Educational Systems | Distance-Educator.com - Part 80 Distance-Educator.com

Posts Tagged ‘Educational Systems’

Reflections on assessment in Open Distance Learning (ODL): the case of the University of South Africa (UNISA)

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 […]

Thirteen Years of the Online Journal for Distance Learning Administration: 1998 – 2011

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 […]

Distance and e-learning, social justice, and development: The relevance of capability approaches to the mission of open universities

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 […]

Prerequisites for Persistence in Distance Education

In the last two decades, distance education has grown worldwide and is now established as a reliable educational method. Accompanying this development, questions about low rates of student persistence have come to interest governments, institutions, and university management. This article is based on an original local study at a university in Sweden investigating what it […]

Assessment in Open and Distance Learning System (ODL): A Challenge

Assessment is an integral part of the learning process. The traditional practice of assessment has changed to meet the need of the contemporary society. In this paper assessment strategies used in Open and Distance Education are discussed and constructive suggestions are given to meet the challenges of assessment. Recently we experience a paradigm shift in […]

The Intersection of Dialogue and Low Transactional Distance: Considerations for Higher Education

The theory of transactional distance has been subjected to a variety of empirical tests and philosophical critiques. Throughout this process, the variable of dialogue has attracted much attention. Although dialogue has proven difficult to measure and define, it is widely regarded as an ideal outcome of the teacher-learner transaction. Considered from a constructivist perspective, dialogue […]

Completion Rates – A False Trail to Measuring Course Quality? Let’s Call in the HEROEs Instead

Statistics are often used to reveal significant differences between online and campus-based education. The existence of online courses with low completion rates is often used to justify the inherent inferiority of online education compared to traditional classroom teaching. Our study revealed that this type of conclusion has little substance. We have performed three closely linked […]

Download Open University Publication: Innovating Pedagogy 2013

The series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This report presents ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. –Badges to accredit learning –Citizen inquiry –Crowd Learning –Digital scholarship –Geo-learning […]

Download Report: Not Yet Sold — What Employers and Community College Students Think About Online Education

A Taking Stock Report from Public Agenda Online education holds the promise to increase access and decrease cost of higher education. Yet many community college students and employers remain skeptical about the value of online learning, according to our recent research. “Not Yet Sold” raises important questions for the future of online education, even as […]

Recruiting, Training, Mentoring, Observing, and Evaluating a Successful Online Program

Park University has utilized some type of formalized evaluation of their online adjunct instructors for eight years. For the past five years Park has utilized the Faculty Online Observation (FOO) for the annual observation of all online adjunct instructors for at least one course. A key to success is consistency and cohesion of […]