At the 2024 ALA conference, the authors presented their exploration of the internet access challenges faced by graduate students at a STEM university in Ghana. This research highlighted how unreliable, expensive, and intermittent internet affects academic life, particularly for students off-campus. Despite the university's solid on-campus…

This research explores the social-cultural factors influencing learners' preferences for Open and Distance Learning (ODL). Specific objectives were to investigate the social-cultural factors influencing learners' choice of ODL, and the role of higher education in promoting preference for ODL and to identify challenges facing ODL. Case study design…

The most effective stakeholders of distance education processes are the instructors who carry out and manage the teaching processes. Instructors are expected to master the process in order to carry out distance education effectively and efficiently. One of the most important factors affecting this situation is the satisfaction level of the…

The Open University (OU) has around 1800 students studying in prisons (Students in Secure Environments, 2019) with no internet access. They study offline with no access to the OU library's online resources. This case study explores the student volunteer scheme introduced to help students in prison to indirectly access online library resources. It…

The past two decades have witnessed a surge of distance learning in higher education across the world. Scholars have argued that this is due to the increasing use and recognition of technologies to act as a means, channel and source for internationalization of knowledge. Further, internationalization at a distance (IaD) has seen a rapid increase…

This study explores the classroom management challenges encountered by teachers in online classrooms compared to traditional classrooms. A qualitative case study approach was employed, whereby 97 teachers with experience of remote teaching were interviewed using semi-structured questions to identify and analyze the challenges encountered. The…

Equity is crucial in maintaining human rights in the education sector. It has become more crucial due to the abrupt global spread of coronavirus and the initiation and affordances of unequal accessibility to online teaching, specifically in resource deficit peripheral countries like Bangladesh. Hence, it seems pertinent to explore if online…

The rapid digital transformation of education has significantly influenced remote learning, with digital literacy emerging as a crucial competency for students, educators, and institutions. This study employs a bibliometric analysis to explore research trends, influential authors, and thematic developments in digital literacy within remote…

The demand for university education exceeds the supply in Nigeria, as more than 70% of eligible applicants cannot get admission into Nigerian universities annually. With a current population of 206 million, the World Bank predicts the Nigerian population will surpass the United States to become the third-largest country in the world by 2050. If…

For decades, the field of educational technology (ed-tech) has been characterised by overoptimism and lofty promises that often fail to materialise. This research investigates the narrative claims or hype of ed-tech across diverse education contexts in seven Asian-Pacific countries. It uses a qualitative meta-analysis of research reports developed…

The digital age has opened up new and exciting opportunities for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in universities. But, is going digital reinforcing the existing social inequalities? This qualitative research examines the three levels of digital divide and digital inequality among learners at India's National Open University, IGNOU. The findings…

This study aims at uncovering the perspectives of tertiary English language learners on the emergency distance language learning practices carried into effect following the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye in 2023. The study adopted a descriptive phenomenological research pattern as a qualitative study to gain an in-depth understanding of the…