This study grew out of a concern about the effectiveness of flexible provision initiatives in affording study choices to students in non-metropolitan regions of Australia. The cases chosen for close investigation are ones which provide for students in non-metropolitan regions.

This open access Springer Brief provides a systematic analysis of current trends and requirements in the areas of knowledge and competence in the context of the project “(A) Higher Education Digital (AHEAD)—International Horizon Scanning / Trend Analysis on Digital Higher Education.” It examines the latest developments in learning theory, didactics, and digital-education technology in connection with an increasingly digitized higher education landscape. In turn, this analysis forms the basis for envisioning higher education in 2030. Here, four learning pathways are developed to provide a glimpse of higher education in 2030: Tamagotchi, a closed ecosystem that is built around individual students who enter the university soon after secondary education; Jenga, in which universities offer a solid foundation of knowledge to build on in later phases; Lego, where the course of study is not a monolithic unit, but consists of individually combined modules of different sizes; and Transformer, where students have already acquired their own professional identities and life experiences, which they integrate into their studies. In addition, innovative practice cases are presented to illustrate each learning path.

This book covers a broad range of innovations in education, such as flipped classrooms, the educational use of social media, mobile learning, educational resources and massive open online courses, as well as theoretical discussions and practical applications in the use of augmented reality and educational technology to improve student engagement and pave the way for students’ future studies and careers. The case studies and practical applications presented here illustrate the effectiveness of new modes of education in which the latest technologies and innovations are widely used in the global context. Accordingly, the book can help develop readers’ awareness of the potential these innovations hold, thus expanding their expertise and stimulating critical thinking as to how new technologies have made learning and teaching easier in various educational settings.

Analyzing the collective experiences of staff from a variety of departments within organizations of higher and further education, this study demonstrates how flexible learning strategies have been adopted to face new challenges.

"This book uses a flexible learning framework to explain the best ways of creating a meaningful learning environment. This framework consists of eight factors - institutional, management, technological, pedagogical, ethical, interface design, resource support, and evaluation;a systematic understanding of these factors creates successful flexible learning environments"--Provided by publisher.

Flexibility has become a watchword in modern education, but its implementation is by no means a straightforward matter. Flexible and Distance Learning in Higher Education sheds light on the often taken-for-granted assumptions that inform daily practice and examines the institutional dynamics that help and hinder efforts toward flexibility. Contributors to the volume were asked to reflect critically on a series of questions, including: - What precisely is flexible learning? - Who or what is driving the flexibility agenda, and for whose benefit? And who or what is resisting it? - What challenges must be overcome in order to achieve flexibility, and what are some of the compromises it can entail? International in scope, with authors from North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, and Japan, Flexible and Distance Learning in Higher Education offers a wealth of theoretical insights and practical experience that will be invaluable to anyone seeking to extend the reach of higher education.

The movement away from teacher-centered toward student-centered learning and teaching (SCLT) in higher education has intensified in recent decades. Yet in spite of its widespread use in literature and policy documents, SCLT remains somewhat poorly defined, under-researched and often misinterpreted. Against this backdrop, The Routledge International Handbook of Student-Centered Learning and Teaching in Higher Education offers an original, comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the fundamentals of SCLT and its discussion and applications in policy and practice. Bringing together 71 scholars from around the world, the volume offers a most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the fundamentals of SCLT and its applications in policy and practice; provides beacons of good practice that display how instructional expertise manifests itself in the quality of classroom learning and teaching and in the institutional environment; and critically discusses challenges, new directions and developments in pedagogy, course and study program design, classroom practice, assessment and institutional policy. An essential resource, this book uniquely offers researchers, educators and students in higher education new insights into the roots, latest thinking, practices and evidence surrounding SCLT in higher education.