31 March – 13 April

In this topic we will explore the benefits and challenges of openness in education and learning. First, we will consider the usual conceptions of openness and access and ask how this phenomenon may differ from the perspectives of the educator and the learner. Second, we will focus on open educational resources (OER), and the consequent development of open educational practices (OEP). Third, we will look at issues around copyright and in particular the open licensing of content (Creative Commons) and how it opens up new opportunities for collaborative learning and development. Finally we will consider the impact of GenAI on openness in education.

Today many universities publish course material (lectures, course modules, courses, textbooks) as OERs with Creative Commons licenses that allow anyone to reuse and even adapt the material under the terms of the license. Examples of such resource collections are OpenLearn, MIT OpenCourseware, Merlot and Open UBC. You can also search for millions of Creative Commons media via the Openverse and Wikimedia Commons. Thousands of free online university courses (MOOC – Massive Open Online Courses) are available in many languages via global or regional MOOC platforms such as edX, Coursera, FutureLearn, FUN (French), Miríadax (Spanish), Edraak (Arabic) and many more.

Activities for all learners

Introduction material

Start investigating open education by listening to a short podcast or watch the first 20 minutes of the following webinar:

Hear the diverse voices from colleagues across the globe discussing on what openness is and means to them. Some of these colleagues are from the ONL community while there are others from different contexts.

Common course activities

During this topic, there will be a webinar with Chrissi Nerantzi and Lars Uhlin as well as a workshop about Creative Commons licenses. Under “Readings and other resources” you will find some other input to the topic. See info to the right/below.

Individual reflection

Suggested themes for reflection in your individual reflection spaces:

• Openness in your own personal practice
• The emergence of AI tools and its impact on openness
• The role of open educational resources in your own institution
• The role of technology in open education
• Openness for greater inclusion and social diversity in education
• Openness for addressing the climate crisis
• Finding and using openly licensed resources
• Advantages and disadvantages of open and closed technologies
• Implications of different open course and MOOC formats in relation to your learning experience on this course.

A reminder: If you are aiming for a certificate you need to write the reflective post as well as  comment on other participants’ posts (see Course requirements). 

Activities in PBL groups

PBL group work

For guidance on PBL group work including the FISh model, please revisit the Learning activities.

Scenario

I’m used to sharing my research findings broadly and have even published open access, but now I’m being encouraged to extend that openness to my teaching. The idea of making my course materials available as open educational resources (OER) sounds great in theory, but I’m worried about the quality and how others might use or adapt my work. I just don’t feel quite comfortable sharing my slides and assignments. What if my colleagues find some mistakes? What if my materials are altered in ways that don’t reflect my original intent? I also want to ensure that my students benefit from the open approach, but I’m unsure how to integrate OER or OEPs into my course in a way that enhances their learning. How do I strike the right balance between openness and maintaining control over my work? 

COURSE SYNCHRONOUS ACTIVITIES

CHECKLIST