Reports on a case study of formative evaluation of the materials and procedures used in a distance-learning French-language course. Identifies and evaluates key teaching design features of the draft audiovisual and print packages. Discusses teaching design in relation to revisions made to the course materials. (CFR)

Thinking Together is a project that began at the Open University in the mid 1990s and grew out of research that showed that children benefit from explicit instruction on how to talk in groups. Its fundamental premise is that the ability to communicate effectively is a key skill that lies at the heart of educational success. A crucial goal arising…

In order to respond to learners' need for more flexible speaking opportunities and to overcome the geographical challenge of students spread over the United Kingdom and continental Western Europe, the Open University recently introduced Internet-based, real-time audio conferencing, thus making a groundbreaking move in the distance learning and…

Accompanying awareness of the potential for lifelong learning to secure social inclusion and economic survival, e-learning has grown in significance and a fragile consensus about its purposes has emerged among stakeholders. The University for Industry (Ufi) and its e-learning arm, learndirect, have focused efforts especially (but not entirely)…

The structures/systems required to ensure the quality of individual learning programs in further education (FE) in Britain and the coherence of learner achievement were examined through a study in which data were obtained from a survey of students in individual learning programs at two FE colleges and a literature review. At both colleges,…

This report is intended to serve as a general reference for people either new to the field or involved in planning and decision-making in the field of distance education, specifically in Asia and the Pacific region. Volume I contains data from eight countries: Australia, Bangladesh, the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia,…

This report is intended to serve as a general reference for people either new to the field or involved in planning and decision-making in the field of distance education, specifically in Asia and the Pacific region. Volume II contains data from 15 countries: the Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan,…

The purpose of this book is: to set the historical development of British adult education in its wider policy and ideological context; to examine its various forms and formulations; and to identify what purpose or purposes it has served. The 16 chapters are as follows: "Historical and Political Context" (Roger Fieldhouse); "The…

This book is based on training sessions conducted by the author that focused on key issues in the design of self-instructional materials, including an awareness of the distinctive features of self-instructional materials, characteristics of the target audience, and coming to grips with the resources and constraints within which one must work.…

Begun as an experimental channel of the European Institute for the Media within the DELTA research program of the European Community, Channel e is Europe's first educational, training, and informative programming service. Programs are broadcast by communications satellite to a potential mass audience of 320 million people. Designed for use on the…

This study examined the student characteristics of Athabasca University (AU), Alberta, Canada, a distance and open university, and asked whether AU serves the student clientele that its mission proposes and to what the AU graduates attribute success. Established to make it possible for people to earn a university education regardless of where they…

The design issues involved in the effective use of computer-mediated communication in a multimedia distance education environment are examined, with particular reference to recent and current initiatives at the Open University in Great Britain. A description of the components of the Open University's electronic campus (the conferencing system and…

A questionnaire developed in six languages--English, French, German, Polish, Russian, and Spanish--was mailed to more than 1,500 organizations known by the FernUniversitat in West Germany to be connected in some way to distance education, correspondence education, or home study. The study was undertaken as a response to the lack of systematic…

Several approaches being used to support students in distance education programs in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries are described. Britain's Open University support services are offered through tutor-counselors in about 260 local study centres throughout the United Kingdom. Students are assigned to specialist tutors who…

Costa Rica's Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED), the education system in the country, and information on Costa Rica are considered. UNED is helping to equalize geographical inequalities of access to higher education. Overall, UNED's academic programs have been aimed at those who want to obtain professional qualifications. In the first semester…