传统大学的变革与远程教育的发展——访国际远程教育领域资深专家托尼·贝茨教授

Changes in Universities and the Development of Distance Education——An Interview with Prof. Tony Bates

托尼·贝茨教授(Tony Bates)是国际开放与远程教育领域最知名的专家之一。他早年曾协助创建英国开放大学,并在该校工作近20年。1995年至2003年底,贝茨教授在加拿大温哥华的英属哥伦比亚大学(University of British columbia,简称UBC)担任远程教育部主任一职,同时兼任UBC的高等教育学习技术计划与管理国际中心主任。2004年,他创建了专门从事网上学习及远程教育的规划与管理的托尼·贝茨有限公司(Tony Bates Associates Ltd.),并担任董事长及行政总裁。目前,他还担任西班牙的巴塞罗那加泰罗尼亚开放大学的网络学习研究中心主任一职。此外,贝茨教授多年来还一直在世界银行、世界经济合作及发展组织、联合国教科文组织,以及全球三十多个国家的大学及政府部门担任顾问工作。贝茨教授的研究成果非常丰硕,至今共发表了350余篇论文,出版了9本有关远程教育及技术在教学中的应用方面的著作,他的研究涵盖了远程教育实践的各个方面,其中最突出的就是ACTIONS媒体选择模型和关于远程教育成本一效益的研究。此外,他还是远程教育和教育技术领域内6本学术杂志的编委。目前,贝茨教授的研究兴趣主要包括:传统大学中网络学习的应用及其成本-效益问题,网络学习的多元文化问题,以及网络学习和国家经济发展之间的关系等等。

Prof. Tony Bates is one of the most famous experts in the field of open and distance education. He was Director of Distance Education and Technology, in the Continuing Studies Division of the University of British Columbia, Canada. And prior to that, he was Professor of Educational Media Research at the British Open University, where he worked for 20 years as one of the founding members of staff. He is on the editorial board of six journals specializing in distance education and educational technology. He is the author of nine books and he has published over 350 papers in the area of distance education and the use of technology for teaching. His ideas and models on distance education are cited by many researchers and used by many practitioners. Now he is president and CEO of Tony Bates Associates Ltd, a private company specializing in consultancy and training in the planning and management of e-learning and distance education. His current research interests include the economics of e-learning, how to implement changes in universities to encourage more cost-effective use of e-learning, multi-cultural issues in online learning, and the link between e-learning and national economic development.