OOIR: Observatory of International Research

Papers

(The median citation count of Distance Education is 2. The table below lists those papers that are above that threshold based on CrossRef citation counts [max. 250 papers]. The publications cover those that have been published in the past four years, i.e., from 2021-04-01 to 2025-04-01.)

Article	Citations
The motivation to earn digital badges: a large-scale study of online courses	43
Threats and tensions for open, flexible, and distance learning post-COVID-19	41
CONNECT: a framework for building effective working relationships with distance education doctoral students and their advisers	41
Exploring differences between students’ interactions, online presence, and cognitive presence	39
Online physics laboratory course: United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework perspective from Walailak University, Thailand	36
Longitudinal changes of student engagement in social annotation	34
From open access to open science—Open education in transition	34
The digital portfolio as an assessment strategy for learning in higher education	25
Introducing mesocredentials: Connecting MOOC achievement with academic credit	23
Beyond design: The systemic nature of distance delivery mode selection	23
Virtual internships in open and distance learning contexts: Improving access, participation, and success for underrepresented students	22
Video use in online and blended courses: a qualitative synthesis	21
Equity, diversity, and inclusion in open education: A systematic literature review	19
Exploring instructors’ cultural presence in online course design and delivery	17
Enhancing distance learning with virtual reality: investigating learners’ engagement and outcomes	16
Students with mental health (dis)Abilities’ storied experiences within distance education	16
Teachers’ use of mobile devices in suburban under-resourced secondary schools in Nepal	15
Toward self-directed learning: How do Nepali adolescents learn with MOOCs?	13
Micro-credentials and their implications for lifelong learning–global insights and critical perspectives	13
Effects of personal and instructor goals on MOOC continuance intention	13
Effects of online teaching presence on students’ cognitive conflict and engagement	12
Becoming scholarly practitioners: creating community in online professional doctoral education	11
Enhancing MOOC learners’ skills for self-directed learning	11
Allied health clinical placements with a remote supervision model: Students’ and clinical educators’ perceptions	11
Doctoral students’ perceptions of student-led discussion forums in online classes	11

Enhancing learners’ sense of belonging in online threaded discussions	10
The online PhD dropout: narratives and meanings of withdrawal	10
Using learners’ self-generated quizzes in online courses	10
Research trends in online distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic	10
Deepening the focus on microcredentials—labour market sector relevance, quality and inclusion: a critical commentary	9
Useful lines of inquiry—what is worth investigating and how?	8
Addressing the challenging elements of distance education	8
Examining gains and pains of a new virtual internship design	7
Pressure on the system: increasing flexible learning through distance education	7
Toward building a fair peer recommender to support help-seeking in online learning	7
The role of teachers’ social support in students’ emotional and cognitive presences in online learning	7
Identifying accessibility factors affecting learner inclusion in online university programs	7
A scoping review of empirical studies on theory-driven learning analytics	7
Beyond borders: telecollaboration for internationalization at home in tertiary education	7
Satisfaction with learning materials in relation to volitional competence and behavioral intention in open and flexible learning environments	7
Higher education leaders’ perspectives of accessible and inclusive online learning	6
Open educational resources as the panacea for the decolonisation of e-learning content in South Africa	6
Interaction in online postgraduate learning: what makes a good forum?	6
Beyond the virtual classroom: integrating artificial intelligence in online learning	6
Learning at a distance: recognising remote tutoring as a career	6
From open education to open learning: The experience at the National Autonomous University of Mexico	5
Using learner engagement patterns for predictive modeling in a MicroMasters program	5
Are we close(d)? Debating the openness paradox in science	5
Transcending post-truth: Open educational practices in the information age	5
Understanding college students’ cognitive engagement in online collaborative problem-solving: A multimodal data analysis	4
A synergistic framework for curricular flexibility in online collaborative learning	4
Reimagining and reexamining assessment in online learning	4
Silver linings for learning in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic	4
Open thinking as a learning outcome of open education: scale development and validation	4
Examining online university classrooms through emotion work and feeling currencies	4
Modification and evaluation of an open-source rubric guiding inclusive design	4
The role of teaching presence in students’ behavioral engagement	4
Prior experience with online feedback: its influence on students’ engagement	4
Pre-service teachers’ adaptability to blended teaching and its predictors	4
Parental support challenges for K-12 student online engagement	3
Making the invisible, visible: disability in South African distance education	3
A systems perspective on data and analytics for distance education	3
Openness in education as a living idea: A longitudinal investigation of its growth and development	3
Developing a distance-based doctoral supervisory model: Inquiry over disrupted trajectories	3
Does the early bird catch the worm? A large-scale examination of the effects of early participation in online learning	3
Universal design in online education: A systematic review	3
Conceptualising distance doctoral study after COVID-19: are we post-distance now?	3
Understanding college students’ achievement goals toward using open educational resources from the perspective of expectancy–value theory	3
What distance learning students want from an AI Digital Assistant	3
Enhanced learning engagement through teaching presence in online distance education	3
Psychometric properties of the Online Learner Satisfaction Instrument (OLSI): construct validity, convergent validity, and measurement invariance	3
Online learning ecosystems: comprehensive planning and support for distance learners	3
Using online photovoice and community-based participatory research to understand facilitators and barriers to online distance education during COVID-19	3
Open education in closed-loop systems: Enabling closures and open loops	3
“Welcome to my backyard”: an intersectional approach to inclusive teaching in the asynchronous learning environment	2

A learner experience framework for microcredential design and online learning	2
Investigating students’ experience of online/distance education with photovoice during COVID-19	2
Understanding self-regulated learning and learner performance in MOOCs	2
Promoting potential through purposeful inclusive assessment for distance learners	2
Distance education students’ mental health, connectedness and academic performance during COVID-19: A mixed-methods study	2
The relationship between learning engagement and learning outcomes in online learning in higher education: A meta-analysis study	2
Mapping racial justice to online teacher education	2
Effectiveness of blended teaching in preservice teacher education: A meta-analysis	2
Learners’ perspectives on MOOC design	2
Asynchronous and synchronous remote teaching and academic outcomes during COVID-19	2
Distance education students’ satisfaction: Do work and family roles matter?	2
Photos from home: Integrating lived experience in a remote-learning environment	2
Implementing a competency-based assessment approach to micro-credentials	2
Serving students with disabilities in K-12 online learning: daily practices of special educators during the COVID-19 pandemic	2
Home broadband and student engagement during COVID-19 emergency remote teaching	2
Peer assessment in MOOCs: Systematic literature review	2