According to the Oxford Dictionary (2021), the definition of ‘open’ is “allowing things or people to go through; not closed or blocked”. Easy enough, in theory… But when it comes to Open Learning and Open Educational Resources/Practices, well that’s another story!
There are many benefits to open education and learning systems, such as improving opportunities to access knowledge and leveling the playing field. But what does this mean for educators? If there are fewer fee-paying students, how do wages get paid? Who is responsible for these resources once they are published?
It was very interesting to discuss this concept in our ONL PBL group for Topic 2. We used a Miro board to do a SWOT analysis regarding Open Learning. Of course, there were many strengths and opportunities, but I found myself focussing on the weaknesses and threats. Perhaps I am not as open as I thought I was!
I come from a country where education is not free. In some ways I think that paying for my education meant that I worked hard for it. The stakes were too high for me to fail, so there was an incentive to succeed. On the flip side, as an educator, I feel that my work is worth paying for – but I also would hope that anyone who wanted to access the education program that I facilitate could do so.
Interestingly, when you combine ‘open’ with ‘learning’, things change slightly. Caliskan (2012) defines ‘open learning’ as “learning situations in which learners have the flexibility to choose from a variety of options in relation to the time, place, instructional methods, modes of access, and other factors related to their learning processes.” When put into the context of tertiary education, total openness could lead to potential issues with quality, rigor, privacy, and sustainability (Whitfield & Robinson, 2012).
Yet, these challenges do not seem insurmountable in the scheme of things, as the societal benefits surely outweigh the drawbacks. Do I have all the answers? No! But it is important to ask these questions as education evolves.
This topic reminded me of the old saying ‘when one door closes, another door opens’ – but with a twist! Perhaps when it comes to Open Learning, when one door opens, many other doors can open too!

References
Caliskan, H. (2012) Open Learning. In: Seel N.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_52
Oxford Dictionary. (2021). Definition of open adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/open_1?q=open
Whitfield. S., & Robinson, Z. (2012). Open Educational Resources: the challenges of ‘usability’ and copyright clearance. Planet, 25:1, 51-54. 10.11120/plan.2012.00250051