What is leaner support service in ODL?
Activity
Have you heard of learner support services? Are you part of learner support service team in your institution?
Would you find it exciting comparing what experts consider as learner support service in ODL with what is prevailing in your institution!
Dr. Sharma in the clip below explains what she considers Leaner support in the traditional ODL that uses largely print based self-Learning materials (SLM). She has mainly talked about administrative and academic support.
This differs with the support given in a context of virtual learning that uses web-based Learning management systems (LMS) that are introduced next.
We shall discuss more on learner support in unit 3 and 4.
- Watch
Dr Asha Sharma explain Learner support
in ODL and note down the types of learner support services.
- Croft (1991: 8-19) discusses the various challenges faced by ODL learners and suggests the forms of support services, as they are encountered by students, stage by stage. Read Croft, M. (1991). Report on the round table on student support services (pp. 1-56). Vancouver, CANADA: The Commonwealth of Learning.
Summarized in this table below, are the problems a distant learner encounters that call for the provision of learner support services.
|
Learner generated problems |
Administration generated problems |
Tutor generated problems |
|
Learning from new media and technologies (e.g. computers and the Internet) Improving study skills (e.g. reading online, etc.) Interacting with and learning from the tutor and fellow students through distance mode Constructing own knowledge with all the different resources Overcoming the solitude feeling during studying Understanding how they are to be assessed and by what standards Coping with stress and time management Learning motivation |
Recognizing that they need to learn Deciding what they want from learning Deciding the best way of achieving it
|
Interacting with students through distance mode Giving expert comments on how well the students are progressing Core Support Services Course Information Enrolment Tutoring Assessment Quality assurance Job Placement Self-Learning Materials (SLM) Study Centres Library Facilities Technical Support (course delivery media, communication, etc.)
|
In more recent times and considering the growing adoption of eLearning, many scholars have come up with the “four pillars” of supporting student success (These are often the intangibles) that educators might take for granted when providing fully online courses. These pillars include online-friendly academic supports (Coonin et al., 2011; Huwiler, 2015), assistance with navigating technology (Lee, 2010), health and well-being facilities (Anderson, 2008), and a sense of belongingness, or community.
