This study investigates the prospects of setting up an open university for women in Saudi Arabia against the background of the problems which Saudi women face in pursuing higher education. A review is given of the development of modern public education for women since its beginning in 1960, with emphasis on the more recent development of higher education for women. The position of women in Islam and in contemporary Saudi society is examined as this has influenced their access to higher education. An account is also given of the development of women's position in contemporary Western society. Three open universities, the United Kingdom Open University, the Sukhathai Thammahirat Open University (Thailand), and the Allama Iqbal Open University (Pakistan) are described in 'order to demonstrate how the idea of an Open University first arose (UKOU) , and how it was later realized in a developing county (Thailand), and in an Islamic country (Pakistan). A questionnaire was devised in order to gather data on attitudes to the setting up of an open university for women in Saudi Arabia, on perceptions of its feasibility, and on possible obstacles to its foundation. The questionnaire also included a section on the most suitable model for an open university for women in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was distributed in government bodies and higher educational establishments in Saudi Arabia to policy makers, academics, and female students. An analysis of the data reveals a very positive response to the setting up of an open university for women in Saudi Arabia. Respondents, however, demonstrated a realistic awareness of the problems of gaining public acceptance for a new type of higher education and of the launching of a new project in a time of restrictions on government spending. Finally, on the basis of the findings from the survey, a proposal is made for the setting up of an open university suitable for women in Saudi Arabia today.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility, practicality and desirability of establishing a virtual university using Internet-based technology in Saudi Arabia. The intention would be to deliver higher education in order to accommodate the rapid growth in the number of secondary school graduates. This is regarded as one of the most important challenges currently facing higher education institutions, particularly universities in the Kingdom. The questionnaire in this study was designed to obtain respondents' views in relation to the proposed model. It was distributed to 996 teaching members (male and female) at three major universities: KSU, IMIU and KAU. The number of questionnaires returned was 538; this represents about 57% of the total sample. The majority of respondents (about 67.7%; N= 364) suggested that establishing a virtual university in Saudi Arabia was appropriate to meet the increasing demand for higher education. Group B represented the highest percentages of agreement at around 92.7%, while Group A represented nearly 60.2%. In contrast, the remaining 32.3% of the total number of respondents believed that there are alternative available solutions that can be utilised in order to overcome this problem. Almost 19.0% stated that they would like the private sector to take its responsibility seriously and begin autonomously, or collaboratively with the Saudi government, to construct more traditional colleges and universities in all regions of the Kingdom. Around 51.1% were in favour of the MI-IE, on behalf of the Saudi government, taking full control of higher education provision, introducing more traditional public colleges and universities throughout the Kingdom. Finally, almost 29.9% appreciated any effort made by the current traditional universities to increase their capacity to absorb more students now and in the future. Interviews were carried out in order to gain respondents' opinions on the overall situation. These interviews were composed of two sets: the first set was conducted with various decision-makers at the HESC, the MMHE, KSU, INIIU, and KAU. The second set was conducted with the Director of IU at KACST, the Manager of Internet Services at STC, and one representative of the ISPs in the Kingdom. The outcomes revealed that, in recent times, the higher education system in general and universities in particular have encountered, in addition to the rising number of secondary school graduates who wish to pursue higher education, other problems such as a lack of equal educational opportunities, a lack of educational quality, increased drop-out rates and a lack of interest in learning by some students, a lack of well-forged and mutual relationships between universities and the private sector, and so on. The application of SSNI, which made use of the results of the questionnaires and interviews, determined and confirmed the improvements needed to surmount these limitations. The proposed system encompasses strategic planning, content, communication technology and relevant systems for central support. Each part of the system was logically built to carry out certain activities that work in harmony with the others in order to achieve the mission of the entire system. The study concluded that a virtual university was both systematically desirable and culturally feasible; therefore, recommendations were made for its implementation.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become a common feature in contemporary Higher Education institutions worldwide. LMS literature shows that the level of interest and/or knowledge among academics towards the importance and usefulness of these systems, and the opportunities they can bring to the teaching process are key factors affecting the degree of use of LMS in HE. To date, most of these studies have taken place in the context of developed countries, and there is only limited research in other areas. In recent years, LMS have been adopted widely in Saudi Arabia’s Higher Education sector, however, there are no strong and detailed data regarding the subject in this context, which could impede future developments. On the other hand, academics were chosen as the main focus of this investigation because studies have revealed that they have the most vital role in promoting and enhancing the use of LMS. Therefore, this research investigates academics’ adoption and usage of LMS in Saudi Arabia’s universities; it aims to understand the adoption conditions and identify what factors truly affect the adoption process and to what level are the systems being used and why. The investigation was guided by Grounded Theory research principles. Initially, a review of the literature identified the nature of LMS along with the issues confronting academics when they are trying to use it to its full potential in supporting the delivery of their courses. Afterwards, questionnaires were employed to further explore the phenomenon in its examined context, i.e. Saudi higher education. The generated data and concepts were then used to guide the research process and to develop interview questions. The interviews were carried out at three Saudi universities with a range of stakeholders, which signified the primary data source in this investigation. Analysis revealed that LMS did not emerge as a well-established component of academics’ activities in Saudi universities despite the positive view respondents expressed towards it. Findings also explained why LMS was either considered a secondary method to support face-to-face teaching, or under-utilised in fully online courses. Furthermore, findings revealed the primary factors influencing academics’ level of use of LMS. Moreover, there were issues identified in relation to the academics’ development and training for LMS, which had a significant effect on the academics’ level of use of LMS. Findings were then integrated into a substantive theory and a theoretical model, which represents the research primary outcome. The theoretical outcomes offer abstract explanation of the phenomenon about adopting innovatory systems in Saudi universities, LMS in this instance. In conclusion, suggestions for improving the current provision of LMS in Saudi Universities are made. Overall, this study provided an insight into the environment surrounding the early adoption phases of LMS in Saudi universities, which offers a better understanding of the phenomenon. Subsequently, this will help enhance the adoption process in current contexts and assist in the better future utilisation of these systems in similar situations.

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During the last two decades, there has been great interest in integrating computers and technology in higher education. Currently web tool services for learning have attracted researchers in the field of education technology to integrate eLearning within the learning environment. In particular, the Internet has become an increasingly important and novel feature of the modern learning environment. Amongst the innovations, a certain tool has become extremely popular worldwide. It is known as web 2.0. It is a read/write web. Blogs (web logs) are one its fastest growing features. The researcher investigated the exciting prospect of developing an eLearning environment by utilizing and applying effective blogs. To date there has been little use of blogs as online tools in higher education, especially in Saudi Arabia. This study concerned the disclosure of more understanding of the use of web 2.0 applications in higher education in Saudi universities. The first purpose of this study was to develop an eLearning model for web 2.0. Its second purpose was to examine learners' perceptions and attitudes toward web 2.0 applications, i.e. blog tools by exploring the relationship between learners' attitudes toward blog tool instructions and factors identified as potentially influencing these attitudes. This research adopted an approach based on an interpretive philosophical paradigm accompanied by a qualitative methodology coupled with action research methods. Learning theories were considered as a theoretical framework. The learning theories considered was Behaviorism, Cognitive and Constructivism with Bloom's Taxonomy and Boud's Model. Data was collected qualitatively and analyzed thematically. Triangulation was conducted upon the outcomes of the questionnaires, interviews, observations and blog content analysis. This research made four main contributions. First, it identified the factors that influenced learner acceptance for the use of blog tools in higher education. Second, it investigated the relationship between learners' attitudes and their acceptance of the utilization of blog tools within their learning environment. Third, it responded to calls from the literature review to investigate blog utilization by conducting an in-depth investigation that utilized qualitative methodology with action research. Lastly, it provided further insight and a better understanding of blog usage with respect to structured/ unstructured learning environments.