This open access handbook offers a one-stop-shop for both new and established researchers, educators, policy makers and administrators in the field of open, distance and digital education (ODDE) to gain a comprehensive overview of the history, theory and practice at all levels of ODDE, and at the same time stimulates in-depth discussions on various themes and issues of ODDE for today and future. Researchers, scholars and students in the field of ODDE can use this handbook as a major reference to conduct their own research and learning agendas.
To cover the field comprehensively, the handbook is structured following the 3M framework developed by one of the chief editors Zawacki-Richter. The 3M framework categorizes the major research areas and issues in ODDE on three levels. Accordingly, the handbook is divided into six sections in total, two section at each of the three levels: 1) Macro Level – ODDE Systems and Theories, 2) Meso Level - Institutional Perspectives, Management and Organization, and 3) Micro Level – Learning and Teaching in ODDE.
This is an open access book.
Olaf Zawacki-Richter is a professor of educational technology at the University of Oldenburg in Germany. He is the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences and Director of the Center for Open Education Research (COER). Olaf has over 25 years of professional experience in the field of open, distance, and digital education. He has also served as a consultant and advisor, including work for the United Nations’ International Labour Organization, the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag, and the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat). Dr. Zawacki-Richter has authored over 150 journal articles and edited several books, including Online Distance Education – Towards a Research Agenda, Systematic Reviews in Educational Research, Open and Distance Education in Australia, Europe and the Americas: National Perspectives in a Digital Age (Vol. 1), and Open and Distance Education in Asia, Africa and the Middle East: National Perspectives in a Digital Age (Vol. 2) – all published open access. He is an Associate Editor of Distance Education and the Online Learning Journal (OLJ) and a member of the editorial board of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL), Open Learning, and the Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (TOJDE). His publications are available on ResearchGate and GoogleScholar.
Insung Jung was formerly professor of Education at the International Christian University (ICU) in Japan. She is currently visiting research scholar at the Education Research Institute at the Seoul National University in South Korea. She has edited and authored several books with scholars from various parts of the world, including Distance and Blended Learning in Asia, Quality, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and e-Learning: Models, Policies and Research, Quality Assurance in Distance Education and e-Learning: Challenges and Solutions from Asia, Online Learner Competencies: Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes for Successful Learning in Online and Blended Settings, Culture and Online Learning: Global Perspectives and Research, Liberal Arts Education and Colleges in East Asia: Possibilities and Challenges in the Global Age, and Open and Distance Education Theory Revisited: Implications for the Digital Era. She has served as a consultant and advisor in ODE/e-learning to numerous national and international institutions, including the Korean Ministry of Education, UNESCO, the World Bank, and the APEC.
