COL, OUM to co-host PCF8
KUALA LUMPUR: The Eighth Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF8) is expected to draw about 800 participants from 70 countries when it opens at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from Nov 27 to Dec 1 2016.
Co-hosted by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and Open University Malaysia (OUM), it will discuss applications of open and distance learning (ODL) in widening educational access, enhancing economic development and creating social equity and inclusion of communities, both locally and globally.
Since the first PCF in Brunei in 1999, the Forum has evolved to become a premier platform for practitioners, experts and policymakers to discuss pertinent issues impacting ODL. Learning approaches and programme delivery have also changed drastically over the years, particularly with the advent of technology at the turn of the 21st century.
“The last 15 years has seen a significant rise in the number of ODL providers of various types, including dual mode, cross border, private, online and e-learning,” said COL president and chief executive officer Prof Asha Kanwar.
“This is partly due to the advent of the Internet and technology applications that have enabled people to explore new teaching and learning approaches. While teaching and learning in the 1990s was limited to printed learning materials, face-to-face interactions and audio-visuals, people now have access to free digital learning resources and free online courses like Open Educational Resources (OERs) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs),” she added.
Open, online and flexible learninghasundoubtedlyprovided people with greater access to education, particularly the marginalised and disadvantaged groups, but questions on quality still remain.
Prof Kanwar said governments want to see more accountability from, education providers and particularly from those offering distance and online learning. It is very important to have rigorous quality assurance mechanisms in place so that students don’t only have access, but also access to success.
The issue of quality and equity in learning is one of the subthemes of PCF8 that will provide opportunities for policy makers and experts to discuss matters on quality assurance frameworks, accreditation, certification, benchmarking, among others.
With the theme “Open, Online and Flexible Learning: The Key to Sustainable Development”, the other subthemes covered in the Forum are: Access and Inclusion,Efficiency and Effectiveness and, Technology and Innovation.
The forum provides a platform for educators, practitioners and those interested in ODL to network and collaborate in future research, to learn and adopt best practices, thus creating a win-win situation for everyone.
For those who are unable to participate in PCF8, preconference online forums to discuss the four subthemes was opened for public discussion beginning Apr 1. Each forum will last for four weeks. The idea is to get a good sense of what the global community considers as important concerns in relation to each sub-theme. Ideas and pertinent issues and recommendations of the online forums will be shared during PCF8.
For more information, e-mail: pcf8@oum.edu.my or visit http:// pcf8.oum.edu.my/