FOOD, HEALTH AND EDUCATION FOR ALL: THE ROLE OF DISTANCE LEARNING

FOOD, HEALTH AND EDUCATION FOR ALL:THE ROLE OF DISTANCE LEARNING

 Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University

13 November 2003 

EDUCATION FOR ALL AND THE ROLE OF OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

 The Global Scenario  

John Daniel

Assistant Director-General for Education

How do you

see

globalisation?

Questions- Why?

- How?

- What principles?

- For whom?

- Where?

- Which technologies?

Questions

Why use technology in education?

Technology is the answer

but what was the

question?

Aspirations for education

1. Access – increase it

2. Quality – improve it

3. Cost – reduce it

COST

AC

CE

SS

QU

ALITY

Education for All

Aspirations for education

1. Access – increase it

2. Quality – improve it

Aspirations for education

1. Access – increase it

2. Quality – improve it

“Fitness for purpose at minimum cost to society”

AIMS:

- Human capital

- Social capital

COST

AC

CE

SS

QU

ALITY

COST

ACCESS QUALITY

TECHNOLOGYis the application of scientific

and other organized knowledge to practical tasks by organizations consisting

of people and machines.

Two types oflearning

activities:

INDEPENDENT

Two types oflearning

activities:

INDEPENDENT

INTERACTIVE

INDEPENDENTINDEPENDENT

- read a book- watch TV- listen to radio- work on computer

INDEPENDENTINDEPENDENT

= Economies of scalesuch as:- printing books- broadcasting TV- downloading software

INTERACTIVEINTERACTIVE

INTERACTIVEINTERACTIVE

The student’s work obtains a response

from another person

INTERACTIVEINTERACTIVE

Different cost structure

Example

OPEN

UNIVERSITIES

Number of students

Total costmore interactive

more independent

Questions- Why?

- How?

- What principles?

- For whom?

- Where?

- Which technologies?

Example

OPEN

UNIVERSITIES

COST

AC

CE

SS

QU

ALITY

COST

ACCESS QUALITY

The Open University

~200,000 students in 2003

(the UK had 130,000 students in all

universities combined in 1963)

BRITAIN’S TOP NINE UNIVERSITIES

Quality Rankings of Teaching

based on all subject assessments 1995-2003(Sunday Times University Guide 2003)

1 CAMBRIDGE 96%

2 LOUGHBOROUGH 95%

3= LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS 88%

3= YORK 88%

5 THE OPEN UNIVERSITY 87%

6 OXFORD 86%

7 IMPERIAL COLLEGE 82%

8 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON 77%

9 ESSEX 77%

Questions- Why?

- How?

- What principles?

- For whom?

- Where?

- Which technologies?

DISTANCES:

- GEOGRAPHIC

- TIME

- SOCIAL

- DISABILITY

“When I asked about the possible use of alternative learning technologies one woman suggested that her most pressing need was not for learning technologies but for other technologies such as washing machines, cookers and vacuum cleaners, which would help shorten the time she spent on housework and increase the time she needed for studying.”

Questions- Why?

- How?

- What principles?

- For whom?

- Where?

- Which technologies?

Start with the learner!

Technologies:

- available?

- at reasonable cost?

- easy to use?

- independent or interactive?

TECHNOLOGY IS

THE ANSWER

but

WHAT WASTHE QUESTION?

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

The four

B’s

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

The BAD ‘B’s

- BIAS

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

The BAD ‘B’s

- BIASe.g. vendor bias

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

The BAD ‘B’s

- BIASe.g. political bias

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

The BAD ‘B’s

- BIASe.g. private vs. public bias

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

The BAD ‘B’s

- BIAS

- BULL**** (BS)

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

The global great and good are obsessed with the ‘digital divide’. Half the people of the world, they fret, have never made a telephone call. Africa has less bandwidth than Brazil’s city of Sao Paolo. How, ask dozens of inter-governmental task forces, can the poor get connected?

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

Amid all the attention paid to developing countries’ lack of Internet access, some people feel that more fundamental problems are being ignored. Ted Turner, an American media boss, observed last year that there was no point in giving people computers when they had no electricity.

The Economist, November, 2001

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

The GOOD ‘B’s

- BREADTH

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

When I asked about the possible use of alternative learning technologies one woman suggested that her most pressing need was not for learning technologies but for other technologies such as washing machines, cookers and vacuum cleaners, which would help shorten the time she spent on housework and increase the time she needed for studying. Edith Mhehe

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

Q: How do you get the kids to school?

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

Q: How do you get the kids to school?

A: Donkeys

dot.com frenzy 1999-2000

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

The GOOD ‘B’s

- BREADTH

- BALANCE

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

BALANCE

between:

Teaching and Learning

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

TECHNOLOGY:

- start with the teacher?

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

TECHNOLOGY:

- start with the teacher

or

- start with the learner?

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

THANKS TO

THE INTERNET

ASYNCHRONOUSASYNCHRONOUS

HAS WON

COST

AC

CE

SS

QU

ALITY

COST

ACCESS QUALITY

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

BALANCE

between:

ICT for teaching ICT

ICT for teaching the rest

Examples

The Hole in the Wall

Examples

Sugata Mitra (NIIT)

The Hole in the Wall

Sugata Mitra (NIIT)‘Children from 8 to 13 years old came rushing to the hole in the wall. Within an hour they were browsing. In a week they could do most of the common functions on a PC, cut and paste, drag and drop, copy, paste, rename and save files and so on. In a month, they were downloading and playing games from the Internet. Researchers watched with incredulity. The media exploded with stories’.

Sugata Mitra (NIIT)

‘Hundreds of children flock around them all day long. Their understanding is instinctive and incredibly accurate. They want a keyboard but we don’t know how to build one that will survive in the open’.

Sugata Mitra (NIIT)

Minimally Invasive Educationexists

Sugata Mitra (NIIT)

Minimally Invasive Educationexists

Move from 500,000 students/year(NIIT)

to hundreds of millions and remove theDIGITAL DIVIDE

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

operates in the e-world at INDUSTRIAL STRENGTHINDUSTRIAL STRENGTH:

Numbers online = 150,000 +

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

e-applications:

- check academic record (50,000 per week)

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

e-applications:- check academic record (35,000 per week)

- communication

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

operates in the e-world at INDUSTRIAL STRENGTHINDUSTRIAL STRENGTH:

Numbers online = 150,000 +

> 250,000 messages per day between students

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

e-applications:library consultation:- from 114,000 (2000) to 766,000 (2001) course-related documents consulted.

- from 37,000 (1999) to 273,000 (2001) e-journal articles consulted

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

“They prefer books as books - not as

computer files to download…”

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

“…but they have switched massively and rapidly to

online technology for communicating with the

University”

Play to the strengths of ONLINE

ACTIVE LEARNINGand

ACCESS to a range of

MEDIA

BUT:Preparing goodgood

ACTIVE LEARNINGexperiences

is

a lot of work for teachers

TECHNOLOGY IS

THE ANSWER

but

WHAT WASTHE QUESTION?

EDUCATION

“education for all” “the defences of peace”

,

“th

e fr

ee e

xch

ange

of

idea

s an

d kn

owle

dge”

“ the u

nrestrict ed pu

rsui t of obj ect ive tru

t h”

“intellectual and moral solidarity” “mutual understanding”

- Bias

- Bull****

- Breadth- Breadth

- Balance- Balance

FOOD, HEALTH AND EDUCATION FOR ALL:THE ROLE OF DISTANCE LEARNING

 Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University

13 November 2003 

EDUCATION FOR ALL AND THE ROLE OF OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

 The Global Scenario  

John Daniel

Assistant Director-General for Education