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Journal of Distance Learning, Vol 9, No 1, 2005 © Distance Education Association of New Zealand 
 

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Introduction 
 

 
BILL ANDERSON, MARY SIMPSON 

MASSEY UNIVERSITY 
PALMERSTON NORTH, NEW ZEALAND 

 
Distance learning has moved apace since 
the last issue of the Journal of Distance 
Learning, and developments in New 
Zealand reflect that movement. The 
Teaching and e-Learning Research Fund 
(TeLRF), the e-Learning Collaborative 
Development Fund (eCDF), and the 
Innovation and Development Fund (IDF) 
have provided opportunities for those 
involved in e-learning at the tertiary  
level to engage in research and 
development at a level not previously 
seen in this country. Government funding 
of $68 million has been committed          
to development aspects over the four    
years from July 2003 to July 2007. Six 
hundred thousand dollars has been 
committed to e-learning research in the 
two rounds of the TeLRF. These 
developments are reflected, to some 
extent, in this issue of the journal. 
 
One of the three feature articles in        
this issue comes from Philip Roy, who 
writes about the use of open source 
software (OSS). Several open source 
initiatives have been selected for   
funding in the eCDF rounds and a 
community of practitioners is slowly 
developing around those projects. Udas 
(2004) provides full discussion of the   
role of OSS in the development of           
e-learning capacity within New Zealand, 
and the most recent issue of the DEANZ 
flier (April, 2005; http://deanz.org.nz/ 
flier/2005-04/) was devoted to this  
topic. The use of OSS is indeed a topic   
of the moment. Roy discusses aspects of 

OSS use that are not so often mentioned 
and which serve as a counterweight to 
the, sometimes unbounded, enthusiasm 
of OSS advocates. Whatever your  
reading of Roy’s article, it is certain to       
generate debate. 
 
This issue also contains two research 
briefs from TeLRF research projects.  The 
projects are from the first TeLRF round 
and largely complete as we go to press. 
The final reports may be available from 
the Ministry of Education, along with 
those of the three other research projects. 
The projects undertaken are effectively 
the first major research activities in       
the area of New Zealand’s e-learning 
capability at tertiary level. As such they 
deserve a wide readership. We encourage 
all readers of the Journal of Distance 
Learning to engage with the reports of 
these projects. Given the relative scarcity 
of such research within New Zealand,  
we are sure that a close reading of these 
reports will reveal many additional 
avenues for further research. 
 
There are two further feature articles in 
this issue. Major discusses the extent to 
which effective teacher education for 
diversity can occur at a distance using 
online technologies. Two converging 
factors make this an article worthy         
of attention. The first is the increasing 
diversity of the school student 
population. The second is the increasing 
number of teachers whose teacher 
education has been conducted primarily 



 

Journal of Distance Learning, Vol 9, No 1, 2005 © Distance Education Association of New Zealand 
 

4 

 

online. The extent to which online 
learning enables self-knowledge and 
allows careful examination of attitudes 
and beliefs—both central aspects of 
teacher education for diversity—is 
examined carefully in this thoughtful 
article. The second article, by Barbour, 
draws on a small project he undertook 
based on the development of Web-based 
courses for secondary students. Barbour 
distils a number of design principles  
from a series of interviews with  
designers and teachers of online courses 
for secondary students. 
 
Rounding out the articles in this issue  
are descriptions of two of the projects 
that were honoured with DEANZ 
Awards in 2004. Both projects 
demonstrate a central tenet of good 
distance education practice—matching 
the mediating technology with the    
needs and access potential of the  
students being served. These projects   
are not “high tech.” They exhibit 
exemplary practice and demonstrate the 
systemic nature of effective distance 
education on which that practice relies.   
A final section of book reviews  
completes the issue. 
 
The concept of “e-learning” is 
foundational to every item in this issue. 
As people involved in distance  
education for a number of years (starting 

as distance students in 1972 and 1973), 
we have engaged in many discussions 
about the relationship between e-learning 
and distance education.* They are clearly 
not the same, yet have a considerable 
amount in common. Boundaries blur 
when we consider these areas side by 
side. As a result of this overlap, there   
are many lessons learned in the field      
of distance education that apply to          
e-learning. Sound knowledge of distance 
education practice and familiarity with 
the research base in that field provide    
an effective preparation for exploration  
of e-learning. We look forward to 
publishing many more articles that 
acknowledge what is known and use it  
as a stepping stone to the future. 
 
REFERENCES 
 
Udas, K. (2004). Open source at the core of     

a national eLearning strategy: Analysis       
of developments in New Zealand.          
The Observatory on Borderless Higher 
Education, December. 

 
*See M. G. Moore and G. Kearsley, Distance 

Education: A Systems View (2005, 2nd ed., 
p. 2) for a definition of distance education 
and New Zealand Ministry of Education, 
Interim Tertiary E-learning Framework 
(2004, p. 1) for a definition of e-learning.