Lifelong Learning:Issues of Effective Implementation

Lee S.T.1, Chia B.C. &Dr Nik Hasnaa Nik Mahmood2

1 Center for Graduate Studies, Open University Malaysia, Malaysia. 2 University Teknoligi Malaysia

LLL Issues of Effective Implementation

World Population on 14/11/2011:

7,003,082,000

Male Female 75-7970-7465-6960-6455-5950-5445-4940-4435-3930-3425-2920-2415-1910-14 5- 9 0- 4

75-7970-7465-6960-6455-5950-5445-4940-4435-3930-3425-2920-2415-1910-14 5- 9 0- 4

Increasing Medium Population Age

• 25-59 cannot support 60+• Need to extend working age• Need to re-train and re-skill

• 7b 2011, +2.2b by 2050• +1.4b Asian, + 1b African, -0.2b European & N American)

IncreasingPace of Change

Table 1: The Race to the Mass Market (Source: Fortune Magazine, 2 March 2009)

Year Reached Number of

ICT Product Year Introduced 150 million users in USA Years To Reach

Telephone 1876 1965 89

Television 1928 1966 38

Cellphone 1983 1997 14

iPod 2001 2008 7

Facebook 2004 2009 5

Needs of Lifelong Learning

Globalization + Increasing Medium Age + Pace of change

Need to continually upgrade and update knowledge

Life-long Learning

• Continued learning & adapting, or left-behind

Types of Lifelong Learning• Academic / Non-academic• Pre-employment / Post employment• Formal / Semi-formal / Informal

Four Pillars of Lifelong Learning• Learning to Know

• Acquire instruments of Learning; Learning to learn• Learning to Do

• Act creatively on one’s environment• Learning to Live Together

• Participate and co-operate with other people in all human activities

• Learning to be• Develop one’s personality & to be able to act with

greater autonomy, judgment and responsibility

Proposed in Delores Report (1998) & reaffirmed by the Belen Framework for Action, Confintea VI in 2009.

Adult Education and Lifelong Learning

Lifelong Learning in the Workplace• Human Resource Development (HRD) practice

of larger organizations• Types of Learning

• In-house / external training• Formal / on-the-job training• Instructor-led / Self-managed

• Justifications:• Skill improvements, productivity, goal alignment,

quality improvement• Continuous improvement, career development,

employee-centred learning organization

ICT and Lifelong Learning• Extend traditional modes of learning

• Classroom face-to-face, correspondence, on-the-job

• Basic Tools• PC, Notebooks, iPad, Smartphones

• Facilities• Internet, Network, Wifi, LMS (Moodle,

Blackboard, myLMS, Studynet)• Lifelong Learning Modes

• Online, Distance Learning, Blended ODL• Applications

• Khanacademy, MIT Opencourseware, Second Life

ODL Delivery Modes

Delivery Modes at OUM (Ali, 2005)

Self-managed Learning

• Learner empowerment• Learner manages learning process:

• What to study, where to study, when to study and how fast to acquire the knowledge

• Obtain lectures & coursework materials on-demand• Learner manages own learning progress• Learner manages balance between work and

study

Implementation Issues and Challenges

• Literacy• Indispensable foundation and pre-requisite

• English Language• Essential for accessibility, efficient and timely

global delivery and obsolescence avoidance• Poor participation

• Due to poor accessibility and attitude problems• Overcome by incentives and personal commitment

• Lack of Structure, Policy and Funding• Government and private sector CSR

• Assessment & Recognition• Accreditation & Recognition of prior learning

Implementation Issues and Challenges

• Continuous Improvements in LLL Materials• Improvements in ICT: capabilities, devices,

presentation (Smartphones, iPads, blogs, facebook, twitter)

• Improvements in contents available (Wikipedia, khanacademy, MIT Opencourseware)

• Learner/Teacher Incompatibilities• Learners exposed to & expects modern mode of

delivery and materials• Improving Skill of Instructors

• Use of latest ICT tools especially multimedia

Khanacademy

Khanacademy• Watch, practice with 2,700 educational videos

for free• 10-minute youtube videos• Topics include:

• Algebra, Arithmetic, Calculus, Developmental Mathematics, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology

• History, Art History, Banking, Finance, Valuation & Investing

• Excellent tutorial/supplementary teaching• Suitable for self-directed learning & remedial

teaching• Ideal for lifelong learning

MIT Opencourseware

MIT Opencourseware• Over 2,000 courses available:

• From Aeronautics to Writing & Humanistic Studies• Syllabus, readings, lecture notes & assignments

• No support from faculties• Useful for supplementary /complementary

/benchmarking materials• Ideal for lifelong learning

Second Life Education

Successfully used for collaborative global workplace training

Thank You