The Open University of Great Britain provides home-based instruction to nearly 50,000 predominantly-working students via broadcasts and correspondence. Each unit of instruction consists of a combination of text, broadcasts, cassette recordings, assignments, and experiment kits. The per student cost of this delivery system is impressively low,…

Very little is known about how students learn from television, particularly when television is used in conjunction with a prescribed set of written materials. At the Open University of Great Britain, classes have proliferated to the extent that it is not longer possible to broadcast one lecture to accompany each unit of instruction. To reduce air…

The Open University of Great Britain is an open-enrollment, home-based institution in which the majority of the instruction is conducted via broadcasts and correspondence. There are over 50,000 students ernolled in nearly 100 courses which require the transmission of 1,000 television and 1,000 radio broadcasts each year. Recently, research has…

The information systems of nontraditional education are examined. Case studies illustrate the variation in nontraditional programs: Open University of Pennsylvania, British Open University, Prince George's County Library (Maryland), University Without Walls--Skidmore, Empire State College--Saratoga, Minnesota Metropolitan State College, and…

Summarizes differences between face-to-face and distance learners at Fernuniversitat (West Germany) in terms of demographics, motivation, study conditions, and personal consequences, in order to provide some empirically derived insights into the psychological consequences of distance learning for learners. (MBR)

Describes experiences of United Kingdom's Open University blind students involved in "Computing and the Blind" project. Microcomputer applications described include braille-to-text transcription, word processing, and computer programming. Each application's use of software designed for commercially available microcomputer systems with…

Presents a study on attraction of students to an open-university distance education program and their commitment to remain in the program over time. In this study, commitment is conjectured to be a function of program satisfaction, availability of educational alternatives, and investment of time, energy, money, and ego. (MBR)

Describes development of the Central Broadcasting Television University of China and, in particular, a course to teach English as a second language. Technical problems of producing television programs and how some of the pedagogical, idealogical, and cultural issues concerning this English course are gradually being resolved are discussed. (EAO)

Argues for the development of group intervention techniques to improve the efficacy of course teams in the preparation of distance education materials, reviews recent commentaries on course teams and discusses related issues, and conludes with recommendations to enrich the quality of course team life and output. (Author/EAO)

Explores some recent theory and research developments on the role and character of television, and its impact on learning in distance education. The implications for learning of distributional and social, control, and symbolic (audiovisual) characteristics of television are discussed. Fifteen references and an outline of television applications…

Research on independent learning motivation conducted through in-depth interviews with correspondence students is compared with what is known about the motivation and behavior of people who pursue leisure interests independently: deciding what to study, what resources are needed, and when the learning objectives have been achieved. (MSE)

Recommends adjustments in institutional organization based on a determination that students will succeed, regardless of how long it takes or how much effort is expended by the institution. Arguments are advanced for making curricular, media, method, and administrative changes to meet the needs of the nontraditional student. (Author)

Professional education, community education, and cultural education will be the main areas of potential growth for the British Open University's continuing education program in the 1980s. The program will need local student support, self-financing, and low student fees through financial subsidy. (MSE)

A group of academic staff at the Open University with little computer experience developed a computer program for instruction. Reasons for its inclusion in the course, procedures for its adoption, and initial evaluation are described. The course was one in research methods in education and the social sciences. (MSE)

Those aspects of adult learning that require counseling rather than tuition are discussed along with the counselling skills that are distinct from teaching skills. Attention is also directed toward the allocation of time and resources in the light of student needs and pressure of part-time staff. (Author/LBH)