This paper explores the potential opportunities that OpenCourseWare (OCW) offers in providing wider access to tertiary education, based on the ideal of ‘the right to education’. It first discusses the wider implications of OCW, and its underlying philosophy, before using a case study of a tertiary preparation program (TPP) at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) to draw out the issues involved in offering a program that is created in a particular national and social context on a global scale. More...

The role of distance education is shifting. Traditionally distance education was limited in the number of people served because of production, reproduction, and distribution costs. Today, while it still costs the university time and money to produce a course, technology has made it such that reproduction costs are almost non-existent. More...

Vol 9, No 1 (2008) - Special Issue - Role of Distance Learning in the Right to Education

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IRRODL Volume 9, Number 1; Special Issue: Role of Distance Learning in the Right to Education

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Unlike conventional models of software development, the open source model is based on the collaborative efforts of users who are also co-developers of the software. Interest in open source software has grown exponentially in recent years. More...

An all-volunteer organization called the Opensource Opencourseware Prototype System (OOPS), headquartered in Taiwan, was initially designed to translate open source materials from MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) site into Chinese. More...

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IRRODL Volume 8, Number 3

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The influence of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) in open and distance learning (ODL) in a developing country, the Philippines, is critically evaluated in this paper. Specifically, this paper examines how ICTs have influenced or shaped the development of ODL in this country. Also examined are the different stages or generations of distance education (DE) in the Philippines, which are characterized mainly by the dominant technology used for the delivery of instructional content and student support services. More...

The open-source software movement is gaining increasing momentum in China. Of the limited numbers of open-source software in China, Red Flag Linux stands out most strikingly, commanding 30 percent share of Chinese software market. Unlike the spontaneity of open-source movement in North America, open-source software development in China, such as Red Flag Linux, is an orchestrated activity wherein different levels of government play a vital role in sponsoring, incubating, and using open-source software, most conspicuously, Red Flag Linux. More...

Regional Focus Issue - Open and Distance Education in Asia

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IRRODL Volume 8, Number 1; Regional Focus Issue: Open and Distance Education in Asia

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