The Impact of Openness on Bridging Educational Digital Divides” by Andy Lane (https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/irrodl/1900-v1-n1-irrodl05153/1067834ar.pdf) has been published in 2009 and the importance of openness in education was already dividing teachers.
“Openness has been a feature of higher education for many decades, particularly through the establishment of open universities, although there remain debates about what openness means in practice”
Nowadays, it is still a challenge for new teachers and is still in debate. So, it is an essential aspect to consider at university as it gives the same opportunities for everybody (free access and use for learners at their own convenience). It provides sharing and collaboration between teachers as new methods need to be found every day. AI now plays a big role in this kind of education as it can be used to personalize different experiences and adapt them consequently but still in debate between teachers community as it can also be considered as a restriction to educational resources in some aspects: reflection on AI and openness: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND EDUCATION A critical view through the lens of human rights, democracy and the rule of law p33 – https://rm.coe.int/artificial-intelligence-and-education-a-critical-view-through-the-lens/1680a886bd
Focus on challenges from the past that have been solved and how to compare them with the situation today. Plagiarism in open teaching?
Open Educational Practices:
In the 21st century, technology has revived participatory teaching and learning. Open Educational Resources, online courses, and open-source tech enable knowledge sharing. The Open Education Movement seeks new teaching methods for active higher education involvement. An analytical framework was created through a literature review and focus groups to assess collaborative teaching. It integrates participation models and teaching dimensions. This study enriches Open Educational Practices discussion by exploring open learning interpretations.
-> A multidimensional and analytical perspective on Open Educational Practices in the 21st century (Bonny Brandenburger, 2022): https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2022.990675/full
Shares for educational resources
In his study, Paskevicius (2017), explores how open educational practices (OEP) can be better understood and implemented through the framework of constructive alignment. Constructive alignment involves strategically coordinating various elements within education, including learning outcomes, resources, teaching activities, and evaluation.
In terms of learning outcomes, the idea is to have well-defined objectives that are easily accessible to students. In some cases, students might even participate in shaping these outcomes, cultivating a more learner-centric approach. However, this can be a complex endeavor for both educators and students.
Open Educational Resources (OER) play a key role in OEP. These openly available materials are fundamental to open education and can provide a convenient starting point for learning. However, challenges might arise in terms of the quality and appropriateness of these resources.
OEP also encourages innovative teaching methods, often utilizing OER, and collaborative learning activities that can be organized within open communities. However, educators embracing OEP might encounter resistance from students accustomed to more traditional approaches. Clear communication about the benefits of OEP can help bridge this gap and engage students more effectively.
Furthermore, OEP can involve students in producing work that extends beyond the scope of traditional assessment, potentially having a broader impact on the community. Nevertheless, it’s important to ensure that students who are new to creating academic content receive appropriate guidance and support during the evaluation process.
Discussions
Integrating open educational practices with the framework of constructive alignment enhances open education by aligning learning outcomes, resources, teaching approaches, and evaluation methods. This approach promotes a learner-centric perspective, encourages the use of open resources, supports innovative teaching strategies, and fosters community engagement. It also emphasizes the need for thoughtful evaluation and support for students as they participate in OEP.
In conclusion, sharing and openness should necessarily be used in education. Technological strides like Open Educational Resources and open-source technologies break barriers, facilitating widespread knowledge exchange. Aligned with the Open Education Movement, this shift spurs innovative teaching methods that prioritize active learner involvement. A derived analytical framework, shaped by thorough research, serves as a guidepost for collaborative teaching. This framework bridges established participation models with diverse teaching dimensions. Ultimately, this study enriches the discourse on open educational practices, propelling education into a future defined by accessible and interconnected learning.
Lotta Fröjdfeldt August 10, 2023
Here you start off by describing the importance of openness, sharing, and collaborating in this era of digitalization and AI. And maybe also for the acute climate crisis? Then you connect OE, OER and OEP to constructive alignment and also students as partners. You there see great possibilities but also the need for supporting students in their academic creation process. Your final point about the framework “…propelling education into a future defined by accessible and interconnected learning.” is very hopeful. Maybe this really can help solve the urgent crisis?
I miss thought the connection to you own teaching and learning practice. Maybe you can elaborate a little on this?
-Thanks!
/Lotta
Valentin Scheiff August 10, 2023 — Post Author
Hi Lotta,
Thank you for your comment.
During our group discussion, we had a lot of debate on student engagement and that is something I am facing during my teaching. After the pandemic, we decided to create digital/hybrid course and we noticed a lack of activity from the students as we tried to translate this course from a physical course before. And as I am working in labs, I need to show the physics and how students can apply the theory.
So, during our discussion, we noted 5 different points that I would like to try in my course:
Social engagement: As the first connection between the teacher, the students, and the course, I would like to provide new activities that could help such as group discussion, and maybe try to build a forum for free debate on a specific topic. Peer reviewing student work is also something to try in my teaching to check how the students understand the course.
Cognitive engagement: The goal here will be to include critical thinking and active reflection. For that, I would like to create discussion group in my class so they can reflect on some specific questions related to the course. Or provide a research paper in advance and criticize it in its context.
Behavioral engagement: By using real examples, and experiments besides the theory, I would like to engage the students to use the tools by themselves and reflect on why real life might be different sometimes.
Collaborative engagement: This point is linked to the others, depending on the used methods, the collaboration will be different and so I could develop better skills with the students
Emotional engagement: That is the most complicated in my area as students are dealing with theory mostly. But in my last course, I discussed the impact of combustion on the environment for example and that could be a first step to involve students emotionally as it touches everybody.