The Development of Virtual Education: A Global Perspective. A Study of Current Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education.

Overview & Synopsis

This document contains 11 papers examining the methodology and findings of a study of the virtual delivery of education throughout the world. "Introduction" (Glen M. Farrell) explains the study methodology, which entailed the identification of 10 global regions and commissioning of an individual in each region to write a paper describing the state of practice of virtual education in the region and the potential impact of virtual education initiatives on current practices in distance and open education. The authors and titles of the remaining 10 papers are as follows: "The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada" (Glen M. Farrell); "Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States" (Peter J. Dirr); "Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean" (Peter J. Dirr); "Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America" (Victor Guerra Ortiz); "European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education" (Robin Mason); "Virtual Institutions on the African Continent" (Vis Naidoo, Casper Schutte); "Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent (Including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka)" (Sugata Mitra); "Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia" (Michael Robertshaw); "Virtual Education Institutions in Australia: Between the Idea and the Reality" (Suellen Tapsall, Yoni Ryan); and "Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands" (Lalita Rajasingham). (MN)