This article considers selected Australian and international theories, policies, and practices of open and distance education, since ODLAA (formerly the Australian and South Pacific External Studies Association) was formed in 1973, through to the current post-pandemic period. It considers the shifting conceptualization of open education as…

The paper posits the Regional Training and Research Institute for Distance and Open Learning (RETRIDAL) as an institution established for the purpose of enhancing Open and Distance Learning in the West African sub-region. The institute has pursued this mandate with an unparalleled vigour since its establishment in 2003--a partnership of the…

This case study examines the policies formulated by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), an open and distance learning university of India for regulating the practices related to the assignments of its Bachelor of Education programme. Following the examination it argues that some policies are formulated in the context of the…

Rapid advances in information and communications technology in the digital age have brought about significant changes in the practice of distance education (DE) worldwide. DE practitioners in the Philippines' open university have coined the term "open and distance e-learning" (ODeL) to refer to the new forms of DE, which are…

Assessment is an integral part of the learning process. The traditional practice of assessment has changed to meet the need of the contemporary society. In this paper assessment strategies used in Open and Distance Education are discussed and constructive suggestions are given to meet the challenges of assessment. Recently we experience a paradigm…

Like any other educational resource, the integration of OER in teaching and learning requires careful thought and support for the teaching staff. The Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka approached this challenge with the help of a professional development course on OER-based e-Learning. Modules in the course incorporated the…

Bourdieu has argued that higher education is a field that reproduces social inequality, thus complicating how openness widens access to higher education in the developing world. Drawing on the experiences of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), this paper critically analyses and evaluates the rationale, approach, difficulties,…

Despite the recent increases of interest in open education, notably in massive open online courses (MOOCs) (Fini, 2009), it has been continuously asserted that this form of social knowledge production lacks a philosophical or theoretical foundation (Vandenberg, 1975). Similar accusations have been made with respect to distance education, such as…

Over the recent years, there has been a growing interest in Open Educational Resources (OER). A similar trend was observed about a decade ago in the concept of Learning Objects, which inevitably faded without really making an impact in real-world educational contexts. A number of repositories were created that contain thousands of learning…

Openness has been a feature of higher education for many decades, particularly through the establishment of open universities, although there remain debates about what openness means in practice. Digital technologies, some based on open principles, and digital content, aided by open licences, have both contributed recently to an extension of what…

The Soviet government has consistently relied upon the country's educational system, including adult education, to advance its ideological, social, and economic goals. In the Soviet Union, education has been used to promote Soviet identity, minimize the impact of religion, advance the status of women, and help increase worker productivity. Adult…

This guide, which is aimed primarily at those responsible for providing learning opportunities within further education in England and Wales, deals with managing open learning. Addressed in the individual chapters of the guide are the following topics: the nature of open learning; the production of learning materials; the impact of open learning…

This book provides a comprehensive survey of literature regarding the theory and practice of distance education (DE). Among the aspects of DE discussed are the following; overall picture of DE today (concept/evolution, DE and open learning, modes of teaching/learning); background (basic questions concerning education/teaching/learning and impact…

This book, which is intended for individuals involved in recruiting and teaching students in open and distance learning (ODL) situations, examines academic and nonacademic student support issues in ODL. The following are among the topics discussed in the book's 14 chapters: (1) models and definitions of ODL systems; (2) rationale for student…