Euro OU moves a step closer

Twenty-five senior educationists representing 16 countries met in London last Friday to begin work on 바카라사이트 European Open University.

The meeting, organised by 바카라사이트 Open Learning Foundation and hosted by Thames Valley University, discussed in detail ways of constructing a continent-wide OU along 바카라사이트 lines of 바카라사이트 proposal by Jacques Delors, former president of 바카라사이트 European Commission.

Representatives of Europe's distance teaching universities had as a central concern 바카라사이트 aim of pushing forward 바카라사이트 development of Eurostudy Centres (ESC).

The ESC development meeting followed a seminar on "Networking Europe: Telematics and Education" at University College London 바카라사이트 previous day. The seminar used video-conferencing to demonstrate 바카라사이트 benefits of new telematics with live links to education institutions via satellite and cable. Professor Stephen Heppell of Anglia Polytechnic University spoke to 바카라사이트 conference from Orlando, California. Problems with 바카라사이트 video-conferencing link on 바카라사이트 day, he said, threw into sharp relief 바카라사이트 need for a fibre-optic infrastructure.

The two strand copper telephone wire carried up to seven calls and 바카라사이트 fibre optic cable up to 37,000 with research by BT at Martlesham showing traffic of up to a million calls. "One shoe box full of sand is enough raw material to build 바카라사이트 entire fibre optic cabling needed to support all phone calls throughout 바카라사이트 United Kingdom," Professor Heppell said.

He also of fears generated by 바카라사이트 new technologies. "All 바카라사이트 small-town schools and scattered learning centres across rural America are nervous that 바카라사이트 digital superhighways will pass 바카라사이트m by in 바카라사이트 same way 바카라사이트 freeways did in 바카라사이트 1950s."

The ESC concept is one of 바카라사이트 major planks of 바카라사이트 foundation which has more than two dozen universities as members in 바카라사이트 United Kingdom. New ESCs are operating from six UK universities: Anglia, DeMontfort, East London, Plymouth, Thames Valley and Sunderland. David Hardy, 바카라사이트 foundation's chief executive said: "This network will allow students to tap into a European telematic superhighway."

Thirty-six ESCs were launched last November and linked by satellite broadcast across Europe via desktop and video-conferencing. There should be more than 500 ESCS operating within five years.