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Regions are the pillars of ODL
The Institute for Open and Distance Learning (IODL) visited the Midlands Region’s Rustenburg Centre on Tuesday 2 December 2008 to conduct an ODL workshop for staff. A senior lecturer from the Institute, Dr Mpine Makoe, explained what ODL is and what is expected of the regions in terms of its implementation. She hastened to inform staff that ODL in South Africa cannot be compared to ODL in the United Kingdom or United States of America as "South Africa is divided into different societal stratum where you still have the rural poor and the affluent urban. It is for this reason that the regions are the pillars of ODL in the South African context as they are in touch with the rural students," said Dr Makoe.
"With this model, certain functions need to be decentralised for it to be realised --- human and capital resources must be made available," she said. Dr Makoe also stressed that ODL is all about student centeredness and therefore tries to bridge the distance and time between the institution and the student. She urged staff to be innovative and to come up with ways of using advanced communication technology such as cellphones to reach students. "Why not try chat rooms such as mxit to communicate with students? In this way, it becomes easier to bridge the gap we always refer to," she said.
Dr Makoe said that ideally a student residing in a very rural area must receive the same services (eg tutorials) as a student residing in Pretoria. She also said that the turnaround time for feedback on students' assignments is critical as it affects students’ success.
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