THAI THANH SON
And collaborators
LUONG CAO DONG- THAI THANH TUNG –VUVIET ANH- NGUYEN THI THU THUY
Center for Online Instructional Technology – Faculty of Information Technology
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY
In the traditional form of training – “Face to face training” learners benefit 3 very important interactions: learner – teacher, learner – classmates, and learner and the surrounding.
Learners in distance education lack of these interactions.
Many recent researches in the areas of instructional technology as well as in pedagogy were and are focusing on finding efficient support media and appropriate methodology, in order to create best educational environment for self-taught learners, especially for isolated learners without regular contacts with teacher and their classmates.
In the history, the mankind were trying to put in use all the most modern communication medias of each time for supporting the TEACHING and LEARNING PROCESS, especially the SELF-TEACHING PROCESS, but perfect learning support systems were developed only since the apparition of Information – Communication Technology (ICT).
An ideal perfect support system for self-taught learner must include the following criteria:
· Possibility of transmitting information of all forms: text, picture, voice and sound, animation, and video: a multimedia system.
· Possibility of creating two-way interaction between learner and “virtual teacher and virtual classmates”
· Possibility of storing information in order to create a-synchronic interactions so that learners can arrange their learning at any time.
· Simple equipment with low using cost.
With the appearance of ICT, a new fundamental reform of teaching-learning support media were created since the last few decades and become more and more popular paralleling with the fast development of ICT.
E-training and online training were put in use and becoming more and more efficient not only in distance and open education (DOE) but also in traditional education.
At our time, E-training is realized at many different levels.
- Computer based training: Learners are supported by Teaching-Learning software, registered in floppy disks and/or CD, VCD using on personal computer or in LAN. The man-machine interactions will help self-taught learners in their learning process: delivering of knowledge, presentation of practice skill, doing auto-evaluation…
- Online training: At the present time it is the ideal teaching-learning support media. Learners log in “virtual institutions”, participate to “virtual classes” and can communicate with their “virtual teachers and virtual classmates” at anytime, from anywhere.
After a long time for the preparation, since February 2003, a pilot project of online training were realized at the Faculty of Information Technology of the Hanoi Open University through the Website (CYBERSCHOOL):
http://www.fihou.edu.vn
The principal components of this Virtual University include:
- The system of orientation, introduces to learners about the organization of HOU and FIT, different training programs and training forms of FIT and also to give help and suggestion to new comers for choosing appropriate training curriculum.
- The management system: its function is the registration of new learners, the storing and updating personal information of learners and their learning achievements (scores and credits) in the whole learning process.
- The delivering system : which announces to learner concrete time tables of the year, regularly post online learning materials (e-books), subjects of assignments and home works , their corrections, programs of tutorial sessions every year…
- The communication system: which provides tutor-learner interactions, classmates interactions through website tools such as E-mail and chat rooms (synchronic communication), different forums (a-synchronic communication).
The Website and chat rooms, forums play the role of virtual institution, virtual classes and virtual groups, thank to these tools, isolated learner can attend the teaching-learning process at anytime from anywhere.
With this project of online training, this year the FITHOU can accept some isolated learners: 1 in QUANGTRI province, 2 in VUNGTAU province and even 2 from overseas (China).
After 2 years of operation, the Website of FIHOU has received more than 80.000 hits from thousands visitors all around the country as well as from overseas and at the present time it is the most frequently visited Website among the 5 online training Websites in Vietnam.
In fact, in online training, we always need the necessary support of printed materials as well as cassette tapes, CDs and VCDs sent to our distance students.
The essential fundaments which decide the success and the quality in online training is the human resource: E-pedagogues, E-tutors, Webmasters, with high competency all this personal have to be trained following criteria quite different with general criteria in normal institutions of education. This is still a big gap at our FITHOU in particular and in our country in general.
Through international exchanges during the last 10 years, by sending young experts to participate to international short training courses, seminars on DOE, the FITHOU were trying to mobilize our own resources and some sponsorship from some international organizations to form a group of young teachers and experts at the Centre of Online Instructional Technology.
It is obvious that this human resource is still too few in quantity and not very competent in quality. Although in the first steps of the realizations of our project they can improvingly co-operate with experienced lecturers and professors to design, program, and manage the Website day by day. These experts and teachers are trying to accomplish the realization of some 50 E-teaching learning materials for almost courses of our Faculty.
Main advantages of Online Training are:
- Learners are able to study anytime, anywhere
- Reducing the cost and time required for extra-gathering classes
- Reducing the loneliness and isolation feeling
- Managing instantly and accurately.
The Online Training System of FIT-HOU is just a pilot project with a small scale, within FIT, and in a short time. However we have obtained many precious practical experiences for the development of applied ICT in training in order to contribute to the political tasks of the Training and Education sector.
Due to the current limitation of training management regulations and especially a shortage of budget, this pilot project has not been able to fulfill some of the following functions:
- Performing systematically the entire online training process with appropriate procedures
- Online application and payment
- Managing and securing data properly
- Managing results automatically
- Online Examinations
With the concerns of the Government and the supporting of the MOET and the HOU, in the next few years, Faculty of Information Technology will be able to complete our Online Training Website. E-Training and ODE will be improved and applied in the entire ODE sector of FIT as well as partly applied for other Faculties, moving HOU on the way to integrate with other Universities in the regions and the world.
Following, authors will present the performance of “virtual university, virtual classes” at http://www.fithou.edu.vn
REFERENCES
1. THAI THANH SON, December-1999, “Open Learning and Distance Education in Vietnam for the coming century”. The 5th UNESCO-ACEID International Conference. Bangkok, Thailand
2. THAI THANH SON & THAI THANH TUNG, October-2002, “The Role of ICT in TVET at the 21st century in Vietnam”. International conference: “Developing Skills for the new economy”. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
3. THAI THANH TUNG, March-2003, Project of Online Training at FIT-HOU. Workshop: “Innovation in Instructional Technology in Vietnam at the beginning of 21st century”. FIT-HOU, Hanoi, Vietnam.
4. LUONG CAO DONG, March-2003, Subjective Evaluation System in Online Training. Workshop: “Innovation in Instructional Technology in Vietnam at the beginning of 21st century”. FIT-HOU, Hanoi, Vietnam.
5. VU VIET ANH, March-2003, System of Online Training Management. Workshop: “Innovation in Instructional Technology in Vietnam at the beginning of 21st century”. FIT-HOU, Hanoi, Vietnam.
6. NGUYEN THI THU THUY, March-2003, Communication in Online Training, using Forum. Workshop: “Innovation in Instructional Technology in Vietnam at the beginning of 21st century”. FIT-HOU, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Được xem: 1667
Thai Thanh Tung[2/18/2005]
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