Although controversies over globalization continue, organizations, communities, even nations are gradually uniting into one huge society. On the way to this huge society, educational systems feel a strong pressure to reconsider their goals, structures, curriculum to provide learners with new skills and the flexibility to adapt to changing job demands and, for that matter, changing jobs over a lifetime; and dealing with an increasingly competitive international labor pool due to ever-increasing demand for learning.
As a result, building and sustaining lifelong, open & flexible learning systems have become one of the most crucial goals of the many national and international entities. Lifelong learning refers to ongoing acquisition of knowledge or skills, and is flexible, diverse and available at different times and places, pursued throughout life. Nations, organizations, institutions are in search of finding cost effective tools for offering lifelong learning opportunities.
Open and distance learning is, in fact, an effective vehicle for lifelong learning. Recent developments in the field such as integration of computer networks and acceptance of socially rich learner-centered instructional approaches have enabled open and distance learning providers reach out more quantities of learners and meet learners' divergent demands, needs and characteristics.
However, we need a clear picture for the future of globalized lifelong open & flexible learning and the role of open and distance learning in this picture. What kinds of policies do we need for building effective lifelong learning systems? What should open and distance learners do to meet the changing and diversifying learning demands? What kinds of instructional approaches should be employed? What are the characteristics of current learners and how these characteristics will change? What are the effective, efficient and attractive uses of current technology? How will emerging technologies affect the way we teach? How can we establish good collaboration among open and distance learning providers?
Anadolu University as one of the largest open and distance learning providers would like to bring practitioners, researchers, policy makers, administrators and even learners to share and discuss the answers of above or similar questions concerning relationship between globalization, lifelong learning, flexible learning, open learning and distance learning. So, the 2nd Open and Distance Learning Symposium will focus on "lifelong open & flexible learning in the globalized world".
Along with the Symposium, a media day will be organized for the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of Anadolu University's Educational Television. Establishment of the Educational Television (ETV) in 1976 in Anadolu University can be regarded as one of the pioneer attempts of modernization of the educational system in Turkey. First, a group of amateurs with a great enthusiasm established a closed-circuit system in the Academy of Eskisehir, Economics and Commercial Sciences (EAECS); later, collaboration with the German government helped the administrators of the University in both establishment of modern facilities for television program production and training the staff. These facilities and staff became a base for the foundation of open and distance learning in 1982. Since 1982, ETV has not only served as one of the main components of Turkish higher distance education but also helped the attempts of solving educational problems of the country through production of in-service training programs, social advertisements, introductory films, and so forth.
Anadolu University would like to share its 30 years of experience in educational television with other experts and institutions in the field and also would like to create a platform for other institutions and individuals to present their products, services and experiences. Therefore, the main goal of the media day is to bring practitioners, researchers, companies, and customers of educational television, video, or film, together. One of the parallel sessions of the Symposium will be reserved for the educational television product shows, paper presentations and panels on educational television and other related activities.
So, Anadolu University would like to invite you to present at the 2006, 2nd International Open and Distance Learning Symposium in Eskisehir, TURKEY and to share your expertise, experiences and resources with your peers and those new to the field.
