Open Learning—What is it and should we embrace it?

After completing the first topic on online participation and digital literacy in the context of education, the discussions I had with colleagues and the literature I went through seem to suggest there is a great potential that could be derived from the use of technology in the teaching learning process. It is apparent that the strides made in ICT has changed the education landscape around the globe. Contrary to my previous belief, I have now learned that, open education does not have to come in the form of digital material nor it needs to be online accessible. However, it is no secret that the declining cost of ICT as well as the improved coverage and high speed of Internet has contributed to the popularity of open learning (Tuomi, 2013).

In the past decades, the phenomenon “Openness in higher education” has been brought up in the literature along with similar concepts such as Open Educational Resources (OER), Open Educational Practices, and Massive Open Online Course (Peter and Deimann, 2013). Indeed, our time has been described as the “open-decade” by some scholars (for instance, Materu, 2004) who has also coined various nick names for those who are keen on embracing the phenomenon of higher education openness. Just for fun, I googled for some of the terms used to refer those educators. I found “Open Scholar” and “Open Professor” referring to open educators while “Open Assessment” is used to refer a method used to make assessments where anyone could take part and contribute (Peters, 2008).

Before taking the course, I did not reflect on a topic which I thought was commonly used in the academic landscape nowadays. I obviously thought no academic would dismiss the significance of openness in education. For me, it is the duty of educators to make the best use of all the resources available to promote and spread knowledge. It is no news for those who are familiar with the recently emerged phenomenon “Massive Open Online Courses” (MOOC). More and more universities including the Ivy Leagues are developing course which are free and open to more and more people from all over the world. However, I have also noticed that there are debates questioning this model of education.

Going through the literature and many online videos on open education, I noticed that the term “open education” has not been fully understood by many. Atkins, Brown, & Hammond, (2007, p. 4) define open education resources as:

“OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use or re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge”

The articles by Toumi (2013) and D’Antoni and Savage (2009) also provide clear description of open education. Even though the debate surrounding the open education focuses on accessibility, there are three more attributes to open education resources (1) the right and capability to enjoy the services generated by the resource, (2) the right and capability to modify and add value to the resources, (3) accumulative and expansionary dynamic of resource development. The comprehensive understanding of the open education resources will make us responsible users of the resources. This way, the value created from the use of open education resources could be sustained.

In conclusion, I share the fundamental claim that knowledge should be considered to be a common good that should be as accessible and as open as possible (D’Antoni and Savage, 2009). However, I also acknowledge openness in this context is a complex issue encompassing social, economic, cognitive and technical dimensions (Tuomi, 2013). The supporters of open education argue that initiatives should be undertaken to promote open educational resources with no cost for educators and users (McAndrew, 2010). Even though I appreciate the motivation, it is also worth mentioning that there are many stakeholders involved in the development of materials used for open education. In other words, what is no-cost for someone might not necessarily mean that it is free for everyone. Educators and academic institutions need to be informed on such issues as copyright, the interplay between economic and educational factors (Peter and Deimann, 2013).

References

Atkins, D. E., Brown, J. S. & Hammond, A. L. (2007). A Review of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement: achievements, challenges, and new opportunities (Menlo Park, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation).

D’Antoni, S., & Savage, C. (2009). Open educational resources: conversations in cyberspace. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Hug, T. (2016). Defining openness in education. Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory, 1-6.

McAndrew, P. (2010). Defining Openness: Updating the Concept of" Open" for a Connected World. Journal of interactive Media in Education, 1-13.

Peter, S., & Deimann, M. (2013). On the role of openness in education: A historical reconstruction. Open Praxis, 5(1), 7-14.

Peter, S., & Farrell, L. (2009). From café education to internet café education. Paper presented at the AARE 2009, Canberra.

Tuomi, I. (2013). Open educational resources and the transformation of education. European Journal of Education, 48(1), 58-78.