Page 155 - Open and Distance Education In Asia : Good Practice From AAOU Members

Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) 135

to online mode. The courses of the OUSL supplementary courses will have the benefit
are supported online through the Moodle of having added learner support through
Learning Management System (LMS) with a various resources available online, and also
dedicated team of academics and IT support will have the opportunity to interact with the
staff monitoring and administering the tutor and the fellow students. The blended
courses offered through the Moodle LMS. A category of courses shall have at least 20%
dedicated committee, known as Committee compulsory components, while the online-
for Assisting Online Learning (CAOL), looks plus category of courses will have at least
into all the pedagogical, technological, and 80% compulsory components. The university
administrative issues that academics and is currently in the process of revisiting these
students face while teaching and learning definitions and analysing whether changes
through online and recommends appropriate need to be introduced.
intervention to address those issues.
The University has also included formative
Currently, all the courses of the university assessments in the form of assignments,
are offered online under three categories as quizzes, and discussion forums in the blended
either Supplementary, Blended, or Online- online courses, depending on the discipline
Plus. This classification is based on the of study. Limited summative assessments
amount of online involvement available for a (final exams) have also been conducted
particular course and each course will belong online, under supervised environment, in the
to one of the three categories. Accordingly, computer laboratories of the Centres of the
the courses which are offered under OUSL.
supplementary category do not have any
compulsory component for the students to
participate. However, a student following the

The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL)