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ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD
(Department of Distance, Non-Formal & Continuing Education) Faculty of Education
Student name: Akhtar hussain
Student Id: 0000260802
Course: Developing Material for Distance & Non-Formal Education
Course code: (854)
Semester: Autumn, 2022
Level: MA/M. Ed.
Assignment No. 2
Q. 1 Critically examine the important aspect of developing a format of a unit.
Ans: The importance of planning
Learning requires building new skills and understanding on prior knowledge and abilities. The order and
way students experience new information will have a large impact on how successful they are at learning.
A clear and succinct plan will play a large role in this success. There are two levels of plans that guide
course building:
Scope and Sequence: The big-picture organization that covers the entire semester. The scope
consists of the topics, concepts and skills that will be taught throughout the course. The sequence
is the order in which these will be taught.
Unit Plans: The groupings of sequential lessons (by theme, topic, step in a process, skill, essential
question, etc.) that are components of the course.
Your scope and sequence is a course map that identifies what concepts and skills students will learn and
when. It helps instructors identify overarching topics and themes, as well as how the learning outcomes
connect to each. Developing a scope and sequence can ensure how the learning outcomes are covered and
achieved, and inform the appropriate amount of time it will take students to reach these outcomes.
Unit plans comprise what will be taught, how, for what purpose, and for how long. They are purposeful,
clear, and well-paced plans including aligned teaching approaches and active learning strategies.
The benefit of planning is twofold.
First, it helps you create a high-quality plan that guides instruction, but also helps students
understand what will be covered, why it will be covered, and how they will practice the knowledge,
concepts and skills to meet the unit’s objectives, and in turn, the course’s learning outcomes.
Second, it ensures an aligned plan for instruction and learning that is inclusive of your students’
learning needs. Having an organized plan helps you consider all the course design elements you
need to integrate for your students to have successful learning experiences.
Planning helps you increase the likelihood of your students obtaining the course learning outcomes.
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Building a plan
Scope and sequence
To help you plan your scope and sequence, review your course planning sheetDownload docx(75 KB)
from the design section. Your scope and sequence plan will organize and order your design plan. At this
point you will begin grouping or outlining units centered around topics, skills, themes, objectives, or
essential questions. First, identify the following components:
1. Topic: The topics, themes or big ideas you will cover. These groupings will serve as beginning
sketches of units that will be developed during unit planning. Decide if your units will be thematic,
goals-based or project-based.
2. Learning outcomes: Using the learning outcomes you designed from your course design template,
determine which units will help students reach which learning outcomes of your course.
3. Unit objectives: Unit objectives align with course learning outcomes and are smaller in scope.
Think about what you want students to be able to do at the end of each unit (not the end of the
course) and which outcomes they contribute to.
4. Assessments: Using the assessments from your course design template, begin mapping out where
larger summative assessments may occur to ensure that all learning outcomes are accounted for
and that your scope accounts for the time needed for assessments
5. Sequence of activities: Using the activities from your course design template, map out re-occurring
and unique activities, where they take place and how long. If aligned, these may overlap heavily
with unit objectives.
6. Key resources: Select a diverse array of authentic texts and content. Ensure that these materials are
presented in a variety of formats. (e.g., visual, auditory).
When mapping components make sure to consider the following:
Purpose: Think about the value of what you are teaching instead of trusting the content or sequence
of other resources, such as a textbook.
Instructional sequence: Organize your topics, themes or big ideas in a manner that is optimal for
student learning, and ensure that topics are interconnected and build on each other. Scaffold
instruction to best support learning processes. Decide how much time you will need to spend on
each topic.
Unit plans
After broadly grouping units in the scope and sequence stage, and considering components in relation to
each other, you will now build the individual unit plans. The topics, content and materials, learning
outcomes, assessments, and activities should all support the outcomes of the unit. As you build you may
iteratively adjust the scope and sequence plan, and this may in turn affect other units.
The unit plan, guided by the scope and sequence template, consists of the following components:
Establishing Objectives
Unit objectives: (See above).
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Essential questions: The defining questions that a unit will help answer. Essential questions help
guide students to thoughtfully inquire and think deeply about the subject. The essential questions
can either be course specific or unit specific.
Unit introduction: How you want to introduce a unit to your students. This is an opportunity to
spark student interest and share the authentic application of the unit. This may include posting the
unit’s overview, objects, and essential questions followed by an instructor led introduction video.
Gathering Evidence
Assessments: Assessments measure student progress towards achieving learning outcomes. It is
important to have a continuum of assessments that inform you and your students about their
understandings and misunderstandings throughout the learning process.
Consider diagnostic, formative and summative assessments.
Teaching and Learning
Activities: Activities contribute to learning concepts and skills and should clearly be connected to
unit objectives. This includes choosing effective teaching methods, active learning strategies and
how you will scaffold content to best support student learning.
When unit planning consider the following:
Expectations: Clear explanations for what students will do, why, and criteria for achievement.
Make sure to describe your vision, focus, and objectives of the unit to your students. Take the time
to answer questions and to address and support students’ needs. Students should clearly understand
the purpose and relevancy of the unit, as well as what is expected of them.
Continuity and consistency: For students to be successful it is very important that there is continuity
and consistency across units. This information should be clearly stated and documented in the
syllabus, and if applicable, in UB Learns.
Share unit components: Share with your students what each unit will include. Provide your students
with a brief overview of the unit objectives, teaching methods, materials, assessments, activities,
evaluation tools, and reflection process.
Adjust as needed: Although changes to unit plans can cause confusion, in some instances, changes
should be made. During lessons you may observe that students are struggling, or after a lesson you
conclude that students performed poorly on a task. These are times when adjustments to instruction
can be beneficial. If no changes can be made in the moment, consider how a lesson or unit could
be revised in the future. Take time to jot down your observations and encourage students to give
feedback.
Scaffolding: Additionally, consider the diverse learning needs of your students and
how scaffolding the content will benefit learners. Providing students with multiple exposures to
concepts helps them deepen their understanding. Revisit or review content by creating engaging
activities or formative assessments into your unit plan. For example, if students are expected to be
able to synthesize and summarize a case study, provide them with guided instruction, as well as
opportunities for individual and small group practice. This will help students be able to practice the
skills needed to independently summarize a case study in the future.
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Q.2 Write a note on significance of numbering system and section of a unit.
Ans: The number system or the numeral system is the system of naming or representing numbers. We know
that a number is a mathematical value that helps to count or measure objects and it helps in performing
various mathematical calculations. There are different types of number systems in Maths like decimal
number system, binary number system, octal number system, and hexadecimal number system. In this
article, we are going to learn what is a number system in Maths, different types, and conversion procedures
with many number system examples in detail. Also, check mathematics for grade 12 here.
What is Number System in Maths?
A number system is defined as a system of writing to express numbers. It is the mathematical notation for
representing numbers of a given set by using digits or other symbols in a consistent manner. It provides a
unique representation of every number and represents the arithmetic and algebraic structure of the figures.
It also allows us to operate arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The value of any digit in a number can be determined by:
The digit
Its position in the number
The base of the number system
Before discussing the different types of number system examples, first, let us discuss what is a number?
What is a Number?
A number is a mathematical value used for counting or measuring or labelling objects. Numbers are used
to performing arithmetic calculations. Examples of numbers are natural numbers, whole numbers, rational
and irrational numbers, etc. 0 is also a number that represents a null value.
A number has many other variations such as even and odd numbers, prime and composite numbers. Even
and odd terms are used when a number is divisible by 2 or not, whereas prime and composite differentiate
between the numbers that have only two factors and more than two factors, respectively.
In a number system, these numbers are used as digits. 0 and 1 are the most common digits in the number
system, that are used to represent binary numbers. On the other hand, 0 to 9 digits are also used for other
number systems. Let us learn here the types of number systems.
Types of Number Systems
There are various types of number systems in mathematics. The four most common number system types
are:
1. Decimal number system (Base- 10)
2. Binary number system (Base- 2)
3. Octal number system (Base-8)
4. Hexadecimal number system (Base- 16)
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Now, let us discuss the different types of number systems with examples.
Decimal Number System (Base 10 Number System)
The decimal number system has a base of 10 because it uses ten digits from 0 to 9. In the decimal number
system, the positions successive to the left of the decimal point represent units, tens, hundreds, thousands
and so on. This system is expressed in decimal numbers. Every position shows a particular power of the
base (10).
Example of Decimal Number System:
The decimal number 1457 consists of the digit 7 in the units position, 5 in the tens place, 4 in the hundreds
position, and 1 in the thousands place whose value can be written as:
(1×103
) + (4×102
) + (5×101
) + (7×100
)
(1×1000) + (4×100) + (5×10) + (7×1)
1000 + 400 + 50 + 7
1457
Binary Number System (Base 2 Number System)
The base 2 number system is also known as the Binary number system wherein, only two binary digits
exist, i.e., 0 and 1. Specifically, the usual base-2 is a radix of 2. The figures described under this system are
known as binary numbers which are the combination of 0 and 1. For example, 110101 is a binary number.
Octal Number System (Base 8 Number System)
In the octal number system, the base is 8 and it uses numbers from 0 to 7 to represent numbers. Octal
numbers are commonly used in computer applications. Converting an octal number to decimal is the same
as decimal conversion and is explained below using an example.
Example: Convert 2158 into decimal.
Solution:
2158 = 2 × 82
+ 1 × 81
+ 5 × 80
= 2 × 64 + 1 × 8 + 5 × 1
= 128 + 8 + 5
= 14110
Hexadecimal Number System (Base 16 Number System)
In the hexadecimal system, numbers are written or represented with base 16. In the hexadecimal system,
the numbers are first represented just like in the decimal system, i.e. from 0 to 9. Then, the numbers are
represented using the alphabet from A to F. The below-given table shows the representation of numbers in
the hexadecimal number system.
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Q. 3 Why a visual material is necessary for distance education.
Ans: In educational planning today, a move to words an ‘open’ educational system is simultaneous with a
proposal in induct the new media into the teaching programmes newly-initiated distance education
programmes thus tend to begin with a series of consultations between educationists and professional media
personal and as an education it’s who has been using the new media for some years of careful planning that
must go into the production of educational software : into the selection and of mode of presentation script
writers and producers. Intriguingly, the same two divergent themes may be detected in reports of projects
around the world, which have used the new media for distance education. (since these are reports after the
event, the differences will be seen to occur between projects rather than within projects intriguingly(again),
there is a familiar failure of articulation of the premises about media and education which must underline
the opposing themes: i) The media provide a technological tool for substituting for or extending the reach
of the traditional education system (chalk and talk, book and exam) ii) The media provide the opportunity
and the occasion for the induction of educational reform (education as experience, learning as opposed to
teaching, and so on.) Keywords: - Education, Teaching, Media. Points to be kept in mind in planning and
selection of audio-visual aids.
1. Decide what is to be communicated and why it is important to communicate
2. Outline the subject matter point; and
3. Visualize the key points in the outline. Once these three things have been thought about, the following
points may be considered while planning or selecting audio visual aids It should be realized that here is no
such thing like a best teaching aid. The situation determines which teaching aid should be chosen. For this,
the educator must be familiar with the different teaching aids available, so she can decide which aid to
choose. I shall include in my study the following distance education programmes. The radio and
Television University of the Divison of post-graduate extension studies, university of New South Wales,
Australia. The distance training package of the institute of chartered accountants in England and Wales.
The open university of Britain. The teaching objectives will also determine the kind of aid to be used
which could be. Learning a new skill or improving and old method;
Benefits of using audio and video in teaching.
Having audio and video available to your students can support their learning in the following ways. It:
• provides diverse teaching techniques for learning
• gives the teacher a voice – this can reduce the feeling of isolation for cloud based students, but also helps
located students feel connected
• can be used to simplify and explain complex problems
• can allow students to access the learning materials as often as required
• allows students to learn at their own pace, with instant playback, rewind and pause
• reduces frequently asked questions from students
• can be re-used.
Limitations of Audio Technology in Distance Education.
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Audio technologies are faced with some inherent challenges and problems. Kawatra (2008) observed that
distance learning has some inherent challenges which include the followings:
1. Technological limitations: This limitation is related to the company product. The quality, supplies and
other legal rights associated with the company may act as an impediment to the availability, use of the audio
materials.
2. Skills: Audio technology application to distance education has some implication to the students. Using
these tools require the need for training on the part of the users (students).
3. Physical strains: The use of audio technology in distance education causes some health challenges such
as head ache, back ache, eye pains.
4. Lack of feedbacks and social interaction associated with formal schooling.
Similarly, we may have projectors and films but may not have electricity or generator for films but may not
have electricity or a generator for a film show in a village.
Communicator:
The educator who is actually going to use the teaching aid has to be kept in mind while selecting audio-
visual aids, e.g. a village women may not be familiar with the use of projector and, therefore, may not able
to handle slide or film show. Thus both these audio-visuals cannot be used by her.
Audience size:
The audience size will determine the type of teaching aid that will be most suitable, e.g. a demonstration
may be suitable only for group of 20-30 people, beyond which slider or motion pictures may have to be
used.
Easy to see:
Aid must be easy to see to be effective. The visuals must be large enough to be seen by each member of the
audience without any obstruction. Easy to understand: The language used should be simple, local and easy
to understand. Familiar objectives should be presented to the audience. It may be adapted according to the
local culture. Time place: It is important to choose the right time and place for displaying the audio-visuals
also so that they can be most effective.
Q. 4 Explain the types of editing.
Ans: If you have ever written anything, you have probably needed an editor. If you have ever hired an
editing service, then you know that editing is actually a complex process, and there are different types of
editing. Copy editing, line editing, substantive editing, mechanical editing, and developmental editing are
all different methods of editing a written document. Academic editing and journal editing are also services
available for hire. What is the difference between them? How do you know what type of editing your writing
needs? Let’s look at what each type of editing entails and discuss the differences between them so that
you’ll always know what type of editing service to ask for.
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While there may be some variation in what they are called, generally, there are five major types of edits
that are performed on writing. In no particular order, they are:
Developmental, substantive, or content editing
Structural editing
Copy editing
Line editing
Mechanical editing
What are the differences between these types of edits, and when do you need each one? Each of these types
of editing is a critical part of the revision process and generally marks the progression of a document from
a rough draft to the final version. Depending on the type of document you are having edited, there may be
some overlap in what these stages of editing look for, but for the most part, they are clear and distinct
editing stages.
Developmental editing, also known as substantive or content editing, is usually the first step of editing that
a manuscript will go through. These types of editing may be applied to books, academic papers, research
papers, or articles. Developmental editing looks deeply at the content of a paper. Substantive editing will
consider the big picture and ask questions like, does the paper or book make sense? Does it flow well? Are
the ideas clearly developed and articulated? Are there any major logical holes or flaws? If you hire
substantive editing services to do this type of editing for you, the editor will usually leave notes for you to
consider and recommend big changes. The editor may delete sections or suggest adding more information.
Structural editing can happen together with developmental editing or as a separate process. Substantive
editing services often provide them together as a service. Structural editors look at the overall way that a
story, research paper, or article is structured. They focus on logical flow, style, tone, and general quality of
writing. Like developmental or substantive editing, structural editing looks at the big picture of your
writing. These types of editing are both important steps on your way to developing a well-written, well-
organized manuscript.
Once your editor (or you) are happy with the structure, content, and logical flow of your writing, it is time
for the next step of editing: line and copy editing. Copy editing can include making corrections to spelling
and punctuation. However, the editor generally focuses more on grammar, word choice, and enhancing
overall writing quality. For example, if you hire copy editing services, they will make sure that your paper
uses active rather than passive voice and avoids overly long or awkward phrasing. If you hire copy editing
services for academic editing, they will also review your paper to make sure that it properly conforms to
the citation style and that references are complete. A copy editor ensures that the tone and style of a piece
are consistent and appropriate for the target audience.
Line editing is a close cousin of copyediting, but there are some key differences, and hence it is a separate
editing step. Line editing gets its name because the editor goes through your writing “line by line.” They
closely examine word choice, the impact of your writing and provide polish to make sure that your writing
is clear and eloquent. Line editors will point out phrasing that sounds clichéd and suggest fixes for run-on
sentences. They focus on clarity and will simplify your writing so that the meaning is clear and not overly
convoluted.
Both line editing and copy editing are important types of editing that will refine and polish your writing.
These types of editing are important steps, no matter what type of paper you have written.
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Now that your paper has been reviewed for structure, content, coherence, style, flow, grammar, and word
choice, it is time for the final editing step: mechanical editing. Mechanical editor takes on the task of
ensuring that spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting. If you are seeking academic editing,
mechanical editing is the step of making sure that your paper conforms perfectly to the style guide your
paper is written in (MLA, APA, or Chicago). Mechanical editors carefully read your paper to ensure
consistent capitalization, abbreviation, and punctuation. Copy editing services will sometimes offer
mechanical editing along with copy editing. However, these types of editing are different, so make sure to
specify if you need just one or both if you hire an outside editing service.
Once your paper has gone through all of the different types of editing, you will be left with a beautiful piece
of writing that is structurally logical, has no holes in information or flow, and is written clearly and
concisely. While sometimes the different types of editing overlap a bit, they are distinct from each other. It
is important to know the difference so that you can clearly communicate your needs when hiring an
academic editing service or other type of editor to review your work. This way, you can make sure that
your paper receives the attention that it needs.
Q.5 What do you understand by the term evaluation, in the context of distance education?
Ans: Monitoring and Evaluation in E-Learning: Five M&E Practices to Measure and Boost the Impact of
Online Education Programs
E-learning programs have surged in popularity during the COVID-19 crisis, as educational institutions,
businesses, non-profits and other organizations have sought safer, socially distanced options for their
classes and training courses. Some of these programs are fully online, while others take a hybrid approach
that combines in-person and online components. Their formats range from training delivered on mobile
apps or e-learning platforms to virtual exchange, an online education practice that allows for international
collaborative learning through sustained, technology-enabled interactions that let students across regions
engage with one another in real-time.
As we move (hopefully) into a post-pandemic world, these approaches are likely to continue to become
more prevalent, due to the multiple benefits they offer both students and providers — and to their
applicability to everything from traditional academic programs to skills development initiatives. They’re
being used in countries around the world to increase equity of access to high-
quality vocational and entrepreneurship training, and they offer a sustainable solution to the challenge
of upskilling at scale.
Virtual exchange is an area of particular interest within the broader online education space, as global
development-focused organizations are using it in a number of innovative ways. For instance, the William
Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan — an independent, non-profit research and
educational organization — is utilizing the approach in its Business and Culture program. WDI,
which serves both profit-seeking and non-profit firms by creatively applying business skills in low- and
middle-income countries, has decades of experience when it comes to in-person education and training. In
recent years, it has expanded its virtual learning offerings, responding to a trend that has only grown in
importance during the pandemic.
The Business and Culture program connects undergraduate students in Egypt, Lebanon, Libya and the U.S.
(at the University of Michigan), enabling them to develop connections and critical international business
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competencies through synchronous virtual sessions and a cross-cultural team-based final project. Soliya, an
international non-profit and pioneering virtual exchange provider, takes a similar approach. Combining the
power of interactive technology with the science of dialogue, its Connect Program fosters interdisciplinary
cross-cultural exchanges and provides critical thinking, communication and digital media literacy skills to
post-secondary students in over 200 colleges and universities in 35 countries in North America, Europe,
the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and South and Southeast Asia. (Both programs are
supported by the Stevens Initiative, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding
provided by the U.S. Government, and is administered by the Aspen Institute.)
To support organizations and programs that are employing virtual exchange, we have compiled the
following five key monitoring and evaluation (M&E) insights. Based on WDI and Soliya’s
experience, these go beyond commonly used training evaluation frameworks such as the Kirkpatrick Four
Levels and training effectiveness questions, and can be applied to a variety of e-learning programs.
How does distance learning work?
Students use our awarding bodies’ online learning environment platforms (either Moodle or Canvas) and
discussion apps, for access to:
Lecture recordings, slides and lecture notes to stream or download;
Online seminars;
Practical exercises;
Group tutorials;
Individual contact with your tutor;
Individual contact with a student support officer;
Online electronic journal databases facilitated through Open Access/Athens;
Access to other university libraries (through SCONUL).
Modules studied at a distance are typically arranged as a sequence of teaching activities over an eight-week
period. Students are able to set their own study schedule during a module around the seminars and group
work.
Blended learning
Students can decide on a module-by-module basis whether they want to study on-site or via distance.
Allowing you more flexibility to fit study around your life and existing commitments.
Our distance learning resources will also be available to students studying on-site. Students studying on-
site or via distance will be able to interact and share ideas and expertise via the online learning environment
and discussion apps, helping to create a richer learning environment.
Study Options
Part or Full-time
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Students can choose to study full-time over 18 months or part-time. Part time students are recommended to
take the course over 3 years, 2 years for the taught modules and then the 6 month dissertation in the final
year.
Master of Science, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate
Students can chose to study all of the courses available via distance learning at different levels, click here
to learn more.
International students
CAT currently has students from all across the globe. Most international students join us via distance
learning through our Virtual Learning Environment. We encourage International students to bring their
knowledge and perspective of sustainability abroad to the course as this encourages and enriches the
learning of all students at CAT.