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"Who will attend to the skills gap and create stronger linkages to the workforce? This book illuminates the great disruptive potential of online competency- based education. Workforce training, competency-based learning, and online learning are clearly not new phenomena, but online competency-based education is revolutionary because it marks the critical convergence of multiple vectors: the right learning model, the right technologies, the right customers, and the right business model."

A local group of the open knowledge foundation 1. Push for Open Science and Research practices in Indian research institutions. . 2. More involvement of citizens in the spirit of Open Knowledge Involvement of the masses in order to work towards making ourselves a better managed nation. Constitutional instruments like the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Right To Information (RTI), etc., lose their relevance without complete transparency in the dissemination of government as well as non-government data. Building a mass-based system of knowledge-banks can help us a lot in achieving our goal. We can assist the governments for making more information public, wherever necessary. 3. Push for education. Involving the masses can to a great extent result in a quicker transformation of the present scene (for example, we can have citizens making study material open and free and also involve them more in the dispersion of education). We aim to arrange for vocational profession-based education for the adult population.

A curated list of Open Educational Resources for teachers and students interested in accessing quality Educational materials made freely available. I would draw your attention to #11 Gooru. Teachers and students can search for or remix collections of K-12 resources searchable by topic or discipline. The stated aim is to personalize learning with freely accessible, high-quality, curated resources.

Great article that talks about the very nature of openness! In this article the author argues that openness in education has been successful in establishing itself as an approach. However, this initial victory should be viewed as part of a larger battle around the nature of openness. Drawing lessons from history and the green movement, a number of challenges for the open education movement are identified as it enters this new stage. The value of openness to education is stressed in that it relates to opportunities for development and the role of the higher education in society.

Thanks for sharing this, Marieke. It provides a wonderful overview of the central issues of "openness". This is one that should definitely be bumped up into the course reading list.

Hola Marieke. Coincido con Kevin en que el artículo es muy ilustrativo, con datos y una interesante reflexión sobre el acceso abierto. Pero me parece que la comparación con el movimiento verde requiere matizarse, principalmente el de los verdes porque era un movimiento político de transformación civilisatoria (eso se proponía, al menos) y terminó bastante desinflado (http://newleftreview.org/II/81/joachim-jachnow-what-s-become-of-the-german-greens). Igual, el texto vale la pena. Danke

Why Open Education Matters video competition.

I think this is a beautifully simple and clear wonderful explanation of why open education matters! I like how it discusses the conflict that exists without too much judgement and explains some of the open jargon such as OER. Thank you for sharing.

a. Finding a balance between technology and teaching has proved challenging in the traditional classroom. Some institutions, such as University of Chicago Law School, have altogether banned internet access in the classroom, claiming that it imposes on the integrity of the education. Although the authors draw attention to research demonstrating the rampant frequency of distractions with laptop and mobile technology amongst students, they beg the question of whose fault it really is - and begs educators to reflect on their own teaching, and the educational institution as a whole. Fang describes possible solutions for the distraction dilemma for educators to apply to the modern classroom. Filtering applications can help to create a temporary filter on computer applications to ensure a singular task, or set of permitted tasks, are accessed. Network switching allows faculty and network administrators to determine which, if any, applications can use a network at a given time. Social solutions can also be effective; by educating the student on the issue of technology-related distraction in classrooms, and assessing teaching styles, class formats and institutional practices. In the modern classroom, the professor and technology should coexist peacefully; yet it will take social and technical finesse in order to find the right balance for the maximum benefit of the student.

An article that discusses the importance of infrastructure in building the case for a open model for competency based education.

In this article, author talk about the importance of building infrastructure of open education. He gives the reasons, and the solutions. I think open education is progressing day by day, so we need to fix many fundamental problems.

I agree with this post. Establishing an open framework that results in an open infrastructure will help to create a solid foundation for educators and innovators to further improve their cause to their needs and goals, thus improving the system.

Teachers are discovering the value of imparting media-literacy skills, from critical analysis of news programs, commercials, and films to basic design and video-production techniques.

This is an excellent video summarizing all the skills and necessity of them in a participatory culture. Everyone is spending more and more time in the multimedia world these days, especially the youth, who can be considered the most vulnerable. An ability to perceive all the information we are getting through a critical lens is profound, as is an ability to dissect and understand the logic of multimedia. Learning the tricks of graphics, cinema, music studies (collectively called "communication studies"), young people learn to understand and create media, find new ways to express themselves efficiently in an ever-changing world and supplement the traditional ("written") curriculum, which is behind the needs of today's man. The point is illustrated nicely by George Lucas, founder of The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF): "Everybody is affected by this, and it should be taught in school." I agree 100%.

Re-thinking communication skills is absolutely essential for all educators, since much of the communication students are faced with during a day comes in the shape of different kinds of media. But the result of this is also that we need to address the fact that not all educators are necessarily equipped to teach about media because it's rarely included in teacher's programs (especially if you were trained twenty or thirty years ago). So the video makes a lot of good points about media-literacy and hopefully our educational systems will make sure that educators are given the tools to include this in their classrooms.

I chose the Open Educational Resources Research Hub (OER Research Hub) for a focus for research, designed to give answers to the overall question 'What is the impact of OER on learning and teaching practices?' and identify the particular influence of openness. As open Education now reaches a stage of maturity we need evidence about what works, what doesn't and why in order that lessons learned can be shared. Filling the gap in the evidence base and sharing data and methods widely is the intention of OER Research Hub. The project combines: A targeted collaboration program with existing OER projects An international fellowship program Networking to make connections A hub for research data and OER excellence in practice

The Open Educational Resources Research Hub (OER Research Hub) provides a focus for research, designed to give answers to the overall question 'What is the impact of OER on learning and teaching practices?' and identify the particular influence of openness.

This article gives opinion that university is playing an important role that will not be replaced by the open educational opinion, which I also agreed. Instead of considering OER as a threat to university, the article argues that "OER can help institutions provide higher education to rapidly increasing numbers of students and lifelong learners".

Thank you for sharing the article Ming Tang. I think you make a great point about OER and the university working together as opposed to a "war of the roses" type scenario where a married couple refuses to work together. As the article mentioned the university is the one that gives the diploma and is the one that deals with accreditation inspections, etc. OER to me would make a nice complement on the arms of any university. Another good article along the same lines can be found at http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/impact-globalization-and-future-university.

Thank you Melduncan2!

The internet has is and will continue to change how we educate our children but we will still be using university's perhaps a younger student population will emerge as access instantaneous, making learning faster , less time required to achieve a high school level.

These are some cool 'motivational' videos about open education - certainly a valuable resource when talking about the subject. The attached link has the three best ones (I have looked ahead & the third place winner is actually included in module 7), but this playlist (sorry, could not find one in English, but the videos are in English anyway) has a few more: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgmAVOv3Lv3H1q20GUUg9h2koK6hPq4hk (playlist from Virtual educational library from Lithuania).

An interesting overview of the challenges that the open education faced in the last 10 years. The "Last mile" part emphasizes the role of a teacher in guiding students to the right resources available online.

It is time to rethink the digital experience in higher education: we have a chance not only to reimagine our encounters with the large scale but also to embrace our opportunities at the other end of the scale. William G.

"Educational standards limit the consciousness towards which critical pedagogy aims. Yet, those committed to developing critical digital pedagogies need to pay attention to standards anyway. Specifically, critical digital pedagogues at all levels of Education must familiarize themselves with standards regarding Information and Communications Technology (ICT) literacy"

Ukufunda, which means "learn" in isiZulu, is the name of the virtual school that was developed by Mxit Reach, UNICEF and the Department of Basic Education. It's an innovation in the South African Education system that will address inequalities in the school system, raise Education standards and put the power of Education in the hands of every learner, teacher and parent.

I say it's about time. A family member of mine studied on the East Coast USA and tuition was impossible. While I can't speak extensively for American schools, I can say that post-secondary education at established universities in Canada is expensive and the financial burden becomes a stressor, often effecting academic performance. It is accessible, yes. National and provincial student loans make it possible for almost anyone to obtain a post-secondary education. But does it make sense? Definitely not. The debt incurred by students is mortifying. What about a European model? Many schools around the globe offer free post-secondary educations. I recently visited New Mexico, where if you stay within the state after high school graduation you enter a lottery to go to university for free. Every entree into the lottery is awarded sufficient funds to make a post-secondary career in the state of New Mexico feasible. My question about this article is about how "low income" is determined. There are a lot of factors that can play into one's financial needs that sometimes aren't on paper.

"A quick introduction to copyright for faculty and staff who want to create Open Educational Resources."

A great resource for open education lesson plans, textbooks, and blogs on the subject!

Open Source and openness in Higher Education: MOOC, OCW, OER.