Includes "Introduction to Gender in Distance Education" (Spronk); "From the Local to the Global" (Taylor, Kirkup); "Addressing Some Gender Issues in Distance Education at the University of the South Pacific" (Tuimaleili'fano); "Women and Science at a Distance" (Va'a); "Women as Distance Learners in…

Reports on research that investigated characteristics of distance education programs in Germany that influenced the participation of women. Highlights include the number of women enrolled; drop-out rates; a description of the FernUniversitat, including degree programs and characteristics of the institution; and a pilot project aimed at single…

Discusses the evolution of staff development and the new Supporting Open Learners' (SOL) materials at the United Kingdom Open University. Outlines objectives of the SOL program. Discusses issues arising from use of SOL materials, including instructional attitudes; modelling good practice; developing the reflective practitioner; perceived value;…

Focuses on open learning for higher education. Discusses the legacy of the 20th century; ways higher education is changing; why open universities are important in the 21st century; whom open universities should serve; and what, how, and where open universities should teach. Concludes that open universities and open learning will have a central…

Examines the Korean National Open University's (KNOU) four recent technology initiatives for distance education, including an online database and multimedia digital library, an integrated Web-based student support system, a videoconferencing network, and Web-based course. Suggests that it is instructional design, not technology, which is at the…

Examines the position of distance education graduates in the job market after completing their education at Anadolu University's (Turkey) Open Education Faculty. Findings include: a general increase in graduates' job positions and status after graduation; most graduates' income increased; most felt their degree was equivalent to degrees awarded…

In this paper we consider the implications of moving from a paper-based delivery of study support materials to electronic delivery. The paper is based on telephone interviews with 60 students who had received a range of study support materials from a series of 'student toolkits', which are printed resource booklets for students of the UK Open…

Online courses and degree programs are increasingly common feature of higher education, such as those of The University of Phoenix, Western Governor's University, and the Open University in Great Britain. The University System of Georgia, the third largest university system in the United States, has recently created an electronic core curriculum,…

Using an academic library has always been a crucial part of studying in higher education, but this has presented problems for independent learners taking distance education courses. In the past, Open University (UKOU) students were provided with almost everything needed to successfully complete any course. Nowadays, growth in Internet use enables…

This paper focuses on the effects of social--structural factors (age, ethnicity and gender) on university students use of web-based instruction. The study uses data from registration questionnaires of students at the Open University of Israel. During the period between 1995 and 2002 there has been a continuous increase in the proportion of…

Terms such as retention and persistence reflect the interests of different parties. Much of the empirical and theoretical literature deals with retention from a "supply-side" perspective. This article has three main sections. The first consists of a summary of recent empirical findings from surveys of students who left their on-campus programmes…

Computer-supported group-based learning requires that interaction has to be structured within the group; otherwise it will not happen. Also, it is important to pay attention to social aspects of a distributed learning group (i.e. group dynamics); otherwise a good working team will not emerge. This article proposes a process-oriented framework that…

This paper uses the Open University of the Netherlands as an instructive case for the introduction of e-learning based on the IMS Learning Design specification (IMS LD). The IMS LD specification, as approved by the IMS Global Learning Consortium in 2003, enables the specification and encoding of learning scenarios that describe any design of a…

In 2003-04 the Open University offered its first German beginners' course with a dual tuition strand: tutorials were delivered either face-to-face or online using synchronous, audio-graphic, Internet-based conferencing software. For the new online tutors, a special training programme was designed and delivered. We evaluated the benefits of our…

The recent revolution in information technology (IT) has significantly challenged society's perception and thinking about the world in which we live. Because of its many advantages, distance learning has been identified by educators, scholars, academicians, and researchers as one of the most effective ways to improve the quality of learning. This…