This article describes the curriculum and methods of instruction employed for the foundation course in mathematics at the Open University of the United Kingdom. (MM)

With the Open University now in full operation, integrated multimedia teaching may be thought to be coming into it own in the adult education field. (Journal/EB)

A status report on the open university in Scotland, including enrollment and staff data and a listing of undergraduate teacher education courses offered. (SJL)

Describes a Ugandan student's first-year experiences at the Open University in the United Kingdom. Discusses how the University operates; comments on course texts and supplementary materials; and presents a month-by-month breakdown of university and course activities and requirements. (GEA)

Distance education may be offered either through institutions created for this purpose (single mode) or through existing universities (dual mode). Each has strengths and weaknesses, but partnerships could meld the best aspects of both, as experience with professional continuing education for engineers in India shows. (SK)

Provides an overview of a distance education program in Thailand that provides inservice training to practicing teachers and educational personnel. Types of programs, student and graduate profiles, and overall achievements are emphasized; and statistical data are provided. (EAM)

Outlines open university models and discusses the criteria necessary for establishing one in the French-speaking areas of Switzerland, characterized by a rural/urban mix and variety of cultures. Argues that a home-grown open university can respect indigenous cultures and provide opportunities to those denied them better than an externally imposed…

This article concerns recent developments and current trends in lifelong education in Greece, specifically those related with funding from European Social Fund (ESF). The analysis undertaken focuses mainly on (a) the expansion of continuing training activities in Greece during the past ten years and the development of new training organizations as…

Higher education staff involved in e-learning often struggle with organising their student support activities. To a large extent this is due to the high workload involved with such activities. We distinguish support related to learning content, learning processes and student products. At two different educational institutions, surveys were…

In response to the government's push toward a "knowledge-based economy society", the development and applications of e-learning technologies have become more and more popular in Hong Kong. E-learning provides a student-centered learning environment and delivers knowledge on-demand with up-to-the-minute information. However, a high…

The authors studied a course in which an instructor allowed individuals at a distance to participate. Although these students were not formally enrolled in the university where the class took place, the instructor gave them full access to all course materials and encouraged them to complete course assignments. The authors examined the time and…

This paper reports on a study which investigates the implementation of a synchronous e-learning system ("Interwise") for online tutorials on an information technology related course offered by the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK). It examines a set of interview data related to students' and tutors' views on the use of the system.…

Throughout the world, policy-makers are demonstrating their commitment to widening participation in education by promoting alternative pathways to gaining academic qualifications. This paper reports a study which aimed to investigate the potential of online learning to overcome barriers to participating in education by socially disadvantaged…

Two small studies, one an "eye-tracking" study and the other a "remote observation" study, have been conducted to investigate ways to identify two kinds of online learner interactions: users flicking through the web pages in "browsing" action, and users engaging with the content of a page in "learning"…