The present study was undertaken to measure the attitude of the students towards teacher training programs through Distance Education offered by Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Islamabad, Pakistan. To achieve the said end, the descriptive method of research was considered appropriate. The population of the study consisted of the B. Ed.…

Open, distance and elearning institutions of higher education often face ethical issues relating to their distinctive mission, especially where the core role is to open educational opportunities to under-represented groups while maintaining academic standards. Openness is surely a "good thing"; and yet there are often tensions relating…

Universities have come under serious attack because of their lackluster response to HIV/AIDS. This article examines the response of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and its strategic responses in combating HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is achieved by examining NOUN's basic structures that position the University to respond to the epidemic; and…

This book, written by authors representing 12 countries and five continents, is a collection of international perspectives on distance learning and distance learning implementations in higher education. The perspectives are presented in the form of practical case studies of distance learning implementations, research studies on teaching and…

This study investigated the factor structure of motivational constructs as expressed by older adult learners and examined how these constructs correlated with selected socio-demographic characteristics at the National Open University of Taiwan (NOUT). Results were based on the responses of 371 elders to the 32-item Reasons for Participation Scale…

Many forms of e-learning (such as online courses with authentic tasks and computer-supported collaborative learning) have become important in distance education. Very often, such e-learning courses or tasks are set up following constructivist design principles. Often, this leads to learning environments with authentic problems in ill-structured…

Foreign language anxiety in classroom-based language learning has a long history of research, but there are fewer studies examining this particular phenomenon with respect to the distance language learner. The isolated context and the physical absence of tutor and peers suggest that FL anxiety might be intensified in a distance setting. A…

This paper discusses the evaluation of Web-based tools to support Personal Development Planning (PDP) in order to illustrate issues associated with the introduction and assessment of the effectiveness of online resources. The aims of the evaluation were based on concerns about the very complex situation that offering online resources including PDP…

Questionnaire responses of 457 students and 602 tutors were used to investigate conceptions of a "good tutor." In each case, factor analysis identified scales that reflected key constructs; cluster analysis identified subgroups with different patterns of scale scores; and discriminant analysis determined the scales that contributed the…

In an earlier study of disabled graduates from campus-based institutions in the UK, students who had previously declared that they had an unseen disability were less likely to obtain good degrees (with first-class or upper second-class honours). The present study investigated the role of disability as a factor in the attainment and experiences of…

This study sought to determine the effects of prior knowledge on the achievement of undergraduates in an economics course at the Open University of the Netherlands (OuN). A total of 49 law and 39 economics students were given 4 instruments to test prior knowledge of economics, presented with a learning unit from the course "Economics and…

Describes the concept of the Open University as this has been translated into actuality in Britain, discusses the science curriculum, identifies some weaknesses of the Open University, and points out parallel efforts in the United States. (PB)

This paper begins with a short description of the British Open University which covers the programs of study (undergraduate, continuing education, and higher degrees); mediums of teaching (correspondence texts, broadcast television, audiocassettes, radio, face-to-face or telephone tutorials, audioconferencing, summer schools, home experiment kits,…

This lecture discusses factors that would be involved if the British Open University's distance education program were to be extended to Western Europe through the use of satellite transmissions. The cost benefits of such a move are discussed, including the possibility of additional funding through the European Commission. Another factor…

This lecture considers the effectiveness of television as a medium for distance education in light of the experiences of the Open University in Great Britain. The main theses of the paper are that television is an important component of high quality open and distance education, but only when its unique teaching characteristics are exploited, and…