Srinagar, Nov 4: The Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE), University of Kashmir (KU), in collaboration with the Indian Distance Education Association (IDEA), began a two-day national conference on ‘Re-imagining ODL and Online Education Across Disciplines and Pedagogies: Challenges and Prospects’ at the Main Campus on Wednesday.
The conference, as per a KU statement, aims to discuss the changing nature of open and distance learning (ODL) and online education, with a focus on new teaching methods, digital technologies, student engagement and access to quality education. It also seeks to bring together academicians, researchers and education professionals to exchange ideas on addressing the challenges and exploring new possibilities in the field.
Vice-Chancellor KU, Prof. Nilofer Khan, in her message, said that NEP 2020 places strong emphasis on flexible, inclusive and technology-enabled learning.
“We should align ODL and online education with the vision of NEP 2020 by promoting multidisciplinary learning, digital innovation and equitable access to quality higher education,” she said.
Speaking at the inaugural session, Dean Academic Affairs KU, Prof. Shariefuddin Pirzada, said that distance and online education have expanded access to higher education, and stressed on the need to maintain academic quality while adapting to changing technologies and learner needs.
“The future of online education depends on making learning accessible, flexible and academically meaningful,” he said.
Secretary General IDEA, Dr. L.V.K. Reddy, said that distance learning has an important role in making higher education more inclusive. He highlighted the need for institutions to strengthen their digital infrastructure, improve course delivery and adopt learner-centred approaches.
Prof. Mushtaq Patel, faculty member at CDOE, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad, delivered the keynote address. Providing a historical overview of distance education, he spoke about its evolution from traditional correspondence-based learning to technology-enabled online platforms. He said that the changing educational landscape calls for new pedagogical approaches while retaining the core principles of flexibility and accessibility.
Dean, School of Open Learning KU, Prof. Tariq Ahmad Chisti, emphasised the need to continuously review teaching practices and course content to make distance and online education more relevant to contemporary requirements.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Director CDOE KU, Prof. Mohd Altaf Ahanger, said that the conference would provide an opportunity to examine the current challenges in ODL and online education and discuss ways to improve its reach and effectiveness.
The two-day conference features technical sessions, panel discussions and academic presentations on different aspects of open and online education, including emerging technologies, teaching practices, quality assurance and student support.
The conference is being attended by research scholars, students and academicians from different parts of the country. It is sponsored by J&K Bank and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad.
The event proceedings of the inaugural session were conducted by Dr. Aneeda Jan and vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Syed Ishfaq, faculty members at CDOE KU.
