Schedule for OMDE606 Fall 2004

Week Dates Modules/content/due dates
0 September, 01. to September, 07. Preweek: (read only)
- How to prepare for this course.
1 September, 08. to September, 15.

Introduction:
- How to get through this course;
- getting to know each other;
- getting acquainted with the learning environment.

Module 1: The Expansion of Education and the Emergence of the Economics of Education
-Debate: 'Education: panacea or palliative?'
-Exploring the rising demand for education and soaring costs;
-'Human Capital Theory' and the emergence of economics of education;
-What distance education may offer.

2 September 16. to September, 22.

Module 1 (cont.)
-Using the GED Database
-Group task
Date for posting* Group Task: September, 16.
Date for submitting* Group Task: September, 22.
3 September 23. to September, 29. Module 2: The Techniques of Cost Analysis
-Budgets and the classification of resources;
-Classification of costs;
-Economies of scale;
-Overheads and the treatment of capital costs.
4 September 30. to October, 06.

Module 2 (cont.)
-Making use of spreadsheets for cost-analysis;
- Mock** assignment (posted September, 30; solution posted October, 02.)
5 October 07. to October, 13. Module 2 (cont.)
Date for posting* Assignment 1: October, 11
6 October 14. to October, 20. Module 2 (cont.)
Date for submitting* Assignment 1: October, 20.
7 October 21. to October, 27. Module 3: The Cost-effectiveness of Distance Education
-Effectiveness and efficiency;
-Case study: the British Open University;
8 October 28. to November, 03.

Module 3 (cont.)
Conference with our visiting expert, Prof. Greville Rumble on the vulnerability of distance teaching universities

9 November, 04. to November, 17. Module 3 (cont.)
Date for posting Assignment 2: November, 04
Date for submitting Assignment 2: November, 17
10 November, 18. to November, 24.

Module 4: Costing Resource Media
-Bates ACTIONS Model;
-Cost per learning time as an indicator to compare the costs of media;
-The cost-effectiveness of educational media and the media equivalency theory.
11 November, 25. to December, 01. Module 4 (cont.)
-Cost of print
-Cost of radio and audio cassettes
-Cost of television and video cassettes
Date for posting* Assignment 3 (group assignment): November, 25
12 December, 02. to December 08.

Module 5: Costs of e-Learning
-The impact of netbased learning on the cost-structure of distance education'
-Synchronous types of e-learning
-Aynchronous types of e-learning

13 December, 02. to December 08.

Module 5 (cont.)
- Recovering lost efficiencies: Learning objects
- Recovering lost efficiencies: Cooperation
14 December, 09. to December 15.

Module 5 (cont.)
Date for submitting* Assignment 3 (group assignment): December, 12.

* 'posting' refers to faculty making assignment or task accessible; 'submitting' refers to students,
loading up assignments to assignment folder

** A 'mock assignment' is a nongraded voluntary assignment which allows students to prepare
for the real assignment. A few days after it is posted a complete solution will be made available
allowing students to compare their solution with the standard solution