Innovation and best practice in open and distance education

Abstract

This last 2013 issue of Open Praxis brings together nine articles which were awarded an ICDE prize for Innovation and Best Practice in the field of open and distance education. They describe innovative practices or research in a wide variety of areas. These ICDE prizes, which aimed to stimulate innovation and best practice in open, distance, flexible, online and e-learning, were awarded in the 25 th ICDE International Conference, 16-18 th October 2013, held in Tianjin (China). The scientific committee of the conference pre-selected 27 papers among those submitted to the conference and proposed for the prize (169 candidates). Out of these, nine papers were selected as the winners by the Editorial Board of Open Praxis, on the themes of Open Educational Resources and intercultural aspects, Learning analytics, Mobile learning, Impact, Teaching quality, and Leadership. Awarded papers were selected considering both the conference and the journal's general criteria. Special consideration was given to the following selection criteria: overall clarity, innovation, good practice, transferability, impact and overall quality. Du Ruo and Yang Xiaotang were awarded the ICDE KNOU prize on the theme of mobile learning for their paper Build optional digital textbooks for distance learners. The authors of this paper explore a new type of e-books, the "digital textbooks," mainly in four areas: definition, tools, technology and functions, based on research on mobile learning and ubiquitous learning. As they contend, supporting different learners successfully in a digital age, will depend on how well those new media and new technology are used when building smarter learning materials and learning environments. It is essential to carry out research to evidence how these media are actually supporting learners, and this paper provides an example of such research. The prize on the theme of leadership was awarded to Khar Thoe Ng, Suma Parahakaran, Rhea Febro, Egbert Weisheit and Tan Luck Lee for their paper Promoting sustainable living in the border-less world through blended learning platforms. The authors remind us that the definition of learning space has become broader over the past decade through blended learning platforms incorporating emerging digital and non-digital learning tools. The paper reports recent studies on the development of blended learning platforms to promote sustainable living. It focuses on in-service teachers' understanding of, as well as the attitudes towards, Education for Sustainable Development and the three essential skills that are required for sustainable living, i.e. thinking, technology and living skills. These include cooperative learning and communication skills developed by their students through sharing of resources in e-platforms with easy access information and cross-cultural learning opportunities. The concept of "borderless school" illustrates very well the current trend in lifelong learning. On the theme of learning analytics, the prize was awarded to Dewi Juliah Ratnaningsih for her paper Open ...

Developing Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge/Skills of Lifelong Learners from Basic to Advance Learning: Exemplars, Challenges and Future Direction

“…From the lessons learnt through analyzing exemplary cases in this study, we may explore wider opportunities to prepare basic education programmes and foundation courses that could be implemented in 'block/theme-based' forms possibly through blended-mode as well as open and distance education, as reported by Gil-Jaurena & Malik [38], to consider also gender equality [39] and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [40]. These modes of delivery are especially appropriate in the new normal if they can be integrated with micro-credentials accreditation, as an internship programme with real-life experience in related settings, to ensure that youths feel better prepared for their future so that they can devote more time and energy to their respective fields of study to achieve their aspirations.…”

Enhancing Essential Skills in Basic Education for Sustainable Future: Case Analysis with Exemplars Related to Local Wisdom

“…Over the past decade, the definition of learning space has become broader with the emergence of digital and non-digital learning tools. Studies were conducted by a group of researchers on how sustainable living could be promoted through the development of blendedmode platforms that focus on three essential skills, i.e., thinking, technology and life skills with sharing of resources in easily accessed e-platforms for cross-cultural learning opportunities [6]. The development of life skills that include entrepreneurial, survival and work skills was also made possible in the advent of the digital era with the accessibility of blended-mode platforms and digital tools.…”

Open Praxis, volume 8 issue 3

“…• Advocacy, promotion of the journal in their institution and professional networks • Suggestion of additional reviewers • Invitation to potential authors • Advice in case of doubts in the acceptance of a paper • Proposal for special issues Also, Editorial Board members participate in the selection process of the ICDE Prizes for Innovation and Best Practice in Open, Distance, Flexible, Online Education and E-learning. The first edition took place in 2013 (Gil-Jaurena & Malik, 2013), the second one in 2015 (Gil-Jaurena & Malik, 2015) and the 3rd edition is expected in 2017, linked to the 27 th ICDE World Conference to be held in Toronto, Canada.…”