As a university implementing the Open and Distance Higher Education (Perguruan Tinggi Terbuka dan Jarak Jauh – PTTJJ) system, Universitas Terbuka (UT) is ready to provide access and extensive higher education services to the Indonesian community across the nation and abroad. Especially since the emergence of the Covid-19 Pandemic in March 2020, until now, many universities and other institutions have made UT a place to learn about distance learning, including good practices in educational technology at UT, especially regarding learning materials.
On Tuesday, September 15, 2023, UT received a visit from several lecturers and master’s students in Educational Technology (ET) from Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA) led by the delegation head, Dr. Andi Mariono, M.Pd., representing Prof. Dr. Mochamad Nursalim, M.Si., Dean of the Faculty of Education at UNESA. The UNESA delegation visited UT to conduct a comparative study related to the development and service of teaching materials that have been based on educational technology principles since UT was established.
The visit was received by Dr. Maya Maria, M.M., Deputy Director of Marketing and Cooperation, representing Rahmat Budiman, M.Hum., Ph.D., Vice Rector for Research, Innovation, Cooperation, and Business. In her welcome speech, Dr. Maya expressed gratitude for the presence of the UNESA delegation, who wanted to learn how UT implements the production and service of teaching materials by visiting the Multimedia Teaching Material Production Center (Pusat Produksi Bahan Ajar Multimedia – P2BAM) and the Teaching Material Service Center (Pusat Layanan Bahan Ajar – Puslaba) at UT, followed by a visit to the Indonesia Cyber Education Institute (ICE-I). Dr. Maya added that UNESA ET master’s students could observe UT good practices in producing and servicing teaching materials as insights for their final assignments related to digital learning techniques. In her opening remarks, Dr. Maya highlighted the similarity between UT and UNESA, both of which received the Legal Entity State University (PTNBH) Decree in October 2022, enabling them to learn from each other regarding organizational governance quality improvement, including strengthening academic service governance, especially related to teaching materials.
Dr. Andi Mariono, M.Pd., Coordinator of UNESA ET Master’s Program, conveyed that UNESA visited UT because UT is a pioneer in distance higher education and a leader in innovative educational technology application in the country. He added that this visit is expected to provide insights into UT good practices in producing and servicing teaching materials to UNESA ET master’s students in developing their final assignments. Thus, UNESA students will gain a comprehensive overview of UT distance learning innovation development, including design, ecosystem, system, and teaching material service practices. Dr. Andi stated that UT and UNESA have long collaborated, where UT lecturers have written teaching materials, become online learning tutors, and evaluated Course Assignment (TMK) tasks for UT students. Subsequently, the delegation of lecturers and UNESA ET master’s students visited P2BAM and Puslaba. During this visit, UNESA students eagerly asked about good practices in producing and servicing teaching materials, including multimedia services. Through this comparative study visit, it is hoped that UT and UNESA will continue to excel in their learning services. Moreover, UT will open an Educational Technology Master’s Program to be offered around 2026. Together in development and innovation, they become the nation’s pillar in enhancing higher education in the country to support the beloved homeland development towards ‘Indonesia Maju.’
