Mark Nichols
Member of the Board: 2020 - 2023
Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
His dedication to distance education began as a distance student, studying as an international student from New Zealand. He earned the Open University’s Master of Arts in Open and Distance Education in 2001, earning the qualification with Distinction. Since that time, it has been his privilege to have a career dedicated to flexible, online and distance education across various settings.
He completed his PhD at a distance from the University of Otago. His thesis investigated the formation experiences of distance theological education students. His undergraduate degree is in business management. Across his education he has learned the principles of business and leadership; focussed on the history and theoretical richness of distance education theory; and honed his research and online education knowledge in an applied setting through his doctoral studies. He was recognised as a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2017.
Over the last 20 years it has been his privilege to work across multiple institutions with a flexible, distance and online emphasis. Most significant are his times with Massey University, New Zealand (where he was responsible for proposing and chairing the Mahara ePortfolio project), Laidlaw College (where he was instrumental in setting up an online distance approach to education), the Open University UK (where he was Director of Technology Enhanced Learning before becoming involved in a major change programme) and Open Polytechnic New Zealand. Open Polytechnic is a dedicated provider of quality online, vocational distance education with a unique operating model based around disaggregation. At Open Polytechnic he leads a team of curriculum experts and learning designers responsible for developing online distance modules.
His research activity has included several national (Ako Aotearoa) outputs, including a series of introductory scholarly essays introducing e-learning literature. He has edited the Journal of Open, Distance and Flexible Learning and remains on the editorial board of that journal and the British Journal of Educational Technology. He recently finished a book manuscript for Routledge entitled Transforming universities for digital distance education. He also has considerable experience as a professional association committee member. He was a member of the DEANZ (now FLANZ) executive committee for over a decade and served as its president. Before leaving for the Open University he was also an executive member of ASCILITE and upon arriving in the UK he was elected a member of the EDEN Executive Committee (he remains an EDEN Fellow). He also began a podcast series mid-2018 (https://onlinelearninglegends.com/). It features interviews with leading practitioners of digital distance education from all over the world, highlighting the international nature of sound practice and bringing attention to the core ideas that continue to influence practice.
More about him from https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbnichols/.
Vision for ICDE:
ICDE has a vision to “be the global facilitator for inclusive, flexible, quality learning and teaching in the digital age”. He wants to contribute to such a vision, as his work and experience to date demonstrate.
His 20-year career in the field of open, flexible and distance learning testifies to his active involvement in promoting the very form of education ICDE is committed to. His international experience, primarily through Australasia though also across the UK and Europe during his time with the Open University and as executive committee member of the European Distance Education Network (EDEN), has highlighted the importance of global networks and international perspectives toward promoting educational excellence. When it comes to promoting inclusive, flexible, quality learning and teaching in the digital age, the issues faced by institutions world-wide are remarkably similar.
ICDE has eleven stated priorities, all based on the mission and values of “bringing accessible quality education to all through online, open and distance education”. Each of these resonate with him.
Last decade he has worked in senior management roles in open institutions and is an advocate of accessible, scalable and personalised education in ways that align fully with the ICDE priorities.
ICDE has a deep, rich heritage and a vital mission. It is his ambition to serve that mission to the best of his ability and to promote the work of the ICDE at every opportunity.