Adding value to distance learning

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Wednesday 10th April, 2013

 THE Flexible Open and Distance Education (FODE) is working to maximising its capacity building approaches to provide accessible and affordable distance learning to young Papua New Guineans.

As part of the delivery programme, the officers will be visiting Jayapura this week to provide exposure on the use and application of emerging technologies, pedagogy and the curriculum used in West Papua’s distance learning centres.

FODE principal Demas Tongogo said Jayapura was chosen as an ideal training venue for his officers ahead of all other places in the neighbouring countries because of the multi-cultural similarities West Papua shared with PNG.

“We also felt that West Papua would provide an ideal learning curve for us to understand, appreciate and adopt changes in the distance learning milieu with its well established distance learning institutions,” Tongogo said. 

He said the exposure and experience gained from the trip would have merit in achieving their objective and add value towards a better delivery of distance learning strategies in PNG.

“We are quite positive that the mandatory inputs and recommendations from distance education specialists in Jayapura will add value to our way of doing things for better delivery of distance education services to young Papua New Guineans,” he said.

While in Jayapura, the team will have a series of meetings with heads of distance learning institutions and senior education officials from West Papua before taking a tour of the schools and distance learning institutions including the Open University of Jayapura. 

The team leaves for Jayapura today via Vanimo for a border cross-over by road and returns on Sunday.

The trip was made possible by the FODE World Bank project consultant  Edwardo Banzon under his terms of reference on distance learning curriculum, pedagogy and technologies. 

This was organised in close consultation with the Indonesian education attaché in PNG Didik Wisnu Widjajanto, who will accompany the team on tour as guide.