Examines recent attempts by the Open University to widen access to higher education in the United Kingdom through provision of distance-taught access materials which may be studied prior to enrollment in the undergraduate program. The materials development approach taken is a discourse model which arises out of a view of learning as a…

This report discusses forces that are shaping alternative approaches to the delivery of postsecondary education, particularly distance education and open learning. One of these forces is the ever-changing composition of the student body, whose demands are increasing and whose needs are becoming more disparate because of a more and more…

Distance education's use of the instructional systems design model has been challenged by critics who suggest that the learner is passive and learning is superficial. A suggestion is that distance education should be structured so that learners assume a more active role in the development and use of autonomous and self-directed learning…

The English language portion of this text describes the creation of nine models for the use of educational television. Six of the models relate the use of educational television to communities ranging in size from small villages to large cities. The other three models deal with the use of educational television in neighborhood centers, centers for…

University distance and e-learning programs generally follow one of two models. Most dual mode institutions and some open universities follow a model of cohort learning. Students start and terminate each course at the same time, and proceed at the same pace. This model allows for occasional or regular group based activities. The second model,…

Data from 211 adult students (ages 20 to 75) at the Open University, The Netherlands, were used to construct and test an instrument to measure learning styles and regulation processes. Test development was guided by a three-tiered model of self-regulation encompassing: (1) cognitive learning processes (deep, surface, elaborative); (2) regulation…

University of the Third Age (U3A) programs in Australia and New Zealand were examined through data collected from 126 U3A groups in Australia and 20 in New Zealand. The 24,870 responses and 2,002 responses obtained in Australia and New Zealand, respectively, represented 76% and 77% of U3A group members in the two countries. Data were collected…

The applications of telecommunications technology, computers, and other technologies are addressed in five papers. In an overview, Raymond J. Lewis, Jr. suggests that colleges and universities are finding that telecommunication technologies offer cost effective ways of reaching adult learners, and that open broadcast television has been the…

The anticipated growth of nontraditional education programs in higher education and the recognized need to carefully evaluate the potential economic impact of such programs inspired this study to: (1) evaluate the economics of five varied nontraditional institutions; (2) assist each of the traditional and nontraditional institutions participating…

A multivariate model to explain student success and failure at the Open University of the United Kingdom is outlined. The model is based on the results of an evaluation study that explored the suitability of this teaching system for young people under 21 years old. Twenty-three characteristics were designated as social and psychological problems,…

The objectives, curriculum, and role of higher education and key policy and practice issues were reassessed against the backdrop of recent and predicted demographic, economic, and political changes and trends in Great Britain. Special consideration was given to the fact that "mature" learners now constitute the majority of entrants into…

The implications of the capability learning model for learning in the workplace were examined in a roundtable discussion of two complementary projects: a study of the ideas and models associated with a range of approaches to workplace training and education in Australia and the United Kingdom and a study conducted to document capable organizations…

This paper discusses a framework for designing online tasks that capitalizes on the possibilities that the Internet and the Web offer for language learning. To present such a framework, we draw from constructivist theories (Brooks and Brooks, 1993) and their application to educational technology (Newby, Stepich, Lehman and Russell, 1996; Jonassen,…

Open and distance learning (ODL) is increasingly being regarded as a viable policy option for developing countries with limited educational resources for buildings, books and trained teachers, seeking to increase accessibility for large numbers of learners in education and training opportunities. Advocates of ODL as an appropriate solution to…

The purpose of this paper is to report on the development of the first online self-directed inventory on the measurement of academic programme preferences (MAPP) for potential students at the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK). In this study, trait-factor theory and personality type theory were employed. 1,963 respondents in Hong Kong were…