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Learning goes the distance
A passion for knowledge can be limited by neither time nor space, especially with distance learning helping people to indulge that passion, wherever they might be
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passion for knowledge can be limited by neither time nor space, especially with distance learning helping people to indulge that passion, wherever they might be.
For eight years, 41-year-old housewife Ida Rahayu has been juggling her daily house chores and her textbooks, taking children to school and taking her final exams.
"It is a bit difficult to be a student at my age, especially with all the activities I have to do outside of my study," said Ida, who has been enrolled as an undergraduate student in the Indonesia Open University (UT) in Surabaya since 2001.
Yet she persists. What helps her is that institutions providing distance learning give flexibility that conventional universities often do not allow: No limit on how long since she finished high school, no limit on how long she takes to finish her degree.
Would-be students simply enroll in their program of choice, order the textbooks and begin their educational journey through occasional tutorial sessions, both online and off-line. And of course, exams await at the end of each semester. Lecturers only provide students with textbooks; tutors can assist answering questions.
The most important factors are the discipline to study alone and a greater passion for the learning process than for whatever certificate is at the end.
"But of course I also want the degree. I have to say that I enjoy the process more, I guess," said Ida, a communications major.
Ida has built her own network by holding event-organizing workshops with her "virtual" classmates, a group of people who vary greatly in age and background. Despite the virtual classroom, a real network is possible for those interested, especially thanks to cell phones and the Internet.
UT is the country's oldest institution providing distance learning. Founded in 1984, the university now has 532,000 students; only 16 percent of these are younger than 24.
While its first batch had to rely only on radio and textbooks, today's students have online tutorial sessions with a virtual classroom.
As UT rector Tian Belawati points out, "Distance learning is bound to develop along with technology."
Pardamean Daulay, a tutor at UT Surabaya, has just recently been trained in providing online tutorial sessions for UT students.
"I now have a different classroom," Daulay says. "Each morning and afternoon before going home, I check the online tutorial page and answer questions from students."
But with the Internet available to only 15 percent of the Indonesian population, the old way of doing things has to be maintained to ensure the university can achieve its original aim of offering a college education for all.
It has recently expanded into non-degree courses such as Indonesian for non-native speakers, using audio and video online materials.
"This is a niche that we are aiming at: People who are constantly connected to the Internet," says program coordinator Ucu Rahayu.
The development of communications technology has propelled the growth of distance learning. This year alone, the Southeast Asian Ministers Education Organization Regional Open Learning Center (SEAMOLEC) has assisted five educational institutions in founding their own distance learning programs.
The Bandung Institute of Technology offers a four-year diploma in aquaculture and plant tissue culture, and Surabaya Institute of Technology offers similar programs in accounting and IT.
"The potential for distance learning is limitless, so long as the host university is ready with the infrastructure and human resources," says SEAMOLEC officer Yusmar Hadi Saputra.
Institutions interested in developing distance learning programs can take advantage of the Jaringan Pendidikan Nasional (Jardiknas; National Education Network), which allows them to send and receive study materials.
"We can also maximize use of satellite in places where the Internet is unavailable or unreliable," Yusmar says, adding that SEAMOLEC is currently developing receivers that will be more affordable for end users, such as students of distance learning.
But with the system relying mostly on students' self-discipline, there are questions over the quality of the education provided.
"What we can guarantee is only the quality of the process, meaning the lecturers and the textbook content," Tian says. "The rest lies in students' hands."
And where students are more interested in passing than in learning, problems can arise. Not long ago, UT students in Polewali Mandar were caught cheating on an exam.
"For this kind of case, we are no longer flexible," Tian adds. "They either have to repeat the course or be suspended for a semester."
Despite its loopholes and challenges in quality assurance, distance learning does have the potential to provide education for all - for those who might have no other opportunity to study - that goes beyond mere lip service.
It already has a long history, dating back to correspondence education in early 18th century Britain. Slowly it evolved along with the more popular use of radio and television.
There are both for-profit and non-profit organizations providing distance education.
A new provider is the University of the People (UoPeople). Founded by Shai Reshef, it offers free programs, relying on volunteers who are regular members of university departments or other active professionals.
"After spending over 20 years in the education arena and traveling around the world, I discovered one issue unites countries, cities and states - the need for improved and accessible education," Shai Rashef said.
UoPeople claims to have received applications from more than 1,500 prospective students across 125 countries. Indonesia has the most, with 200 applicants.
MIT in the USA has also established its Open Courseware, providing free and open online access to course materials to anyone interested. It is intended as an information-sharing platform and does not offer any degree courses.
With the increasing democratization of knowledge, it seems that distance learning will always have a place for those wanting more than just a degree but a wealth of information, wherever they might be.
