Assessment is a central feature of teaching and learning. It is both complex and challenging in ordinary times, and these aspects are magnified in an online learning environment. Given its central role, it is crucial that its design and purpose is rigorous and robust. This paper presents justification for using interactive oral assessment as an…

Poor literacy skills can result in exclusion and reduce people's capacity to participate in political, social, cultural and economic life. This is important for migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) who seek to live and work in a dignified, safe and fair environment and to be engaged members of their new communities. The…

Mobile technologies and mobile learners have transformed the way people learn languages. In particular, they give rise to a new form of language learning: the use of online language learning platforms, a kind of virtual learning environment that offers learning opportunities that are mobile, social and multimodal (Jones and Hafner, 2012; Richards,…

This article considers formal and informal learning activities in massive open online courses (MOOCs). MOOCs are often broadly positioned as either cMOOCs (based on connectivistic pedagogies) or xMOOCs (based on cognitivistic/behavioristic pedagogies). In a recent "International Review of Research in Open and Distance" article, Anders…

Distance education has been credited for bringing education to students who would not otherwise have educational opportunities. This study used a qualitative case study approach to examine the research to determine the impact of distance education on higher education in the United States. This look into the impact of distance education is…

Foundations like Hewlett, Mellon, and Gates provided start-up funding and support that nurtured the field of open educational resources (OER) from infancy to a robust early adolescence characterized by energy and idealism (Casserly & Smith, 2008). However, foundation grants typically focus on establishing exemplars and cannot be relied on for…

This paper provides a synthesis of the pedagogical practices of e-learning teacher experts into a four-part framework of approaches: out-of-class, blended language practice, blended Web 2.0 projects, and online. Examples of each approach are illustrated with short extracts from case studies of the participant teachers. It is hoped that these four…

This chapter looks into the changing contexts and definitions of clienteles of lifelong learners over the last quarter of a century. The author has been involved in three closely related studies on who lifelong learners are, how they access and participate in higher education (HE), and how and what are they learning in HE and summarises some of…

Education is the foundation to almost all successful lives, and it is important that a high level of schooling be available on a global scale. Studying the trends in accessibility in education will allow educators to improve their own teaching techniques, as well as expand their influence to more remote areas in the world. "The Future of…

The number of online programs in the higher education sector has increased dramatically in the last decade, and with it, an increase in attrition has become a recurring problem worldwide. Literature suggests that elements of culture, motivation, learning management systems and online pedagogy play a major role in attrition rates in the higher…

The purpose of this study was to investigate a class-to-class online English-Portuguese "Teletandem" program that was conceived, negotiated, and implemented cross-collaboratively between the foreign language instructors and language resource center (LRC) staff at two large state universities--one in the United States and the other in…

The level of success of the Mexican INEA (National Institute for the Education of Adults) academic program implemented in the U.S. has never been examined. INEA developed five goals for its students in the U.S. that supplement the general goals that the program has for all its students in Mexico. The 5 supplementary goals are to provide access to…

The global work environment requires graduates to have skills to work collaboratively over distance and time. This pilot study presents the findings of a survey of student perceptions concerning a global virtual team (GVT) experience that used both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration. Our findings revealed that while students experienced…

The purpose of this case study was to determine if learning occurred within a 3D virtual learning environment by determining if elements of collaboration and Nonaka and Takeuchi's (1995) knowledge spiral were present. A key portion of this research was the creation of a Virtual Learning Environment. This 3D VLE utilized the Torque Game Engine…

The multicultural competency instruments have been criticized for their ability to accurately assess this construct. Specifically, the lack of adherence to an operationalized definition is at the heart of the problem. In order to improve the theoretical foundation of multicultural competency, this study extended previous research by Ladany and his…