• What openness means for your own practice

I think what David Wiley mentioned in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb0syrgsH6M) made me reflect a lot on my own ways of working. Openness means sharing and being generous with the redistribution, revision, remixing of the content one has developed. Prior to this course, I admit that I definitely am not a person who is open in this aspect.

I create/compile a lot of content for students on a daily basis and truth be told, my concerns are geared towards, “Oh what if someone else takes my content and miscontrues it in his/her delivery of the same content to students?” Sometimes it takes on a more personal form, “Why are you taking my hard work as yours? Slicing my decks and copying onto your decks, etc.”

However, what Wiley said was very true: “You can’t talk about education without talking about openness. If there’s no sharing, there’s no education.” I have since reframed my perspective, and I remind myself that if everyone thinks the way I did (selfish and unwilling to share learnings, etc.), no one will benefit at the end of it all. I could only produce my decks due to the generosity of sharing from the other educators in the world, and it would be ill-mannered of me to want to own them.

• Is technology the primary driver for openness in education

Yes. I think technology enabled the following: e-learning, MOOCs, free access to content, and more sharing of ideas. It has also removed barriers to higher education and supported the delivery of education online. Learners are no longer constrained to time and physical spaces or even inclusion issues.

Take COVID-19’s impact on education and my own work: We have moved all lectures and classes online to Zoom, recorded webinars, etc. These would never have been possible without technology. In the past, students have to be present for a class physically, but with Zoom, we are allowing even more students to attend the classes. We have also seen a huge increase in participation and attendance online as compared to physical classes. Inclusion would never be an issue as everyone gets to speak in the chat, and are given a chance to participate. This has also allowed students (especially the shy ones) to “speak up” without feeling vulnerable and uncomfortable.