Oral histories and engaged perspectives: In conversation with Rory McGreal

Dr. Rory McGreal describes his educational journey and career in distance education. He recounts his return to education as a mature student, participating in the first Canada-Russia university exchange program, earning a PhD, and becoming involved with distance education in various Canadian educational institutions including McGill University, Télé-université du Quebec, TeleEducation New Brunswick, and Contact North. He discusses the establishment of his UNESCO Chair in OER position at Athabasca University as well as his efforts with the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL) and the OER Knowledge Cloud while highlighting the challenges of open educational resources (OER) due to lack of educator awareness and resistance from publishers. He highlights the evolving role of educational technology, including artificial intelligence and reflects upon academic freedom, faculty rights, and collaboration. He also suggests areas for future historical research in the field of open and distributed education.