our future, your future 2007 distance and flexible learning handbook

WHAT IS DFL?
WHAT IS DISTANCE &
FLEXIBLE LEARNING?
What are the benefits of studying
by Distance and Flexible Learning?
Distance and Flexible Learning (DFL) at USP
offers you a way to gain a higher education
through a variety of modes and technologies.
The ‘distance’ aspect allows you to take
courses and pursue USP programs of study
from locations throughout USP’s 14 campuses
in the region. The ‘flexible’ aspect lets you fit
tertiary study into your own schedule and in a
learning mode that best suits you.
Studying by DFL is ideal for students who are
unable to study full-time and who do not have
easy access to one of USP’s main campuses.
As a DFL student, you benefit from flexibility
in your studies. Your study schedule can
be accommodated to fit in with your other
commitments and you can progress through
your studies at your own pace.
What is different about studying by
DFL at USP?
When you study by Distance and Flexible
Learning at USP, what you learn is the very
much the same as the University’s on-campus
students. The difference is the way in which
you learn it.
USP students who study on-campus mostly
learn through the type of face-to-face teaching
everyone is familiar with from their primary and
secondary education. Face-to-face teaching
involves a teacher being physically present with
a group of students in a classroom or lecture
hall.
USP’s Distance and Flexible Learning utilises
a greater variety of methods, media and
technology than face-to-face teaching. Types
of delivery, support and materials vary from
course to course and this is reflected in the
fees that you pay. Some of the ways of learning
may feel strange to begin with, but once you
have begun studying through DFL you will
quickly become familiar with them. However,
to become a successful DFL student you will
need to be an independent learner and to be
committed and disciplined with your time.
DFL learning materials
When you study through DFL your learning
materials have been professionally developed
by a course team, including subject matter
experts, instructional designers, educational
technologists and media specialists to enable
you to study most effectively.
The majority of DFL courses make use of print
materials, including study guides, readers and
commercial readers. Many courses are also
enhanced with media resources on tapes, CD-
ROMs or DVDs. Increasingly online learning
and web-based resources are becoming a
feature of DFL courses. You can enquire on
enrolment whether you will require computer
and Internet access to study and how you can
obtain these at your local campus.
Internet courses (Law)
Currently only USP’s School of Law offers
entire courses through Internet mode.
Distance and Flexible Learning students
completing law courses have Internet access
to discussion groups, tests, reading materials
and the electronic law databases: Paclii, Bailii
and Worldlii. These law courses run during
the normal 15-week semester and require
a minimum number of access hours to the
Internet and e-mail, as well as additional
access to a computer for assignments. For
more information about Internet Law courses,
contact your local USP campus, or Student
Academic Services on the three major
campuses (see pages 41-42 for contact
details).
Communication technologies in
DFL
Through the USPNet, a satellite
communications system owned and operated
by USP, DFL courses employ a range of
communications technologies to support your
studies. These include:
• Audio teleconferencing, which is widely
used to provide audio-based ‘satellite’
tutorials run from one of the three main
campuses in Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu. If
such ‘satellite’ tutorials are part of your
DFL course you will be able to attend at
the teleconferencing studio at your local
campus.
• Video conferencing, which provides fully
interactive two-way audio and video, is
used by a smaller number of courses,
especially for small postgraduate groups.
• Online discussion boards and chat
rooms, enabled in a learning
management system (LMS) provide
opportunities for tutorial and peer
communication. Electronic discussion
boards can offer a very flexible
way to discuss, ask questions and
obtain information, allowing you to
read and contribute at a pace and time
that suits you. Chat rooms, on the
other hand, allow real-time communication
and are very suitable for ‘live’ question and
answer sessions with your tutor or for
student group work.
WHAT IS DFL? USP