Ross Vermeer

Employment/ Place of Work:

Course Designer at the Open U of Hong Kong

Country of Residence:

Hong Kong, China

How I fit the course work into my life

I have a longish commute to work, so I did a lot of reading on the bus, particularly in H801. In H802, I found it necessary to devote more evenings and weekends to being present online. In terms of 'fitting in', the best part of this degree programme is that it spanned the months of the year when the weather here in Hong Kong is damp and hot, and left the cooler months in late autumn and winter free for hiking and golf!

My most cherished interaction on the programme:

I certainly learned the most through a year's interactions with my tutor David Hawkridge when I was doing H803.

Which of the different course models suited me best?

I liked classic DE the best, with independent project work a close second. I found that I really enjoyed the balance of interactions with concepts, texts and people in H801, and for the first time realized experientially just how good it is to have the freedom to pace your study as you wish. H802 (except for Block IV) was too temporally-bound.



Answers to the Vice Chancellor's questions:

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

I use them every day in my job as course designer. In particular, as my university makes the transition to more online courses, I'm finding what I learned to be an excellent foundation to build upon.

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

I was most engaged in the fourth block of H802, since it combined theoretical material that was fresh to me using the 'classic DE' mode of presentation I found I preferred.

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

This is easy: I wouldn't have been able to have been on the programme at all had it not been globally open.

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

Not really. There was easily enough online interaction to keep me interested, and I also had plenty of chances to discuss and practise what I was learning at my job.

Did I find this relevant to my work:

Yes, absolutely.

Has it changed my life in any way:

It certainly has changed the way I go about my work, so if that's a life-change, then so be it!