students in their assignments which are valuable to
them. Professional people provide on line home work services, which
give the best answers to the questions on time given by the students. The
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111 analysis, case studies, term papers projects etc. The online assignment
helps service to the students in schools and colleges. Assignment occurs
when some one who has written or sold a l isted option receives a notice
that the option has been exercised and he or she must fulfill the terms of
the contract. Varieties of assignments developed in open and distance
learning as per the learners performance. The more the counsellor / tutor
intends to bring the quality initiatives of the learners different types of
assignments are to be given. Generally assignments are directed by some
principles. In order to estimate some learning outcomes of the learner or
to be assigned some work which may b e written, interactive and problem
solving, motivating, Value judgement and developing new things, creative
types.
Distance teaching system find ways and means to enable the distance
teachers and learners to get to know each other. Special steps are taken by
the distance teacher to introduce open assignments. These practices make
academic exchanges between the distance teacher and the learner more
stimulating facilitate better insights, encourage independence of thought
and the discovery of knowledge. La rger number of assignments to be
submitted in a particular course, the larger the number of occasions of
contact between learner, distance teacher, consequent upon which the
chances of the success of learners are brighter.
However, the distance learner, th e distance institutions and the distance
teachers agree that the two way communication generated by the work
assignments. Assignment helps the learners in different ways :
 Studies become more stimulating
 Studies are better organized as the courses get divi ded appropriately.
 Learners are introduced to each other in the course.
 Learners build a closer acquaintance with the institutions.
 Learners are corrected where they might have gone wrong.
 Learners are reinforced through encouragement
 Learning is applied to the solution of real and / or hypothetical
problem.
 Revision of the course becomes easier.
 Significant parts of the course become clearly visible.
The learners in the context of distance should recognize their respective
role as distinct from those of c ourse users in a traditional context. A
systematic feedback can be obtained from the records of learners scores on
assignments the learner’s assignment of the course materials. Hence a
periodic review of learners’ scores on assignments can help for ident ifying
problems with the assignment.
The assignment record, have the sources, where difficulties emerging from
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112  The learner – ability assumed while preparing the assignment may be
much higher than the actual learner ability and consequently the level
of performance expected may be higher.
 The objective or the task set for the assignment may not reflect the
objective or the learning experience of the unit.
 The presentation of assignment may be defective.
As a consequence the learner gets a pa rtially or totally different idea of the
task required from what the course writer intends to give.
The organization of counselling sessions, practicals etc. are based on the
specific requirement of the programmes being offered and guidelines laid
down by the concerned schools. It also supervises the evaluation of
assignments and conduct of term end examination as its study centres and
some times at the regional centre itself.
In distance teaching evaluation of assignments are more important.
Quality achi evement of learners is more intensive, programme evaluation
with varieties of study materials, practicals and projects are more support
to the learners as well as counsellors in the study centre.
Assignment Evaluation :
 Number of Assignments received per c ourse programme to be
identified.
 Time given to learners for submission of the assignment.
 Mechanisms adopted for assignment handling.
 Mechanisms adopted for monitoring of assignment evaluation.
 Practice followed for assignment as a teaching tool.
 Mechanis ms for follow up action on assignment.
 Learners who have submitted within the deadline.
 Number of feedback responses on counselors work.
In learner support services, to provide quality assurance, it is necessary to
develop for both process product evaluati ons. In this context, the concept
of constructing performance indicators for educational organizations are
stated below : mainly the factors of inputs, processes and outputs of these
activities are considered. Input (resources utilized), process (utiliza tion of
the resources) and output (products, achieved).
 Design of support system
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113  Practicals
 Assignment Evaluation
 Library services
 Administrative Support (including General querries)
 Learner Registratio n and Evaluation Registration
 Term End Examination and Results
7.4.3 Term End Examination :
The learner needs some standard to measure his / her own answer to the
self assessment questions. Evaluation or assessment may take two forms :
(a) Assessment of C ourses by learners themselves : A brief
questionnaire seeking information regarding the quality of the study unit,
along with materials, and the student asked to respond.
(b) Assessment of courses by another person (Tutor, trainer or
counsellor) : It is ne cessary to evaluate course and see how far they are
meeting the educational needs which the learners identified in the
beginning.
In open and distance learning system, examination system should be upto
the mark few methodologies may be adopted for the same .
 Introduction of examination calendar
 Timely commencement of examination and publication of results
 During paper setting the entire syllabus should be followed.
 Multiple choice, filling in, choose the right answer type, objective type
questions in the ass ignment as well as in Term End Examination.
 Effective use of interactive online tutoring and assessment of
assignments.
 Practical counselling cum evaluation programmed may be arranged.
The characteristics of Term End Examination are as follows :
 Methods to be used for dissemination of information regarding exams.
 Mechanisms developed for fair conduct of examinations.
 Arrangements for conduct of Exam.
 Different topics / units are to be identified.
 The more deepening, problem solving, characteristics of Term End
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114 Generally the University conducts Term End Examination (TEE) or
Annual examination twice a year, April and October which are held at
study centres. Students appear in TEE subject to the condition that
registration f or the course(s) in which they appear is valid, minimum time
persue these courses, and have submitted the required number of
assignment(s) to there study centre, if any, in those course within due date.
There is provision of submit examination form with e xam fees and late
fees as given in different programme guides and the forms can be
submitted to the director, of Open University. It is an essential pre
requisite for the students to submit the examination form; so as to reach
within the prescribed dates.
Students may appear the TEE at the centre of their choice by filling up the
code of that centre / in the examination form.
Learners are advised :
 To remain in touch with their Study Centre / Regional Center /
headquarters for change in schedule of sub mission, of examination
form / fee if any.
 To fill up examination form for next term end examination without
waiting for the results of the previous term end examination and also
filling up the courses, for which result is awaited.
 To fill up all the parti culars carefully properly in the examination form
to avoid rejection / delay in processing of the form.
 To retain the proof of mailing / submission of examination form till
they receive examination intimation slip. Learners should keep a
photocopy filled in TEE form, photocopy demand draft and postal
receipt.
How to conduct TEE ? (Care should be taken up by the Tutors /
Counsellors)
 Intimation to learners with regard to exams
 Suitability of examination
 Learners attendance at Examination
 Number of learner q ualified in the exam
 Number of learner who do not take any examination
 Mechanism used for monitoring
 Number of learners not received intimation slips for attending the
exams
 No. of learners submitted exam for after due date
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115  No. of requests received for non -inclusion of awards.
 No. of requests received of wrong inclusion of award.
The above queries may be recorded by the examiner / study centres.
Check your progress :
Q.1 Why should a learner do assignme nts?
Q.2 “Performance of a student / learner depends on “Feedback - How?
Q.3 What are the criteria of Term End Examination?
Q.4 What is the procedure of conducting Term End Examination?
7.5 LET US SUM UP :
In order to transact any curriculum one should r ead to learn about the
learners, their age, their previous training or education, the things they
already know, the things they were interested in and the things that were
important to them, their personal goals and problems.
A good learner must plan a stu dy programme time and spread over a
period of time. What to study, when to study, how to study, where to
study, how much time to spend on study etc. It will make a systematic
concept formation, in learners mind.
 Concept maping : Learner has to go through a correct way of
construction of a “concept map” which are outlining, note taking /
marking and summarizing etc.
 Reading skill comprehension both are equally important in study
skills. Learners involved in more and more in reading process which is
comple tely a integrative one includes cognitive, perceptual and affective.
Reading skills involve SQ 3R Technique which includes, survey,
Question, Read Recall, Review etc.
 Counselling and Tutoring both are equally emphasized in open and
distance learning. Cou nselling responses appropriate to particular issues
raised by the learner. Categories of counselling problem solving /
Development and Academic / Non -academic varieties of steps inserted in
between, Pre -entry, entry, course choice, career choice, withdraw al,
motivational. Problem solving includes – Institutional personal, study
assessment time.
Tutoring tutor provides expertise experience and encouragement. They do
not provide ‘answers’ but rather assist in problem solving in getting
answers.
 Feedback me chanism, Assignments and Term End Examinations :
Assignment responses to facilitate learning. It is a process of formative
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116 Examination learners asses their performances. A continuou s and
comprehensive evaluation is involved in learners assessments, through self
assessment schedule. Besides, in a course two assignments in prescribed
time. Two times term end examination conducted in one course.
7.6 UNIT END EXERCISE
Q.1 What is SQ3R techniques. Explain this techniques in developing
reading skills.
Q.2 What is feedback mechanism? What types of feedback is provided in
distance learning course? Explain it’s benefits.
Q.3 Write short notes:
a) Term end examination
b) Role of Tutor coun selor
c) Note making
REFERENCES
1. Support services : Need and Mechanism – ES – 313 (A) STRIDE,
IGNOU, New Delhi.
2. Preparation of Texts 312(3) – STRIDE, IGNOU, New Delhi.
3. Interaction Through Assignments ES – 313(3) STRIDE, IGNOU,
New Delhi.
4. Couns elling and Tutoring services ES – 313(2) STRIDE, IGNOU,
New Delhi.
5. Principles of Text Design ES 312(2) STRIDE, IGNOU, New Delhi.
6. Pradeep Kumar Johri - Modern Distance Education.
7. V. K. Jagannath The future of Distance Learning Designing
interactivi ty.
8. Dhaneswar Harichandan (2009) Distance Education and Student
Support Services Institute of Distance Education, University of
Mumbai. Mimeo
9. Sujata Pattanaik Oral Reading Skill, Comprehension and Verbal
Processing Ability, A doctoral Thesis, Sambalp ur University
10. The Personal Tutor / Counsellor in Distance Education – A concept
paper presented by University of Germany, 1991. (Internet)

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117 8
ROLE OF ICT IN ODL
Unit Structure:
8.0 Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Role of ICT
8.2.1 Audio and Video
8.2.2 Television and Computer
8.2.3 Satellite technology
8.2.4 Teleconferencing
8.3 Innovative Practices
8.3.1 Lab Based Learning
8.3.2 Net Bas ed Learning
8.3.3 Project Based Learning
8.3.4 Summer Residential Schools
8.4 Let us Sum up
8.5 Unit End Exercise
8.0 OBJECTIVES :
In this unit we have discussed, Role of ICT in Open and Distance
Learning, Use of different strategies in ICT. After working through this
unit you should be able to :
 Define the Role of ICT in ODL.
 Use different technologies in Education.
 Define satellite technology, Computer learning, Teleconferencing etc.
 State various Innovative practices
 Explain Net based learning, Project based and Lab based learning.
 Understand Summer residential schools
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118 8.1 INTRODUCTION :
ICT offers enormous potential to impart quality education remove
illiteracy, provide educational opportunities to the unreached, reduce
imbalances among region s and social groups and train teachers. The
convergence of telecommunications, audio -video and computers has a
tremendous potential to revolutionize education and transform the
teaching learning process.
The use of ICT, is for making quality education acc essible to all,
particularly to the disadvantaged group. It provides interface and
integration of face to face and distance modes of transactional processes in
the classroom environment and to workout strategies for content
generation and share these to i mprove the professional competency of
teachers. Digital technologies improve teacher education programme.
Teacher is, nowadays not a mere transmitter of knowledge but also a
facilitator, collaborator, coach mentor, knowledge navigator, and co -
learner in the teacher learning process. Presently ICT includes content and
pedagogy, collaboration and networking, social issues and technical
issues. ICT can facilitate both the teachers and the children construct new
knowledge or experience and thus can strength en the learning process.
ICT can be briefly described as the result of convergence of technologies
telecommunications and television with informatics. The computer
considered as an engine of the mind has tremendous capacity to store and
process data and to produce and disseminate information with the
emergence of diverse multimedia and networking possibilities computers
have emerged as tools for innovative teaching and learning. Students are
proving more adopt than their teachers at mastering ICT based delivery
system. The scope of the new technologies for transforming existing
educational set up is indeed enormous and includes the possibility
globalization of education, adaptation of foreign curricula, new teaching
materials and the networking of schoo ls. Teachers must master the use of
information skills of research, critical analysis, linking diverse types and
sources of information reformulating retrieve data – if they are to teach
their pupils to develop these skills. Teachers must be adequately e quipped
with more didactic competencies so as to assume their new role as experts
in the learning process. ICTs are to be used as tools for training of
teachers.
8.2 ROLE OF ICT IN OPEN AND DISTANCE
LEARNING :
ICT has proved that learning is possible any time and anywhere now. ICT
brings about several benefits to the learner and the teacher. These include
shared learning resources, shared learning spaces, promotion of
collaborative learning and move towards autonomous learning. ICT
should be used as a vehicle for educational transformation. ICT, make
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119 in capacity building, regular teaching learning process for sustainable
quality of education.
ICTs and satellite communication inc reased the reach of open learning
system and the use of distance mode in education and training. Open and
distance learning having access to a variety of technologies audio, video,
radio, tapes, television, video cassettes teleconferencing, computer and
Internet, Word Wide Web etc. of Information Communication Technology
(ICT) which vary with Institution to Institution and course / programme to
course / programme end learner to learner.
Introduction of Information and Communication Technology of new
method s of imparting instruction in distance teaching, the use of
multimedia and ICT based packages in Open and Distance learning is
imperative. The ODL institutions have to search for new ways to educate
and keep learners upto date and to the brim. Use of ICT in ODL, brings
learning interactive, where the learner is guided by the lecturer and the
facilitator initiating the learning process, gaining direct access to various
sources of information.
Role of ICT in ODL include teleconferencing innovative self lear ning
modules, greater reliance on practicum especially, lands on experience,
tutorials, phone -in facility and academic as well as personal counselling.
TV broadcast and greater use of audio – video cassettes have made it
possible for distance education le arners to upgrade their knowledge and
competencies without leaving their place of work. Now distance
education has been accepted globally as an alternative to formal education
particularly to reach the unreached.
8.2.1 Audio and Video :
Audio :
Distance teaching is basically a multi -media process. Radio is the
cheapest and the most easily accessible electronic media, with its potential
audience very large in comparison to other media. Radio lends itself to
serve different purposes. For instance, while it provides learners with new
joys of learning, it can develop their command over vocabulary, promote
concentration and critical listening, and improve fluency and confidence in
speech and discussion. It can be used for formal and non formal
education. Its broadcasts can be designed to supplement / enrich the
formal school subjects.
Audio Tapes :
According to Rowntree (1994) the purposes of using audio in teaching
could be as follows :
 To provide “aural source material” for the learner
 To breathe life in to ideas presented elsewhere in the course
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120  To make the teaching more human and personal.
 To encourage and motivate the learners.
 To influence the learners feeling and attitude.
 To let learners hears the voices of expert s, users, clients other learners
etc.
 To provide necessary variety in the learner’s learning process.
Audio tapes can overcome some of the limitations of radio broadcasts. It
provides considerable freedom to the learners who can use it at any time
and pla ce of convenience. The learners can replay the tape any number of
times and review the taped materials over and over again Radio / audio
medium has few characteristics like easy accessibility, wide coverage, law
capital investment and operating cost, easy learner reception, direct
instruction easy production, effective creation etc.
Video :
It is a two ways, interactive communication, where in students and other
users can transmit the requests to a central database, video programmes
become popular in the teaching learning process. The video cassette is
considered a more effective medium than the television broadcast. Video
cassettes have certain advantages over television. They are more flexible
and convenient in their use because the students have full control over
their pace of learning in terms of their time and place of using the video
cassettes. Additionally, the replay facility has made it more suitable to
individualized learning. Video programmes are equally useful for the
distance as well as fa ce-to-face classroom teaching. There is difference
between cassette and the television broadcast. Video cassettes are
available as and when needed, Repetition / search / mastery learning,
individualized pace of learning, integration with other media, mor e
flexible and decentralized systems of delivery, allows the students control
over the learning process, and difficult for distribution.
The video cassette has some weakness too. The use of video cassette
depends on the availability of the video cassette replay (VCR) equipment,
and we can not ensure each distance student access to the replay
equipment in near future. It is therefore, not advisable to exclusively
depend upon the video cassette technology.
Taking into account the potential and the weakness of video cassettes in
teaching learning at a distance, IGNOU, New Delhi makes use of the
video cassette and the broadcast technology to supplement printed texts,
and these programmes have become an important component of the course
materials. The audio – video cassettes recorders are available at the study
centres to those students who want to make use of the programmes. Video
cassettes are viewed in groups at the study centres, and so, the cassettes
are usually designed for group viewing. At the end of each programme,
there is a general discussion among and with the academic counsellor on
the content presented. Group viewing helps the students draw more than,
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121 and guidance from bo th the peer group and the academic counsellor, as
they learn as much from the peer group as from the programme itself.
Some video programmes are pro duced for individual use also. The content
of such video programmes is broken into several components with suitable
activities /exercises. Such video programmes allow the student full co ntrol
over his /her learning. Video materials are however economical than other
audio – video movies and plays.
8.2.2 Television and Computer :
Television :
In the current a ge, different electronic media are used as vivrant
communication technologies in the educational system, most commonly,
available electronic media as radio and television are very popular for the
distance students. With the advancement technology a variet y of visual
media – television broadcast, video cassettes, video disc, video text and
computer, have become a multi media packages in teaching and learning
at a distance.
Television is an effective tool in the hands of education if it is utilized
imaginati vely. Different subject matters are taught effectively through
television strength of television in education as stated below :
 Social equality in education : Television increase the effectiveness of
instruction and cuts down dropout rates.
 Higher Quality of Instruction : Television programs are well planned
/ organized and better presented than the usual classroom instruction.
 Reduce dependency on teacher : The students learn from television
with their own efforts. They need minimum help from the teacher if
TV used.
 Flexibility : Rapid and continuing change in curricula and instructional
methods are made possible through educational television. Courses
can be constantly modified not only to update them but incorporate the
constantly changing needs of the society.
 Use of the best availability teacher : Educational television makes
educational opportunities equal through out the country. The students
in rural and deprived areas of the country, where educational resources
are not available, get the same qua lity of education as their
counterparts in the urban centres. The best teacher is equally available
for every student.
 Cost effectiveness : If television is utilized on a large scale, it proves
cost effective. It can provide education through out the cou ntry at a
minimum cost without lowering the quality of instruction.
 In-service training : TV can be used for in -service training of
educators in non -school hours. NCERT, India is telecasting number of munotes.in

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122 programmes every week for teachers to improve their te aching
methods and skills.
 Logistically simple : Educational television is logistically very
simple. The problems of planning and operating distance learning can
be overcome to some extent by teaching through television.
 Combination of audio -video compone nts : Television has the
advantage of the audio as well as video. Therefore it has a greater
appeal than the radio and the print media.
 Stimulation : Through educational television, we can control the
stimulation (the audio and the visual) and responses ( learning).
Some limitations of Television :
Many more advantages of television are taken up for education. But there
are certain limitations or disadvantages found which are as follows :
 Limitation of one -way communication : It is a “passive medium” as
some educators call it. The absence of active participation and lack of
provision for feedback are likely to fail.
 Problem of pacing learning : Students differ in their learning speed
and style.
 Poor Accessibility : Television is still beyond the purchasing capacity
of a common man.
 Insufficient viewing condition : No adequate arrangements for
viewing the programmes in colleges / schools.
 High cost : It is very expensive
 Difficult to Integrate : Programme in television in line with the
content of prescribed study.
 Visuals becoming a distraction : Create interference in learning
Television (TV) :
TV stimulates the students’ learning enhances their attention, learning,
assimilation and application of knowledge gained. Although TV is used
mainly being used by t he public as a medium of entertainment, but it plays
the role of a teacher. It is necessary to use TV as teaching aid, and get the
maximum out of it. The TV and the video programmes have to be
attractive, visually rich, interactive in nature and need bas ed. Educational
television have been taken by various experts – either as individuals or as
representatives of institutions.
Educational Television is a system that presents learning content in
various subjects produced by an agency. It is a means of pro viding direct
instruction (formal) as well as continuing education (non -formal). It has a
capacity to bring the world into a classroom and a classroom into a home.
Wayne Loy calls Educational Television as the “Electronic blackboard of
the future” and li sts the varieties of characteristics. munotes.in

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123  It combines both sensory and auditory experiences.
 It is an extension of the radio broad casting
 It offers uniformity of communication.
 It is a versatile educational vehicle.
 It stimulates and reinforces ideas.
 It prov ides live broadcasts on the spot events.
 It provides a powerful visual medium.
 It is a means for leisure time activities.
Role of television in Distance Learning :
It has helped to facilitate the rapid dimension of new curricular ideas,
many of which remai n long after their parent projects or programme.
 Improvement of quality
 Television as a catalyst
 Television as a means of extending children experience.
 Television as a means of introducing affective education.
 Television as a means of equalizing educatio nal opportunity.
 TV as a means of improving efficiency and productivity.
 TV based Instructional systems.
TV Programmes Role :
 To introduce the content for the teacher to elaborate later and to
provide drill and practice to the students.
 To provide backgrou nd material for a lesson the teacher will deliver.
 To provide salient illustrations that will stimulate class discussion and
discovery.
 To reinforce and review ideas already covered inclass.
Role of Teachers :
 Planning and preparation of programme
 Producti on of programme
 Presentation of programme
 Utilization of programme
 Evaluation of the programme


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124 The computer appeared in selected Indian Schools during 1984 – 85 as
part of a national project for developing Computer Literacy And Studies in
Schools (CLASS). This project CLASS have four objectives :
 To provide students with a broad understanding of the computer and
its use.
 To provide hands on experiences
 To familiarize the students with the range of computer applications in
all walks of human activity and the computer’s potential as a
controlling and information processing tool and,
 To demystify the computer and to develop a degree of case and
familiarity with it, which should be conducive to developing individual
creativity in identifying and developing application relevant to the
student’s immediate environment.
Computer network in ODL is very useful means of immediate delivery of
message. It also encourages interaction between the learner and the
computer, between learner and tutor, and betw een learner and learner
connected through network. Various types of computers including major
data based as well as home computer can be interlinked through
networking.
Computer based instruction can take place through remote network as well
as local netw ork. Remote networks include telecommunications between
central level data base and computer and the micro computer at delivery
level. The local network use terminals for connections inside a complex
of an Institutions campus. Computer encourages indivi dualized as well as
group based learning depending on the available facilities of computer
network through distance mode.
There is two way interaction take place through existing networks of
computers. Teleconferencing through computer networks has advant age
over video conferencing with regard to flexibility of communications
through computers. In distance Education situation conferencing can be
encouraged for interaction of co -operative learner group through local
networking.
Computers have revolutionze d the way we collect, process, store and
disseminate information. Every document on the achievements mentions
devices capable of storing an unimaginable quantity of information, but
the invention that made all these possible is the computer. Chacon (1992 )
provides an interesting taxonomy of computer media in distance
education. He has identified three modes of computer use as information
processing interaction and communication.
Information processing :
This mode of computer use in distance education u ses the principle – ‘I
learn by doing’. It is related to a series of abilities related to intelligence
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125 writing. The computer is used as a tool for these activities. Computers
can be used in distance education to perform the following pedagogical
functions :
 Dissemination of information
 Development of language skills
 Learning foreign language
 Development of procedural skills
 Learning problem solving
 Learning analytical skill
 Learn ing design kills
Interaction :
The interaction mode of computer use in distance, education uses the
principle – I teach something to myself’. Interaction is between a person
and a machine. Interactive computing in education takes place when the
learner i s allowed to establish a dialogue with the computer, and receives
stimuli in multiple media formats. The interactive mode of computer
becomes a resourceful tutor. The pedagogical functions covered by this
mode are : drill and practice, problem solving, p rocedural learning,
tutorials, guided discovery learning and decision making.
Communication :
The communication mode of computer use in distance education uses the
principles – ‘I learn from others’. It envisages interaction among persons
through the use of computers. The communication mode application in
distance education is predominant because of its usefulness in providing
support to remote learners.
The technologies used are E -mail and computer conferencing. The
communication made performs the follo wing pedagogical functions :
 Learning verbal communication
 Developing skills for analysis and synthesis of textual information
 Development of expression and articulation
 Developing skills for analysis and synthesis of textual information
 Motivational suppo rt to remote learners
 Development of critical judgement
 Participative problem solving
 Opportunity for incidental learning
 Substitute for direct experience
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126 The communication mode provides an excellent opportunity for
collaborative learning.
8.2.3 Satellite Technology :
The communication satellites are usually placed in a special earth orbit,
which makes them appear stationary to the transmitters and receivers on
earth. There are more than a hundred of these communication s atellites in
orbit around the world, and new satellites are being launched regularly.
The satellite based communication is with different elements a ground
based transmission station known as uplink and a receiving disc known as
down link. The uplink sen ds signals to the satellite, which amplifies and
transmits back to the down link, i.e. the direct receiving disc, which in turn
to feeds a local station.
Satellite technology strengthens the capacity of the telecommunication
network and the information flo w, which among other things gives a boost
to the educational development of a country. This is useful for students of
fart flung areas who are pursuing their study at a distance. With limited
intellectual resources, the satellite can e used more widely t o provide
opportunities of university education even to those students who live in
small islands.
In big countries to satellite based communication is an effective alternative
to cover many hundreds of widespread isolated locations which are
otherwise very difficult to reach from the point of view both of cost and of
feasibility. In some of the extremely mountains and inaccessible regions,
the satellite is the only solution. Its main advantage is its accessibility.
The target audience for distance educati on courses run by the open
universities is large and scattered across vast regions, the high cost
incurred can be easily justified. Transmission through the satellite has
been relatively cheaper and the system is more accessible to all parts of
the countr y on a personal basis. Satellite can be used for education in
atleast three ways – the telecast of educational and developmental
programmes for the general public, the telecast of pre recorded
programmes for students at all levels of education, and the li ve telecast of
educational programmes with two way interaction.
In the first two cases the television and radio are used, but the third case
satellite is used to support some of the existing two -way communication
system, the computer, videotext, teleconfer encing, telephone mediated
instructions etc.
8.2.4 Teleconferencing :
Teleconferencing is understood as “Two way electronic communication
between two or more groups, or three or more individuals, who are in
separate locations; includes group communication viz audio, audio
graphic s, video and computer system.” (Olgren and Parker, 1983).
Among these means audio and video teleconferencing is popular media in
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127 major role in Distance Education situations because of its potential of
group method of learning at a distance. It facilitates interaction between
teacher and learner as well as Learner and learner.
 It acts as a substitute to classroom based face to face learning.
 Teleconferencing can p rovide solution to various issues in distance
education.
 It proves its worth in the context of regularity and immediacy of two -
way communication.
 It can be integrated with regular study activities because of its
naturalness in communication.
 It can replace face -to-face interaction programme group activities
conducted by tutors at regional study centres.
 It can be equally applicable to large size and heterogeneous group of
learners.
 Teleconferencing course, especially audio teleconferencing can be
quickly an d inexpensively developed and delivered for small group of
learners.
Because of application of teleconferencing ‘independence and isolation
need not be regarded as an inherent characteristic of distance education.
(Garrison 1989).
Teleconferencing is and e lectronic means which can bring together three
or four people two or more locations to discuss or share the use of two -
way and one -way video between full motion and slow scan, electronic
blackboards, facsimile, computer graphics, radio satellite and video text.
Three main types of teleconferencing have been identified.
i) Audio teleconferencing and Video teleconferencing and
ii) Computer teleconferencing
Due to the growth of educational technology and its flexible nature each
and every corner of the educa tional institutions are using for quality and
instant service. Nowadays, dependence on this technology is accelerating.
Audio teleconferencing requires a multi -telephone line electronic switch
or inter connection device called a bridge to which the user c an attach a
wide variety of data transm ission devices and telephones. Audio
equipments used with the bridge are the usually hand set, head sets,
speaker phones, radio telephones and microphone speak er units (called
‘conveners’). Teleconferencing in audio medium is us ed as a two -way
communication. Generally audio -teleconferencing communication is
auditory. The use of audio conferencing is rapidly becoming a preferred
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128 The effectiveness of audio teleconferencing from the point of student
learning, shows in different studies conducted, that, telephone is as
effective a medium of education as is face -to-face teaching. During the
1984 International Symposium of teleconferencing there was evidence of
strong support f or e ducational audio conferencing. The support was
mainly due to some advantages.
i) Effective support for remote learners : It can be very useful when
most of the potential students are widely scattered among
communities that are for apart and when each centre has a thin
learning population.
ii) Cost effectiveness : The cost for starting and operating an audio
teleconferencing system is relatively low in comparison with of the
available methods.
iii) Flexible System : The system used can be adjusted quick ly to serve
large or small groups.
iv) Familiar instructional mode : The mode of instruction is similar to
that of the seminar with the instructor being incharge of the
discussion.
v) Easy scheduling adjustments : A scheduling adjustment can be
made almost as readily as for the on -campus class rooms.
vi) High -quality instruction : The quality of instructional materials can
be kept high because of the need for careful and early preparation.
vii) Immediate feedback : The teleconferencing system provides the
facility for immediate feedback to the learners and allows them to
covey their reactions to the tutors.
Video teleconferencing :
This type of teleconferencing is arranged by combining two way video
media. This technology is in limited use in education due to its high cost
and various other problems such as the linking of multiple locations by the
medium of video, availability of hardware, etc. video teleconferencing
however has advantages over audio – teleconferencing because of its
visual component, video conferencing increases the quality of interaction
because both the teacher / expert and the student can see each other and
can share their feeling and experiences.
Through video conferencing it is possible to provide a two -way exchange
of both lice televis ion images and audio signals between two or more sites
and three or more individuals.
i) Two -way Audio : Two -way video Interaction : This type of
conferencing is possible through two -way television network. The
presenters from different TV stations or vi deo conference studios can
interact with each other with audio -video conference system. Satellite
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129 of teacher -student and student -student interaction taking place at a wide
TV network. Learners sitting at home / learning centre and watching
audio video teleconference get a feel of classroom through TV screen.
Several questions raised by a particular learner may be raised by students
participating in ETV. This system can serve both purp ose, expert
interaction as well as popular interaction. As this system requires high
technology concentration, heavy expenses it is better to go for one way
video -two way audio conferencing.
ii) One way Audio : two way Video Interaction : The participants
remaining in different parts of the region can interact with the presenter of
TV station. Satellite based communication system facilities, easy
telephone communication from learners to the presenter. While the
learner’s queries at the time of telecast o f lesson, the presenter can answer
the questions through TV line on the spot. While the learner’s queries can
be accessible to the presenter by satellite connected telephone his response
can be both audio and video based through TV.
iii) Tele-seminar : Tele-seminars are organized for small group of
participants with major focus on achievement of higher level objectives.
Interaction is restricted to a group of participants scattered over distance
places, having access to networking for audio and video comm unication.
The coordinator organizes the schedule of seminar presentation and
discussion sessions. Mainly it follows two -way audio conferencing with
coordinator’s control. Two way audio and one way video teleconferencing
sessions can be used for seminar purpose through such technology.
Computer Teleconferencing
Computer Teleconferencing is the most effective way of teleconferencing
but at the same time involves a lot of cost, infrastructure, etc. With the
adequate facility of suitable hardware, informat ion can be sent and
received at the convenience of both the teacher and the student with the
use of computers. Computer conferencing can be text based or full video
based.
Teleconferencing through computer networks has advantage over video
conferencing wi th regard to flexibility of communications through
computers. In computer conferencing text based messages and files are
communicated through computer networks. On the basis of text based
messages discussions take place through computer network. Such
discussions may be of non -structured nature. In Distance Education such
conferencing can be encouraged for interaction of cooperative learn group
through local area networking (LAN). This has been experimented by the
Open University, U.K. that computer bas ed teleconferencing (Mason,
1989) is mostly feasible in the case of small cooperate learning groups. In
computer conferencing system there is provision for the small group
meetings to run parallel to the main transaction of large group computer
conference . The large group deals with major issues related to course
based experiences. Some major advantages of computer networking are
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130  Resource Sharing : All computer users do not have the best computer
facilities available on a stand alone computer . It we can inter connect
(network) the small computers and terminals with a powerful processor,
secondary storage, printers etc. then all these small computers can utilize
the powerful resources inter connected through a network.
 Global Database : When d ifferent computers are interlinked and can
share resources then there is no need to store the same or similar
information on the storage areas of individual computers. Data that needs
to be shared by different users can be stored and maintained at a globa l
storage area and users can be given access to it with their user ids and
passwords.
 Powerful Communication Medium : The information stored and
disseminated through networks has recently become most popular means
because of the simple editing process and the facility of fetching data from
all different sites in the world. In distance education the students can log
on to the databases of universities and benefit from them in various ways
e.g. be informed about the latest in research, navigate through one
information topic to another, have an online explanation of different
topics.
 Information Management : It is also easier in a global database
networked set up. Any database in such a set up in such a set up will not
have a duplicate copy and so editing, up dation, deletion etc. are all
required to be done at one place. This is in contrast to the systems of
maintaining local databases where one information may have duplicate
entries in different individual databases and in order to change only
component of t he information, all the databases keeping that component
must be changed accordingly.
 Online Information Exchange : Any information is kept for people
to use in any way they want to use and whenever they want. Using a
computer attached to a network, one c an easily and quickly access
information in the right format, which can be used for further work and
timely decision making.
 Saving Money : All the properties resource sharing, global
information, maintenance, rapid information exchange of a network
system reduce the cost of information storage and interchange. A bigger
network system may be planned but it can be built in phases starting with
a smaller set up, such as adding an extra which node, which is not at all
problem, if planned in advance. This red uces the initial set up cost.
There are two types of technology for the transmission of network, print -
to-print and broad easting. In a print -to-print network, the connection is
between individual computers whereas in the broadcasting type of
transmission there is a single channel used for transmission of data in
packets. In a network all the computers and other devices are joined
through data communication channels.
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131 Check your progress :
Q.1 ICT involved in education is very effective – Justify.
Q.2 How t he television is interactive for classroom transaction?
Q.3 In the modern age computer technology is barely necessary at all
levels of education. Mention briefly.
Q.4 Give short answer of the following Questions.
1) Tele conferencing
2) Audio – Video tap e
3) Satellite Technology
8.3 INNOVATIVE PRACTICES :
According to Francis Bacon “He that will not apply new remedies must
accept new evils, for time is the greatest innovator. Stagnation sets in, if
changes are not made. Innovations and innovative clim ate are therefore
absolutely essential for any system or organization for its growth and
development. Innovation refers to a useful, positive planned durable and
deliberate change to alter old ways of doing things to new tried one and
tested ideas to achi eve pre determine new goals or objectives. The word
innovation has been derived from the Latin word “novons” which means
new, novice or novelty. No two persons look alike or them alike. What
one perceives something may not be perceived in the same way, it may be
a new idea, method or device. The novelty may be more apparent that
real. What is new for one person may not be new for another.
John Adair (1990) states “Innovation is more than having new ideas it
includes the process of successfully introdu cing them or making things
happen is a new way. It turns ideas into useful, practicable and
commercial products or services.” The NCERT, New Delhi has given a
wide variety of definitions to innovations.
 The process of making improvement, by introducing s omething new.
 The act of introducing something new / something newly introduced.
 The process of translating new ideas for improvement of teaching
learning.
 The introduction of some thing new.
 A new idea, method or device
 The successful exploitation of new ideas.
 Change that create a new dimension of performance.
 A greater idea that is related.
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132 In order to improve the quality of teaching learning different strategies
have been applied to help the t eachers to make more effective and joyful
in elementary and secondary schools. Followings are some of the
strategies developed in the teaching learning process which can bring a
new look the education system.
8.3.1 Lab based Teaching :
Laboratories are wo nderful settings for teaching and learning. They
provide students with opportunities to thing about, discuss and solve real
problems. Science Labs can be among the richest experiences, students
have to practice science much in the way professionals do. In order for
Labs to be effective, students need to understand not only how to do the
experiments but why the experiment in worth doing and what purpose it
serves for better understanding a concept, relationship or process. Sulman
and Tamir, in the second hand book of Research on Teaching (Travers, ed
1973) listed five groups of objectives that may be achieved through the
use of the Laboratory in science classes.
1. Skills – manipulative, inquiry, investigative, organizational,
communicative.
2. Concepts – for example, hypothesis, theoretical model, taxonomy
category.
3. Cognitive abilities – Critical thinking, problem solving, application,
analysis, synthesis.
4. Understanding the nature of science – scientific enterprise, scientists
and how they work, exis tence of a multiplicity of scientific methods
inter relationship between science and technology and among the
various disciplines of science.
5. Attitudes – for example, curiosity, interest, risk taking objectivity
precision, confidence, perseverance, sati sfaction, responsibility,
consensus, collaboration and liking science.
The lab based teaching and learning activities is –
 An attempt towards interpretation of stimuli, treatment, environmental
conditions and observations.
 A sophisticated, exacting and po werful method for discovering and
developing the innate skills.
 An effective application within non laboratory settings in classroom, in
camps where variables can be controlled to some degree.
 An effort to exploit pedagogically the predictability of events in the
experimental settings.
 A dynamic and inventory activities organized systematically. munotes.in

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133 Like a laboratory setting all sort of facilities and a series of action plans,
follow up actions, treatments, monitoring, evaluation etc are furnished
from beginnin g to end in this process.













Laboratory teaching assumes that first hand experience in observation and
manipulation of the materials of science is superior to other methods of
developing understanding and appreciation, laboratory training is als o
frequently used to develop skills necessary for more advanced study or
research. (Gage, 1962)
General Lab Instruction : Laboratory instruction is considered essential
because it provides training in observation supplied detailed information
and aroused p upils interest. Good laboratory instructors are both great
teachers and great managers. They get their students to understand the
importance of the day’s activities by first clearly explaining the
significance of the activity.
Lab instructors are always seeking to make experiments and practical
problems relevant. Infact some of the best instructors turn their
experiments to practical problem solving exercises.
They spend time early in the semester preparing their students to work in
groups. They assign them to work within specified roles to use one
another to reach solutions, to in effect ‘jigsaw’ results by using different
Lab groups to provide different piece of the solutions puzzles.’
They help the students, forcing students to solve problems on their own.



Lab based
Activities Testing and Remedial Teaching
Continuous and Compr ehensive Evaluation Impact Assessment Need Assessment Response to Self Assessment Pre, Mid and Post Test Motivational
Counselling
Feedback Mechanism
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134 8.3.2 Net based Learning :
A variety of technologies are currently being used to deliver education on
the Internet which include the use of the world wide web (www) for
online lecture notes, news groups for collaborative discussions and class
announc ements, e -mail, correspondence between students and instructors.
This is also interactive, video, over Internet for remote participation in
classes and discussions and virtual reality for exploring three dimensional
scenes, implemented in education.
The i nternet is increasingly being used for the delivery of educational
material and distance education. Internet based learning allows students to
learn at their own pace, access, the information at a time that is convenient
for them and provides education to remote students that otherwise would
not be able to travel to a classroom.
Some courses available in the net are delivered as a formal course with
regular meeting times and places. Other courses follow a self -directed or
student centred approach allowing students to learn at a time and pace that
is convenient to them. Some Institutions offer courses in a wide range of
disciplines and topics that lead to a diplomas or degrees. Multimedia is
increasingly being used in online education to enhance the learn ing
process. The world wide web (www) has become one of the most popular
delivery methods for distance learning programme.
An education website can help learners to read, see, hear and interact with
web based information. It can also allow communication amongst
learners. The internet and www provide opportunity for collaborative
learning, makes web based teaching possible and facilitates interactivity
learning. Internet not only provides access to information instantaneously
and at low cost but also pro vides access to the latest information as
updating on line courses is much easier and relatively inexpensive.
Internet based learning includes delivery of education, and provides many
benefits and limitations to both the students and each educational
institution; Some of the benefits of Internet based courses to the students
include :
 Flexibility to pursue education at personally convenient times.
 Ability to take time to compose thoughts c ontributed to class
discussions on news groups or listeners (asynchro nous
communications)
 Ability to Interact with class mates in different locations using real
time text, audio or video (synchronous communications)
 Reduction or elimination of travel cost to attend lectures.
 Wider range of students in a class (regional, na tional or global
participation) resulting in a wider range of opinions and views shared
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135  Ability to progress in the course material at the student’s own pace
(self placed learning) and in order of their own personal needs (non -
linear le arning).
However not all students are suited for internet based education. Some
difficulties or problems are there
 Lack of motivation can lead students to dropout.
 The internet methods of communication (e -mail, newsgroups,
listservs) may be intimating or awkward to use for some students.
 Students may not be able to express themselves as well using the
computer based communication methods as they would in either direct
conversation with their professor or in classroom discussions. As a
result not all qu estions may be asked by the students when using
computer mediated communication.
 Cost of computer equipment and communications infrastructure may
limit the number of students that can afford an Internet based course.
 Students will have a lack of technical support in their homes to use the
software tools needed in the course. Poor technical support or tutorial
help can lead to incorrect usage of software tools needed to
assignments.
Benefits and limitations in providing internet based courses :
 Lower cost i n electronic publication of course material compared to
printing the same material.
 Ability to re -use lecture materials by simply providing links to
previous electronic course modules or externally stored resources
materials on the Internet.
 Ability to aut omatically track students online behaviour
 Ability to have automated registration and billing using commerce
www servers.
 Larger number of students can take courses (not limited by
geographical region)
 Automation of the student evaluations with online inte ractive puzzles.
Disadvantages of Net based courses :
 Relatively high cost of setting up reliable computer equipments and
the technical support for their requirement.
 Requirements investment of time to learn methods and procedures.
 Instructors feel uncomfo rtable with technology may resist using new
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136  Lack of support for training instructors with new technology may
cause instructors not to learn new technologies and methods.
 Unreliability of equipment being used can cause problems in the
delivery of course over the net, which can be reflected in poor student
evaluation of such courses.
 Junk e -mail – Institutions connected are flooded with useless and
unwanted e -mails. This consumes a lot of the subscribers time.
 Security – As messages trav el across several backbone infrastructures,
there is the possibility of lacking and leakage of sensitive information
over the network.
 Computer virus : Internet e -mail and downloaded files from the www
have been reported to contain viruses. This demands e very computer
should be installed with antivirus software.
 Less serious issues discussed – Many a time the discussions are not too
serious.
 Lack of support to rural people – The net is still an urban phenomenon,
at least for developing countries at present . So it increases the divide
between haves and the have nots.
Learning Styles :
The Internet has provided an opportunity to introduce new ways for
supporting individual learning styles for students and created new
paradigms for Instruction. Connecting in ternet to Institution is needed as a
change from emphasizing accumulation of knowledge, to new ways of
communicating and assisting students to learn. Some of the change
occurring to education as a result of new technologies include :
1. A shift from stude nt as a passive recipient of education to a self
directed student learning.
2. A shift from classroom lectures to computer networked access to
educational resources.
3. A shift from individual learning, learning to team, learning and group
discussion.
4. A shift from homogeneous and stable educational content to fast
changing content presented in a wide range of formats.
One of the most prominent trends in distance education is the emergence
of open learning which has been defined as “a student centred appr oach to
education which removes all barriers to access while providing a high
degree of learner autonomy”.
Instead the teacher acts as a tutor facilitators and resource to assist in the
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137 methods for learning which need to be recognized and supported with
appropriate learning technologies. Some of example of learning styles or
instruction include :
1. Visual Spatial Learning
2. Musical and Sound Learning
3. Intra Personal Learning
4. Inter Personal Learning
5. Linguistic based Learning
6. Mathematics based Learning
The Internet provides to learning a much needed interactivity. Being
interactive it allows collaborative learning opportunities to the learners,
who can interact with their teachers as well as with peer groups or co -
learners. The check you progress exercises of the print medium could be
made more interactive, since learners can now submit assignments online
and can receive comments immediately too.
8.3.3 Project based Learning :
Project based learning is an instructional approach built upon authentic
learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. These
activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and
generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the every day
world outside the classroom.
Project based learning is a synonymous with learning in depth. A well
designed project provokes students to encounter (and struggle with) the
central concept and principles of disci pline.
Project based learning teaches students 21st century skills as well as
content. These skills include communication and presentation skills
organization and time management skills, research and inquiry skills, Self
assessment and reflection skills a nd group participation and leadership
skills.
Project based learning is generally done by group of students working
together towards a common goal. Performance is assessed on an
individual basis and takes into account the quality of the product
produced, the depth of content understanding demonstrated and
contributions, made to the ongoing process of project realization.

Finally project based learning allows students to reflect upon reflect upon
their own ideas and opinions, exercise voice and choice and make
decisions that affect project outcomes and the learning process in general.
Combining these consideration, it may be defined as : PBL, is a systematic
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138 life enhancing skills thr ough an extended, student influenced inquiry
process structured around complex authentic questions and carefully
designed products and tasks.
The project based learning online approach to successful project design.
Although many teachers use project based learning effectively with their
students (Rather than simply do projects”), not all projects lead to
learning.
PBL – online incorporates the project design methodology developed by
BUCK Institute for Education. (Link to www.bie.org). This methodology
yields projects that meet today’s standards for accountability and teach
students the academic content and the 21st century skills they need for life
success. This methodology is based on Research in constructivist
learning, content mastery and critical thi nking and incorporates the project
management skills valued by today’s global industries. The focus is on
helping students move through an inquiry process that stimulates their
thinking, engages them in authentic tasks, and demands demonstration of
master y.
This aligns closely with recent youth development research and theory and
reflects current thinking about rigor, relevance and relationship as the keys
to educational reform at the secondary level. Both the these fields
emphasize the importance of rela tionship driven classrooms where adult
mentors help students engage more deeply in the learning process and
develop rigorous, positive attitudes towards academic achievement.
The project based learning brings together intellectual inquiry, rigorous
real wo rld standards and student engagement in relevant and meaningful
work. It is a comprehensive instructional model in which project work is
central to student understanding of the essential concepts and principles of
the disciplines. The different character istics of PBL :
 Engage and build on student interests and passions.
 Provide a meaningful and authentic context for learning.
 Immerse students in complex, real world problems / investigations
without a pre determined solution.
 Allow students to take the lea d making critical choices and decisions.
 Connect students with community resources and experts.
 Require students to develop and demonstrate essential skills and
knowledge.
 Draw and multiple disciplines to solve problems and deepen
understanding.
 Build in o pportunities for reflection and self assessment.
 Result in useful products that demonstrate what students have learned.
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139 Project based learning in a dynamic approach to teaching in which
stude nts explore real world problems and challenges. With this type of
active and engaged learning, students are inspired to obtain a deeper
knowledge of the subjects they are studying.
PBL goes beyond generating student interest. Well designed projects
encou rage active inquiry and higher level thinking (Thomas, 1998).
Students’ abilities to acquire new understanding are enhanced when they
are “connected to meaningful problem solving activities, and when
students are helped to understand why, when and how tho se facts and
skills are relevant” (Bransford, Brown, Conking, 2000).
PBL is the use of classroom projects, intended to bring about deep
learning, where students use technology and inquiry to engage with issues
and questions that are relevant to their live s.
PBL is best defined as instruction relating questions and technology
relative to the students everyday lives to classroom projects. Students
form their own investigation of their own group which allows students to
develop valuable research skills. The students engage in design, problem
solving, decision making and investigative activities. It allows students to
work in groups.
PBL provides complex task based on challenging questions or problems
that involve the students problem solving, decision makin g, investigative
skills and reflection that include teacher facilitation, but not direction.
Project based learning is focused on questions that drive students to
encounter the central concept and principles of subject hands on.
PBL is a different teachin g technique that promotes and practices new
learning habits. The students have to think in original ways to come up
with the solutions to these real world problems. It helps with their creative
thinking skills by showing that there are many ways to solve a problem.
PBL is an approach for classroom activity that emphasizes learning
activities that are long term, inter disciplinary and student centred. This
approach is generally less structured than traditional, teacher led
classroom activities, in a proje ct based class student often most organize
their own work and manage in their own time PBL is organized around an
open ended driving question or challenge.
 Creates a need to know essential content and skills.
 Requires inquiry to learn and / or create somet hing new.
 Requires critical thinking, collaboration and various forms of
communication.
 Allows some degree of student voice and choice.
 Incorporates feedback and revesion.
 Results in a publicly presented product or performance.
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140  Allows for a variety of learning style
 Accessable for all learners
 Teacher is a facilitator of learning
 Risk free environment provides a positive feedback.
 Students have ownership of their learning within the curriculum.
Project based lear ning – An innovative Teaching methodology :
PBL is effective when supported by educational technology. Using
technology in P based methodology makes the environment more
authentic to students because the compute provides access to date and
information exp ands interaction and collaboration with others, networks,
promote laboratory investigation and emulates tools, experts etc.
Benefits – Motivation, improved library research skills increase resource
management skills, learning to be an expert, Stages of PBL are – Planning,
scheduling, implementing and monitoring, reflecting.
PBL is more important and research oriented when students are more
likely retain their knowledge gained through this approach than through
traditional text book centred learning. Studen ts also develop confidence
and self direction as they move through both term based and independent
work.
Summer Residential Schools :
Summer school is a school on a progress generally sponsored by a school
that teaches the students during summer vacation. In elementary or middle
school these are usually non academic, though some are used for remedial
instruction. In high schools or universities students can enroll in classes
for credit to be taken into account in their grade point like summer camp,
special education, cram school. This credit is in one of two categories :
remediation or advancement.
Variety of residential summer schools are running throughout different
countries where guests enjoy liking and other outdoor activities. Thee are
also many summ er schools that forces on specific areas and skills, like
academic, art and technology. In India summer Residential schools /
summer valley school earlier known Riverdale High School in Dehradun.
The school was first started in 1994 began its journey as a senior school in
April 2001. This school has got laboratories for the science subjects and
computers, separate boarding accommodation. This school believes on
secularism, the emphasis lies on Equality and Fraternality. During these
days, these are sum mer schools for every type of students, whether you
would like to work on academic subjects of developing skills such as
plying an instrument or sport.
Summer school -programs often involve a lot more hands on learning than
in a regular class. Many residen tial summer school programs include
spots travel, and social activities in their curricular, personal developments
and leadership skills are also major themes. (For example, students at the munotes.in

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141 University of Wyoming Summer High School Institute take a persona l
growth seminar, in addition to their academic classes.)
In fact some summer schools are as competitive as colleges, requiring an
extensive application. Private summer schools are more expensive.
Residential school is one where students stay in the host els and pursue
their studies. They leave with fellow students. Some schools offer
residence as an option for outstation students while in some others
availing the residence facilities of the schools is compulsory. There are
number of residential schools across India.
There are some residential schools which offer full time and part time
boarding facilities to the students. Wood stuck was the first school in Asia
to gain US accreditation. The residences provide students with a fitness
gyan, indoor court , swimming pool, out door basket ball courts and a large
plying field.
Residential summer schools provide academic instruction in literacy and
math, Residential summer schools are more popular in England. They
provide young people with an opportunity to g row and learn about
themselves while also developing a new language and making new
friends. Attending a summer school in England allows international
students to develop their language skills as well as making new friends
with students from around the wor ld broadening their life experiences.
Example : The summer school is also a residential programme providing
full boarding facilities including all meals. Skola’s residential summer
schools provides a safe and supportive environment. Skola provides a
great compromise between learning English in London (through frequent
trips and excursions) and enjoying the glory of the English countryside
during summer. Students can choose which extra curricular activities to
pair with their English lessons. They can ch oose from – Golf, Tennis,
Swimming, Multi Sports, Art, Music and Drama, Foot ball.
Summer residential schools in India, near Bangalore Ooty for kids – All
fan activities conducted at the Camp such as Trekking, Bird watching,
Animal spolting, Fishing, Cycli ng, Yoga, Printing, Boating, Horse riding,
western and Indian Dance, Vocal Music, Craft making, Horse riding,
Camp fire, party games, Cultural programmes and Barbeque part in the
evening. Here children can enjoy the experience of boarding style.
SNEH Inte rnational School in east Delhi is a new age institution that
provides modern IT based, diverse educational opportunities for
development of generation next with special emphasis on enhancement of
communication skills. The society believes in health exchan ge of ideas by
learning from others and sharing one’s own experiences with them. The
students and teachers are given ample opportunities to maintain
communications with other progressive schools in India and abroad.
International Boarding School in India – India is international known for
IT supremacy. St. John’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School is a
unique institution in the field of education was founded in 1999 with the
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142 overall development of the students seeking education at our institutions,
Identifying newer educational techniques to make leaving more interesting
giving enough opportunities to students, to explore their creativity,
ensuring the educational environment hea lthy.
Varieties of summer residential Schools are running in number of places
from kids to University level for extensive learning programmes.
Information communication technology plays a major role to explore the
different schools in different places wit h their open distance or universal
networking process.
However, residential facilities are based on the model of a first class
British independent boarding school with professional staffing
comfortable study bedrooms and catering of international standard. Many
more residential schools are meant for children with special need and
more or less for extensive learning programmes. However, residential
schools are more effective and special course facilities are available which
could be taken by the student du ring summer time only. Many number of
residential summer. Course schools are available in India, with varieties
of course materials are readily available. Besides, lodging Boarding
Schools are maintained properly with homely feelings.
Check your progres s :
Q.1 What do you mean by Innovative Practices?
Q.2 What are the difference between Lab based learning and Project
based learning.
Q.3 Net based learning have some advantages and disadvantages. What
are they?
Q.4 What are summer residential schools? Do you know any Summer
Residential Schools in your home town and locality?
Q.5 Can you organize in your school some projects for your students? If
so give two examples of these.
8.4 LET US SUM UP :
 ICT provides flexibility in terms of the place and pace of learning,
time of learning selection and combinations of subjects, delivery
system and interaction with experts.
 ICT has revolutionalized the life style of the people. ICT is used for
quality control of in the classroom, and provides many benefits to the
learners and teachers. These include shared learning and progress
towards autonomous learning. Information and communication
Technology is creating a new paradigm of learning.
 Television is an effective tool in the hands of education and used
imaginative ly. Audio video materials are used in all the fields of
education for its potential, multi -various approaches. It’s higher
quality, flexibility and best available resources, effectiveness helped
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143  Computers -E-learning, net based learning satellite communication
shares the resources for quality enhancement and promotion to a better
teaching learning situation.
 Project based learning Lab based learning. Net based learning is pre -
requisite for the learners.
 Innovative practices are very essential and effective to meet the
challenges in education. In the present era more innovations are
required for building up the quality dimension in education and
educational scenario.
8.5 UNIT END EXERCISE
1. What is the role of ICT in promoting effective ODL syskon in India.
Explain with examples.
2. Identify some innovative practices in education and how it should be
implemented.
3. Discuss the strengths & weaknesses of PBL
REFERENCES :
1. Vanaja M. Educational Technology
2. ICT Initiatives Quality Improvement in Elementary Education – DEP
– SSA, MHRD, New Delhi – IGNOU, Government of India Project.
3. P. K. Sahoo Educational Technology in Distance Education,
Allahabad University.
4. D. Harichandan Open and Distance Learning: Expl oring New
Frontiers & Development, Mumbai, Himalaya publication.
5. Distance Education in the 21st Century – Aruna Goel Prof. Punjab
University, Chandigarh.
6. Design and Development of Self learning print material. ES – 312(5) –
STRIDE, IGNOU, New Delhi.
7. ICT and Quality of Teacher Education – DEP SSA, IGNOU MHRD,
New Delhi, Government of India Project.
9. Computer and Communication Networks ES 318(5) STRIDE,
IGNOU, New Delhi.
10. Media in Distance Education ES – 318(2) – STRIDE, IGNOU, New
Delhi.

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144 9
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES AND
MATERIALS IN ODL
Unit Structure :
9.0 Objectives
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Concept and Characteristics of Self Learning Material (SLM)
9.3 Importance of SLM in ODL
9.4 Development of SLM in ODL
9.5 Criteria for Evaluation of SLM
9.6 Let us sum up
9.7 Unit End Exercise
9.0 OBJECTIVES :
After reading this unit you would be able to:
 Explain the concept and characteristics of self learning material
(SLM).
 Describe importance of SLM.
 Explain steps in development of SLM in ODL.
 Identify criteria for evaluation of SLM in ODL.
9.1 INTRODUCTION:
You now understand the basis of curriculum and the foundations that
shapes the learning processes in ODL from unit -3. In the Unit -4 we have
understood that curriculum for ODL faces new challe nges from time to
time, yet there are fundamental issues that are common to any ODL
programme. With time and advancement of technology, instructional
material in ODL has progressed from print to iteractive multimedia,
Internet -based resources and campus po rtals.
In this unit we would explore issues related to SLM in ODL. Concept of
SLM, its difference from the textbook content, development stages and
evaluation creiterias for SLM have been discussed at length in the
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145 9.2 CONCEPT AND C HARACTERISTICS OF SELF
LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM):
Instruction is the means by which learning is achieved. In ODL, in
absence of face -to-face interaction, teacher is built into its instructional
materials. Self learning material is a material written for a sp ecific target
group in view, with a learner centred perspective, having clear learning
objectives and activities structured in informal, simple and personal
language. What you are reading right now is also an example of SLM.
The basic structure of the SLM would be dictated by the organizational
structure offering the programme. Once curricula and syllabuses are
agreed upon, detailed aims, objectives, learning outcomes and outlines
will be drawn up.
The characteristics of SLM are as follows :
 Self-explanator y: It is simple, conceptually clear and direct. The
material provides explanation to the learner as there is no other
mediation is required.
 Self-contained: It has all the resources built -in within the material as
the learner need not search for additional resources on his/her own.
The topic under presentation is covered to the extent it is required in
SLM.
 Self-directed: The material directs the learner as a teacher in the
classroom. It teaches, guides, motivates, instructs, evaluate the learner
through va rious devices like sturcutre, language, explanations,
illustrations, diagrams, tests, and so on.
 Self-motivating: Learners in ODL are separated by physical distance
and SLM is the only source to keep them motivated to continue their
learning. SLM need to r aise curiocity, eacourage the learners, raise
issues and relate learning to the local situations to make learning joyful
and meaningful.
 Self-evaluating: The learner of ODL does not have teacher to
challenges him/her. The SLM through check your progress, s elf-
assessment questions, activities and reflective writing help the learner
to know his/her learning abilities.
 Self-paced: SLM is paced in such a way that the learner can decide
how s/he want to pace their learning. The material caters to learners
with different learning abilities so it needs to be structured in such a
way that the learner can pace it as per their requirements.
9.3 IMPORTANCE OF SLM IN ODL:
SLM is the most important resource for the learner of Open and Distance
learning. Since it acts a s a teacher, guide, motivator and evaluator its role
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146 learning through SLM only if other instructional media are not planned in
the instructional design.
There is also a fundamental diffe rence in the way SLM is written vis -à-vis
text book. Table -6.1 shows the difference between textbook and SLM.
Table 9.1: Difference of SLM and Textbook
Issues Textbook Slef Learning Material
Focus Subject content Learner
Aim Scholarly writing Successful teaching
Market Wider Specific target group
Objectives May not be stated Clearly stated
Structure Only part of index Defined outside and within text
also
Selfcheck
Questions Not given in text Given within text
Language Formal and
impersonal Informal, simple and personal
Presentation Dense and loaded Unpacked and loose
Threats Not anticipated Anticipate difficulties and resolve
Eligibility Prior experience is
need to understand Support is provided within text so
no need for prior experience
Readin g Can be read
passively Demands active response

Since now you understand what SLM is and how it differs from any text
book, we would be discussing steps in developing SLM.
Check your progress -1
1. Compare and contrast writing in a textbook versus writing i n the
SLM. Based on your own experience try and reflect on which on helped
you more in learning.
9.4 DEVELOPMENT OF SLM IN ODL:
Each distance and open learning institution devices its own mechnism for
the development of self learning material. The steps m ay vary but the
philosophical underpinnings remain the same. The SLM has to be catering
to the course objectives, it has to link the print material with other
resources to optimize the learning, has to have mechanism for feedback
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147 Panda and Garg (2006) elaborates at length the models of course design
and development citing examples of varied ODL institutions like dual -
mode universities, state open universities and national open university -
IGNOU. There a re various models like personalized training, workshop
generated, text transformation, wrap around text, educational advisor
model, contract author -faculty model, contract author -editor model, and
seminar generated SLM model. Each of these has advantages a nd
disadvantages.
Once the course design is defined, course production covers course
planning, course writing, and production of the texts or audio -visual
materials depending upon the decisions with reference to the course.
Course planning entails needs a ssessment, defining objectives, resource
analysis, alternatives and selection of the appropriate resource,
development and trial, self and external evaluation and feedback of the
stakeholders.
Assuming that all the necessary decisions have been made, the writers
need to be hired for the development of SLM. The structures, unit -block
divisions are prior decisions. As you read this text, it was written after the
overall structure of the course was defined by the authorities at the
Institute of Open and Dist ance Learning. The writer was called in for a
workshop as an outcome of which this unit got written.
Table 6.2 elaborates the pointers to the development stages for a ODL
course. There are three levels before the SLM actually reaches a learner
i.e. you. SL M development processes fundamentally have three stages -
planning, development and production including revision.
Table 9.2: Stages of Development of Course in ODL
Course Planning Course Development Course Production
Needs assessmet Arranging topics Editi ng
Defining objectives Unit outlines Layout
Resource analysis Course writing guides Printing
Resource selection Decision about writers Despatch
Development and trial Writing texts Revision
Self and external
evaluation
Feedback

Important issue to be kept in mind while developing SLM is instructional
decisions likebook - audio visual - practical combinations. Depending
upon the ODL course requirements, decisions about to what extent
material would be delivered through book/print mode defines cove rage
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148

(Source: Harichandan, 2008: 56)
Graph 9.1 Stages of Course Material Production
Graph 9.1 illustrates the stages of course material production by the course
team as suggested by Harichandan (2008) which clearly indic ates the
process for making of SLM.
Assuming that decisions have been made and you are asked to create SLM
than the steps in writing of course material will be as follows.
 Structure of the unit is the first thing you should make. It should
include teaching topics/learning tasks.
 Introduction of the unit links the learner to the previous units and it is
like the ‘good morning’ sign by the teacher in the face -to-face
classroom. Introduction has structural, themetic and guidance
components.
 Objectives follows introduction which should be expressed in
behavioural terms. Ojectives guides the writer as well as learner and
also helps in devising assessment techniques.
 Main body of the unit will have sections and subsections. Concept
mapping, organizing the unit a nd presentation are integral part of any
unit. Activities and check your progress are essential elements mid -
way as you can examine yourself if you are on right track.
 Assessment in form of self -check questions, model answers or
possible answers, activitie s, exercises, assignments (essay -open,
project, practical questions, short answer questions, objective type
questions) need to be decided depending upon expected learning
outcome. The assignments can be teacher marked assignments
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149  The conclusion or ending of the unit demands recapitulation,
summary, reinformcement, besides glossary of terms, references and
bibliography, suggested reading and model/possible answers.
Once the unit is written by in -house or freelan ce writers, ODL institutions
undertakes process of production of print material. Revision of the SLM is
also an important area for keeping the course in tune with time. Many
institutes undertake peer assessment, trials and formative evaluations of
SLM prio r to producing them in large quantities. Decisions in terms of
page sizes, lay out, paper quality, proof reading, graphics and styling, and
so on would impact the final outcome in form of course material.
Check your progress - 2
How is developing of course is different from developing a SLM unit?
List down models and stages for both of them from the paragraphs you
have read so far.
9.5 CRITERIA OF EVALUATION OF SLM:
Evaluation is an essential process for any educational endevour. Ongoing
and term end evalua tion forms integral part of any academic programme.
While SLM has built -in ongoing evaluation component, evaluation of
SLM itself is also an essential process for the ODL institution.
If you read the characteristics and development of SLM in the previous
paragraphs, it in a way suggests you parameters for evalution of SLM.
Following issues can be kept in mind while evaluating SLM of any ODL
institute.
 Language: SLM has to be written in learner friendly language. While
the attempt is to communicate, the acad emic rigour can not be
compromised.
 Educational process: Any SLM has to define educational processes
and product clearly. The learner should be able to understand what is
expected out of him/her at the onset and at the end of educational
interaction throu gh SLM.
 Learner capabilities: ODL institute has to invest into examining and
maintaining academic standard of the course which is in tune with the
expected learner standards. If the course is ‘high’ level than the
learners might find it difficult and if it s low pitched than the learners
might loose interest and the institute may loose credibility.
 Delivery management: The role of SLM in the overall course needs
to be examined. If there are other instructional materials besides print
than the integration of all of them is an essential requirement at course
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150  Assessment and evaluation: SLM must constitute strategies to
monitor learner progress. SLM that lacks clarity in terms of learning
outcomes and achievements can not be of use to t he learner.
Kumar (2000) elaborates evaluation criteria for self instructional material
at length and provides two main categories for evaluation - academic and
physical. Physical aspects include printing -layout -get up, durability and
size of the book. Aca demic aspects cover selection -organisation -
presentation of content, language, illustrations, exercises and assignment.
Check your progress -3
1. Take any textbook chapter and try to convert it into SLM. What is
your experience? Share it in your contact sessio n.
9.6 LET US SUM UP
In this unit we have discussed : Self learning material which is learner
prespective. It is important for ODL system because it is self explanatory,
self motivatering & Self evaluating. The characteristics & development of
SLM is expla ined. Criterial of evaluation is also given. So now you can
also evaluate your self learning material.
9.7 UNIT END EXERCISE :
Q.1 What are the exiteria of evaluation of SLM? Give your comments on
any of your SLM on the basis of the criteria of evaluation.
Q.2 What is SLM? How it is different from textbook? Explain the stages
of development of course in SLM.
References:
 Harichandan D (2008) Manual on Self Instructional Material,
Institute of Distance Education, University of Mumbai, Mumbai.
 IGNOU (2008) Man ual for Course Writers, Staff Training and
Research Institute of Distance Education, Indira Gandhi National
Open University, New Delhi, July 2008.
 Kumar A (2000) Development of evalution criteria for Self -
instuctional materials for distance education, Jour nal of Distance
Education, V. VII (1), p.1 -29. URL:
http://cemca.org/disted/Kumar_Anil__0284.pdf accessed on April 1,
2011.
 Panda S and S Garg (2006) Models of course design and
development In Garg Suresh, V Venkaniah, Chambi Puranik and
Santosh Panda (20 06) Four decades of distance education in india,
Viva Books, New Delhi.
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151 10
LEARNER SUPPORT SYSTEM S (LSS)
Unit Structure
10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Need for the LSS in Distance Education
10.2.1 Characteristics of Distance Learners
10.2.2 Nature and Characteristics of Distance Education
10.2.3 Characteristics of Self -Learning Materials
10.3 Types of Support Services
10.4 Institutional arrangements for LSS
10.4.1 Offline Arrangements
10.4.2 Online Arrangements
10.4.3 Broadcasting Facilitates
10.5 Factors Affecting the Pro vision of Support Services
10.6 Let Us Sum Up
10.7 Unit End Exercise
10.0 OBJECTIVES
After working through this unit, you should be able to:
 explain learner support services;
 analyze characteristics of distance learners;
 discuss the significance of support services in DE settings;
 list various types of support services provided to learners.
10.1 INTRODUCTION
Learner support systems are the major components of distance education
(DE). Although support services are not compulsory to avail for all
learners but those who seek help from the institution in any form will be
treated as support services. DE institutions offer support services to
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152 require support services to understand the DE system and its various
functions starting with admission to certificate distribution. Support
services in many occasions stand to reduce learners’ isolation from the DE
institution. It encourages learners to go for life long learning. Support
services are broadly of two types; academic and non -academic. In the case
of academic, the services are provided only in teaching -learning domains
whereas, non -academic supports deal with learners’ personal problems,
updation of information about the institution, and any changes of the
institutional functions. Academic support assists learners to develop their
cognitive, intellectual, and knowledge on a set of courses. Non -academic
support which is ordinarily known as ‘counselling’ deals with the affective
and organizational aspe cts of learners’ studies.
This unit explains you why learners need support services from DE
institutions and how they are benefited from these services in their
learning activities. Further, it analyzes why support services are not
compulsory to all learne rs. Expositions to various support services
provided to distance learners by the DE institutions across the countries
are highlighted.
Support services are offered to learners because they are of three types.
First, those who join in the DE institution aft er a long gap of their
academic studies due to some or other reasons. Second, those who wish to
complete a set of courses/ programme while doing their job, may be in a
distant place. Third, those who passed from face -to-face educational
institutions and jo in in the DE institutions for their higher studies. In either
of these cases not even a single learner is quite familiar with DE
institutions to its full form, and may not be knowing the patterns of
education that DE institution provides to its learners. H ence, learner
support services are offered to learners to avail and understand the various
operational activities, assessment and evaluation procedures of the DE
institution.
10.2 NEED FOR THE LSS IN DISTANCE EDUCATION
The term DE is defined in many ways but the essence remains same, i.e.
“variety of education programmes and activities…..(where) the learner
and teacher are physically separate but…. efforts are made…. to overcome
this separation using a variety of media” (Belanger, F. & Jordan, D.H.,
2000, P.8). Since this is a true fact and universally accepted phenomenon,
it implies learners need support services desparately and it is not
superfluous to consider support service is the principal element in the
Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system.
There are plenty of reasons why learners require support services from the
DE institutions. A few are listed below out of many.
i) learners are new to DE institutions
ii) learners are having different geographical and educational
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153 iii) learners have other resp onsibilities besides pursuing courses in DE
institutions
iv) learners are not meeting their peer groups often as it is found in F -2-F
educational institutions
v) learners are interested to study at their own time and space
independently but needs some supports in between of their studies
vi) so on and so forth. You may add a few more.
But all these factors listed above and those yet to be added further devised
into three main categories. These are;
a) Practical reasons for learners support
b) Theoretical reasons for learne rs support
c) Moral reasons for learners support
Practical reasons for learners support
The uniqueness of distance learning demands learner support services in
an urgent manner. This is so because when learners took admission in the
DE institutions they find themselves in an unfamiliar situation, where
there are no teachers who can teach them directly as they had been availed
in the classroom situations of face -to-face educational institutions. Further,
they are expected to work independently on the self learn ing materials
or/and online courses in the absence of a teacher. Some of the learners
astonished and cannot gather confidence on their capacity to learn through
unfamiliar learning packages (i.e. self learning print materials) that are
sent to them.
In add ition to these, learners’ retention in DE institutions are become a
crucial issue for all DE institutions/universities across the globe. This is so
because, their dropout rate in DE courses are higher than the face -to-face
educational institutions because of various reasons (academic, non -
academic, or both) which we will discuss later in this unit. These are some
reasons seek supports badly from the Open and Distance Learning system.
Theoretical reasons for learners support
One among the theoretical reasons required for support services is
learners’ isolation from distance educational institutions. They do not only
feel isolate from the institution, but also from their peer groups, and
teachers. Thus, studying through ODL is really an isolated experience for
them. Lack of academic socialization often brings reluctance to continue
the opted courses till the end. So in this case, to remove isolation from
learners and establish an amicable healthy study atmosphere, DE
institution should do the induction programm e immediately after their
admission in the courses. They need to familiarize the DE functions and
its various operational aspects. They need to be guided towards the self munotes.in

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154 directed learning materials, the instructional package, and examination
pattern. In t hese ways learners receive supports from the DE institutions.
Moral reasons for learners support Morality becomes a crucial issue in all fields and methods of study. It is always seen as a prescription rather than description in any contexts.
In teaching learning domai n at global and distance learning in particular
experiencing ethical difficulties of learners are eternal and ubiquitous. For
example, there are learners who fall in difficulties like divorce, marriage
ceremony, death of a kin, illness, etc.. In these case s learners are
struggling for the intellectual demand of a course. To help those learners
sometimes institutions need to facilitate them with some sorts of
counselling sessions, and give them flexibility to complete their courses as
per the institutions no rms and conditions. In this regard, it is demanded
that every DE institution should have clear guidelines, policies, and
procedures to help these learners in this juncture.
From the above analyses it is asserted that learners in DE need support
services fo r various reasons stated above. However, it is important to note
that due to the characteristics of distance learners they even seek support
services from the DE institutions/ universities.
10.2.1 Characteristics of Distance Learners
To identify the chara cteristics of distance learners we must distinguish
them from F -2-F educational institutions. The differences lead to suggest
who are the distance learners and what are their characteristics.
(Table 1) Learners: F -2-F vs. DE institutions
F-2-F educational Institutions Distance educational institution










i) Learning is a full time and
major activity
ii) The lea rner performs one role,
i.e. learning from the
institutions/universities
iii) Member of one organization,
i.e. one educational institution
iv) Learners must have a particular
age group
v) Learners can have often peer
group interaction
vi) Learners have easy access to the
institutional resources (e.g.
library, computer lab, science
laboratory, etc)
vii) Etc.
a) Learning is a part time activity
b) Learner performs many roles, e.g.
in the office as an officer, social
being, club member, family
member, etc.
c) Member of many organiza tions,
such as, family, work place, etc.
d) Learners are adult in majority
without belonging to a particular
age group
e) Peer group interaction does not
happen in frequent
f) Learners stay at a distance, hence
no direct access to institutional
resources
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155 A learner in the F -2-F educational institution has to attend classes
regularly whereas a distance learner devotes his/her studies in part time
basis. Distance learners in most of the cases returned to their studies after
a long gap. They belong to many institutions such as; work place, home,
club, social services, etc. but a F -2-F learner is not bounded with all these
commitments. In face -to-face situation s(he) identif ies himself/herself as
belongs to a particular educational institution where he/she is pursuing
his/her studies. Thus, a F -2-F learner often interact with their peer groups,
teachers and use the institutional resources regularly whereas, a distance
learne r is one, since residing in a distance place, deprive from all these
facilities --though not in the complete sense.
There are different categories of learners opt for distance education. They
are;
a) those who could not go for higher education just after scho oling but
wish to pursue higher education at a later stage
b) those who had higher education sometimes back but want to
continue their education to enhance their knowledge
c) those who have discontinued their studies for some or other reasons
in the past but rea lize to continue further
d) those who want to make their learning should be a perennial or
lifelong one
e) those who are having social, economic, and geographical barriers to
attend the regular classes of F -2-F educational institutions
f) those who wish to continue their studies in parallel with their daily
commitments and responsibility, e.g. office, home works, etc.
g) those who cannot attend the regular classes due to some physical
constraints, e.g. physically challenged learner.
The above descriptions are reflec ted the nature and characteristics of
distance learners. But most importantly these learners are divided into
three categories. The first category refers to those learners who have
confidence in their ability to carry forward their studies independently
without seeking any assistance from others. They think that they do not
require any counselling session till completion of their programme.
However, it is observed that just having confidence in their ability to
achieve success without the help of a counsell or need not necessarily lead
to success. At a later period, in spite of being very confident in their
abilities and capabilities may require help. DE system even arranged
timely help for them when they require. What sorts of support services DE
institutio ns provide to the learners will be discussed in the later part of this
unit.
Learners belong to second category in true sense require help from the
institutions in various forms. Such as; they expect someone who can guide
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156 continue their studies, gather confidence in them, etc. In precise, they need
similar kind of F -2-F situation, if not exactly the same. They seek a
platform where they can share their problems with the counselor and
receive help directly from him/her. Further, they wish someone’s regular
guidance to retain them in their own courses and help them to complete
their programme within the stipulated time prescribed by the DE
institutions.
The third categories of learners are those who placed themselves between
first and second category. They are basically observatory type learners,
who do not have much query regarding their studies and personal
problems. But if they encounter with certain unavoidable problems and
face some ab surd situations, they do not hesitate to interact with their
counselor as well as their peer groups and seek the proper guidance to
overcome these problems.
According to Simpson (2000) to be a distance learner, one needs the
following abilities.
Intellig ence: Ability to deal with job pressures
Numeracy: Ability to handle demands of family
Literacy: Ability to manage the paper work
Motivation: Ability to create a good study environment
Seek Assistance: Ability to prioritize amongst study demands
Self-confidence: Ability to accept constructive criticism
Exam anxiety: Ability to handle stress of being assessed
Check your progress - I
Who a re distance learners?
10.2.2 Nature and Characteristics of Distance Education
The term ‘distance education’ is known in different names, such as;
correspondence education, open learning, home study, off -campus based
study, flexible learning, resource based learning, etc. (Lockwood &
Gooley, 2000). But all these names are compressed and further divided
into three major divisions. These are; correspondence education, distance
education, and open learning.
Correspondence education: This is a teaching -learnin g situation where
learners are found in a distant place, there were no face -to-face interaction
existing between teachers and learners. Learners receive the study
materials from the institutions through postal services. In this case, print is
the only medi um of instruction and printed lessons are the only source for
the learner to learn. See the graphical presentation of picture 01.
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157









Distance education: In this case, learners are staying in distance places
and continue their programme of studies in Distance Education (DE)
institutions. It is teaching -learning situations where along with print
medium various technological media are used to deliver study contents to
learners. These media are; radio, television, telephone, audio and video
cassettes, computer, mobile, and may be a few other electronic media. In
this situation, two -way interaction takes place between learners and tutors
both in synchronous and asynchronous forms because of the media
intervention. Learner support services play a major role in this situation.
See the graphical presentation of picture 02

Open Learning: Open learning is a philosophy rather than a method of
distance learning. On the account of Perraton (1997), “Open learning as an
organ ized educational activity, based on the use of teaching materials, in
which constraints on study are minimized either in terms of access, or of
time and place, methods of study or any combination of these”. As it is a Institution Teaching
material Learner Learner
support service s
Picture 02: Distance Education Institution Teaching
material Learner
Picture -01: Correspondence Education
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158 philosophy in its approach, it suggest s removal of the barriers and
restrictions from learners in contrast to the conventional educational setup.
Open learning is opening up learning opportunities to a wider range of
people and enabling them to learn more efficiently, effectively and
productiv ely.
There are some relaxations found in DE in relation to learners’ admission
in the programmes/courses, age and qualifications, place and duration of
study, selection of courses and examination patterns. There is no upper
age limit to take admission in programmes except a few professional
programmes, such as Nursing, Engineering, etc. There is no higher
percentage of marks required to enroll in a particular DE programme as
like in F -2-F educational institutions. Regarding place and time of study is
learn er dependent instead of teacher guided. Since DE institutions offer
plenty of courses by assessing learners demand in the educational market,
they can choose any of the courses that suits them. Thus, they are not
forced to take a course along with another course which is of not their
interest. They can choose the courses of studies according to their desires
and preferences. At present state, there are various evaluation patterns
available on an offered programe by the DE institutions. For example; ‘on -
demand examination’ where learners can ask the Institution to appear for
the examination of his/her programme at any time. ‘Online examination’
is also available to the learners where they can sit at their home with all
the necessary technological equipments and can appear the examinations.
Hence, writing examination on papers is not the only way to appear the
examination and receive the certificate. With these features open learning
is familiarized among learners across the globe. See the graphical
presentati on of picture 03.


















Institution Teaching
material Learner
Learner
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159 10.2.3 Characteristics of Self -Learning Materials
One among the other reasons for the need of learner support services is
characteristics of self - learning materials (SLMs). Some learners may not
familiarize with SLMs, hence the learning packages that they receive from
the DE institutions are surprised for them and often creates tension to
them. Some of them may find it difficult to handle the SLMs which are
enabled with activities, and assignments. To treat the SLMS as it is
expected, learners require study skills, and these can be provided through
human and technological support.
Although it is practised that SLMs are prepared by inserting teacher in the
texts in order to generate classroom situation for the learners, but it has its
own limitation which can not be ruled out. The limitations arise may be
because of involvement of various people to contribute the units for a
programme, may be problem lies with the content editor, instructional
designer, curriculum planer, and so on. Since limitations cannot be
denied, therefore SLMs alone cannot serve learners to study independently
without some supports from the counsellors and the institutions. Hence,
learner support services are the indispensible com ponents in the distance
learning scenario.
Just by reading the SLMs learners may feel bore and in many times while
studying the subject contents they may come up with some ideas and a
few questions. Until unless these questions are answered and ideas are
shared with others they may perplex and perturb in their mind. As a result,
they could not concentrate in their studies, disorient from their subject of
studies, and feel isolation from the institutions. In many occasions, they
find themselves alone. These circumstances are further demanded support
services to learners as and when they require while pursuing their
programme in DE institutions.
Check your progress - II
1. What is open learning?
10.3 TYPES OF SUPPORT SERVICES
There are two types of support se rvices available to distance learners.
 Academic support services, and
 Non-academic (administrative) support services.
Academic supports are concerned with the subject of study and the issues
related to academic matter. For example, how to write assignment -
responses, is it necessary to do all the self assessment questions while
studying the unit, etc. Administrative support on the other hand seeks
update information on institutions, institutional arrangements, examination
procedures, admission fees, etc. L et us discuss these two types of supports
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160 Academic Support
Academic supports are indispensible for distance learners in distance
learning settings. These supports are provided to learners in different
stages of their studies. These stages are;
 Pre-entry stage
 Entry to the course
 During the course
 Examination
 Post-course stage
Pre-entry stage : In this stage, learners in majority are not clear
themselves what they want to do. Hence, they need the guidance about the
courses offered by t he institutions, entry requirements, application
procedures, a little bit about the institution, fees for different programmes,
distance education teaching -learning procedures, the recognition of their
degrees, and the employment opportunities after comple tion of the
programme.
Entry to the course: After receiving the study materials in packets from
the DE institutions on his/her subject of studies, a learner needs further
help to know how to read the Blocks, what is to be done with these units,
the date o f submission of assignment responses, addresses of the nearest
study centre, how many assignment responses have to submit and where,
how to manage the study time to complete the programme, etc. For the
clarification of all these issues, a learner desperat ely looks for support
services. All these information for which a learner wants support services
are available in the programme guide which is also been sent to the
learner along with the study materials to their communicational addresses.
Thus, it is stat ed that though the programme guide is meant for
counselling purposes yet learners need induction programme to
understand the issues pertaining to academic domain.
During the course: It is always an anxiety for a learner to know his/her
academic progresses . Thus, he/she may expect the grade and tutor -
comments on his/her assignment responses. Thus, it is suggested that a
good tutor is one who motivates, guides and instructs learners for the
benefit of their learning activities. A tutor should not discourage and
disorient learners. Sometimes learners fail to understand the subject
content; hence they interact with the counselors for correct guidance. In
many cases, learners are encountered with some unavoidable problems,
and thus some of the academic activitie s get delayed, e.g. late submission
of assignment responses. In this regard, they need the advice from the
counsellor. In short, learners may want to discuss about their progress,
assignment grades, field visits, seminars, practical results, strategies of learning from media, and so on with the counsellor. munotes.in

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161 Examination : In this s tage, learners do not only seek the information
regarding their dates of examinations, information about the hours of
examination, but also the revision processes and the methods to prepare
for the examination. Some learners ask for revision strategies and even
requested the counsellor to conduct a demo examination. In this situation,
a counsellor explains the ways of organizing revisions, question types and
answering strategies which prove successful at examination.
Post-course stage : After the completion of their programmes and even
after receiving the certificates still learners need support services from the
institution. Their query remains in this directions ---they seek advice on
their educational career and what will they do next. In this situation, a n
academic counsellor should guide the learner in correct path by asking on
his/her needs, abilities, and aspirations for future. Thus, learner support
never ends with the examination only, it lingers much after the
examination, and this is known as ‘pre -course stage counseling’.
Check your progress - III
1. What are the support services required by a distance learner in the time
of examination?
Administrative Support:
The nature of this support is of providing update and correct information
and advice to the desired learners about any aspects of their studies.
Administrative supports are demanded by the learners because of the rapid
development in various academic programmes, fast expansion of the
institutions, practices of new initiatives, and so on. With a ll these
activities at one stretch there may be situations where earlier practices are
drastically changed and these information have not communicated to
learners because of some or other reasons. There are learners who are even
confused to locate a partic ular information in the institution WebPages.
Hence, not to refrain from correct information learners keep themselves
update in DE context, and in particular to their programme of study. There
are three features figuring out when we discuss administrative support to
distance learners. These are; informing, commending, and exploring.
Informing : It is the process of giving accurate, timely and appropriate
information to the learners about any aspects of their studies. For example,
‘on-demand’ examination is available round the year in your programme.
So if you wish you can ask at anytime to the institution.
Commending : While informing a learner on a particular issue, you may
give enough guidance - but one should be most appropriate for him/her.
For example, a learner asked to his counsellor, I would like to do Master
in Business Administration (MBA) because I am doing marketing in a
small scale industry. Can you help me what course I should prefer? In this
situation the counsellor may inform all the courses av ailable in the MBA
programme. But certainly suggest him that it would be better if you
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162 you will be benefited from this course immensely in comparison to other
courses.
Exploring : It is the process of helping learners by clarifying the options
open to them in which a way to enable them to come to a decision for
themselves. For example; I am sorry to hear of your parents’ accident.
Let’s talk it through and see whether it’s best to canc el the examination
now or carry on with the tasks.
10.4 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR LSS
Institutional arrangement for learner support services are broadly
categorized into three sorts. These are; offline arrangements, online
arrangements, and broadcasti ng facilities. Since distance learners are
heterogeneous in character and scattered across the globe, depending on
their geographic, economic, and social conditions, they can avail support
services from the institutions from the below mentioned modes which ever
is convenient and comfortable for them.
10.4.1 Offline Arrangements
Offline arrangements for learners’ supports are listed below; those are
regulated by DE institutions.
 Headquarters
 Regional centers
 Study centers
 Sub-study centers
 Programme study c enters
 Work centers
 Information cell
 Counselling by letter
 Counselling by handbook
 Counselling by audio and video cassettes
DE institutions do not require a huge campus for catering education to
mass population in a country in contrast to F -2-F educational
institutions/universities. This is so because learners in DE are taking
admission by staying at different parts of the countries. They are
independent and autonomous learners, hence they do not require to attend
the regular classes as it is practised in t he F-2-F situations. But certainly
they need some support services for their academic activities, and make
availability of these facilities DE institutions open its ‘Regional Centers’
and ‘Study Centers’ in various suitable places of a country. Learners ca n munotes.in

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163 receive counselling (both academic and non -academic matters) at the
study centers. They can submit their assignment responses and get
feedback of their assignment responses for improving their study. They
can access the library available at study centre. Besides these facilities,
they can watch teleconferencing sessions regularly on their programmes.
They can also interact with their peer groups and may resolve some of the
problems pertaining to their study.
At the regional centre, learners can take admis sion and receive their study
materials. They can get update and correct information regarding their
studies and institutional changes. A few seminars conducted there for the
benefit of learners. Once learners registered in DE institutions, Regional
centers of their areas organize ‘induction’ and ‘orientation’ programme for
them. These programmes help learners to understand the methods of DE
and its various functional subsystems. Learners turn to their respective
regional centers for their practical works wh ich is an element of their
programme of studies. These sorts of infrastructural facilities institutions
provide to the learners.
Apart from these facilities, learners also avail the support services from
the sub -study centers, programme study centre, work -centre, special study
centre, information cell. A sub-study center is sometimes established
within the area covered by a regular study centre. It provides academic
supports to those learners who cannot conveniently avail to receive such
facilities at regu lar study centers. Thus, the sub -study centers remain
attached to the regular study center and functions as a part of it.
IGNOU has established programme study centers for some of its
programmes, such as, engineering, health sciences, etc. to facilitate
support services to learners. In these centers intensive practical works are
carried out. In the work center basically the focus is on the practical
components of the programme, and these are to be practiced there.
Practical/field sessions are held in the w ork centers. Special study centers
are located in the institution dedicated to the cause of a given
disadvantaged group. IGNOU keeping in mind the learners’ requirement
opened an ‘information cell’ located at the headquarters at New Delhi. It
provides furt her information if any problem remains at any stage of their
study activities, they can come to the headquarters and receive the update
information on their query.
Apart from these services, learners can also available a few more offline
supports from the institutions. These are; F -2-F counselling, group
counselling, counselling by handbook, and counselling by letter. Let us
briefly discuss about all these services. In F -2-F counselling situations,
there are interactions take place between a counsellor and a learner. But in
group counselling, more than two learners should present at one room.
They introduce themselves and discuss a subject content issue in the
presence of a counsellor. Counsellor regulates them if their discussions are
not focused on the pr e decided issue.
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164 Many DE institutions across the country have developed counselling
materials in handbook form. These handbooks are usually aimed to
learners at particular points in their careers. For example, the text from
UKOU ‘Taking Off’ is designed for pre -entry learners and there is a
similar text called ‘Balling Out’ for learners who are withdrawing from
the course. The good practice of DE institutions is to send the programme
guide/ handbook along with the study materials to the learners. If a lea rner
goes through the handbook he/she may not require any additional support
to understand the programme of his/her study. These handbooks are often
written in an interactive style with encouragement to learners in their
studies. Counseling by letter is an interactive method of support services
via post construed by the counsellor and a learner. In this case, learner
writes his/her query and send to the counsellor and counsellor send back to
the learner with proper advice/suggestions.
One of the offline arr angements for supporting learners may be considered
as counselling by audio and video cassettes. Along with study materials
learners are also receiving audio and/or video cassettes for the extra
support in their programmes. If they bored by just reading th e printed
materials these arrangements can help them not to disorient in their
studies. They can even listen from audio cassettes at any time and also
view the video disks as and when they wish for.
Check your progress - IV
1. List the offline arrangement s upport services provide to distance
learners by DE institutions.
10.4.2 Online Arrangements
Listed below the ‘online arrangements’ made by the DE institutions to
provide support services to learners.
 Counselling through internet
 Counselling by interactiv e video disk
 Use of mobile devices
 Counseling by telephone
Today’s world is the technology world. There are no such situations where
technology has not yet intervened. Somehow or other technology plays a
major role even in DE setup. The internet as a coun selling tool for distance
education programmes is largely popularized among majority of learners.
However, the internet service requires the basic setup, such as computer,
internet connection, etc. Due to the global market competition computer
parts are av ailable at affordable prices. Thus, learners at large number
prefer to use internet to remain update themselves in all contexts of their
studies, and thereby day -to-day activities.
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165 Internet based counselling for distance learners are caused due to the
following tools.
E-mail : It is a medium provide both synchronous and asynchronous
communication between and/or among learners and counsellors. Instead of
writing letters to the counsellor and waiting for the reply for the long time,
learners can communicate to them their query and may receive the
response immediately without a long waiting. This tool helps learners to
receive the feedback on their assignment responses. Learners those are
‘shy’ and ‘quite’ nature are able to communicate to the counsellor in a
comfortable and private atmosphere.
World Wide Web (www): This tool can be used to collect and
accumulate all the relevant study materials for the learners. It gives the
facilities to upload and download the texts, programme guide books, slide
shows, lec ture presentations through You Tube, etc.. It is used basically
for one -to-many correspondence, i.e. a counselor can guide more than one
learner at a time. Learners can ask frequent question by using this facility.
They can even upload the update informati on for their peer groups.
Online Discussion : This facility allows learners to interact with the
counsellor at different terminals. Counsellor can announce the contact
time much in advance, and learners can log on in that time and discuss the
questions amon g the peer groups. Counsellor acts as a chair person to
moderate the discussions take place among learners. It is known in bulletin
board systems as the ‘chat room’ which facilitates one -to-one and one -to-
many conversation respectively.
Virtual Conferenci ng: This is a platform where many -to-many
communication is possible. In other words, group interaction is organized
by using this tool in the DE institutions. In this case, counsellor and
learners present at their own places. Through computer networks they can
connect with each other, but the necessity is a camera and that should be
attached to the computer. Once the setup is made, all the participants can
be seen on the monitor whenever and who ever they log in. They can hear
voices from others and can put their opinion in voice form. In this way
learners can take the advantage of online facilities provided by the DE
institutions.
Learners can use interactive video disk for their support services. In these
disks all the relevant information which are suppo sed to be required are
feeded in it. Hence, opening in a computer it guides a learner in the correct
directions and tells the processes these need to follow for a particular
purpose, let’s say, preparing for the assignment responses. Mobile devices
are use d for support services, where all the update information and
necessary changes made either in their programme or administrative
standpoint, it is informed to them through SMS or MMS provided learner
should registered their mobile numbers while taking admis sion in the DE
programme. Sometimes if the date of a particular even is postponed, it is
informed to the learners through SMS. Telephonic counselling is still
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166 this case, learners can directly ring to their counsellor or concerned person
to clarify his/her doubts, queries. Thus, it is helpful for learners to receive
immediate response without any further delay.
10.4.3 Broadcasting Facilitates
Learners also avail the broadcasting faci lities from the institutions in the
form of support services. These facilities are;
a) Interactive radio counseling
b) Teleconferencing
c) Gyanvani
d) Educational channel ‘Gyan Darshan’
DE institutions are arranged these facilities for learners to avail the
support se rvices in their academic studies. Interactive phone in counseling
through All India Radio (AIR) started in May 1998 at Bhopal, in India. In
this case, the subject experts remain present in the AIR studio at prefixed
hours, the learners can ask questions by dialing the desired numbers of the
studio from their end, and experts answer these questions through online
which can be heard by other listeners. In this way the live interaction takes
place between the counsellor and the learners. The purpose of
telecon ferencing is to provide academic support to the learners scattered
all over the country. Subject experts make presentation at the video studio
at a prefixed schedule while learners remain present at their location to
watch these sessions. Learners can see the experts on a TV screen and
interact with them through telephone. Gyan Vani is an educational FM
Radio network operating through several FM stations in India. The main
purpose for providing this facility is to support learners in their studies
when they are far away from the institution. They can listen the radio at
their own leisure time and understand the study content delivered through
Radio. Gyan Darshan is an educational TV Channel launched in January
26, 2000 in India for the benefit of large segme nts of economic and
geographical deprived learners. Indira Gandhai National Open University
(IGNOU) is the nodal agency for Gyan Darshan - which in effect is a
cooperative venture involving host institutions and other organizations.
This channel brings into learners’ home interactive lessons in various
subject matters like, mathematics, English, computer, and so on. It
includes programmes for elders as well as for school children. In these
ways DE institutions/universities arrange support services for the le arners.
10.5 FACTORS AFFECTING THE PROVISION OF
SUPPORT SERVICES
There is no fixed pattern of support services found in DE
institutions/universities across the countries. This is so because to provide
support services or to facilitate support services to distance learners as and
when they required is altogether a challenging tasks. In DE, there are
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167 programmes, learners seek different types of support services, for
example; Master Degree in Library science programme certainly differs
from Master of Arts in Hindi Programme, again it differs from Computer
Application programme. Hence, according to the nature of programme the
support services get differ. In addition to these factors, distanc e learners
are heterogeneous in character and in most cases it is found that there is a
mass enrollment in an academic programme. Thus, providing support
services on time to all those learners require; the aims and resources of the
organization, the instru ctional package employed, the delivery form, the
target learners and their socio -economic educational culture, their
geographical situations, etc.. All these factors are responsible to contribute
to the development of learner support services systems. This further adds
to the media intervention in support services by claiming that availability
and accessibility of media in learners end is an important factor to benefit
form media services offered by the institutions to the learners.
10.6 LET US SUM UP
Support services are provided to learners because they are heterogeneous
in character and stay at distance from the institution. Learners in DE
institutions are of three types. First, those who join in the DE institution
after a long gap of their academic stu dies due to some or other reasons.
Second, those who wish to complete courses/ programme while doing
their job, may be in a distant place. Third, those who passed from face -to-
face educational institutions and join in the DE institutions for their higher
studies. In either of these cases not even a single learner is quite familiar
with DE institutions to its full form, and may not know the patterns of
education DE institution provides to its learners. Hence, learner support
services are the most crucial com ponents to assist learners to pursue their
studies and to retain them in DE institutions.
There are plenty of reasons why learners require support services from the
DE institutions. A few are listed below out of many.
a) learners are new to DE institution s
b) they are having different geographical and educational backgrounds
c) they have other responsibilities besides pursuing courses in DE
institutions
d) they do not meet their peer groups often in contrast to F -2-F
educational institutions
e) they ar e interested in studying at their own time independently but
needs some helps in between of their studies
f) you may add a few more reasons for the above mentioned purpose.
Different categories of learners opt for distance education. They are;
i) those who could not go for higher education just after schooling
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168 ii) those who had higher education sometimes back but want to continue
their education to enhance their knowledge
iii) those who had discontinued their studies for some or other reasons in
the past but realize to continue further
iv) those who want to make their learning should be a life long one
v) those are having social, economic, and geographical barriers to attend
the regular classes of F -2-F educational in stitutions
vi) those who wish to continue their studies in parallel with their daily
routine, e.g. office, home works, etc.
vii) those who cannot attend the regular classes due to some physical
constraints, e.g. physically challenged people.
According to Simpson (2 000) to be a distance learner, one needs the
following abilities.
Intelligence: Ability to deal with job pressures
Numeracy: Ability to handle demands of family
Literacy: Ability to manage th e paper work
Motivation: Ability to create a good study environment
Seek Assistance: Ability to prioritize amongst study demands
Self-confidence: Ability to accept constructive criticism
Exam anxiety: Ability to handle stress of being assessed
Academic Support
Academic supports are indispensible for distance learners in distance
learning settings. These supports are provided to learners in different
stages of their studies. These stages are;
 Pre-entry stage
 Entry to the course
 During the course
 Examination
 Post-course stage
Offline arrangements for learner supports are listed below, those are
regulated by DE institutions.
 Headquarters
 Regional centers
 Study centers
 Sub-study centers
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169  Work centers
 Information cell
 Counselling by letter
 Counselling by handbook
 Counselling by audio and video cassettes
In the DE institutions, the following ‘online arrangements’ are provided to
learners for their support services;
 Counselling through i nternet
 Counselling by interactive video disk
 Use of mobile devices
 Counselling by telephone
Learners also avail the broadcasting facilities from the DE
institutions/universities. These facilities are;
j) Interactive radio counselling
k) Teleconferencing
l) Gyanva ni
m) Educational channel ‘Gyan Darshan’
Providing support services on time to learners depends on these factors;
the aims and resources of the organization, the instructional package
employed, the delivery form, the target learners and their socio -economic
educational culture, their geographical situations, etc.. All these factors are
responsible to contribute to the development of learner support services
systems in a DE institution/university.
Check Your Progress: Possible Answers
Answer 1:
Distance learner s are those;
h) who could not go for higher education just after schooling but wish to
pursue higher education at a later stage
i) who had higher education sometimes back but want to continue their
education to enhancement their knowledge
j) who have discontinued t heir studies for some or other reasons but
realize to continue further
k) who want to make their learning should be a perennial one
l) having social, economic, and geographical barriers to attend the
regular classes of F -2-F educational institutions munotes.in

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170 m) who wish to continue their studies in parallel with their daily routine,
e.g. office, home works, etc.
n) who cannot attend the regular classes due to some physical constraints,
e.g. physically challenged people.
Answer 2:
Open learning is a philosophy rather than a meth od of distance learning.
On the account of Perraton (1997), “Open learning as an organized
educational activity, based on the use of teaching materials, in which
constraints on study are minimized either in terms of access, or of time
and place, methods of study or any combination of these”. As it is a
philosophy in its approach, it suggests removal of the barriers and
restrictions placed on learners as often found in conventional educational
setup, opening up learning opportunities to a wider range of peop le, and
enabling them to learn more efficiently, effectively and productively.
Answer 3:
In the time of examination, learners do not only seek the information
regarding their dates of examination, information about the hours of
examination, but also the r evision processes and methods to prepare for
the examination. Some learners ask for revision strategies and even
requested the counsellor to conduct a demo examination to remove the
examination fear from them. In this case, a counsellor explains the ways o f
revising study materials, inform them question types and answering
strategies which help them to do well in the examinations.
Answer 4:
Offline arrangements for learner supports are listed below, those are
operated by DE institutions.
 Headquarters
 Regio nal centers
 Study centers
 Sub-study centers
 Programme study centers
 Work centers
 Information cell
 Counselling by letter
 Counselling by handbook
 Counselling by audio and video cassettes

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171 10.7 UNIT END EXERCISE
Q.1 What is LSS? Explain it’s need in distance education.
Q.2 What are the different types of support services? Explain the non -
academic support services need for the distant learner.
Q.3 Write short notes :
1) WWW
2) Virtual conferencing
3) Factors affecting support services.
References and Sugges ted Readings
1. Belanger, F. & Jordan, D.H. (2000) Evaluation and Implementation of
Distance Learning: Technologies, Tools and Techniques , London:
Idea Group Publishing
2. Freeman, R.(1997) Managing Open Systems , London: Kogan Page
Limited
3. Harichandan, D. (2009) Distance Education and Student Support
Services, Bombay: Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd.
4. Lockwood, F. and Gooley, A. (eds.) (2000) Innovation in Open and
Distance Learning, London: Kogan Page Limited
5. Perraton, H. (1997) International research in open and distance
learning: report of a feasibility study, Cambridge: International
Research Foundation for Open Learning
6. Simpson, O. (2000) Supporting Students in Open and Distance
Learning . London: Kogan Page Limited
7. Simpson, O. (2002) Supporting Students in Online, Open and Distance
Learning , London: Kogan Page Limited



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172 11
PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF ODL
Unit Structure
11.0 Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Institutional Mechanism of ODL
11.3 Role of Distance Teacher In Distance Learning
11.4 Emerging profile of a Distance Teacher
11.5 Unit End Ex ercise
11.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit deals with the concept of meaning of Planning and Manag ement
of ODL and hence by the end of the unit you will be able to:
 Explain the meaning of Planning and Mana gement of ODL
 Explain the Institutional Mechanism of ODL
 Define Role of distance teacher in distance learning
11.1 INTRODUC TION
Open and distance learning (ODL) refers to a combination of two
approaches that share a common aim of expanding access to education
(Freeman, 2004: 6–7). Planning provides a framework or structure to
guide decision-making and offers the oppo rtunity to challenge
existing paradigms – to look beyond the constraints of the current
situation and imagine how things might be. Planning challenges
stakeholders to be creative in devising ways to achieve your vision and
links the activities to b roader goals in national development plans.
Planning focuses on the issue of sustainability and provides the
information needed to prepare funding proposals and helps to ensure that
institutions are meeting the needs of learners. Planning forms the basis for
assessing institution’s achievements and ensuring that it is accountable
both internally and externally.
Regardless of the size of the programme, unit, or institution unde rtaking
development and implementation of an open and distance learning
system, the following functions must occur at some level. Valuable
considerations in relation to each open and distance learning task are
listed in the following.
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173 Obtaining and Managing Money and Other Resources
 Grant-sustained, cost recovery (self-financing);
 Higher development and start-up costs; and
 Human support relatively expensive component.
Developing or Acquiring Programmes and Courses
 Considerable development time required for full-scale
development and production;
 Buying or leasing courses from other open and distance learning
providers may be
 More effective use of resources; and
 Continuum of approaches, from single author to large teams of
specialists.
Recruiting and Promoting
 Analyze and assess the needs of your prospective learner
populations;
 Make information available at right place and time;
 Provide sufficient accurate information about time, cost, effort
required;
 Provide sufficient accurate information about when, where, and
how to get
 Involved; and
 Reassure potential learners about legitimacy and credibility.
Physically Producing, Reproducing, S toring, and Disseminating
Materials
 Course materials requirements may demand print, audio, video, or
computer Software;
 Dissemination may require post, courier, transport
companies, telecommunications, Broadcasts, satellites;
 Physical production and reproduction time consuming; and
 Specialised equipment and personnel required for storage,
handling, packaging, Dispatch, inventory.

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174 Enrolling and Registering
 Process varies from simple manual lists to complex
electronic systems;
 Fixed or rolling entrance dates; and
 Range of delivery options available.
Delivering Programmes and Courses
 Two-way communication required;
 Evaluation and feedba ck;
 Collaboration with other agencies;
 Library services; and
 Record systems.
Providing Learner Support
 Personal support such as advice or counselling;
 Academic support such as tutoring, grading, and examining; and
 Face-to-face or mediated support.
Examining, Crediting, and Granting Credentials
 Range of credit options available;
 Exam taking and credit evaluation requirements; and
 Involvement of professional associations and external age ncies.
Evaluating and Revising Processes, Procedures, Programmes and
Courses
 Learner performance;
 Learner satisfaction;
 Meet ing goals and objectives; and
 Resistance to change.
Training and Developing Staff
 Orientation and adjustment to new technologies and approaches;
and awareness of advantages and limitations of open and distance
learning operations.
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175 11.2 INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM FOR ODL
Institutional mechanisms are the processes that facilitate decentralized
planning, implementation and mo nitoring. Each institution has its own
history and unique structure. The institutional
mechanism provides the required help to its learners in various
academic and administrative matters of the institution. The main objective
of such mechanisms would be to motivate learners, keep them on the
right track and encourage them to make use of the facilities provided by
the institute and above all to facilitate their learning. ODL institutions
may be established using one of the following legal forms:
 Part of a government ministry or depa rtment
 A unit attached to another educational institution
 A semi-autonomous institution, established by ministerial
regulations
 An autonom ous body, established by an act of parliament
 A non-profit entity (foundation, trust, voluntary association, etc.)
 A private company limited by shares (for profit)
 A public limited company (for profit)
Even when governments provide subsidies for this service, ODL
institutions rarely operate at a profit. For this reason, it is unusual
for ODL institutions at this level to be constituted as private or public
companies. In terms of their internal structures, ODL institutions are
organized in many different ways.
Rumble (1986: 15–17) proposes a simple model that looks at the
operations of ODL institutions in terms of four interrelated sub- systems.
The value of such a model is that it clearly identifies the main areas of
activity in any ODL institutions and defines the relationships between
them. It also sugge sts an analogy between a factory producing items for
consumption and the “quasi-industrial processes” of an ODL institution.
Just as in a factory, ODL involves the specialization of tasks and the
division of labour between different units. The four sub-systems in
Rumble’s model are illustrated in Figure 7.1 and described below:
 Materials sub-system: This includes all activities involved in
developing, reproducing and distributing self-instructional materials,
whether these are primarily print-based or involve other media.
 Student sub-system: Once learning mate rials have been
produced, responsibility for learners is passed over to the student
sub-system. This comprises all of the activities, staff and other
resources that are involved in facilitating learning by students and
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176  Logistical sub-system: The materials and student sub-
systems are supported by other units that procure and manage
resources for the institution. Those units which look after
finances, human resources and information and communications
technology constitute the logistical subsystem of any open school,
college or university.
 Regulatory sub-system: Finally, overall management and
guidance are the responsibility of the regulatory sub-system, which is
somet imes referred to as the “brains” of the institution. All activities
related to strategic planning, policy formulation and monitoring of
the institution’s performance in meeting its goals are part of this
sub-system.
SYSTEMS MODEL OF AN ODL INSTITUTION Figure 7.1

Many ODL institutions have replicated the sub-systems of Rumble’s
model in their internal organisational structures. This means that they
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177  Materials development, production and distribution;
 Learner suppo rt services
 Logistics
 Manag ement and governance
The boun daries between these units may differ from one institution
to another. While developing such systems, the following objectives have
been identified based on the needs and concerns of the user groups
i.e. including student community of the ODL institution. (Khanna &
Basak, 2009)
a. The system would improve access to student services. This includes
time and geographic access through the World Wide Web and also
methods to access non-web services or service depa rtments. This goal
may be achieved through the use of common and cost effective
technologies, such as Web-browser and Internet TCP/IP connection.
b. The system would suppo rt practices of effective teaching and learning.
It includes proper distribution and access to course and program
information and learning resources; integrating existing instructional and
learning technologies and student services into on-line course and
programs.
c. The system would improve communication and coordination between
individuals while improving student-instructor and student-student
communication as well as collaboration between depa rtments which are
providing student support.
d. The system would facilitate responsive and integrated student support
by connecting to appropriate services based on task or need such as
through the provision of search facilities to search the site and by
providing a vehicle for on-line access through an easy-to-use web
interface.
e. The system would create a flexible system infrastructure which can
accommodate chang es, additions and new technologies. This can be
achieved by using open web standards and database standa rds and
technologies, and creating information templates that can be filled in,
edited and re-used.
11.3 ROLE OF DISTANCE TEACHER IN DISTANCE
LEARNING
There is no denial that the role of teachers in Open Distance Learning is
different from the role of conventional system in some ways. But it does
not mean that this role denies the basic meaning of teaching. The
definition of teachers given in the Act explains the nature of work in the
Distance Learning. It includes:

 Imparting instruction
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178  Rendering assistance to students for pursuing a course of study
The word "teaching" includes all these functions. Here we see some
more functions included in the "teaching":
 Preparing educational material
 Designing of the course
 Delivery of the course
 Evaluation of the work done by students
Designing, preparing or developing and delivery of the courses are
the three main functions at the Open leaning system and include three
types of activities: academic, technical and administrative. No
educational mate rial can be prepared without academic input. Academic
input means imparting instruction, giving guidance and rendering
assistance for pursuing the study in a particular field. But this input
should be presented in a manner that the educational material could carry
out the academic objectives. If any course communicates successfully
to the students it means that the presentat ion is effective. The
presentat ion and communication of the course are as important as the
content in distance education. One can say that the presentation and
communication are more important in distance education rather than
conventional system. The presentat ion and communication are also
called the delivery of the course, which has three aspects:
1. Effective presentation of the course
2. Successful communication to the student
3. Physical delivery to the student
The first two aspects are academic in nat ure and cannot be separated from
the content of the course. Every teacher should be knowledgea ble and
well trained in how to present and communicate the content of
the course either in a classroom or through the distance mode. Thus, the
basic difference between a conventional teacher and a distance teacher is
only the mode of the delivery. S/he should know how to present and
communicate through distance mode and for it s/he should identify and
apply the appropriate methodology. But how can a teacher decide which
methodology is appropriate and desirable for a pa rticular course if s/he is
not an expert in the subject? This analysis shows that the knowledge of
the subject and the ped agogy is an integral part of teaching and cannot be
separated.

11.4 EMERGING PROFILE OF A DISTANCE
TEACHER
Those in direct contact with learners, in teaching, tutoring and student
support roles, require the following competencies and attributes.
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179  At ease with adult learners; aware of particular needs and
circumstances of adult learners; (even if the distance project is
serving young school-age learners, experience with adult learners
provides skills in dealing with more open ended learning situations,
handling logistical arrange ments, etc.);
 Expertise in a subject area or discipline, and in teaching that
subject area or discipline;
 Knowledge about how distance education works, and about the
kinds of resources and timeframes needed for distance
education course delivery;
 Ability to work as a member of a team;
 Knowledge of administrative systems within one's own organization;
 Openness to new ideas; new perspectives on one's discipline;
 Willingness to learn new approaches to teaching and learning;
 Ability to balance demands of discipline with the needs of the
learner;
 Ability to communicate needs of learner to institution and
institution's perspective to learner;
 Interpersonal skills in student advising, counselling, problem
solving.
ROLES: As distance education program is being launched, this
individual may be in a role such as:
 Director of student services;
 Student counsellor; or may be in an academic position which
requires extensive contact with learners,
 Lecturer, tutor, etc.
 After a distance education program is launched and roles are
formalized, this role may become:
 Tutor;
 Tutor/counsellor;
 Tutorial services/student counselling coordinator*
Tutorial services/student counselling coordinator, requires additional
competencies:
 Ability to oversee effectively the teaching/advising work of
others;
 Ability to provide learning oppo rtunities for others working as
tutors, either directly by mentorship, provision of workshops and
seminars, or indirectly, by seeking out and providing for formal or
non formal learning oppo rtunities. munotes.in