Design course materials keeping learners in focus: e-learning expert

Surjit Kumar dhal, SAMBALPUR, JUNE 25: The learners should be in focus while designing study materials for open learning system, said an e-learning expert.

Self-learning materials, otherwise seen as ‘Teachers in print’, have a distinct role to play in open and distance learning system. So, there is the need for designing of course materials keeping the learners in focus, said internationally acclaimed e-learning specialist Andrew Moore while speaking at a workshop on “Quality Assurance in Open Educational Resources (OER)”, organized by Odisha State Open University (OSOU) in collaboration with Canada-based Commonwealth of Learning (COL) at OSOU headquarters here.

Moore joined the workshop as the resource person and interacted with the participants from various open Universities across India.

The three-day workshop, held from June 17 to 19, addressed the need for creating quality self-learning materials for the benefit of learners enrolled in various open and distant learning courses. Several pertinent issues such as the open licensing system, tracking the right OER curriculum resources and building a culture of quality at home institutions were also discussed.

Addressing the gathering, OSOU Vice Chancellor Srikant Mohapatra said, “Knowledge is free and care has to be taken to ensure that the last person in the queue gets an equal opportunity to learn.”

OSOU has a well-established practice of uploading its elaborate course materials in its official website. The same is available 24×7 for public use.