Approaches for Developing Self Learning Instructional Materials for Industry-Oriented Courses.

Recognising the need to treat industry-relevant educational
programmes as per the requirements and demands of industry, this
paper discusses some of the approaches for incorporating technical
and industry related skills within the self learning instructional materials,
which is the main input for open distance learning students of
developing countries. This is discussed under three broad headings –
providing knowledge base, imparting technical skills and imbibing
industry related skills – while emphasising the need for integration of all
the three requirements. A wide array of tools and approaches is
available for us to adopt. However, the power is not in the tool but in
the user and in his/her ingenuity in using it. We need to see
development of self learning instructional materials for transaction of
technical and industry related skills from this point of view. It is
concluded that this is an important area to be developed further as
more and more industries are realising the power of knowledge capital
and the importance of open and distance learning.