In terms of scale, shock, and disenfranchisement, the disruption to formal education arising from COVID-19 has been unprecedented. Anecdotally, responses from teachers and educators around the world range from heightened caution to being inspired by distance education as the “new normal.” Of all the challenges, face-to-face and formal teaching have been most heavily affected. Despite some education systems demonstrating resilience, a major challenge is sustaining quality and inclusiveness in formal education suddenly delivered at a distance. In probing these issues, this article profiles international perspectives on the role of open education in responding to the impact on formal school and higher education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We proceed by highlighting and analysing practices and case studies from 13 countries representing all global regions, identifying and discussing the challenges and opportunities that have presented themselves. Reports cover the period from the beginning of 2020 until 11 March 2021, the first anniversary of the COVID-19 outbreak as declared by the World Health Organization. In our comparative study, we identify seven key aspects of which three (missing infrastructure and sharing OER, open education and access to OER, and urgent need for professional development and training for teachers) are directly related to open education at a distance. After comparing examples of existing practice, we make recommendations and offer insights into how open education strategies can lead to interventions that are effective and innovative—to improve formal education at a distance in schools and universities in the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a sudden shift to distance learning. For many nursing students, distance learning is a new experience and an essential requirement if they hope to complete their programs. Two challenges that nursing students could face during e-learning are the lack of social presence and low satisfaction. This study aimed to assess students’ sense of community and satisfaction during e-learning and determine their impacts on academic achievement. This cross-sectional descriptive study used convenience sampling to collect data via a student satisfaction survey and a classroom community scale. There was a positive and significant correlation between the sense of community, total satisfaction with e-learning (p < .001), and academic achievement (p < .001). Academic achievement was positively and strongly correlated with satisfaction with teaching (p < .001), assessment (p < .001), generic skills and learning experiences (p < .001), and total satisfaction with e-learning (p < .001). Students who worked collaboratively with their classmates and were more engaged in their learning were more satisfied with e-learning and had higher academic achievement (p < .01). Female participants reported a strong sense of community and satisfaction with e-learning and greater academic achievement than males. Junior students perceived higher satisfaction scores and greater academic achievement (p < .01) than senior students. The findings of this study suggest that failing to meet student expectations can lead to low levels of student involvement. Students’ engagement and satisfaction are good indicators of the quality and effectiveness of online programs.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have emerged as an affordable way to distribute knowledge and democratize education. The examination of online courses calls for theoretical models and instruments that contemplate its particularities. The community of inquiry (CoI) framework has been used in several studies to analyze the effectiveness of online education and hybrid education, including MOOCs. This study aimed to translate and validate the Community of Inquiry Survey instrument (Arbaugh et al., 2008) into Brazilian Portuguese, and used a two-stage methodological design for translating and validating a questionnaire. In the first stage, we carried out translation, back-translation, and cross-cultural adaptation. We translated the 34 items while maintaining the survey’s original format. In the expert evaluation phase, all items were considered understandable and essential for inclusion in the Brazilian Portuguese version of the CoI instrument. In the second stage, a prospective cross-sectional study was conducted to validate the questionnaire, and data was collected from participants completing the Nursing Assessment MOOC available on the Lúmina platform. A total of 690 responses were gathered. The resulting instrument produced excellent results, and the three presences achieved high reliability indexes, clearly indicating their adequacy. Furthermore, this study proved the validation of the CoI instrument, maintaining the three-factor structure previously reported in the literature corresponding to the three presences: teaching, social, and cognitive presence. We recommend further studies to evaluate the need for excluding or altering cognitive presence items.

Table of Contents Farhad Saba, Ph. D. (c) All rights reserved ERTI’s Exceptional Team ERTI unit managers, radio and television producers, graphic artists and set designers, educational technologists, educational evaluators, researchers and the many broadcast engineers and technicians who made ERTI possible were creative, energetic, enthusiastic and forward-looking young women and men. They embodied the […]

Educational Broadcasting in Iran in the 1960s and 1970s (1) INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND RESLUTS AND CONSEQUENCES REFERENCES KEYWORDS Educational Broadcasting in Iran in the 1960s and 1970s (2) ERTI’S EXCEPTIONAL TEAM HIGH-LEVEL SUPPORT OF NIRT LEADERSHIP FOR ERTI

Table of Contents FARHAD SABA, Ph. D. (C) All rights reserved INTRODUCTION THE 1960s and the 1970s were exciting, effervescent, and consequential times for Iran. After decades of disenchantment because of overt foreign intervention and domestic turmoil there was relative calm in political conditions. This period of tranquility promised a new beginning for the country. […]

Post-Pandemic Future: Implications for Privacy The time has come for privacy to expand beyond compliance to include determinations about what should be protected and consideration of ethical implications, balancing institutional priorities with the rights of individuals. The intersection of issues including COVID-19, student success, and the emergence of the chief privacy officer (CPO) role highlights […]