Attitude of Learners Studying through Distance Mode towards Computer Education.

The quantitative development of higher education has been very impressive, but the present system is not able to meet the growing demands of higher education. The World Bank produced a report entitled, Higher Education: The Lessons of Experience (1994) states that, "the development of higher education is correlated with economic development: therefore the Government of India must give priority to expand higher education system''. But it will not be possible through the traditional campus system. To achieve this target we should promote open and distance learning with the help of computer technology. In open and distance education, technologies are used primarily to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning process in the absence of teachers, and providing a new and interactive means of overcoming time and distance to reach learners. Computer applications for distance education have four broad categories: (a) Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI); (b) Computer Managed Instruction (CMI); (c) Computer Mediated Communication (CMC); and, (d) Computer Based Multimedia. Computers can facilitate self-paced learning. The CAI mode provides immediate reinforcement and feedback. Computer based learning has integrated graphic, print, audio, and video capabilities as computers can effectively link various technologies. Interactive video and CD-ROM technologies can be incorporated into computer based instructional units, lessons, and learning environments. The present paper presents an empirical study on the diverse attitude of the learners, who are studying through the distance education mode, towards computer education. The study takes into account 100 samples (50 males and 50 females) from distance education universities like IGNOU (Aligarh Centre) and Centre of Distance Education, AMU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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