Another day at Sukothai Thammathirat Open University

We had another very informative day today at STOU, but before I describe the highlights of today I forgot to mention that many courses at STOU have a seminar component. For the seminar, students come and spend two or three days at STOU, near the end of a course. STOU even has a seminar center, which is like a small hotel, for the students. Another important difference between Thailand and Alaska, relating to distance delivery, is that the transportation choices to distance sites are more varied, and cheaper, then in Alaska.

Today we had an informative tour of the Documentation Center and Library. As part of the Library there is an archive of information about King Rama VII. King Rama VII was the king who provided the basis for a constitution in Thailand. It was an informative tour which revealed valuable information about the history of Thailand.

I also got to visit with the Office of Registration, Records and Evaluation. We had an excellent, in-depth discussion. I met a women who will be going on Sabbatical next year to New Zealand. She will be studying how to evaluate distance delivery courses. I hope to continue discussions with her. I emailed her the URL for the Center for Distance Learning at UAF.

There is fundamental difference in how courses are taught and evaluated in Thailand. The evaluating, testing and grading of a course is distinct from teaching a course. Professors will submit question to be included in a test, but the order and specific questions actually included are chosen by a content expert. All students in the courses are given the same test. Non-test work in the courses only counts for 20% of the grade. This is a very different model then in the United States, but it does have some similarities to professional certification like CISCO and Microsoft. Having evaluation and testing distinct from the teaching of a course stimulates many interesting ideas.

I also asked about competencies as a method of evaluating courses, but most of the effort seems to be in creating relevant testing for the courses provided.

I also found out that the enrollment at STOU is declining because of competition for face to face education in the distance learning centers. Just like in Alaska some students prefer face to face delivery of course content. The meeting and discussion with the Center for Registration, Records, and Evaluation was thought provoking.

I also met with the Director of International Relations. There is chance that I might get to work with the Office of Educational Services, which is similar to the TVC Student Support Services. I hope it works out. My underlying interests do not rest with technical IT anymore. I am interested in teaching applications and student services. My time at STOU, combined with my own projects relating to computer skills training and support, will provide me with valuable new perspectives when I return from Sabbatical.

Coming back from Bangkok, and getting on the boat to cross the river, I can feel myself start to decompress. Bangkok can be overwhelming. Tomorrow I am going to consolidate and summarize some of the information that I have gathered.

Today was very productive.