Open and Distance Learning Today

The book presents a comprehensive account of research and development activities in open, ditance and flexible learning from acknowledged experts from around the world. The use of open, distance and flexible learning materials is expanding dramatically, not just in schools, further and higher education but also in industry, commerce and the social services. Most higher education institutions now have an open learning unit or educational development centre, and major organisations such as british Steel, National Westminster Bank, Leeds Building Society, Rover Cars and the Inland Revenue have formed units to develop teaching and training materials. Internationally, growth is even more impressive, with new open universities planned for Singapore, Bangladesh, South Africa and india, whist those in Malaysia, Thailand and Australia continue to expand. But current and future practice must be based on research evidence rather than intuition. With contributions from all the leading names in this field, this book will be a key sourcbook for teachers, trainers and students.

Fred Lockwood

I: Trends and Directions; 1: The Big Bang Theory in Distance Education; 2: A Practical Agenda for Theorists of Distance Education; 3: Trends, Directions and Needs; 4: American Distance Education; 5: Creating the Future; II: The Student Experience; 6: Student Learning and Students' Experiences; 7: The Potential of Research with Students to Inform Development; 8: Still Seeking the Audience?; III: Information Technology; 9: Information Technology and Disabled Students; 10: See What i Mean?; 11: Teaching and Learning by Satellite in a European Virtual Classroom; 12: A Dimension of Image Types in Educational Multimedia Materials; IV: Learner Use of Media; 13: Over the Threshold; 14: The Empathy Templates; 15: Electronic Highway or Weaving Loom?; 16: Use of Hypermedia and Telecommunications for Case-Study Discussions in Distance Education; V: Course Design and Assessment; 17: The Challenge Facing Course Design; 18: A Model-Based Design Approach for the Flexibilisation of Courses; 19: Students' Perception of, and Response to, Formative and Summative Assessment Material; 20: Using Electronic Networking for Assessment; VI: Learner Support and Management; 21: Research and Pragmatism in Learner Support; 22: Student Support in Open and Distance Learning; 23: Support for the In-Company Learner; 24: Implementing Experiences From Small-Scale Courses to Large Education Systems; 25: Managing Learning Support; VII: Textual Materials; VII 26: The Layout and Design of Textual Materials for Distance Learning; VII 27: Using Instructional Illustrations for Distance Education; VII 28: The Development of Printed Materials; VII 29: Contemporary Developments in the Typographical Design of Instructional Texts for open and Distance Learning; VII 30: Electronic Layout and Design Visions of the Future; VIII: Evaluation and Quality; VIII 31: Building Good Quality in, Rather than Inspecting Bad Quality out; VIII 32: Course Evaluation and Academic Quality; VIII 33: A String of Pearls? A Broader Approach to Course Evaluation; VIII 34: Evaluation and Self-improving Systems