The digital age has opened up new and exciting opportunities for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in universities. But, is going digital reinforcing the existing social inequalities? This qualitative research examines the three levels of digital divide and digital inequality among learners at India's National Open University, IGNOU. The findings…

Since March 2020, all academic institutions have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have been encouraged online mode of education to the students in West Bengal, India. The most profound negative effect of the school closure has been noticed on primary education. This research examines how school closures in both government and private…

In the backdrop of recent COVID-19 lockdown, the school learners across the country have had the opportunity to experience online mode of learning. This study attempts to find out e-readiness of senior secondary school learners for transition to online learning along with their views on this mode of learning transaction. Quantitative descriptive…

There is a large proportion of the population in India that has very limited access to higher education (HE). Of this, the northern states seem to worse off than their southern counterparts. The access to HE is further problematized by a lack of access to personal computers; however, there is a large proportion of the population that has access to…

COVID-19 taught us the importance of personalized ICT use in the higher education context. In this scenario, the importance of researching student's ICT behaviour is becoming ever more crucial. This study investigates the influence of student alienation (SAL), socio-economic status, residential background, type of course, and gender on students'…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an Inclusive Digital Literacy Framework for vulnerable populations in rural areas under the Digital India program. Key challenges include addressing multiple literacies such as health literacy, financial literacy and eSafety for low-literate learners in low-resource settings with low internet…

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the educational systems to shift from traditional learning to flexible learning. Flexible learning is a combination of digital and non-digital technology that ensures the continuity of inclusive and accessible education in the form of online, offline, or blended modes of teaching and learning processes. This…

Open Universities across the world are embracing ICT based teaching and learning process to disseminate quality education to their learners spread across the globe. In India availability and access of ICT and learner characteristics are uneven and vary from state to state. Hence it is important to establish the facts about ICT access among…

For over the past years, online education has been quite an option for several learners who have a hard time in going to school campuses due to several reasons such as financial resources or having a hectic schedule. There are several individuals who prefer to continue their higher educational learning through online system. Since, online…

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been championed by the United Nations and others as one of the key media to open up socio-economic opportunities for disadvantaged populations. Studies lead us to believe that after being introduced to ICTs, users' information behavior changes, enabling them to benefit from socio-economic…

E-learning is a combination of learning services and technology that allow us to provide high value integrated learning any time, any place. It is about a new blend of resources, interactivity, performance support and structured learning activities. This methodology makes use of various types of technologies in order to enhance or transform the…