Computers in distance education: student access and issues of openness

An increasing number of Open University courses involve the use of computing equipment. In this paper, Adrian Kirkwood ‐ from the Student Research Centre in the OU's Institute of Educational Technology ‐ presents the results of a survey of student access to such equipment, and of the extent and nature of its usage in OU studies. He concludes by arguing that, in the light of the University's Home Computing Policy, the issues of access and openness need to be fully addressed.