Throughout 2020, and into 2021, national governments were forced at different times to impose 'lockdown' on traditional approaches to education to cope with the impact of COVID-19. Higher education institutions (HEI) with face-to-face models scrambled to 'pivot' to distance and online learning. Whilst originally conceived as a temporary measure,…

In an era of increasingly hyped Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that seem to evoke feelings of both promise and peril for higher education, many institutions are struggling to find their niche among top-tier Ivy League schools offering courses to thousands of participants for free. While the effectiveness of MOOCs in terms of learning outcomes…

In a time of change, higher education is in the position of having to adapt to external conditions created by widespread adoption of popular technologies such as social media, social networking services and mobile devices. For faculty members, there must be opportunities for concrete experiences capable of generating a personal conviction that a…

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…

This paper examines how this mega-university offers increasing access to cost-effective, equitable and flexible higher education by analyzing data from primary and secondary sources, identifies challenges impacting the continued growth of enrollment in distance education, and outlines opportunities for increasing access to higher education through…

In Japan, environmental education partnerships among citizens, businesses and local government increased since new legislation was introduced in 2003, but there was little evidence of cross-sector collaboration until recently. Nagoya Open University of the Environment is a highly innovative, multi-sectoral citizen learning system founded in 2005…

Can we apply the best of Web 2.0 principles to an educational context? More specifically can we use this as a means of shifting teaching practice to a culture of sharing learning ideas and designs? This paper describes a new social networking site, "Cloudworks", which aims to provide a mechanism for sharing, discussing and finding…

A status report on the open university in Scotland, including enrollment and staff data and a listing of undergraduate teacher education courses offered. (SJL)

Describes the concept of the Open University as this has been translated into actuality in Britain, discusses the science curriculum, identifies some weaknesses of the Open University, and points out parallel efforts in the United States. (PB)

Description of the implementation and operation of Howard University's "University Without Walls" within the context of current trends in higher education. (APM)

Describes the Open University concept which is designed to provide regular college credit through a program of home study. Explains three science-related Open University courses and lists and describes the films and cassettes used. (GS)

This report examines student and faculty participation, providing statistical data and descriptions, in the University Without Walls (UWW). Emphasis is placed on an overview of the UWW student body, procedures of students admitted to UWW, active students as of June 30, 1972, educational alternatives of former and potential UWW students, faculty…

Briefly describes the University Without Walls program at the University of Minnesota, the adult students who are enrolled, and a report on how these students assess some of their experiences in the program. (Author/RK)

A free university is defined as a community learning center that connects people who want to teach or learn with resources to meet their needs. The free university for Man, located at Kansas State University in Manhattan, is described. (MLW)