Studies the use of audiovisual media (radio, television, and audio-cassettes) in a technology course at the Open University in Great Britain. Results show that each type of media lends itself to a particular teaching function in distance education. (Author/JJD)

Begins with a tribute to Professor G. Ram Reddy (founder of Indira Gandhi National Open University), then focuses on enhancing the role of open universities in providing borderless distance education. Highlights include the need for open distance-education; philosophy and vision; the distance teaching system; the role of information technology;…

Discusses the adoption of online instruction for distance education in the context of the Open University of Hong Kong. Academic and non-academic services that can be offered online are described. The importance and benefits of instituting electronic tutorials are addressed, including time savings, peer interactivity, and student/tutor…

Educational professional development is a global concern. It is often characterised by event-delivery methods, though there are signs that other approaches are gaining favour. The authors stress the significance of non-formal learning, and the ways in which it can be promoted and enhanced within the activity systems within which teachers in higher…

Discusses the history, principles, culture, and teaching approaches of the United Kingdom Open University and its Business School (OUBS). Focuses on management students and the OUBS's position in a dynamic and competitive MBA market place. Discusses computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) and the role of OUBS tutors. Reports key findings from a study…

Describes the distance education program at Anadolu University in Turkey and compares its problems and solutions with similar distance programs in other Asian countries. A brief history is presented, enrollment figures are given, and future directions are described. (Author/LRW)

Describes Pakistan's Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), which reaches a mass student population through correspondence study, radio and television, tutorials, and course assignments. Descriptions of AIOU's course offerings, teaching methods, organization and administration, and an assessment of services are provided. (Contains 13 references.)…

This paper describes how information and communication technology (ICT) is used in the modular Open University course "T209 Information and Communication Technologies: People and Interactions", first presented in 2002. In this course ICT is used to provide students with practical experience and to support an active and collaborative approach to…

This paper presents a report on students who decided to drop out of the BSc program offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). This study was designed to determine the reasons leading to students' decisions to withdraw from the program. Identified and reported in this study are nine major reasons leading to drop out. Results of…

This research focused on the undergraduate learners' perceptions of blended learning at the Arab Open University--Bahrain Branch (AOU-BH). It also focused on factors that influence learners' perceptions and examined the relationships between learners' perceptions and their particular demographic characteristics (age, gender, educational level,…

Review of university provision of distance education in Asia highlights and illustrates major similarities and differences in the approaches used in different countries and institutions and compares the operations of national independent universities concerned only with external students and conventional universities which include a distance…

This study examined the qualities of good virtual teachers, investigating what aspects of teaching and learning college teachers and students considered the most important in a Web-based learning environment. Participants were teachers and students who taught or studied at Helsinki Virtual Open University from 1995-99. Respondents completed mailed…

Attempts to draw comparisons between the different ways that distance education methods have been used for postsecondary education. Emphasizes the differences in scale, curricula, teaching approaches, and resource levels at different institutions in different nations. Explores problems such as lack of discussion, inflexibility, high cost of…

This paper describes distance legal education as conducted by the Open University of Sri Lanka. The paper opens with a description of legal education in Sri Lanka which began in the period of British colonial rule. Also described are more recent efforts to make legal education available to a larger segment of the population culminating in the…

The organization, methods, and outcomes of the distance education systems at the Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED) in Spain and The Open University of the United Kingdom are compared. The following topics are covered: higher education in Spain, UNED's ideology, student characteristics in both universities, organization,…