Ormond Simpson | The Open University (original) (raw)
Ormond Simpson is a consultant in distance education, currently at the London University International Programmes where he is a Visiting Fellow. His most recent post was at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand where he was Visiting Professor. Prior to that he was Senior Lecturer in Institutional Research and Director of the Centre for Educational Guidance and Student Support at the UK Open University.
He has given keynote presentations in Mexico, South Africa, Ghana, China, the West Indies, Colombia, Brazil, South Korea, The Gambia, Holland and Papua New Guinea.
His distance education interests are in student support and retention, cost-benefits of student retention activities, ethical issues, learning motivation, e-learning and staff development. He has written several books, the latest of which ‘Supporting Students for Success in Online and Distance Education’ (2012, Routledge) which has just been translated into Chinese. He has also written ten book chapters and more than thirty journal articles, the most recent of which is “Challenging the ‘distance education deficit’ through ‘motivational emails’” Open Learning 2015: 30, (2) (with Inkelaar, T.)
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Papers by Ormond Simpson
ABSTRACT The UK Open University has been in the business of attempting to widen participation in ... more ABSTRACT The UK Open University has been in the business of attempting to widen participation in higher education for 35 years. This article gives a brief history of widening participation in the OU, surveys some of the issues involved including an analysis of the costs and benefits, and reports on the successes and failures of a recent set of widening participation projects. It concludes that whilst there have been some successes, the 'paradox of the title' means that the OU has not made the progress in widening participation that some of its founders had hoped. Nevertheless, the OU remains the largest single institution in the UK encouraging entrance to higher education for students with low previous educational qualifications, and its experience may be of interest to other institutions. The OU's most important contribution to widening participation appears to be the production of access materials such as the 'Openings' courses, although there is still scope for community-based projects. However, the OU is currently moving towards a policy of requiring its students to have access to the Internet by 2007. Current evidence suggests that access by disadvantaged groups will consequently be greatly restricted to the point where the OU's widening participation mission may be effectively closed down and the OU will become 'just another university'.
Open Learning the Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 1998
Chapter from “Online Distance Education - Toward a Research Agenda" pub. Athabasca Universit... more Chapter from “Online Distance Education - Toward a Research Agenda" pub. Athabasca University Press (2014). This chapter is in the form of a dialogue between two educational researchers - both partly retired, but who have between them spent more than 70 years in distance education, albeit in a large scale distance teaching institution, and the chapter should be read with that in mind The chapter is not an academic treatise – it does not contain an argument that is punctiliously supported by references. It is unashamedly polemical and reflects the authors’ contention that, while the research says quite a lot about the relative drop-out rates among students with various social and psychological characteristics and across different types of course delivery, there is an issue often (and indeed even scandalously) neglected in the hype about distance higher education, We are talking about the sheer volume of student dropout – this is our elephant in the room.
Theory, Practice and Research, 2008
About the book: This book provides a comprehensive overview of the organizational models of dista... more About the book: This book provides a comprehensive overview of the organizational models of distance and online learning from an international perspective and from the point of view of economic planning, costing and management decision-making. The book points to directions for the further research and development in this area, and will promote further understanding and critical reflection on the part of administrators, practitioners and researchers of distance education. The experiences and perspectives in distance education in the US are balanced with those in other areas of the world.
Ethical Practices and Implications in Distance Learning, 2000
ABSTRACT In the chapter ‘Open to people – open with people: Ethical issues in open learning’, Orm... more ABSTRACT In the chapter ‘Open to people – open with people: Ethical issues in open learning’, Ormond Simpson attributing multi-culturalism as the causative factor to study ethical dimensions in higher education in the UK, Stressing the need to review ethical issues in the light of recent developments like the increasing use of e-learning - Osmond laying emphasis for the need for formulation of models by Practitioners to judge ethical issues in distance and open learning instead of adapting from the medical fields, pose as a challenge that the Research, theory and practice should be focused to have optimum ethics in the field of distance education.
A teacher deals with his own disapproval, strong emotions and judgemental attitudes while working... more A teacher deals with his own disapproval, strong emotions and judgemental attitudes while working with a student who has a past.
This article argues that universities' attitudes to student retention are essentially ambival... more This article argues that universities' attitudes to student retention are essentially ambivalent. For example, increased retention can be seen as a sign of lower academic standards and thus, lower institutional status. The authors suggest that this need not be the case and that retention can be increased with no effect on standards. However 'retentioneering' an institution in this way is likely to require substantial changes in institutional structures and staff attitudes. This article suggests ways in which such attitudes can be understood and possibly changed.
ABSTRACT Abstract not available.
About the book: E-learning is growing around the world, with applications from schools to non-pro... more About the book: E-learning is growing around the world, with applications from schools to non-profits to business and industry and, of course, higher education. It has been heralded as the next democratizing force in education for offering access regardless of physical limitations, job status, geography, etc. It has also been challenged as representative of the myth of meritocracy for exacerbating the view that education alone rectifies failures to meet social needs. Further, the financial incentive to privatize education leads many to question its democratic merits. Global Perspectives on E-Learning: Rhetoric and Reality presents several cases of international online education and the rhetoric that surrounds this form of teaching and learning. Editor Alison A. Carr-Chellman examines the impact of online distance education throughout the world in an effort to understand more deeply the merits of such initiatives. Written from a critical perspective, the book sheds light on some of t...
Bernath/Distance and E-Learning in Transition, 2013
This paper will argue that the future of distance education will be decided at least as much by e... more This paper will argue that the future of distance education will be decided at least as much by economic factors as by technical ones. Distance education will need to demonstrate that it is a good solution in financial terms to the education needs of students facing the labour market in the 21 century and in fiscal terms to governments investing in educational systems. The paper explores the economic concepts of ‘return on investment’, ‘willing to pay’, ‘resale value of an education’ and ‘investment risk’ as they apply to distance education. In particular it will suggest that distance education, both as it stands today and in terms of current trends towards e-learning, may be either too inaccessible or too risky an investment for most potential students, and that distance education will fail to reach its potential unless it can increase its availability in the market and its rate of student success. Chapter written by Ormond SIMPSON 2 Distance and E-learning in Transition
ABSTRACT The UK Open University has been in the business of attempting to widen participation in ... more ABSTRACT The UK Open University has been in the business of attempting to widen participation in higher education for 35 years. This article gives a brief history of widening participation in the OU, surveys some of the issues involved including an analysis of the costs and benefits, and reports on the successes and failures of a recent set of widening participation projects. It concludes that whilst there have been some successes, the 'paradox of the title' means that the OU has not made the progress in widening participation that some of its founders had hoped. Nevertheless, the OU remains the largest single institution in the UK encouraging entrance to higher education for students with low previous educational qualifications, and its experience may be of interest to other institutions. The OU's most important contribution to widening participation appears to be the production of access materials such as the 'Openings' courses, although there is still scope for community-based projects. However, the OU is currently moving towards a policy of requiring its students to have access to the Internet by 2007. Current evidence suggests that access by disadvantaged groups will consequently be greatly restricted to the point where the OU's widening participation mission may be effectively closed down and the OU will become 'just another university'.
Open Learning the Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 1998
Chapter from “Online Distance Education - Toward a Research Agenda" pub. Athabasca Universit... more Chapter from “Online Distance Education - Toward a Research Agenda" pub. Athabasca University Press (2014). This chapter is in the form of a dialogue between two educational researchers - both partly retired, but who have between them spent more than 70 years in distance education, albeit in a large scale distance teaching institution, and the chapter should be read with that in mind The chapter is not an academic treatise – it does not contain an argument that is punctiliously supported by references. It is unashamedly polemical and reflects the authors’ contention that, while the research says quite a lot about the relative drop-out rates among students with various social and psychological characteristics and across different types of course delivery, there is an issue often (and indeed even scandalously) neglected in the hype about distance higher education, We are talking about the sheer volume of student dropout – this is our elephant in the room.
Theory, Practice and Research, 2008
About the book: This book provides a comprehensive overview of the organizational models of dista... more About the book: This book provides a comprehensive overview of the organizational models of distance and online learning from an international perspective and from the point of view of economic planning, costing and management decision-making. The book points to directions for the further research and development in this area, and will promote further understanding and critical reflection on the part of administrators, practitioners and researchers of distance education. The experiences and perspectives in distance education in the US are balanced with those in other areas of the world.
Ethical Practices and Implications in Distance Learning, 2000
ABSTRACT In the chapter ‘Open to people – open with people: Ethical issues in open learning’, Orm... more ABSTRACT In the chapter ‘Open to people – open with people: Ethical issues in open learning’, Ormond Simpson attributing multi-culturalism as the causative factor to study ethical dimensions in higher education in the UK, Stressing the need to review ethical issues in the light of recent developments like the increasing use of e-learning - Osmond laying emphasis for the need for formulation of models by Practitioners to judge ethical issues in distance and open learning instead of adapting from the medical fields, pose as a challenge that the Research, theory and practice should be focused to have optimum ethics in the field of distance education.
A teacher deals with his own disapproval, strong emotions and judgemental attitudes while working... more A teacher deals with his own disapproval, strong emotions and judgemental attitudes while working with a student who has a past.
This article argues that universities' attitudes to student retention are essentially ambival... more This article argues that universities' attitudes to student retention are essentially ambivalent. For example, increased retention can be seen as a sign of lower academic standards and thus, lower institutional status. The authors suggest that this need not be the case and that retention can be increased with no effect on standards. However 'retentioneering' an institution in this way is likely to require substantial changes in institutional structures and staff attitudes. This article suggests ways in which such attitudes can be understood and possibly changed.
ABSTRACT Abstract not available.
About the book: E-learning is growing around the world, with applications from schools to non-pro... more About the book: E-learning is growing around the world, with applications from schools to non-profits to business and industry and, of course, higher education. It has been heralded as the next democratizing force in education for offering access regardless of physical limitations, job status, geography, etc. It has also been challenged as representative of the myth of meritocracy for exacerbating the view that education alone rectifies failures to meet social needs. Further, the financial incentive to privatize education leads many to question its democratic merits. Global Perspectives on E-Learning: Rhetoric and Reality presents several cases of international online education and the rhetoric that surrounds this form of teaching and learning. Editor Alison A. Carr-Chellman examines the impact of online distance education throughout the world in an effort to understand more deeply the merits of such initiatives. Written from a critical perspective, the book sheds light on some of t...
Bernath/Distance and E-Learning in Transition, 2013
This paper will argue that the future of distance education will be decided at least as much by e... more This paper will argue that the future of distance education will be decided at least as much by economic factors as by technical ones. Distance education will need to demonstrate that it is a good solution in financial terms to the education needs of students facing the labour market in the 21 century and in fiscal terms to governments investing in educational systems. The paper explores the economic concepts of ‘return on investment’, ‘willing to pay’, ‘resale value of an education’ and ‘investment risk’ as they apply to distance education. In particular it will suggest that distance education, both as it stands today and in terms of current trends towards e-learning, may be either too inaccessible or too risky an investment for most potential students, and that distance education will fail to reach its potential unless it can increase its availability in the market and its rate of student success. Chapter written by Ormond SIMPSON 2 Distance and E-learning in Transition
A Guide to Adminstering Distance Learning Ed Lauren Cifuentes, Pub Brill (2020), ISBN 978-90-04-47136-8 CHAPTER 13 ADMINISTERING DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR STUDENT SUCCESS, 2020
A Guide to Adminstering Distance Learning Ed Lauren Cifuentes, Pub Brill (2020), ISBN 978-90-04-4... more A Guide to Adminstering Distance Learning
Ed Lauren Cifuentes, Pub Brill (2020), ISBN 978-90-04-47136-8
CHAPTER 13
ADMINISTERING DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
‘Student dropout – the elephant in the room of distance education’ (with Woodley) chapter in “Online Distance Education - Toward a Research Agenda" pub. Athabasca University Press, 2014
This chapter is a little different from other chapters in this book. It is in the form of a dialo... more This chapter is a little different from other chapters in this book. It is in the form of a dialogue between two educational researchers, both partly retired, who have between them spent more than 70 years in distance education.
The chapter is not an academic treatise—it does not contain an argument supported by references. It is unashamedly polemical and reflects the authors’ contention that there is an issue often (and indeed even scandalously) neglected in the hype about distance education: student dropout.
A video of a presentation given in the Empower series of the EADTU - 28 September 2016
Face to face contact in distance education
What are the chances? - Predicting student success - letter to Times Higher Education
Depersonalising the UK Open University - how the UKOU's current strategy is degrading the persona... more Depersonalising the UK Open University - how the UKOU's current strategy is degrading the personal link between students and tutors with consequences for its success rates.
An EdTech note in the Commonwealth Educational Media centre for Asia (CEMCA) series edited by Ram... more An EdTech note in the Commonwealth Educational Media centre for Asia (CEMCA) series edited by Ramesh Sharma. it covers
- Why Student Support?
- Defining Student Support
- Academic and non-academic support
- Instigating support
- Sources of support
- Timing of support
- Media for support
- Support for different students
- Institutional organisation for support
- Costs and benefits of support
CEMCA works in two major sectors: Education and Livelihoods & Health. In both these sectors, it’s... more CEMCA works in two major sectors: Education and Livelihoods & Health. In both these sectors, it’s main focus is on the use of appropriate educational communication technologies to improve the quality of teaching and learning. CEMCA has been engaged in the promotion of low-cost open source technologies for promoting online learning in the Asian region. While it is not a technology organization, it is engaged in experimenting with learning technologies to showcase the benefits and guide others on how to use technology for learning. CEMCA has promoted the following:
Educational Multimedia
eLearning
Radio Enabled Learning
Open Educational Resources
Community Radio
Television
Teleconference
OUSL, 2017
A video of a presentation given at the Open University of Sri Lanka on 1st June 2017. A survey o... more A video of a presentation given at the Open University of Sri Lanka on 1st June 2017. A survey of the technological, social, ethical, psychological, financial and political futures of online and distance education.
Empower project of EADTU, 2018
I'm pretty sure all distance educators like the concept of students learning collaboratively. But... more I'm pretty sure all distance educators like the concept of students learning collaboratively. But nothing's straightforward in ODL and it's worth asking some questions:
1. Why do we like collaborative learning?
2. Is it to improve learning, overcome isolation or to save money?
3. What's the best way to help students get together? - forums, mentoring, 'study dating'?
4. Do students really like it? Or do some find it unhelpful and even threatening?
5. What are the potential pitfalls? Group assessment? Internet harassment? Most importantly! - does it work?
Empower, 2018
I'm pretty sure all distance educators like the concept of students learning collaboratively. Bu... more I'm pretty sure all distance educators like the concept of students learning collaboratively. But nothing's straightforward in ODL and it's worth asking some questions:
1. Why do we like collaborative learning?
2. Is it to improve learning, overcome isolation or to save money?
3. What's the best way to help students get together? - forums, mentoring, 'study dating'?
4. Do students really like it? Or do some find it unhelpful and even threatening?
5. What are the potential pitfalls? Group assessment? Internet harassment?
Most importantly! - does it work?