The training and educational sectors are involved in a process of rapid evolution. The demand of training is continuously growing in quantitative terms in all the organisations but also the possible educational and training delivering options are increasing. In several countries, technologies and the need of industrial competitiveness will produce a considerable impact not only on training on the job but also in respect to several educational aspects.

This is the context in which Open Distance Learning (ODL) is "imposing itself" as the most rapid growth European training method.

The configuration of an oDl system can vary largely. It depends on different factors:

Characteristics of the learners and the social- cultural context (age, study profiles, current position, psychological barriers and constrains, learning stiles, social and cultural issues, et.);
 
learning aims and objectives which have to be met;
typology of contents to be transmitted;
resources available (human, time and financial), et.

In designing an ODL scheme all these elements has to be taken in great account in order to set up the most effective and coherent scheme.

This means that, differently from traditional training methods, in an ODL context it is necessary to:

identify the training objectives: this is the only way to design learning modules and assessment and evaluation methods;
 

produce effective learning materials: they are the most important element of ODL; they are the central point of the learning process. The success of the learning process and the quality of the "internal" interaction depend, to a great extent, on the quality of the materials;
 

evaluate the learning progresses: the crucial point of ODL is the continuous assessment and in itinere evaluation of the individual learning process;
 

create individualised learning routes: thanks to its modular structure, ODL makes it possible to follow personal learning routes through the materials that take into consideration the learner’s background;
 

stimulate exchanges between the learners and the system: the "external" interaction between the user and the delivery system enhances the motivation of the individual learner for using ODL. Therefore, the quality of ODL depends on the quality of this interaction).
 

Why implement ODL system?

 

The design of a distance learning system begins with the identification of the target users, of their needs and their characteristics. However, it is necessary to consider the reasons for which a training or education institution decides to deliver distance learning. These reasons have some impact on the form and the type of the ODL systems or initiatives that will be carried out.

Empirical observation criteria suggest the following classification:

a) ODL as a way of reducing costs;

b) ODL as a way of increasing the number of possible users;

c) ODL as a way of organising the flow of students;

d) ODL as a way of improving training effectiveness;

e) ODL as a way of obtaining public funds for training.

 

These reasons are not necessarily self-standing, an interrelation is advisable. In general, there is one main reason and a secondary one. Therefore, it is better to consider each reason separately.

a) ODL as a way of reducing costs.

ODL is seen as a solution when training budgets are limited or it is necessary to guarantee a certain number of activities. ODL allows a reduction of structural (fewer classrooms) and variable costs (number of face-to-face teaching hours and, consequently, travel costs), even though a substantial initial investment is needed to produce learning materials and to create a network of tutors who can provide support.

In any case, the number of learners must be such as to amortise materials production and organisation costs.

Often, the money saved directly or indirectly concerns the travel expenses of learners (e.g. direct savings: corporate training in geographically spread companies; indirect savings: university training for non-residents). This concept of ODL belongs to an area defined, on the one hand, by an approach that considers ODL as necessary but potentially harmful to classroom courses and, on the other hand, by a system of economic constraints that requires the reduction of "face-to-face service" hours. In the most effective applications of ODL, the reduction of the number of teaching hours is frequently compensated by a more individualised tutorial support.

It is therefore possible that the aim of reducing costs lead to a "second quality" ODL provision if compared to classroom learning. This is hard to carry out in case of a "captive" audience, strongly controlled by the provider, as in the case of corporate training for employees or compulsory courses.

b) ODL as a way of increasing the number of possible users.

The overcoming of access barriers, linked to the use of ODL, allows training centres and institutions to reach new users. In some cases, this is due to the search for new sources of income (correspondence courses in the past, university training centres today). Differently from the former case, the new users must be attracted and ODL cannot be considered as a second choice, but as the main method to match the needs of a greater number of clients/beneficiaries, who have a great degree of autonomy concerning the choice of a learning route (in service training, lifelong learning, etc.). Education and training institutes created to develop ODL systems may not be included under this heading.

c) ODL as a way of organising the flow of students.

 

This need is common to those training and education institutions that prefer classroom courses and have to face the problem of over-crowded classrooms (such as first-year university courses or courses provided by training centres with a limited number of classrooms) and a great diversity of entrance levels that can affect the completion of the programme. ODL integrates the main classroom method as a tool for making entrance knowledge levels uniform or as a recovery instrument.

Neither a second option nor an alternative to classroom courses, ODL is centred on basic knowledge and covers the least "noble" stage of the learning process. In this case, ODL materials have a very linear and simple presentation and language.

d) ODL as a way of improving training effectiveness.

 

Another reason, which can be integrated with some of the reasons already examined, concerns the search for increased training effectiveness through the integration between classroom and distance training. Based on equal resources, number and characteristics of users, this is an attempt to optimise the results of the integration of these three elements of the delivery system, as is shown in table 1 on page 5.

 

In this case learners are responsible for their own learning and have the opportunity to learn by using a given set of materials (information based learning), to experiment with the acquired knowledge autonomously and to link the learning contents to their own context.

In this case it is far more difficult to identify the role and the method used by ODL, because there are many intermediate solutions

e) ODL as a way of obtaining public funds for training.

Unless it is integrated with one of the reasons already explained, this is of course the less important reason, which will not produce any durable result. It is well known that many public institutions, even the European Union, strongly support the development of ODL systems, also thanks to the recent development of information and communication technologies.

However, if the link between the client and the potential recipients/beneficiaries is weak, this reason can lead to a merely formal adhesion to ODL, aimed in many cases at developing (subcontracted) self-learning materials and harming the implementation of an effective support system and of a more comprehensive cultural re-organisation of the centre/institute.

These materials, which are sometimes very expensive because of their technological value, are abandoned immediately after the pilot-test stage. More than a self-standing reason, this requirement imposed by the client should be interpreted as an opportunity for planning effective development strategies that can be linked to one of the four reasons examined above.