Following the conceptualisation of a third space of internationalisation at a distance (IaD) in this study, we aim to explore how international students at the largest university in Europe, the Open University, might consider their own identities and perspectives. At present over 5000+ international students study at a distance at the Open…

Internationalization of higher education (HE) has increasingly been a subject of interest among scholars, due to developments in the field, such as increased student and staff mobility, inter-university research and teaching partnerships, and rapid technological advancements. Internationalization efforts have mainly focused on the recruitment of…

Compared with fully face-to-face or online learning environments, implementation of hybrid learning spaces is costly given the spaces making all learning options available for learners. Therefore, decisions on investments in hybrid learning are critical for institutions. Satisfaction and experience of learners is one of the important indicators…

While user-centred design and user experience are given much attention in the e-learning design field, no research has been found on how users are actually represented in the discussions during the design of online courses. In this paper we identify how and when end-users' experience--be they students or tutors--emerges in designers'…

In recent years there has been widespread interest in the implementation of online courses in universities. While most studies about online learning environments primarily focus on technology-related issues or instructional methods, little attention has been given to online teachers and their teaching approaches. The aim of this paper is to…

In June 2010, a survey was carried out to explore access to digital technology, attitudes to digital technology and approaches to studying across the adult life span in students taking courses with the UK Open University. In total, 7000 people were surveyed, of whom more than 4000 responded. Nearly all these students had access to a computer and…

Attainment in higher education tends to be poorer in ethnic minority students than in white students. This study examined whether this attainment gap was affected by the introduction of online tuition. Data were obtained from students who had taken courses in either arts or management with the UK Open University and had opted for either…

The introduction of new online technologies in Higher Education brings many challenges for staff, not only in learning new functionality, but in deciding how to use tools in pedagogically effective ways. This case study describes an initiative at the Open University (UK), which set out to provide professional development in the use of an online…

Open educational resources (OER) raise many similar issues for education to those that have surrounded Learning Objects (LO). However the greater use and availability of digital technologies and open licensing seems to be enabling OER to have wider acceptance into individual and institutional teaching practice. While the need for appropriate…