The premise of this brief opinion piece is that the fundamental paradigm of education appeared with Plato. It is that there is a co-location in time and space of learners, teachers, and resources. The absence of any of these elements can lead to shortcomings in the meaning of the term "to be educated". Recent events such as COVID-19…

Evaluating accessibility is an important equity step in assessing the effectiveness and usefulness of online learning materials for students with disabilities such as visual or hearing impairments. Previous studies in this area have indicated that, over time, university websites have become gradually more inaccessible. This paper relates findings…

This paper provides an overview of best practices and challenges for deans and department heads of online programmes in the ever-changing world of higher education. It concentrates on the challenges for small private universities and tertiary education institutions in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Department heads must consider…

Many social-work students enrolled in a particular Australian university approach the pre-practicum practice skills unit with dread, due to the required role-play exercises. Online distance students could be seen to be challenged even further in their preparation for practicum, due to a perception that they are learning practice skills on their…

Considerations of educational resilience are often linked to student participation, retention, and outcomes in distance higher education, in spite of adversity, equity issues, or "invisible fences" that students may face. This paper further develops the quadripartite model of educational resilience (Willems, 2010; Willems & Reupert,…