Evaluating open and distance education at Central Queensland University: three sites of evidence-based practice and reflection

Abstract

This seminar articulates with the recent publication of Evaluation in Open and Distance Education: Retrospects and Prospects (Nouwens, Erdinc & Danaher, 2004a), a special theme issue of the Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, five of whose eight articles were co-written by twelve CQU staff members from three Faculties and one Division. http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde15/index.htm The seminar takes up three of the sites of evidence-based practice and reflection around evaluating open and distance education at Central Queensland University canvassed in the theme issue: • an online discussion list as promoting students’ attitudinal change (Bradshaw & Hinton, 2004); • a philosophically informed framework for identifying multiple interests of evaluating open and distance education (Nouwens, Ross, Harreveld, Thomson & Danaher, 2004); • the selection of CQU’s designated online learning management system (Sturgess & Nouwens, 2004). Each site is examined for what it highlighted about the nature, purposes and effects of evaluating open and distance education and also for its potential utility in contributing to ongoing discussions about understanding and enhancing the effectiveness of teaching and learning at CQU.