This analytical report was prepared by the OECD Higher Education Policy Team as part of the Education and Innovation Practice Community (EIPC), an action of the European Union's New European Innovation Agenda, flagship 4 on "Fostering, attracting and retaining deep tech talent". EIPC seeks to bring together peers from policy and practice…

This book describes the history, structure and institutions of open and distance education in six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the UK and the US. It discusses how open and distance education is evolving in a digital age to reflect the needs and circumstances of national higher education systems in these countries, and explores…

The experiences of course facilitators in connectivist-type MOOCs are poorly reported. Yet there is evidence that the values and beliefs of facilitators have an important impact on the learning experiences of participants, and that reducing their interactions with students may also reduce the effectiveness of the course. This study aimed to…

Several movements have emerged related to the general idea of promoting "openness" in science. Research councils are key institutions in bringing about changes proposed by these movements, as sponsors and facilitators of research. In this paper we identify the approaches used in Canada, the US and the UK to advance open science, as a…

This book describes the history, structure and institutions of open and distance education in six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the UK and the US. It discusses how open and distance education is evolving in a digital age to reflect the needs and circumstances of national higher education systems in these countries, and explores…

In today's world where tuition fees continue to rise rapidly and the demand for higher education increases in both the developing and developed world, it is important to find additional and alternative learning pathways that learners can afford. Traditional education as we have known it has begun to change, allowing for new parallel learning…

This article discusses how documentation practices in education can contribute to the realization of democracy. Grounded in the notion that democracy requires citizens who are able to engage with and benefit from an exchange of multiple perspectives, the authors focus on how documentary practices support teachers to understand and to teach a broad…

This article considers the impact that peak oil and climate change may have on the future of higher education. In particular, it questions the role of technology in supporting the provision of a higher education which is resilient to a scenario both of energy depletion and the need to adapt to the effects of global warming. One emerging area of…

In today's usage the distinction between open and distance education is often blurred. Indeed, open education and open learning are not synonymous with distance education and distance learning, a fact that is readily discernible by examining the characteristics of each. Teaching and learning in distance education are based on two elements: a…

Twenty-five papers presented at the conference include papers on the role of the site coordinator in a distributed education network in Ontario; student support systems in the Open University of Israel; the dilemmas of designing a computer mediated communication support system; interactive libraries; tutoring in technical science in the Open…

A tour to obtain a broad picture of the state of development of adult education in cities of the United States, of Canada, of India, and of the United Kingdom is described. The objectives of the tour were to examine: (1) the provision made for residential adult education overseas (the U.S.); (2) the relationship between the various agencies…

These 14 essays address convergence--the breaking down of barriers between open and distance learning and conventional education, and the creation of more multimodal institutions. "Convergence of Distance and Conventional Education" (Tait, Mills) is an overview to the book. "Efficacy and Ethics of Using Digital Multimedia for…

This document contains four reports on technology and further education (FE) that Lynton Gray and Ann-Marie Warrender prepared for the Further Education Funding Council's Learning and Technology Committee. The first report, "Main Themes from Learning & Technology Committee Press Surveys," examines three themes that were identified…

This collection of essays, which is separated into 4 sections, concerns open and distance learning at school level, or grades K-12. The first section, "The Knowledge Society," includes the following chapters: "Classroom Open Learning: A Case of Old Wine in New Bottles?" (Jenkins); "Living and Learning in the Information…

Trends in higher education (HE) in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom in the 1990s were reviewed, and possible policy directions for HE in the 21st century were explored. Special attention was paid to the following areas: features of HE institutions in the 21st century; the relationship between the state and HE institutions; curriculum…