Continuing education through distance training

摘要

Recent research findings on individual and group learning behaviors and processes especially among adults engaged in continuing education programs have led to the development of alternative delivery techniques that have widely utilized the application of computer and communication technologies. As a widely used alternative delivery system, distance education has become a major user of information and communication technologies that have played a vital role in distance training. The Continuing Education Center (CEC) of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), with its mandate to respond to the human resource development needs of the Asia-Pacific region, has continuously adopted new and innovative delivery systems and approaches to improve the quality and effectiveness of its training programs. Using advance training/learning technologies, CEC has embarked into new training programs that are more flexible and workplace oriented to upgrade the competencies of professionals in need of further training in their specialized areas. This paper highlights the two collaborative activities that CEC has undertaken to promote continuing education using information and communication technologies to deliver distance training to a variety of professionals in the region and other parts of the world. It also discusses some of the issues encountered by CEC in implementing its training programs using the distance delivery mode.