Britain's Open University is described as an open admissions university that does not compromise academic standards, a technological system that delivers a traditional education, and a distance learning institution that approximates on a mass scale the tutorial relationship of older British universities. (MLW)

Maintains that open and distance education represents contemporary education forms that respond to the shift to late-modernity, especially in educational technology and student-teacher relationships. Drawing on the work of Anthony Giddens, uncovers relationships among distance education, late-modernity, and the self. (CFR)

Discusses the collaborative use of learning materials in distance education based primarily on experiences at the Open Learning Institute (OLI) of Hong Kong. Topics addressed include curriculum issues; instructional design; academic standards; technical factors; copyright regulations; costs; product evaluation; readability; and ethical…

This case study describes three main strategies used from March 2002 to November 2003 at the Open University and Distance Education Coordination (CUAED) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) to consolidate distance education at the University. The author explains how, in just 18 months, these three main strategies enabled the UNAM…

The challenges to teacher educators in sub-Saharan Africa are acute. This paper describes how the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) consortium is working within institutional and national policy systems to support school-based teacher professional development. The TESSA consortium (13 African institutions and 5 international…

This report describes a meeting of 31 experts who deliberated on the various aspects of new technologies of training (NTT) and their applications in education and training with reference to Asia-Pacific contexts. Chapter 1 describes the rationale, objectives, inaugural session, meeting agenda, and closing session. Chapter 2 summarizes the country…

A study compared students' perceptions about the quality and cost-effectiveness of and satisfaction with feedback they get through: written correspondence; face-to-face sessions; and non-contiguous interaction on electronic media. The survey received responses from 529 of 2,500 active students of the German FernUniversitat (FeU) and 653 of 2,500…

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…

Open University course production involves a course team that is responsible for the initial planning, production, and presentation of the teaching material. Informal work sessions with other authors create an environment critical for authors' socialization into course production and the perpetuation of course team practice. This environment…

The international literature on learning at a distance is reviewed with attention to student participation, faculty issues, the technology of delivery, necessary support systems, and the organization and process of distance education. Distance education is used in many content areas in economically diverse countries. Individuals who must learn at…

Seventy postsecondary programs that use one or more telecommunications technologies to serve learners are described, and current patterns and trends, and projections about future problems and possibilities, are discussed. The purpose of the guide is to encourage educators to focus attention on the educational problem before considering which, if…

Completion and cost data for six courses delivered in two different modes--home study and paced package--through Athabasca University were analyzed. Students in a home study course received tutorial support via the telephone and progress through the course was at the discretion of each individual learner. Students in a paced package course…

Descriptions of experiences with Open University programs for womens' education in two areas of England illustrate the need for regional support networks to encourage participation in continuing education. Such support services would accommodate the counseling and scheduling needs of reentry women, particularly mothers and homemakers. (MSE)

Correspondence institutions in United Kingdom and South Africa have enrolled Mauritian students in various courses and programs at different levels for more than 50 years. The institutionalization of second-generation distance education (DE) using print and audiovisual media had modest beginnings with the inception of the Mauritius College of the…

It is argued that language learning ought to be interactive. The traditional language classroom provides a favourable interactive situation for language learners. By contrast, the distance education mode is limited in some ways regarding language learning. Necessarily, distance education involves, primarily, self-learning. Face-to-face learning…