Open education is a collective term to describe institutional practices and programmatic initiatives that broaden access to the learning and training traditionally offered through formal education systems. Open refers to the elimination of barriers that can preclude both opportunities and recognition for participation in institution-based learning. One aspect of openness or opening up education is the development and adoption of open educational resources.

Open school is a system which is free of regular school’s attendance, time bound programs. It is for those people who are not able to attend or could not attend regular school because of various reasons and now they want to complete their education in 10th or 12th regardless of age and some other reason they cannot join regular school programs.

It provide you the following facilities that a regular school does not have

1. Flexibility of choosing program independent of your age
2. Flexibility of not attending classes
3. Flexibility of on demand exam (one can give exam when you are ready)
4. Flexibility of time frame (one can do program of 1 year even in 4-6 year if you are not ready for exam)

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) formerly known as National Open School (NOS) was established in November,1989 as an autonomous organisation in pursuance of National Policy on Education 1986 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India. NIOS is providing a number of Vocational, Life Enrichment and community oriented courses besides General and Academic Courses at Secondary and Senior Secondary level. It also offers Elementary level Courses through its Open Basic Education Programmes (OBE).Government of India through a gazette notification vested NIOS with the authority to examine and certify learners registered with it upto pre degree level courses whether Academic, Technical or Vocational.

The vision and mission of NIOS are:

Vision: Sustainable inclusive learning with universal and flexible access to quality school education and skill development.
Mission:

1. Providing relevant, continuing and holistic education up to pre-degree level through Open and Distance Learning System.
2. Contributing to the Universalisation of School Education.
3. Catering to the educational needs of the prioritized target groups for equity and social justice

The NIOS has launched the Open Basic Education (OBE) Programme, as an alternative educational programme, equivalent to the Elementary Education Programme of the formal education system. The OBE Programme explores and makes use of the potentialities of Distance Education Mode (DEM) for reaching the unreached. The Foundation Course of NIOS has been subsumed into the OBE Programme. There is a provision of separate OBE programme for children and adults. Some significant highlights of OBE programme areas follows:

The clientele for Open Basic Education (OBE) programme is:

• Children below 14 years of age
• Adults above 14 years of age

The OBE Programme is offered at three levels:

• OBE ‘A’ Level Course –  Equivalent to class III
• OBE ‘B’ Level Course – Equivalent to class V
• OBE ‘C’ Level Course – Equivalent to class VIII
• Secondary Course – Equivalent to class X
• Senior Secondary Course – Equivalent to class XII
• Vocational Education Courses

Life Enrichment Programmes

The NIOS is a national board that administers examinations for Secondary and Senior Secondary examinations of open schools similar to the CBSE and the CISCE to increase literacy and provide education to rural areas. It also offers vocational courses after the high school. Despite being established for distance education, NIOS provides a formal and regular secondary and Senior Secondary program equivalent to CBSE.

Differences between open education and distance education

Basis for comparison	Open university	Distance education
Meaning	Open university is a university which offers the policy of open admissions, distance and online learning programmes.	Distance education is a type of learning provided by various universities to students who are not present in person at the site.
Type	It is a type of university.	It is a type of education mode.
Colleges	In an open university there are no affiliated colleges and comprises of only study centers and institutes.	In a distance education, the university can either be an open university or traditional university. Therefore, various colleges are affiliated to the traditional university
Purpose	Open university was founded to impart higher education to those individuals who cannot take admissions in the traditional university.	Distance education was founded with the purpose to allow access to education to those who are unable to attend the regular colleges.

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, there are important differences. Open learning is an umbrella term for any scheme of education or training that seeks systematically to remove barriers to learning, whether they are concerned with age, time, place or space. With open learning, individuals take responsibility for what they learn, how they learn, where they learn, how quickly they learn, who helps them and when they have their learning assessed.

Distance learning, on the other hand, is one particular form of open learning in which tutors and learners are separated by geographical distance. This is sometimes called a home study or correspondence course. But many modes of communication are used for distance learning, not just postal correspondence. If you stop to think about it, most of us use distance learning techniques in some form in our daily lives: we read books and newspapers, watch programs on television and request information over the telephone. These are all learning experiences which ‘educate’ in the broadest sense.

In general perception students consider open schooling and distance learning both as same concept but actually there is a vast difference between the two concepts. Distance education refers to all forms of education which take place through communication means like online learning or correspondence, for which you don’t have to be present in a particular location for classes whereas open education usually refers to education which is available to anyone, regardless of student qualifications. Open school; for example, are usually open to anyone who wants to pursue his education from home without attending regular classes.

Distance education is approached in various ways, with the more popular formats being print, audio, video, broadcast radio, television, and of course computers and the internet. It is characterized by separation of geographic distance and time. Open learning is defined as an method of learning that allows learners pliancy and choice over what, when, at what pace, where, and how they learn. Open education usually refers to education which is available to anyone, regardless of his or her qualifications. Open learning tends to be delivered via distance education that is characterized by separation of geographic distance and time.

Distance learning has evolved greatly since the days of correspondence learning in which the student would receive course material including textbooks and other course materials through the mail. Students would then work completely at their own pace, finishing the course according to their work and life schedule. Although correspondence courses still exits, they are quickly being replaced by online courses, which offer instruction from teachers, interaction with other students, and a forum for feedback. Distance education refers to all forms of education which take place through communication means like online learning or correspondence, for which you don’t have to be present in a particular location for classes.
There are a number of advantages to the new formats of distance learning, such as making permanent professional contacts, a greater amount of teacher support and a multimedia educational experience. With the advent and improvement on computer, digital and internet technology, the shift from the traditional classroom experience to online or distance learning only seems natural. This is especially true for programs that traditionally require large amount of reading and written assignments, such as business administration and management, human resources management and services, finance and accounting.

With open schedule online courses, students are allotted the greatest amount of freedom. This is an asynchronous form of learning in which students are provided internet-based textbooks, mailing lists, Email and bulletin boards to complete their coursework. At the beginning of classes, the student is provided a set of deadlines, but is allowed to work at their own pace as long as the work is turned in by the deadline. This type of learning is great for students who work well independently and those who do not procrastinate.

References

http://keydifferences.com/difference-between-open-university-and-distance-education. html #ixzz4XzHv0Aty
http://keydifferences.com/difference-between-open-university-and-distance-education. html #ixzz4XzHTyQqW
http://nios.ac.in/departmentsunits/academic/open-basic-education-(obe).aspx

Assignment

1. Write about Open School System of your state.
   (Every state has OSS like TOSS- Telangan Open School System, Andhra Pradesh Opens school System-APOSS, etc. )
2. Interview the candidates of OSS and prepare a case study.