Advances in Online and Distance Learning

Dear Colleagues,

As we recognized in our original call for papers on the topic of online and distance learning, these forms of learning came to the fore in 2020 and 2021, with the coronavirus pandemic proving a catalyst to the long-term trend toward computer-mediated learning. The impact of this transition on the world in 2020 and 2021 has been profound, with long-term consequences for the viability and form of education. The rapid pivot to online or blended learning has happened across all sectors of education, schools, colleges, and universities.

Following that initial transition for many institutions and people, we are now in a period where online and remote learning are key tools in education, for both distance learning institutions and more traditional campus-based institutions where blended and flipped learning are routine pedagogic approaches, albeit still being developed in terms of effectiveness and integration with different platforms.

As the COVID-19 pandemic provided a catalyst in 2020, a new step change is the rapid availability of easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) systems, with the advent of generative AI as a viable mainstream technology. The impact of this on how and what we teach and assess is difficult to predict, but the common view is that this will have a profound impact on learning and future careers.

This update on the topic of online and distance learning provides a renewed opportunity to share the latest good practices, as well as the opportunity to provide a platform to explore the problems faced, in online and remote education.

This issue welcomes contributions that consider effective practice, or can identify problems for future work, around distance and online learning. These may be technical or social aspects—looking at the way that pedagogy, people, and technology interact in this maelstrom of change.

Papers that consider purely distance (online) learning, blended learning with elements of face-to-face provision, or hybrid learning where learning supports simultaneous face-to-face and online learning are welcome. We are also keen to see submissions that address the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

Other aspects of online and distance learning include mobile learning, MOOCS, and virtual reality-based learning. Of particular interest are papers that discuss the effect that the move to online and distance learning has had on the extent to which learners achieve the learning outcomes and competencies of the course or the program in which they are enrolled.

Dr. Neil Gordon
Prof. Dr. Han Reichgelt
Topic Editors