ROLE
OF ICT IN OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
In distance learning system, learners are remote to the institution and
are in large scale. It is difficult for a learner to visit the institution
every day to get a service/support as available in a conventional system and at
same time, it is even difficult to the institution itself to provide various
services to the learners at different phases of a student learning life cycle,
due to limited human resource available.
Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) is a prime resource to overcome such limitations.
Information and communication
technology is group of technologies by which various support
services[1][3]shall be provided at different phases of student learning life
cycle in distance learning. The various phases
are the admission phase (progamme details, fee structure, admission
procedure and registration &
re-registration), the learning phase (learning schedule, programme
delivery(lectures through video conferencing, webinars, audio & video programmes,
multimedia presentations and case studies),
the evaluation phase (examination schedule, internal &external assessment,
examinations, improvement, valuation, revaluation and result declaration) and
the certification phase ( marks/grades updates, certificate printing &
issuing and convocation schedule).
In conventional system, learners are able to interact with one another
face-to-face, which is a prerequisite to more meaningful social intercourse.
Since, there is no such facility in the distance learning, web-based student
learning and support system shall be developed and implemented using ICT to
provide services at all different phases in student learning life cycle and
also for knowledge and information sharing as done in a conventional system of
education.
ICT INFRASTRUCTURE IN OPEN DISTANCE LEARNING
Open distance learning system
requires ICT infrastructure to provide various services effectively at
different phases of a student life cycle. The ICT infrastructure include the
network infrastructure, the computing infrastructure, the system and application software, the
Internet Service Provider(ISP), the bandwidth, the policy framework and the security infrastructure.
The network infrastructure
The institution, that provides
education in open distance learning mode requires a structured network at all
its operational nodes (headquarters, the regional and study centres in case of IGNOU) and
interconnected each other through a dedicated network so that all student
services can be accessed easily by all operational nodes, students and other public.
The network shall include adequate and standard network components that are
used at gateway and other parts of the structured network. The standard network
components are the router, the network switches, the standard network cable
(fiber and UTP). Wireless connectivity(Wifi/Wi-max) shall also be used, where
ever needed.
The computing infrastructure
The standard computing
infrastructure include standard computer hardware such as servers(database
servers, web servers, backup/recovery servers
and application servers) to host various student learning and support
services and personal computers (desktop computers, laptops and net books) to
access and use services.
The stable system and application software
The system and application software
is required to develop software for various student learning and support
services that are needed at various phases of student learning life cycle. The
software is a main component in open distance learning by which various support
services shall be provided to students and other public in large scale. The
present Web technologies support to develop web-based software for various
services that can be accessed any where and any time. Web technologies broadly
categorized as LAMP(Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) and WAMP(Windows, Apache,
MySQL and PHP). There are several learning management systems(LMS) available
and MOODLE is one of popular LMSs. LMS is a complete system that covers all
phases of a student learning life cycle.
The internet service provider(ISP) and internet
bandwidth
Internet bandwidth is needed to access web-based student learning and support
services. The amount of internet
bandwidth required is directly proportional to the number of users, who access
the service(s) and is one of the parameters to access a service easily with no
time . The accessibility of a service
depends on the availability of internet bandwidth reserved in a particular
institution, where service is hosted. The internet service provider is an
organization who provides internet bandwidth.
The security infrastructure
Security infrastructure is
essentially required to protect the systems(servers and personal computers),
software, applications and the data that
are being used in an institution, where student learning and support services
are made available in open distance learning system. Security
infrastructure enhance the security of a
System/Application/data and are intended to counter security attacks. The
gateway(the starting and ending point for inbound and outbound traffic) of
systems shall be protected with security devices. The standard security devices
are the firewall, intrusion detection system(IDS), intrusion prevention
system(IPS), the antivirus software and other monitoring systems. Security for
a service shall be ensured by protecting its network domain where service is
running, its system domain on which the
service is hosted and the service/application
itself. Each security device shall be
configured with proper access controls.
The policy document
Policy document covers various policies that are to be
enforced in an institution where student learning and support services are made
available in a open distance learning system. The policies shall broadly
categorized to operational policies, behavioral policies, resource
access(system, service and network) control policies, security policies and
organizational policies. The policy document is dynamically changed based on
need and deed. The policy document helps to setup the ICT infrastructure
properly and to have access control.
THE
CHALLENGING ISSUES OF ICT INFRASTRUCTURE SETUP & USAGE IN ODL (Open
Distance Learning)
Information and communication
technologies playing a prime role in supporting various services in open distance
learning in large scale and at same time there are many issues and
challenges[4] in setup and usage of ICT infrastructure. The following are
various issues and challenges:
Application/service compatibility with respect to
the computer hardware and software
Technology is changing very
frequently, but it is difficult every time to develop application software for
various services using such technology. New technology has always flexible
features that are needed in ODL system to meet the demands of the learners in
large scale, but it is a challenging task to choose ideal hardware and software
that have compatibility with existing application software. Application
compatibility with respect to hardware and software can be achieved by placing platform independent infrastructure(the
hardware, software and application).
Scalability issues
Open distance learning is a more
flexible education system than any other
conventional education system. Due to this, the student enrollment is very high
and at same time expectations from learners also high. As learners are more in
scale and remote to the institution,
most of the activities being performed
remotely through the online services that are provided by the institution.
Since, the learners and their usage is increasing progressively, time to time ,it is a
challenging issue to maintain always scalable resources in terms of memory
space, handle number of users and their transactions. This issue can be
addressed by anticipating the scalable load at network level, system level,
application/service level and data storage level at least for a period of 5 to
7 years and place an adequate
computing, storage and network
infrastructure.
Ensure data compatibility
As database technology is changing
time to time, ensuring data compatibility with changing database technology is
a challenging task. If the old data is not compatible with new database
technology, it is very difficult to use and access data through various services/applications.
Data compatibility problem can be achieved by encouraging data migration
process in various stages time to time so that the data is always compatible to
new database technology to use and access it all the times.
Dynamic allocation of Internet bandwidth
Dynamic allocation of internet
bandwidth to a specific service is a challenging issue. The accessibility of a
service shall be ensured only with the availability of internet bandwidth as it
is one of the prime parameters. As allocation of internet bandwidth to a
specific service is directly proportional to the amount of usage of that
service, there is a need of dynamically allocation of bandwidth time to time to
that service. The problem can be achieved by introducing bandwidth management
and load balancing system to ensure availability of a service. As online
services are essential in ODL, it is ideal to have more than one ISP so that
the availability of a service can be ensured always.
Policy updates
Due to flexibility in open distance
learning system, there will be frequent changes in admission criteria,
evaluation criteria and even in learning procedure and policies to be adopted
accordingly. As there is a frequent change in policies, it is a difficult task
to update the policies every time, but if policy updation has not been done in
time, it leads to many other operational problems. This issue can be addressed
by introducing dynamic policy updation and enforcement approach in open distance
learning system.
Dedicated network connectivity among various
operational nodes
In open distance learning system,
learners are remote to the institution in many ways and getting services
through one of its operational nodes (the headquarters, regional and study
centres in case of IGNOU). It is a difficult to have proper network
connectivity among various operational nodes to provide/access services due to
non availability of technical manpower. This problem can be achieved by
establishing dedicated network connectivity among various operational nodes in
form of intranet by using MPLS/VPN technology.
Support services
In open distance learning system,
learners are remote to the institution many ways and require various online
support services to perform their activities. Since ODL is a
flexible system, the operational policies need to be changed frequently and is difficult to provide updated support
services in time due to laps at various levels in the system. This problem can
be addressed by involving all related personnel at the time of initiation of an
activity so that its impact, if
any on existing services can be
discussed and find timeframe to provide support services in time.
Manpower inline with change in technology
As technology is frequently
changing time to time, it is a difficult task to have updated manpower inline
with change in technology. It is even very difficult to have such manpower in
government organizations. This problem can be achieved by introducing
brainstorming and counseling sessions time to time and also to impart
training/workshops on change in technology time to time.
4.0 SECURITY IN OPEN DISTANCE LEARNING
In open distance learning, many
online learning and support services are made available to its learners and
other public. As usage of services is increasing day by day, at same time
hackers/attackers are playing a vital role to deny the service and damage
system resources. Security is essential
to protect the resources from hackers and in turn protect the sensitive
information and data.
Hackers take advantage of different security flaws in a network
service, hosting infrastructure and exploit the vulnerability to compromise the
system. The following are various security flaws by which a hacker will play a
role:
·
Lack of
proper hardening of Servers
·
Insufficient
network boundary security controls
·
Flaws or
bugs in application/service software
·
Insecure
design and coding of hosted software (OS, application, etc)
·
Weak
passwords
·
Social
engineering
·
Lack of
operational control
Security of a system/service/data
shall be ensured by protecting the sensitive resources[2] at network, system
and the application/service domains. Some of the security parameters are
authentication, access control, availability, confidentiality, integrity and
non-repudiation. Violation in any of the parameter leads a breach in
security. All these security parameters
to be enforced along with security policy on the ICT infrastructure being used
in open distance learning. The following are some of the policies to be framed
and implemented for smooth functioning of ICT infrastructure in open distance
learning system:
o Network security policy
o
Host/ Server security
policy
o Application software security
o Database security
o Content management policy
o Web server logging policy
o Backup a policy
o Password management policy
o Encryption policy
o Audit, Incident handling and Recovery policy
o Physical security policy
5.0 CONCLUSION
It is true that ICT is playing a
vital role in open distance learning but at same time there are many issues and
challenges that are to be addressed for smooth functioning of various online
services that are to be implemented for its learners and other public. In this
paper, the required ICT infrastructure and various issues and challenges in
usage and setting up of ICT infrastructure in open distance learning are
addressed. The institution that is providing education in ODL mode should look
at all the addressed issues and
challenges and take necessary precautions with a proper action plan along with
timeframe.
REFERENCES
A. Murali M Rao, 2009, ‘ Web-enabled User Support
Services System in Distance Learning’, Proceedings of International Conference
on Interaction Sciences: Information Technology, Culture and Human(ICIS
2009), The ACM International Conference
Proceeding, Vol I, ISBN 978-1-60558-710-3,Seoul, Korea, pp 86-90.
A. Murali M Rao, 2010, ‘Digital Library Security: A
Layered Approach’, Proceedings of International Conference on Digital
Libraries(ICDL 2010), Volume 2, New Delhi, pp 1167-1171.
Bernadette Robinson, 2008, ‘Using distance
education and ICT to improve access, equity and the quality in rural teachers’
professional development in western China’, International Review of Research in
Open and Distance Learning, Volume 9, Number 1, Chaina.
Sangay Jamtsho, 2005, ‘Challenges of ICT use for
distance learning support in Bhutan, ICDE International conference’, New Delhi.
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