PJDOL

Effectiveness of Assessment Tools Used in Open Distance Learning: Perspective of Faculty Members

Saba Munir — 2024-12-30

Assessment is a significant part of an education system that evaluates students' learning. Assessment tools have been a topic of interest for educationists and academicians since the beginning of the education system, and it is still advancing every day. Therefore, this research explored the perceived effectiveness of assessment tools currently being used in open and distance learning (ODL) institutions. This research has adopted the interpretivist paradigm and used a qualitative approach. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants; the criteria to select a participant was the teacher serving in an ODL institute full-time, with a minimum experience of one year. Data have been collected from 16 faculty members of an ODL institution. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect the data. The findings of the study highlighted the perceptions of the faculty members regarding the effectiveness of various assessment tools used to evaluate the learning of ODL students. The study's results highlighted the issues associated with the use of multiple assessment tools in ODL settings. It has been recommended that the current AI era has impacted the effectiveness of various assessment tools, and academicians are suugested to adopt more interactive assessments.

Ensuring Excellence: Quality Assurance Practices of Online Teaching and Learning at Higher Education Level in Pakistan

Dr. Fouzia Ajmal — 2024-12-30

The purpose of this study was to assess the current quality assurance mechanisms and practices for online teaching at the higher education level in Pakistan. The study was conducted on 214 higher education level private and public universities that have offered online education during COVID-19. The quantitative research approach was used to carry out this study. All the students from public and private universities were considered the population of the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was applied to select the sample from private and public universities in ICT and four provinces: Punjab, KPK, Sindh, and Baluchistan of Pakistan. The self-develop questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale was administered to collect the data. Data were collected through multiple means such as personal visits to universities and online Google Forms. Descriptive data analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that instructors facilitated learners to ensure the quality of teaching. Learners also reported that the instructors provided a detailed course overview and material to engage and facilitate the learners. However, expanding access to more diverse materials and ensuring compatibility across devices is needed.

Policies and Practices for Grading of Student Work in Distance and Online Learning System: A Survey of Teachers’ Perspective

Bushra Haleem — 2024-12-30

Examining the current discussion on efficient grading practices in online and distance learning, a mixed-method study was designed to assess the grading policies and practices. Through census sampling, all of the education department's teachers as well as the head teachers of the Pakistani virtual university were chosen. In the questionnaire as research tool for this study, open and closed-ended questions about the learning outcomes, accuracy, and fairness of the grading scheme were developed by the researchers and approved by four experts prior to administration. The instrument's reliability was 0.89. The policy document was reviewed, and thematic analysis was done for open-ended question. Based on the results, majority of teachers were agreed that the grading schemes were accurate, fair, and measured learning outcomes. Additionally, the grading policies and the grading practices are aligned. However, there was a conflict between grading practice and policy in grading on curve. In addition to offering suggestions for creating an equitable, open, and engaging assessment system in online and distance learning, the findings may help administrators, instructors, and virtual universities to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the current grading procedures and help them optimize the assessment process in order to better support students’ learning and success.

Facebook Usage Patterns and its Impact on the Academic Performance of University Students

Sajid Manzoor — 2024-12-30

The study focused on understanding the different patterns of Facebook usage among university students and its impact on their academic performance. It was examined that to what extent Facebook consumption influenced the students’ educational performance. "Uses and Gratifications" a theoretical framework was used to analyze consumption patterns. It was a quantitative research design employed, and the data was collected from 250 university students by using a purposive sampling technique. The results showed that heavy uses of Facebook was related to addictive behavior among university students, negatively affecting their educational performance. These impacts led to different negative effects such as poor time management, procrastination, and a decrease in productive academic activities. It was supported by the p-value 0.00, confirming that increased Facebook consumption significantly correlated with decreased academic performance. Parents, teachers, and authorities must put concerted efforts to regulate social media use through healthy boundaries, digital literacy, and time management skills. Parents can monitor and guide children's digital habits; teachers can incorporate lessons on balanced usage and even make social media an educational tool.

Women Education in Remote Areas of AJK: Scope of Open & Distance Education

Waqas Ahmed — 2024-12-30

This research paper explores the problems, challenges and opportunities for women’s education in remote areas of Pakistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir. Quantitative approach of research has been used for this study. A survey form consisting of five open ended questions have been used to collect data from both literate and illiterate women. According to economic survey of Pakistan overall literacy rate of Pakistan is 62.6% in which 73.3% are male and 51.9% are female. Literacy rate of rural areas women are very lower as compared to urban areas women which is only 40.8%. Lack of motivation, cultural norms and conservative attitude towards genders, patriarchal culture, lack of educational facilities, illiterate family environment, family support, resource management, poverty, family and society barrier, early child marriages, non-availability of transport and limited knowledge towards Islam are the main problems and challenges of women education in rural areas. Despite these issues and challenges government and higher education commission of Pakistan are trying their best to resolve these issues and promote women education especially in the rural areas. In this regard, open and distance education is the solution and may be utilized as way forward to promote women education.