I am writing an autobiography, mainly for my family, but it does cover some key moments in the development of open and online learning. I thought I would share these as there seems to be a growing interest in the history of educational technology.
Note that these posts are NOT meant to be deeply researched historical accounts, but how I saw and encountered developments in my personal life. If you were around at the time of these developments and would like to offer comments or a different view, please use the comment box at the end of each post. (There is already a conversation track on my LinkedIn site).
The year 2003 saw many institutions grappling with the challenge of new digital technologies and their potential impact on teaching, research and administration.
ETH Zurich is a prestigious Swiss institute of technology, with over 26,000 students, including over 4,000 doctoral students. In the year 2000, the institution had introduced a program called ETH World, ‘to develop and introduce technologies for communication and cooperation independent of time and place.’ The aim was to create a virtual space or spaces for a range of institution-wide digital activities, such as online lectures, virtual labs, conferencing, and ‘on-demand’ online learning resources for students. This also involved creating the necessary digital infrastructure, such as a wireless local…
Source: Tony Bates - Online Learning — Read the full article on the original site ↗