This essay tries to trace the most important steps of Italian e-learning between 1995 and 2005, a crucial time for the success of the Distance Learning in Italy. From the first degree course entirely in e-learning (by the Politecnico di Milano) some excellence e-learning centers of research and experimentation were born until the…

The higher education Spring semester of 2020 was heavily impacted by stakeholders' calls for a complete shutdown of in-person gatherings. This call to action forced instructors and students to transition from face-to-face education to the virtual, online classroom. Institutions were given a few days to 2 weeks for this transition. During this…

This paper offers insights into the establishment of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Chair of Open Distance Learning (ODL) at the University of South Africa (UNISA). The aim of the UNESCO Chair is to stimulate ODL research at UNISA. The paper briefly describes UNISA, which is the largest dedicated…

This paper argues the professional development school (PDS) model is uniquely positioned to meet challenges faced by schools and universities as a result of COVID-19. A narrative case study design was employed to examine the innerworkings of a PDS consortium and depict a multidimensional portrait during a global pandemic and the impact on its…

As the higher education landscape undergoes rapid transformation, educators continue to seek best practices for creating quality digital, blended, and online learning experiences. However, disparate definitions of quality and differing instructor and student preferences complicate this work. This report addresses the pressing need to bridge the…

The 2022 Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Blended Learning Symposium was a response to the events of the past decade, such as an absence of a concerted blended learning program, the pandemic, flagging student interest in higher education, technology's explosive development, and pressures to reconsider what constitutes a responsive and effective…

The "OLC Framework for Storying Digital Learning Change Work" provides an open resource for educators using narrative and storytelling to map the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to online, blended, and digital learning. The OLC Framework for Storying Digital Learning Change Work (p. 5) provides users the ability to…