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While distance education is on a fast growth curve currently, there are many barriers that must be overcome. The results reported here are from persons working in corporate organizations (n=448). Takes the perspective that various organizations are at different stages or levels of capabilities with regard to distance education. The research questions reported are: do distance educators in the corporate sector perceive different barriers depending upon the maturity of their organization’s capabilities in distance education; and as the organization’s distance education competency as a whole matures, will the overall number or intensity of perceived barriers to distance education be reduced? The evidence from the responses to this survey indicates that there is a relationship between an organization’s level of capability in distance education and the barriers to distance education reported by respondents for some but not all barriers. The analysis of this survey also supports the proposition that corporate trainers and educators perceive fewer, or less intense, barriers in organizations that are more capable delivering distance education.

March 30, 2020 is a day of qualitative changes in the Lithuanian education system. This day in history – at least in the history of education – will record the day when mass distance learning began in the entire Lithuanian education system. All educational activities from kindergarten to higher and adult education were organized at a distance. In fact, the idea of distance learning was not so new in Lithuania. The first steps in developing a distance learning system in Lithuania were taken 25 years ago, but before the pandemic, it was more the exception than the norm and, of course, it had never been global. But in Spring 2020, all educational institutions (in general education during 2 weeks, in higher – even only during 2–3 days) were transformed from contact to distance learning. From a few-month perspective, it can be said that, despite all the circumstances, this transformation has been quite successful. In order to better understand the reasons for this quite sufficiently successful transition, it would be worthwhile to briefly review the organization of distance learning in Lithuania until the 2020 pandemic.

The first university was founded in Italy during the early 1110s. Since that time, education has not changed much. Early college education was based on communication, a continuous dialogue between teacher and learner. College education today is based heavily on communication with the only real change, in some instances, being the method in which the teacher and learner communicate.

The purpose of this paper was to analyse the research trends on the Indian Open and Distance Education (ODE) system as reflected in the articles published in the prominent journals of distance education across the world.

A study was undertaken to review the research articles on ODE in India published in 11 prominent peer-reviewed journals of distance education during the period 2010–2019. Content analysis was done to find out areas of research undertaken in the ODE of India based on a validated classification of research areas; types of research studies conducted; and authorship and publication patterns.

Out of a total of 2,571 articles published in 11 selected journals, only 191 (7.42%) pertained to ODE in India. The majority of these 191 articles (68.42%) were published in Indian journals. The Indian and Asian journals together accounted for 93.55% of total articles. Globally, the share of articles on the Indian ODE system was significantly low ranging between 4.27 and a maximum of 10.77%, which was much below expectations from a country having the maximum number of ODE learners in the world. Results further revealed that 63% of the contributors to research on ODE in India were affiliated to Indira Gandhi National Open University.

The limitation of this study was only analysing the research articles published in journals of distance education and other types of articles, namely, book reviews, editorials, field notes and workshop reports were excluded from the analysis.

The study is intended to help researchers, policymakers, and open and distance education institutions to draw a roadmap for the promotion and conduct of system-based research, which would be vital for strengthening the system.

The quantum of research is not proportionate to the number of faculty members working in the ODE system of India and the large number of learners that it serves, which is a matter of concern. For any system to grow its periodic systemic review is essential. The research outcomes need to be ploughed back into the system for its betterment.

The study is original. There is no such study undertaken till date. This study will be extremely useful to researchers, as the gaps in distance education research which are yet to be addressed, have been identified by the authors.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a distance education program in the field of digitization which was carried out in Turkey in 2011. In total, 805 people, comprising librarians, archivists and museum specialists, applied for three certification programs. The paper evaluates the distance education in terms of content and organization on the basis of participants' opinions and determines how and to what extent the education has changed the awareness of participants on digitization and digital content management and their level of theoretical and practical knowledge.

The research questions of the study are: What are the qualities of the participants on digitization and digital content management? In other words, what is the level of education background of the participants and what level of education do they need? What are the qualifications (in terms of content, presentation of the content and general organization) of the distance education program? To what extent has the distance education contributed to the enhancement of participants' level of awareness on digitization and digital content management, and to the improvement of theoretical and practical knowledge?

In the research, the literature on the issue has been reviewed, and then a theoretical model has been developed. The research findings have been presented within the framework of the theoretical model. According to the research findings, the participants have poor educational background, and most of the participants had attended such an education program for the first time.

The participants were satisfied with the program in terms of content and organization. The program has improved their level of theoretical and practical knowledge and awareness on digitization.

The past two decades have witnessed the rapid developments in distance education. Though debates surrounding issues related to distance education have yet abated, more and more institutions, entrepreneurs, educators, and learners embrace distance education with the aid of improved information technologies. The present guide introduces the historical development, major theories, and leading agencies and organizations associated with the discipline. Furthermore, it provides an annotated selection of resources including periodicals, books and monographs, and Internet sites. Though emphasis is placed on representative resources and information of distance education of the USA, important international resources are also analytically introduced.

This study aims to assess the enrolment scenario of Library and Information Science (LIS) education in India offered through distance mode.

The scope of the study is limited to India, reflecting the trend of distance education in LIS in India. The study is based on the secondary data collected by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India (GOI) under All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE). It is to mention that Ministry of Human Resource and Development, GOI, is regularly collecting data from higher education institutions all across the country under AISHE project. The data in the study have been analysed for the period 2011 to 2018.

The findings of the study reveal that, of the total enrolments made in LIS education in India during the period 2011 to 2018, nearly one-fourth of students were enrolled through regular mode and three-fourth were enrolled through distance mode, signifying distance mode of education as the largest medium of LIS education in India. The enrolment figures through distance mode showed slight inconsistency with the result, a negative (−0.49%) average annual corresponding growth was recorded in the enrolment of LIS students through distance mode. Of the total students enrolled in different LIS programmes through distance mode during the period of study, the majority (67.78%) of students were enrolled in the Under Graduate programme (B.Lib.I.Sc.). Similarly, of the total students enrolled in LIS through distance mode during the period of study, 51.36% were female students and 48.63% male students. In terms of caste category, of the total students enrolled during the period of study, 10.12% belonged to the Scheduled Caste category, 4.7% to Scheduled Tribes category, 28.77% Other Backward Class and 56.08% to others, which include general category students as well.

Learning through distance education is a welcome step as long as the idea is to improve the society and to reach out to those who hitherto remained unreached. Sustainable means of enrolment and employability has to be the order of the day, mostly based on demand and supply principle.

This study is original and first of its kind covering enrolment of the students in LIS courses.

Recent developments in technology have provided educators with an extremely wide variety of electronic tools to assist them in achieving one of their primary objectives – the transmission of knowledge to others. One of the most important uses of these technologies in higher education has been their employment for the delivery of distance education. This article describes the types of technology available for the delivery of distance education (computer‐assisted education systems, audio/video‐mediated education systems, and computer‐mediated education systems), and has documented the effectiveness of these tools. It also discusses the successful experience of the school that pioneered the use of technology to deliver distance in the discipline of social work.

This study aims to discuss the impact of the physical environment on the quality of distance education from the viewpoint of a number of teaching staff in Jordanian universities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 308 lecturers were selected using a snowball sampling method from different social media websites. The researcher used a descriptive analysis method by conducting social surveys.

The results reveal that there is a negative impact of the physical environment on the quality of distance education from the perspective of the teaching staff in Jordanian universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results also show that there are statistically significant differences between males and females in terms of the quality of distance education in favor of males. In addition, there are no statistically significant differences in the quality of distance education based on the place from which the lecture is given and the faculty type.

The study recommends improving teaching staff’s performance in the teaching process, boosting their comfort level and reducing stress and anxiety which may be caused by the surrounding physical environment during distance education.

The topic of the study is of great significance to quality assurance in education, i.e. online learning and teaching.