The advent of the millennium has seen the introduction of a new paradigm for ICT-enhanced education. Advances in ICT have led to the emergence of learning networks comprising people who want to discover and share various innovative technologies on a global scale. Over the past decade, there has been tremendous worldwide interest in the concept of…

This paper provides a summary and assessment of the current development of open textbooks and describes a possible direction for future development and funded support of open textbook projects. This paper provides answers to the following questions: Why do we need open textbooks? What are open textbooks (in their various forms)? How are open…

This case study surveys the growing use of open and distance learning approaches to the provision of support, education and training to health workers over the past few decades. It classifies such uses under four headings, providing brief descriptions from the literature of a few examples of each group. In conclusion, it identifies key lessons…

As part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Malawi Teacher Professional Development Support project, a sub-task was the piloting of an alternative technology that could be used for improving the quality and consistency of teacher continued professional development (CPD). The pilot, which included 26 open and…

This paper describes the internal motivations and external drivers that led The Open University UK to enter the field of Open Educational Resources through its institution-wide OpenLearn initiative (www.open.ac.uk/openlearn). It also describes some of the emerging evidence of the impacts inside and outside the university. Through the rapid…

The relevance of short learning programmes as an alternative to full-time tertiary degree courses at open and distance learning institutions forms the primary focus of this article. A new kind of student is on the increase in higher education: the mature student who prefers to study part-time in order to combine his or her studies with the…

World leaders, meeting at the United Nations in 2000, set eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that aim to transform the condition of humankind in the 21st century. These Goals now guide the policies of governments and the priorities of development agencies. These eight goals are: (1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; (2) Achieve…

Due to its stringent entry requirements, academic reputation and world ranking, Oxford University in the United Kingdom is perceived by some as being a closed, exclusive, and elitist institution. As learning technologists working in the institution, we have experienced an enthusiasm amongst academic colleagues for openness in publication and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to outline the critical success factors for crafting a strategic architecture for e-learning at HP University. Design/methodology/approach: A descriptive survey type of research design was used. An empirical study was conducted on students enrolled with the International Centre for Distance and Open Learning…

E-learning has become an increasingly important teaching and learning mode in educational institutions and corporate training. The evaluation of E-learning, however, is essential for the quality assurance of E-learning courses. This paper constructs a three-phase evaluation model for E-learning courses, which includes development, process, and…

This paper presents a case study where twelve graduate students undertook the demanding role of the adaptive e-course developer and worked collaboratively on an authentic and complex design task in the context of open and distance tertiary education. The students had to work in groups in order to conceptualise and design a learning scenario for…

The program entitled "English in Action (EIA)", 9 year period DFID funded project in Bangladesh, was launched in 2008, for the desire to bring a change in the learning of English language. EIA works to reach a total of 25 million primary and secondary students and adult learners through communicative language learning techniques and the…

Today, photography and visual arts are very important in our modern life. Especially for the mass communication, the visual images and visual arts have very big importance. In modern societies, people must have knowledge about the visual things, such as photographs, cartoons, drawings, typography, etc. Briefly, the people need education on visual…

This paper documents the experience and lessons from implementing an e-learning program aimed at creating multidisciplinary research capacity. It presents a case study of bringing together a multidisciplinary group of professionals on-line to learn the skills needed to be a successful researcher in the context of HIV/AIDS and food security…

Teaching mathematics through Open Distance Learning (ODL) has been a challenge to educators due to the nature of communication with learners and material delivery during instruction. In this paper, as a case study, we look at one mathematics module offered through ODL and the performance in the course for the past four years. A sample of 50…