OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA STRIKES RIGHT CHORD IN DISTANCE LEARNING

ENCOURAGING lifelong learning, which is one of the strategic thrusts outlined in the National Higher Education Strategic Plan, is aimed at creating a knowledgeable workforce that will help transform the country into a developed nation by 2020.
Malaysians need to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies to face future challenges and current demands.
In light of this, efforts are being carried out to increase provisions of lifelong learning programmes and opportunities through institutions of higher learning, community colleges and learning centres throughout the country.

As the country's leading open and distance learning institution, Open University Malaysia (OUM) is at the forefront of lifelong learning by providing Malaysians a second chance in pursuing higher education, either for personal gratification or to attain better academic qualification.
By leveraging on technology, OUM is able to provide quality teac

hing and learning.

Head of e-Learning, OUM's Institute for Teaching and Learning Advancement, Assoc Prof Dr Safiah Md Yusof, says that since the bulk of learners are working adults who are not able to attend classes in the conventional sense, they are exposed to the blended mode

of learning which relies heavily on self-managed learning.
"They meet with tutors for face-to-face tutorials several times throughout the semester and they also have the benefit of learning from their peers and e-tutors through the online forums."

Aside from developing and using its own learning management system, known as myVLE (my Virtual Learning Environment), the university is constantly raising the bar and improving on its e- learning practices to better support its learners.

The university's digital library boasts of an extensive digital collection of e-books and e-journals which learners can have access to, irrespective of their location.
The introduction of e-schedules, on the other hand, helps guide learners with their activities. E-schedules are weekly outlines of the activities expected of the learners which include readings, online activities and topics for online forum discussions.
Dr Safiah says learners also benefit from the university's online learning resources, such as the Math Resource Centre (MRC), e-Gate (Gateway for learning English), and Open Educational Resources (OER). Learners can access the resources anytime they are online.
OUM's efforts in promoting lifelong learning in this country are well-acknowledged.
The university is privileged to co-organise the forthcoming International Conference of Lifelong Learning (ICLLL2011) together with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and the Ministry of Higher Education.
Dr Safiah, who is also the Conference Committee in charge of Posters, says the conference is an excellent platform for experts, researchers, academics, practitioners, policymakers and lifelong learners to share their perspectives, experiences, research findings, and to discuss current issues and challenges pertaining to lifelong learning.