摘要
引 言 英国开放大学已建立了一个极其成功的远距离教育体系,它的学生达到20万人,而开支只是其它大学的50％,并且质量优异,在英国101所大学中居第10位。它成功的关键在于: l. 精心设计的多媒体教材; 2. 对每个学生给予个别辅导; 3. 有效的服务体系; 4.教师开展研究。
The UK Open University has built up a very successful distance learning system which reaches large numbers of students (200,000) at low cost (50% of the average of other UK universities) with high quality courses (the UKOU is ranked 10th out of 101 UK universities for the excellence of its teaching programmes. The keys to its success are 1) well-designed multiple media teaching materials; 2) personal academic support to each student; 3)efficient logistics; and 4) faculty who also conduct research. The UKOU is now incorporating into its courses and teaching system the knowledge media that are emerging from the convergence of telecommunications,computing and the learning sciences.The fundamental challenge is to scale up the use of the knowledge media while exploiting their capability for genuine interaction.
The paper focuses on six current developments; 1) the use of CD-ROM technology (40 hours of student work) in the introductory science course S103 that is being taken by over 4000 students; 2) the use of computer conferencing by students in a wide range of courses; 3) the techniques developed for effective tutoring of students by e-mail and computer conferencing; 4) new versions of the home experiment kits used in science and technology courses; 5 ) uses of the World Wide Web; and 6) the use of technology in the logistical support of the learning system. Finally, the paper reports on future plans and on the technologies now being scaled up by the UKOU' s Knowledge Media Institute.
出处
《开放教育研究》
1998年第2期17-19,47,共4页
Open Education Research
