History of the OU

The OU was not the first to use radio programmes in conjunction with printed material and study groups in order to support higher education among adults. There was considerable experience of educational broadcasting within the BBC but also, in Germany a two-semester introductory course on education was run in the late 1960s. It is described in Georg Rückreim, ‘The radio course “science of education”‘, Western European Education, Summer/Fall 1970, 2, 2, pp. 176-191.  The course was credited by educational departments of universities and the study groups met in local adult educaiton institutes. There were assignments and computer-graded examinations and it was intended that rather than monologues or one-way transmission the learners would engage in dialogue. Nevertheless, much of the broadcast material was lectures and these were revised and then published in 1970.

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)).  Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

The wealthy and philanthropic American, William Benton (1900-1973) was an early enthusiast for The Open University. A staunch Democrat he played an important part in bringing down Joseph McCarthy when he challenged McCarthy’s claims that the State Department was infiltrated by numerous Communists. Despite lack of support from at least some on his side of the House Benton was victorious over McCarthy. The owner of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Benton was a keen advocate of using radio and television to support learning.  He  financed Harold Wilson’s trips to the USA and maintained a relationship with the Wilson family for many years, including with Harold’s son Robin, who later worked at the OU. He was also close to Geoffrey Crowther and met Arnold Goodman and Walter Perry.  His papers can be used as evidence as to how influential he was on Wilson’s development of the idea of what became the OU. They are housed in the University of Chicago and I’m there at present, taking a look at them. One thing I’d like to check is the statement by B. MacArthur, ‘An interim history of the Open University’ in J. Tunstall (ed.) The Open University Opens, Routledge, London 1974, that the idea of the Open University was really born at Easter 1963 in Wilson’s home in discussion with officials of the Labour Party. My suspicion is that it has longer roots and that Wilson’s connection with Benton is of significance.

I’m contributing a paper about the history of the OU at this conference this week. There are a number of relevant strands and papers.  In addition to being the location for the social sciences history conference Chicago is where Al Capone committed crimes and where the adventures of the 1990s science fiction animation series  ‘Biker Mice from Mars’  occured.

However, my research will be centred on archives where papers relating to Harold Wilson and the ideas of a ‘University of the Air’ are lodged.  It should be a fascinating and useful experience  even if this focus fails to impress my nephew, a Biker Mice fan.

I’m visiting the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education which is part of the University of Toronto, Canada’s largest university. It is an international leader in the research, teaching and study of issues at the heart of education. Here one can study for degrees in Higher Education and also in the History and Philosophy of Education and it also runs a course in how to build a participative online learning community through online discussions and interactive learning sessions so it should be a good place to learn about the Canadian experience of distance education. A few years ago Jennifer Sumner sparked a debate within Open Learning with her ‘critical history of distance education’ , she now works at OISE and and I’m meeting her today.

The final session of Opening Up The Open University, chaired by former Scottish Director Mr Peter Syme, focussed on the University’s openness to methods.

The first speaker was Professor of Telematics Chris Bissell who gave a whistle-stop tour of the development of home computing and computer-mediated communication at the OU. Prof Bissell pointed out that, as you would expect, the OU had always been ahead of the game when it came to using computers. Its national computer network was established in 1971 with three minicomputers in Newcastle, Walton Hall and the London Regional Office and students could log on at local study centres. Read the rest of this entry »

The second main session of Opening Up The Open University again offered a diverse range of persepectives on some of the ideas that have contributed to the OU’s history.

The first speaker was Professor Dave Harris from UCP Marjon who considered the OU’s impact on the HE sector. He explained the radical appeal of the OU and drew attention to the view of Brian Lewis, one of the first IET professors, that ‘irrelevant scholastic displays must be eliminated’ (1971). Prof Harris credited the OU with breaking down academic language into more simple, logical forms of communication, and highlighted the influence of individuals who moved on from the OU in introducing ‘managerialism’ to the rest of the sector. Read the rest of this entry »