Quality assurance (QA) in open and distance learning (ODL) can be a contentious issue. Some argue that it should be judged by the same criteria and methods as face-to-face education, while others claim that it is so different in its organization, enrolments and operations that conventional QA mechanisms cannot apply. Some advocate the use of specific guidelines and standards for e-learning; others believe that, regardless of the technology, the basic principles of quality teaching and learning should apply. Providers who have enjoyed freedom from external scrutiny may resist attempts at external regulation and auditing and look upon QA as yet another imposition of corporatization and bureaucracy on education. Others see it as a means of establishing a culture of quality, self-reflection and self-improvement.

There is little research-based literature to guide policy-makers, managers and practitioners in applying QA in education and training to ensure the right balance is found between accountability and autonomy, as well as assuring quality for the time and costs involved. In this respect, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and e-Learning is a book that is long overdue. It explains what is involved in QA and accreditation in education. It describes and analyzes applications of these practices in open, distance, dual-mode and conventional universities throughout Europe, North America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific, looking at open schooling, e-learning in conventional schools, non-formal adult and community education, and corporate and small-to-medium enterprises.

Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and e-Learning is edited and authored by experts with extensive international experience in ODL, e-learning and QA who give careful consideration to the possibilities and challenges involved. The book will be an invaluable guide for all policy-makers, managers, practitioners and researchers in the field.

Distance and Blended Learning in Asia is a unique and comprehensive overview of open, distance learning (ODL) and information and communication technology (ICT) in Asian education and training. Broad in coverage, this book critically examines ODL and ICT experiences from Japan to Turkey and from Sri Lanka to Mongolia drawing conclusions from the successes and failures, and recommending ways in which planning, management and practice may be developed for the world s largest concentration of adult open and distance learners.

This pioneering book draws on Asian theory, research and practice to identify the strengths, weaknesses and challenges in all sectors of Asian education and training. It critically and insightfully discusses the ideas, skills and practices that are necessary to advance knowledge in leadership and management, professional development, innovation and quality assurance and research and diffusion.

Distance and Blended Learning in Asia provides an insightful, informative and critical review of ODL / ICT developments in schools, open schooling, colleges, universities, workplace training, professional development and non-formal adult and community education. The book is an invaluable reference for ODL / ICT professionals, educators and students anywhere in the world, and is essential reading for all of those involved in ODL / ICT in Asia.

Distance and Blended Learning in Asia is a unique and comprehensive overview of open, distance learning (ODL) and information and communication technology (ICT) in Asian education and training. Broad in coverage, this book critically examines ODL and ICT experiences from Japan to Turkey and from Sri Lanka to Mongolia drawing conclusions from the successes and failures, and recommending ways in which planning, management and practice may be developed for the world s largest concentration of adult open and distance learners.

This pioneering book draws on Asian theory, research and practice to identify the strengths, weaknesses and challenges in all sectors of Asian education and training. It critically and insightfully discusses the ideas, skills and practices that are necessary to advance knowledge in leadership and management, professional development, innovation and quality assurance and research and diffusion.

Distance and Blended Learning in Asia provides an insightful, informative and critical review of ODL / ICT developments in schools, open schooling, colleges, universities, workplace training, professional development and non-formal adult and community education. The book is an invaluable reference for ODL / ICT professionals, educators and students anywhere in the world, and is essential reading for all of those involved in ODL / ICT in Asia.

How can open and distance learning and information and communications technology (ICT) provide us with more - and better - teachers?
Open and distance learning is increasingly used in teacher education in developing and developed countries. It has the potential to strengthen and expand the teaching profession of the twenty-first century and to help achieve the target of education for all by 2015. Teacher Education Through Open and Distance Learning examines the case for using open and distance learning and ICT to train our educators. It describes and analyses the ways in which these methods and technologies are used for:
*initial teacher training and continuing professional development
*training principals and school managers
*training those who provide non-formal adult and community education
*communities of practice and sharing of knowledge and ideas within the teaching profession
It also discusses the policy-making, management, technology, costing, evaluation and quality assurance aspects of this work. The contributors are outstanding practitioners in the field. The first review in over a decade, Teacher Education Through Open and Distance Learning draws on wide-ranging and international experience to summarise the strengths and weaknesses of new approaches to the education of teachers. It offers invaluable guidance to policymakers, planners, headteachers and teachers.

The challenge of managing education effectively is formidable. Written by two education managers, this text explores the issues associated with good leadership in educational and training institutions. It is based on their own work and on a series of detailed interviews with eminent leaders.

As institutions and organisations around the world move to more open and flexible delivery of educational and training programmes, there is increasing need for effective forms of staff development to encourage and support change. Staff development is not only critical in helping teachers and trainers acquire and improve their knowledge and skills in alternative modes of delivery, but in helping to shape the policies, procedures and attitudes that are needed for more learner-centred approaches. This book draws together the experiences, insights and findings of some of the world's leading staff developers in open and flexible education. It is designed to provide an overview of the trends, influences and events which are shaping the work of these professionals, and the policy changes, processes and outcomes they are helping to bring about in this expanding field. The book offers various frameworks and strategies for staff development activities, with examples from commercial, professional and educational settings, and shows how these can be refined and adapted to more specific contexts.

Quality assurance (QA) in open and distance learning (ODL) can be a contentious issue. Some argue that it should be judged by the same criteria and methods as face-to-face education, while others claim that it is so different in its organization, enrolments and operations that conventional QA mechanisms cannot apply. Some advocate the use of specific guidelines and standards for e-learning; others believe that, regardless of the technology, the basic principles of quality teaching and learning should apply. Providers who have enjoyed freedom from external scrutiny may resist attempts at external regulation and auditing and look upon QA as yet another imposition of corporatization and bureaucracy on education. Others see it as a means of establishing a culture of quality, self-reflection and self-improvement.

There is little research-based literature to guide policy-makers, managers and practitioners in applying QA in education and training to ensure the right balance is found between accountability and autonomy, as well as assuring quality for the time and costs involved. In this respect, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and e-Learning is a book that is long overdue. It explains what is involved in QA and accreditation in education. It describes and analyzes applications of these practices in open, distance, dual-mode and conventional universities throughout Europe, North America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific, looking at open schooling, e-learning in conventional schools, non-formal adult and community education, and corporate and small-to-medium enterprises.

Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and e-Learning is edited and authored by experts with extensive international experience in ODL, e-learning and QA who give careful consideration to the possibilities and challenges involved. The book will be an invaluable guide for all policy-makers, managers, practitioners and researchers in the field.

This book is the first comprehensive account of developments in open and distance non-formal education in developing countries for over more than 20 years. It includes many instructive and inspiring examples of how international agencies such as UNESCO, FAO, WHO, UNICEF, USAID and the Commonwealth of Learning and national providers are using radio, TV, online and mobile learning, telecentres and other means to achieve the Education for All, Millennium Development and Sustainable Development Goals. It describes the educational needs of the world's most disadvantaged, vulnerable and least formally educated children, youth and adult populations, including the disabled, refugees and prisoners. It also reports on the successes, outcomes, constraints and shortcomings of using open and distance methods and technology to deliver literacy and numeracy programmes, equivalency, 'second chance' or alternative schooling, life skills and rural community development programmes and income generation and vocational training outside the framework of the formal education system. It concludes with suggestions for the extension and improvement of such lifelong learning. Designed to encourage further research and development in these capacity-building practices outside the established formal system, this is a must-read for all policy-makers, managers, educators, students and researchers interested in non-formal education for individuals, families and communities in the developing world.

Public and private providers of education and training are facing a shift to a more demand-driven market and expectations of greater accessibility, flexibility, quality, relevance and efficiency. Education and training are also being transformed by new information and communications technologies and becoming more global, competitive and commercialized. Such a destabilized and uncharted environment calls for transformational leadership, both at the organizational and the operational level, to energize and empower others to share the vision of what can be accomplished, to change work cultures and to create systems that are responsive andsustainable. In this thought-provoking and ground-breaking book, Colin Latchem and Donald Hanna critically examine: * global developments and trends in education and training* the changes, challenges and choices confronting educators and trainers* the development of an entrepreneurial culture* the processes of organizational change* leadership in traditional and open & flexible learningThe book also features interviews with eighteen distinguished educational leaders and innovators from across the globe. These provide unique and fascinating insights into the experiences, principles, ideas, feelings and approaches that CEOs and senior managers can bring to leading their organizations and open learning enterprises. The book concludes by summarizing the key leadership concepts and change strategies that are needed by those who lead or manage open and flexible learning or who aspire to change educational and training organizations and practice in the 21st century.List of contributorsProfessor Dominique Abrioux, President, Athabasca UniversityRobert C Albrecht,Former Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Chancellor Emeritus, Western Governors UniversityProfessor Denise Bradley, Vice-Chancellor, University of South AustraliaProfessor Rajesh Chandra, Deputy-Vice Chancellor, University of the South PacificProfessor Betty Collis, Faculty of Educational Science and Technology and Centre for Telematics and Information Technologies, University of Twente, the NetherlandsSir John Daniel, Vice-Chancellor, Open University, UKProfessor Dato' Gajaraj Dhanarajan, President and CEO of the Commonwealth of LearningProfessor Donald E Hanna, Professor of Educational Communications, University of Wisconsin-ExtensionGlenn R Jones, Founder and CEO, Jones International Universityb": The University of the Web and JonesKnowledge.comProfessor Abdul Khan, Vice-Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Chairperson, Distance Education Council (DEe and Director of Development and Training with the Commonwealth of LearningRoger Lewis, Regional Consultant with the UK Higher Education Funding CouncilProfessor Marmar Mukhopadhyay, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, IndiaDr Muriel Oaks, Associate Vice-President for Extended University Services, Washington State UniversityJanet Poley, President, American Distance Education ConsortiumSister Joel Read, President, Alverno CollegeBernadette Robinson, Special Professor of Comparative Education, School of Continuing Education, University of NottinghamBarbara Spronk, Executive Director, International Extension CollegeDr Brian Talbott, National Executive Director, Association of Educational Service Agencies

As institutions and organisations around the world move to more open and flexible delivery of educational and training programmes, there is increasing need for effective forms of staff development to encourage and support change. Staff development is not only critical in helping teachers and trainers acquire and improve their knowledge and skills in alternative modes of delivery, but in helping to shape the policies, procedures and attitudes that are needed for more learner-centred approaches. This book draws together the experiences, insights and findings of some of the world's leading staff developers in open and flexible education. It is designed to provide an overview of the trends, influences and events which are shaping the work of these professionals, and the policy changes, processes and outcomes they are helping to bring about in this expanding field. The book offers various frameworks and strategies for staff development activities, with examples from commercial, professional and educational settings, and shows how these can be refined and adapted to more specific contexts.