Currently,
when open, distance and flexible education is increasing worldwide, a
reflection and analysis of lessons learned about how to support students’
learning and which support services could institutions provide seems
appropriate.
Beyond
the effort to increase students’ retention or to reduce drop-out
in open, distance or online education, support services should facilitate more
meaningful learning experiences for all. With the purpose of contributing to
this goal, this issue of Open Praxis focuses on innovative and effective student support
services in open, distance and flexible education. The call for papers included
aspects such as the following:
-
Distance learning students' needs and justification of support services in open
and distance education.
- Innovative
services to promote students' retention, performance and occupational guidance.
- Role
of technologies for student support services. Possibilities
and limits.
-
Successful and relevant experiences of student support services in distance
learning higher education institutions.
The
call was open to research papers focused on theoretical foundations, concepts,
analysis and results of studies regarding student support services in open and
distance education, referring to aspects such as students' needs in distance
education; need for student support services; overview or comparative analysis
of services with a focus on innovative and effective ones; evaluation of
student support services; support services for entry and first year students;
services for after completion of distance learning programs; use of
technologies for students' support; etc.
Also
innovative practice articles were expected, providing a description and
analysis of concrete innovative and effective experiences of student support
services in open and distance education: information services; guidance and
counselling; library services; retention programs; student support services
based on technologies; e-mentoring; peer to peer support services; etc.
Seven
papers have been finally accepted, four of them with a research approach and
three of them with a practical approach. They cover some of the topics
addressed in the call for papers, from organizational perspectives to
individual case studies.
In the
first paper, Alan Tait (From place to virtual space: reconfiguring student support for distance
and e-learning in the digital age) provides a historical overview that
leads to a shift from geographical approaches to student support in open
universities to a pedagogical approach, facilitated by digital technologies.
This shift places the focus on the integration of support with teaching,
instead of considering support services as separated structures within
institutions. This insight and reflections will be useful for open and distance
education universities stepping towards digitalization.
Jacklyn
J. Thompson and Stella C.S. Porto (Supporting wellness in adult online education)
address a not so analysed aspect in distance education: wellness and health
promotion in online education, considering physical and emotional aspects.
Literature review and examples of good practice in this field lead to a set of
recommendations for different stakeholders: from organizations to students
themselves, of special interest if we are concerned with this sometimes
disregarded needs in online education.
Javiera
Atenas, Leo Havemann and Ernesto Priego (Opening teaching landscapes: The importance of
quality assurance in the delivery of open educational resources) introduce
a cross-wise topic in the process of distance education: the use of OER as a
means to support learning. Their survey-based study highlights academics’
opinions about using OERs and repository managers’ opinions about developing
good ROERs. A conclusion, in agreeement with Tait’s proposal in the first paper
in this issue, refers to the need for integration among teaching and support
services, repositories in this case.
Closing
the research articles section, Steven J Greenland and Catherine Moore (Patterns of
online student enrolment and attrition in Australian open access online
education: a preliminary case study) present a study about a main concern
in distance education: drop-out. Through analysing
enrolment and withdrawal data on a specific study program, they observe
different patterns and propose to monitor data in order to inform teaching
practice and manage different support strategies to increase retention.
The
innovative practice section is opened with a case study written by Kjrsten
Keane and Miriam Russell (Using Cloud collaboration for writing assignments by students with
disabilities: a case study using action research).
They describe a experience of telecollaboration with a
student with a physical disability derived from a cerebral palsy, following the
steps of action research and thoroughly explaining the process and results.
Concerned with accessibility issues and within the frame of universal design,
they reflect about the support that cloud services provide in this case.
Maureen
Andrade (Course-embedded
student support for online English language learners) expands on language
acquisition, transactional distance, and specially
self-regulated learning, theories that underpin the embedded course model,
where support is internal to the course and not an external and optional
service. Referring to English courses for non-native speakers of English online
students, she describes the experiences and the support strategies that promote
self-regulated learning.
Finally,
Phalachandra Bhandigadi and Ishan Sudeera Abeywardena (Virtual tutorials in adult ODL: A WizIQ case
study of Wawasan Open University) explain the introduction of virtual
learning environments in their institution, evolving from more traditional
tutorial support based on regional centres to the use of a technological
platform than can supply support to all the students. They analyze the
experience and highlight advantages and lessons learned with the use of this
support tool.
The
diverse contributions that conform this special issue focused on student
support services in open, distance and flexible education share two common
ideas: the evolution towards integration of support services with teaching and
the possibilities that technologies provide to support all the students, aiming
to general and specific needs.
We
expect that the diverse reflections, cases and recommendations presented in
this issue are welcomed by our readers and provide useful insight for improving
student support services in educational institutions that develop open and
distance education.
Special
thanks from Open
Praxis to the authors and reviewers who have contributed to this issue.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.6.1.111