orr%ccipeg@UUNET.UU.NET (Orr michael) (03/14/91)
In Israel There is an "open university" which works using mail, but the student is required, in many courses to come to weekly/monthly meetings. So far it is only allowed to grant BA degrees. (maybe also BSc, but i'm not sure). However, the general feeling is that these are not "really" academic qualifications, and are more of a hobby. (Despite the face that the courses I looked at seem good and at least as hard as regular university courses). I know that a similar institute exists in Great Britain, but I don't know what their graduates are considered like.
bmb@bluemoon.uucp (Bryan Bankhead) (03/16/91)
I think is should be possible for a large university to telvise many lectures over a special channel which could be accessed using a version of a normal scrambler, just like cable TV. TA's could be online, to screen typed in questions and place the most common ones on the teleprompter for the instructor/announcer to deal with. Here at OSU soem classes are 200+ and done in auditoria so you can imagine how much individual attention there is! You might as well watch it on TV, and you don't have to cross the Oval when the winter winds whistle from the north at 8:00 a in Feebruary. Just watch them in bed with a nice cup of cocao. The instructors notes could be done as graphics, indeed the use of graphic could be greatly increased. And why copy notes down by hand? Just download the day's notes over the EDU-modem!
stinnett@plains.NoDak.edu (M.G. Stinnett) (03/17/91)
In article <TPuVy7w163w@bluemoon.uucp> bmb@bluemoon.uucp (Bryan Bankhead) writes: >I think is should be possible for a large university to telvise many >lectures over a special channel which could be accessed using a version of >a normal scrambler, just like cable TV. TA's could be online, to screen >typed in questions and place the most common ones on the teleprompter for >the instructor/announcer to deal with. > The instructors notes could be done as graphics, indeed the use of graphic >could be greatly increased. And why copy notes down by hand? Just download >the day's notes over the EDU-modem! In the North Dakota Higher Ed system we're starting to operate a 2-way TV link between different universities for this purpose. It wouldn't be too great a trick to pipe the video and audio onto the local cable systems. Since we already have a computer network linking all the larger towns (which all have colleges) the questions could be sent in via the net; the notes would be easy. I'll have to take this up with the Board of Higher Education. --M. G.
baumgard@UHUNIX.UHCC.HAWAII.EDU (Jon Baumgardner) (03/19/91)
My mom used to teach a nutrition class over close circuit TV to PURDUE regional campuses back in the 70's. Many of these classes were piped right into the dorms. This isn't really home study, but it must have been great to lay in bed in the dorm and watch your class! When I was getting my degree at Purdue, I often dialed in to the mainframe to do my programming homework. I understand that Purdue has a statewide network that includes data, audio, and video two way transmission to allow students to interact with the teacher (ask questions). Ryan White (the AIDS kid) used a similar system to study from home and ask questions at a high school near Kokomo. By now, Purdue may be using the statewide network to reach into certain people's home (handicapped mostly). The equipment for two way video is still too expensive for most people to buy (my opinion, renting might work). Does anybody know of a system like this that goes into people's homes?