This report and the accompanying online repository (https://sfdora.org/dora-case-studies/) bring together and analyse case studies in responsible academic career assessment. The case studies are intended to serve as inspiration for institutions planning to become or already engaged in a complex review process, and to provide potential pathways of…

This paper sets out the ways in which technologies for learning have been at the heart of education for development for millennia, not as is sometimes thought only in the last 30 years of the digital revolution. Short case studies of the University of London External System and the Open University UK set out the development outcomes of these major…

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…

Student retention and progression has exercised the HE sector for some time now, and there has been much research into the reasons why students drop out of Higher Education courses. (Allen, 2006; Buglear, 2009;). More recently the Higher Education Academy Grants Programme Briefing (HEFCE, 2010), outlined a number of areas that emergent project…

Although the recognition of learners' experiential learning toward postsecondary credentials holds the promise of increased flexibility and opportunity for many, especially in the current climate of labour shortage, Canadian universities have been slow to adopt recognition of prior learning (RPL) systems. This case study of one Canadian…

This article focuses on the potential of free tools, particularly inquiry tools for influencing participation in twenty-first-century learning in science, as well as influencing the development of communities around tools. Two examples are presented: one on the development of an open source tool for structured inquiry learning that can bridge the…

A major strand of science and technology studies in recent decades has related to the social construction of technology (SCOT) movement, whose adherents maintain that technological systems are determined just as much by social forces as by technological ones. Taking this SCOT notion as a starting point, and putting a focus on the user, this paper…

Professional development for distance tutors is traditionally delivered through texts or websites, supplemented by face to face workshops. However, one of the major challenges is to ensure that they engage with the materials and carry away something which is of value to their practice. At the Open University (UK) our 8000 tutors work from home,…

Quantitative and qualitative research of a case study course confirmed that the course achieved a highly interactive learning experience, associated with more effective student support and high student retention. Computer conferencing achieved high participation from the beginning and evidence of dialogue and argumentation within online tutor…

Learning participation only makes sense if it is purposeful. From our perspective its primary purpose is to achieve more effective managing in situations of complexity and change. We describe our evolving understandings and practices (a praxeology) for Systems Practice for managing complexity, built on 30 years of developing supported open…

In the late 1960s, a new university (Athabasca) was created in the Edmonton, Alberta region with a mandate to provide undergraduate degree programs and to explore and institute new approaches in curriculum organization, program development, and services delivery. Relocation of the university is discussed. (MLW)

In contemporary society, information technologies and communication technologies (ICTs) are playing crucial role in dissemination of knowledge and information the world over. Universities/ higher education institutions, particularly distance education universities in developed countries are making best use of these technologies for effective and…

Distance higher education for adults, media selection, and country profiles are considered in conference papers. Titles and authors are as follows: "Distance Education, Trends Worldwide" (Lord Perry of Walton); "Adults in Higher Education: Lowering the Barriers by Teaching and Learning at a Distance" (Hans G. Schutze);…

Twenty essays are provided from an educational scientific symposium organized within the frame of the Festival for Dutch Culture in Hungary. Titles and authors include "Environmental Movement and Environmental Information" J. C. Th. Alles); "Principal Educational and Self-Educational Problems of Independent Activity and Autonomy in…

This document contains six case studies of Chinese adult education: (1) China's Adult Education at Present and in Prospect (Mingchuan and Zhongdan); (2) Aging Issue and Education for the Aged in China (Mingchuan and Zhongdan); (3) Adult Education in Beijing Municipality (Youren); (4) A University without Campus: Introduction to China's Higher…