Postsecondary distance education has attracted increasing attention in recent years, an understandable change when one considers that innovative approaches to distance education have offered opportunities to overcome some of the key challenges in traditional "brick and mortar" education. Nonetheless, there are a plethora of issues that must be…

This article discusses effective leadership in educational environments and in particular focuses on the current situation at the University of South Africa (UNISA). The end of Apartheid in South Africa has brought many opportunities but also some challenges especially in education. Three conditions that contribute to ensuring strong distance…

The Pathways to Prosperity initiative was launched in 2012 as the result of several years of research conducted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The Harvard Graduate School of Education's (2011) report challenged the United States' education model, pointing to some of the merits of the European education paradigm, which has adopted a…

The living lab (LL) is an open innovation ecosystem serving to provide opportunities for local stakeholders to practice research and to experiment with meaningful improvements for cities and other organizations. Living labs aim at involving the user as a cocreator. In this article the relationship between the LLs and a variety of stakeholders is…

Professor Ricardo Torres Kompen is a leading proponent for, and researcher in, personal learning environments (PLEs). During his interview, Torres Kompen clarified his research on PLEs, particularly the digital toolbox within PLEs. He elaborated on experiences with implementing PLE initiatives, personal insights on using social media and Web 2.0…

Australia's large size and scattered population made it a prime location for the development of correspondence education in the 1920s, and the country is still in the forefront of distance education. This article is based on an extensive interview with Terry Evans, professor at Deakin University in Australia, who reflects on the history of…

While web-based courses have had a growing presence in Canadian secondary schools since the mid-1990s, there has been very little study of the transition of high school distance e learners to further study at the post-secondary level. To address this area of deficit in distance education research this article reports on a study designed to examine…

Higher education plays vital role in developing the social, political, and economical situation of the Palestinian people. It is considered the main wealth of the Palestinian people in the absence of other natural resources. The main objective of this study was to investigate and identify the needs, challenges, and demands of our institutions,…

This study investigated the differences between Arab and American distance learners' preference in the 2 components of transactional distance (structure and interaction) and their relation to learners' self-efficacy and help seeking. The study sample consisted of 95 cases from each group (N = 190). Study results indicated significant differences…

E-learning has been a hot topic for academics, technical researches, and practices because there is a need to employ advancements in technologies to support the education process and help academics and universities. E-learning, together with classical learning, can further enhance the learning process through the benefits of the new technologies.…

The purpose of this study is to determine whether "equivalent learning experiences" ensure equivalency, in the Internet-based and face-to-face interaction methods on learning results and student satisfaction. In the experimental process of this study, the effect of the Internet-based and face-to-face learning on the equivalency in learning…

In this article we describe the MentorBlog project, which facilitated the mentoring of trainee teachers in the postcompulsory education sector through the use of blogs. In an experimental design, the study compared their experiences with students who received traditional mentoring. Blogs were used by the trainees to communicate with their mentors…

There are many factors that affect the e-learning process. Instructor, assessment and evaluation, communication, and technical support are among the leading factors. It is obvious that these factors influence the effectiveness of e-learning and may be related to different expectations of e-learners. Therefore, this study focuses on examining the…

Standards for academic and student support services (SSS) in distance education as identified by the University of Wisconsin System Administration Board of Regents were applied to the SSS provided by the Wawasan Open University (WOU). A student feedback survey conducted over 4 semesters confirmed that WOU's SSS had been positively received and…

Distance education means instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by distance and interact through the assistance of communication technology. Distance education changes the learning relationship from the common, centralized school model to a more decentralized, flexible model. It also reverses social dynamics by bringing…