This article presents an empirical study of an open educational course in an online peer-to-peer university (P2PU). P2PU is a nonprofit organization offering free educational opportunities. Focus is on how peers are part of creating course content in a Web 2.0 environment. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have evolved into two different…

This article focuses on the challenges involved in conducting evaluations of interactive radio programmes in South Africa with large numbers of schools, teachers, and learners. It focuses on the role such large-scale evaluation has played during the South African radio learning programme's development stage, as well as during its subsequent…

Open educational resources (OER) are gaining ascendancy in education, particularly in higher education. Logic suggests that the potential benefits of OER are likely to be greatest in resource-poor contexts such as Africa. However, little is known about the feasibility and sustainability of their use in African institutions. In the Health OER…

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…

The Open University of Indonesia (Universitas Terbuka, UT) has over 450,000 students distributed across a vast, diverse archipelago. UT will play a central role in meeting the requirement that over 1 million primary teachers earn four-year postsecondary degrees by 2015. While the Open University has considerable capacity in print-based and…

Eight teams of elementary and middle school teachers developed pilot online courses for the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) in the USA. A qualitative case study with focus groups and a follow-up survey helped to identify common needs of these non-traditional course designers during course development efforts. Findings suggest virtual…

A key component of conventional distance education organizations has been the network of local study centres, set up to serve as a bridge between students and the educational organization. With the capacity of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enable direct contact between the educational institution and its dispersed students,…

Documents some issues surrounding the development of the Grand Diploma in distance education at the South Australian College of Advanced Education and contrasts critical features of this program with that offered at the Fernuniversitat in Hagen, Federal Republic of Germany. Outlines of the two distance education courses are included. (MBR)

Monitoring the learning process in computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments is a key element for supporting the efficacy of tutor actions. This article proposes an approach for analysing learning processes in a CSCL environment to support tutors in their monitoring tasks. The approach entails tracking the interactions within…

Discusses academic support programs for distance education students and describes the results of an evaluation of the orientation program at the University College of Central Queensland (UCCQ). A questionnaire was used to determine the costs of the program, whether student needs were being met, orientation attendance, and needed changes or…

This assessment of the Open University (OU) after its first eight years considers the nature of the demand for the OU, patterns of study, and factors affecting students' progress and graduation, e.g., their occupation and previous educational qualifications. (EAO)

Questions theoretical assumptions underlying current provision of Australian early childhood distance education and proposes an alternative attitudinal base dependent on these assumptions: There are differences in settings, role, and role relationships in home-based programs; parent is main educator; and teachers' role and interpersonal skills…