Openness in learning is an important concept to take into consideration for all educators and learners. It has become even more important as we use the internet. Technology has an important role for openness in education, but it is the educators resources, digital literacy and own knowledge, as well as their limitations that govern how openness and sharing can be used in learning situations. I believe also that openness has degrees, no good or qualitative teaching system for education programs can be completely open (1).
Technology may be an obstacle for many educators and learners, but it should not be the primary focus of learning. We are on the verge of the so-called post-digital age, when technology will evolve to the extent that humans eventually do not notice it (2). In the future the technology will work seamlessly when we use it.
There are courses with open and closed technologies. Even though we would like to share knowledge to many persons, the degree of openness must be decided based on several aspects. For example in an education program in Nursing, prior qualifications are important such as previous studies and grades. According to some information, open universities has generally very low degree completion rates, and therefore often lack the status of a campus-based institution (1).
Karolinska Institutet, where I work, has some Massive Open Online Courses since 2014 (3). There are MOOC´s such as “Introduction to Caregiving for Older Adults”, ”The Ethics of Biomedicine”, or ”An introduction to Global Health”. These MOOC´s are available on the international education platform edX, they are free and there are no entry requirements. After creating a profile and signed up for a course, you will have access to the course material. The MOOC´s are not part of the university’s regular education programs, and therefore participants will not receive any credit points. Advantages to take part of a MOOC is that you get access to world class education in fields you are interested in, the courses are interactive and you can have fun
- Bates T. Teaching in a digital age: guidelines for teaching and learning. 2019 (2nd edition).
- Goodwin T. The three ages of digital. TechCrunch, 2016 https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/23/the-three-ages-of-digital/
- Karolinska Institutet Education, MOOC Massive Open Online Courses https://education.ki.se/mooc-massive-open-online-courses
