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…

For the forty-first time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains twenty-seven…

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…

An overview of how the need for educational technologists brought in an influx of new ideas from younger people when the Open University created a demand for technologists. (HB)

Based on work by the European Union's PHARE Multi-Country Programme in Distance Education, explores: (1) contextual issues related to the development of open and distance learning and the changing nature of higher education; (2) developments across Europe and associated problems; and (3) possible solutions in Central and Eastern Europe related to…

Summarized the reports of the committees that have been involved in planning all types of adult education programs in Finland. (JOW)

The activities of the Open Learning Institute (OLI) of British Columbia from its inception in the late 1970s through mid-1983 are described. It is noted that the mandate of the OLI was to make available throughout the Canadian province courses and programs to students who were unable or unwilling to take advantage of other educational…

Presents the steps necessary for successful innovation, with emphasis on financing, selling the change to faculty, and evaluating the results. (Editor)

The impetus and situation for development of a Polish open university similar to Britain's are outlined and discussed, focusing on Poland's educational system since World War II, the limits to expansion of conventional universities, new educational interests, alternative program models, and administrative organization. (MSE)

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)

A differential fee policy was adopted at the Open Learning Institute (OLI) of Hong Kong after a process of conceptualization, planning, proposal, approval and implementation. Under the differential fee policy different tuition rates were charged for different courses. The differential fee policy was conceptualized at OLI based on economics,…

The author describes the Research and Training Center at Lahti (Finland): its general task, its goals, and its organization. The center's main projects are examined: open university studies, supplementary professional education, employment oriented training, extension projects, international cooperation, and research activities. Financing of the…

This assessment of the Open University (OU) after its first eight years considers the nature of the demand for the OU, patterns of study, and factors affecting students' progress and graduation, e.g., their occupation and previous educational qualifications. (EAO)

This is a short review of the progress of some members of the Open University Technology Faculty in researching, discussing, and preparing a project course for first presentation in 1979, in which students will design and carry out their own project on any topic relating to the subject areas within the Technology Faculty. (Author/LBH)