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The global proliferation of distance learning programs has become a major phenomenon of our times. So rapid is the growth rate of distance learning options, that statistics on them are rendered out-of-date at the moment of publication. As soon as innovations in media and automation technologies have appeared, their new capabilities have been adapted to distance learning applications, fueling the growth of distance learning programs, and providing marketing tools for the promotion of newly upgraded or newly created distance learning programs and institutions. Rapid growth in a highly competitive market has led to the duplication and overlapping of new distance learning options both within institutions and across institutional and geographical boundaries.

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.

Distance learning has proliferated significantly in the last 20 years. This chapter considers some of the issues and implications when teaching and learning moves from an in-person to a distance mode. It begins with a brief history of distance learning, considering both the technologies used and the dominant pedagogical approaches employed. This is followed by a survey of the impact of Michael Moore's theory of transactional distance, which considered the consequences of separating the learner from peers and instructor. Contemporary work on Moore's contribution includes transaction and participation, activity theory, and transactional presence. A second major aspect of distance learning has been the attempt to introduce social presence into learning environments. The history of social presence is explored, as are its levels and consequences for the learner. Contemporary aspects of social presence reviewed include communities of inquiry. While Web 2.0 has spectacularly resulted in connectivity, it remains unclear as to whether this automatically resulted in more strongly connected learners. Connectivist approaches are considered and distinctions made between technological connectivity and pedagogical engagement. It is argued that the full and exciting potential of Web 2.0 in distance learning requires a commitment to the distanced learner, balancing learner autonomy and teacher presence, promoting meaningful social engagement, and meeting the specific needs of the distance learner.

The world has seen a lot of disasters which have affected some part of the globe and healed in due course but rarely has any health disaster affected the entire world like COVID-19. It not only affected the health sector but caused a downward spiral of the world economy. The world was not prepared to face such a magnitude of the disaster. Overnight, schools and universities declared a lockdown affecting 1.57 billion students in 191 countries (UN, 2020). The sudden closure of educational institutions negatively impacted education around the world and much of the education sector shifted to remote learning. This exacerbated the shortcomings of those institutions who were unprepared for the sudden shift to remote learning. The global pandemic triggered the need to reconceptualize how educational institutions provision teaching and learning. Universities resorted to intensive use of different technology platforms and resources to achieve their learning outcomes. This volume explores how educational institutions needed to rethink teaching, learning, research and innovation, and implement innovative approaches to address such complexities. International case studies have been compiled that highlight the issues related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education and how different countries tried to cope with the sudden shift of remote learning and tried to resolve challenges around the issues of digital pedagogy.

Lately, multimedia information and communication technologies are acting as catalyzing media that open up increasing opportunities for all with access to such technologies. Digital technology also offers potential to increase access to interactive as well as intercultural experience that develops cross-cultural competencies, while learning content may be further enhanced through collaborative learning in various areas. Kadir Has University in Istanbul undertook a challenging project with the initiative of the College of Staten Island (CSI) − CUNY (City University of New York) and became the international partner of a distant learning course through video conference between 2004 and 2009. The conceptual model behind this project is called the Global Experience Through Technology Project (GETT) initiated by CSI with the goal of using internet technology to bring university students of different cultures together in a virtual classroom.

United Nation’s Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners, popularly known as Nelson Mandela Rules categorically advocates for the Prison Education and its integration with the educational system of the country. Moreover, principles for the treatment of prisoners, adopted by United Nation in 1990, guarantee that prisoners retain the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes right to take part in education also. However, there is little sensitization about the rights of prisoners in many countries. The issue has gained prominence as several international organizations have now raised concern on these matters.

Education of jail inmates has attracted the attention of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) systems in India. Among all the ODL institutions, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has been the major role player. Right from its first initiative to have a special study center in Tihar Jail in 1994, IGNOU’s network for jail inmates has undergone significant expansion. The university has now strong presence in the prisons. Under a special collaborative arrangement with Ministry of Home Affairs, IGNOU has started free education to jail inmates from 2010. This chapter gives a glimpse about the model being followed by IGNOU for providing education inside prisons, highlights its good practices, gaps in its functioning and makes recommendations for further strengthening of this network.

Social media – and how to use it within online educational environments – has become an immediate challenge for today's educator. Deciding on the right social media tool to adopt and its purposes in the classroom are decisions that must be approached with great care and reflection. This chapter provides examples of how social media tools are being used within the Master of Distance Education and E-learning (MDE) program at the University of Maryland University College to create and sustain an ecosystem of lifelong learning, student support, reflection, and practical research within the MDE.

Purpose: The study is designed to investigate internal audit functions in banks’ cyber security governance processes by assessing the pros and cons of blockchain technology through swot analysis.

Need of the Study: The study is needed to clarify the complexities in internal audit fields integrated into cyber security governance and explore the blockchain application opportunities.

Methodology: Blockchain technology is explored from the point of technical concepts and policy framework by swot analysis to propose a set of solutions for continuous audit methods in cyber security governance.

Limitations: The sample of this study is limited to the personal ideas and evaluations of academicians, experts in the banking sector and legal regulators of Türkiye, with the data received between March and December 2021.

Findings: Blockchain technology can be applied as an alternative to conventional risk control methods as a mechanism of continuous audit methods to reduce human mistakes and special causes.

Practical Implications: The control of risk management operations for cyber security processes should be performed with the support of audit units of the banks. Therefore, innovations are being implemented to cyber-risk controls to drop the defects that cause technical and ethical issues with blockchain technology as a way of using automation. So, this advancement can be applied in audit operations practically for unanticipated events which can emerge in cyberspace to mitigate inherent risk to residual levels. However, there is ample room to adapt this technology for cyber security management and audit practices from the point of view of the labour force, regulations and environmental issues.

Technologists typically give little thought to the negative impacts of technology upon society at large, preferring instead to argue that there is no alternative, and to label those raising social concerns as ‘Luddites’. In any responsible society however it is essential that thought is given to how technological innovation can be managed, and this calls for some government planning – a bete noir of contemporary political thought. It seems that so far all governments have largely failed both to appreciate the significance and pace of developments and have failed to develop a stance in respect to it. They have significantly failed to develop a policy which ensures that society as a whole, and individual members of that society benefit from the future developments in this area. This can be contrasted with many individuals who have readily grasped the power of information technology and have combined into groups who have been able to exert significant influence on those governments. Indeed it can be considered that the entire anti-globalisation movement could not exist without the availability of that information technology. As Barnett and Crowther (1998) point out, the internet removes the need for geographical proximity in order for people to combine in achieving a purpose.

Using a case study approach, this chapter examines two primary changes to global health education prompted and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. First, is the acceleration of digital education into the typical global health classroom. Second, is the integration of transnational networks and partnerships between intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and higher education institutions (HEIs) to create, adapt, and disseminate digital materials in fast-changing information environments. The chapter examines the potential positive and negative impacts of the proliferation of digital content created by IGOs and international NGOs that is being rapidly integrated into use in HEIs for Global Health. The growth of tools and access through these new partnerships may lead to increased access to global health information for professionals. However, these changes may have long-term implications for global health regarding equitable access to culturally appropriate and accurate information. Furthermore, there may be additional implications for equity, as the proliferation of tools may still leave out the most vulnerable that do not have access to digital platforms.