History of the OU

In 1982 Borje Holmberg noted that ‘the library in distance education has so far been given scant attention in spite of the evident importance of the subject’ (Recent research in distance educaiton, V1, V2, FernUniversitat Gesamthochshule, Hagen, 1982). Since that time libraries have developed in numerous ways and their importance for those studying through the OU has not diminished. It appears that there has been little by way of academic analysis since Sheila Howard’s ‘Libraries in distance education’, Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 11, 1 February 1985, pp. 45-58. Do you know of other texts in this field? Send us your suggestions.

Open universities have engaged in such a wide range of activities besides research and teaching adult higher education that Alan Tait concluded that ‘what remains constant is the development function and I suggest that it is helpful to define the purposes of an open university in this way’ (Alan Tait, ‘What are open universities for?’, Open Learning, 23, 2, 2008, pp. 85 – 93 (p. 93)).  (more…)

Depression, claimed Victoria Wood is ‘when you eat dry Weetabix and watch Open University programmes’ (quoted in Jane Mace, ‘Television and metaphors of literacy’, Studies in the education of adults, 24, 2 October 1992, p172). While this put-down might reflect both the familiarity of the OU’s prgramming and the ways in which it may have alienated women, the issue of women’s engagement with the OU was one of concern to many. (more…)