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OAU ODL BNSc Students bag First Class Degrees

At inception in 2003, the Bachelor of Nursing Science programme run by the Obafemi Awolowo University Centre for Distance Learning in collaboration with the Department of Nursing was delivered in face-to-face, part-time mode.  The students, who were combining work and schooling, being registered nurses and midwives, were expected to be on the OAU campus every weekend for lectures. Most of the activities in this classroom setting were teacher-centered. Teaching and learning were delivered at the exact same pace regardless of the fact that students have different needs and would prefer to work at different paces. This was the norm up till 2014 when the Obafemi Awolowo University Centre for Distance Learning, upon acquisition and deployment of the appropriate technology and technical competencies, decided to migrate the Bachelor of Nursing Science programme to the Open Distance learning mode.

Open Distance Learning adopts the blended learning strategy for flexibility and effectiveness. Blended learning combines face-to-face instruction with computer-mediated instruction. Thus, in adherence to the NUC policy on Open Distance Education, students of the OAU ODL Bachelor of Nursing Science programme could now receive 70% of their learning online and 30% in the face to face mode.

The 70% online activity comprises transmission of instructional packages, i.e., lecture videos, text materials enriched with graphics, i-Labs, simulations, quizzes and discussion forums that students access anytime, anywhere via their personal smart digital devices. Practicum and examinations account for the 30% face-to-face interaction.

Open Distance Learning allows students to take ownership of and responsibility for their learning. Armed them with pre-knowledge of learning content, they gain competence to participate in knowledge construction with peers and instructors. The result is that they are better able to process and retain learning than might have been the case. Excellence for many of these students is thus a logical end point.

The OAU Centre for Distance Learning admitted its first set of ODL Bachelor of Nursing Science programme in 2014. That set of students was inducted into the University Graduates of Nursing Science Association (UGONSA) on Tuesday, 29th September, 2020. Two of the inductees, Adebisi Dolapo Rukayat and Amao Olumayowa Elizabeth graduated with first class honours – the first of their kind in the history of the OAU Department of Nursing.

Responding to questions during an interview after their induction, the duo said the ODL mode of instruction helped them access their learning anytime and anywhere, yet the quality of instruction was never compromised. They added that the ODL mode contributed a lot to their finishing with first class honours because if they had had to be in school, physically, all the time, they would not have been able to cope so well, combining work with schooling.

For more information on the Bachelor of Nursing Science programme in ODL mode, visit http://online.oaucdl.edu.ng/academics/bachelors-programmes/nursing/ or shorturl.at/ozQY0 .

 The future begins now.

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