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This case describes the design of a virtual campus learning space using the Second Life platform. Second Life allows users to create spaces in which avatars can move about and interact in various environments using text, voice, or gestures to communicate. Several universities have reported utilizing Second Life spaces to enhance collaborative learning and problem solving as an extension of traditional […]
Online learning and new technologies are driving a trend in worldwide education that is not only gaining momentum, it is becoming a juggernaut. While the positives for online learning are clear and are often being touted by Universities and Vocational Education and Training providers as a panacea for educational access, what is not clear is […]
The course design and development process (often referred to here as the “production process”) at ERAU-Worldwide aims to produce turnkey style courses to be taught by a highly-qualified pool of over 800 instructors. Given the high number of online courses and tremendous number of live sections running at any given time, maintaining quality was a […]
Online distance learners are in a particularly complex relationship with the educational institutions they belong to (Bayne, Gallagher, & Lamb, 2012). For part-time distance students, arrivals and departures can be multiple and invisible as students take courses, take breaks, move into independent study phases of a programme, find work or family commitments overtaking their study […]
The high cost of textbooks is of concern not only to college students but also to society as a whole. Open textbooks promise the same educational benefits as traditional textbooks; however, their efficacy remains largely untested. We report on one community college’s adoption of a collection of open resources across five different mathematics classes. During […]
This qualitative case study investigated how adult graduates of online Bachelor’s degree programs describe the online aspect of their degree. Online education is promoted as a method for adult students to access the benefits of a college degree. Therefore, it is important for prospective online students, higher education institutions and policy makers to understand how […]
Despite continuous efforts to increase retention, dropout rates are high in distance universities. The objectives of this study were: 1) to investigate the extent and causes of non re-enrollment at a mega university, Korea National Open University; and 2) to suggest actions to improve the retention of students, in general, and those with higher risks […]
The article explores the challenges of assessment in open distance learning (ODL). The authors argue that ultimately assessment should be about improving the quality of teaching and effective learning. It should be based on making expectations explicit and public, setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality, systematically gathering, analyzing and interpreting evidence to […]
As online and distance education have become increasingly mainstream methods of delivery in higher education, print-based and online journals have formed to provide forums for research and practice. The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration (OJDLA), founded in 1998, is the focus of this study, which seeks to identify topical themes and patterns across 13 […]
This article reviews the discourse of mission in large distance teaching and open universities, in order to analyse the theories of development and social justice that are claimed or may be inherent in them. It is suggested that in a number of cases the claims are unsupported or naive. The article goes on to set […]