The concept of design patterns in education raises the question of whether their validity can persist over a period of time or whether social and technological change means that yesterday’s virtues are today’s irrelevancies. Many see e-learning as something which is the latest and greatest form of education, possibly one that has made previous forms obsolete. However, when we look beyond the technology to the desired pedagogy, how much has radically changed? This paper compares two examples of how adults have been educated on a part-time basis in Britain; examples which are separated by 100 years. Because adults are involved, we should more properly talk of andragogy rather than pedagogy. It compares elements of University Tutorial Classes, which started in 1908 as a university outreach programme to deliver undergraduate level education to ordinary working people, with key features of an online Master’s degree programme started in the 21st century. The University of Liverpool has been associated with both initiatives, and therefore provides a useful focus for comparison. On the face of it, the two initiatives could not be more different. However, if we strip away the differences in circumstances, motivation and technology, we find that the andragogical approach is remarkably similar. The same basic desirable elements are present
