The Convergence of Distance and Conventional Education Patterns of Flexibility for the Individual Learner

Containing contemporary essays from Australia, the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada, this volume analyses the changes arising from convergence--changes which are seen as having the potential to revolutionize the provision of education over the next thirty years. It examines how various technologies have broken down clear distinctions between Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and conventional education.

This volume of essays from leading British, North American and Australasian contributors looks at the issues of the convergence of distance and conventional education. The term 'convergence' refers to the breaking down of barriers between open and distance learning and conventional institutions, and the creation of more and more institutions working across a range of modes. Such convergence has been driven by a number of factors, including the new technologies for teaching and learning, the impact of lifelong learning policies, the entry of larger than ever numbers of adult part-time students into tertiary education, and the demands of both employers and individuals for professional and work-related education throughout their working lives.The fourteen chapters engage critically with a range of aspects of convergence, including:* how well is open and distance learning carried out by conventional institutions for which it may continue for a lengthy period to be seen as of secondary importance?* to what extent will open and distance learning be more effectively carried out by conventional institutions able to offer a variety of modes to a wide range of learners?* how well will the variety of learners be served by systems that are converging?* what are the managerial issues at institutional level where converging systems are being developed?

1. The convergence of distance and conventional education: patterns of flexibility for the individual learner, Alan Tait and Roger Mills; 2. Thoughts on the efficacy and ethics of using multi-media for educational purposes, Mark Chambers; 3. On access: towards opening the lifeworld within adult higher education systems, Lee Herman and Alan Mandell; 4. Introducing and supporting change towards more flexible teaching approaches, Sue Johnston; 5. Becoming flexible: what does it mean? Denise Kirkpatrick and Viktor Jakupec; 6. Diversity, convergence and the evolution of student support in higher education in the UK, Roger Mills; 7. Convergence of student types: issues for distance education, Rick Powell, Sharon McGuire, and Gail Crawford; 8. Canaries in the mine? Women's experience and new learning technologies, Jennifer O'Rourke; 9. A worthwhile education? Pat Rickwood with Vicki Goodwin; 10. Notes from the margins: library experiences of postgraduate distance learning students, Kate Stephens; 11. The convergence of distance and conventional education: some issues of policy, Alan Tait; 12. From marginal to mainstream: critical issues in the adoption of information technologies for tertiary teaching and learning, Diane Thompson; 13. Building tools for flexibility: designing interactive multi-media at the Open University of Hong Kong, Ross Vermeer; 14. A case study of convergence between conventional and distance education: using constructivism and post-modernism as a framework to unconverge the mind, Gill Young and Di Marks-Maran

Edited by Roger Mils, Alan Tait