An open and diverse approach

 To foster openness and promote rich dialogue, the multi- and interdisciplinary conference will be organised around four key themes:

1. Developments in distance education policies and strategies

• Remote and online learning as a new focus for national policies
• Strategic and political choices of distance learning institutions
• National and international competition and/or collaboration
• Organisational flexibility v. institutional rigidity
• Decision-making process and awareness

2. Transformation in teaching and learning

• Daily administrative organisation and risk assessment for distance education providers
• Well-established skills and competences v. new demands
• Support systems and adaptation of organisational structures
• Traditional v. new roles and tasks of teachers, learners and administrative and support staff
• Empowerment of and new dynamics among stakeholders
• Public and private sectors and the role of open educational resources and practices
• Teachers’ creativity vs process constraints
• Lessons learnt

3. Educational models, configurations and practices

• Well-established teaching methodologies and new practices
• Traditional, new, tested and forthcoming models of distance, blended and online learning
• Instructional design, content development and learning design
• Convergence and divergence between practitioners and researchers
• Changing boundaries between face-to-face, blended and online modes
• Local and national specificities

4. Perception of distance education and its mission

• Old and new perceptions of distance education
• Positioning in relation to traditional education
• Reinforcement of social inequalities
• New economies of distance education
• Sustainability