Connections ns
A news publication of The Commonwealth of Learning • May 1998 Vol. 3, No. 2

COL, Brunei to hold
open learning forum
In celebration of ten years of The
Commonwealth of Learning, the first Pan­
Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning
will be held next year in Brunei Darussalam.
The event will be co-hosted by COL, the
Brunei Darussalam Ministry of Education and
Universiti Brunei Darussalam, and is being
organised in collaboration with the
Commonwealth’s open and distance learning
professional associations. It will be held at the
International Convention Centre in Bandar
Seri Begawan from 1-5 March 1999.

Empowerment through
knowledge and technology
With the theme, Empowerment through
Knowledge and Technology, the Forum is
designed to help the countries of the
Commonwealth to:
• Extend open learning into all aspects of
education, training and human resource
development
• Achieve effective leadership, management
and staff development in open learning
• Share ideas, expertise, research and best
practice in the development and delivery
of open learning
• Strengthen and extend collaboration and
networking
• Plan for future open learning activities
throughout the Commonwealth
This Forum will examine open learning in
world-at-large applications ranging from the
macro to the micro level. It will showcase
what is achievable with vision, concern for the
learner, effective teaching and learning, and
appropriate applications of technology'.
Agendas ranging from basic literacy to
postgraduate and professional education will
be addressed.
Keynote and plenary presentations will set
the context for the Forum and the agenda for
the next decade of open learning in the
Commonwealth. Case studies and workshops
will follow five sub-themes:
• Non-formal adult/community education
• Corporate/industrial training
• Primary and secondary schooling
• Technical and vocational education and
training
• University education

Pan Commonwealth
FORUM ON OPEN LEARNING

1-5 March 1999
Bandar Seri Begawan

Empowerment through Knowledge and Technology
A Celebration of Ten Years of the Commonwealth of Learning

Delegate participation
The Forum is designed to achieve
maximum participation and interaction and to
meet the needs of newcomers to open
learning as well as those more experienced in
this field.
There will be opportunities for delegates
to meet informally to discuss matters of
mutual interest, share examples of their work,
participate in meetings of regional
distance/open learning associations and
special interest groups, take part in round
tables, and visit local educational institutions
and places of interest.

No-charge accommodation
The Forum registration fee is USS400.
This covers the costs of registration, the
proceedings, all lunches and refreshments,
three dinners and local transportation. At no
additional cost, accommodation and breakfast
at the UBD student hostels is available on a
“first come, first served” basis (upon
submitting completed registration and fee).
Delegates may also choose to stay at their
own expense in the UBD Guest House,
SEAMEO Voctech International House, the
ASEAN-EC Management Centre or hotels in
Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei
Darussalam. Financial assistance will be
available to selected participants from
developing Commonwealth countries.
(Conference organisers reserve the right to
limit numbers attending from each countrv or
organisation.)

Further information
A brochure, registration form and “call for
papers” will be mailed to all regular recipients
of Connections. Further information is also
available by' contacting the Forum Secretariat
at COL’s Vancouver headquarters (e-mail:
forum@col.org) or by' visiting the Forum web
site {http://www.col.org/forum). Expressions
of interest, suggestions and comments are
also welcome.

Honouring
excellence
COL honours and fosters excellence in
distance education through recognition of
outstanding achievements. To mark its
tenth anniversary, COL is pleased to
aimounce a Commonwealth-wide
Excellence in Distance Education
Programme (EDEP). The EDEP has four
categories of awards:
• COL Anniversary' Honours: recognising
institutional achievements
• COL President’s Awards: recognising
excellent distance education materials
• Honorary Fellows of COL: recognising
individual achievements
• COL Learning Experience Award:
recognising learners’ experiences
Award ceremonies will be held during
the Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open
Learning being held next March in Bandar
Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. The
deadline for entries is 31 August 1998.
Further information, including the call
for submissions and nominations, is
available from COL. E-mail: edep@col.org-,
Web site: http://www.col.org/edep

Funding update
New funding partners
Since the last issue of Connections, COL
gratefully acknowledges new contributions
to its 1997/98 funding received from
Mozambique, South Africa and the Canadian
province of New Brunswick. In each case, this
represents first-time participation in COL
funding.

COL in Action
Human rights education
A pioneering workshop designed to
develop human rights materials for serving
teachers, backed by COL and arranged by the
University of London’s Institute of
Education, took place in Barbados from
20-23 April 1998. This Caribbean regional
workshop included representatives from seven
countries, the Universities of the West Indies
and Guyana, the Caribbean Examinations
Council, UNESCO/CARNEID and the
Commonwealth Secretariat. It was chaired by
Mr. Richard Bourne of the International
Centre for Intercultural Studies at the
London Institute and Dr. Dennis Irvine,
Caribbean Adviser to the President of COL.
Workshop participants prepared a
framework from which self-instructional
materials can be developed, forming the basis
for a certificate programme by distance
education. The materials would include an
introductory module, covering historical and
philosophical foundations, and modules on
conventions, civic and social rights and
responsibilities, social justice, justice and the
law, diversity, ethical dilemmas, the role of the
state, and human rights activists in the
Caribbean region.
Participants also recommended that
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers
of Education be asked to support this work
and that other Commonwealth regions be
encouraged to develop similar materials.
The Institute of Education has recently
completed a Commonwealth study on
school-based understanding of human rights.

Training youth workers
COL is working with the Commonwealth
Youth Programme (CYP) in the development
and delivery by distance of a diploma
programme to train youth workers.
CYP sought COL’s advice and technical
assistance in preparing such a pan­
Commonwealth initiative to provide better
access to its traditionally delivered Diploma in
Youth Work. COL’s recognised expertise in
the field of distance education and its
extensive network of partner institutions in all
four regions of the Commonwealth provided
an excellent resource for CYP.
COL professional staff worked with CYP to
design the overall framework, advising on
materials development, training in the
practice of distance education, use of media in
delivery, and models for institutional
collaboration for delivery. Concurrendy, CYP
worked with the University of Huddersfield,
in the UK, to develop a curriculum for the
new diploma programme.
Following meetings with CYP staff, four
regional meetings were held during 1996 in
South Africa, Solomon Islands, Guyana and
India. These meetings brought together
regional and pan-Commonwealth CYP
professional staff members, representatives of
potential partner educational institutions and
COL staff. Discussions focused on strategies
to ensure that regional diversities were
reflected in the curriculum materials and that

delivery mechanisms were appropriate given
the local conditions and within the capacity of
partner institutions.
COL facilitated training sessions during
these meetings, which assisted in developing a
common understanding of distance education
and it’s impact on the provision of the
diploma programme. COL also planned and
delivered a week-long instructional design
workshop (held in India in August 1997) to
train individuals, chosen from the various
regions, in the preparation of the curriculum
materials in an interactive, independent
learning format.
COL is continuing its support and is
currently assisting the CYP in monitoring and
assessing the outcomes of the pilot delivery
phase of the project.
Commonwealth Youth Ministers will meet
in Kuala Lumpur from 25-30 May 1998. Dr.
H. Ian Macdonald, Chairman of the Board of
Governors, and Ms. Patricia McWilliams,
COL’s Senior Training Specialist, will
represent COL.

USP-Net
At the invitation of the University of the
South Pacific, COL was asked to participate in
the annual Centre Directors’ Meeting, held
last month in Suva, Fiji. This year’s meeting
focused on information technology and the
issues the university will have to deal with
upon implementation of the Japan/Australia/
New Zealand-funded USP-Net. Mr. David
Walker, COL’s Education Specialist
(Educational Technology), was asked to lead
discussion on a number of related issues, such
as the virtual university movement and the
development of on-line distance education
courseware.
USP-Net will extend the present system,
which connects five campuses in five different
Pacific island states, to one that will eventually
cover all 12 USP centres with both data and
voice transmission. The new network is
planned to be operational by the first quarter
of the year 2000.

COL videos on the web
50 to graduate with master’s
degree in DE
A convocation ceremony will be held later
this year, via teleconference, to award almost
50 students with a master’s degree that they
earned through COL’s Rajiv Gandhi
Fellowship Scheme (RGFS).
In 1995, COL and India’s Indira Gandhi
National Open University (IGNOU) jointly
launched the RGFS to deliver a post-graduate
diploma and Masters of Arts in Distance
Education (MADE). The selected students,
about 100 at the start of the programme,
were from fourteen developing Common­
wealth countries and were nominated by their
Governments to receive the fellowships,
which would enable them to undertake the
diploma and masters certification without
leaving their home countries and with no
costs to themselves.
Partial funding for the RGFS was provided
by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The Staff
Training and Research Institute of Distance
Education (STRIDE) at IGNOU is responsible
for delivering the courses and for assessment
of the assignments and examinations.
This is the first time a programme of this
magnitude and scope has been offered
anywhere, and it is with gratitude that COL
acknowledges the hard work and effort that
both the students and the staff of STRIDE
have put forward in order to ensure the
success of the Scheme.

Short videos describing COL’s work are
now available for viewing on COL’s web site
(http://www.col.org/vicleos). If not already
equipped, viewers will need to download
from the Internet either Microsoft NetShow
or RealPlayer.

Consultancies
In response to requests from the
governments of the Commonwealth’s newest
members, Cameroon and Mozambique, COL
commissioned studies of national education
systems and the potential for increased use of
distance and open learning systems.
The consultancies were carried out by
COL’s Regional Advisers to the President for
Western and Eastern Africa, Professor N. Kofi
Pecku of the University College of Education
ofWinneba, Ghana (Cameroon) and Mr.
Jakes Swartland of the Ministry of Education,
Botswana (Mozambique). Both reports
contain several recommendations for action,
many of which involve central roles for COL.
Follow-up is in progress.
A similar study, with a focus on teacher
training, was also undertaken for the
Government of Seychelles and conducted by
Dr. David Murphy of The Open University of
Hong Kong and Professor Rob Walker of
Deakin University, Australia.

USP Centre Directors’ Meeting, April 1998. Dr. Howard Van Trease, Director of University
Extension, seated front right. Mr. David Walker, second from left

Edtech News

A supplement to Connections • May 1998

This is the second in a series of EdTech
News supplements accompanying
Connections. The first dealt with access and
the innovations for maximising the use of
bandwidth. This edition deals with
opportunities in renewal or extension of
established technologies to meet additional
needs.

Technology renewal
The deployment of modern computing
and information technologies can be a major
instrument for widening access to learning
and for transforming the prospects for social
and economic betterment around the world.
In the past, methods of production and
delivery of education were limited due to cost
and capability. Recently, however, increased
capacity of computers—in terms of storage,
speed and software efficiency—allow for high
cost functions, such as those in the video and
audio production area, to be integrated into a
computing system. Course developers and
small schools and organisations now have the
opportunity to create video, audio and/or
computer-based materials that can address
their specific needs effectively and at a low
cost.
Radio and television systems are being
adapted to accommodate for lack of
infrastructure in rural settings and take
advantage of new methods of information
systems such as the Internet.
But, with the speed of technological
innovations also comes redundancy. This has
been especially true of the personal computer.
With newer and upgraded software requiring
more computing power and storage capacity,
users can find their newly bought computing
system redundant within a few years after
purchase. What of all those computer systems
that sit idle (286, 386, 486 and now entry
level Pentiums)?
Read on for news about what is being done
to make better use of existing technologies.

Wind-up radio
The wind-up radio was invented by Trevor
Baylis to provide a low-cost means of
receiving radio broadcasts, especially in rural
areas of developing countries where electrical
supplies are irregular or non-existent and
batteries are expensive and difficult to obtain.
The radios have proven to be a convenient
alternative for all types of lifestyles around the
world but are of special interest to non-formal
educational radio broadcasters.
With approximately 60 turns of the crank
(20 seconds of winding), a generator supplies
electricity to the radio and amplifier for

BayGen’s “Freeplay” wind-up radio receives
AM and FM. Another BayGen model also
receives shortwave broadcast signals.

approximately 40 minutes. A jack on the side
of the radio can also supply electricity from
the generator to power other low-power
devices such as portable computers or radio
transmitters.
There are also manufacturers that have
now combined wind-up technology with a
solar-generated power source within the same
receiver.
Further information:
BayGen Power Group, Ground Floor,
Block A, Alphen Park, Constantia Main
Road, Constantia, Cape Town 7800, South
Africa; tel: 27.21.794.4888;
fax: 27.21.794.4848;
email: jeh@infrica.com
International Business Marketing Systems
Network, Canada: http://www.ibms.net/radio
World radio TV handbook 1998. Andrew G.
Sennitt, editor. Watson-Guptill Publications,
1997. ISBN: 0-82307-798-5 (Paperback, list:
US$24.95). Published yearly, this book
contains a comprehensive listing of radio and
television stations around the globe. It has
been an essential source book for avid
shortwave radio listeners for years.

Portable low-powered FM radio
broadcast station
While radio can be a very effective method
for “point to multi-point” delivery of
education and training, the problem to date
has been the large cost of developing such a
broadcasting system and/or delivery package.
No technically acceptable transmitter was
available at a low enough cost to make it
feasible for small and isolated rural
communities to use it as a tool for education,
cultural enrichment and development.
A Canadian company has now developed a
portable FM radio station that can be pow­
ered by a 12-volt DC input, such as car battery
or solar panels. Contained in one large

“briefcase”, the unit has a transmitter, a small
mixer, a microphone and pairs of CD and
cassette players. The transmitter output is
approximately five watts with a range of at
least 10 Km. in all directions.
Further information:
COL’s work with the broadcasting station:
http://www. col. org/models/nonform, htm #radio
Wantok Enterprises Ltd., PO Box 89,
Grunthal, MB ROA 0R0, Canada;
tel: 204.434.6423; fax: 204.434.6442;
email: wantok@mb.sympatico.ca
Low Power Radio Association (Europe):
http://www. lpra.org
The low-power transmitter itself is
manufactured by Total Point Inc., of Yukon,
Canada: http://www. totalnorth, ca

FM broadcast station in a briefcase

Renewing the old—New Deal
Technology redundancy has become a
central issue for organisations considering
purchasing new computing systems. Now,
there are companies that are designing
software to empower old computing systems
to run with “graphical user interfaces” and
also align themselves with the updated
Internet and networking technologies that
have emerged in the last few of years.
One particular software developer, New
Deal Incorporated, has created an integrated
software “office suite”, with spreadsheet,
word-processing, database and other
applications that can run on a 286 processor,
640K RAM and 9 MB of free hard disk space.
New Deal offices are located in Cambridge,
MA and Alameda, CA in the USA and in
Montreal, Canada.
Further information:
http://www. newdealinc. com;
email: sales@newdealinc.com

Non-linear desktop video and
audio editing systems

WebTV
“WebTV” devices have been developed to
provide access to the Internet through a
standard television set without incurring the
cost of buying a new or additional computing
system. A connection to a local Internet
provider is still required, through cither a
telephone line or a cable television service.
The user can then read bulletin boards, send
and receive e-mail and access World Wide
Web sites.
WebTV: http://www.webtv. com
Sony: http://www.sony.com
Philips Magnavox: http://www.magnavox.com
Mitsubishi: http://www.mitsuhishi-tv.com

Just in the last few years, educators have
been able to consider tools for different forms
of media production that were previously
either too expensive or too complex to use
in-house. Computing systems, now with
greater storage capacity and faster coprocessor
speeds together with lower costs for both
hardware and software, have allowed
educators to control and keep video and
audio production on site rather than
contracting with costly third parties. Training
videos can be scripted, shot and produced at
low cost to address just-in-time and changing
training needs.
“Non-linear” desktop video editing refers
to computer-based systems, incorporating
video and audio “capture” technology
combined with editing software. Non-linear
editors digitise video footage, store it on the
computer’s hard drive and allow the user to
edit using a cut-and-paste technique similar to
that available in word processing software.
Non-linear systems are widely available on
both “Windows” and Macintosh platforms.
The greatest difference among the various
competing systems is the level of picture
quality they offer. The central component of a
non-linear editor is the “video capture card”
that plugs into the inside of the computer.
Similar to the video capture cards used for
multimedia video, these cards range in price
from several hundred dollars to several
thousand dollars.
The output from the computer editing
process can be exported to videotape, CD, a
Web site or, in the case of audio editing, a
cassette. Non linear editing systems can input,

output and/or convert to and from any
television format (i.e., PAL, NTSC or SECAM)
in either VHS quality or Betacam SP, for
television/broadcast quality.
Video capture technology:
Truevision: http://www.truevision.com
Fast: http://www.fastmultimedia.com
Miro: http://www.miro.com
Video editing software:
Avid: http://www.avid, com
Adobe: http://www. adobe. com
Audio editing:
Sound Foundry:
http://www.soundforge. com
General information:
Videomaker on-line magazine:
http://www. videomaker, com
America Online:
http://mcmbcrs.aol.com/simmike/diglinks.htm
Digital nonlinear editing: Editing film
and video on the desktop. Thomas Ohanian.
Focal Press, 1998. ISBN: 0-24080-225-X
(Hardcover, list: US$49.95). This book
focuses on the fundamentals of non-linear
video editing systems and the supporting
technologies.

Pictured is a non-linear desktop video editing
system. The screen on the right displays the
computer programme that is being used to edit
the video. The screen on the left allows the
viewer to see the output during the editing
process.

EdTech News
EdTech News published by the
Commonwealth of Learning as a
supplement to the Connections newsletter.
The Commonwealth of Learning
1285 West Broadway, Suite 600
Vancouver, BC V6H 3X8
Canada
Tel: 604.775.8200
Fax: 604.775.8210
Telex: 04507508 COMLEARN
E-mail: info@col.org
World Wide Web: http://www.col.org

Participants in the COL workshop, Use and integration of media in distance education, held in
Gaborone, Botswana (23 March-3 April 1998). Dr. Gary Coldevin (far right) conducted the
workshop and local arrangements were provided by the department of Non-formal Education. All
eight southern African countries were represented.

EdTech News is compiled by Mr. David
Walker (Education Specialist, Educational
Technology) and Ms. Sue Parker (Library
Technician, Information Resource
Centre).
Connections and EdTech News are edited
by Mr. Dave Wilson.

Board news

People
Staff news

Dr. Abdul W Khan

Abdul Khan leaves
COL to head IGNOU
On 27 March 1998, the Ministry of
Human Resource Development, Government
of India, announced the appointment of
COL’s Principal Communications Specialist
(Educational Media and Non-formal
Education) as Vice-Chancellor of the Indira
Gandhi National Open University. Dr. Abdul
Khan takes up his new duties on 1 June, for a
five-year term.
“COL will be a little poorer without Dr.
Khan”, says COL President, Professor Gajaraj
Dhanarajan. “He brought to the organisation
his knowledge and experience in educational
media, development communications and the
appropriate use of technologies in distance
and non-formal education. His insight into,
and enthusiasm for, changing the ways of
delivering knowledge and education fitted
well with the mission and mandate of this
agency. While he will be missed by all his
colleagues here in Vancouver, on the brighter
side, we are looking forward to working with
him in his new role. His appointment to this
prestigious post is a bold and imaginative one
by the authorities, and one which will further
strengthen the bonds that already exist
between our two organisations.”
Since its inception, all three of IGNOU’s
chief executives have been closely associated
with COL. Retiring Vice-Chancellor,
Professor Ram Takwale, will continue in his
current role as Regional Adviser to the
President for South Asia and founding ViceChancellor, the late G. Ram Reddy, served on
COL’s founding Board of Governors and as
COL’s first Vice-President.
Dr. Khan’s illustrious professional career
has included senior positions and advisor roles
with several international agencies. He
previously served IGNOU as Professor and
founding Director of the Communications
Division, where he established a state-of-theart educational media centre. He was also
Director, Farm and Home Broadcasts, for All
India Radio and initiated several innovative
programmes, including the Farm School of
the Air. He has been a member of COL’s
senior staff since 1992.

Patrick Guiton took up the post of
Education Specialist (Higher Education) at
COL headquarters on 1 May 1998. He has
worked in distance education for 25 years,
initially at the UK Open University and then
as foundation Director of External Studies at
Murdoch University, Western Australia,
where he established a distance education
programme for higher education. He was
previously at COL on secondment from 1991
to 1994 when he introduced COL’s initial
projects in the field of continuing professional
education designed to serve lawyers, judges,
medical practitioners and pharmacists. Mr.
Guiton is responsible for co-ordinating higher
education and continuing professional
education projects and otherwise assisting
with the application of open and distance
learning techniques elsewhere in COL’s work.

COL’s Chairman, Dr. H. Ian Macdonald
(President Emeritus, York University,
Canada) will be awarded an honorary Doctor
of the University by The Open University
(UK) at Newcastle Town Hall on June 13.

COL is pleased to announce that Dr.
Ihron L. Rensburg has been appointed to
serve on COL’s Board of Governors as a
regional appointment representing Africa. Dr.
Rensburg is Deputy Director General,
General and Further Education and Training
in the Department of Education, South
Africa. His appointment is on the advice of
Commonwealth Ministers of Education in
order to replace Mr. John Samuel, who has
now taken up new duties with the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation.

Speeches
Many of the speeches and keynote
presentations delivered by members of COL’s
staff and board are available on COL’s web
site ( http://www. col. org/speeches).

Events
School networking makes CENSE
Mr. Patrick Guiton

Ms. Kgomotso Motlotle

Kgomotso Motlotle also joined COL on
1 May 1998 on secondment from the
Ministry of Education in Botswana. As
Education Specialist (Teacher Education), she
works with Commonwealth member states in
the development and promotion of teacher
training through distance education
programmes. Her background includes in­
service training and international project
management in the fields of distance
education, human resource development and
communications technology in education.

At a graduation ceremony held on 16
April 1998, COL’s President, Dato’
Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, was awarded
a Doctor of the University, honoris causa, by
Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, NSW,
Australia. The citation, read by University
Vice-Chancellor, Professor C.D. Blake,
states that, “Professor Dhanarajan is arguably
the world’s foremost distance educator.” In
Dhanarajan’s address to the graduation
ceremony, he concluded that, “in the exciting
millennium that is ahead, all of us in the
practise of education have an important and
interesting role to play. We have the
knowledge to deliver lifelong learning to users
at their location of choice, we have the
technology to support us in our endeavours,
and we even have governments and their
leaders urging for more and more education.
What remains to complete the cycle is the
imagination and will of those in education to
bring it all together. 1 think we can.” Charles
Sturt University was Australia’s 1997
“University of the Year.”

A meeting concerning the issues of
networking and information exchange among
Commonwealth schools was held in
Vancouver in March. Presentations were
made by participants representing a number
of Commonwealth countries and
organisations, each outlining current
provisions for Internet activity in linking
schools and accessing educational resources.
In-depth working sessions on various
issues then led to the main recommendation
that “a Commonwealth-wide electronic
network be established that facilitates Internet
connections between national learning
networks and promotes international co­
operation as well as contact between
individual schools.” With support offered by
other participants, The Commonwealth of
Learning, the Commonwealth Secretariat and
COMNET-IT agreed to jointly develop and
promote the Commonwealth Electronic
Network for Schools and Education
(CENSE).
Background information on issues,
participants and presentations and detailed
recommendations and actions can be found
on COL’s web site (http://vww.col.org/cens/.

Open schooling
COL and India’s National Open School
(NOS) worked together to convene an
international workshop to raise the profile of
and increase awareness about open
schooling—the use of open and distance
techniques and methodologies to provide
school-level education for people of all ages.
Knowledge about the characteristics of open
schooling will assist educators that are facing
challenges within the disadvantaged and
continued on page 4

Instruction for hearing-impaired students at the National Open School’s Delhi Learning Centre

continued from page 3

vulnerable segments of the population, such
as rural and tribal women, street children and
the physically handicapped.
The workshop, held in New Delhi in
March, brought together educators from
Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, India,
Kenya, Malawi, Maldives, Nepal, New
Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the
United Kingdom. Participants developed
plans to share experience, expertise and
resources and identified appropriate
communications and information
technologies for delivery of education at the
school level.
The workshop was hosted by NOS, which
is the largest and most active open school in
the world today. Assistance to support
international participation at the workshop
was provided by UNESCO, UNICEF and the
World Bank. Both COL and NOS are grateful
for this support, without which it would not
have been possible to bring together such an
extensive cross-section of educators to take
part in and contribute to the proceedings.
A publication containing the papers
delivered at the workshop will be produced
by NOS and COL, and copies will be available
within six months.

Upcoming events
• Values in Commonwealth Education, a St.
Catharine’s residential conference will be
held at Cumberland Lodge (Windsor,
UK) from 10-12 July 1998. St.
Catharine’s conferences, organised by the
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
Foundation of St. Catharine’s, provides an
annual forum for the discussion of issues
of current concern under a Common­
wealth theme. COL’s President, Professor
Gajaraj Dhanarajan, will deliver a
presentation on “Values education and the
new technologies.” Further information is
available from St. Catharine’s, Cumberland
Lodge, The Great Park, Windsor,
Berkshire, UK;
tel: 44.1784.432.316/434.893
fax: 44.1784.438.507
• The 12 th Annual Conference of the Asian
Association of Open Universities will be
held in Hong Kong SAR, China, from 4-6
November 1998. Hosted by The Open
University of Hong Kong, this year’s

theme is The Asian Distance Learner.
Further information is available from the
AAOU Conference Committee (c/o
OUHK, tel: 852.2768.6800;
fax: 852.2789.1170;
email: tmwong@ouhk.edu.hk') or by visiting
the conference web site at http://
www.ouhk.edu.hk/~etpwww/AAOU98.htm
(or through COL’s web site). COL is
assisting AAOU in organising a pre­
conference roundtable on electronic
libraries.

Information resources

constitute an insightful analysis of current
thinking on key issues and a detailed overview
of the status of distance education for primary
teacher training in the five Asian high
population countries.” COL was responsible
for designing and implementing the technical
assistance programme and for developing this
publication.
Staff development in open and flexible
learning. Colin Latchem and Fred
Lockwood, editors. Routledge, 1998. “This
book draws together the experiences, insights
and findings of some of the world’s leading
staff developers in open and flexible
education. It is designed to provide an
overview of the trends, influences and events
which are shaping the work of these
professionals, and the policy changes,
processes and outcomes they are helping to
bring about in this expanding field.” The
book includes contributions by COL staff
members.
Knowledge societies: Information
technologyfor sustainable development.
Robin Manuel and Uta Wehn, editors.
Oxford University Press for and on behalf of
The United Nations, 1998. “This sourcebook
shows how information and communication
technologies are being harnessed to
development goals. It emphasises the urgency
of building new social and technological
capabilities and of ensuring that effective
national and regional strategies are in place.”

COL’s Information Resource Centre (IRC)
continues to grow to meet the needs of COL
staff, visitors, consultants and, increasingly,
individuals such as isolated distance education
students or those who seek basic direction
and orientation to the opportunities of open
and distance learning. The IRC library
management software is currently being
upgraded to create a catalogue of holdings
that will be searchable with a Web browser—
and links from the catalogue to full text
electronic resources will gradually be added.
Quarterly acquisitions lists are also available
on COL’s web site as an aid for those wishing
to remain current in the field. Paper copies
are also available on request.

Connections ns

New books

President & CEO:
Dato’ Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan

Connections and COL’s IRC are pleased to
note the publication of three new books that
provide a welcome addition to the rapidly
expanding literature in open and distance
learning. They are available directly from the
publishers or through local agents.
Distance education for primary school
teachers: Papers and proceedings of the
Regional Seminar on Distance Education.
Asian Development Bank, 1997. “A collection
of the technical working papers and the
national plans of action presented at a
Regional Seminar co-hosted by the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) and UNESCO in
Bangkok in October of 1996. The seminar
was one aspect of an ADB Technical
Assistance Project designed to enhance
human resource development in five of the
nine high population countries in the Asian
region by supporting distance education to
train primary level teachers. The papers

MAY 1998
Volume 3, Number 2
Connections is published by The
Commonwealth of Learning. COL is an
international organisation created by
Commonwealth Heads of Government to
encourage the development and sharing
of open learning/distance education
resources and technologies.

Chairman:
Dr. H. Ian Macdonald, O.C.
President Emeritus
York University, Canada

Unless otherwise stated, items appearing
in Connections may be reproduced.
Acknowledgement should be made to
The Commonwealth of Learning.

Further details on any news item that
appears in Connections may be obtained
by contacting COL’s Public Affairs Office,
or by visiting our World Wide Web site.
The Commonwealth of Learning
1285 West Broadway, Suite 600
Vancouver, BC V6H 3X8
Canada

Tel: 604.775.8200
Fax: 604.775.8210
Telex: 04507508 COMLEARN
E-mail: info@col.org
World Wide Web: http://www.col.org
Connections is edited by
Mr. Dave Wilson.