With the increased emphasis on the benefits of self-regulated learning (SRL), it is important to make use of the huge amounts of educational data generated from online learning environments to identify the appropriate educational data mining (EDM) techniques that can help explore and understand online learners' behavioral patterns. Understanding…

The usage of various media methods in distance education shows its historical development path. It is said that AIOU has been using radio and television broadcasts, special textbooks and reading materials for distance education. To assess the level of technology usage and its role in AIOU model, Non-Random, Purposive Sampling, technique was used…

Strong demand for GIS and burgeoning cohorts have encouraged the delivery of GIS teaching via online distance education models. This contribution reviews a brief foray (2012-2014) into this field by the Open University, deploying open source GIS software to enable students to perform practical science investigations online. The "Remote…

This article presents a role-play game for software project management (SPM) in a three-dimensional online multiuser virtual world. The Opensimulator platform is used for the creation of an immersive virtual environment that facilitates students' collaboration and realistic interaction, in order to manage unexpected events occurring during the…

This paper presents a study that examined the reasons for dropping out of a distance language learning programme offered by an open university in Indonesia. A purposive sample of students who registered for online English writing courses at the university was used. To gain a better understanding of the issues, the study also sought information…

Many studies are related to the use of computer technology in learning and teaching but less work has been done to understand how computer technology users feel about them and how this technology helps in developing teachers' teaching methods. "Pronunciation Power" software is one of the computer technologies for teaching English…

This paper argues that pedagogic efficacy of multimedia packages (interactive multimedia presentations) cannot be achieved by experimental research in the absence of a detailed pedagogical screenwriting framework. Following a summary of relevant literature, such a framework is offered, consisting of micro-level design guidelines. The guidelines…

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…

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…

In 2003-04 the Open University offered its first German beginners' course with a dual tuition strand: tutorials were delivered either face-to-face or online using synchronous, audio-graphic, Internet-based conferencing software. For the new online tutors, a special training programme was designed and delivered. We evaluated the benefits of our…

This paper looks at how the concept of reusability has gained currency in e-learning. Initial attention was focused on reuse of content, but recently attention has focused on reusable software tools and reusable activity structures. The former has led to the proposal of service-oriented architectures, and the latter has seen the development of the…

Describes design and production of the award-winning software used to control Great Britain's Open University Materials Science videodisc, the Teddy Bear Disc, which is used to teach undergraduate students about materials engineering. The disc is designed for use in one-week sessions, which students attend in July or August. (MBR)

Thinking Together is a project that began at the Open University in the mid 1990s and grew out of research that showed that children benefit from explicit instruction on how to talk in groups. Its fundamental premise is that the ability to communicate effectively is a key skill that lies at the heart of educational success. A crucial goal arising…

Two major areas of focus emerge from this synthesis of national reports: the question of how to teach students critical and autonomous judgement with regard to the mass media, and how best to use new information and communication technology (NICT) and the media for educational purposes. It is noted that, although there are differences of approach…

As a Transversal Action under the European eLearning Programme, the Open e-Learning Content Observatory Services (OLCOS) project carries out a set of activities that aim at fostering the creation, sharing and re-use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Europe and beyond. OER are understood to comprise content for teaching and learning,…