Aspects of the Open: The evolution of the meaning of open education

Martin Weller

As The Open University celebrated its 50th anniversary and its mission of openness, Martin Weller, Professor of Educational Technology at the OU, examined what the term ‘open’ means and considered what an ‘Open University’ would look like if we were to invent it now.

When the OU was founded 50 years ago, it established a model of ‘open education’ that went on to be successfully replicated in many countries.

Watch the video of Professor Weller’s inaugural lecture:

Aspects of the Open: The evolution of the meaning of open education

About Professor Weller

Professor Martin Weller is Director of The Open Education Research Hub, a leading platform for research into the impact of open educational resources (OER) on teaching and learning practices. He is also Director of the GO-GN network, a global community of OER PhD researchers.

Professor Weller is also a blogger and author of the of the open access book The Battle for Open.

Read more about Professor Weller

Study related curriculum

Study courses in education

Contact our news team

For all out of hours enquiries, please telephone +44 (0)7901 515891

Contact details

News & articles

A river bankside, with a duck on the river and a kingfisher sitting on a branch above the river

Open living lab's digital resources now available

In a major step toward public engagement, The Open University's Weston OpenLiving Lab's digital resources have been made accessible via the award winning, OpenSTEM Labs platform, allowing users to view wildlife footage, explore live camera feeds, and access environmental data such as soil temperature and weather conditions.