Strategic Partners Session:International Council for Open and Distance Education

ICDETHE AVU MULTINATIONAL PROJECT II POLICY HARMONIZATION

AND CURRICULUM CONCEPTUALIZATION WORKSHOP

NAIROBI, KENYA – 9 -12 JULY , 2012

Gard TitlestadSecretary General

ICDE

What is ICDE?

• the leading global membership organization for open and distance education

• an NGO official partner of UNESCO, and shares that agency’s key aim – the attainment of quality education for all

• member focused – ICDE is an organization which will involve members in decision making, in cooperative action and in cooperative problem solving.

• transparent – Members will be able to follow the activities and decisions of ICDE.

• ICDE believes that in pursuing education as a universal right, the needs of the learner must be central.

• senior management in member institutions is actively involved in ICDE

Questions from AVU:

• ICDE’s experience with similar initiative(s)• The lessons learnt in your past experiences

that can inform the effective implementation of the AVU multinational project

• Areas for possible synergies with the AVU

Similar initiatives?

Sistema de Universidad Virtual

EDUCATION ONLINE FROM CANADA'S LEADING UNIVERSITIES: Canadian Virtual University

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Some lessons learnt

• Policy framework in the countries involved should be favourable for open, distance and eLearning

• Quality – quality assurance• Institutions need strategies and policies• Leadership, senior management committed• Faculty training – in Open, distance and

eLearning

Possible strands for synergiesSorted on ICDE´s strat. objectives • Policies:

– Regulatory framework• Quality:

– Quality Review of ODL – in particular student services– Benchmarking&learning visits at selected universities

• Development: – OER teachers education, teach high quality ODL to thosee who teach the teachers –

consultation– (participate in OER mapping – UNESCO OER chairs)

• Cooperation: – Virtual mobility (Portugal Open University)?– Knowledge network for knowledge transfer and support?– Use ICDE events for knowledge, networks and partnership:

• SCOP 2012, 12 – 15 November, Dubai, UAE• ICDE – UNED, 7 – 9 March 2013, Madrid, Spain• 25 World Conference, 16 – 18 October, Tianjin, China

Global trendsOpportunities and challenges for ODL

• Easier access to higher education– Worldwide growth and increasing demand for access to higher education

• Learning workforce– Demand and need for capacity building to provide society with a more mobile

workforce– Continued globalisation and internationalisation– Financial crisis and unemployment

• ICT access– Information Communication Technology (ICT) - rapid world wide growth– Continuing disparity of access to ICT

• Economics of higher education– Changes in cost, affordability, and economic models for higher education

• Institutional developments and impact– Proliferation of traditional educational institutions with open and

distance education offerings– Growth and impact of open and distance universities– Demand for faculty training in ODL– Increasing competition between higher education institutions for

ranking positioning • Quality

– Increasing focus on accountability, quality, and performance – A demand for standards and accreditation

• OER – Development of online repositories – Development of OER-based institutions

Global trendsOpportunities and challenges for ODL

• The learner– Changing learner demographics and culture, experience, and demands– The growth of resource-based learning

• Use of technology in learning– Mobile Learning – The rapid growth of e-learning– Personalization – Social and Virtual Learning

• Policies and strategies– rapid and diverse global growth in ODL, increases the pressure of

demand for relevant, firm policies, strategies and leadership at governmental and institutional level

Global trendsOpportunities and challenges for ODL

Thank You!

titlestad@icde.orgwww.icde.org

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