Open learning & OERs

Open learning network (OLNs)

In the current information age many educators believe learning should be open and social (Brown & Adler, 2008: Caswell, Henson, Jensen & Wiley, 2008: Cormier & Siemens, 2010; Downes, 2009; Murphy, 2012) and increasingly teachers and learners are showing a greater interest in open learning networks and web technologies as they can “support self-governed, problem-based and collaborative activities in a better way” (Baltzersen, 2010).

Open learning environments are digital environments that:

empower learners to participate in creative endeavours, conduct social networking, organize/reorganize social contents and manage social acts by connecting people, resources and tools by integrating web 2.0 tools to design environments that are totally transparent, or open to public view (Tu et al., 2012, p.14).

Open educational resources (OERs)

Open educational resources (OERs) are materials designed to support educational and informal learning programs that are licensed to allow free access and use by anyone in the world (Anderson, 2008; Baltzersen, 2010; Curtin University, 2011). In this context “open” means that the end-user should be able to read, adapt, build upon and reuse the resource as long as they at least attribute the original creator (Hylen, 2006).

The rapidly growing pool of high quality OERs (Okada eta l., 2014; Olcott, 2012) and the ease with which digital OER materials can be shared via the Internet (Butcher, 2011) offers educators and students access to a broader range of information, rather than a single textbook, to encourage learners to think critically and make decisions about the content they select. They can also foster a culture of sharing, offer educators new ways of thinking about sustainable online content, and help reduce textbook costs for students (Semingson, 2014).

OERs created by jennip98

Below are links to some resources I have created using FREE online tools that you might find interesting or useful for your own teaching. If you use these resources in your teaching area please ensure you acknowledge the author as indicated in the Creative Commons copyright statement on each site.

Research publications

Conference paper: Phillips, R., Parker, J. and Makowiecka, K. (2013) Embedding open education at universities: Issues to resolve. In: THETA 2013 (The Higher Education Technology Agenda), 7 – 10 April 2013, Hobart, Tasmania

Recommended readings

Anderson, T. (2008). The theory and practice of online learning [eBook].
Bonk, C. (2009). The world is open: How technology is revolutionizing education [Book]

Open online journals

References

Anderson, T. (2008a). Open educational resources plus social software: Threat or opportunity for Canadian higher education? Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the study of higher education, 1-3 June 2008, University of British Columbia.
Baltzersen, R. K. (2010). Radical transparency: Open access as a key concept wiki pedagogy. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26(6), 791-809.
Brown, J. S., & Adler, R. P. (2008). MInds on fire: Open Education, the long tail and learning 2.0. Educause Review Online, 43(1), 16-32.
Butcher, N. (2011). A basic guide to open educational resources (OER). A. Kanwar & S. Uvalic-Trumbic (Eds.)
Caswell, T., Henson, S., Jensen, M., & Wiley, D. (2008). Open educational resources: Enabling universal education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning.
Cormier, D., & Siemens, G. (2010). Through the open door: Open courses as research, learning and engagement. Educause Review, 45(4), 30-39.
Curtin University. (2011). Open educational resources (OER). Center for Learning Newsletter Issue 26.
Downes, S. (2009). Downes-Wiley: A conversation on open educational resources.
Hylen, J. (2006). Open educational resources: Opportunities and challenges. Proceedings of Open Education (pp. 49-63).
Murphy, J. (2012). LMS teaching versus community learning: A call for the latter. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 24(5), 826-841.
Okada, A., Rabello, C., & Ferreira, G. (2014). Developing 21st century skills through colearning with OER and social networks. In A. M. Teixeira & A. Szucs (Eds.), Eighth EDEN Ressearch Workshop – EDENRW8: Challenges for Research into Open & Distance Learning (pp. 121-130). Oxford, UK: EDEN.Olcott, D. (2012). OER persepctives: Emerging issues for universities. Distance Education, 33(2), 283-290.
Olcott, D. (2012). OER perspectives: Emerging issues for universities. Distance Education, 33(2), 283-290.
Semingson, P. (2014). Redesigning learning experiences with free open educational resources. Proceedings World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2014 (pp. 1798-1802). New Orleans, LA, United States: AACE.
Tu, C.-H., Sijo-Montes, L., Yes, C.-J., Chan, J.-Y., & Blocher, M. (2012). The integration of personal learning environments & open network learning environments. TechTrends, 56(3), 13-19.