Keynote: Round Table Discussion on Distance/Online education and Matric Rewrite Centres, Johannesburg, South Africa, 30 May 2018

1. By Paul Prinsloo
University of South Africa
(Unisa)
@14prinsp
Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/shoes-depend-leash-sky-beautiful-93732//
Good practice in Online / Distance
Education - Some Pointers for/from
the Global South
KEYNOTE: ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION
ON DISTANCE/ONLINE EDUCATION AND MATRIC REWRITE
CENTRES
30 MAY 2018

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I do not own the copyright of any of the images in this
presentation. I therefore acknowledge the original copyright
and licensing regime of every image used.
This presentation (excluding the images) is licensed
under a under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License.

3. Overview of the presentation
1. Why are online/distance/distributed learning valid options to
consider?
2. Context matters
3. Once upon a time – distance education as revolution
4. The online/distributed/distance education bubble
5. What/who drives online/distributed learning?
6. Understanding online/distributed learning as educational,
social, political, ideological, economic, philosophical, legal and
environmental construct/contract
7. Defining online/distributed learning for/in the Global South –
Canada/South Africa
8. What factors should we take into account in designing and
delivering online/distributed learning

4. Why are online/distance/distributed learning valid
options to consider?
1. Addressing the continuing legacy of colonialism and Apartheid
that deprived many of furthering their education
2. Attending residential teaching/training is not possible for many
3. Massification of (higher) education with limited spaces on
campus
4. Offers flexibility for on campus and off-campus students
5. Allows us to address the needs of very specific groups e.g.
working adults, providing second chances to school leavers
6. Opens up spaces to consider formal, accredited learning as well
as informal, non-accredited and postformal (accredited and non-
accredited learning)
7. Advances in technology offers many possibilities* unheard of
before (*also risks unheard of before)

5. Why are online/distance/distributed learning valid
options to consider?
8. Allegedly it is cheaper
9. Economies of scale
10. It can be just as effective and good quality as face-to-face
provision and at times better
11. As public education is under increasing pressure, more and more
commercial entities and venture capital are entering the market
12. Many existing education providers offering face-to-face tuition
sees online/distance/distributed learning modalities as a way to
cross-subsidise less profitable offerings
13. Existing providers use online/distance/distributed learning to
supplement existing offerings/curricula as ways to offer
additional support to students with specific needs

6. Image credit: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1660127
There be dragons…

7. Tessmer, M., & Richey, R. C. (1997). The role of context in learning and instructional design.
Educational technology research and development, 45(2), 85-115.
We cannot talk/think about
online/distributed learning without
considering ‘context’
Image credit:
https://pixabay.com/en/logo-
google-location-symbol-2651379/
We are “condemned to
context” (Tessmer & Richey,
1997, p. 88) and “[c]ontext
is everything” (Jonassen,
1993, in Tessmer & Richey, 1997,
p. 86)

8. Context is layered and multidimensional
• The geopolitical, economic, social, technological, environmental
and legal macro-context
• The regulatory and accrediting context
• The institutional or organisational context
• The context of learning – primary, secondary, post-school
• The context of learning (2) – formal, informal and post-formal
• The context of assessment – no assessment, self-assessment,
automated, intelligent feedback system-assessment, and/or
proctored assessment, onsite/offsite
• Public/private/NGO
These intersecting/overlapping layers are also,
often, mutually constitutive

9. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/once-upon-a-time-writer-author-719174/

10. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/
Mapping distance education as
revolution (Peters, 2010)
“We have experienced a revolutionary adaptation of
teaching and learning to new technological and social
conditions. There is no other form of teaching and
learning that has broken away from tradition so sharply,
that is so flexible and conducive to further societal
changes of the post-industrial knowledge society.
Distance education achieved a first significant
breakthrough in the reform of higher education”
(Peters, 2010, p. 56; emphasis)

11. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/
Mapping distance education as
revolution (Peters, 2010)
The humanitarian task of providing access for all learners,
with special focus on those disadvantaged by distance, by
precarious economic conditions, by belonging to
discriminated minorities, or by being disabled. Obviously, this
mission is now relativized by a growing number of privileged
students who do not learn at a distance because they are
forced to do this by unfavorable circumstances, but rather for
reasons of convenience only”
(Peters, 2010, p. 32)

12. 2011
Source credit: http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/08/28/the-digital-revolution-and-higher-education/

13. Page credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9446127/Distance-learning-The-online-learning-
revolution.html
2012

14. Page credit: http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2014/02/online-education
2014

15. Source credit: http://learninglab.sdabocconi.it/files/sito/online-education-tsunami-eng.pdf

16. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/
Retrieved from https://medium.com/@bryanalexander/a-devils-dictionary-of-educational-technology-1c3ea9a0b932#.fwehp5qbd

17. Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/en/binary-code-man-display-dummy-face-1327512/
Many of the traditional leading
(open) distance learning institutions
such as Athabasca University
(Canada) and the, Open University
(UK) have recently undergone and are
undergoing major changes due to a
variety of reasons – changes in
funding formulas, increased
competition, changing student needs
and profiles, changes in regulatory
environments, historical business
models, etc
Image credit: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:AT_YOUR_OWN_RISK.svg

18. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/bubble-city-urban-soap-lightness-3392377/
The online/distributed/distance
education bubble
MYTHS

19. Myth 1: Education is dysfunctional and going
online/distributed can save education
“Education is broken,” and technology will fix it.
It’s an old and tired refrain, but it’s a refrain
nonetheless, repeated over and over”
Audrey Watters (2015) - http://hackeducation.com/2015/05/17/ed-tech-ideology

20. Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here

21. “To understand and assess the potential of education
to make a difference, we need to understand
education as one of many role-players and as
embedded in historical and current structural
relationships. Often we act and make promises to
students that; somehow, education can, on its own,
change the world.”
Prinsloo, P. (2015, October 26). Making sense of access: Access to what? At what cost? For whom? [Web
log post]. Retrieved from https://opendistanceteachingandlearning.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/making-
sense-of-access-access-to-what-at-what-cost-for-whom/
Unrealistic expectations

22. Source credit: https://www.geteducated.com/elearning-education-blog/online-learning-myth-2-the-cheap-online-college/

23. “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

24. ”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; emphasis added)
“… there is very little that can be concluded with
certainty. Policy-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)

25. Myth 3: Everyone has access and
everyone benefits
Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/hinged-doors-door-input-old-door-2709566/

26. World Bank. (2016). Digital dividends. Washington: International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development / The World Bank. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2016
• The spread of digital technologies does not
mean the digital dividends also spread
• 60% of the world’s population is still offline
• “some of the perceived benefits of digital
technologies are offset by emerging risks”
such as “polarised labour markets and rising
inequality” with technology “replacing
routine jobs, forcing many workers to
compete for low-paying jobs” (p. 3).
• The better educated, well connected, and more capable have
received most of the benefits
• “[w]orldwide, some 4 billion people do not have any internet
access, nearly 2 billion do not use a mobile phone, and almost half a
billion live outside areas with a mobile signal” (World Bank, 2016, p. 4).

27. PewResearch. (2016). Smartphone ownership and Internet usage continues to climb in emerging economies. Retrieved
from http://www.pewglobal.org/2016/02/22/smartphone-ownership-and-internet-usage-continues-to-climb-in-
emerging-economies/

28. • Across 21 emerging and developing countries - 54% of the population has
access to a smart phone – but access is gendered (males have more
access than females) (2015)
• There is a strong correlation between per capita income and Internet
access and use
• Approximately 52% of 18-34 year olds in South Africa has access to the
Internet, compared to 33% of 35 and older adults. Of the lower income
group, only 22% has access to the Internet compared to 52% of those in
a higher income group
• Only 39% of women in South Africa have access to the Internet compared
with 46% of men (PewResearch, 2016, p. 13).
• With regard to access to smartphones, 46% of 18-34 year olds have
access to a smartphone, compared to 30% of those older, while 50% of
those in a higher income bracket have access to a smartphone compared
to 18% in the lower income bracket (PewResearch, 2016, p. 20).
• The findings in the report regarding changes in the access to and use of
the Internet in South Africa from 2013 to 2015 show very little change.

29. • General career benefits (both tangible and intangible) are more likely to
be reported by people with higher socioeconomic status and higher levels
of education.
• In developed countries, career builders with low socioeconomic status
and lower levels of education report tangible career benefits at about the
same rate as those with high status and lots of education. And in
developing countries, those with lower levels of socioeconomic status
and education are significantly more likely to report tangible career
benefits.
Source credit: https://hbr.org/2015/09/whos-benefiting-from-moocs-and-why

30. 2018
Littlejohn, A., & Hood, N. (2018). The [Un] Democratisation of Education and Learning. In Reconceptualising
Learning in the Digital Age (pp. 21-34). Springer, Singapore.

31. The question is not whether
online/distributed learning can make a
difference or whether online/distributed
learning is effective. We need to ask under
what conditions do online and distributed
learning make a difference, to whom, and
what should we consider to judge its
appropriateness and effectiveness

32. Image location: https://scontent-jnb1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-
9/18620492_1328081900605928_6200516404990980799_n.jpg?oh=ff7892acbecfcff7c1a00a72c1d3796f&oe=59A86652
Under what conditions will
online/distributed learning be truly
liberating?

33. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/gear-bicycle-chain-2291916/
Who/what drives online learning?

34. Source credit: http://allafrica.com/stories/201805180176.html
1

35. Source credit: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/
2016
There has never been a time of greater promise, or
one of greater potential peril

36. Image credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Industry_4.0.png

37. Imagecredit:https://www.flickr.com/photos/haydnseek/2534088367
Site credit: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34066941

38. Imagecredit:https://www.flickr.com/photos/haydnseek/2534088367
Networks not only include but also
exclude. Not everyone is and will
be connected, but everyone will be
affected.
[see Castells, M. (2008). Communication Power. Oxford:
Oxford University Press]

39. Source credit: http://jalperin.github.io/d3-cartogram/
2
The Global North as producer of
knowledge/trends/hype/’knowledge’

40. Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Firmen_im_Silicon_Valley.jpg
See Watters, A. (2015, March 17). Ed-Tech and the Californian Ideology. [Web log post}. Retrieved from
http://hackeducation.com/2015/05/17/ed-tech-ideology
3

41. Image credit: Amazon Image credit: Amazon
4

42. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/demonstration-march-masses-people-1295673/
Traditional forms of delivery in education will not be
able to cater for the increasing demand for accessible,
affordable, flexible, and good quality education
5

43. Source credit: https://www.cnet.com/news/why-india-doesnt-want-free-basics/
6
The cost of ‘free’ internet

44. Page credit: http://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/4/the-rise-of-educational-technology-as-a-sociocultural-and-ideological-phenomenon

45. “The rise of edtech is underpinned by ideology: edtech is
financially driven, adheres to privatization of longstanding
public structures, desires automated or pre-packaged
contents and processes, and envisions technology as a
solution in and of itself” (emphasis added)
“…edtech programs should foster an understanding of the
ideological, social, political, and economic contexts that
surround use of these technologies. Such a need is only
increasing; while edtech programs should continue to prepare
individuals to design, develop, evaluate, implement, and
manage edtech and associated instructional practices, we
cannot ignore that fact that this technology is not neutral,
politically or ideologically” (emphasis added)
Veletsianos, G. (2017). http://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/4/the-rise-of-educational-technology-as-a-sociocultural-and-ideological-
phenomenon

46. Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here
Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/definition-word-dictionary-text-390785/
Defining
online/distributed
learning

47. Guri-Rosenblit, S. (2005). ‘Distance education’and ‘e-learning’: Not the same thing. Higher education, 49(4), 467-493.

48. Distance education courses
Online courses
A/Synchronous online courses
Online programs
Blended/hybrid courses
[Not-for]Credit courses Online contract training
MOOCs and all its varieties
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_35547_Birds_on_a_Wire_2.JPG
So how do we define online*
[teaching and learning]?

49. Page credit: https://www.tonybates.ca/2017/04/25/what-is-online-learning-seeking-definition/

50. Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here
Distance education courses. Distance education courses are those
where no classes are held on campus – all instruction is conducted
at a distance. Distance education courses may use a variety of
delivery methods, such as print-based, video/audio-conferencing,
as well as internet-based.
Online courses. A form of distance education where the primary
delivery mechanism is via the internet. These could be delivered
synchronously or asynchronously. All instruction is conducted at a
distance.
Synchronous online courses. Courses where students need to
participate at the same time as an instructor, but at a separate
location other than an institutional campus. These courses may be
delivered by video conferencing, web conferencing, audio
conferencing, etc.

51. Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here
Asynchronous courses. Courses where students are not required
to participate in any sessions at the same time as the instructor.
These may be print-based courses, or online courses using a
learning management system, for instance.[For the purposes of
this survey] we wish to exclude inter-campus delivery where
students are required to attend a different campus from the
instructor. However, we wish to include delivery via the internet or
other distance technologies to small learning centres in remote
areas.
Online programs. A for-credit program that can be completed
entirely by taking online courses, without the need for any on-
campus classes. These could be delivered synchronously or
asynchronously.

52. Image credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13587160-to-save-everything-click-here
Blended/hybrid courses. These are courses designed to combine
both online and face-to-face teaching in any combination. For the
purposes of this questionnaire, we are interested in those courses
where some, but not all, of the face-to-face teaching has been
replaced by online study.
Credit courses. These are courses that lead to institutional credits
(degrees, diplomas, etc.). We wish to include information on all
credit online courses, whether they are managed by a central
service or by individual departments or by Continuing Studies. [For
the purpose of this survey, the focus is primarily on online and
distance courses and programs for credit].
Online contract training. These are online training programs that
may or may not be for credit recognition but are designed to meet
a particular industry or training need.

53. MOOCs. These are massive, open, online courses. The key
features are:
• No fee (except possibly for an end of course certificate),
• The courses are open to anyone: there is no requirement for
prior academic qualifications in order to take the course,
• The courses are not for credit.

54. 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

55. 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

56. Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/architectural-industrial-design-482687/
What factors should we consider when designing
[online]* teaching and learning experiences?

57. The SECTIONS Model
Image credit: https://www.amazon.com/Effective-Teaching-Technology-Higher-Education/dp/0787960349
• Students: what do we know about them? How appropriate
is our design for them?
• Ease of use and reliability: How easy/reliable is the
technology for both students and faculty?
• Costs: what are the cost implications?
[Also think scale – student: facilitator ratio]
• Teaching and learning: what kind of learning is needed?
What design/approach will serve us (teachers and students)
best? What technologies are appropriate? Disciplinary context?
• Interactivity: what [level of] interactivity is required?
• Organisational issues: Support? Barriers? Requirements?
Buy-in?
• Novelty: How new is this technology?
• Speed: what are the affordances of adopting this technology? Frequent
updates to content/software?

58. Source credit: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3200/CHNG.41.2.30-35

59. 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?

60. Source credit: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/916

61. 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)

62. 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?

63. Source credit: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/149

64. Source credit: https://www.slideshare.net/eLearnCenter/anderson-getting-the-mix-right

65. Source credit: https://www.slideshare.net/eLearnCenter/anderson-getting-the-mix-right

66. Source credit: https://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/3185

67. Some pointers for consideration

68. • 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

69. 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

70. On how does going
online/distributed impact on cost,
quality and access?
3

71. 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

72. Source credit: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/149/708

73. Image credit:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Low.cost.carrier.easyjet.arp.jpg Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_(airline)
Flying low cost but getting to your destination or
flying first class with all the bells and whistles?

74. How do we achieve a balance between
what are the essential elements in the
design and delivery of online/distributed
learning courses and those elements that
are extra/nice-to-have?
What will good practice in
online/distributed/distance education
provision look like?

75. Quality
Accessibility Cost-
effectiveness
Ethics
Social justice
4

76. 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