Breaking the iron triangle in open distance learning?
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The document discusses the challenges faced by open distance learning in Mauritius, focusing on the dynamics of cost, quality, and access within higher education. It highlights the impact of broader trends, such as the fourth industrial revolution and the evolving competition from technology giants, on traditional educational models. The conclusion points to the need for stakeholders to consider alliances and the differing perceptions of cost, quality, and access in order to maintain the promise of open education.
![Quality
Access Cost
“[D]istance education can achieve any two of the
following: flexible access, quality learning experience
and cost-effectiveness – but not all three at once”
Kanuka & Brooks, 2010, in Power and Gould-Morven, 2011, p. 23)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/oumpre-auditworkshop26march2018-180326051802/85/Breaking-the-iron-triangle-in-open-distance-learning-44-320.jpg)
Breaking the iron triangle in open distance learning?
- 1. Breaking the iron triangle in open distance learning? Workshop, Open University of Mauritius and the Higher Education Commission of Mauritius 26 March, 2018, Mauritius Paul Prinsloo University of South Africa (Unisa) 14prinspImage credit: https://pngtree.com/freebackground/break-open-brick-wall-background_509888.html COST QUALITY ACCESS
- 2. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/ Statement of intent: • I believe knowledge is a public good and this presentation can be used freely under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License • I do not own the copyright of any of the images in this presentation and I acknowledge the original copyright and licensing regime of every image used. This presentation (excluding the images) is licensed under the provisions of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License • In sharing these slides on various platforms, I admit that looking at the slides without the original context, narrative and discussions/ remarks may result in a loss of meaning or misinterpretation. Despite this, I hope that the slides provide a useful basis for further discussions • These slides represent my thinking about the topic at a particular moment in time and, as such, are tentative and provisional
- 3. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/question-mark-knowledge-question-3255136/ 1. What forces have shaped and are shaping higher education and specifically, open distance learning on Mauritius? Three questions to consider:
- 4. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/question-mark-knowledge-question-3255136/ 2. How do these forces shape higher education and specifically, open distance learning on Mauritius?
- 5. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/question-mark-knowledge-question-3255136/ COST QUALITY ACCESS 2. How do these and contex-specific forces shape access, cost, and quality @ the Open University of Mauritius?
- 6. Some broader trends that are shaping higher education and open distance learning
- 8. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/ Source credit: https://hbr.org/2014/10/the-real-revolution-in-online-education-isnt-moocs It’s called online competency-based education, and it’s going to revolutionize the workforce. 20142
- 11. There has never been a time of greater promise, or one of greater potential peril Source credit: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/
- 12. If distance education is “the most industrialised form of education”, how does the fourth industrial revolution impact on our assumptions informing our institutions Image credit: https://za.pinterest.com/pin/341569952970101904/
- 22. Provide access to increasing number of students – most of whom will not have access, or can afford traditional forms of educational delivery Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/crowd-concert-smoke-people-2361583/ 9
- 23. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/dinosaur-mirror-wing-mirror-behind-1564323/ 10 The current crisis in many open universities
- 24. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/ The vice-chancellor's executive has decided to close the south-east regional centre in East Grinstead, and plans to review the status of the other English regional offices. Overall, some 700 jobs could be at risk, almost a fifth of the OU's full-time workforce 2014
- 27. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/ Source credit: http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=31472 “The Open University, approaching its fiftieth year, is launching a radical overhaul” “Change on this scale will inevitably impact on staff because staff make up two-thirds of the OU’s operating costs. The proposed transformation in teaching, research, IT systems and the running of the University will inevitably mean that the number and types of roles will change. In coming years, fewer people will be needed overall.” 2017
- 28. 2018
- 29. 2018 “The competition we are facing is from the massive American technology giants, organisations like Facebook, with a commercial motivation. We have a socially progressive motivation. We want to help Britain survive the changes that are going to happen in the workplace.”
- 30. 2018 “Mr Horrocks said he understood concerns among University staff about the scale of change but the changes were the ‘right thing’ for both the University and British society.”
- 31. 2018 Source credit: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/mar/21/open-university-plans-major-cuts-to- number-of-staff-and-courses “It states that 41 undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses will be axed, leaving 71 degrees available. A range of courses including science, business, music and classics are under threat.”
- 33. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/ “The second major challenge, while strongly linked to vision and funding, is the institutional culture. Major changes in course design, educational technology, student support and administration, marketing and PR are urgently needed to bring AU into advanced 21st century practice in online and distance learning. I fear that while there are visionary faculty and staff at AU who understand this, there is still too much resistance from traditionalists and those who see change as undermining academic excellence or threatening their comfort zone. Without these necessary structural and cultural changes though AU will not be able to implement its vision, no matter how persuasive it is. So there is also a competency issue – if we give you more money, can you deliver on your promises?” Tony Bates (2017) Source credit: https://www.tonybates.ca/2017/06/10/a-brighter-future-for-athabasca-university/
- 36. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/ Source credit: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/07/19/number-colleges-and-universities-drops-sharply-amid-economic- turmoil 2017 “The most extreme predictions envision hundreds and even thousands of colleges and universities closing over a decade or so. But more even-keeled analysts also have foreseen increases in the number of failing institutions: Moody’s Investors Service in 2015, for instance, said closures and mergers of small institutions would triple and double, respectively, in the coming years.”
- 37. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/ 2017
- 38. How do these trends (and others) impact on access, quality and cost in open universities?
- 39. “Of course, not all distance education systems are cheaper than the alternative, conventional means of teaching and training” (Rumble, 1997, p. 2) The social advantage of providing access, must be considered in terms of quality and cost
- 40. ”There is plenty of evidence that open and distance education can be more cost efficient than traditional forms of education, but this is not necessarily the case” (Rumble, 1997, p. 204) “… there is very little that can be concluded with certainty, Pilicy-makers and institutional leaders should be aware of lifting solutions off the shelf, hoping that the economic benefits that may be said to apply in one socio-economic environment will transfer, along with the media and the technologies, to another (Rumble, 1997, p. 204)
- 42. Quality Access Cost • The moment you increase access, what happens to quality and cost? • When you commit to quality learning experiences, what happens to cost and access? • Aiming to keep our costs as low as possible, how does this impact on access and quality?
- 44. Quality Access Cost “[D]istance education can achieve any two of the following: flexible access, quality learning experience and cost-effectiveness – but not all three at once” Kanuka & Brooks, 2010, in Power and Gould-Morven, 2011, p. 23)
- 45. Quality Accessibility Cost- effectivenessConsidering three stakeholder groups – students, faculty and administrators – who values which aspect the most and how does this impact on other stakeholders?
- 46. (In)conclusions: Some pointers for consideration
- 47. Source credit: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3200/CHNG.41.2.30-35 • What alliances are possible between different stakeholders to ensure quality, cost-effectiveness and not compromise on the promise of open education? • What can be outsourced/insourced and what should not be outsourced/insourced and who will benefit? 1
- 48. Source credit: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/916/1785 2 • Understand that issues of cost, quality and access have different meanings for different stakeholders and they will defend their ‘stake’ often at all cost to the detriment of all elements • Push/pull factors
- 49. Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here On how does going online impact on cost, quality and access? 3
- 50. Department of Higher Education and Training. (2014). Policy for the provision of distance education in South African universities in the context of an integrated post-school system. Retrieved from http://www.saide.org.za/sites/default/files/37811_gon535.pdf OfflineOnline Fully online Fully offline Digitally supported Internet supported Internet dependent Campus-based Blended/hybrid Remote A BC Distance, digitally supported Distance, fully onlineCampus-based, fully online
- 53. Paul Prinsloo (Prof) Research Professor in Open Distance Learning (ODL) College of Economic and Management Sciences, Samuel Pauw Building 5-21 Unisa, 0003, Republic of South Africa T: +27 (0) 12 433 4719 (office) T: +27 (0) 82 3954 113 (mobile) prinsp@unisa.ac.za Skype: paul.prinsloo59 Personal blog: http://opendistanceteachingandlearning.wordpress.com Twitter profile: @14prinsp Thank you
Editor's Notes
- #14: Talking about algorithms, Artifical Intelligence and machine learning immediately raises a number of serious issues, and one of the most dominant issues in the popular press is the question whether robots will replace teachers…Except for the fact that this is a crude representation of the potential of Artificial Intelligence, it does allow for some light relief...