Open Praxis is a peer-reviewed open access scholarly journal focusing on research and innovation in open, distance, and flexible education. It is published by International Council for Open and Distance Education - ICDE Web of Science (ESCI) Impact Factor for 2023 is 0,9; ranked 457 out of 759 in Education and Educational Sciences in Q3. Scopus Cite Score is 3.5; ranked 453 out of 1543 in Education category in Q2 and 72 out of 2801 in Library and Information Sciences category in Q2. Facts and Figures: 2024 article acceptance rate is 33%, rejection rate is 67% (13% desk rejections - 54% rejections after review). While the number of days for acceptance is 44, the number of days for rejection is 16.

This paper presents and analyses solutions where open education and open science were utilised to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education. The COVID-19 outbreak and associated lockdowns created huge challenges in school and higher education, demanding sudden responses which aimed to sustain pedagogical quality. Responses have varied from conservative to radically innovative. Universally, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted and shocked societies worldwide, and education systems were on the front line. The lockdowns largely stopped face-to-face and formal education in almost all countries, and in most cases, distance learning soon became the ‘new normal’. A central challenge concerned sustaining educational visions and ideals in such circumstances. To better understand the state of the art in the educational landscape, we collected case studies from 13 countries during the first year of the pandemic starting on 11 March 2020 (when the World Health Organization declared a pandemic). This paper presents summaries of the full country reports that were collected and describe lessons learned. Our overall aim was to identify good practices and recommendations from the collected case studies that can be taken forward in the future. We categorised the responses on the three generic educational levels (macro, meso and micro) and identified seven key aspects and trends that are valid for all or most countries: (1) formal education at a distance for first time; (2) similar approaches for formal education; (3) missing infrastructure and sharing open educational resources; (4) diverse teaching and learning methods and practices; (5) open education and access to open educational resources; (6) urgent need for professional development and training for teachers and (7) assessing and monitoring learning environments, teachers and students. Finally, we identified key recommendations on how open education and open science can benefit formal education in schools and universities in the future, namely, improved awareness of open educational practices, provision of ICT infrastructure, embracing and sustaining the practice of open access publications and OERs, capacity building for stakeholders and finally encouraging research and development in the area of open education and open science. We found significant evidence for the proposition that open education and open science can support both traditional face-to-face and distance learning.

The future of education relies on the integration of information technologies, emphasizing the importance of equity and inclusiveness for quality education. Teacher education programs are essential for fostering qualified educators for the future. Integrating AI in education is crucial to ensure inclusivity and comprehensive services for all. This study aims to evaluate student teachers’ perceptions of using AI in learning and teaching, and to provide suggestions for enhancing sustainable education through information technologies. A qualitative research design was adopted to gather perceptions and experiences from 240 student teachers who participated in a seminar on AI usage and completed self-reflection tasks. These student teachers, enrolled in various teaching methods and principal courses, contributed to the thematic analysis. The study reveals that AI should be carefully planned and incorporated into lesson plans to enhance personalized learning. Student teachers reported that AI supports and motivates the learning process, effectively transforming students’ needs and learning experiences. However, they also noted potential drawbacks, such as AI imposing restrictions on the teaching profession, replacing teachers, and producing biased results. The study suggests that capacity-building strategies for student teachers should be enriched across different courses to raise awareness about AI’s applications.

Why is Openness in Education important, and why is it critically needed at this moment? As manifested in our guiding question, the significance of Openness in Education and its immediate necessity form the heart of this collaborative editorial piece. This rather straightforward, yet nuanced query has sparked this collective endeavour by using individual testimonies, which may also be taken as living narratives, to reveal the value of Openness in Education as a praxis. Such testimonies serve as rich, personal narratives, critical introspections, and experience-based accounts that function as sources of data. The data gleaned from these narratives points to the understanding of Openness in Education as a complex, multilayered concept intricately woven into an array of values. These range from aspects such as sharing, access, flexibility, affordability, enlightenment, barrier-removal, empowerment, care, individual agency, trust, innovation, sustainability, collaboration, co-creation, social justice, equity, transparency, inclusivity, decolonization, democratisation, participation, liberty, and respect for diversity. This editorial, as a product of collective endeavour, invites its readers to independently engage with individual narratives, fostering the creation of unique interpretations. This call stems from the distinctive character of each narrative as they voice individual researchers’ perspectives from around the globe, articulating their insights within their unique situational contexts.

In terms of scale, shock, and disenfranchisement, the disruption to formal education arising from COVID-19 has been unprecedented. Anecdotally, responses from teachers and educators around the world range from heightened caution to being inspired by distance education as the “new normal.” Of all the challenges, face-to-face and formal teaching have been most heavily affected. Despite some education systems demonstrating resilience, a major challenge is sustaining quality and inclusiveness in formal education suddenly delivered at a distance. In probing these issues, this article profiles international perspectives on the role of open education in responding to the impact on formal school and higher education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We proceed by highlighting and analysing practices and case studies from 13 countries representing all global regions, identifying and discussing the challenges and opportunities that have presented themselves. Reports cover the period from the beginning of 2020 until 11 March 2021, the first anniversary of the COVID-19 outbreak as declared by the World Health Organization. In our comparative study, we identify seven key aspects of which three (missing infrastructure and sharing OER, open education and access to OER, and urgent need for professional development and training for teachers) are directly related to open education at a distance. After comparing examples of existing practice, we make recommendations and offer insights into how open education strategies can lead to interventions that are effective and innovative—to improve formal education at a distance in schools and universities in the future.

With the rapid integration of technology into educational environments during the pandemic period, the teaching processes in classrooms and private education institutions began to be carried out with technology support. Game-based animation learning designs in technology-supported educational environments provide an interesting and motivation-enhancing learning experience in developing students’ education skills. In today’s educational environments, 2D and 3D animation game designs are the unique technology-supported learning environments in teaching many different skills, behaviors, and concepts to individuals with special needs. Visual designs and animations are one of the technologies necessary to prepare individuals with special needs for an independent life. The accessibility of animation designs for teachers and families has gained significant importance during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Technology education supports the visual, listening, reading, writing, social, and communication skills of individuals with special needs, facilitates their independent life skills, and contributes to their development as a guide. This allows individuals to learn the targeted information more easily, permanently, and quickly. In this context, this study provides information on the use and accessibility of animation technology in special education, offers suggestions for the benefit of visual design and animation, which are among the assistive technologies, and gives insights into how school management is ready for digital education.