scholarly journals Distance education: panacea or barrier for conventional higher education?

Author(s):  
Αλεξάνδρα Κυρμά ◽  
Ηλίας Μαυροειδής

This paper focuses on the investigation of the character of the two pillars of modern university education   in   Greece:   the   conventional   and   distance   education. The investigation is based on a literature review of the historical and ideological evolution and  seeks  to  provide  a  comparative  consideration,  exploring  the  possibilities  of harmonization  and  complementarily,  with  a  view  to  upgrade  the  quality  of  tertiary education  in  Greece  in  the  21th  century.  The  paper  presents  the  problems  of  higher education in Greece and the answers proposed by the new form of distance education, online education, which catalyzes the spatio temporal constraints and provides a more flexible  and  creative  educational  policy  ambition.  Distance  education  can  override conservatism  and  structural  rigidity  of  modern  universities  and  may  contribute  in improving  the  effectiveness  of  tertiary  education  in  Greece,  especially  in  a  period  characterized by financial and social distress and fast depreciation of knowledge. The paper  also  points  out  the  obstacles  associated  with  the  use  of  e-learning  and  its integration in educational practice, and proposes creative ways of integrating the two forms of education in tertiary institutions.

Author(s):  
Nguyen Huu Cuong ◽  
Le My Phong

Distance and online education are popular training modes in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and open education. Accreditation is one of the approaches that many countries across the world have implemented to assure the quality of higher education, including distance learning programs. This study investigates the rationale and future directions for quality assurance and accreditation of distance education programs in Vietnam. First, the paper presents concepts of distance education, and quality assurance and accreditation of distance education. Second, the research reviews experiences of implementing quality assurance and accreditation for distance education from several countries in the world. Next, the paper analyses the rationale for conducting accreditation of distance education programs in our country. Finally, the study proposes three groups of recommendations for the national quality assurance organization, accreditation agencies and higher education institutions to be able to implement the quality assurance and accreditation of distance education in Vietnam successfully. Keywords Quality assurance; Accreditation; Distance education; Online learning; Higher education References [1] UNESCO, Distance education in Asia and the Pacific: country papers, Volume III (Singapore - Vietnam), 2009. www.unesco.org/education/pdf/53-23c.pdf.[2] UNESCO, Open and distance learning: trends, policy and strategy considerations, 2002. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001284/128463e.pdf.[3] Owusu-Boampong, A. & Holmberg, C., Distance education in European higher education – the potential, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, International Council for Open and Distance Education and Study Portals B.V, 2015.[4] Australian University, Distance learning Australia, 2018. http://www.australianuniversities.com.au/distance-learning/.[5] Darojat, O., Nilson, M. & Kaufman, D., Quality assurance in Asian open and distance learning: policies and implementation, Journal of Learning for Development, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2015) 1. [6] Jung, I. & Latchem, C., Quality assurance and accreditation in distance education and e-learning: models, policies and research, Routledge, London, 2012.[7] Wang, Qi., Quality assurance - best practices for assessing online programs, International Journal on Elearning, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2006) 265. [8] Friedman, J., 10 facts about accreditation in online degree programs, U.S.News & World Report, February 9, 2017. https://www.usnews.com.[9] U.S. Department of Education., Accrediting agencies recognized for distance education and correspondence education, 2018. https://www2.ed.gov. [10] The Australasian Council on Open, Distance and e-learning (ACODE), Benchmarks for technology enhanced learning, ACODE, Canberra, 2014.[11] Bollaert, L., NVAO’s accreditation of online education in a nutshell, 2015. https://www.nvao.net.[12] Henderikx, P. & Ubachs, G., Quality assurance and accreditation of online and distance higher education, 2017. https://www.unic.ac.cy.[13] Stella A. & Gnanam, A., Quality assurance in distance education: The challenges to be addressed, Higher Education, Vol. 47, No. 2 (2004) 143.[14] Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA), Code of practices for open and distance learning, MQA, Kuala Lumpur, 2013.[15] COL, DEMP & UNESCO, Quality assurance toolkit for distance higher education institutions and programmes, COL, Vancouver, 2009.[16] Vietnamnet, Mở đào tạo từ xa sẽ không cần cấp phép, 2017. http://vietnamnet.vn. [17] Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), Quality assurance of online learning: discussion paper, TEQSA, Melbourne, 2017. [18] Nhân dân Điện tử, Phát triển đào tạo từ xa đúng hướng, 2017. http://www.nhandan.com.vn.[19] Nguyễn Hữu Cương, Một số kết quả đạt được của kiểm định chất lượng giáo dục đại học Việt Nam và hướng triển khai trong tương lai, Tạp chí Quản lý giáo dục, Tập 9 Số 8 (2017) 7.[20] Cục QLCL - Bộ GD-ĐT, Danh sách các CSGD đại học; các trường cao đẳng, trung cấp sư phạm, đã hoàn thành báo cáo tự đánh giá, được kiểm định, 2018 (dữ liệu cập nhật đến ngày 31/8/2018).[21] Cục QLCL - Bộ GD-ĐT, Danh sách các chương trình đào tạo được đánh giá/công nhận, 2018 (dữ liệu cập nhật đến ngày 31/8/2018).


GIS Business ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
Chris Eriye Tralagba ◽  
Abasiama G. Akpan

In addition to influencing students’ knowledge base, thinking abilities and skills; university education offers the opportunity to promote other aspects of students’ growth as people. University education has an important role in shaping our future society because today’s university students will be tomorrow’s doctors, engineers, business managers, teachers, faith leaders, politicians, citizens, activists, parents and neighbours. While they need to be able to demonstrate key skills and knowledge to enact those roles effectively, they must also demonstrate personal and social responsibility in carrying them out. While much of the current political discourse about higher education is instrumental and economic, this paper aims to lay the foundation for a discourse based on student development. Data was collected through focus group discussions with students in the various colleges in Evangel University, Akaeze - Nigeria, in-depth interviews with lecturers, administrative staff and document analyses of conference papers and journal articles. Findings reveal that the quality of tertiary education is influenced by socio–cultural, academic, economic, policy, political and administrative factors all of which are inextricably interwoven. In this case, the argument is for leadership of teaching and learning for the purpose of promoting students’ holistic development. The discussion of the findings is based on the findings on a wide range of related literature on learners’ challenges in other universities in Nigeria. The paper concludes that the quality of higher education in tertiary institutions is influenced by factors that have their roots in commercialization, general funding, and human population growth. It was recommended that appropriate policies and indigenous professionals (both academic and administrative) are necessary for improving the quality of higher education in tertiary institutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 343 ◽  
pp. 11004
Author(s):  
Davide Capperucci ◽  
Ilaria Salvadori

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused disruption in students’ education and imposed numerous and unprecedented challenges on the educational systems all over the world turning the traditional learning processes into online distance education. The new context has raised the question of how to evaluate students’ learning and competences in distance education environments as effectively as possible. To maintain high quality standards of higher education, it is undoubtedly necessary to investigate through which tools the lecturers evaluate both the processes and the products of learning gained in online education. This study has been carried out at the University of Florence, with a sample of 60 lecturers, during the first period of pandemic. It has a twofold aim: (1) investigating lecturers’ beliefs on assessment and evaluation in distance higher education and (2) comparing online assessment techniques and tools with those used in face-toface classroom practices. The case study uses mixed methods and proposes data collected through an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews analyzed with a quanti-qualitative approach. It pointed out the main problems the study group faced in evaluating students’ learning and performance in remote university education and suggested, at the same time, possible solutions to tackle learning and performance evaluation processes through alternative assessment methods.


Author(s):  
Larysa Udovychenko ◽  
Nataliia Kuzminets ◽  
Olena Stadnik ◽  
Natalia Кosharna ◽  
Lada Petryk

This article discusses the prerequisites for the implementation and ways of using blended learning technology in higher education institutions, with special attention to the sphere of training of students of pedagogical specialties in Eastern Europe. The innovative concept of blended learning requires thoroughness in preparation, the right attitude to the educational process, and the correctness of all participants in the educational process. That is why practical developments in this direction are relevant in modern education, where pandemic changes have contributed to the development of online education technologies. This study aims to establish the effectiveness of the use of blended learning technology, its impact on the success of higher education applicants, and the quality of education in general. Additionally, was evaluated the pedagogical technology by the participants of the educational process. The main methods are the method of pedagogical experiment and interviewing for theoretical research are used descriptive method, synthesis, and analysis. The main hypothesis is that blended learning is an effective, convenient, and efficient pedagogical technology, which is a necessary component of modern university education. The result of the pedagogical experiment should establish the level of blended education technology effectiveness for students of pedagogical specialties in the conditions of the modern educational paradigm. In the future, it is worth continuing to develop the innovative concept of blended learning in educational practice in a harmonious combination of online and offline learning.


No teaching method has evolved as much as distance education, in the state of Amazonas this would not be different, especially in higher education. Distance Education is a modality where the student is separated from the teacher and uses several communication technologies around all his learning. The methods used were bibliographic, documentary and quantitative. The researched environment was the capital city of Manaus and the municipality of Maués, with the application of the closed questionnaire aimed at higher education students. Our objective was to question certain nuances as their benefits and challenges for those who study Distance Education in the different locations of the State of Amazonas. The result was the realization that among its many advantages in the execution of education, time is considered the main one, and the loss of deadlines its greatest disadvantage, besides the concept of distance education is already well known by university students. Thus, it is well known that with the passing of time and with the progress of the state's modernization, distance education is gradually becoming the most practical means of teaching.


Author(s):  
Svetlana Antonova ◽  
Tatyana Pletyago ◽  
Anna Ostapenko

There is a demand for transformation in higher education. Undergraduates need to be taught critical thinking, an essential skill that should be central to the mission of all educational institutions. Critical thinking is a key focus of academic interest among researchers in the field of pedagogy and methodology. Despite this, there is still a lack of sufficient information on approaches, methods, techniques, and means of incorporating critical thinking skills in the classroom environment at the tertiary education level. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the hands-on experiences of some European and Asian universities in promoting critical thinking education using a range of academic models. The review shows that critical thinking has already been integrated into many major tertiary education programmes in both European and Asian universities. Further, majority of the academic models implemented are transferable and flexible. The results confirm that in terms of content, methods, and technologies, university education is focusing on cultivating the higher order skills necessary for innovative professional activities in modern world.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Zhimin Liu ◽  
Gladys Mutinda

<p>Mass higher education is a huge force to be reckoned with and its existence, already in the expansion of tertiary institutions is undeniable. This study will focus on three countries: Lebanon, Kenya and Oman. The purpose of this study is to evaluate mass tertiary education progress in these countries. It will synthesize data results of gross enrollment ratios, demographics, internationalization and GDP per capita of these countries which we will use as indicators of the progress and direction that mass tertiary education is taking. The principal conclusions of our data will reveal that all 3 countries are experiencing progress only at different rates for varied and different reasons. The findings of this paper are significant as they will aid in informing the governments of the specific countries and other stakeholders who invest in higher education to understand the challenges hindering progress and ensuring that world class academic standards are upheld.</p>


Author(s):  
Victor X. Wang ◽  
Valerie A. Storey

To serve a significant portion of the student population, adult learners, in the academy in the 21st century, this chapter argues that online education (e-learning) has the potential to open wider the door to greater access and advancement for learners across their life spans than the traditional four walled classroom. Some of the major issues revolving around online education and adult learners, such as policy, access, completion, and equity, are addressed in this chapter. The purpose of this chapter is to identify future technology trends, and then show how we can rely on practice and research to harness the great yet untapped potential of online education to promote online education programs, especially among adult learners. Policy, access, completion, and equity must be well addressed if online adult education is to be employed effectively and efficiently.


Author(s):  
Tianxing Cai

A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of e-learning education courses or training programs. The traditional distance education for mathematics has heavily relied on the application of LMS. However, the Standards for Mathematical Practice have provided the requirements to mathematics educators at all levels for the students' development. This chapter presents the introduction of the transformation from LMS to Internet-based research in the mathematical education. This is the viewpoint of the patterns, developments, changes, or phenomena within their respective fields with regards to distance education of mathematics. It also creates a broad, multidisciplinary understanding of online education across educational boundaries and demonstrates the unique future trajectories that online education has within these mathematics.


Author(s):  
Uğur Demiray ◽  
Gülay Ekren

This chapter intends to determine the existing status of distance education at higher education level in Turkey. Recently, there are various institutions in Turkey which provide distance education such as distance education research and application centers, information departments, continuing education centers, head of IT departments etc. However, little is known about their administrative related structuring. This chapter provides a qualitative research which aims to answer following issues: (1) to determine the existing distance learning programs and compulsory joint courses being provided in distance mode, (2) to identify varying titles given to the institutions or units which provide compulsory joint courses or programs in higher education, (3) to determine the LMSs used to provide distance education, (4) to determine e-learning activities in distance education institutions, (5) to identify the roles of administrative staff in distance education institutions.


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