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Applying internet technology
at the Open University:
from global scalable distance teaching to high
bandwidth classroom resources in local schools
By Blaine Alexander Price
Although internet technology and the WWW have been hailed as a panacea for education, and distance education in particular, few people are making effective use of the technology or demonstrating scalable examples. The Open University (UK) is one of the world's leading distance teaching universities and in this talk I will discuss the models we have used to move from large-scale postal-delivered supported distance teaching within the UK and Europe to global internet delivery.
Our mandate is not only to deliver effective distance teaching to students but also to support students with face-to-face tutorials, via telephone, and via television & radio broadcasts. I will discuss the various internet media we have employed to augment this support for students unable to attend face-to-face sessions, including synchronous and asynchronous interaction with live audio/video/graphic events.
I will also discuss our paperless assessment methods and our attempts at final examinations via the internet.
The second strand of my talk shifts from a global to a local focus. We have begun linking local primary and secondary schools to the internet with high-speed low-cost wireless connections to the university's backbone, which provides fast access to the internet as well as the university's high-speed servers and caches. This has allowed students to access topic-focussed internet resources worldwide (including live video sites to study volcanoes or the Earth's rotation).
It also makes it feasible for students at different schools within the same area to collaborate using medium quality video conferencing. None of these would be possible via ordinary dialup or even ISDN connections because of the bandwidth required and the normally long delays reaching web sites on other continents at prime time.
We believe that many of the techniques we have employed both globally and locally are applicable to institutions everywhere. Our initial evaluations have shown significant improvements in both the efficiency of the university administration and the experiences of the students and tutors.
Contact Details
Blaine Alexander Price
Knowledge Media Institute
The Open University
Milton Keynes,
UK MK7 6AA
Phone +44 1908 655755
Fax +44 1908 653169
Email: B.A.Price@open.ac.uk
at the Open University:
from global scalable distance teaching to high
bandwidth classroom resources in local schools
By Blaine Alexander Price
Although internet technology and the WWW have been hailed as a panacea for education, and distance education in particular, few people are making effective use of the technology or demonstrating scalable examples. The Open University (UK) is one of the world's leading distance teaching universities and in this talk I will discuss the models we have used to move from large-scale postal-delivered supported distance teaching within the UK and Europe to global internet delivery.
Our mandate is not only to deliver effective distance teaching to students but also to support students with face-to-face tutorials, via telephone, and via television & radio broadcasts. I will discuss the various internet media we have employed to augment this support for students unable to attend face-to-face sessions, including synchronous and asynchronous interaction with live audio/video/graphic events.
I will also discuss our paperless assessment methods and our attempts at final examinations via the internet.
The second strand of my talk shifts from a global to a local focus. We have begun linking local primary and secondary schools to the internet with high-speed low-cost wireless connections to the university's backbone, which provides fast access to the internet as well as the university's high-speed servers and caches. This has allowed students to access topic-focussed internet resources worldwide (including live video sites to study volcanoes or the Earth's rotation).
It also makes it feasible for students at different schools within the same area to collaborate using medium quality video conferencing. None of these would be possible via ordinary dialup or even ISDN connections because of the bandwidth required and the normally long delays reaching web sites on other continents at prime time.
We believe that many of the techniques we have employed both globally and locally are applicable to institutions everywhere. Our initial evaluations have shown significant improvements in both the efficiency of the university administration and the experiences of the students and tutors.
Contact Details
Blaine Alexander Price
Knowledge Media Institute
The Open University
Milton Keynes,
UK MK7 6AA
Phone +44 1908 655755
Fax +44 1908 653169
Email: B.A.Price@open.ac.uk
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