ACDE PAPERS IN BOOK FORM 1.pdf - National Open University of ...

COL has trained more than 870 people in this way and we are aiming to reach 2,500 by the
end of 2008. We have already done face-to-face workshops in Ghana, India, Kenya, Papua
New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Zambia (COL, 2008c).
Conclusion
It is time to conclude. You will, of course, have noticed a glaring gap in this presentation.
What about courseware?
At the heart of eLearning - as of all distance learning - is courseware, the learning materials
which, together with student support and logistics, are central to successful learning. We
have said little about this because it is a huge topic and has already been a major focus of
the conference already.
Courseware is expensive and throughout the four decades of modern, multi-media distance
education there have been appeals for greater sharing of learning materials. So far these
appeals have had disappointing results partly because it was physically difficult to share and
adapt materials until they were in digital formats, as eLearning materials are.
The movement to create a global intellectual commons of Open Educational Resources
therefore has great potential. But the movement is still in its early days and only time and
experience will show us whether OERs will result in genuine multi-directional sharing and
adaptation. However, some of the early signs are hopeful.
COL is committed to making the OER movement a success because we see it as key to
getting the cost of distance learning within the reach of the four billion people at the
bottom of the world economic pyramid. Only if we achieve that will we be able to claim
success for the campaign to take eLearning to the far side of the digital divide.
References
Commonwealth of Learning (2005) J. S. Daniel & P. West Digital Divide to digital dividend:
What will it take? Address to Online EDUCA Berlin
http://www.col.org/colweb/site/pid/3580
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