This conference paper consists of a sketch of the British Open University at work as well as a brief commentary on current developments in the fields of communication technology, course design, instruction, and current trends in distance education. Provided first are statistics pertaining to current enrollment and enrollment projections, student…

The Open University of Great Britain relies heavily on broadcasting as a mode of instruction. Because increased course offerings have made program scheduling a problem and because production costs have risen sharply, a survey was conducted to determine the use patterns of students so that the system's resources could be allocated in the most…

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. The student is required to interact with printed materials, broadcasts, tutors, counselors, assignments, cassette recordings, experiment kits, etc. The choice of media is…

The Planning Committee, appointed by the British Secretary of State for Education and Science to work out a comprehensive plan for an Open University, reports on the objectives, general approach, charter and statues, administrative structure and appointments, degree structure and courses, academic staffing, relationships with the British…

The paper starts with a general description of the Open University's teaching system as it operated in 1976, and student progress through the system. It then analyzes the University's cost structures on the basis of the University's 1976 Recurrent Estimates, and by indicating, on the basis of the information given, estimated average, marginal, and…

This report presents findings from the second national survey of distance education undertaken by the National Center for Education Statistics. The survey covers the 12-month 1997-98 academic year and includes data for higher education institutions as well as all 2-year and 4-year postsecondary institutions. Highlights of the report include the…

Two open universities created in Canada in the 1970's--Athabasca and Teleuniversite--are examined from an administrative/management perspective. A study reveals that effective planning requires balanced attention to means and ends, new management structures are required, and committed leadership is needed. (Author/MLW)

At the British Open University (a distance education institution), rural tutors working in remote areas of Scotland felt that professional isolation interfered with self-assessment and professional development. Describes action research into student and tutor perceptions of teaching and learning that provides a basis for reflective teaching and…

Discusses distance learning, describes the Open University in the United Kingdom, and describes the incorporation of home computing into computer courses at the Open University. Industrial training is discussed, a course using televised classes and one using video and printed materials are described, and future possibilities are suggested. (Three…

Discusses the results of an interview survey of 21 students enrolled in an Open University (Great Britain) course with a resource-based structure. The study examined use of CD-ROM materials, use of computer-mediated-communication as an information source, use of the Internet, and attitudes toward resource-based learning. (PEN)

Examines recent attempts by the Open University to widen access to higher education in the United Kingdom through provision of distance-taught access materials which may be studied prior to enrollment in the undergraduate program. The materials development approach taken is a discourse model which arises out of a view of learning as a…

In this article the focus is on methodology for analysing learner-learner oral conversations mediated by computers. With the increasing availability of synchronous voice-based groupware and the additional facilities offered by audio-graphic tools, language learners have opportunities for collaborating on oral tasks, supported by visual and textual…

In this article we contrast two distance foreign language programs developed at two European institutions of higher education (the Modern Languages Program at the Open University, UK; and the English Program at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain) as instances of two pedagogical models used to address the many challenges posed by teaching…

This study contrasts two different ways of analysing interaction and participation in language learning tutorials: Social network analysis of frequency and QSR analysis of type of interaction. One task from three German beginners' language tutorials (one delivered face-to-face, the other two online) is analysed. A description of the background and…

In the West African Region of Africa, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is the first full fledged university that operates in an exclusively open and distance learning (ODL) mode of education. NOUN focuses mainly on open and distance teaching and learning system, and delivers its courses materials via print in conjunction with…