Making sense of flexibility as a defining element of online learning

John Daniel

Contemporary developments in online learning have their origins in the technology of the industrial revolution， when new methods and machines were used to create better products inexpensively at scale. Now technology has also broken the hold of the 'iron triangle' that prevented earlier generations from enjoying wide access to education of quality at low cost. First correspondence education and then multi-media open and distance learning （ODL） brought flexible learning to millions. Today online technologies have brought further flexibility to post-secondary education on various dimensions. Institutions should exploit these new flexibilities purposefully， focusing on opportunities to engage students more deeply in learning leading to useful outcomes.

Keywords： flexible learning； online learning； open and distance learning； quality； cost

Flexibility of online learning revisited： classrooms as “l(fā)ight” assets

Wenge Guo

This article first reviews the evolution of educational methodology from the word-of-mouth age to the hand-writing age and to the age of printing technology and examines how the classroom has become a “heavy” asset in school education. Drawing from Joshua Meyrowitzs situation theory， it goes on to analyse the challenges of online spaces upon the traditional classroom， the physical context to deliver teaching content and to implement pedagogical dialogs and instructional administration， suggesting a growing transformation into a “l(fā)ight” asset， mobile and flexible to be readily integrated into teaching practice. Finally it posits that instructional design and teachers are still the indispensable factors in instructional delivery to ensure teaching quality though online classrooms provide flexibilities of learning for anyone， anywhere and anytime.

Keywords： classroom； online classroom； light asset； mobility； flexibility； situation theory

Have new technologies improved access to Higher Education？

Anne Gaskell and Roger Mills

New technologies have transformed educational provision and learning in all sectors. But what has been their impact on issues of openness and access to education for all？ The answer may appear obvious in that information and communication technologies （ICTs） have provided far greater opportunities to access a very wide range of educational provision， especially in the higher education sector. However， it is not that straightforward； the provision of opportunities， even when scalable， does not necessarily provide real access and openness for many learners. Access to learning has often been interpreted from the viewpoint of providers as something that can be resolved by the creation of educational opportunities. This is essential and some aspects of this provision are relatively easy to measure， for example the increase in enrolments. However it does not take into account the outcomes for students and their successful learning， partly perhaps because outcomes are more difficult to measure. We will argue that the provision of opportunities is not enough： what is important is access for success， which includes many other factors. The concepts of openness and access have also changed since the first “Open Universities” were founded， and even more so since the introduction of ICTs. This article will review the changing nuances and implications of the terms “openness” and “access”. Have all these changes been for the better in terms of student access and success？ It will also explore tensions arising between delivering open access to online materials， such as Massive Open Online Courses （MOOCs）， and the provision of high quality distance learning where internet access is limited.

Keywords： access； open and distance learning； online learning； OER； MOOCs

Types of interaction in collaborative learning in a distributed

learning environment

Ruixue Liu， Liming Luo and Changdi Shi

There have rarely been studies on types of interaction happening in collaborative learning in distributed learning environments where use of IT facilitates teaching reforms. To promote effective interaction among learners in collaborative learning， this study， informed by constructivist learning theory and distributed cognition theory， constructed a distributed learning environment supported by both Moodle and WeChat platforms. The online interaction data of 78 college students was analyzed using content analysis methodology， exploring students social interaction and learning interaction. The results show that egocentric interaction types far outnumber non egocentric ones with an overall low level of knowledge construction and interaction， and that Moodle is more suitable for learning interaction whereas WeChat tends to cater for social interaction. It is argued that this study is of relevance to further improving students effective collaborative interaction.

Keywords： Distributed learning environments； collaborative learning； interaction type； Moodle； WeChat

Cloud-based classrooms in the “Internet Plus” era： construction

and application

Shuping Wu， Guozhen Jiang and Shunping Wei

The coming of the “Internet Plus” era and the rapid development of MOOCs have confronted The Open University of China （OUC） with unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Strengthening IT capacity is fundamental in OUCs transformation and development， with cloud-based classrooms， the emerging delivery mode for open and distance education resources promoting co-production and sharing， listed strategically as one of the key tasks for four consecutive years. Cloud-based classrooms have， to date， been installed and put into use in some provincial Radio and TV Universities in Western China. This paper introduces the backgrounds and needs of the cloud-based classroom project， its design plan and implementation， initial achievements and experiences in application. It also analyzes outstanding issues in the implementation and suggests countermeasure strategies， aiming to be of relevance to follow-up IT capacity building projects at various levels of OUC branches.

Keywords： Open University； cloud-based classroom； distance education； learning environment； digital learning