On October 24-25, 2002, ALO convened a policy roundtable, "Strategies for U.S. - Developing Country Collaboration in Distance Education," in response to an interest on the part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaborating with U.S. colleges and universities to increase the capacity of higher education institutions in developing countries. The focus of the roundtable was on the use of information technology for educational purposes, including developing courseware, obtaining an academic or professional credential, and faculty-researcher networking.

In the roundtable discussions, an apparently unanimous consensus emerged regarding the importance of international collaboration in distance education that takes into account much more than technology. The collaboration must consider such questions as what is to be learned (curricular issues), how it is to be presented to learners (instructional design issues), the needs of teachers and learners in different cultural contexts, issues of cost effectiveness, as well as political considerations. The discussion centered around the presentation of several case studies.

Case studies included: the Pew Program in Course Redesign, presented by Carolyn Jarmon of Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute; the National Technological University (NTU) as an example of a sustainable system for effective distance learning, presented by Lionel V. Baldwin, founding president, NTU; Rio Salado College's systems approach to online learning, presented by Carol Scarafiotti; the MATRIX humanities technology research center at Michigan State University, presented by Mark L. Kornbluh; Texas A&M University System's International Potato Center Project (IPC), presented by Manuel Piña; Howard University and the Emergency Medicine Internet Teaching Tool Project (EMITT), presented by Melissa Clarke; the University of the Western Cape and NetTel@Africa, presented by Derek Keats; and, the Brazil program for in-service teacher qualification, presented by Michael G. Moore of The Pennsylvania State University.

The roundtable successfully contribute to the continuing dialogue between USAID and the higher education community on distance education.

For more information on the ALO Distance Education Roundtable, contact ALO Program Associate Marilyn Crane.

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for University Cooperation in Development (ALO)

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