Openness is generally something that I did not pay much attention to, I use a lot of content from the web and simply reference it. However, since being on the ONL course I have expanded my understanding of openness.

I ask myself

What it is to be open and engage in openness?

How much content do I share?

Taking into consideration that I am a mass consumer of literature that is openly available on the internet.

I watched a video in which David Wiley
speaks on openness and it made me reflect on my practice in that I am apart of
the online community that is taking but practising “giving” and “sharing” is something
that I can work on. There are many tools out there and I have chosen to start
small by just sharing content on various media platforms and then expanding
that to allow for collaboration and in a sense “a remix” of content.  I have come to acknowledge that a key factor
of sharing is also being able to share expertise and pass on crucial knowledge
that can enhance the existing knowledge on a subject area.

In my journey as a lecturer I believe that when introducing students to the concept of being open and collaborative there needs to be adequate structure and support to allow students and users to feel empowered. In encouraging students to share more, I have encouraged students to chart and be responsible for their own learning journey. Students can be encouraged to use a multitude of tools, gain confidence in them, start to work in groups like the ONL platform and then share it with an audience that they are comfortable. Thereafter, introduce it to a larger platform. Students will gain confidence and move from online learners to open networked learners. Inherently  preparing students to be global digital citizens.  

The concept of MOOCs is something
that I will be pursuing further and encouraging my students to engage with. I
want to have students enrolled in a MOOC that is aligned to the course I am
facilitating and then ask the students to work on a collaborative presentation
and share that with me.

• My
  key learning areas have been the idea that openness and sharing is part of a
  greater good that allows knowledge to be shared and customised instead of
  letting it remain undiscovered as it sits in my google drive.
• To
  encourage openness and sharing there must be a firm foundation and structure to
  allow student to be empowered and gain confidence in using these tools.
• Using
  tools are amazing, however using tools collaboratively allows for increased dept,
   knowledge and the creation of a unique
  body of knowledge.

Sources

David Wiley on TEDxNYED [online] Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb0syrgsH6M
[Accessed 01/11/2019]

Tu, CH., Sujo-Montes, L., Yen, CJ.
et al. TECHTRENDS TECH TRENDS (2012) 56: 13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-012-0571-7