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Online and distance learning is becoming increasingly common. Some would say it has quickly become the preferred or "new normal" mode of study throughout the world. However, surprisingly little is known about what actually happens to first year distance students once they have enrolled in tertiary institutions; what motivates them and how they actually experience the transition to formal study by distance. This gap in the literature presents a challenge for distance education providers who, worldwide, are coming under increasing scrutiny in light of poor retention, progression, and completion rates. Against this backdrop, the purpose of the current study was to gather insights and seek a deeper understanding from first-time distance learners about the nature of their experiences. The study involved a mixed method approach over three phases. This paper focuses on the third phase, which was the major component of the study. The lived experiences of 20 first-time distance learners were gathered, in their own words, using weekly video diaries for data collection. Over 22 hours of video data was transcribed and thematically analysed, from which five themes have been reported. The discussion reflects on the ways that video diaries have provided a unique insight around the complexities of distance learning--as distinct from campus-based learning. The paper concludes that the new digital learning environment made possible by the Internet offers a number of exciting possibilities for distance learners; however, more needs to be done by institutions to change the "lone wolf" preconception of distance education and to avoid the "goulash approach" to supporting distance learners. The lives of first-time distance learners are not black and white; they are complex shades of grey and this need to be taken in to account when designing appropriate learning experiences and supports to ensure student success.

Many Open and Distance Learning (ODL) providers report that their students are prone to lower rates of retention and completion than campus-based students. Against this background, there is growing interest around distance-specific learning support. The current research investigated the experiences of students during their first semester as distance learners at Massey University in New Zealand. The overarching methodology was Design-Based Research, within which phenomenological data gathering methods were used to study the experiences of twenty participants from their own point of view. Using video cameras, over twenty-two hours of self-reflections were gathered between July and November 2011 using a technique adapted from previous studies. A grounded theory approach was applied to the process of thematic data analysis. Results revealed how participants varied in their engagement with learning supports, including orientation events, outreach activity, cultural services, learning consultants, library services, fellow students, lecturers, residential courses, and other people. The discussion reflects on clusters of participants who utilised learning supports effectively, moderately and barely. The paper concludes by summarizing how the current research has had an impact on the design of learning support services at one of the world's leading providers of distance education. [This paper has been awarded an ICDE Prize for Innovation and Best Practice on the theme of Impact at the 25th ICDE Conference, held in Tianjin (China) in October 2013.]

This paper examines a core leadership strategy for transforming learning and teaching in distance education through flexible and blended learning. It focuses on a project centred on distributive leadership that involves collaboration, shared purpose, responsibility and recognition of leadership irrespective of role or position within an organisation. Distributive leadership was a core principle in facilitating the transformation of learning and teaching through a Teaching Fellowship Scheme that empowered leaders across a regional distance education university. In parallel, a design-based research project analysed the perceptions of the Teaching Fellows in relation to blended learning, time/space, peer learning, innovation and equity issues in relation to distance education. (Contains 1 figure.) [This article was originally published in "Alt-J: Research in Learning Technology," v18, n3, p165-178, Nov 2010.]

This paper documents the development and findings of the Good Practice Report on Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC). Developing the Good Practice Report required a meta-analysis of 33 ALTC learning and teaching projects relating to technology funded between 2006 and 2010. This report forms one of 12 completed Good Practice Reports on a range of different topics commissioned by the ALTC and Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT). The reports aim to reduce issues relating to dissemination that projects face within the sector by providing educators with an efficient and accessible way of engaging with and filtering through the resources and experiences of numerous learning and teaching projects funded by the ALTC and OLT. The Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching Report highlights examples of good practice and provides outcomes and recommendations based on the meta-analysis of the relevant learning and teaching projects. However, in order to ensure the value of these reports is realised, educators need to engage with the reports and integrate the information and findings into their practice. The paper concludes by detailing how educational networks can be utilised to support dissemination.

This paper examines a core leadership strategy for transforming learning and teaching in distance education through flexible and blended learning. It focuses on a project centred on distributive leadership that involves collaboration, shared purpose, responsibility and recognition of leadership irrespective of role or position within an organisation. Distributive leadership was a core principle in facilitating the transformation of learning and teaching through a Teaching Fellowship Scheme that empowered leaders across a regional distance education university. In parallel, a design-based research project analysed the perceptions of the Teaching Fellows in relation to blended learning, time/space, peer learning, innovation and equity issues in relation to distance education. (Contains 1 figure.)

Group work, group projects and collaborative learning encourage students to learn from other students as well as from the lecturer. Peer learning may involve cooperation, communication and the giving and receiving of peer feedback. In addition peer learning emphasises the sharing of knowledge and ideas between students in a reciprocal partnership. However, some educators ask individual students to formally assess each other within the context of a group project which may inhibit the very process of peer learning that they are attempting to promote. This paper, through the voices of three lecturers and their students, has attempted to reinforce the importance of learning-oriented peer assessment within technology-enhanced environments. This paper advocates the concept of learning-oriented peer assessment strategies to enhance student learning. (Contains 3 figures.)

This paper focuses on reconfiguring assessment processes so that they support a learning function, in addition to the more traditional measurement function. In the first half of the paper we discuss a framework for "learning-oriented assessment" derived from a project carried out in Hong Kong. We conceptualize learning-oriented assessment as containing three key components: assessment tasks as learning tasks; student involvement in assessment; and explicitly forward-looking feedback. The second half of the paper presents an action research case in which the first author implemented some of the principles of learning-oriented assessment within a module in a teacher education context. The module, focusing on multimedia and web authoring, was taught through blended learning with an emphasis on peer learning and project-based learning. A particular feature was the interplay between students' learning experiences and the module assessments. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure and 1 note.)

Concept mapping (Novak & Gowin, 1984) has been used extensively as a graphic organiser in classroom teaching. This article addresses two particular approaches to using concept mapping that go beyond classroom planning into the realm of "idea-exchange" with concept mapping as mediator. The notion of "negotiative concept mapping" is examined in two professional contexts namely teacher education and medical school software development. The potential for negotiating ideas and meaning using concept mapping in these settings is discussed based on empirical materials including: qualitative observations by the authors, student surveys, and student interview data. (Contains 3 figures.)

Features of a web-based learning environment for physicians included the following: balance between content richness and bandwidth; shared knowledge and interaction using actual cases; constructivist approach to develop basic cases into advanced cases for reflection and interaction. Evaluation of the program showed comparable participation rates with similar programs. (SK)

Summarizes a study which explored the development, trial, and implementation of the Content Production Process (CPP) which was designed to assist instructional designers in eliciting and conceptualizing unfamiliar content from subject matter experts. Highlights include advance organizers, schema theory, consultation practices, knowledge acquisition in constructing expert systems, interviewing strategies, and knowledge mapping. (Author/LRW)

Concept mapping (Novak & Gowin, 1984) has been used extensively as a graphic organiser in classroom teaching. This article addresses two particular approaches to using concept mapping that go beyond [...]

This article summarizes a study, which explored the development, trial, and implementation of the Content Production Process (CPP)--a process which is designed to assist instructional designers working in university, business, […]

This paper examines a core leadership strategy for transforming learning and teaching in distance education through flexible and blended learning. It focuses on a project centered on distributive leadership that involves collaboration, shared purpose, responsibility and recognition of leadership irrespective of role or position within an organization. Distributive leadership was a core principle in facilitating the transformation of learning and teaching through a Teaching Fellowship Scheme that empowered leaders across a regional distance education university. In parallel, a design-based research project analyzed the perceptions of the Teaching Fellows in relation to blended learning, time/space, peer learning, innovation and equity issues in relation to distance education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented which discusses various reports published within the issue, including one on primary and secondary schools, one on online distance education for remote, rural schooling and another on the use of mobile devices as a learning tool at the college level.

This paper examines a core leadership strategy for transforming learning and teaching in distance education through flexible and blended learning. It focuses on a project centred on distributive leadership that involves collaboration, shared purpose, responsibility and recognition of leadership irrespective of role or position within an organisation. Distributive leadership was a core principle in facilitating the transformation of learning and teaching through a Teaching Fellowship Scheme that empowered leaders across a regional distance education university. In parallel, a design-based research project analysed the perceptions of the Teaching Fellows in relation to blended learning, time/space, peer learning, innovation and equity issues in relation to distance education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]