What is Hotseat

In the United Kingdom, the increased broadband speeds and the availability of mobile Internet access via 3G mobile phones and tablet computers, along with an ever growing number of free Wi-Fi hotspots located within urban areas becoming available, has meant that there are now more opportunities than ever to access online information. For the adult learner, technology considered innovative a decade ago to pioneering online communities of UK head teachers who collectively made up Talking Heads has now become commonplace, particularly in the guise of virtual learning environments (VLEs). This chapter sets out to show how the knowledge gained from those early communities of practice informed the development of the fully online Ultraversity degree, which in turn has been able to provide pointers to the possible framework for online learning provision in higher education. This is particularly pertinent for this sector of education in the UK, which is faced with raising course fees threefold. By making a greater number of university courses accessible online, available anytime, and from virtually anywhere, particularly via mobile Internet devices, an alternative and more affordable route to higher education in the UK and elsewhere in the world awaits to be developed.