Reflection on Topic 2: Open Learning – Sharing and Openness
Joanne Kuai
joanne.kuai@kau.se
This work is licensed via CC BY 4.0
Open education practices (OEP) involve open education resources, open teaching and learning processes and open research and scholarly practices that incorporate some key principles such as accessibility, flexibility, shareability, affordability, innovation and academic freedom (Shareefa et al., 2023). With technological development, there are increasing opportunities to support open educational practices, such as online video conferencing supported online teaching, web repositories supporting resource sharing, and not to mention the latest generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, being used as virtual educational assistants and with 24/7 availability and has the flexibility to be used in various fields and customising for individual needs (Baidoo-Anu & Ansah, 2023).
Like it or not, students are embracing ChatGPT and the like and using AI tools for various purposes (Malmström et al., 2023). How to prepare the students and prepare ourselves as educators in the face of AI has generated much debate. An impressive open crowdsourced collection (Nerantzi et al., 2023) on ideas of how to use AI in education is a great example of open educational practices in the age of AI. Inspired by the Open Educational Resources movement, it has been pointed out that increasingly, community building to facilitate more lively academic exchange, collaborating with students to have a flipped classroom to enhance the learning experience, and relying on social media, listsesrvs, groups and public annotations can help educators to respond to the challenges brought by AI (Mills et al., 2023).
OEP and OER support the idea of sharing an alternative educational paradigm that affirms everybody’s right to education, participate in cultural life and benefit from scientific knowledge and development. The benefits of OEP powered by AI lie in its speed, accessibility, potential for scalability, time-saving, and cost-effectiveness, among other things. However, it is also important to note some limitations. To begin with, one should be cautious about the quality of the information. Some materials could be altered and become inaccurate. With AI-powered information retrieval, one can also experience biases in input data, biased questions, and outdated information, among other issues. Secondly, equity is also an issue not only due to different accessibility and technology and information but also because relevant literacy may vary across geographical locations, democratic backgrounds, and disciplinary differences. Third, maintenance and updates may take a lot of effort and time. To address these issues, better institutional support is needed, and so is more transparency to establish a chain of accountability. Only by evaluating these issues carefully and putting in place functioning mechanisms are we able to fulfil OEP and OER’s potential and align AI’s goal with our goal of benefiting humanity.
References
Baidoo-Anu, D., & Ansah, L. O. (2023). Education in the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI): Understanding the potential benefits of ChatGPT in promoting teaching and learning. Journal of AI, 7(1), 52–62.
Malmström, H., Stöhr, C., & Ou, A. W. (2023). Chatbots and other AI for learning: A survey of use and views among university students in Sweden. Chalmers Stud. Commun. Learn. High. Educ, 1.
Mills, A., Bali, M., & Eaton, L. (2023). How do we respond to generative AI in education? Open educational practices give us a framework for an ongoing process. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 6(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2023.6.1.34
Nerantzi, C., Abegglen, S., Karatsiori, M., & Antonio Martínez-Arboleda (Eds. ). (2023). 101 creative ideas to use AI in education, A crowdsourced collection. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.8072949
Shareefa, M., Moosa, V., Hammad, A., Zuhudha, A., & Wider, W. (2023). Open education practices: A meta-synthesis of literature. Frontiers in Education, 8. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1121739
Comments
Your reflection on the intersection of Open Educational Practices and AI presents a compelling view of the evolving educational ecosystem. The points you raise about the principles underpinning OEP, such as accessibility and innovation, are critical considerations as we navigate this transformation.
Your mention of the crowdsourced collection by Nerantzi et al. (2023) underscores the collaborative spirit that drives OEP forward. It’s inspiring to see such initiatives that not only embrace AI but also leverage it to enhance educational practices.
Hi Joanne,
I think the idea of using AI around community is an interesting and important one. Having students be open to sharing new ideas, discussing how to use these tools, and reflecting upon the strengths and weaknesses of these tools might be good ways of proceeding as we grapple with how to utilize them.
At the same time, you rightly point out that there are important questions about equity and how we might ensure that students can access these tools in an equitable manner will be an increasingly important question.