{"id":573,"date":"2018-10-30T14:35:24","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T14:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onlinelearningthoughts.wordpress.com\/?p=50"},"modified":"2018-10-30T14:35:24","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T14:35:24","slug":"open-learning-sharing-and-openness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hhk3.kau.se\/onl181-blogposts\/2018\/10\/30\/open-learning-sharing-and-openness\/","title":{"rendered":"Open learning \u2013 sharing and openness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cEducation\u201d says David Wiley in a TEDX talk entitled Open Education and the Future<\/a>, is \u201cinherently an enterprise of openness, of sharing and generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technology has certainly made possible the advantages he mentions \u2013 the ability to share<\/em> our expertise, our knowledge and experience on an open<\/em> platform and within a spirit of generosity<\/em> where not costs but rather access can be main driver.<\/p>\n

But if the knowledge and expertise is shared, is out there in the digital space \u2013 so freely and flexibly available – does it not render the original teacher defunct? Is it a case that \u201cEducation will become a matter of pressing the button\u201d? And that \u201cteachers will be relegated to the backwoods\u2026, or perhaps shown in museums\u201d?<\/p>\n

If those were questions that seem to fit the digital era and the 21st century, guess again. They are extracts from a poem \u201cAntiquated\u201d written slightly less than a hundred years ago, in the 1920\u2019s\u2013 and encapsulates a time when teachers feared being replaced by a radio. The whole poem by Virginia Church can be found at this link<\/a> .( I am grateful to a fellow ONL’er for mentioning it on our introductory Padlet).<\/p>\n

Teachers were not replaced by the radio, or by the television or even by the home computer. Yet that is not to say that technology and the openness it brings about is not without an impact.<\/p>\n

As part of this topic, we also looked at MOOC\u2019s \u2013 massive online open courses, which appear to hold a significant potential for impacting education.[1]<\/a>Whilst there are different forms of MOOC\u2019s, the main model exemplifies that characteristics Wiley had mentioned in relation to education- that of sharing \u2013 via participation and collaboration, of being open \u2013 in accessibility, in topic and in platform, \u00a0and being generous \u2013 as it mostly free of costs to participate (though not always for certification.). But one of the main features of the MOOC model is also to \u201cmake online courses open to anyone and remove the costly human support factor.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

It therefore seems to overcome the so- termed \u201ciron triangle of higher education\u201d[3]<\/a> which summarizes the challenges higher education faces as threefold: namely access, quality, and costs; \u00a0and is premised on the assumption that at any given time, not all three can be mastered; and that a shift in any of the three impacts the others. For example should you aim for access and costs as decisive, then the quality will be impacted; on the other hand, if you prioritize quality, then costs will increase, and access impacted. I\u2019ve roughly depicted it on the triangle below.<\/p>\n

\"Triangle\"<\/p>\n

But what is the impact for education if MOOC\u2019s can provide quality in learning, be accessible and be rendered at a relatively low cost? Five years ago, Weller & Anderson in relation to the Open University, writes in a prescribed article, Digital Resilience in Higher Education<\/a><\/em>, that \u201c\u2026, MOOCs represent both a challenge and an opportunity. As a purely distance education institution it is arguably more vulnerable to their threat. If learners can study for free, the argument goes, then why would they pay for an education that isn\u2019t campus based?\u201d<\/p>\n

Fast forward and in 2018 there are concerns about the Open University\u2019s survival with articles in the media reporting on drastic staff cuts, reduction in qualifications and degrees offered[4]<\/a> and that the university will become no more than just a \u201cdigital content providers.\u201d [5]<\/a> Working in distance education and in private higher education, this made me feel quite vulnerable. But are the MOOC\u2019s and openness to blame? And is it a precedent that universities and higher education institutions will shortly follow suit?<\/p>\n

In my view, the answer is no. In looking at the Open University example and reading various articles about it as case study, one of the key reasons for the deterioration seems to be that the role of the educators had increasingly been reduced. Previously seen as one of the OU\u2019S \u00a0biggest \u00a0accomplishment was its ability to\u00a0 combine \u201cscale with personalisation\u201d., and that \u201cfor many students \u2026 this personal relationship with an instructor is the key\u201d. [6]<\/a><\/p>\n

In our group we therefore focused on the transition of the role of the educator from being a traditional teacher to a facilitator. We needed to understand what our role will be in this era of openness. We therefore looked at the skills that will be required, what tools can be used to transition the knowledge, and how the efficacy of learning is affected by the class size and openness. We also looked at the benefits to be gained from openness. Our presentation is available on\u00a0Microsoft\u2019s Sway.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, I started (but did not complete) a very basic course in graphic design \u2013 and needless to say as can be told from my graph above, my skills remained rather rudimentary. But the course content did cover the concept of \u201cnegative spaces.\u201d That is \u00a0 the space around an object (with the object being the positive space- I may be wrong) Often these are used in advertising and logo\u2019s to focus, or to bring balance \u00a0but sometimes also to create a shape in itself. On a personal level, openness for me is \u00a0somewhat similar to this effect of negative spaces, \u00a0so that by opening, we are creating spaces, adding to the balance, augmenting and re-focusing on the existing, and even in itself being a way of education.<\/p>\n

\"books<\/p>\n

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cMOOCs have been trumpeted as having the potential to instigate wide scale and disruptive change in higher education.\u201d Per Weller, M., & Anderson, T. (2013). Digital resilience in higher education<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/strong>. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, 16(1), 53.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Weller, M. (2014).\u00a0Battle for Open: How openness won and why it doesn\u2019t feel like victory.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>London: Ubiquity Press at 6.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> \u201cthe vectors of access, quality and cost make an iron triangle because there are no possibilities of economies of scale. But the lecture bazaar is also constrained by the triangle, because with classroom teaching it is impossible to change the vector on one side without ill effects on either or both of the others\u2026the iron triangle\u2014the assumption that quality, exclusivity, and expense necessarily go together\u2014has been the bugbear of education.\u201d Per Daniel, J, Kanwar, A & Uvali\u0107-Trumbi\u0107S \u00a0(2009)\u00a0Breaking Higher Education’s Iron Triangle: Access, Cost, and Quality,\u00a0Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/strong>,\u00a041:2,\u00a030-35,\u00a0DOI:\u00a010.3200\/CHNG.41.2.30-35<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Letters \u201c Worries grow about the survival of the open university\u201d The Guardian<\/em>, 25 March 2018, accessible at https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2018\/mar\/25\/worries-grow-about-the-survival-of-the-open-university<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Taylor, D \u201c Open University plans major cuts to the number of staff and courses\u201d The Guardian<\/em>, 21 March 2018, accessible at https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2018\/mar\/25\/worries-grow-about-the-survival-of-the-open-university<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Letters \u201c\u201c Worries grow about the survival of the open university\u201d The Guardian<\/em>, 25 March 2018, accessible at https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2018\/mar\/25\/worries-grow-about-the-survival-of-the-open-university<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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