Open and distance learning has the potential to strengthen and expand the teaching profession of the 21st century and to help achieve the target of education for all by 2015. This text examines the case for using open distance learning and ICT to train our educators.

Teaching and Learning at a Distance is written for introductory distance education courses for preservice or in-service teachers, and for training programs that discuss teaching distant learners or managing distance education systems. This text provides readers with the basic information needed to be knowledgeable distance educators and leaders of distance education programs. The teacher or trainer who uses this book will be able to design courses, evaluate programs, and identify issues and trends affecting the field. In this text we take the following themes: The first theme is the definition of distance education. Before we started writing the first edition of Teaching and Learning at a Distance we carefully reviewed the literature to determine the definition that would be at the foundation of our writing. This definition is based on the work of Desmond Keegan, but is unique to this book and has been adopted by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology and by the Encyclopedia Britannica. The second theme of the book is the importance of research to the development of effective courses and programs offered at a distance. The best practices presented in Teaching and Learning at a Distance are validated by scientific evidence. Certainly there are “rules of thumb,” but we have always attempted to only include recommendations that can be supported by research. The third theme of Teaching and Learning at a Distance is derived from Richard Clark’s famous quote published in the Review of Educational Research asserting that media are mere vehicles that do not directly influence achievement. Clark’s controversial work is discussed in the book, but is also fundamental to the book’s advocacy for distance education—in other words, we authors do not make the claim that education delivered at a distance is inherently better than other ways people learn. Distance delivered instruction is not a magical approach that makes learners achieve more. Equivalency theory is the fourth theme of the book. Here we present the concept that instruction should be provided to learners that is equivalent rather than identical to what might be delivered in a traditional environment. Equivalency theory helps the instructional designer approach the development of instruction for each learner without attempting to duplicate what happens in a face-to-face classroom. The final theme for Teaching and Learning at a Distance is the idea that the book should be comprehensive—that it should cover as much of the various ways instruction is made available to distant learners as is possible. It can serve as a stand-alone source of information.

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.

Distance education, combining the use of correspondence texts, broadcasting and limited opportunities for face-to-face study, has been used in at least a hundred teacher training programmes over the last 25 years. Distance Education for Teacher Training is the first comparative review of the use of distance education and open learning for the training and upgrading of teachers. The book contains case studies using a broadly common format both to describe and analyse distance teacher training programmes in eleven countries across five continents. The case studies describe the methods used to examine how far the craft of teaching can be studied at a distance. Using a standardised microeconomic framework, they provide unique data on the comparative costs of training teachers by distance and conventional methods. The authors then draw general conclusions about the advantages and drawbacks of using distance education or open learning, about the conditions for success, and about comparative effects and costs. Distance Education for Teacher Training will be of value to all concerned with teacher education, whether in developing or industrialised countries, and to those working in and planning for distance education and open learning.

"This comprehensive, six-volume collection addresses all aspects of online and distance learning, including information communication technologies applied to education, virtual classrooms, pedagogical systems, Web-based learning, library information systems, virtual universities, and more. It enables libraries to provide a foundational reference to meet the information needs of researchers, educators, practitioners, administrators, and other stakeholders in online and distance learning"--Provided by publisher.

This book builds on current and emerging research in distance learning, e-learning and blended learning. Specifically, it tests the boundaries of what is known by examining and discussing recent research and development in teaching and learning based on these modalities, with a focus on lifelong mathematics learning and teaching. The book is organized in four sections: The first section focuses on the incorporation of new technologies into mathematics classrooms through the construction or use of digital teaching and learning platforms. The second section presents a wide range of perspectives on the study and implementation of different tutoring systems and/or computer assisted math instruction. The third section presents four new innovations in mathematics learning and/or mathematics teacher education that involve the development of novel interfaces’ for communicating mathematical ideas and analyzing student thinking and student work. Finally, the fourth section presents the latest work on the construction and implementation of new MOOCs and rich media platforms developed to carry out specialized mathematics teacher education.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book describes the history, structure and institutions of open and distance education in six countries: China, India, Russia, Turkey, South Africa and South Korea. It describes how open and distance education is evolving in a digital age to reflect the needs and circumstances of the national higher education systems in these countries. It also explores the similarities and differences between how their open and distance higher education systems are managed and structured. This book is the second in a series, following Open and Distance Education in Australia, Europe and the Americas (Springer 2018). Both books compare and draw conclusions about the nature of open and distance education in the context of various national higher education systems. In a digital era characterized by the growing use of online, open and distance education, this book will prove particularly valuable for policy-makers and senior administrators who want to learn about establishing or expanding open and distance education services. In addition, it offers a valuable reference guide for researchers, academics and students interested in understanding the different approaches to open and distance education. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.