Central Institute for Distance Education Research - FernUniversität in Hagen
04. August 1997
Dr. Otto Peters
Otto
Peters is Professor emeritus of the FernUniversität (Distance Teaching
University) in Germany. For 10 years he had been its Founding Rector, and for
17 years he held a chair in a discipline called, "Methodology of Distance
Teaching" in the same institution. In this capacity he conducted an extensive
research project: University Study for Persons who have to Work for a Living"
('Studium neben dem Beruf'). From 1969 - 1974 he was engaged in comparative
distance teaching research at the German Institute for Distance Education at
the University of Tübingen.
His main books include:
1965 Der Fernunterricht ("Distance Education"). Weinheim: Beltz
1973 Die didaktische Struktur des Fernunterrichts ("The Pedagogical Structure
of Distance Education").
Weinheim: Beltz
1976 Die FernUniversität: Das Erste Jahr ("FernUniversität the First Year").
Hagen: von der Linepe 1981 Die FernUniversität im Fünften Jahr
("FernUniversität in its Fifth Year").
Köln: v.d.g.s.1994
1994 Otto Peters on Distance
Education. Edited by Desmond Keegan. London:
Routledge.
1998 Learning and Teaching in Distance Education. London: Kogan Page.
2002 Distance Education in Transition. Oldenburg (Germany) Bibliotheks- und Informationssystem der Universität Oldenburg. Fourth edition 2004. Translated into Spanish and Portuguese.
Biographical Notes
Biographical Notes
Otto Peters was born on May 6th, 1926 in Berlin, Germany. From 1932 to 1940
he attended schools in this town and from 1940 to 1944 a teacher training
institution in Neustadt (West Prussia).
After the war he started teaching schools in Berlin-Kreuzberg. In 1947 he
enrolled at the Humboldt-University of Berlin in order to study history,
English, philosophy, psychology and pedagogy.
In 1953 he visited the United States in an exchange programme and stayed
there for seven months, including one semester at the University of Illinois
in Champaign-Urbana. After this he continued school teaching in Berlin-Kreuzberg
and studying at the Free University in Berlin, where he graduated in 1960.
In 1963 he was appointed Secretary to the Educational Centre of Berlin which
was being founded at that time. Later, he became deputy director of its
department for the methodology of teaching. In this capacity he wrote several
books on distance education.
In 1969 he was invited to join the German Institute for Distance Study at the
University of Tübingen. At this institute he was in charge of the division of
Comparative Distance Education and also responsible for the training of the
scientific personnel. At the same time he did post-graduate work at the
University of Tübingen and earned a doctor's degree in 1972. His thesis dealt
with distance education, especially with its anthropological, sociological
and historical meaning.
In 1974 he became Professor of Education in Berlin. One year later I became
Professor of Education at the newly established FernUniversität in Hagen and
was appointed Founding Rector of this institution. For nearly ten years he
was responsible for ti development of this institution which by now is
catering for 55,000 students.
While he was Rector of the FernUniversität he had the chance to travel widely
in order to study systems of distance education in other countries, e.g. in
Argentina, USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Holland, Austria, Japan,
Thailand, India, China and South Africa.
Otto Peters received four honorary doctor's degrees (Open University,
England, Deakin University, Australia, University of New York, N.Y., and Open
University of Hong Kong). For eight years he served as Vice-President of the
International Council for Open and Distance Education. In 1999 he received
the International Council for Open und Distance Education Prize of
Excellence.
Since 1991 he is professor emeritus at the FernUniversität dealing with
problems of the methodology of distance education.