Being a complex social process, open and distance learning includes many different dynamics and interaction elements. Activity theory provides a comprehensive framework for understanding complex human interactions and the lack of appropriate methods to address the complexity of online learning environments. The main purpose of this study is to…

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are online courses that are open to anyone with Internet access. Pioneered in North America, they were developed for contexts with broader access to technology and wider access to the Internet. As globally networked learning environments (GNLEs), MOOCs foster collaborative communities and learning in ways not…

The growing body of literature is reporting positive results when it comes to flipped learning which across disciplines and contexts involves student-centered, technology-integrated teaching. Using a systematic scoping review, this paper seeks to examine the impact of the flipped instructional design (FID) as an online pedagogy on students'…

In spite of its increasing popularity, distance education faces challenges -- levels of digital literacy, access to technology, workload and time management, students' feelings of isolation and disconnection -- that can have a significant impact on the experience of the learners. In addressing these issues, we propose a pedagogical model for…

This study focuses on examining the relationship, and contribution of teaching and learning experiences, educational resources, technical support service, and infrastructure to the determination of learners' satisfaction in Open Distance Learning programmes in Nigeria. The study is guided with four research questions, and a descriptive research…

In recent years, quality assurance (QA) in higher education has received increasing attention by academics, learners, institutions, and governments alike. Many open universities (OUs) have taken steps to re-define or re-orient their systems and practices to integrate quality. While there is a growing body of literature on QA best practices, there…

In an effort to understand trends in open and distance education more comprehensively, this study aims to identify the research trends, major concepts, and cutoff points in the articles published between 2009 and 2016. From five major peer-reviewed journals, a total of 989 articles were analyzed through a systematic literature review process using…

COVID-19 provided an opportunity to experiment with alternative delivery mechanisms for a medical education programme offered through open and distance learning with face-to-face training as an essential component of the programme. Non-availability of hard copies of the course material (92%) and lack of communication from the university (32%) as…

The present new norm driven by the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us to remain at home and carry our everyday activities. This pandemic has seriously made a radical shift to the Malaysian education sector as well. Educators instantly begin to adopt Open and Distance Learning (ODL). However, issues arise in courses that need a conventional setting.…

In this study, 59 SSCI-indexed articles published between 2012 and 2017 in the Web of Science database were analyzed by systematic review, identified by the keywords "Learning Management Systems / LMS" in their titles. This study aims to determine the current situation and future trends in using LMSs as one of the tools that are getting…

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has increased anxiety and stress among teacher education managers and has given rise to the question of whether they have the competencies to execute their operational responsibilities productively. The theories of resilience and transformational leadership underpin this study in which teacher education…

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…

This study aims to reveal the main trends and findings of the studies examining the use of learning analytics in distance education. For this purpose, journal articles indexed in the SSCI index in the Web of Science database were reviewed, and a total of 400 journal articles were analysed within the scope of this study. The systematic review…

This paper presents the results of a study conducted to ascertain the extent to which participants studying in an open and distance learning context utilized the mediation tools provided in an "Advanced Writing Skills" course, conducted in a blended-learning mode in Sri Lanka. Sixty-four participants engaged in the online component of…

The main objective of this research is to establish the measurement of pre-service teachers on the MOOC phenomenon, one of the most important manifestations within the processes of on-line education that have emerged under the protection of the digital paradigm. The research methodology used was of an exploratory, qualitative, and descriptive…