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In alignment with the theme of the conference "Education in Developing, Emerging, and Developed Countries: Different Worlds, Common Challenges," this paper brings attention to the challenges associated with the implementation of sustainable research capacity building (SRCB) in the context of BRICS nations and African countries. Employing a comparative document analysis method to explore the unique contexts of developing nations, this research provides insights and recommendations to strengthen research capacity in academia, address shared challenges and promote national prosperity. The scholarly literature revealed that higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries have intensified their efforts in building the research capacity of their academics and institutions. Regardless of their commitment, HEIs face challenges such as gender inequalities, teaching workloads, doctoral program deficiencies, lack of multidisciplinary research approaches and funding constraints. Addressing the challenges will require improved funding for research training and research productivity. One of the main concerns is that instead of advancing knowledge and being producers thereof, most developing countries remain knowledge consumers. The findings revealed that developing the next generation of academics plays a critical role in the sustainability of an emerging country's research system. [For the complete Volume 22 proceedings, see ED656158.]

These Action Papers of seven committees of The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) Youth Assembly represent the efforts of young people, who have been given the opportunity to voice their personal opinions on issues permanently on the international agenda. The Committee on Education and Employment analyzes improving quality of education; economic challenges; value of education; problems of women in society; innovative thinking and talent realization; experience and mechanisms for approaching the labor market; and social problems. The Committee on Sustainable Development and Agenda 21 focuses on informal and formal education through media, product labelling, and nongovernmental organizations and on pros and cons of economic incentives for promotion of sustainable development through youth involvement in the economy. It sets out practical steps for youth empowerment in issues of sustainable development. The Committee on Health and Social Development of Youth looks at education for prevention of HIV; helping African youth infected with HIV/AIDS through education; social exclusion of disabled young people; and education for social development of youth. The Committee on Globalization explores youth opinion on the task of reconciling rapid economic expansion with the specific interests of less economically developed countries. The Committee on Peace and Security in the Middle East attempts to find peaceful and feasible means to create peace and security in the region by primarily focusing on building trust between the two parties with the final objective of co-existence and establishment of an independent and recognized Palestinian State. The Committee on Disarmament and Defense proposes the implementation of a solution based on partial disarmament of nuclear, chemical, biological, and conventional weapons through confidence-building measures and multilateral weapons reductions. The Committee on Cultural Diversity and Tolerance focuses on these issues: exclusion, religion, minorities, indigenous peoples, gender, HIV/AIDS, media, and, most importantly, education. (YLB)

Higher education is increasingly recognised as being critical to social and economic prosperity. It is also a policy area where the Commonwealth could significantly increase its impact. This could be achieved without major cost, by working through activities already in place, and persuading member governments to make stronger use of these brands and mechanisms. This paper focuses on four key areas selected by the the 19th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (19CCEM) Steering Committee: (1) Costs and access; (2) Links with employment; (3) Securing the next generation of academics; and (4) Student and staff mobility. These were chosen because of their importance, relevance to conference themes, and synergy with existing Commonwealth-related initiatives. In each case, the brief summary of issues is intended to stimulate debate on whether, and how, the Commonwealth could play a greater role. [This paper was prepared for the Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (19CCEM) (19th, Bahamas, Jun 22-26, 2015).]

There exists a power asymmetry between instructors and students in the physical classroom and other learning spaces which symbolizes the distribution of power in social spaces. Because of the structured power asymmetry in most learning spaces, promoting effective classroom teaching sometimes requires instructors to replace existing hierarchical power relations and with fluid, organic, and transgressive classroom dynamics in their relationships with their students. This approach has the potential to empower students to become their own agency for interrogating the assumptions and ideologies that they bring to the classroom. This paper outlines the instructional strategies that I incorporate in my "nonwestern" course that aims to introduce students in my university to the sub-Saharan African region. The course uses the interdisciplinary approach to explore the complicated ways history and social changes (including globalization) intersect to shape education reforms, and economic and social development in sub-Saharan Africa. Students bring a plethora of assumptions about sub-Saharan "Africa" to this course and my goal as an instructor is to help students interrogate their own assumptions and deconstruct the myths and distortions about the "Africa" in a broader term. The paper outlines the way I deliberately select course materials, and sequence course contents and themes to scaffold and promote incremental knowledge about the region for students during the semester. Furthermore, the paper outlines the strategies that help nudge students' critical thinking and restructure the power relations in the classroom. While these strategies may not automatically change students' assumptions about sub-Saharan "Africa", they nonetheless become opportunities for my students and I to reposition for effective discussions about the region with the goal to interrogating students' prior assumptions and views about the region. [For the complete Volume 21 proceedings, see ED629259.]

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference e-Learning 2014, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society and is part of the Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems (Lisbon, Portugal July 15-19, 2014). The e-Learning 2014 conference aims to address the main issues of concern within e-Learning. This conference covered technical as well as the non-technical aspects of e-Learning under seven main areas: Organisational Strategy and Management Issues; Technological Issues; e-Learning Curriculum Development Issues; Instructional Design Issues; e-Learning Delivery Issues; e-Learning Research Methods and Approaches; e-Skills and Information Literacy for Learning. The conference included the Keynote Lecture: "Moving Higher Education Forward in the Digital Age: Realising a Digital Strategy," by Neil Morris, Professor of Educational Technology, Innovation and Change and Director of Digital Learning, University of Leeds, UK. Papers in these proceedings include: (1) Culture, Gender and Technology-Enhanced Learning: Female and Male Students' Perceptions Across Three Continents, Thomas Richter and Asta Zelenkauskaite; (2) IPads In Learning: The Web of Change Bente Meyer; (3) A Blended Approach to Canadian First Nations Education, Martin Sacher, Mavis Sacher and Norman Vaughan; (4) A Storytelling Learning Model For Legal Education, Nicola Capuano, Carmen De Maio, Angelo Gaeta, Giuseppina Rita Mangione, Saverio Salerno and Eleonora Fratesi; (5) Acceptance and Success Factors for M-Learning of ERP Systems Curricula, Brenda Scholtz and Mando Kapeso; (6) Self-Regulation Competence in Music Education, Luca Andrea Ludovico and Giuseppina Rita Mangione; (7) Time-Decayed User Profile for Second Language Vocabulary Learning System, Li Li and Xiao Wei; (8) E-Learning Trends and Hypes in Academic Teaching: Methodology and Findings of a Trend Study, Helge Fischer, Linda Heise, Matthias Heinz, Kathrin Moebius and Thomas Koehler; (9) Proof of Economic Viability of Blended Learning Business Models, Carsten Druhmann and Gregor Hohenberg; (10) Does Satellite Television Program Satisfy Ethiopian Secondary School Students? Sung-Wan Kim and Gebeyehu Bogale; (11) Organisation and Management of a Complete Bachelor Degree Offered Online at the University of Milan for Ten Years, Manuela Milani, Sabrina Papini, Daniela Scaccia and Nello Scarabottolo; (12) Structural Relationships between Variables of Elementary School Students' Intention of Accepting Digital Textbooks, Young Ju Joo, Sunyoung Joung, Se-Bin Choi, Eugene Lim and Kyung Yi Go; (13) Dynamic Fuzzy Logic-Based Quality of Interaction within Blended-Learning: The Rare and Contemporary Dance Cases, Sofia B. Dias, José A. Diniz and Leontios J. Hadjileontiadis; (14) Do English Listening Outcome and Cognitive Load Change for Different Media Delivery Modes in U-Learning?, Chi-Cheng Chang, Hao Lei and Ju-Shih Tseng; (15) The Use of ELGG Social Networking Tool for Students' Project Peer-Review Activity, Ana Coric Samardzija and Goran Bubas; (16) Educational Multimedia Profiling Recommendations for Device-Aware Adaptive Mobile Learning, Arghir-Nicolae Moldovan, Ioana Ghergulescu and Cristina Hava Muntean; (17) Inside, Outside, Upside Down: New Directions in Online Teaching and Learning, Lena Paulo Kushnir and Kenneth C. Berry; (18) A Study on the Methods of Assessment and Strategy of Knowledge Sharing in Computer Course, Pat P. W. Chan; (19) Using Agent-Based Technologies to Enhance Learning in Educational Games, Ogar Ofut Tumenayu, Olga Shabalina, Valeriy Kamaev and Alexander Davtyan; (20) Designing a Culturally Sensitive Wiki Space for Developing Chinese Students' Media Literacy, Daria Mezentceva; (21) Shared Cognition Facilitated by Teacher Use of Interactive Whiteboard Technologies, Christine Redman and John Vincent; (22) Modeling Pedagogy for Teachers Transitioning to the Virtual Classroom, Michael J. Canuel and Beverley J. White; (23) The Effectiveness of SDMS in the Development of E-Learning Systems in South Africa, Kobus van Aswegen, Magda Huisman and Estelle Taylor; (24) Online Learning Behaviors for Radiology Interns Based on Association Rules and Clustering Technique, Hsing-Shun Chen and Chuen-He Liou; (25) The Use of SDMS in Developing E-Learning Systems in South Africa, Estelle Taylor, Kobus van Aswegen and Magda Huisman; (26) Assessment of the Use of Online Comunities to Integrate Educational Processes Development Teams: An Experience in Popular Health Education in Brazil, Elomar Castilho Barilli, Stenio de Freitas Barretto, Carla Moura Lima and Marco Antonio Menezes; (27) Stereo Orthogonal Axonometric Perspective for the Teaching of Descriptive Geometry, José Geraldo Franco Méxas, Karla Bastos Guedes and Ronaldo da Silva Tavares; (28) Delivery of E-Learning through Social Learning Networks, Georgios A. Dafoulas and Azam Shokri; (29) The Implementation of Web 2.0 Technology for Information Literacy Instruction in Thai University Libraries, Oranuch Sawetrattanasatian; (30) Designing Educational Social Machines for Effective Feedback, Matthew Yee-King, Maria Krivenski, Harry Brenton, Andreu Grimalt-Reynes and Mark d'Inverno; (31) A Support System for Error Correction Questions in Programming Education, Yoshinari Hachisu and Atsushi Yoshida; (32) A Platform for Learning Internet of Things, Zorica Bogdanovic, Konstantin Simic, Miloš Milutinovic, Božidar Radenkovic and Marijana Despotovic-Zrakic, (33) Dealing with Malfunction: Locus of Control in Web-Conferencing, Michael Klebl; (34) Copyright and Creative Commons License: Can Educators Gain Benefits in the Digital Age? (Wariya Lamlert); (35) The Curriculum Design and Development in MOOCs Environment (Fei Li, Jing Du and Bin Li); (36) Stakeholders Influence in Maltese Tourism Higher Education Curriculum Development (Simon Caruana and Lydia Lau); (37) Online Social Networks and Computer Skills of University Students (Maria Potes Barbas, Gabriel Valerio, María Del Carmen Rodríguez-Martínez, Dagoberto José Herrera-Murillo and Ana María Belmonte-Jiménez); (38) Implementation of Artificial Intelligence Assessment in Engineering Laboratory Education (Maria Samarakou, Emmanouil D. Fylladitakis, Pantelis Prentakis and Spyros Athineos); (39) An Exploration of the Attitude and Learning Effectiveness of Business College Students towards Game Based Learning (Chiung-Sui Chang, Ya-Ping Huang and Fei-Ling Chien); (40) Application of E-Learning Technologies to Study a School Subject (Nadia Herbst and Elias Oupa Mashile); (41) Possibilities of Implementation of Small Business Check-Up Methodology in Comparative Analysis of Secondary Schools and Universities in Slovakia (Katarína Štofková, Ivan Strícek and Jana Štofková); (42) Digging the Virtual Past (Panagiota Polymeropoulou); (43) Technology Acceptance of E-Learning within a Blended Vocational Course in West Africa (Ashwin Mehta); (44) Development of an E-Learning Platform for Vocational Education Systems in Germany (Andreas Schober, Frederik Müller, Sabine Linden, Martha Klois and Bernd Künne); (45) Facebook Mediated Interaction and learning in Distance Learning at Makerere University (Godfrey Mayende, Paul Birevu Muyinda, Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe, Michael Walimbwa and Samuel Ndeda Siminyu); (46) Assessing the Purpose and Importance University Students Attribute to Current ICT Applications (Maurice Digiuseppe and Elita Partosoedarso); (47) E-Learning System for Design and Construction of Amplifier Using Transistors (Atsushi Takemura); (48) Technology, Gender Attitude, and Software, among Middle School Math Instructors (Godwin N. Okeke); (49) Structuring Long-Term Faculty Training According to Needs Exhibited by Students' Written Comments in Course Evaluations (Robert Fulkerth); (50) Integration of PBL Methodologies into Online Learning Courses and Programs (Roland Van Oostveen, Elizabeth Childs, Kathleen Flynn and Jessica Clarkson); (51) Improving Teacher-Student Contact in a Campus Through a Location-Based Mobile Application (Vítor Manuel Ferreira and Fernando Ramos); (52) Incorporating Collaborative, Interactive Experiences into a Technology-Facilitated Professional Learning Network for Pre-Service Science Teachers (Seamus Delaney and Christine Redman); (53) The Efficiency of E-Learning Activities in Training Mentor Teachers (Laura Serbanescu and Sorina Chircu); (54) Development of an IOS App Using Situated Learning, Communities of Practice, and Augmented Reality for Autism Spectrum Disorder (Jessica Clarkson); (55) Using Case-Based Reasoning to Improve the Quality of Feedback Provided by Automated Grading Systems (Angelo Kyrilov and David C. Noelle); (56) International Multidisciplinary Learning: An Account of a Collaborative Effort among Three Higher Education Institutions (Paul S. H. Poh, Robby Soetanto, Stephen Austin and Zulkifar A. Adamu); (57) Interactive Learning to Stimulate the Brain's Visual Center and to Enhance Memory Retention (Yang H. Yun, Philip A. Allen, Kritsakorn Chaumpanich and Yingcai Xiao); (58) How Digital Technologies, Blended Learning and MOOCs Will Impact the Future of Higher Education (Neil P. Morris); (59) Factors Influencing the Acceptance of E-Learning Adoption in Libya's Higher Education Institutions (Mahfoud Benghet and Markus Helfert); (60) Motivation as a Method of Controlling the Social Subject Self-Learning (Andrey V. Isaev, Alla G. Kravets and Ludmila A. Isaeva); (61) Designing Environment for Teaching Internet of Things (Konstantin Simic, Vladimir Vujin, Aleksandra Labus, Ðorde Stepanic and Mladen Stevanovic); (62) Fostering Critical Thinking Skills in Students with Learning Disabilities through Online Problem-Based Learning (Kathleen Flynn); and (63) A System for the Automatic Assembly of Test Questions Using a NO-SQL Database (Sanggyu Shin and Hiroshi Hashimoto). Luís Rodrigues is an associate editor of the proceedings. Individual papers contain references. An author index is included.

Physical distancing, isolation and an absence of face-to-face meetings with participants and respondents, as ramifications of the current COVID-19 pandemic, have an adverse effect on research projects, research processes and data generation. Furthermore, researchers' professional development and career prospects are seriously hampered, most notably those of early career academics. These predicaments considerably outweigh the admitted positive effects of the pandemic on research endeavours. The literature sources consulted were published in 2020 and 2021. This paper therefore can merely claim to reflect an early 2021 cross-cut of the rapidly developing pandemic and its influence on higher education, and specifically research. This paper represents a scenario where the focus has shifted from the 2020 lockdowns and travel restrictions to the 2021 vaccination period. It explores the implications of physical distancing -- the relative absence of unhindered personal contact -- in the sphere of research in general, and especially research in education contexts. A literature survey generated several insights from scholars worldwide, while personal experience also forms part of the discussion. As indicated by the literature, researchers have to make the most of the current virtual communication during data generation, conferences and interaction with colleagues and fellow project participants. I trust that vaccination will soon ensure that physical distancing will become unnecessary during research and on the campus. [For the complete Volume 19 proceedings, see ED613922.]

Virtual universities have developed considerably over the past decade, particularly on the African continent. They provide a way to deal with the considerable need to educate a large young population, but the lack of physical space can be a drawback that prevents students from succeeding and increasing dropout compared to a more traditional face-to-face university. To limit these issues, some virtual universities have been opening Open Digital Spaces (ODS) to complement the virtual space and offer students a place where to work and solve pedagogical, technical or administrative issues. However, it is unclear how students actually make use of these ODS and which uses can be beneficial or detrimental to their success and limit dropout. In this paper we lead an exploratory study of the results of a large-scale digital survey in a major African Virtual University (N=2392 answers) to identify factors in the use of Open Digital Spaces (ODS) that have an impact on students' success and dropout. We analyzed the data using multiple Chi-Square tests of independence. Results indicate that students who visit ODSs more during the 2 weeks before an exam or only when it is mandatory are statistically less likely to succeed, contrary to students who come to work in groups or for the internet access who are more likely to succeed. Conversely, students who do not see the value of ODSs for learning and who visit only when mandatory are more likely to dropout, contrary to students who come when they have a pedagogical need or to work in groups who are less likely to dropout. Some factors particularly impact first year university students, highlighting the need to make them understand which use of the ODS are relevant to increase their chances to graduate.

This document is a comprehensive report a subregional seminar for eastern and southern African countries on the Jua Kali movement. (Jua Kali, "hot sun" in Swahili, refers to the informal or nonformal sector of the economy.) Section 1 explains the role of the International Project on Technical and Vocational Education (UNEVOC) in the development of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). The following opening and closing speeches are provided in Section 2: "Introductory Statement" (R. Barry Hobart); "Opening Speech" (Shem Wandiga); and "Closing Speech" (S.M. Kyungu). Section 3 is an overview of the discussion and debate, and Section 4 lists recommendations regarding development of national strategies for TVET. The following papers are presented in Section 5:"Technical and Vocational Education and Training Policy in Kenya" (Peter O. Okaka); "A Position Paper" (B. Wanjala Kerre); "TVET beyond the Formal Sector in Botswana" (K. Kabecha, M. M. Kewagamang); "Existing Set-Up in Ethiopia" (Mesfin Terefe); "Brief Description of the Jua Kali Movement in Kenya" (G.K.N. Mbugua); "Non-Government Organisations and Enterprise in Lesotho" (Mota Sekonyela); "The National Policy Definition in Malawi" (Joyce Phekani, Maston M. Mtambo); "Beyond the Formal Sector in Mauritius" (Feroze Coowar); "An Effective System for Non-Formal TVET in South Africa" (Siphamandla I. Xulu); "Essential Features of the Non-Formal Sector in Swaziland" (William S.A. Shongwe); "TVET at Mwanza Rural Housing Programme in Tanzania" (Lunogelo L. Sakafu); "A Case for Uganda" (Ben M. Manyindo); and "Training for the Informal Sector in Zambia" (Joseph S. Mukuni, Joseph P. Kalunga). Appended are the following: daily schedule, background information about the seminar, list of main seminar participants, and text of the convention on technical and vocational education adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (MN)

This document contains nine papers about and from an international roundtable on the training of teachers in technical and vocational education. The first paper, a Final Report of the "International Round Table on Training of Teachers in Technical and Vocational Education (Curitiba, Brazil, 7-10 April 1997)," examines the following: sociopolitical contexts of technical and vocational teacher education; partnerships and linkages with industry; technical and vocational curricula; the status of technical and vocational teachers; technical and vocational teacher education models and programs; program financing; and future activities. The following discussion papers constitute the remainder of the report: "Training of Teachers/Trainers in Technical and Vocational Education; Position Paper" (R. Barry Hobart); "Challenges of Current Social, Economical and Technological Developments and Need for Reforms/Renovations in Training of Teaches in Technical and Vocational Education" (C.K. Basu); "Training of Teachers/Trainers in Technical and Vocational Education" (Mavis Bird); "Training of Teachers/Trainers in Technical and Vocational Education in Pakistan" (Muhammad Hadi Gyavri); "Challenges and Prospects in the Training of Technical and Vocational Education Teachers/Trainers in Africa" (B. Wanjala Kerre); "Training of Teachers and Trainers in Technical and Vocational Education in Jamaica" (Lurlienne Miller); "Recent Innovations in the Training of Teachers/Trainers in Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Asia and the Pacific" (M.A. Qureshi); and "Training of Teachers in Technical and Vocational Education in Poland" (Stefania Szczurkowska). (MN)

With COVID-19 continuing to make meeting face-to-face impossible, the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group/Groupe Canadien d'Étude en Didactique des Mathématiques (CMESG/GCEDM) executive decided that, for the first time, the CMESG/GCEDM meeting would be held virtually. By necessity, the program had to be much compressed with no topic sessions and no gallery walk. The 44th annual meeting took place June 11-13, 2021. These proceedings contain one plenary lecture, five working groups, one panel, 13 new PhD reports, and two ad hoc sessions. Twenty-two papers are included in these proceedings--three papers are written in both French and English; one paper is written in French; and the remainder are written in English. [For the 2019 proceedings, see ED610111.]

Ten papers and four abstracts of papers from the University of South Africa's Conference on Distance Education are presented. They include: "Access to Higher Education and Training in the South Pacific: The Role of Telecommunications and Distance Education" (Som Naidu); "Distance Education in Japan" (Takashi Sakamoto); "The University for Distance Education in Colombia: An Alternative Form of Education" (Linda Gladys Behaine de Cendales); "Development of Distance Education in Sri Lanka" (Dayantha Wijeyesekera); "Distance Education in India: Application of Modern Technology" (K.K. Sud); "The Teaching of Life Sciences at Everyman's University" (Ruth Arav); "Distance Teaching as an Integral Part of the In-Service Education of Mathematics, Physical Science and Biology Teachers" (Jan Nel, Dave Finnemore, Steve Rhodes); "UNISA's Documentation Section" (B.J. van der Walt); "Interactive Multi-media Learning: A Business Case Study in Distance Learning" (abstract only, R.C. Johnson); "Distance Learning: The South African Air Force Experience" (Neville Parkins); "Text Design in Distance Education: Print and Facilitating Adult Education" (abstract only, John Aitchison): "Distance Education in Developing Countries: The Indian Scene" (abstract only, B.S. Jain); "Distance Education and the Educator's Regime of Literacy" (abstract only, John Aitchison); and "Review of the Goals, Methods, Accountability and Future Planning of the Department of Library and Information Science of the University of South Africa" (Anna Louw). (LB)

Important issues in African education involve the effects of the colonial education system on African subjects and their countries' political and socio-economic development. Of interest are some countries' efforts to correct dysfunctions resulting from the colonial system. Following independence, the state of education in many African countries in 1960 may be summarized as follows: (1) there was a fairly widespread primary education system with enrollment at about 41% of school age population; (2) adult illiteracy ranged from 50% to 99%; (3) educational expenditure has grown considerably; and (4) there was uncertainty as to the relevance of the educational system to the challenges of the newly independent countries. After independence, there were many efforts to expand educational opportunities. Between 1950-1960, enrollment in about forty primary sector countries increased 3-26%. Problems such as high formal education costs, high unemployment for school leavers, alienation of some educated persons from their culture/communities, and a multiplicity of languages, and lack of educational opportunities have led to a search for functional and less expensive education. Political and social action by many groups in addition to ministries of education will be required to resolve the complex problems of African educational systems. (CSS)

Eighteen papers from the University of South Africa's Conference on Distance Education are presented. They include: "Effective Second Language Reading in a Cross-Cultural Society" (Irma Zaslansky); "A BA Degree in Social Sciences at the Israel Open University" (Ruth Beyth-Marom); "Establishing a Theological Education by Extension Programme in Southern Africa: An Evaluation of the First Ten Years" (Kate Hughes); "Aural and Oral" (Peter Haffter); "Music Education Through UNISA--Past, Present and Future" (Douglas Reid); "Visual Media and Art History" (Rayda Becker); "Tutoring for the Open University" (S.G. Kossick); "Practical English: A Strategy for the Future" (Barrie Goedhals); "Special Language Communication" (P.H. Swanepoel); "Teaching Afrikaans to UNISA Students" (Anna-Mart Schwerdtfeger); "How Did Distance Education in Music Become a Success at UNISA?" (Bernard S. van der Linde); "Distance Teaching within the Department of African Languages" (J.W. Snyman); "Participant or Student: The School of Business Leadership Experience" (J.W. Grobbelaar); "Economics in the Distance-Teaching Situation: Problems and Approaches" (Philip Mohr); "Post Graduate Studies in Law through Distance Teaching: The UNISA Approach" (Pierre E.J. Brooks); "Distance Education in Astronomy--A Challenge" (W.F. Wargau); "Chemistry, Its Practical Component and Distance Education" (G. McGillivray); and "Practical Theology and Distance Tuition" (Jacques P.J. Theron). (LB)

Seventeen papers from the University of South Africa's Conference on Distance Education are presented. They include: "Establishing a Formal Student Support System--Time Is of the Essence" (Karen Hinrichs); "A Student Services Unit in a Distance Education Institution" (Hendrik Gous); "Distance Education and the Community: New Partnerships and Interactions" (Vivien Willers); "Admission, Registration and Examination Procedures in Respect of Postgraduate Degrees and Diplomas" (George Cox); "The UNISA Department of Production--A Functional Link in the Didactic Triangle" (H.P.J. van Niekerk): "UNISA's Scheduling Section" (B.J. van der Walt); "The Role of the Fulltime Equivalent Student in a Distance Teaching University" (P.C. Minnaar); "The Need for a Professional and Effective Supportive Administration in Distance Teaching" (Petrus J. Vermeulen); "The Utilization of Computers at UNISA" (O.V. Kilpert); "The Disabled Distance Education Student: Problems and Possibilities" (Phoebe van der Walt); "Career Guidance for Distance Students" (W.A. van Schoor); "The Promise and Problems of Learning at a Distance" (Desmond H. Crawford-Nutt); "Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Personal Tutor Scheme in Practical English" (Margaret H. van Zyl); "The Value of Discussion Groups to UNISA Students" (J. Lambert); "Student Support in Distance Learning" (Elsabe Swanepoel); "Essential Andragogic Support for the Absent Student in Distance Teaching" (Adriaan J. Smit); and "Adapting the Organizational Structure of Distance Education Departments to Meet the Demands of Rapid Growth" (Gordon Erens). (LB)

Thirteen papers from the University of South Africa's Conference on Distance Education are presented on media and technology. They include: "Making the Abstract Concrete: A Slide/Sound Programme to Illustrate Abstract Concepts on the Concrete Level" (Grace Reeler); "The Microcomputer and Distance Education" (Johanna S. Rossouw); "A Multimedia Approach to Creating Learning Experiences in Distance Education" (Louis J. van Niekerk); "The Training of Teachers by Means of Teletuition: The Audio Cassette and Teaching Practice" (Lawrie McFarlane); "Microteaching and Distance Education--The Self Teaching Experience" (Paul J.N. Steyn); "Written Language as Didactic Medium: From Principle to Technology" (Hannes van Deventer); "Computer-Aided Instruction in Quantitative Management--Part 1" (Ilze Olivier et al.); "Computer-Aided Instruction in Quantitative Management--Part 2" (Erica Ferreira, Gordon Erens); "The Application of Computer Technology in Offering Equal Education Opportunities to Students from First- and Third-World Environments" (J. Dewald Lubbe); "The Law Student and the Law Library" (Jean Burdzik); "The Effect of Advances in Information Technology on the Teaching of Practical Aspects in Computer Science at UNISA" (C.H. Bornman et al.); "Die Gebruik van Inligtingstegnologie in Afstandsonderrig" (N.F. du Plooy et al.); and "Computer-Aided Education as Student Centred Education: Practical Applications for Today and the Future" (P.J. van Dyk). (LB)

Constraints of the pandemic and rolling lockdowns eliminated opportunities to gather in person. Yet, for the learning cities movement, this period of coronavirus curtail was also a time of increased networking and creative collaboration. Where once human energies expended in "process work" left little retrievable trace, now artifacts accumulate apace in electronic clouds. What might a little excavation through material collected since the onset of COVID-19 reveal about ways localities and learning city networks mobilized to address the pandemic? For those on the resourced side of the digital divide, openly available content grants access to a gallery of community responses, transnational strategies, and future forecasting. [For the full proceedings, see ED625421.]