Academic's Views on Industry 4.0 within the Scope of Open and Distance Education

The main purpose of this study is to explore the effects of Industry 4.0 on resources (specialization, rationalization, preparatory work, and capital-intensive techniques) in the field of open and distance learning. Industry 4.0 is a period in which a great and rapid change is experienced, has a wide and deep impact that can affect business lines all over the world, and changes in production, management and control systems. For this purpose, within the framework of Otto Peters' theory of Industrialization, the study is a case study based on the opinions of experts in the field of industry-related effects of open and distance learning. The study group consisted of 10 academicians working at Anadolu University Open Education Faculty as experts. For the determination of participants, purposive sampling was used. The purposes of selecting the Anadolu University in research are presenting open and distance learning services since 1982, having the only Distance Education master's and doctoral programs in Turkey and having lecturers who give a lecture about digital transformation and Industrialization. The research was a qualitative case study and the data were collected by a semi-structured interview form consisting of 6 questions by face-to-face interviews with experts. As a result of the analysis, industry 4.0 effects on resources, instructional design, distribution, interaction, learning environment and management components within the context of industrialization theory in open and distance education system. In this direction, it is necessary to eliminate the lack of infrastructure for Industry 4.0, increase digitalization studies and specialize in technological competences. Also, the deficiency of a standardized production concept in Industry 4.0 such as massive production emphasized personalization and individual production in distance education. The distribution of the course materials produced must be diversified and the post-Fordist approach should be preferred in mass production. While industry-wide technologies that trigger Industry 4.0 make it easier to offer different fields of study through distance learning, it affects the centralization and concentration factors in management. [This article was presented as an oral presentation at the International Open & Distance learning Conference 2019 (IODL 2019), held in Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey on November 14-16, 2019.]