Ochirbat

The International Conference IITE-2010ICTs in Teacher Education:

Policy, Open Educational Resources and Partnership November 15 -16, 2010

St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

Baatar OCHIRBATProfessor of CSMS,

Mongolian University of Science and Technology,Mongolia

Open Educational Resources in Mongolia:

Current situation, Challenges and Initiatives

CONTENTS

Open Education Resources (QER) in Mongolia :

Introduction- Opportunities

- Challenges - Initiatives

Conclusions

INTRODUCTION

Today many of Asian countries are undergoing massive change.Open and Distance Learning is one of the main features of educationin the new century.Asia has the largest number of adult ODL learners in the world.

---The Open Learning is the most optimal way of delivering flexible,open, accessible, and efficient education services that are not limitedby time and space.New methods and technologies based on progressive achievements ofinformation and communication technology are especially importantto Mongolia with vast territories and a small population.

INTRODUCTION

Mongolia

Mongolia is a large landlocked country in central Asia, with a population of 2.7 million in a country of 1.6 million square kilometres. (half the size

of India).---

Mongolia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.The population is 52.4 percent urban and 47.5 percent rural, and half is

under the age of 20.---

About a third of the rural population live in provincial or district centres; the remaining two-thirds live a nomadic or semi-nomadic life.

---

INTRODUCTION

Mongolian Government is taking measures to choose andintroduce the most convenient, efficient and less

expensive ODL solutions to fit in Mongolia by utilizing international experience on open and distance learning.

---Mongolia now spends perhaps 20 per cent of own national budgets on

education.---

UNESCO always supports and cooperates with Mongolian Government such as ICTA and some private ICT sector in this field.

---Mongolia and UNESCO are long-standing partners in the area of Open

and Distance Learning

OPPORTUNITY 1Key Laws on ICT :1995 – Law on Communications1999 – Law on Radio Wave2000- Concept to develop ICT in Mongolia by year 20102001 – Revised law on Communications2002 – Mid – term strategy to development ICT2003 – Law on Post2005 – E-Government Master Plan2005 – E- Mongolia National Program2008 – National Program to Establish registration and Information Unified System2008 – Master plan for develop outsourcing

OPPORTUNITY 2E- MONGOLIA NATIONAL PROGRAM :

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OPPORTUNITY 3 Use of combinations of various

technologiesInfrastructure Development and Technological

Advancement of Mongolia---

Correspondence study, audio, video, broadcasting, computer/Internet and mobile technologies, and/or

satellites---

Well understood the strengths and limitations of various technologies

---Such varieties enable all levels of people to reach

education

OPPORTUNITY 4 Use of combinations of various technologies

A large and growing number of dual-mode providers

New virtual consortia, open schools and non-formal institutions/ NGOs, Provide DE/ICT for rural

populations

Examples:

UNESCO/DANIDA – DE for Gobi Women to teach literacy and numeracy ; livestock rearing, business

skills and other topics

But …computing cannot benefit where infrastructure is not in place. Mix of the old and new technologies

works better than digital technologies alone

OPPORTUNITY 5ICT development

In Mongolia, growth of infrastructure / high internet connection / possible costs / digital divide

---Mobile service – 2.016.738 users

---Internet usage rate * :

Users in 2000-- 30000, Users in 2009 –106480, Presentation rate(% of population) is 10,7 %

---ICT development and adoption in Mongolia offers great

opportunities for DE policy makers and educators to reach out to more rural populations.

* - Asian Internet usage and penetration rates

CHALLENGE 1Quality Assurance

Some still equate quality in education with history, tradition, exclusivity, generous resource provision

and intense student-teacher contact---

Not as ‘second chance education’ but as ‘second rate education’

---QA approaches to DE/e-learning to be developed

---Urgent need for quality assurance, quality enhancement/improvement of DE in Mongolia

---QA for non-formal DE also important

CHALLENGE 1•Physiological barrier. Educational managers, teachers and learners have a physiological barrier about e-learning. Promotional and advertisement programs need to be done.•The policy and regulations on e-learning are not clear expecting for the “E-Mongolia” program.•Theoretical and methodological research is needed. Lack of national distance learning, e-learning researchers and methodologists.•Lack of knowledge on e-learning standards.•Digitizing of print materials.•Copyright and security.•Lack of English knowledge. As well as general knowledge, the ICT skills of English are essential.

CHALLENGE 2Cultural diversity

Difference in ways of teaching and learning:- Mongolians prefer TV and tele-lecturing over impersonal

text on the Internet and asynchronous online conferencing---

Face-to-face components important---

Teacher-led instruction expected ---

- Group-based, teacher-dominated and centrally organised pedagogy

---Blended approach preferred

CHALLENGE 3Capacity building and Leadership

Alike as in many Asian DE institutions, in Mongolia - staff development in ICT-supported

DE pedagogy limited by time, money, scope and a shortage of trainers

---DE leaders, top managers, ICT coordinators anddepartmental heads –transformative leadership and

commitment to new policy direction

CHALLENGE 4Ethical issues in ICT uses

Several studies conducted in Mongolian context conclude

that there is need to: Further investigate ICT-related ethical issues in the

context of Mongolian DE/e-learning---

Establish appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks at national level

---Develop action guidelines at institutional level

---Teach staff and students about the ethical use

of ICT

INITIATIVES

Open Educational Resources (OERs)A pool of open educational resources (OERs), another

great opportunity for Mongolian DE to provide quality education at low cost.

---OER Commons - full courses, course modules, syllabi,

lectures, homework assignments, quizzes, lab and classroom activities, pedagogical materials, games,

simulations, and more resources---

Need to the Open Courseware Consortium(CC)

INITIATIVESOpen Educational Resources (OERs)

Many IT companies and some government organizations are making use of open source software.

---A new Mongolian open source content management

system called MAUS is being developed based on the Joomla open source content management system.

---However, use of open source software among non-IT

personnel is quite low. ---

Generally speaking, ordinary users of computer systems are not aware of the existence of open source operating

systems such as FreeBSD. This is due to the lack of awareness-raising activities, such

as seminars and workshops, on open source software.-

INITIATIVES/CASE OF OPEN AND DISTANCEEDUCATION SYSTEMS IN MONGOLIA

MUST, CSMS From 1991 Mongolian first distance education project

was implemented Computer Science and Management School (CSMS) of

the Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST) is increasing, classrooms are insufficient, and instructors are overloaded

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INITIATIVES

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Main web page of E-Open University of MUST :

INITIATIVES

Open Educational Resources (OERs)These OER approaches can be cost effective, offer

greater flexibility and provide wider access tohigh quality educational content.

---A recent paper titled “Open Education Resources inMongolia: Opportunities, Challenges and Initiatives”-investigating what and how far the OER movementhas taken roots in Mongolia , what need to be doneat policy, legal, pedagogical and technologicalaspects to promote the use of OERs in MongolianDE.

CONCLUSIONS

Discussed opportunities , challenges and initiatives in Mongolia DE/ICT using OER :- Identify groups in studying areas - Review current policies and practices for these learners- Specify their demands, cost-effective models of providing DE and combinations of appropriate technologies- Need collaborative efforts for developing and sharing educational resources and staff development, and more cross-national sharing in research- Need collaboration among governments, regional bodies and DE institutions in developing cross-\border QA and accreditation in ICT-supported DE.

REFERENCES http://www.mces.gov.mn http://www.neac.mn http://www.must.edu.mn http://www.moodle.org/ http://www.e-learning-dot.com/

WHITE PAPER, INFORMATION AND COMMUNOCATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT OF MONGOLIA, 2010

UNESCO. : ICT use in education, 2009 AEN (2008) “ Survey research in on e- Learning in Asian countries”

Fiscal year report. Asia e-Learning Network , Tokyo. Sambuu.U (2005) “The Usage of ICT for secondary education in

Mongolia” International Journal of Education and Development.Vol.1.No 4

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REFERENCES Future of Open and Distance Learning in Mongolia.(2005) The International Conference in ICT Education., Ulaanbaatar,

Mongolia Sambuu.U. (2005) “The usage of ICT for secondary education in

Mongolia”, The International Journal of Education and Development, Vol, 1,№4 IT applications in Mongolia and the country’s potential for cross

border e-services – a synopsis of the findings of the mission. (2006) NGO Survey. Ulaanbaatar.Mongolia “Vision and Strategies on IT Industry” (2007) The 5-th Pan-Pacific Symposium on Information Technology Busan , Korea. Loxley,W & Julen.P . (2008) Information and Communication Technologies in Education and

Training in Asia and the Pacific. ADB, Manila, Philippines. e- Learning in Mongolian development. (2009) “e- Knowledge” NGO Review. Ulaanbaatar.Mongolia Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2009-2010 (2009) ORBICOM, by IDRC, Malaysia.

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Thank you!Спасибо

Interested in research “ OER in Mongolia ” ?

Email: [email protected]