2 What is open education?
Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit
Source: Universal Declaration of Human Rights as declared by the United Nations in 1948.
Open education refers to the pedagogical practice that is accessible, freely available, and encourages collaboration, sharing, and improvement of learning resources. It involves creating, sharing, and reusing open educational resources – teaching, learning, and research materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under a license that permits free use and repurposing by others.
2.1 Core Principles
Open education is anchored in the belief that education is a universal right. It denotes a dynamic, learner-centric approach to education that seeks to remove barriers to learning and promote equal access to knowledge. Open educational practices are rooted in inclusivity, collaboration, and a focus on improving quality and learner outcomes.
Open Educational Resources (OER) play a pivotal role in the open educational paradigm. OER are defined as teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an an open license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others source: Creative Commons. They can include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
2.2 The Pedagogical Foundation
At the heart of open education lies an enhanced pedagogical ethos that is inherently flexible and diverse, accommodating a variety of learning styles and needs. This ethos aligns with the constructivist learning theory, where learning is an active, constructive process, and learners are encouraged to construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences (Brunner 1966). Constructivist learning theory aligns closely with the principles of open education in at least the following waysvarious ways:
Accessibility and Flexibility: Both constructivist learning and open education emphasize the importance of making learning accessible and flexible, catering to diverse learning styles and needs.
Collaboration and Sharing: Open education promotes the sharing and collaboration of knowledge and resources, echoing the social, interactive aspect of constructivist learning.
Learner Autonomy: Just as constructivist learning puts the learner at the center of the education process, open education empowers learners by giving them access to a plethora of resources to explore, adapt, and create knowledge.
Real-world Application: Open education often involves real-world, practical examples and applications, mirroring the constructivist principle of learning being rooted in real-world contexts.
Innovation in Teaching: Both paradigms encourage innovation in teaching and learning practices, moving away from traditional, didactic methods to more interactive, engaging, and personalized approaches.
While constructivist learning continues to be influential - platforms like Khan Academy, Coursera, and edX are embedded with constructivist principles, promoting interactive, self-paced learning - it’s not without its critiques. Challenges include the effective assessment of learning, the need for well-prepared expert educators, and ensuring that foundational knowledge is adequately imparted. Balancing constructivist approaches with direct instructional methods - i.e. a more teacher-centered approach where the teacher directs the learning process, giving clear, explicit, and straightforward instructions to students where necessary - is an ongoing conversation in the educational community.
MIT OpenCourseWare (MIT OCW) stands as a beacon in the landscape of open education. Initiated in 2001, this ambitious project made virtually all MIT course content available online, free of charge, to any user anywhere in the world. The initiative encapsulates the essence of open education by offering a wealth of learning materials, including lecture notes, exams, and videos to educators, students, and self-learners to use and repurpose for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons license.
MIT OCW exemplifies the transformative power of open education. Nowadays, it includes thousands of courses and has received billions of pageviews from learners and educators in virtually every country, proving the scalability and global reach of open educational practices.
2.3 Open Education within the Context of Open Science
Open education and open science are complementary concepts, each amplifying the other’s reach and impact. Open education extends beyond making educational materials freely available; it’s also about promoting a culture of openness, collaboration, and sharing in the broader academic and research landscapes. This culture is essential for fostering open science, an inclusive and interdisciplinary approach to science that emphasizes transparent, reproducible, and accessible research.
Open education aids in the accessibility and adaptability of educational resources and data. It encapsulates an ecosystem where learners, educators, and researchers can freely use, adapt, and share resources, thereby promoting creativity, innovation, and knowledge dissemination (see e.g. Wiley and Hilton III 2018). In the context of open science, this translates into an enhanced availability of scientific data, research findings, and methodologies that are accessible and can be built upon by the global research community.
Interdisciplinary Learning and Research
Interdisciplinarity is a cornerstone of both open education and open science. Open education facilitates the creation of diverse, interdisciplinary learning materials, thereby enabling learners and researchers to explore and integrate knowledge across various fields. Open science, likewise, promotes collaborative and interdisciplinary research practices, seeking to address complex, real-world challenges that often span multiple disciplines (National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine 2005).
Plan S serves as a fitting illustration of these open science principles in action. Initiated by cOAlition S, a consortium of national research funding organizations, Plan S mandates that all publicly funded research be published in open-access journals or platforms, ensuring the results are freely accessible to all (Schiltz 2018). This initiative amplifies the principles of both open education and open science by facilitating free access to research findings, encouraging interdisciplinary research, and promoting international collaboration.
The convergence of open education and open science underscores a transformative shift towards a more open, collaborative, and accessible global knowledge ecosystem. It’s a movement that transcends geographical, disciplinary, and institutional boundaries, aiming to democratize knowledge, spur innovation, and address complex challenges in a collective, inclusive manner. The above example in the box of Plan S exemplifies the practical implementation of these principles, paving the path towards a future where knowledge is not just a commodity but a shared, collective resource that empowers societies worldwide.
2.4 A Holistic Approach to Open Education
Open education, in its most transformative sense, extends far beyond the provision of open access to textbooks and course materials. It represents a fundamental shift in how education is designed, delivered, and experienced. A holistic approach to open education sees it not merely as a means of content dissemination but as a dynamic ecosystem that fosters the collaborative creation, adaptation, and sharing of knowledge (Cronin 2017).
This educational paradigm champions the integration of open principles into every aspect of the educational journey. From the creation of content and curriculum to the enactment of pedagogical strategies and the assessment of learning, open education is characterized by transparency, adaptability, collaboration, and inclusivity.
Open pedagogy, for instance, empowers educators and learners to become co-creators of knowledge. It encourages innovative teaching and learning practices that transcend traditional classroom walls, leveraging open technologies and platforms to facilitate interaction, engagement, and shared learning experiences (Hegarty 2015).
The Wikipedia Education Program exemplifies this holistic approach to open education. In this innovative program, students aren’t just consumers of information but active contributors to one of the world’s largest open knowledge repositories. It provides a learning experience that promotes both learning and collaboration.
Enhanced Learning Through Contribution
Students, under the guidance of their instructors, create and improve Wikipedia articles related to their course content. This process not only reinforces their understanding of the subject matter but also enhances critical skills such as writing, researching, and collaborative learning. The public nature of Wikipedia means that students’ contributions are viewed and scrutinized by a global audience, adding an authentic, real-world context to the learning experience (Cummings 2009).
Global Knowledge Sharing
Moreover, the Wikipedia Education Program underscores the reciprocal nature of open education. As students benefit from access to open knowledge, they also contribute to expanding this knowledge base, embodying the ethos of communal learning and global knowledge sharing.
In essence, a holistic approach to open education recognizes it as a multifaceted, dynamic process that transforms both teaching and learning. It fosters a learning culture rooted in collaboration, innovation, and the shared creation and dissemination of knowledge. The Wikipedia Education Program serves as a tangible manifestation of these principles, where learning is not just an individual pursuit but a collective, contributive, and globally impactful task.
2.5 Benefits of Open Education
This section will delve into some of the most pivotal advantages: cost reduction, enhanced accessibility, and the fostering of innovation.
2.5.1 Cost Reduction
One of the primary barriers to education worldwide is cost. Students often grapple with high fees for tuition, textbooks, and other learning materials, a burden that can limit access and exacerbate educational inequality. Open Educational Resources offer a viable solution. By making high-quality learning materials freely available and open for adaptation, OERs significantly reduce costs for students and educational institutions (Hilton 2016).
A compelling testament to this is a study by the United States Government Accountability Office revealing that students sometimes have to pay more for the course materials than the tuition for the course itself (United States Government Accountability Office 2013). Opting for OER can save billions for students worldwide. This significant saving underscores the financial impact open education can have, making learning more affordable and accessible to a broader demographic.
2.5.2 Accessibility
Beyond cost, open education amplifies accessibility in other important ways. It ensures that learning isn’t confined to specific locations, times, or societal groups but is available to anyone with access - be it over the internet or otherwise. This democratization of education benefits both inclusivity and diversity, offering individual learning experiences that cater to varied learning styles, needs, and paces (Seaman and Seaman 2018).
2.5.3 Innovation
The open nature of OERs also spawns innovation in teaching and learning. With the freedom to adapt and modify content, educators can devise novel, contextual, and engaging learning experiences that are aligned with the dynamic needs of the contemporary learner (Wiley and Hilton III 2018). Moreover, students would no longer be passive recipients of knowledge. They’re empowered to explore, interact with, and even contribute to the body of knowledge, catalyzing a more active and participatory learning process.
2.6 The Perception of Openness as a Threat
While the myriad benefits of open education are acknowledged globally, there persists a counter-narrative that perceives the openness of educational resources and methodologies as a threat. This perception is rooted in various concerns encompassing the quality of learning, intellectual property rights, and the financial sustainability of educational institutions. Critics argue that the unfettered access and adaptability of OERs could compromise the quality of educational content. The lack of a centralized authority or stringent regulatory framework for content creation and modification raises concerns about the accuracy, reliability, and pedagogical efficacy of OERs (Robinson et al. 2014).
2.6.1 Intellectual Property Rights
The open nature of educational content also brings to the fore issues related to intellectual property rights. The freedom to adapt and share content raises questions about authorship, attribution, and the potential misuse of educational materials (Wiley, Bliss, and McEwen 2014):
Authorship:
Recognition: In open education, content can be shared, adapted, and reused. It raises questions about giving appropriate credit to original authors. While Creative Commons licenses often require attribution, the multiple layers of adaptation and reuse can make authorship acknowledgment complex.
Academic Integrity: In academia, authorship is closely tied to professional recognition and advancement. Questions arise on how contributions to OERs are recognized in academic evaluations and career progressions.
Quality Control:
Content Integrity: With open access to modify and distribute content, maintaining the integrity and quality of educational materials can be challenging. There are concerns about the dilution or misinterpretation of content when it’s adapted without appropriate oversight.
Standardization: Unlike traditional educational materials, which often undergo rigorous peer review and editorial processes, OERs can sometimes lack standardized quality control mechanisms.
Economic Implications:
Revenue Generation: Content creators, especially publishers, rely on copyright protections to generate revenue. Open access challenges traditional business models, leading to concerns about compensating creators for their work.
Sustainability: The open sharing and adaptation of content can also raise questions about the economic sustainability of content creation. It requires new models for funding and supporting the development of high-quality educational materials.
Legal and Ethical Concerns:
Compliance: Navigating the various licenses and regulations associated with OERs can be complex. Ensuring compliance with both the letter and spirit of these licenses is crucial to maintain the ethical use of content.
Misuse: The open nature of content also raises the risk of misuse or misappropriation. Safeguarding against such risks while maintaining openness is a nuanced challenge.
To navigate these complexities, initiatives like the Creative Commons have developed a suite of licenses that facilitate the legal sharing, modification, and use of creative works while ensuring attribution to original authors.
2.6.2 Financial Sustainability
In traditional educational publishing, the creation, distribution, and access to educational materials are often monetized. Publishers invest in the production of high-quality content, and in return, they charge users or institutions for access. This business model ensures a revenue stream that funds the development, quality assurance, and distribution of educational materials.
Open education, characterized by free access and the liberty to modify and distribute content, disrupts this economic model. It eliminates or significantly reduces the direct income generated from selling textbooks or access to learning materials. This paradigm shift raises crucial questions about the financial viability of content creation and the sustainability of educational institutions and publishers (Lambert 2018).
Impact on Stakeholders
Educational Institutions: For educational institutions, the adoption of open educational resources (OERs) can lead to a reduction in income from the sale of textbooks and other proprietary educational materials. Moreover, institutions may face increased costs associated with the curation, adaptation, and maintenance of OERs to ensure their quality and relevance.
Publishers: Publishers face a direct threat to their revenue as open access challenges the traditional sales and subscription models. With educational materials freely accessible, the value proposition of publishers comes under scrutiny.
Navigating the Challenge
One strategy to mitigate these challenges involves diversifying revenue streams. Educational institutions and publishers can explore alternative means of income, such as offering premium, value-added services, or leveraging open materials to enhance the quality and appeal of their educational offerings.
Additionally, funding for the creation and maintenance of OERs can be sourced from public grants, private donations, or partnerships between educational institutions, government bodies, and non-profit organizations. Collaborative funding models can distribute the financial burden and ensure the continued provision of high-quality, accessible educational resources.
Policy and regulatory frameworks also play a pivotal role. By establishing policies that support the creation, adaptation, and dissemination of OERs, while ensuring quality and ethical standards, governments can foster an environment where open education thrives without compromising financial sustainability.
In practice, some universities and colleges are integrating OERs into their curriculum while maintaining optional paid textbooks or resources for those who prefer them. Publishers, on the other hand, are exploring hybrid models, offering free digital versions while selling physical copies or enhanced digital experiences.
Publishers and content providers, in particular, have been known to lobby against open education policies. Organizations like the Association of American Publishers have expressed concerns that open education, particularly OERs, could lead to a significant loss in market share and revenue, impacting their ability to invest in quality content creation (Feldstein DPS et al. 2012).
This underscores the delicate balance that needs to be struck between promoting open access to education and ensuring that the quality of content, intellectual property rights, and financial sustainability are not undermined. It also highlights the need for good quality OERs that are aligned with the needs of contemporary learners and educators.
The perception of openness as a threat underscores the complexities that come with the transition towards a more open educational landscape. While the benefits of open education are evident, these concerns highlight the need for a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach to address the challenges and optimize the opportunities in open education. Balancing openness with quality assurance, intellectual property rights, and financial viability is paramount to harnessing the full potential of open education for global learning and development.
2.7 Conclusion
Open education is opening doors to a whole world of opportunities, cutting down costs, making learning accessible to more people, and bringing fresh, exciting ways of teaching and learning to the table. These benefits are real and tangible. We’re already seeing students around the world saving money thanks to free or affordable Open Educational Resources.
In a time when we’re recognizing just how powerful and essential education is — for personal growth, for communities, for society as a whole — open education is stepping into the spotlight. It’s painting a picture of a future where quality learning isn’t limited by your bank balance, where you live, who you are, or your social standing. It’s about making creative and effective teaching the norm.
But here’s where we must be careful. While we’re rolling out the red carpet to welcome more people into the world of learning, we also must make sure that quality of learning and of education is not impacted negatively. Every step we take towards a more open, inventive approach to education needs be balanced with a rock-solid commitment to keeping the bar high on learning quality.