This report provides an overview of the nature of open universities derived from the responses from 28 open universities in the Commonwealth. The data not only provide a snapshot of the nature of OUs, but also show some evidence of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on open universities where institutions had to move all their learning and…

Using mobile devices to facilitate teaching and learning (m-learning) in higher education has continued to gain momentum. To ensure meaningful m-learning, several models and frameworks, including those focused on pedagogies and the learning environment, have been developed. However, the majority of these are derived from the context of high-income…

Recognising the varied challenges presented by an increasingly diverse student body at our UK university (a research-intensive institution with a high proportion of international and widening participation students), an online and blended writing programme was developed. The Academic Writing Skills Programme (AWSP) is a fully online, compulsory…

Information and communications technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for innovation in educational practice. Among all the educational technological tools, online discussion forums represent one of the most extensively adopted educational media in higher education. Yet a review of the literature indicates a lack of empirical studies…

Intercultural telecollaboration allows for a radical change in language education. New technologies enable learners of different languages and cultures to practice their intercultural skills. Teachers no longer need to design "fake" role-plays to develop interaction in the target language. Above all, teachers have the possibility to…

Microfabrication is a critical area to many branches of science and engineering. However, to many students accustomed to seeing transistors as things that come in a lab kit, it is an obscure subtopic of their discipline. Beginning in 2009, the authors undertook a broad multidisciplinary approach to bring microfabrication into all aspects of the…

This paper describes accessible collaborative learning using mobile devices with mobile enhancements to Synote, the freely available, award winning, open source, web based application that makes web hosted recordings easier to access, search, manage, and exploit for all learners, teachers and other users. Notes taken live during lectures using…

This edited volume contains 11 short papers selected from the 2017 Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University conference (InnoConf), which took place on the 16th of June at The Open University. The theme of the conference was "Integrating Informal Learning into Formal Language Education." The aim of the conference was to…

Johns reports in his text "Kibbitzing one-to-ones" (1997) that corpus-informed metatalk with a foreign language expert helps apprentice writers to make progress in independent text revision. Expecting this progress to be based on the development of expert-like ways to observe language features, I integrated Johns' so-called kibbitzing…

This article explores a project at the Koori Centre, University of Sydney, funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) in 2011, titled "Indigenous On-Line Cultural Teaching and Sharing". One of the team members (Kutay) was also a project team member on the ALTC-funded project "Exploring PBL in Indigenous Australian…

This paper investigates a "grand" educational technology innovation through theoretical lenses inspired by Cervero and Wilson's (1994, 1998) work. Through taking this approach it is possible to show how ideas about the form of the innovation and perceptions of its ultimate "success" or "failure", varied between stakeholder groups. The project was…

This paper proposes a cross-faculty simulation model for authentic learning that bridges the gap between short group-based simulations within the classroom and longer individual placements in professional working contexts. Dissemination of the model is expected to widen the use of authentic learning approaches in higher education (HE). The model…

The purpose of this paper was to provide information about the virtual learning environment known as PGDnet (the Spanish acronym for "Plataforma de Gestion Docente" or Educational Management Platform in English), which was developed by the innovative education group at the Technical University of Madrid known as "Nuevas metodologias…

In this paper the authors present findings from a small-scale study in order to extend their understanding of using live video conferencing in initial teacher education. Four distinct steps, consisting of observation, contextualisation, reflection and development of personal practices, were identified based on an in-depth focus group interview.…

Do online virtual worlds represent a viable learning environment for higher education? Many Second Life classes resemble their real life equivalents, but some faculty are exploring the potential of virtual worlds for less-traditional teaching. This article describes one such effort, the SUNY Oneonta Music Project, in which faculty and students…