Skill Builder 7 - Diigo Annotation

Jennifer Willis-Oliveira

University of Maryland University College

Graduate School of Distance Education & E-Learning
OMDE 601 Foundations of Distance Education & E-learning

October 23rd, 2016

Annotated Bibliography
Peters, O. (2010). The greatest achievement of industrialized education: Open universities. Distance
education in transition: Developments and issues 5(5). 57-76. Retrieved
from http://www.box.com/s/ktx7ipccetotqrr11mct

Peters purpose for writing this work is to explain the evolution of single mode distance teaching
universities in relation to pedagogical approaches to new ideas in education. Open universities
provide the opportunity for both privileged and underprivileged individuals to receive identical
education at a distance globally, thus connecting people through social equality. Peters indicates
that enhanced social equality through education could potentially lead to improved economic
situations. According to Peters, the Open University of China has had over one million
undergraduates this is an unclear statement. Does Peters mean that approximately one million
individuals graduated with their undergraduate degree, or over a million individuals at different
times have simply enrolled? Clarification would add value to the credibility of Peters
aforementioned statement in line with the remainder of his written work. While Peters mentions
that open universities are cost effective, he also states that there are several costs in relation to
launching an open university which need to be evaluated including development, unit,
distribution and support costs. I chose and agree with this reading because Peters emphasizes the
importance of equality through educational opportunity (2010, p. 65). Through discussing
open universities, Peters highlights the importance of universal education to support global
economic development.