Quality And Processes of Bangladesh Open University Course Materials Development
Abstract
A new member of the mega-Universities, Bangladesh Open University (BOU) introduced a course team approach for developing effective course materials for distance students. BOU teaching media includes printed course books, study guides, radio and television broadcasts, audiocassettes and occasional face-to-face tutorials. Each course team comprises specialist course writer(s), editor, trained style editor, graphic designer, illustrator, audio-visual producer and anonymous referees. An editorial board or preview committee is responsible for the final approval for publishing or broadcasting materials for learners. This approach has been proved to be effective, but appeared to be complicated and time-consuming. This report focuses on the quality and processes of BOU course materials development taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of the current approach.
Keywords
Course Team, Bangladesh Open University, Quality of Course Materials.
References
- Ali, M. S., Haque, A. K. E. & Rumble, G. (1997) The Bangladesh Open University: mission and promise, Open Learning 12, pp. 12-17.
- Anonymous (2002) Project performance audit report on the Bangladesh Open University project (Loan 1173-BAN[SF]) in Bangladesh, October 2002 Asian Development Bank
- (http://www.adb.org/Documents/PPARs/BAN/ppar_ban_23056.pdf).
- Faruque, A. H. M. (1998) How effectively we can teach agriculture in distant mode.
- Proceedings of the International Conference on Collaborative and Networked Learning, New Delhi. 1998.
- Freeman, R. (1991) ‘Quality assurance in learning materials production’, Open Learning, 6 (3).
- Gaba, A. K. & Dash, N. K. (2004) Course evaluation in open and distance learning: a case study from Indira Gandhi National Open University, Open Learning, 19(2), pp. 213-221.
- Harvey, L. (1992) ‘Criteria of Quality’, The University of Central England, Birmingham, UK.
- Hedberg, J. G. (1987) Desktop publishing and better design of educational materials, Educational Research and Perspective, 14(1), pp.69-81.
- Islam, M. T. & Rahman, A. N. M. (1997) ‘Quality assurance in distance and open learning: