Introduction:

Flexibility is anticipating, and responding to, the every changing needs and expectation
of learners and communities. This assignment wills focus on flexibility in relation to pedagogies that supports learning and technology. The essay will also discuss each flexibility in the light of advantages and disadvantages for the learner.
Firstly, it is important to give a better understanding to the definition of the word flexibility. Van den Brande (1993) notes, that there must be more flexibility to meet the needs of learner, through adaptability to different learners needs, learning and setting, and media This means that learning methods should be learner centred to respond to, the ever-changing needs and expectations of learners and communities. Flexibility is also a movement away from the situation in which key decisions about learning dimensions are made in advance by the instructor or institution. Therefore, interest in flexible learning strategies is growing as higher education institutions are changing their approach to teaching and learning in order to face a number of new challenges. There are several flexibilities that can promote learners paricipation,all will be found useful by very many learners,but different experiences in relation to the realisation of flexible learning.

Terms of reference:

Summarise different kinds of flexibility
· Name at least 5 kinds of flexibility
· Describe each kind of flexibility
· Describe advantages and disadvantages for each kind of flexibility
Collis,vingerhoet and Moonen(1997)have revised some of the flexibility that can contribute to learner flexibility. These flexibilities have been chosen because they provide an option to the learner though each option has advantages and disadvantages.


Findings:

Five flexibility were identified: Flexibity related to Time, Content, Entry Requirements, Instructional Approach, Delivery and Logistics.

Flexibility related to time:
Fixed time
1. Times (for starting and finishing a course)
2. Times (for submitting assignments and interacting within the course)
3. Tempo/pace of studying
4. Moments of assessment
This entails that the institution should provide information to the learners on course delivery if the learners are to have time flexibility.
Learners should be informed when the course is starting and finishing. Time for submission of assignment and interacting with the course should also be communicated to learners.

Advantages:

The tempo and moments of assessment can help the learner to know when and how to prepare for assessments. If learners are well informed on the programme, making an informed decision becomes easy for the learners. The learner may make a choice is the preference of a group participation or an individual. Or the learner can make a combination thus selecting face to face for some events, asynchronous group activities for others, and individual work for the rest. Flexibility in group interaction can benefit the learner through the exchange of knowledge and face to face sessions such as lectures. This kind of interaction improves communication skills.
Disadvantages:

Though other learners would prefer to work on their own,some times flexibility will not be provided to such individual an learners, this can also lead to withdraw of learner.

Flexibility related to content:
Fixed content
5. Topics of the course
6. Sequence of different parts of a course
7. Orientation of the course (theoretical, practical)
8. Key learning materials of the course
9. Assessment standards and completion requirements

Disadvantages:

Courses are normally designed by the course provider or institution. The learner is not consulted in the course design. The organization determines the selection of content. The organization decides on the topics, sequencing of different parts of the course and the key elements of the course.
The assessment is also done by the organization. Such questions can be posed..;Is the learner interested in the content sequencing, and content approach (theoretical?or practical)?
Offer a choice: Does the learner wish the course provider to specify the content approach (theoretical or practical).The learner has no option and this disadvantage the learner.

Advantages:

If an orientation is given on courses been offered to enable learners to have an insight on the course to be undertaken. This can help the learner to prepare or look for resources to be used e.g. books. The Learners may also be occasionally required to attend residential sessions on specific days or go to local study or participate, via technologies, at a preset time in distributed group discussions or sessions. All these options can give the learner freedom to choose the most suitable mode of learning.


Flexibility related to entry requirements:
Fixed requirements
10. Conditions for participation

Disadvantages:

Fixed requirement means having a standard requirement for participation in a course.
The learner should be given the necessary recourses to realize the required standard of the course to enable learner participation. Course should be tailored to allow learner to move from one stage to the other e.g. from lower grade teacher to a higher grade depending on how self directed a learner can be. If the learner is deprived the opportunity because of the requirements. Flexibility becomes questionable. A learner should be given an opportunity to participation in an educational programme .If it hinders then it becomes a disadvantage. And when the Programmes is tailored to met learner situations, rather than fitting a standard model, especially when this standard model is based on young, professionally inexperienced, full-time learners, and needing a full range of courses for a certain degree.

Advantages:

For some learners, there would be less time needed and lower expenditures for a
particular learning event if the event could be experienced as a module instead of the learner having to participate in an entire course and if that the learner could participate in the event in a time period and location convenient to himself or herself. For the working person, better quality of results could be potentially achieved, in that only the necessary content, in the most up-to-date versions of resources, would be chosen. Theories and experience with adult education show such education to be effective to the extent that it is relevant to the adult learner, closely related to their own learning history. The transfer of knowledge to work is efficient when learner’s needs are met as observed (Enckevort, Harry, Morin, & Schutze, 1986).

Flexibility related to instructional approach and resources:
Fixed pedagogy and resources
11. Social organisation of learning (face-to-face; group, individual)
12. Language to be used during the course
13. Learning resources: Modality, origin (instructor, learners, library, WWW)
14. Instructional organisation of learning (assignments, monitoring)

Advantages:
If the organization can provide appropriate record keeping of student marks and absences, as well as general planning for the course. Lectures and other forms of instructor-led class sessions Self-study: readings, activities and assignments, (perhaps) practical exercises Major assignment (essay, report, product, case study, etc;) intended
Language: Course provider decides on the language(s) to be used
in the course (a) lesson materials, (b) asynchronous communication, (c) realtime two-way video or audio interaction, and (d) faceto- face contacts .Location: Course provider
so, within each flexibility dimension. With all the necessary provision that can support the learning, learner can be motivated to choose options that can suite their needs.

Disadvantages:
However some options can be limited, where the learner does not know how to use the required mode of learning e.g. technological methods of learning like e learning.Or if learner can carry out different learning activities associated with a course and feed back takes eight month or one year due to time & place where contact with instructor is limited.This can hinder flexibility.

Flexibility related to delivery and logistics:
Fixed place and procedures
15. Time & place where contact with instructor and other students occurs
16. Methods, technology for obtaining support, and making contact
17. Types of help, communication available, technology required
18. Location, technology for participating in various aspects of the course

Disadvantages:
lack of proper management on accrediting of learners. The learner may fail to find a job in the job market due to none accreditation of the course. All of these requirements impinge on the learner’s freedom in choosing where she/he will learn.

Advantages:
Guidance is some times, provided to determine the major way or ways in which learner interactivity is to occur in a course .Offer a choice: Does the learner prefer real-time, human-to-human interaction? Does the learner prefer written human-to-human interaction, asynchronously, so that time is available to reflect on her or comments and to answer when she/he wants?Does the learner prefer to interact cognitively with appropriately designed computer program or other learning materials instead of via communication with aperson? Does the learner prefer a combination of the above, chosen by her or himself?
Technology: Course provider decides on the technical platform for the course the learner will have a choice to choose what is convenient as a mode of learning. Offer a choice among major platform variations or their combination: A low-end platform, with television, telephone, video recorder and player, and a stand-alone computer;
Computer-network platform, with access to e-mail and the WWW via the Internet or an intranet; A high-end platform, via a fast network connection, allowing video access on
demand and real-time application sharing.
There are are many possible options. Even within traditional distance education for example, many variations exist that can limit flexibility related to distance, and students may not be offered an option about participating.
Putting flexibility into practice: Challenges Just as flexible learning is complex to describe and multidimensional, it is also complex to implement in practice. While there are new opportunities, there will be challenges of many different sorts to surmount relating to the extent to which options about learning dimensions can be offered to students and still be manageable for the
instructor and institution. Some of the challenges as seen from the perspective of the instructor, the learner, the educational institution, and those who validate the learner's learning experience in terms of accreditation and legitimacy.From the perspective of the instructor,When the learneris given more choices, the instructor is increasingly required to respond and individualise rather than plan and deliver. In some ways this is liberating for the instructor: she/he can choose from a wider range of approaches, of material, learning settings in order to make these options available in response to the wishes of the legitimizing agency related to a course cannot handle a wide variety of course permutations in terms of recognition for the course.The culture of which the learner is not oriented toward the idea of learner choice, but instead expects the course provider to be responsible for pre-specified decisions about the course offering
Flexibility is not affordable.Each combination of options may require some re-engineering of the course;Flexible learning is a complex phenomenon even when expressed in terms of only
four key components .Collins and Moone (2006) have identified four key components necessary to make it possible in practice of flexibility in higher education have been identified as follow.

Conclusion:
Flexibility learning should meet the needs of learner, through adaptability of different learners’ needs, learning and setting, and media. Flexibility learning can involve many dimentions, only one of which is related to location of participation. The five indentified flexibility can bring positive results if implemented properly.
Methodologies that enhance learners participations should be enhance to promote options or choice. Factors that hinder flexibility to be revised for better implementation and technology to be made effective to allow flexibility learning.