The Internet has disrupted or threatened to disrupt the traditional business models in many different areas, including publishing, record companies, retail sales, motion pictures, and advertising. One potential source of disruption for higher education is online learning, especially the recent focus on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Can…

This paper reports in brief the pilot study, Distance Education Regulatory Frameworks, undertaken by the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) in 2010-2012 and the implications for openness for higher education in Southwest Pacific/South East Asia region nations. The project developed a methodological approach to…

This report offers online course designers, particularly those keen on using Moodle CMSs, a means of diversifying accessibility to their educational materials via multiple modes of delivery that do not require the creation of numerous files and formats for just one activity. The author has made contributions to the development of an open source…

The Chinese National Quality Course Plan is a large-scale project by the Ministry of Education, which has led to the production of more than 12,000 courses from some 700 universities since 2003. This paper describes in detail the purpose of the project and how it is organized at all levels, including how individual courses get selected at…

Public higher education is currently experiencing a decline in financial support from state governments, an acceleration of enrollment growth, and a shift from a transformational to a transactional student relationship. Private institutions are also struggling with increasing operational costs, and decreases in revenue from endowments and…

Over the past decade, a small revolution has taken place at some of the world's leading universities, as they have started to provide free access to undergraduate course materials--including syllabi, assignments, and lectures--to anyone with an Internet connection. Yale offers high-quality audio and video recordings of a careful selection of…

Online learning and teaching is rapidly increasing in many countries, including high schools in the USA and teacher education worldwide. Online and blended approaches to professional and organizational development are, therefore, becoming essential to enable effective and equitable education. Authentic project-based learning to support the…