Kyungmee Lee

Abstract During the coronavirus disease‐2019 (Covid‐19) pandemic, many universities have adopted online exam proctoring technologies to monitor and control an increasing number of student cheating incidents. Although it looks like a natural and effective solution for a fair assessment of student online learning performance, the authors argue that proctoring technologies are rooted in problematic assumptions about educational fairness and authoritarian pedagogical approaches. The authors have con

While much is discussed of the challenges that educators and their institutions have been facing during COVID-19, there is little reported about how students have been coping with the challenges. In this short piece, we present preliminary data on university students' perceptions of online learning and teaching during the pandemic. Our findings from a student course satisfaction survey, conducted in two universities during the 2020 summer term (June through August), reveal that students have bee

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Spring 2020, universities around the world have quickly adopted online teaching as an emergency measure. Informed by activity theory, the present qualitative case study aims to better understand the nature of the rapid institutional transition and its impact on academics' pedagogical experiences during this period. A multiple set of qualitative data was collected in a national university in South Korea that rapidly made the online transition, follo

A constructivist learning paradigm emphasises authenticity as a required condition for learning. However, the design of an online learning environment is ultimately separate from learners’ real-life environments, it is inevitably challenging to make online learning authentic. In this article, the author aims to propose an alternative way of conceptualizing online learning and its boundaries, based on a double-layered Community of Practice model as a means to facilitate authentically constructivi

Abstract Under the constructivist learning paradigm, which emphasises authenticity as a required condition for learning, distance educators have been striving to create authentic learning environments that reflect the real world. However, it is inevitably challenging to make an online learning environment authentic for learners when it is ultimately separated from their real-life contexts. Particularly, in online doctoral education, given the diversity among online learners, even defining “what

In the previous era of open educational practices (OEP) based around distance teaching, its actors and their target group were clear to define: open universities and disadvantaged learners. In this new era of OEP linked to digitalized open educational resources, there are multiple actors and beneficiaries of OEP. This critical literature review examined numerous scholarly narratives about OEP in online distance education, by asking a simple but important question: “Who opens online distance educ

This article tackles a critical question:‘to what extent can online higher education (HE) be open and innovative at the same time?’ To provide a more comprehensive answer to the question, the author takes up a notion of discourse and situates the analysis in a specific online HE setting: Athabasca University (AU), Canada. In this article, the author first unpacks how the openness and innovation discourses originally emerged in AU throughout its early years and how the original conceptualisation

Abstract Integrating computer‐mediated intercultural communication (CMIC) activities into language curricula has been discussed as an innovative approach. Despite the increasing number of successful examples reporting positive outcomes of adopting CMIC activities in language‐learning environments, it has also been noted that there are significant pedagogical challenges observed when CMIC activities are introduced into classrooms. However, previous studies tend only to briefly mention some of tho

Why is Openness in Education important, and why is it critically needed at this moment? As manifested in our guiding question, the significance of Openness in Education and its immediate necessity form the heart of this collaborative editorial piece. This rather straightforward, yet nuanced query has sparked this collective endeavour by using individual testimonies, which may also be taken as living narratives, to reveal the value of Openness in Education as a praxis. Such testimonies serve as r

In the current higher education context, offering online programmes is seen as an effective means to recruit more international students. However, supporting online international students studying at a distance is not a simple task for both universities and tutors. The problem mainly stems from a lack of theoretical understanding of online international students and their learning experiences. The present article, therefore, aims to address the gap, by systematically, yet critically reviewing re

Aim/Purpose: This article investigates thirteen students’ lived experiences on an online PhD programme, aiming to develop a better understanding of the nature of doing a PhD online. Background: A large number of adult students with full-time professional roles and other social responsibilities have returned to universities to pursue their doctoral degree in order to advance their personal and professional lives. Online PhD programmes are now one of the viable choices for those who wish to combin