This study substantiates the feasibility of implementing Web 2.0 services in practical educational activities and classifies the main types of Web 2.0 services adaptive to educational goals. A survey of 58 teachers from the First Moscow State Medical University, Kuban State Technological University, the Herzen State Pedagogical University of…

Despite the rising global prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), significant disparities in ASD knowledge persist worldwide. Professional development trainings are effective in increasing teacher knowledge of ASD; however, in-person trainings pose accessibility concerns for teachers in low- and middle-income countries. In sub-Saharan…

Purpose: Higher education institutions (HEIs) frequently overlook the importance of encouraging creative thinking in students. A review of the prevailing practices in a fully online tertiary distance education (DE) institution revealed a lack of learning activities that foster creativity. The study aims to find out whether the creative…

This small scale case study aimed at identifying the feasibility of foreign language online instruction during the abrupt change of teaching mode toward online platforms. The feasibility in this study involves the practicality and the possibility of and the concerns about language teaching and learning foreign language online as reflected by the…

Randomised control trials (RCTs) are an evidence-based research approach which has not yet been adopted and widely used in open and distance education to inform educational policy and practice. Despite the challenges entailed in their application, RCTs hold the power to robustly evaluate the effects of educational interventions in distance…

Most countries have enshrined the right to education in their constitution but, in reality, to fulfil this commitment, countries do face a number of challenges. And this is true with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which unlike other countries has a long history of war, conflicts, insurgency, and hence insecurity. Although there have been…

Higher education in Iran is confronting with several challenges; some of them are increasing demand for education and insufficiency of current programs to meet the growing needs, emerging information age and the necessity of achieving information literacy, and extending educational justice. It is assumed that a high performance e-learning system…

A qualitative research project was conducted to evaluate the suitability of e-learning as a means of delivering training to workplace learners in the South African furniture manufacturing sector. Twenty learners participated in a three-month pilot e-learning course and were monitored throughout. While the study was designed primarily to…

Creating new distance e-learning modules requires considerable staff expertise. To help develop and expand this, mentoring holds promise. However, in lifelong learning provision, potential module creators are often very distant from potential mentors and asynchronously available. E-mentoring might overcome these logistical constraints. This study…

The E-Learning Maturity Model (eMM) is a quality improvement framework designed to help institutional leaders assess their institution's e-learning maturity. This paper reviews the eMM, drawing on examples of assessments conducted in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the USA to show how it helps institutional leaders assess and compare their…

The interoperability of educational systems, encouraged by the development of specifications, standards and tools related to the Semantic Web is limited to the exchange of information in domain and student models. High system interoperability requires that a common framework be defined that represents the functional essence of educational systems.…

This paper addresses the use of computer-based testing in distance education, based on the experience of Universitas Terbuka (UT), Indonesia. Computer-based testing has been developed at UT for reasons of meeting the specific needs of distance students as the following: (1) students' inability to sit for the scheduled test; (2) conflicting test…

This report considers the potential for the use of the Australian Communications Satellite System (ACSS) for the Australian Schools of the Air (SOTAs) and the delivery of enhanced educational services, and develops the concept of all SOTAs operating through one transponder in a national beam. An evolutionary introduction of satellite transmission…

This report presents conclusions of a study of the feasibility of adapting Open University materials for use in student-centered learning in other institutions, especially polytechnics. It discusses the development of open learning in the polytechnics, drawing attention to the need for collaborative production of materials. Chapter 1 is an…

As part of an assessment of the educational uses of the Australian Communications Satellite System to be launched in mid-1985, this report focuses on the Mount Isa School of the Air. A general discussion assesses the mechanisms for delivery of distance education for isolated students in Northwest Queensland and considers possible functional…