This is a descriptive study which intends to determine whether the difficulty and discrimination indices of the multiple-choice questions show differences according to cognitive levels of the Bloom's Taxonomy, which are used in the exams of the courses in a business administration bachelor's degree program offered through open and distance…

This paper describes the use of globally accessible Massive Open Online Courses, MOOCs, for addressing the needs of learners at community learning centers in Northern Sweden. The Scandinavian "study circle" concept is used to facilitate the studying of MOOCs, thereby forming "blended" or "glonacal" courses. Although…

An analysis is presented of the experience and lessons learned of running a MOOC in introductory physical chemistry. The course was unique in allowing students to conduct experimental measurements using a virtual laboratory constructed using video and simulations. A breakdown of the student background and motivation for taking the course is…

The increase in tablet computers and e-books use brings to mind the question of how users benefited from these technologies. In this sense, the present study investigated the status of students' tablet computers and e-books use and the reasons why students prefer to use and not use of tablet computers and e-books. Students' study habits while…

The paper explores the change process that university teachers need to go through in order to become fluent with Open Education approaches. Based on a literature review and a set of interviews with a number of leading experts in the field of Open Educational Resources and Open Education, the paper puts forward an original definition of Open…

This case study explores the opportunities for students of Industrial Design Engineering to engage with direct and indirect stakeholders by making their design process and results into open-ended designed solutions. The reported case study involved 47 students during a two-weeks intensive course on the topic of urban gardening. Observations were…

Re-engineering technological strategies in teaching and learning in an open distance learning (ODL) environment is paramount as the demand for access to quality higher education escalates drastically on a year to year basis. The organisational framework requires change in order to accommodate the increasing number of students. In view of the…

The notion of "openness" in terms like open distance learning (ODL) is sometimes rather carelessly used, for example in the work-integrated learning (WIL) of distance learners (such as the teaching practice of UNISA's education students, where schools and UNISA form a partnership). We indicate that there is very little…

The study presented here aims to gather useful information on the use, re-reuse and sharing of resources in Education and also the influence of repositories, to better understand the perspective of individual practitioners and suggest future areas of debate for researchers. Open Resources: Influence on Learners and Educators (ORIOLE) project, was…

Student support at Unisa involves a range of stakeholders providing academic and administrative support. The study was conducted among Unisa BCom honours students. The main objective of the study was to determine the educational quality of teaching and learning offered. Students were contacted by e-mail and asked to complete an online…

Researchers describe with increasing confidence "what" they observe participants doing in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, our understanding of learner activities in open courses is limited by researchers' extensive dependence on log file analyses and clickstream data to make inferences about learner behaviors. Further, the…

This paper discusses the rationale and structure of two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) created as part of the EU-funded Move-Me project, which aims to develop two MOOCs and open educational resources for university learners participating in mobility programmes in Europe. The MOOCs are designed to help learners develop the skills necessary to…

Despite numerous supports for undergraduates, low success rate has been a growing concern in the South African university system. Guided by Moore's [1993. "Theory of Transactional Distance." In "Theoretical Principles of Distance Education," edited by Keegan, 22-38. London: Routledge.] transactional distance theory, this…

In order to design learning solutions that effectively embed face-to-face and online dimensions, it is crucial to identify the key components underpinning hybrid solutions. Furthermore, once these components have been identified, there is the need to clarify how to recombine them to meet a specific learning objective. This article aims to…

Technology offers new and innovative ways to deliver learning such as the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The MOOC offers institutes of higher education a potential delivery method for delivering online learning. This study utilized a qualitative method to gather and analyze an active observer's experience within a MOOC. The results aligned…