m. rezaeizadeh

Today, teachers need a set of broader and more complex qualifications than before. In order for e-learning to be successful, front-line teachers must employ the necessary technological knowledge and effective pedagogical strategies to use ICT in the classroom. Also, to accompany young learners in the development of digital competences, it is necessary that their teachers have the necessary digital literacy and competence in the first place. Therefore, digital competence is one of the key competences for teachers. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the status of digital educational competencies of teachers based on the European Union framework.

The current research design was quantitative and the participants in the research were 182 teachers from all over the country from 20 provinces and 46 different cities. To evaluate the digital educational competencies of teachers, a virtual workshop entitled "Teacher; On the way to digitalization" was held. After introducing and explaining each competence, the teacher provided the question related to the competence to the participants through the link of Google form, so that the questionnaire could be completed in this way. The questionnaire included 3 general competencies and 10 sub-competencies. Each competency had three levels: Novice and Explorer, Expert and Integrator, and Leader and Pioneer. In fact, the teacher evaluated him/herself based on these three levels of each competency.

The results showed that the competence status of teachers' digital resources in the field of managing, protecting and sharing digital resources and creating and modifying digital resources was at the level of "novice and explorer" and "integrator and expert", respectively. In relation to teaching and learning competence, except self-regulated learning competence, which was at the "novice and explorer" level, other competences were at the "integrator and expert" level. Competence of "assessment strategies" and "analyzing evidence" was also at the level of "novice and explorer". Regarding other competencies, no significant relationship between levels was observed. Also, no significant relationship was found between demographic components (occupation, age, gender, and province) and competencies.

In the current research, in addition to familiarizing the teachers with this framework and the types of digital competencies they need in the teaching profession, the evaluation of the digital competencies of the participants was also considered. Since the evaluation was done along with the training, it can be said with more confidence that the obtained data was more accurate. Also, evaluating teachers' digital competencies based on a spectrum or progression model helps to better and more accurately evaluate teachers and develop their digital competencies. In this case, training will be need-based and personalized in some way. Also, investigating the relationship between demographic components and the state of competencies leads to a more accurate understanding of the current situation of teachers in the country. In general, the results of using this self-evaluation can be used to adjust training courses and empower teachers and help teachers' educational preparation. One of the suggestions of this research for future researchers is to consider the evaluation of other competencies of the DigCompEdu framework. In the current research, the main focus was on basic competencies, that is, digital resources, teaching and learning, and assessment.

Student participation dropped significantly in teaching online and has become one of the challenges of virtual teaching. For this reason, having social and communication skills, among other skills, is one of the competencies needed by instructors to teach online courses in higher education. Therefore, one of the necessities of online teaching is developing interaction strategies to promote online class interactions. Based on this, the aim of the current research was to identify various methods and tools to create effective interaction between the instructors and students in virtual university classes.

This research was based on the qualitative approach of digital ethnography. Research data was collected using observation. The research community included the university virtual classes, which were selected using criteria-based purposeful sampling of virtual classes in the educational science department. To this end, 16 lessons related to 12 instructors (89 sessions and a total of 120 hours) were observed. In the data collection process, the researcher's role was as a non-participant observer. In addition to being descriptively recorded, the observation data or field notes were also reflected upon (the observer's perception of the situation and people).

The research findings related to various methods and tools for creating interaction were categorized into four sections, including interaction at the beginning of class, during the class, at the end of class, and outside the class. Class preparation, follow-up homework, diagnostic assessment and knowledge review were the most frequently used methods of interaction at the beginning of the class. Regarding interaction during the class, question and answer (questioning), presentation-based learning, providing feedback, using students' opinions, using motivators, managing participation, and role-playing were the most frequently used methods and techniques. Summarizing and planning, evaluation and feedback were included in the end-of-class interaction section, and in relation to out-of-class interaction, providing additional training, sending assignments, discussions, and scientific-research collaborations were the most frequently used methods. The methods and techniques that were mentioned entailed using chat tools, microphone, webcam, screen sharing, status pod, slide, Word file, video, image, survey or poll, WhatsApp, Moodle (including test plugin, assignment, forum, and file).

Based on the findings, we cannot expect to improve the quality and quantity of students' learning just by creating interaction. Rather, the effective interactions require compliance with principles and techniques such as the use of reflective questions along with descriptive ones, and awareness and overcoming obstacles to creating effective interactions. Also, the use of various tools and technologies does not necessarily lead to the effectiveness of interactions, but how to use them at the right time is more important. Another noteworthy point is that interactions outside the class (such as Feedback on assignments) are very important along with the interaction inside the virtual class. In addition, sharing experience and knowledge among professors and participating in knowledge-enhancing courses can help them become familiar with the methods and tools for creating interaction in the virtual classroom. Also, it is necessary to create opportunities for professors to practice the methods they have learned and to help them make teaching and interactions more effective by trial and error and receiving feedback.

Graphene without defects exhibits extraordinary mechanical properties, while defects such as vacancies and Stone-Wales usually impose a suffering effect on graphene's properties. On the other hand, strictly two-dimensional crystals are expected to be unstable due to the thermodynamic requirement for the existence of out-of-plane bending with interatomic interaction generating a mathematical paradox. This paper researches the fracture strength and the stretching stiffness of a rippled defective graphene that is placed under the loading pressure of uniaxial tensile. With the purpose of replicating a model for carbon atoms’ covalence bonding, a molecular dynamics simulation is carried out. This is sorted according to the adaptive intermolecular reactive bond order potential function. The degree of the temperature of the system throughout the experiment is contained through the Nose-Hoover thermostat. The software package large-scale atomic/molecular massively parallel simulator is utilized for the aim of simulation the desired bond formation in the graphene layer structure. The present study offers a physical insight into the mechanisms of topological mechanical defects of graphene, and we propose static ripples as one of the key elements to accurately understand the thermo-mechanics of graphene. The results revealed that the fracture strength of a rippled graphene is significantly reduced when it contains defects, and fracture stress and strain with different vacancy defects are presented and compared.

The increasing speed of environmental changes and the intensification of competition among organizations have caused organizations to seek solutions for greater flexibility in responding to environmental needs and changes. In fact, moving towards creating organizations that have a high degree of flexibility in adapting to a changing environment is a vital and effective solution. One of the effective factors in keeping pace with changes in the environment is the improvement of organizational performance. In this regard, the importance and attention to the development, and improvement of human resources leads to the improvement of  organizational performance. There are various strategies and methods for the development and improvement of human resources. One of the ways to develop and improve human resources is coaching. In fact, coaching has created a new approach to staff learning and development. Since information technology is a link among all modern sciences and determines the development of human resources, it has created a new concept in coaching. This research focuses on coaching and information technology. In fact, the purpose of this study is to design a prototype of coaching software as one of the tools to optimize the performance of human resources and ultimately improve organizational performance.

The information of this study was obtained using a mixed approach. The mixed approach benefits from two parts, namely qualitative and quantitative, to achieve the research result. Therefore, the present study used the phenomenological method in the qualitative part and the survey method in the quantitative part. The research instruments in  the qualitative part was the focus group method. In the quantitative part of the research, a researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect the information. The statistical population of the study in the qualitative section were specialists in the field of education and human resources, from among them 10 people were selected using the method of snowball sampling. The statistical population of the study in the quantitative part were the  top  managers of Mashhad Power Distribution Company. From this statistical population, the top managers of the western part of the company, which included 20 people, were selected to perform a usability test.

 The data obtained from the qualitative part of the research included 4 components for designing the coaching software, which was based on the prototype model of software development. The data obtained from the research were quantitatively analyzed by SPSS software. Quantitative data analyzed by the software showed that the aforementioned software has the required usability to be implemented in organizations and used by individuals.

The present study with laying emphasis on reducing the generation gap between managers and current employees and the individuals who will be employed in  the organization and also; and with laying emphasis on technology design by education and human resources experts and  examining the existing human resources software, sought to design a prototype of coaching software with features such as communication, cognition, problem facilitation process and problem coping, belief in the ability of individuals and motivational dimensions, and implementation of the selected solution and 360-degree evaluation. The aforementioned features were not seen in the Iranian software examined in the study. In addition to the above features, the distinguishing feature of the aforementioned software is attention to the Cohen and Bradford coaching model, and being process-oriented and feedback-oriented.

Today, academic fields have turned into a powerful tool for shaping the society and play an important role in the production of science and the creation of scientific communities. But at the same times, the nature of science and its production in academic settings are encountered with changes and challenges. In this study, based on Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theory, we have tried to examine factors and challenges that university environments face with in the course of science production and hence, attempted to respond to the basic question: What are the factors and challenges of science production in the academic field? For that matter, using the meta-synthesis method, 62 articles were reviewed and their related categories and concepts were extracted and identified using the content analysis.

The goal of this study was to assess Shahid Beheshti University’s courseware in terms of technical, instructional, and counseling based on Khan’s e-learning framework through reflection on students’ experiences.

The study used a grounded theory research design. The statistical population of the study was undergraduate students from Faculty of Education and Psychology who had taken Shahid Beheshti University's courseware. Participants were 32 students that were selected by purposeful criterion-based sampling method. Using semi-structured interviews, information was obtained to achieve the researcher's theoretical saturation. The findings were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin coding methods at open and axial coding levels.

The findings from the analysis of one-to-one interviews indicated that: 1. Loss of information from group discussions; 2. Lack of access to useful resources and links in the courseware; 3. Little information about user/support team participation status; 4. Lack of attention to instructional support to student’s success in courseware; and 5. Inadequate information about the activities of service desk have influenced the motivation and continuous activity in the courseware. Most importantly, these issues affect the users’ attitudes towards e-learning.

The study of students' experiences showed that the resource support of the courseware needs more review and attention. Ignoring this dimension of e-learning will create a gap between the potential of technology on learning and its use in practice. In other words, the lack of instructional, counseling and technical support affected users' attitudes towards e-learning. According technology acceptance model, perceived ease-of-use will be affected by usefulness of e-learning system. So that, students will not be inclined to continue their activities using it. Therefore, the present study recommends continuous evaluation of the courseware to identify the behavior pattern of users during the activity in the course and apply the necessary support mechanisms. For example, this goal can be achieved

Oral presentation is a key competence for success in the diverse work environments that academics need. It is recommended as part of a higher education curriculum. The role of technology in improving oral presentation skills and especially facilitating feedback, is significant. In particular, the combination of serious game and virtual reality is a new area of ​​research that is a modern alternative to traditional skills training. The interactive digital environment, real-time feedback, the realism of the learning scenario, the direct experience, and the persistence of the knowledge gained are some of the virtual reality opportunities for skills training. It should not be overlooked that insufficient budget, negative attitude of users about their physical and psychological condition after experiencing virtual reality, and poor technological design of virtual reality environments are also among the limitations of this technology. However, recent meta-analyzes confirm the influence of virtual reality in learning environments. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to measure the impact of virtual reality on a serious game with the serious purpose of oral presentation training.

We designed and developed an SG and conducted a quasi-experimental study with a post-test on 32 graduate students. The research question we sought to answer was “to what extent can VR impact the effectiveness of SGs in oral presentation training?” The authors also analyzed the cost-effectiveness of incorporating VR elements. The game focused on three key skills, eye contact, walking around while presenting, and time management. The experimental group played the game with the HTC Vive VR system and the control group played the same game with an HD display, a keyboard, and a mouse. In addition to that, we collected in-game data while players were playing the game. Mann-Whitney U test and Student's t-test were used to compare the two groups.

Results revealed that VR elements did not have a significant impact on the demonstration of the players' eye contact skills but they increased players' tendency to walk around the virtual environment. Analysis of players’ performance regarding time management skills showed no significant difference between the two groups.

It is concluded that even though playing the serious game with an HD display, a keyboard, and a mouse can be effective, turning the game into a VR experience would result in further improvement in the demonstration of some of the presentation key skills (walking around while presenting). However, creating a VR experience requires developers to spend more time and resources into developing the game. According to researchers, creating a VR SG for improving oral presentation skills allows for training to be done in the context that it occurs within. Moreover, the VR SG can be effectively used to overcome public presentation nerves. Also, due to the challenging economic situations outside the university and the need to benefit from communication skills and oral presentation, a serious game based on virtual reality can improve the indicators of oral presentation. Achieving this requires higher education attention to interactive technologies such as virtual reality.

In organizations, organizational behavior management plays an important role in employee performance and attention to organizational ethics is a tool for promoting organizational performance. The purpose of this study was to prioritize the factors affecting organizational behavior management with emphasis on ethics in the public sector banking industry.

This study was an applied one of qualitative research. The statistical population consisted of public sector banking industry experts, among whom 15 were selected by snowball method. Data collection tool was a questionnaire and the data were analyzed using Fuzzy Delphi-FANP - FDEMATEL and Friedman test.

The findings of the study identified 41 factors in 7 criteria categories. Based on the results, ethical factors had the highest weight and the most important role in managing organizational behavior. Also, based on the results, structural and regional / international factors had the most impact on other elements of the system, respectively. Among the indicators of equity and establishment of the corporate system were ranked first and second respectively with the highest average of 4.39 and 4.25 respectively.

Banks are the pulse of the countrychr('39')s economy, so banks should establish a justice-based paradigm in all organizational and banking processes. Take proper steps to achieve the highest corporate and national goals by adhering to the principles of systematic participation and productive interaction with others, in order to properly conduct banking operations without usury.

The separation of learner and teacher from each other in e-learning, has made feedback as the most important challenge in this type of learning. Despite, there is no comprehensive framework based on the science of education, so that how to create educational feedback based on learning objectives. The purpose of this study was to compilation the educational standards and their indicators based on the Bloom-

Anderson’s taxonomy for design effective and on time feedback for any educational goal. Qualitative research approach is used and based this approach, the phenomenological design strategy has been used. The population included 12 persons of subject matter and faculty member in academic e-learning centers which were selected through purposeful sampling. Those individuals included in the sample who had three characteristics: a) academic education in e-learning, b) teaching in higher education in the faculties of educational sciences, and c) working in e-learning centers of universities and educational institutions. To gather data semi-structured interviews were used. Qualitative data generated from interviews were coded and analysis by Corbin and Strauss method and Maxquda software.

The results of the study led to the development of 4 educational standards and 25 indicators based on the Bloom-Anderson’s taxonomy to design a comprehensive feedback in the field of e-learning. According to the results of this study, educational technologists can evaluate or design more effective e-learning environments.

Overall, feedback plays a key role in e-learning process that can pave the way for identifying problems in the teaching-learning process and proposing improvements to these challenges. However, timing of the feedback is critical. Lack of time shows that the potential benefits of feedback are often not achieved, and instructors are often unable to provide feedback tailored to educational conditions and goals. The results of this study can provide appropriate design and presenting of the feedback with the aim of learning and effective use of educational technologies at the right time. In this regard it can help designers of e-learning environments in a way that the right time to provide feedback is not wasted and always provide feedback at the right time and in the right way. Based on the results of the research, evaluators and administrators of e-learning environments can use the e-learning evaluation form of the paper prepared based on the standards and criteria in a Likert scale to evaluate the feedback method of e-learning instructors. 

Not only has MOOC been able to reach a valuable place in the world of teaching and learning as an online educational tool, but it has also been recognized as a wave of thought that has attracted the attention of many writers and researchers. However, this issue is questionable in Iran because not only is MOOC not used as a dominant educational tool, but so far no research has been done on this issue. But in order to establish the effectiveness of this system in universities and educational centers, a comprehensive view of its situation in other countries must be obtained. Given the benefits as well as the challenges and threats that MOOCs may have for the country's higher education, foresight and adopting measures and strategies in the field of proper management in the use of MOOCs and their local production is very basic. Also, due to the need for adaptation of universities and educational institutions in Iran to different learning methods and online and new educational plans to ensure quality in providing services to users and adaptation to technological spaces that grow and develop online, conducting academic research on developments Higher education is very vital. The purpose of this study was developing a conceptual model for Mooc-based curriculum in higher education.

This was a qualitative study and conducted based on grounded theory approach. The statistical population includes educational technology and higher education technology experts. Using the purposeful sampling approach and interviewing 14 people, theoretical saturation was achieved in the categories. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The reliability and validity in qualitative part of the research was through reviewing by experts who did not participate in the study.

The important issue of current study is the higher education curriculum which is developed in four aspects of goal, content, teaching-learning methods and evaluation analysis and according to causal conditions, the underlying conditions and mediation terms of terms of developing strategies and based on that the final model is presented.

The production of MOOCs in Iran is done by considering the contextual conditions and requirements of the environment, considering the philosophy of this matter, and adopting strategies in order to realize the MOOC-based curriculum model, which, if done correctly its effective consequences can be seen. In the present study, it was revealed that despite the weaknesses and challenges associated with MOOCs, the view of experts is positive about the existence of a MOOC-based curriculum. This means that the MOOC-based curriculum model can be used in higher education. Higher education, by taking appropriate measures in line with these challenges, can provide a suitable platform for this innovation in the field of teaching-learning. Also, due to the multicultural nature of Iranian society and the open space of discourse that exists in the MOOCs, it can be used for communication between cultures and subcultures in Iran considering these subcultures in the field of education. 

In this paper, the stretching stiffness of a rippled graphene is studied using the molecular dynamics simulation. The uneven surface of the rippled graphene is modeled by a random function with different amplitudes and frequencies. Two models of the rippled graphene are simulated. In the first model, it is supposed that the graphene has random wrinkles with different amplitudes and frequencies. It can be regarded as an opened crumpled graphene. In the second model, the uneven surface of the rippled graphene is modeled by the trigonometric sine shapes. The adaptive intermolecular reactive bond order potential function is utilized to model the covalence bonding of the carbon atoms and the Nose-Hoover thermostat is used to control temperature of the system. It is implemented in the software package large scale atomic/molecular massively parallel simulator in order to simulate covalent bond formation between carbon atoms in the structure of graphene layer. Results are presented for both zigzag and armchair rippled graphene sheets with different initial surfaces. It is concluded that the failure strain of a rippled graphene under uniaxial tensile loading is less than that of a flat one. It is also demonstrated that the rippled graphene has softening stretching behavior due to its uneven surface.

In this paper, a Green’s function is developed for bending analysis of micro plates under an asymmetric load. In order to consider the length scale effect, the modified couple stress theory is used. This theory can accurately predict the behavior of micro structures. A thin micro plate is considered and therefore the classical plate theory is utilized. The size dependent governing equilibrium equation of a circular micro plate under an eccentric load is obtained by using the minimum total potential energy principle. This equation is a partial differential equation and it is hard to solve it for an arbitrary loading. A transformation of the coordinate system is introduced to obtain the asymmetric exact solution for deflection of circular micro-plates. By using the obtained size dependent Green’s function, the bending behavior of microplates under arbitrary loads can be easily defined. The results are presented for different asymmetric loads. Also, it is concluded that the length scale has a significant effect on bending of micro plates.

Although the fields of teaching and learning have changed very little compared to other categories more than two thousand years ago, today, with the help of information technology, it has undergone rapid changes. In recent years, virtual education has emerged as one of the most important applications of new information and communication technologies in the world and extensive activities have begun in this direction. Virtual education has created a new paradigm and has enabled learning in any field, for any person, at any time and in any place. Among the various forms of e-learning, there has been a significant expansion of free online courses, MOOCs in recent years. The purpose of this study is to delineate the strengths, defects, opportunities and threats in MOOC-based curricula. This research is applied and used a qualitative method.  

The statistical population of the qualitative section includes experts who have been engaged in the process of providing educational services during MOOC-based educational courses. From among this population, 14 individuals have been chosen as the statistical sample through purposive sampling. The data have been gathered through semi-structured interviews.  

The findings show that the most significant strengths include: promotion of access to curricula, learner-orientation, the possibility of realization in learning society, enjoying high quality teaching and promotion of dynamism. Among the most important defects are the possibility of neglecting real situations in education, the possibility of lack of proper educational organization, the possibility of an increase in the financial burden of the curriculum, the possibility of exclusivity in curriculum development, the possibility of not being able to evaluate high order thinking skills, the possibility of taking teacher freedom away, the possibility of lack of organization in evaluation, the possibility of arising problems in precise verification of the evaluated person. The most significant opportunities are supporting the extension of educational justice, the possibility of investment, supporting up-to-date knowledge, extending international communication in higher education curriculum development, the possibility of revising university curricula, facilitating the promotion of evaluation methods efficiency and making the education more applicatory. The most prominent threats are disruption in university functions, making instructors’ professions questionable, lack of educational purposiveness, incompetency of curriculum objectives, opposition of values and superficiality of curriculum objectives, instrumental exploitation of MOOCs, incompatibility between content and the audience’s needs, evaluations becoming quantitative, disregarding the market requirements in the process of evaluation and doubtfulness and pessimism towards MOOCs.

Based on the results of the present study, considering the contextual conditions and planning in the field of strengthening and its optimal preparation, as conditions affecting all the components and factors involved in the design of MOOCs in higher education; universities and higher education institutions should invest in the development of a culture that seeks to discover, invent, innovate, and create curricula based on MOOCs in order to establish a knowledge-based structure; expand the scope of MOOC-based curricula in academic settings through teamwork question and answer sessions between students and faculty, group discussions, and the formation of workshops and seminars in collaboration with other institutions and higher education centers. 

Universities play an important role in society. They are centers of innovation, attract and nurture talent, create and share new knowledge, and are of great value in the national and regional economies. Thus, declining government budgets and increasing global competition for qualified staff and students have led universities to provide better conditions for providing education in a variety of ways. On the other hand, communication technologies have paved the way for distance learning by offering new methods of education. Therefore, with the development of the Internet and multimedia technologies and their use in educational programs, a kind of educational model called e-learning has been created. In e-learning, due to the existence of the World Wide Web, all stages of education have benefited from what the Internet has provided. In the web space, a variety of features such as online class notes and lecture materials, dynamic online Q & A systems, classroom preparation for exams, games and real-life simulations for educators and learners are provided. In order to present and manage activities in the e-learning environment, a software program called Learning Management System (LMS) is used, which provides facilities for sharing educational materials, sending notifications related to each lesson, presenting and performing assignments, providing users with online communication with each other, conducting evaluations, and evaluating results. Accessibility is one of the important indicators in obtaining students' and teachers' interest in a courseware. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the effective factors impacting on the accessibility of Shahid Beheshti University’s courseware.

Method and Materials:

 Accordingly, a qualitative phenomenology research has been implemented. The population of this study is undergraduate students of the Faculty of Education and Psychology of Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran who had an experience of working with the courseware. 15 Participants were selected using purposeful sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for data gathering until the theoretical saturation was achieved. The findings were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin coding method at two open and axial coding levels.

According to the findings from 15 interviews, six categories including: the weakness of quick access to the content of discussions, the lack of off-line access to the discussions, not suitable access to the content on multiple platforms, lack of ability to display online users, the weakness in access to discussions of the previous groups; and lack of student access to their performance results, were identified.

The main result of this research is to highlight the importance of the "availability" indicator for learning management tools and systems and also to determine the factors affecting this important indicator. If the designers and implementers of learning management systems in schools and universities are interested in improving the management function of their curriculum, it is necessary to pay proper attention to these six factors. Processes and components in courseware need to be changed so that they can be "more accessible" to their stakeholders by considering the above six factors. These factors could help e-learning administrators and designers to provide a better and more qualified experience for their students and faculties.

The aim of this study is to investigate and redefine the role of the teacher in new environments and rich in technology in accordance with the view of the Connectivism theorists. The research approach is qualitative and the research method is based on Mayring’s qualitative content analysis. The Research community is all of the relationship articles about the Connectivism theory since 2003 to 2015 and learning in accredited journals in the field of education which are sorted with specific keywords. There were 98 articles. The sample was 13 articles which were selected purposefully based on the theoretical saturation of data. The data were been collected from the qualitative-analogous analysis of documents of the sample. By analyzing data the answers to the research question were identified in 29 sub-categories and were classified in 6 main subscales based on the open coding method. The results of the analysis led to the recognition of teacher’s important roles as a model in training environment based on technology in accordance with the learning-oriented Connectivism theory.

Distance education is one of the most important criteria of education; organizations believe that it has important role in human resource (HR) education. However, there are some challenges in implementing distance learning in the organisations' HRD (Human Resource development) departments. The current study seek to identify and rank the challenges that confront distant learners in organizations. In order to do so, a sample of 115 employees of Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran who attended virtual training through the last year were selected and engaged in the study. Reviewing the literature on e-learning challenges and critical factors, the main questions of a questionnaire were extracted and written. Analyzing the data has been gathered by those questionnaires, the final list of the intended challenges was identified, categorized, and ranked as following: Educational, Infrastructural, and Cultural challenges. The implications of the current study on how distance education can be properly used in HRD is also discussed and outlined in the paper.