‘Open’ and ‘closed’ education: In between face-to-face and online learning
Open education is particularly characterized by the removal of restrictions, exclusions and privileges; by the accreditation of students’ previous experience; by the flexibility of the management of the time variable; and by substantial changes in the traditional relationship between professors and students. On the other hand, distance or virtual education is a modality which permits the delivery of a group of didactic media without the necessity of regular class participation or face-to-face interaction, where the individual is responsible for his own learning.
However, there exists a similar use of both terms as a result of the transfer to other countries of the concept which originally was produced in England, derived from the term ‘University of the Air’ and reinforced by other concepts such as ‘lifelong learning’, ‘permanent education’, ‘endless education’, etc. The transition which the English leaders made with the terms university of the air and Open University is a product of a reorientation of the objectives and