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Bangkokthonburi's Borderless Education System: A Brief
Introduction
By
Prof. Dr. Chaiyojng Brahmawong
Vice
President for Distance Education, Bangkokthonbury
University
www.chaiyongvision.com
On
December 13, 2011, the University Council of Bangkokthonbury
University approved the "BTU Plan" for
Bangkoktonbury University's Borderless Distance Education
System to launch a new type of distance education sytems different from
other existing ones in Thailand, i.e. Borderless Education.
Borderless Education widens the educational limitation of
the general
public who wish to get higher education regardless of ages, time and
whereabouts under the Mission: Strengthening
Every Square Inch of Social Foundation Nation-wide and World-wide
via Borderless Education."
Borderless
Education is a form of distance education employing
an integrated mulimedia approach allowing distance learners to
conduct self-directed learning via broadcast-based approach as
the core media supplemented by eLearning, self-learning
comprehensive texts and study guides, and limited face-to-face
instruction for everyone, anywhere and at anytime.
Distance
education degree
and certificate programs are provided by
BTU's International Borderless Education College (IBEC), a
newly established unit under the Education Division of BTU
under the supervision of Vice President for Distance Education.
Master's
degree programs are of at least 36 credits comprising six
courses while Doctoral degrees are of at least 48 credits. After
registration to courses, each of six-credits, each student pursues
the follwoing learning activities:
The
student studies from the core mdium, i.e. instructional TV
programs, and from supplementary media, i.e. eLearning
courseware, self-learning texts and carry out learning
activities as directed in the Study Guide. If he wishes. he
may attend face-to-face tutorial sessions conducted at local
Borderless Education Academic Service (BEAS) centers made
available all over Thailand and overseas.
The
provided instructional TV programs were broadcast via a K-under
band called Ku Band satellite (Correct form: Ku
Band;
originally German:
Kurz-unten on
Frequency 10.95-14.5 GHz)
with footprint coverage of Thailand and Asia reaching other
parts of the world via satellite and IP TV and IP radio.
Ku Band Satellite discs are distributed to students to be
installed at their homes for receiving and viewing IBEC
instructional TV programs.
For
each six-credit course, there are 17 TV programs of 45 minutes
each similar to the format used at the Open University of
Japan (OUJ). Of the 17 programs, one orientation (Introductory)
program, 15 pre-redorded instructional TV programs and one occidentation
(Conclusion) program, are made available in one semester. The
instructional TV program for each unit is presented weekly.
They are rerun twice a day to allow access to the program at
the student's convenience.
After
every five instructional TV programs, a 60-90 minute dialogue
and discussion TV format for interactive live program is broadcast on Saturday and Sunday featuring live
presentation of well experienced experts and specialists in
the field of study. During live broadcast, student
participation is allowed for the students to phone in, send SMS, or
send emails for asking questions and
expressing their views on academic issues. The students may
watch live telecast at home, at the work place, or join
friends at the viewing corners provided at each of BEAS
centers.
BTU has no policy to set up any AM/FM radio stations for
broadcasting instructional radio programs. Rather, IP Radio
stations may be made avaliable to transmit audio signals from
TV programs to those who may not find it convinient to view TV
broadcast programs during working hours, while driving cars,
and working in agricultural fields. However, any Community
Radio stations may seek BTU permission to transmit IBEC's
radio programs to the general public without charging IBEC for
air times. They may be exempted from paying royalty fees to
IBEC. Audio signals from Internet Radio may be recorded by the
students and played back via MP3 or CD at their convinient
times.
After
studying from the core media, i.e. TV programs, the students
may not have adequate understanding of the presented content,
they may continue studying from two supplementary media:
eLearning and Print media.
First,
eLearning media are in the forms of web-based or online
lessons, IP TV, and IP radio accessible to the students world
wide. The students get access to online lessons and from
social media such as Facebook and online Knowledge Centers
such as Google and Youtube. In addition, eLearning media are
used as channels of communication between students and
instructors, students to students, and for submission of
student assignments to the instructors. IBEC staff, led by the author,
is developing more appropriate eLearning system for use with
social media. i.e. Social Media-Experience-Based Approch (SMEBA),
and Search Engines, i.e. Search Engine Experience-Based Approach (SEEBA).
Second, print media are in the form of Course
Comprehensive Texts (CCT) and Study Guide, set books. and
specialized encyclopedia for each program of study.
In
compliance to Section 4.6 of the Ministry of Education
Circular on
Guidelines for Offering and Managing Degree Programs via
Distance, B.E. 2548,
the
planning, preparation, production, delivery, and evaluation of
Borderless Education courseware are conducted by Course
Production and Administration Team (CPAT) to ensure the
effectiveness of students learning from diversified internal
and external experts and specialists for both theoretical
knowledge and practical experiences, notably adjunct
professors and adjunct instructors from both public and
private business and industrial sectors. This certainly
prevents the students from the influence and control of only
one instructor.
CPAT
comprises 3-5 Content Experts, one Educational Technologist,
one Test Specialist, and Course Manager
In
addition to studying from the core media and supplementary
media, the students may attend Course Wrap-Up Tutorial (CWUT)
sessions at one of the 150 BEAS Centers spreading all over the
country. CWUT helps prepare the students for carrying out
course assignments and geting them ready for the final
examinations.
After
conpleting the 15 units of the courseware, the students will
get fair assessment of their learning achievement from the
evaluation of process and the
evaluation of products.
The
evaluation of process is based on activities and assignmests
given to the students. All assignments and projects must be
carried out by the students themselves. Plagiarism is a
serious crime. IBEC has the checking system to prevent illegal
copying of other people's work. Doing so will bring serious
punishment to the wrong-doers. If they are official employees,
they may also get disciplinary actions. Even if after
graduation, if such misconduct were detected, the degrees
or diplomas will be nullified.
The
evaluation of the products is based on terminal projects and
final examinations. The terminal projects, for higher level
courses are final work expected of the students to assess
their professional and practical experiences. Final
examinations, on the other hand, are intended to measure the
students undestanding of theoretical and academic knowlede.
At
the end of the semester, the students must sit in to take their final
examinations at a designated BEAS Center. According to
the MoE's regulation, all examinations are proctored to
guaruntee that the students and the ones who take the
examinations are the same persons.
In
conclusion, BTU's Borderless Education system helps promote
life-long and life-along education with the emphasis to
providing certificates and degrees for informal education as
well as for formal education to allow working adults to pursue
theo0retical knowledge for strengthening practical experience
they have learned throughout their careers. Borderless
Education will ultimately empower the grass toot people at the
social foundation levels to forcefully negotiate and get fair
bargaining with government officers, politicians, and local
business tycoons and lift up their social and enconomical
status in their communities.
April
14, 2011 at 8:30 pm.
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