The OU’s first ever Virtual Degree Ceremony, featuring an Honourary Degree Award to ‘Father of the Web’ Tim Berners-Lee, is available for replay from the KMi Stadium website.
But don’t expect to see a conventional ‘webcast’. On the contrary, the Virtual Degree Ceremony, as conceived by KMi’s Dr. Peter Scott, incorporates an engaging wholistic environment that includes student yearbook entries and audio commentary from every student in response to a direct question from the Vice Chancellor during the ceremony.
The event also features an opening procession, introductory remarks by OU Vice Chancellor Sir John Daniel, and a formal presentation of the honourary degree by John Naughton, himself author of the internationally acclaimed A Brief History of the Future. Prof. Robin Mason, who initiated the Virtual Degree Ceremony for her IET-based MA in Open and Distance Education Programme, introduces each of the 25 graduates from their locations around the globe, at which point they are asked a question by the Vice Chancellor.
The ceremony, highlighted in an earlier Planet story and featured on the front page of the Times, took place on 31st March 2000, and can be accessed on the Web at the following URL:
