Colin Latchem

Assuring Quality in Asian Open and Distance Learning

Open and distance learning (ODL) is enjoying phenomenal growth in Asian higher education, new forms of provision are being developed, new institutions are being established and there is a surge in online export and import. However, there is still need to ensure that increasing access does not result in lowering standards and to prove that ODL is at least as good as conventional education and, in many cases, more innovative, effective and efficient. The paper examines the various quality assurance approaches employed in Asian university ODL, and the values, assumptions and advantages and disadvantages of these. It concludes by suggesting what is needed to encourage and achieve a culture of quality in the field.

Beyond National Borders: Transforming Higher Education Institutions

This article analyzes internationalisation and globalisation in higher education and the new and emerging organisational models for institutions and networks made possible by open and distance learning and information and communications technology (ICT). It analyzes trends, characteristics, and organisational practices in open, online, and internationalised higher education across the globe and the issues of culture, collaboration, cost, and leadership. It concludes by questioning whether altru ism or commercialisation will prevail in internationalisation. The article relates these discussions to Collis and Gommer’s four scenarios for higher education.

The Open Education System, Anadolu University, Turkey: e-transformation in a mega-university

Anadolu University in Turkey is one of the world’s largest and least known mega‐universities. Well over one million students in Turkey, the European Union and Northern Cyprus are enrolled in its Open Education System and yet few accounts of this dual‐mode provider appear in the international literature. This article describes the evolution of the Anadolu Open Education System, explains how the Open Education Faculty operates and is now engaged in e‐transformation, and considers the current and future issues confronting the institution.

Distance education for empowerment and development in Africa

As guest editors of this issue of Distance Education, we may seem an unlikely combination for a special issue on distance education in Africa: one Zimbabwean, one South African, an Englishman based in Australia, and a US/Israeli citizen. The origin of this unlikely collaboration lies in a chapter on quality assurance in African distance education by Neil Butcher (co-authored by Sarah Hoosen) for a book on quality assurance and accreditation in open and distance learning around the globe, co-edited and co-authored by Colin Latchem (Jung & Latchem, in press). Another source of inspiration for this special theme is the work of Neil Butcher, who is based at the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE). As project manager of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa’s Educational Technology Initiative (PHEA ETI) (http://www.oerafrica.org/phea/PHEAETIProjectHome/ tabid/170/Default.aspx), Neil has been working closely with Monica Mawoyo. He has also worked with Lisbeth Levey on a range of activities for the Hewlett Foundation. (http://www.hewlett.org/about), whose Education Program aims to improve education by expanding the reach of openly available educational resources and by supporting deeper-level learning – a combination of the fundamental knowledge and practical basic skills all students need. The Hewlett Foundation is supporting the work of OER Africa, which is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and an initiative of SAIDE. The OER Africa website hosts the work of the PHEA ETI; it is an extremely productive symbiotic relationship. When Colin Latchem alerted the other members of the editorial team to the call for proposals for a special issue of Distance Education, this started a chain of thought and interaction among us that led us to believe that there was a real opportunity to profile African innovations, which we needed to grab. Possibly above other influences, we were informed by experiences emerging from the PHEA ETI. This initiative is funded by five US foundations: MacArthur, Kresge, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Ford. It focuses on supporting African universities to make effective investments in their emerging e-learning and educational technology strategies. There are seven universities involved in this work: institutions from Nigeria (University of Jos and University of Ibadan), Mozambique (Catholic University of Mozambique), Tanzania (University of Dar es Salaam), Ghana (University of Education Winneba), Kenya (Kenyatta University), and Uganda (Makerere University). Although these institutions are not necessarily representative of the entire entity of African higher education, they do provide a good range of different kinds of institutions operating in varying contexts. Diverse as they may be, they have stark commonalities in teaching and learning challenges, which are reflected by the similarities of projects being implemented. Importantly, during initial institutional visits Distance Education Vol. 32, No. 2, August 2011, 149–158

Musing on the Memes of Open and Distance Education

Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body, so memes (ideas, behaviours, and actions) transmit cultural ideas or practices from one mind to another through writing, speech, or other imitable phenomena. This paper considers the memes that influence the evolution of open and distance education. If the transmission is strong and a sufficient number of policy-makers, managers, or practitioners in various contexts are capable of faithful imitation, the meme pool will evolve to exploit these memes to the full. If the propagation is weak, this may give rise to little or no imitation of the necessary philosophical stances, service orientations, and operational capacities.

Distance Education: quo vadis?

How pleasant to be once more learning from Ian Mitchell’s experience and thinking – and fittingly at a distance and asynchronously. In describing the beginnings of the journal Distance Education, Ian reminds us of a time when the term distance education itself was still gaining currency – correspondence education, extra-mural studies, and external studies were far more common. Theory and research were nascent. Des Keegan (1980) was identifying six elements in distance education: separation of teacher and learner; influence of an educational organisation; use of media to link teacher and learner; two-way exchange of communication; learners as individuals rather than grouped; and distance learning and teaching as an industrialised form of education. Björn Holmberg (1986) was characterising distance education as an amalgam of individualised and mass instruction benefiting from the planning guidance and tuition of a tutorial organisation. Otto Peters (1989) was having misgivings about what he regarded as the most industrialised form of teaching and learning with its division of labour, mechanised (later automated), standardised, normalised, and formalised product delivery, repeatable at will and available anywhere and everywhere. At the University of Wisconsin, Chuck Wedemeyer (1981) was arguing that the physical separation from the teacher and delivery by print, mechanical, or electronic means implied a different concept of learning. Elsewhere in the USA, Michael Moore (1983) and Randy Garrison (1985) were speculating on how mixes of media and technologies could combine freedom of study with opportunities for interaction. Australians such as Kevin Smith, Eric Gough, Howard Sheath, John Birman, John Laverty, Rupert Goodman, Patrick Guiton, Bruce Scriven, Terry Evans, and Ian himself were also contributing to the philosophy and theoretical principles of distance education. When Distance Education was launched in 1980, the means of delivery was restricted to mostly print, correspondence, the occasional audio cassette, and the even more occasional audioconference. But from the mid-1980s onwards, technology not only transformed the learning environment for students but the working environment for the providers. With desktop publishing, course writers could make their own revisions without the ignominy of having to once more face up to the typing pool, and create their own tables and diagrams. Courseware could be digitally archived and generated in any quantity at short notice by just-in-time printing systems that kept inventories low. Video migrated from analogue to digital, interactive multimedia from

A Framework for Researching Asian Open and Distance Learning

This article was originally presented as a position paper at the Symposium on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Social Development held in Jakarta by the ASEAN Foundation Collaboratory (May 2006). Its main premise is that, while there is growing use of open and distance learning (ODL) in formal and nonformal education and training in Asia, planning and practice are not always informed by rigorous and sustained research and evaluation. The article identifies shortcomings in current ODL research, and suggests ways of advancing the research agenda in open and distance learning in Asia to provide strategically significant and robust information for policy makers, planners, and managers; to improve professional understanding and practice; and to enable ODL to become a more scholarly activity.

Reflection on the "New Dynamics" of Distance Education: An Interview with Sir John Daniel

Introduction Sir John Daniel’s term as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) ended on May 31, 2012. His successor is Professor Asha Kanwar, the former Vice-President. Readers of Distance Education will know of Sir John’s work at the Télé-université (Directeur des Études, 1973–1977), Athabasca University (Vice-President for Learning Services, 1978–1980), Concordia University (Vice-Rector, Academic, 1980–1984), Laurentian University (President, 1984–1990), the UK Open University (Vice-Chancellor, 1990–2001), and UNESCO (Assistant Director-General for Education, 2001–2004). Among Sir John’s 300+ publications are his books Mega-universities and Knowledge Media: Technology Strategies for Higher Education (1996) and Megaschools, Technology and Teachers: Achieving Education for All (2010). He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to higher education in 1994 and holds 31 honorary doctorates from universities in 17 countries. On the eve of his departure from COL, Sir John was interviewed by Colin Latchem.

Change Readiness among Teaching Staff at Anadolu University, Turkey

Turkey’s Anadolu University is one of the world’s largest mega‐universities. It is engaged in strategic planning in response to changes in the expectations of the Turkish Higher Education Council and the community at large. In re‐examining its vision and strategic directions, Anadolu University needs to be informed on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of its teaching staff, and the systems and support needed to assure their change readiness. This article examines the literature of organizational and educational change and its implications for the university. It reports on a study based on the relevant constructs from the literature and is designed to gauge the extent and nature of teaching staff knowledge, skills, practice, and research in educational and technological change, motivating and de‐motivating factors, change adopter types, and perceptions of the organizational climate for change. It considers the implications of these findings and draws conclusions about what would be needed to improve staff readiness for change.