摘要：In this Issue we present a group of papersdescribing how face-to-face teaching isnowused in open and distance educaton. The phenomenon of not letting go of this element has several reasons for its continued role in distance education. Some of these reasons are to do with teaching and assessment, and one other may be related to the need for student online social presence. For more than ten years, practioners have argued against havinga face element. Blake (2000) has summarised these arguments well, calling for the subjective and personal aspects to be removed from the collaborative learning environment so that only ideas are deliberated in an objective and uncluttered way.
