The inspiration for this debate came from a session organized by ICDE at the annual Online Educa Berlin conference in Germany in December 2011. Comments have come from countries including Canada, Uganda, Uruguay, Ethiopia, and the Nordic countries.

Maintaining Balance with Technology is the title of Hemlata Chari's contribution to this debate. Dr. Chari of the Institute of Distance and Open Learning, University of Mumbai, India, notes that in her country there is a growing imbalance between the intake of students and those seeking admissions.

The figure of 8.8 million students pays testament to democratization of higher education, and she writes about the inroads that technology is making in daily life as well as its impact on universities.

Luciano Sathler of the Brazilian Association for Distance Education (ABED) and Universidade Anhanguera - Uniderp, Brazil, writes on the impact of open educational resources and distance learning in his country.

He notes that the number of distanceLearning enrolments is expected to triple and reach 3.1 million over the next eight years. He also points out that the results from national exams assessed by the Ministry of Education from campus and distanceLearning higher-education courses compare very favourably.

ICDE has invited specific contributions from members representing the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India, and China and encourages members, and the wider ODL community to contribute to this forum, which currently has over 2,000 subscribers.


Join this Educational Technology Debate on Open and Distance Learning