Digital technologies have been used increasingly in open, distance, and flexible learning to both facilitate learning and depict learning designs. While the portable nature of a learning design once captured in digital form appears to offer limitless possibilities for sharing and reuse, dissemination initiatives have failed to thrive. This may be…

The use of the Web to deliver open, distance, and flexible learning has opened up the potential for social interaction and adaptive learning, but the usability, expressivity, and interoperability of the available tools leave much to be desired. This article explores these issues as they relate to teachers and learning designers through the case of…

Distance and blended collaborative learning settings are usually characterized by different "social structures" defined in terms of groups' number, dimension, and composition; these structures are variable and can change within the same activity. This variability poses additional complexity to instructional designers, when they are…

Technology-assisted learning systems are being developed at ever increasing rates, and the labels applied to such systems are growing with them. For example, not only do we have e-learning, but we also have hybrid learning, online learning, and mobile learning (m-learning), to mention only a few. Considering that technology is being incorporated…

This article reports a grounded theory study of the moderation of asynchronous online discussions, to explore the processes by which tutors in higher education decide when and how to moderate. It aims to construct a theory of e-moderation based on some key factors which appear to influence e-moderation. It discusses previous research on the…

A method of rendering the design of a course visible for the purpose of discussion amongst the members of course development teams is described. The paper begins by examining the way in which design is manifested in the area of course materials development and the approaches that have been used in attempting to document designs. The strengths and…

The authors studied a course in which an instructor allowed individuals at a distance to participate. Although these students were not formally enrolled in the university where the class took place, the instructor gave them full access to all course materials and encouraged them to complete course assignments. The authors examined the time and…

From 2005 to 2008, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is funding a series of distance education (DE) studies in its Pan Asia Networking (PAN) region. Eight collaborative projects are under way in Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The…