Vol. 12, Special Issue 8 (2023)

Author(s):
Monica Singh and Sandeep Deshmukh

Abstract:
There is a growing awareness of the important role of open and distance learning in higher education. Also, Open and distance education contributes to social and economic growth and is quickly becoming a recognized and necessary component of educational institutions in both developed and developing countries. Open Distance Learning (ODL) is increasingly seen as the most viable means of expanding educational access while improving educational quality, promoting peer-to-peer cooperation, and providing learners with a greater sense of autonomy and responsibility for learning. It is a type of education in which students work independently at home or at work and connect with teachers and other students using e-mail, electronic forums, videoconferencing, chat rooms, bulletin boards, instant messaging, and other computer-based communication methods. Now a day a new concept of Re-usable Learning Objects (RLO) is used in ODL. It is semantic in approach i.e., computer performs the tasks required to find, search and aggregate information and provide communication with each other more autonomously. RLO is defined as an independent and self-standing unit of learning content that is predisposed to reuse in multiple instruction contextes. It is digital, re-usable, self-contained, small in size (ranging from 2-15 minutes), standardized, searchable (metadata tagging), flexible and cost effective in characteristic. This is a digital educational asset available in a centralized online repository that can be employed, recycled, expanded, and distributed to facilitate teaching and learning. Each RLO supports a single learning objective and uses wide range of multimedia such as text, graphics, image, animation, audio, and video. Some developed RLOs related to Agriculture are available on website www.agrilore.org for five areas namely Nursery Management, High Value Crop production, Integrated Nutrient Management, Integrated Pest Management and Post Harvest Management and Value Addition.