Programme Delivery

Since its inception in 1996, UWIDEC has used a mixed delivery mode comprising a self-study print based instructional package, face-to-face tutorials and audiographic-conferencing. The delivery of the University’s distance programmes is now in transition, moving from the mixed delivery mode to an approach known as blended learning. While there are some differences between the two, it should be noted that key elements of the former are being carried over into the latter.

The self-study print-based package is the core component of UWIDEC’s traditional delivery mode and comprises the following:

The course material that contains the essential content into which is integrated learning activities.
A compilation of readings, where appropriate, are normally linked to relevant sections of the teaching text.
The course guide that contains course-related information, such as the course outline, guidelines on the study of the course, references to additional resource material, and important deadline dates. It will also normally contain, as appropriate, the assignment, information on the mid-semester examination and the final examination. Some aspects of the course guide will change from year to year.
In some instances, you may not be provided with course material and readings. Rather, you may be asked to purchase a textbook. In such cases, UWIDEC will pay BDS $62 towards the cost of the textbook, and you will be required to pay the balance. In other cases, although students will receive the full course package as described above, the course coordinator may require an additional text. When this situation arises, you will be required to pay the full amount of the cost of that additional text.

The face-to-face tutorials represent one of two supporting components in UWIDEC’s mixed mode. Tutorials are conducted in accordance with guidelines provided by the course coordinator. For the majority of courses, 10 -12 hours are allocated for tutorials and these are normally organised into 5 - 6 tutorials. For quantitative courses {e.g. ECON1003 (EC14C)} 16 hours are allocated, divided into eight tutorials.

Tutorials are organised locally at your site and may be held there or at some other location identified by the site. Tutors are also sourced locally. However there may be cases where a site may not be able to identify a suitable tutor for a particular course. In such instances, the tutorial is conducted over the audiographic-conferencing system using a tutor from a site other than the one to which you are attached. These tele-tutorials are recognised in the same way as face-to-face tutorials.

The following activities will form part of a typical tutorial:

‘Housekeeping’ matters.
Provision of guidelines to assist students in developing appropriate strategies for studying the course.
Limited lecture presentations of aspects of the course content pre-selected by the tutor.
Clarification of aspects of the course content based on queries raised by students.
Learning activities either taken from the course material or provided by the tutor, done either individually or in groups.
Tutor feedback on learning activities.
Group review of guidelines for assignments, mid-semester examination and final examination under the guidance of the tutor.

Students should also expect to be provided with a plan for the conduct of tutorials for the entire semester at the first tutorial. Tutors are normally expected to mark mid-semester assignments and examinations and to provide you with written feedback on your performance.

Note that you can only benefit from tutorials when you do the necessary preparation. In particular, you should study the particular segment of the course material prior to the scheduled tutorial. You should also attempt the activities built into the teaching material. It is only in this way that you can gain from the tutorial experience.

Audio-conferences represent the second support component and are conducted by course coordinators. With the onset of blended learning (discussed below) the number of audio-conference sessions is being reduced. Thus the norm will be three (3) sessions per course, and four (4) to five (5) for quantitative courses. In these sessions, the course coordinator will do any or all of the following:

Provide a broad overview of the course.
Provide guidelines on how to approach the study of the course.
Reinforce the guidelines for doing the assignment, the mid-semester examination and the final examination.
Introduce supplementary content to enrich or add a different dimension to the already established course content.

On the whole, though, it is expected that most of the areas outlined above will also be dealt with in other aspects of the delivery mode. In particular, you should note that explanation of specific aspects of the course content will be dealt with in the tutorials rather than in the audio-conference.

The blended learning approach

As indicated above, certain elements of the existing mode will continue into the blended learning mode. However with blended learning, the intention is to place greater emphasis on the asynchronous dimensions of delivery and reduce emphasis on the synchronous dimensions. In other words, UWIDEC will be focusing more on using technologies that allow students to study anywhere and at any time, and less on those technologies that require students to be present at a particular place at a particular time. As a result, the following are to be noted:

The self-study print-based instructional package, as described above, will remain a significant component of the blended learning approach.
The main new asynchronous technology to be introduced will be a web-based Learning Management System (LMS). The LMS that UWIDEC will be using is Moodle. In that web-based environment, depending on the course, students will engage in any of the following activities:
- Participate in an online discussion forum.
- Undertake practice exercises also known as self-assessment exercises SAE’s).
- Do multiple-choice tests (MCQs).
- Engage in some limited research activity using links to other web sites.
- Comment on articles or any other material selected by the course coordinator
- Other activities that the course coordinator may decide on.

In all of the above activities, you will be monitored by e-tutors. Students from across the region will be divided into online groups and each group will be assigned an e-tutor. Separate activities will be provided for the face-to-face and online interactive sessions. (See further discussion on face-to-face tutorials below).

Some of the information provided in the course guide will also be repeated in the Moodle environment. You should note that except for MCQs, all other formal mid-semester assessment will be conducted within the framework of the face-to-face tutorial.

Another new asynchronous technology to be introduced is the CD ROM. This technology will primarily be used to provide students with Power Point presentations (with audio narration) of some selected aspect of the course content as decided by the course coordinator. It may also include other course elements as decided by the course coordinator.

The above three asynchronous delivery methodologies will be the basis of the new blended learning approach. However, in this transition period, the two synchronous methods will be retained. In this regard, the following is to be noted:

The face-to-face tutorial as described on page 10 will continue in 2005/2006 and over the next few years with no reduction in the number of hours. However, as stated above, separate activities will be provided for each type of interactive session. You should note that it is very likely that your face-to-face tutor will be different from your e-tutor.
Ultimately, the intention is to transfer all tutoring activities to the online environment. When this happens the face-to-face tutorial, while still existing, will be de-emphasized and the number of hours reduced.
As indicated above, the number of sessions for the course coordinator-led audio-conference has already been reduced. This aspect will be retained into the foreseeable future with the current number of hours.