ONLINE TUTORING AND COUNSELLING OF DISTANCE LEARNERS

OBJECTIVES

• To identify the technologies available for online tutoring and counselling by redefining the role of Regional Centres.

SUMMARY

Counselling and tutoring are the backbone of any educational system whether Conventional or Open and Distance Learning (ODL), and this present scenario of social distancing has brought both the pattern of education on a single platform- Online mode. While the conventional system is struggling to find suitable ways of providing education without losing the ethos, ODL institutions are having the upper hand in dealing with these exceptional circumstances due to their inbuilt, inescapable requirement of using various technologies for the delivery of instruction and supporting their distance learners. The pandemic of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has been a catalyst in speeding up the shift from face-to-face to online methods of tutoring and counselling distance learners. All Open Universities (OUs) and Directorates of Distance Education (DDEs) have to rethink their operations including redefining the roles and functions of their Regional Centres(RCs) and Learner Support Centres(LSCs), as brick and mortar institutions alone are not sufficient to provide counselling and tutoring support to distance learners in the times ahead. This paper outlines the various online methods available for ODL institutions to switch over to, for providing effective counselling and tutoring support to their distance learners. An attempt has been made to identify the available technologies; define their characteristics: synchronous/asynchronous, number of learners it can serve, interactivity, etc.; and prepare a matrix on their utilization for different levels and types of tutoring and counselling. The new model that is being proposed will require re-designing the learner support system as such. In this context, the role of Regional Centres (RCs) and Learner Support Centres (LSCs) will need to be redefined. Also, the role of existing academic counsellors will need to be recast. All the changes proposed by the researchers will completely overhaul the existing ODL system and facilitate the ODL institutions to respond to the need of the hour and make the learners well versed with the skills required for the 21st century.