Abstract

Conducting an orientation programme to the course writers of open and distance education programmes is an essential step in the process of development of course material, popularly called self-instructional (self-learning) materials (SIMs/SLMs), because of the nature and the underlying characteristics of these SIMs/SLMs as well as the uniqueness of the Open Universities (OUs) and other Open and Distance Education Institutions (ODEIs). Generally, these Universities/Institutions in India involve the teachers, academics and researchers in conventional universities, colleges and research institutions as course writers in getting these materials written for their courses. In the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the normal practice is that the course writers are oriented to their task for a day or two in a face-to-face meeting only. Further, after the orientation programme is over, the training/follow-up support to the course writers, when they are actually on their task of writing units (course material), has been a weak link. An effective alternative model for course development was to be thought of, based on the latest, cheapest and fastest Information and Communication Technology that is reliable, easily available and accessible. The author made an attempt to conduct orientation to the course writers as well as training them by using e-mail technology. This paper presents among others, the following: a) different practical aspects of preparatory work involved in conducting an orientation and training of course writers through e-mail; b) the advantages of using e-mail as a means for conducting orientation and training for getting quality course units from them; c) the problems and prospects of using e-mail technology in different processes/activities of course development in a perspective that can serve as an alternative model for course development at IGNOU in particular and in OUs/ODEIs in general.

Citation

Reddy, M. (2010). Orientation and Training of Course Writers through E-mail: A Case of Post-Graduate Diploma in Adult Education. Indian Journal of Open Learning, 19(2), 97-116. Indira Gandhi National Open University. Retrieved August 15, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/187876/.