Notes difficulties encountered teaching history in an open university. Describes methodology used in a twentieth-century history course, combining current events with the course content. Using a major continuing news story as the basis for a semester project, students are asked to consider multiple scenarios and to predict outcomes of current…

An examination of the philosophy and implementation of two special programs offered by the Open University of Israel to socially and educationally disadvantaged populations focuses on whether both values of quality and equity can be achieved in higher education. (Author/MSE)

Examines the development of quality assurance in higher education delivered through open and distance learning. Highlights include recent publications on quality assurance, factors for change, key terms, debate about organizational mission, management, customers and students, competitive environment, and philosophy of professional- versus…

Discusses performance indicators in distance education: micro, macro, and mega indicators as tools for quality assurance; entry and exit indicators, with special reference to open universities in India; and concepts and research within learning materials development, course development and evaluation. (PEN)

Over 16,000 students are enrolled in Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain), a virtual university that has agreements with public and private institutions to provide resources in students' communities. Because student service is the staff's vocation, student satisfaction is high. Ongoing research focuses on continuing innovations. (SK)

Describes the development of a distance education program within one Slovenian university's department of economics, showing how the synergy created through the combination of existing resources as well as the local and social educational environment with outside expertise brought about a self-sustainable distance education program and improved…

Based on work by the European Union's PHARE Multi-Country Programme in Distance Education, explores: (1) contextual issues related to the development of open and distance learning and the changing nature of higher education; (2) developments across Europe and associated problems; and (3) possible solutions in Central and Eastern Europe related to…

Uses meta-framework to compare the social-control and social-capital dimensions of Korean and Australian open and distance higher education. Examines historical backgrounds, student-lecturer interactions, organization, delivery methodology, support systems, participant expectations, and future potentials. (Contains 30 references.) (PKP)

Reports on ongoing development of the University of the Arctic--a network of institutions of higher education in eight polar countries--in the context of the changing nature of distance education in Canada. Discusses Canadian access to telelearning, institutions of virtual education, related research and supportive organizations, and course…

There has been a strong faith in the power of education to create and maintain many kinds of progress in society: social cohesion and order, economic growth, equality, justice, etc. The history of education is in many ways involved in the history of religion and churches. Along with the rise of the lifelong learning policy, adult education has…

The present paper gives an overview of some of the modular day courses offered and, in some cases, developed by tutors at a former hospital school providing education to adults with severe learning disabilities. The aims of the courses were cognitive and personal development, as well as aesthetic and spiritual enrichment. Art history was offered…

The internet offers considerable potential for open and distance learning in psychology. Research reveals an abundance of psychology demonstrations and experiments available online, directed both at students and potential research participants. Although expertise is being developed to overcome the technical problems associated with this medium,…

The current study examines how a computerized learning environment assists students with learning disabilities (LD) enrolled in a distance learning course at the Open University of Israel. The technology provides computer display of the text, synchronized with auditory output and accompanied by additional computerized study skill tools which…

In spring 1999, the Open University (OU) of the United Kingdom created the U.S. Open University (USOU) to coincide with the explosive growth of online education in the United States. The institution's first chancellor, Richard S. Jarvis (previously chancellor of the University and Community College System of Nevada), began hiring U.S. staff and…

The authors, library practitioners from either side of the Atlantic Ocean, embarked on a dialogue about the ethical challenges encountered in providing library services to distance learners. Unable to find an existing, appropriate ethical framework for their discussion, they agreed to devise their own, informed by relevant professional codes and…