Present paper seeks to analyse the system of face to face programme delivery adopted by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for its distance learners over a period of two and half decades. The paper also analysed that with the growth in student enrolment, new schemes of face to face programme delivery was developed and implemented and…

The recent developments within open educational resources (OERs) and open licensing have generated considerable interest among distance educators since open and distance learning is supposed to be the largest consumer/user of and contributor to OER. In China, given the policy of development and use of elaborate courses, conversion of radio and…

This book describes the history, structure and institutions of open and distance education in six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the UK and the US. It discusses how open and distance education is evolving in a digital age to reflect the needs and circumstances of national higher education systems in these countries, and explores…

This study examines success factors in online learning from the instructors' perspective. Academic success comprises not only student satisfaction and good grades, but also perception of learning and knowledge transfer. A systemic model of inputs-process-outputs of learning was used. A total of 322 online teachers from four different universities…

Tutorial is one of the student support services often provided by open and distance teaching institutions. These are regularly scheduled meetings between a tutor and his/here students which may include individual consultation sessions, either face-to-face or through telephone; a more formal "lecture format;" optimal participation in…

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have recently become a much discussed development within higher education. Much of this debate focuses on the philosophical and operational similarities and differences between the types of MOOCs that have emerged to date, the learner completion rates and how they can be sustained. In contrast there has been…

Despite the fact that portability was perceived as one of the major benefits of podcasting as a teaching and learning tool, little evidence has been found of users taking advantage of this feature for academic use. This paper reports on a major study (1886 responses) of iTunes U users. The analysis compares the responses of those participants who…

This study compared outcomes in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students and nondisabled students taking courses by distance learning with the UK Open University in 2012. DHH students who had no additional disabilities were more likely to complete their courses than were nondisabled students, and they were just as likely to pass the courses that…

The demand for online teaching is growing as is the recognition that online teachers require highly sophisticated skills to manage classrooms and create an environment conducive to learning. However, there is little rigorous empirical research investigating teachers' thoughts and actions during online tutorials. Taking a sociocultural perspective,…

The new pedagogical opportunities that massive open online course (MOOC) learning environments offer for the teaching of fee-paying students on university-accredited courses are of growing interest to educators. This paper presents a case study from a postgraduate-taught course at the Open University, UK, where a MOOC performed the dual role of a…

This paper analyses teachers' engagement with collaborative and open educational practices to develop their pedagogical expertise in the field of modern language (ML) learning and specific learning difficulties (SpLD). The study analyses the findings of a staff development initiative at the Department of Languages, Open University, UK, in 2013,…

This paper examines learner attitudes, self-efficacy beliefs, and anxiety in a beginners' Spanish Language Massive Open Online Course (LMOOC) by answering three research questions: (1) how do learners feel about acquiring speaking skills on an LMOOC?; (2) do they experience anxiety with regards to speaking?; and (3) do their self-efficacy beliefs…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an e-learning system that integrates the use of concepts of virtual learning environments, personal learning environments, and social network sites. The system is based on a learning model which comprises and integrates three learning contexts for the adult learner: the formal, instructional…

The virtual learning environment (VLE) has grown to become a piece of complex infrastructure that is now deemed critical to higher educational provision. This paper looks at Moodle and its adoption in higher education. Moodle's origins, as an open source VLE, are investigated and its growth examined in the context of how higher educational…

Purpose: The integration of a Learning Management System (LMS) at the Arab Open University (AOU), Kuwait, opens new possibilities for online interaction between teachers and students. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of the LMS at AOU, Kuwait as a communication tool in the E-learning system and to find the best automated…