Distance Learning Center OKNO-PW

A Few Words on Its Establishment, Goals, and Significance

Prof. Bogdan Galwas, PhD, DSc, Eng.

I am writing these few words about the OKNO-PW Center in the year 2020, a time when our country—and indeed the entire world—is grappling with a viral epidemic. This year will undoubtedly be recorded in history as a time of panic, doubt, and difficult decisions. We will wait for the final summary, but even now, we can assess the efforts made to transition the education process from classrooms and lecture halls to virtual spaces, utilizing distance learning techniques with the Internet playing a dominant role. Unexpectedly, online learning tools, previously developed mainly by enthusiasts and hobbyists in our country, proved to be highly useful in slowing the global epidemic. It also became evident that e-education requires professional expertise and is not merely a matter of broadcasting a teacher’s lecture online. Many lecturers at our university now recognize that the decision made 20 years ago to establish the OKNO Center at the Warsaw University of Technology was well-founded and justified.

Let us go back 20 years to the year 2000 when the decision to establish the OKNO Center was made. A series of faculty seminars and a university-wide seminar paved the way for this decision. Two key arguments highlighted the urgent need for action. The first was the rapid development of teleinformatics tools and the increasing popularity of the Internet, which created an opportunity for their application in education. The vast potential of new technologies was demonstrated by the changes in teaching methods introduced by open universities in the UK, France, Italy, and Germany. The shift from printed educational materials and televised lectures to interactive multimedia textbooks and the development of formative assessment tools supporting asynchronous learning created a new educational landscape. To harness this potential, it had to be understood and developed. The OKNO Center was intended to serve as a testing ground for the creation and implementation of new e-education techniques.

The second group of arguments was related to the concept of LLL – Life-Long Learning. The rapid advancement of science and technology, along with the growing number of publications and patents, indicated that knowledge in many fields—such as computer science, telecommunications, and biotechnology—was doubling every 5–8 years. Skills acquired during university studies were aging quickly and required continuous updating throughout one's professional life. It was undeniable that universities bore the responsibility of keeping their graduates’ knowledge up to date. Traditionally, this was achieved through two- or three-semester postgraduate studies. However, it became necessary to develop new forms and opportunities based on the Internet, new technologies, and self-learning. Online courses, including MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), became the solution. The OKNO Center was meant to, and indeed did, play a key role in researching and implementing online courses into lifelong learning systems.

In 2000, the Senate of the Warsaw University of Technology, at the request of three faculties—Electronics and Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, and Mechatronics—passed a resolution to launch a new distance learning model in the fields of Electronics and Telecommunications, Computer Science, and Automation and Robotics. This model was to make extensive use of the Internet and multimedia technologies. The coordination of this new model was entrusted to the OKNO Center. The SPRINT (Studies Through the Internet) model was developed, based on high-quality full-time studies. A large group of professors and lecturers, willing to pioneer education supported by new technologies, created dozens of e-textbooks in a specially designed multimedia format. These textbooks were successfully used by full-time students as well.

Developing an online semester-long course requires thoughtful, substantial effort. Designing a fully online undergraduate or graduate program demands months of work by a large team of academic staff, the preparation of teaching materials for dozens of subjects, and the resolution of issues related to laboratory classes and thesis work. The sheer scale of this endeavor explains why so few universities have undertaken the challenge of launching full online degree programs. The Warsaw University of Technology took on this task 20 years ago and has successfully continued it to this day. This year, nearly 500 candidates applied for admission to the online engineering and master's programs.

One of the objectives of the OKNO Center has been and continues to be the dissemination of its experiences. As early as 2001, the Center organized workshops in June, followed in subsequent years by annual conferences under the title “Virtual University – Model, Tools, Practice”. After a few years, these conferences began to be organized in rotation with the University of Warsaw, the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), and the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology (PJATK). Additionally, the OKNO Center initiated the “Advances in E-Education” community seminars, traditionally held “on the fourth Thursday of the month” during the academic year. In recent years, these seminars have been conducted online as webinars. The Center was also the initiator of the EduAkcja journal, published online in collaboration with the University of Warsaw and Gdańsk University of Technology.

University experiences indicate that face-to-face education for students aged 18–24 yields the best results. Nevertheless, online technologies allow for course exchanges between national and European universities, enriching study programs, organizing joint doctoral seminars, managing collaborative projects, and carrying out various other initiatives that enhance the quality of education. The OKNO-PW Center continues to explore new avenues for development and the implementation of new tools and methods in e-education.