Brenda Smith

Employment/ Place of Work:

The Open University in Ireland

Country of Residence:

Ireland

How I fit the course work into my life

With great difficulty! Since my job involves travel all round Ireland and to England, I spend a lot of time on trains, planes and hotels. The course materials became my my constant travelling companions. Looking back, I don't really know how I fit it into my life - I guess I wanted to so I did.

My most cherished interaction on the programme:

These were with my H801 and H803 tutors, Nigel and Denise. Together they supported my interest in reflection on practice and extended my understanding.

Which of the different course models suited me best?

Because of the travelling lifestyle necessitated by my job, H801 and H803 suited me best. With H801 I was able to take the course materials with me, whilst on H803 I was able to work in 'bursts' when I had time available. H802 was very difficult since often I didn't have access to a computer for 5 or 6 days at a time - this made it difficult to keep up with the computer based activities.



Answers to the Vice Chancellor's questions:

In what ways am I putting into practice the ideas and understandings I developed on the programme:

It pervades almost all aspects of my work. As an academic writing distance learning materials, as a manager and staff developer of part-time tutors in distance learning and as a distance learning tutor.

What did I find the most stimulating part of the programme:

The opportunity to look outside of the Open University and indeed UK based distance learning. I also found those aspects of the course which focused on distance learning in the future thought-provoking and feel that I now have a broader vision of what distance learning is and could be.

What value was the global nature of the programme to me:

As I indicate above, I think this was very valuable in terms of understanding different models of distance learning in various countries. This, in my view, is essential as learning on line becomes internationalised.

Did I find it isolating or impersonal to study this programme?

No. Perhaps I knew what to expect since I work for the Open University. Contact with other students online together with frequent contact with tutors worked well for me. I guess too that being able to discuss what I was doing with colleagues also helped.

Did I find this relevant to my work:

Absolutely. It pervades everything I do. However, sometime I feel constrained by the tendency which pervades all organisations to resist change. The MA has opened up to me a vision of what good distance learning could be in the 21st century and I'm anxious to be part of that.

Has it changed my life in any way:

I guess one way in which it has changed my life is that I am now much more aware of why I hold the values I do in relation to distance education. This has supported a growing confidence in stating those values and supporting them with evidence.