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E-learning has become ingrained in conversations that border around learning, however, how much and how effectively e-learning is practiced and understood is an issue that needs further investigation. This paper will first provide an overview of elearning practices in Malaysia followed by detailed findings of e-learning practices at Open University Malaysia. Findings of a survey done on 26 Malaysian organizations show that only 4% truly practice some form of e-learning. Nevertheless most participants in the survey noted that e-learning will be the preferred choice in time to come. The survey also shows that most organizations are still very comfortable with a blended style of learning or training. Findings of a research conducted at Open University Malaysia (OUM) shows that as a new player in e-learning initiatives, the OUM has achieved much especially in ensuring that its over 30,000 students are practicing some form of e-learning. At OUM, although self-managed and face-to-face learning are the preferred choices, much effort and resources are pumped into elearning in ensuring that OUM has the right mix for its blended mode. The paper will present a report on findings of e-learning and explicate issues within to determine how e-learning efforts can be further refined to support the overall blended pedagogy practiced at OUM.

A process documentation was employed to determine how virtual learning communities are built in an open and distance education context as one mechanism to ensure quality education in this mode of instructional delivery. The study conducted at the University of the Philippines Open University from June 2008 to February 2010 specifically aimed to: 1) describe what a learning community is in the context of ODeL; 2) describe the process of building learning communities in ODeL; 3) determine factors essential for the building of learning communities in ODeL; 4) determine specific benefits of learning communities in an ODeL context wherein independent studying or learning is the core of the guiding principle. The study is also an attempt to document a good practice in ODeL, especially one that hopes to address quality of the learning process.

Microlearning has been considered as a promising topic in work-based learning. This paper aims to review the trends of microlearning in terms of related publications and Internet searches. Hopefully, the findings can serve as a reference for the education sector, government, business and academia to promote, design and use microlearning.

In this study, two sets of analysis were conducted. Firstly, the authors analysed the publication trend of microlearning. Second, the authors analysed the trend of Internet searches related to microlearning. More specifically, the authors analysed real-world data of 14 years obtained from Scopus and Google Trends for the purpose. These data include the first relevant publication found in the database.

In total, 476 relevant publications have been identified during 2006–2019. According to the findings from the analysis of the identified publications, microlearning is a relevantly new and emerging global topic involving authors, affiliations and funding sponsors from different countries. Moreover, many microlearning-related publications were conducted from perspectives of e-learning or mobile learning. Furthermore, the authors notice higher education was the most frequently mentioned education level in the identified publications. On the other hand, language learning (i.e. second language, vocabulary learning, etc.) had been mentioned more times in the titles and abstracts than other subject areas. Overall, the increasing trend of publications on “microlearning” (as a knowledge supply) is in line with the established increasing Internet searches of “microlearning” (as a practical demand) in recent years.

From the work-based learning perspective, microlearning has been considered as one of the key topics in talent development topics. Policymakers, educators, researchers and participators have the responsibility to explore how to promote, design and use microlearning to help people to learn in the right direction through valid knowledge with ethical consideration.

Although many works had been done on microlearning, there is a lack of comprehensive studies reviewing the trends of microlearning in terms of related publications and Internet searches. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing real-world data obtained from Scopus and Google Trends – these data include the first relevant publication found in the database. The authors believe this is the first time that a study has been conducted to comprehensively review the development trends of microlearning. Hopefully, this study can shed some light on related research.

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been widely discussed by academicians and Information Technology (IT) personnel's in recent years. In an ODL system, ELearning Delivery Platform (ELDP) plays an integral part that ensures learning materials delivered to users in the most effective and efficient manner. Identifying the selection criteria's is very important and vital for a suitable ELDP system that will enhance and enrich the ODL. At the same time, evaluation formats or check-sheets can be developed using the criteria's to evaluate various ELDP providers by the ODL provider. The criteria's can also be used to help the ELDP developer or provider to develop new systems and make further improvements from time to time. This paper gives a brief summary of the criteria's to select an ELDP system for delivering education via ODL environment. The criteria's are required to satisfy the requirements for courses such as arts, social science, business, management, IT, engineering, science, and so on. It also represents the multiple perspectives of the course developer, the course learning-ware developer, the course lecturer/tutor, the course e-learning administrative staff, the technical support staff, the student and the university administration.

Global tutoring and learning communities are composed of different people who share a common interest or a common goal. Learners aim to acquire knowledge and skills; while tutors aim to provide content support, coaching and motivation to learners. The interaction is done through the use of technology, specifically the Internet. Management of these communities can be a challenge because members are not only separated by space and time but they come from different cultures, contextual backgrounds and institutions. If managed well, global tutoring and learning communities can transcend barriers and be very effective, efficient and also inexpensive.

The paper looks into how online tutors and learners are effectively and efficiently managed and sustained. Specifically, it aims to: a) define global tutoring and learning communities and their rationale; b) describe the strategies and good practices employed in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; c)determine the effective communication tools used to manage and sustain global teams; and d) identify the challenges and lessons to maintain and sustain global tutoring and learning communities.

The paper is based on studies as well as actual experiences and written reports on managing global learning and tutoring communities. It will look into how teams are managed from planning, implementation to monitoring and evaluation. Specifically, it will provide a glimpse on how learners and tutors from different countries and nationalities are managed in the elearning Development and Implementation (eLDI) program and e-skills program. These courses are jointly offered by the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) and InWEnt, Capacity Building International, Germany and have learners and tutors from various countries not only from Asia, but from Africa and the Middle East. The paper also draws lessons on how to maintain tutors and learners without borders.