Decentralizing distance education

Kolowich, S. (2010) Texas kills its Telecampus Inside Higher Education, April 9

This is one of those blogs I probably shouldn’t write, but what the hell.

When I read this article, which is about the closure of the University of Texas central online distance education unit, I had a real sense of déjà vu. [...]

New educational software for mobile learning in developing countries

Commonwealth of Learning (2010) LIVES: Mobile phones for learning Connections February, Vol. 15, No. 1

In a blog posting in December (2009), I wrote that a priority for e-learning for 2010 was the development of educational applications for mobile learning, particularly for developing countries. Well, the Commonwealth of Learning and the University of British [...]

Should lifelong learning be state subsidized?

I have argued frequently that universities had yet to grasp how online lifelong learning could be a new line in business and potentially an unfettered source of new revenue – where learners (and their employers) would be prepared to pay the full cost of tuition.

In fact, public two year colleges in North America [...]

The history of distance education at UBC

Beninger, K. (2010) Going the distance – the beginnings of distance education at UBC UBC e-Strategy Newsletter, February

As part of the celebrations of 60 years of distance education at UBC, Kelsey Beninger has written a fascinating history of distance education going back to the start of UBC in 1918. For anyone interested in [...]

A personal view of e-learning at the University of British Columbia

The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (home of OLT)

It’s now seven years since I resigned as Director of Distance Education and Technology at UBC, and my motto has always been ‘Never look back.’ However, two things came together to bring me back to UBC last week with a ‘formal’ [...]