Open learning… what is that… ? Well, yes, open access – that I’ve heard about before. Mostly about sharing research results and make it available for everyone. That is great, even though it is expensive for researchers and institutions in the way it is organized today. But what more can Open learning be about? What is actually open education ad how can I approach it from a teachers perspective? It arises so many questions that I probably will dig more into during this course, and hey – I might end up “open up”
I started by listening to a podcast about open education, moderated by Kiruthika Ragupathi, where I got a better understanding about how other people around the world reflect and experience openness. This was a good starting point for me.
I found David Wileys TedcNYED talk really interesting where he talked abourt sharing and being generous about the knowledgde we have and produce. Without sharing there is no education he says. I agree! And especially I think knowledge is for everyone, regardless if you can come to the university, or have an internet connection or not. We have an online bachelor program starting this fall, and again, how will I make it the best possible? There is online content technology where passwords, restrictions and set up limits in some ways. We can only use some “safe and secure” program due to GDPR etc and that limits the online way of communication, connecting and collaborating. Well, do we need all fancy ways of online technology or is that just a need in me?
Furthermore, David Wiley talks about openness in general, but as a university teacher there is more to it to understand than “just” share openly – I think. So many questions arises!
- What do I need to know?
- How to do this?
- Is there copy right of the content and material that I as a teacher produce?
- Am I the owner of that or my institution?
- Can I share this openly?
- Can I use open sources, and which cant I use?
- Open text books would be great to use (as Bates, 2019 writes about). But can I found a similair book as the proposed physical one today (that might be an e-book also).
But for a teacher at a university, the most important task is to educate good public health workers. This can be done in many ways. But when there is problem for us to even collaborate over divisions or between universities, how long way is it to reach out to the rest of the world – openly! Is open education (aka MOOC) rewarded with some money so students can have a diploma/credits? We as educators (and I as program leader for two programs) need to make sure that the education we have is profitable. I know – that is a institutional problem that probably can be solved, but the settings need to be there for at least Swedish systems.
I found one of @wearethedreamersofourownfuture reflection very interesting where I want to highlight one of his thoughts about how openness in education can affect our human capacity and brain. So important to acknowledge this, especially for me, cause I am always “trigging” on new online techniques and tools, new ideas on how to learn online etc.
“The fact that we can communicate easier and faster nowadays means that I try to limit and format the ways of communication – in order to create time for recovery and rest. I fear that the wealth of communication platforms in combination with an idea of “open” access to everyones time and – in the long run – private sphere – does create problems for the human capacity and brain.”
https://wearethedreamersofourownfuture.wordpress.com/2021/03/30/openness-in-education-a-reflection/
So many new thoughts has arise in my head – as it always leads to new ideas and how I wish to work as a university educator, teacher and researcher. I think below picture highlight the different aspects of what open pedagogy can be. So much more to learn.
To be continued…
References:
Bates, T. (2019). Teaching in a Digital Age: Guidelines for Teaching and Learning. (2nd edition)
Podcast by Kiruthika Ragupathi https://www.opennetworkedlearning.se/onl211-course-overview/onl211-topic-2-open-learning-sharing-and-openness/onl211-topic-2-event-discussion-webinar/
Open education and the future, Short TED-talk by David Wiley