Universities needs to have new strategies be considered as core competency in Education sector. In the face of enormous socio-economic and demographic challenges, Sri Lankan Universities require a more advanced educational performance, providing a better contribution to innovation, competitiveness and economic growth. Universities are currently facing an increasing demand for management graduates, especially in the Open Distance Learning in Sri Lanka. To be ready for the next decade these universities must search to create added value and innovate their institutional models accordingly.
In this paper, the open and distance learning providing universities are assessed on their potential to innovate beyond flexible education towards generating new ways of academic and commercial entrepreneurship, including networked initiatives of educational and enterprise incubation. It is evident that universities cannot do without creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship: this is the engine of prosperity not only for universities, but for enterprises, economy and society as a whole
To evaluate distance education via the web facilitates teaching through problem-based learning and incorporating scientific evidence in the context of practical application to medical undergraduates.Methods: Web-based distance teaching program based on the Zoom video conferencing software was developed and introduced into a selected group of medical students. Current knowledge about handling web-based resources, evaluation of learning activities, and self-evaluation of their involvement and participation of medical students were evaluated.
Results:The provision of lectures and relevant notes through the internet was emphasized during this study. A satisfactory response was observed regarding obtaining factual knowledge. This method was considered relatively ineffective with relevance to the application of knowledge, development of clinical skills, and improvement of professional attitudes. Students believed that it helped to improve the ability of critical thinking, refine reasoning skills, and enhance the capacity of mediating subject matter. Students had a general idea regarding using this method as a supplementary education strategy. The majority of the participants demonstrated considerable satisfaction towards this method, and most of them were prepared to recommend this method for another person. The students had disclosed that lectures showed significantly higher skills while teaching through this method, especially they believed that this distant learning method provided an additional benefit for face to face clinical teaching procedures.
Conclusion:When generally considered, a satisfactory response was received regarding the learning outcomes of using this method, and the quality of participation of students was extremely positive.
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