Lesson 2:

Distance Learning, Open

Learning And Flexible Learning

• Reporter: Nogas, Mark Jade H.

 Distance Learning, Open Learning
and Flexible Learning
• The number of Higher Education Institution (HEI) offering distance
education and open learning programs is now increasing, due to the
development in telecommunication capabilities and information
technology.
• There are existing distance education programs being offered by some
HEIs, however, the quality needs to be ensured. In view of this the
Commission on Higher Education has formulated new policies, standards,
guidelines for the implementation of distance education and open learning
programs.
A. Distance Learning – implies separation in space and time of the
learner and the teacher. It has similar characteristics with open and
flexible learning.
B. Open Learning – is a term used to describe the course flexibly
designed to meet individual requirements. It often refers to provisions
for removing barriers that prevent attendance in more traditionally-
organized classes.
C. Flexible Learning – has been used to promote a shift from formal,
whole class didactic teaching toward individual or group-managed
learning. This is achieve through provisions by the facilitator of
resource materials and opportunities for the negotiation of tasks, self-
and peer assessment and collaborative group work.
 Online Educational Delivery Models:
A Descriptive View
• Early course delivery via the web had started by 1994, soon
followed by a more structured approach using the new category
of course management systems. (Graziadei 2013)
• A natural side effect of this new interest in education and
educational technology is an increase in hype and in shallow
descriptions of the potential for new educational models to
supercede the established system.
 The following Primary Models have
emerged:
I. Ad Hoc Online Courses and Programs – many
of ad hoc courses are anchored on individual faculty
members’ contention that there are better results and learning
outcomes using online tools. Not with standing most faculty
members’ skeptical view of the quality of the online
education.
• Faculty members’ teaching ad hoc online courses are one of
the most important yet overlooked sources of knowledge and
experience regarding online education.
II.Fully Online Programs
• The fully online programs are from the for-profit sector and from online-
only organizations created by nonprofit institutions. In both cases, these
online programs evolved around an idea called the master course, which
changes the educational delivery methods of an institution, and is perhaps
the biggest differentiator among traditional, for-profit, and even non- profit
fully online organizations.
• A master course – is turned into multiple, relatively consistent sections in a
repeatable manner.
• The master course concept changes the assumptions on who owns the
course and it leads to different processes for designing, delivering, and
updating course.
III.School-as-a-Service
• Another approach to overcoming the barrier between
traditional education and scalable online education is
outsourcing to or partnering with an external company for
online content, curriculum, and/or student services.
• There is also a burgeoning industry built around outsourced,
for-profit service provides – companies that provide the
curriculum and course development, as well as the operations,
of an online program.
IV.Educational Partnerships
• In this model, external organizations provide portions of their online
courses, and communities of practice, including a network of peer-
instructors worldwide, work on similar programs.
• The educational institution offers the courses within its curriculum,
allowing students to pursue industry-relevant certifications and even to
use the courses as part of their degree programs.
• Networking Academy as Cisco’s “largest and longest-running Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) program” does not change public and
nonprofit institutions since it is a non- profit educational program.
V.Competency-based Education (CBE)
• A potential innovation within higher education is to move from
credit hours to competency assessment, as a gauge of whether a
course has been completed.
• It is based on the broader concept of outcomes-based
education(OBE), which starts with the desired outcomes and
moves to the learning experiences that should lead students to
produce outcomes.
• The current growth of CBE models are driven by the desire to
provide lower-cost education options through flexible programs.
VI.Blender/Hybrid Courses and the Flipped
Classroom
• Blended or hybrid courses are a combination of online and face-to-face
class time that are carried out in a controlled or organize manner.
• While there is a variety of content delivery and interactive activities in
this approach, the logical extension is sometimes called the “flipped
classroom”.
• There are many other examples of blended and hybrid approaches. The
common theme is to make face-to-face class time more effective, using it
to provide much of the instructor feedback and interactive skills portion
of a class while pushing content delivery into more efficient online tools.
VII. MOOCs
• Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) – the new
concept has started changes such as the courses itself is
scaled to enable as essentially unlimited number of
students to take the course from the faculty members’.
“For MOOCs to become truly transformative
for higher education, the concept must
accomplish the following goals:
• Develop revenue models that will make the
concept self-sustaining
• Deliver valuable signifiers of completion such
as credentials, badges, or acceptance into
accredited programs
• Provide an experience and perceived value that
enables higher course completion rates (in most
MOOCs today, less than 10% of registered students
actually complete the course)
• Authenticate students so that accrediting institutions
or hiring companies are satisfied that a student’s
identity is known.