Open education aspires to democratize education, promote inclusion and effect change through social justice. These aspirations are difficult to realize in open, online environments, which enable multiple, and often conflicting, perspectives. This paper proposes a counter-narrative that surfaces certain operational norms of the internet and…

Highly skilled manpower is critical for sustainable socio-economic development. However, participation in higher education in Africa continues to be the lowest in the world. Even though some contact universities have adopted the dual-mode strategy to expand access, they continue to enrol fewer students through their open and distance learning…

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools provide an ideal mechanism by which students can interact closely with their lecturers in an open distance learning (ODL) context. This is especially true for students with disabilities who require access through alternative formats. This paper demonstrates teaching and learning practices in an…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) pose a challenge for instructors when trying to provide personalised support to learners, due to large numbers of registered participants. Conversational agents can be of help to support learners when working with MOOCs. This article presents an adaptive learning module for JavaPAL, a conversational agent that…

Open Education (OE), a generic term for a collection of practices that seek to broaden the access to education through digital means, has gained increasing traction and popularity over the last years and from various corners, both globally and in European circles. Rather than taking the technologies OE makes use of at face value, this article…

This study seeks to investigate the readiness levels of adult students studying in Malaysian higher education institutions. The online questionnaire used in this study consists of 18 demographic variables and 43 items based on six constructs: technical competencies, communication competencies, social competencies, selfefficacy, self-directedness,…

This article discusses the need to innovate education due to global changes to keep its status as a human right and public good and introduces Open Education as a theory to fulfil these requirements. A systematic literature review confirms the hypothesis that a holistic quality framework for Open Education does not exist. For its development, a…

"Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age" examines contemporary issues in the design and delivery of effective learning through a critical discussion of the theoretical and professional perspectives informing current digital education practice. This third edition has been thoroughly revised to address socio-cultural approaches, learning…

Advent of digital technologies and open learning spaces have superbly influenced higher education worldwide both in the formal and open universities. Open education is emerged as contemporary approach to learning and teaching. Teachers' professional development in open education is a recognized and stimulating research area. MOOCs are innovative…

Online learning practices have gained momentum as a result of the developments in network technologies and an increase in the capacity of current technological devices that are used to deliver learning. While up-to-date studies have examined the online learning readiness of traditional higher education learners, there remains a need to examine it…

Will open education replace traditional higher education, or augment it? Digital innovation in the higher education sector is fuelling speculation about the transformation of higher education and the future role of universities. Much of the speculation makes questionable implicit assumptions about current and future business models in the higher…

This article traces a line through contemporary critical perspectives on open online education, which challenge an emphasis on content and access that gives too much weight to instrumental goals of education. This article offers the concept of "not-yetness" as a productive lens for examining alternative meanings of openness. Not-yetness…

This book serves as a reference point to inform continuing professional learning and development (CPLD) initiatives at both individual and institutional levels. It serves as a guide for faculty engaged in online teaching within the higher education sector, in universities and vocational education institutions. It moves beyond a technology-driven…

The emergence of new ODL institutions and keenness of conventional universities to offer online degree programs in higher education predict its popularity. However, the challenge of how to ensure the quality of learning in ODL institutions is also emerging. In this regard, Virtual University of Pakistan (VUP) has nearly developed first ever…

Access to relevant learning resources is an important aspect in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all as outlined in the sustainable development goal 4 (SDG4). The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has identified the development of open educational resources (OER) as a potential answer to these…