My Introduction
When we talk about openness we can think about many things : open culture , open mind , open source , open boundaries ,open commerce , open education …..this word can be applied in many areas of our life , but has it the same degree in each context ? What are the benefits of open practices ? what are the possible challenges ?
In this reflective blog we will talk about Open Education , its benefits for students and teachers and the barriers that we need to worry about .
Open Learning
It is a learning method for the knowledge acquisition based on open educational resources, open source technologies and online communities . It is based on collaborative study and social learning. This approach aims to the design and facilitation of learning opportunities that are public and easily accessible. The goal of open learning is to broaden access to education.
Benefits of Open Education
In open environment , we can learn regardless our location , we have the flexibility to choose the right time and right space , it ‘s self guided learning with having the opportunity to connect with other networks and learners .
This makes education more affordable, accessible, and attainable to students, no matter their income level and so equity to access a wider spectrum of educational resources.
It offers flexible part-time study, supported distance and creates positive learning environment out of school / university walls.
Barriers & Challenges
On the other hand , in Open envirnement , students may feel lost in a large amount of refrences , they may be worried about which ressources they need to choose , how can they compare the quality of each and which is more adapted to their needs …
This will probably replace the face to face contact with teachers and it will be only online learning that will persist . The role of teacher could be eliminated and replaced by facilitator role , but here we need to ask if teachers are well prepared for that ?
Another thing to mention here , the universities buildings will be abondoned if we opt for 100% online courses and students won’t have campus real life and memories , it will be all virtual .
My Conclusion
We can not neglect benefits of open education but we need to have a balanced way to include it with real educational systems , they are both important for knowledge building and they complement each other without replacing one of them .
References :
https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/open-learning/21196
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271201894_Open_Learning
