Home study is practiced by most managers, who read or write reports, reflect on work projects and problems, and catch up on professional journals at home. A goal of home study advocates is to make such home study as useful as possible. A management development process known in England as action learning requires that 60 percent of study be done at…

This paper describes how audiovisual media have influenced the way students have learned--or failed to learn--at the Open University at Walton Hall. The paper is based in part on results from a large body of research that has repeatedly demonstrated the interrelatedness of a wide range of factors in determining how or what students learn from…

Students were surveyed to determine the outcomes of participation in an introductory social science course at the Open University (England). The 18 students were taking their first Open University course, and most had little recent formal education. Many were unsure about their ability to handle the course and did not know what to expect of it.…

Three objectives are examined in this report: (1) to outline concisely some of the educational questions that course planning teams may wish to address in the early stages of course planning; (2) to provide a short list of resources, principally from the Open University's Institute of Educational Technology (IET), that may aid in course team…

Open University faculty create their own instructional materials for use in distance teaching. A methodology is described for evaluating the teaching effectiveness of the materials and the teaching methods used. It is applied to a unit of a materials science course written for a specific text. A small group of students in the course was surveyed…

Research evaluated the effectiveness of varying television (TV) lesson formats. Adults ranging in age from 17 to 58 viewed lessons in accounting and psychology in four formats featuring: 1) a storyline running through a lesson; 2) a news magazine format dealing with different concepts in one lesson; 3) a non-authoritarian narrator; and 4) an…

A worldwide survey of 89 institutions teaching languages at a distance was undertaken to learn of alternative delivery systems and teaching methods (textbooks, workbooks, audiocassettes, radio, television, and others). Skills taught are compared with program components at Canada's Athabasca University. (MSE)

Addresses one of three major challenges facing distance education--its claimed overreliance on behaviorist approaches to teaching and learning. Maintains that distance learning encourages students to review their own learning approaches and to be more proactive about their study methods. (CFR)

Open and distance learning is experiencing rapid growth throughout the world. China in particular is undergoing a massive expansion of its distance EFL programmes. This global phenomenon challenges all those involved in delivering distance learning materials to examine current practice and the assumptions and expectations that underlie it, with…

Formerly known as the AB Learning Institute, the University of ABC (ABCU), was established by the ABC Government in 1989. ABCU offers courses leading to numerous academic qualifications through the distance education mode using mainly print based materials that are supplemented by audio, video, computer assisted elements, and increasingly, the…

Athabasca University--Canada's Open University (AU) made the commitment to put all of its courses online as part of its Strategic University Plan. In pursuit of this goal, AU participated in the eduSource project, a pan-Canadian effort to build the infrastructure for an interoperable network of learning object repositories. AU acted as a leader in…

This article discusses a framework for the development of tasks in a synchronous online environment used for language learning and teaching. It shows how a theoretical approach based on second language acquisition (SLA) principles, sociocultural and constructivist theories, and concepts taken from research on multimodality and new literacies, can…

This book contains 19 papers grouped in three sections that lead the reader through the process of planning, producing, and presenting materials in open and distance learning, based on experience in Great Britain. Following an overview by Roger Lewis, the Planning section contains the following six papers: "Resources and Constraints in Open…

This bibliography for trainers and teachers interested in open or distance learning lists 68 books and articles devoted to particular aspects of the "learning revolution," i.e., arrangements to enable people to learn at the time, place, and pace that satisfy their circumstances and requirements. Materials are listed under 12 headings:…

This discussion of the relationship between self-directed learning, adult development, and distance education presents findings from researchers in the field of autonomous learning. In addition, the implications of self-directed learning for the curriculum and teaching methods in distance education are considered. The document is divided into the…