SELF-PRESENTATION
I am taking the Master of Arts in Open and Distance Education (MAODE) at
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY, UK. It is my second year. The master course lasts
three years.
I live in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the Minas Gerais State, in
Brazil, which covers an area like France (over 580,000 square kilometres),
and has about 17 million inhabitants living in over 850 cities/towns.
I am the prosecuting attorney responsible for overseeing the police force
(about 42,000 police) in the entire state.
Furthermore, I manage a small teaching institute and I am also a Professor
of Penal Procedural Law. By the way, I am taking a law MA/PhD degree.
I have been a teacher for twenty years: twelve years as a
physics/mathematics teacher and eight years as a law professor.
PROBLEM
Until next September, I will have to present an independent project in the
MAODE course, at the UK Open University. Note: it is not my final master
dissertation, but it is the final and main work this year (50 per cent of
my total grade/mark).
So, I will have only two months to produce my project.
I have chosen the following THEME: MANAGEMENT OF DISTANCE EDUCATION SYSTEM
- CASE STUDIES.
This theme is too much broad. I will have to specify more the work focus.
I must have a tight focus and investigate it deeply .
The MAODE course requires high capacity of synthesis: the project report
must have only 6,000 words.
QUESTIONS
1 - Do you have any suggestion about my project?
2 - Which theme would you suggest with the intention of concentrating the
focus?
3 - Which Internet links (URL) do you suggest about (including comparative
studies):
3.A - managing ODL (OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING) systems in general?
3.B - managing learner support systems (support for learners)?
3.C - managing supporter support systems (especially support for tutors)?
3.D - managing assessment systems (assessment of learner's outcomes)?
3.E - monitoring and evaluation, including managing quality assurance
systems in ODL?
3.F - managing the costs and economics of ODL systems?
3.G - managing the production and delivery of materials learning?
3.H - managing learning resources: a) managing the provision of materials
obtained from another supplier; b) managing Internet-based materials; c)
managing the provision of equipment and software?
3.I - ODL pedagogies (?) ?
3.J - Institutional reports (I would see the structure of some
organisations)?
4 - Which theoretical frameworks could I adopt in relation to open and
distance learning systems, management etc.? What is management? What is an
ODL system? Which are my paradigms to compare or to analyse ODL systems,
sub-systems or processes?
5 - Which methodologies could I use to compare or to analyse ODL systems,
sub-systems or processes?
6 - How could I apply the theory of 'learning organization' to the open and
distance learning area?
Best regards,
DENILSON FEITOZA PACHECO
denifei@gold.com.br
9-Jul-99
--"Denilson Feitoza" <denifei@gold.com.br>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>