The main objective of the study was to investigate the potential mediating effect of relevance in the relationship between attention and confidence in Keller's ARCS model during screencasts in distance education. The paper responds to calls for further research into the ARCS model in different delivery systems, cultural settings, and learner…

This dissertation is comprised of three linked studies investigating integrating online feedback practices into traditional classrooms. It focuses on one innovative practice, that of online peer-to-peer feedback, and highlights aspects of the process of developing this practice in each article. Each article relies on separate but connected…

This article describes both the process and the results of an extensive literature review on "reusability" as one of the key factors for the creation of open content in the context of open and distance learning. Qualitative analysis of texts was made from 1992 to early 2014 in order to identify meanings associated with reusability and…

The authors examined articles published in the "Journal of Computing in Higher Education" between 2003 and 2012 with the purpose of determining the main themes of these articles, the types of research published, the major contributing authors, and the most-cited articles. An analysis was made of 129 original papers published by…

In recent years, there has been a tremendous increase in the popularity of distance education among higher-education administrators. Students in growing numbers are also taking advantage of the flexibility and accessibility that distance education offers. This growth, however, has been a mixed blessing since it derives from using the Internet…

The study addressed two questions: what is the ICT level of confidence of the course specialists handling Open University classes, and to what extent do course specialists integrated ICT applications such as word processing, electronic spread sheet, presentation software, YouTube and etc. in their OUS classes? The instruments were administered to…

International Standards in High and Open and Distance Education are used for developing Open Educational Resources (OERs). Current issues in e-learning community are the specification of learning chunks and the definition of describing designs for different units of learning (activities, units, courses) in a generic though expandable format.…

This theoretical paper attempts to clarify design issues that the field of education has encountered in the context of OER (Open Educational Resources), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and increased emphasis on informal learning, as examined through the lens of the Interaction Equivalency Theorem. An overview of the core concepts of the…

The Association Supporting Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) is a group of people interested in small college computing issues. It is a blend of people from all over the country who use computers in their teaching, academic support, and administrative support functions. Begun in 1968 as the College and University Eleven-Thirty Users' Group…

This paper reports on a survey of 358 respondents across 25 African countries into their usage of learning management systems. It concludes that while there are some enthusiastic advocates of such systems, the reality is that most African educators as yet have little knowledge about, or interest in, their usage. There remain very considerable…

This paper reports on work undertaken within a pilot study concerned with the design, development, and evaluation of online computer science training courses. Drawing on recent developments in e-learning technology, these courses were structured around the principles of a learner-oriented approach for use with adult learners. The paper describes a…

Instructional designers and educators recognize the potential of mobile technologies as a learning tool for students and have incorporated them into the distance learning environment. However, little research has been done to categorize the numerous examples of mobile learning in the context of distance education, and few instructional design…

This study was carried out to explore learner perceptions on the instructional design features of interactive multimedia (IMM), which was especially designed to support the open and distance learners studying microbiology as a part of the BSc degree programme of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). The purpose of developing this IMM was to…

The demands on academic staff in all sectors to adopt best ODL practices to create effective and efficient models of learning in the face of increasing external pressures show no signs of abating. The massification of higher education, diversified access, and pressures to meet institutional visions and research objectives demand of teaching staff…

In the techno-driven world, mobile learning is an indispensable element of teaching-learning activities. It helps distance learners in many ways by providing their required facilities. The paper discusses about these facilities in an eclectic and summary manner. Thus, by implication, it is popularized among distance learners across the globe.…