The promise of ODL

From Bjoern Hassler

N. Barney Pityana (GCOB, PhD, Principal and Vice Chancellor, University of South Africa), A DECADE OF DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION IN AFRICA: The Promise of Open and Distance Learning, Keynote Address at the Pan Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning of the Commonwealth of Learning held in collaboration with London University and UNESCO, London, 14-16 July 2008, under the theme: Access to Learning for Development.

The result of all of this is that Africa's ODL initiatives are generally initiated and driven from outside the Continent as development partnership initiatives, almost always the initiatives are disperse and uncoordinated, even competing. ODL is in danger of becoming of mere passing fashion, until the next big idea comes along.

Full speech: http://www.col.org/resources/speeches/Pages/2008-07-16.aspx

Slides: http://www.col.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/080717_BPityana_PCF5_presentation.pdf

Extract here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XezXXw9GPps