Open Education: Why #OER Needs to Be Our Business and Policy

A couple weeks agoo, I attended the WCET hosted webinar on our campus - Open Education: The Business & Policy Case for #OER presented by the Director of global learning at Creative Commons,  Cable Green (@cgreen).

Wait – what the heck is OER?

I did take a few notes (a.k.a. Tweets) and thought I would share my thoughts from the session – and general thoughts for OER materials.

{Irony: Not all of the OER Commons is CC licensed}

The legal problem with sharing and technology with #oer are solved with the created #cc attributions

— Laura Pasquini (@laurapasquini) April 18, 2013

The real issue is about sharing and making a case for open policy on campus that fits a “business model” in higher education. This webinar addressed concerns and practices to implement open access policy that is good for business. Currently, many educational institutions do not value  or support “open” as an option. I am fortunate to work at a university that supports the open access movement and encourages sharing of scholarly research and publications. I have been thinking about my role as an open educator for a while, and what it means for my research, publications, editing, teaching, and learner engagement.

In reviewing the UNT institutional OER involvement, I know there is some progress for resources, but like many campuses, we have a way to go. It would be great to see more departments, faculty, and units participate in sharing resources and joining the #OER movement.  By swapping educational resources and encouraging remixing of ideas, we might be able to create more opportunities for collaboration  to enhance our learner experiences, including:

• faculty mentoring
• new ways instructional design development
• program evaluation
• cross-training of staff and faculty
• student innovation/involvement
• affordable learning materials e.g. http://opencourselibrary.org/
• interdisciplinary learning commons
• building capacity within your institution

If you’re at a publicly funded institution, your educational resources should be openly licensed – this just makes sense. Does your institution encourage and promote Open Access? Do you share Open Educational Resources at your school? Please share how you are #OER.

10 Principles for the Future of Learning

While working on some late night treadmill mileage, I decided to catch up on documents and books I have been collecting on my Kindle. Last week I read The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age, which was a precursor to The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions in a Digital Age book published by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Although this material is a bit dated, I think that some of the pedagogy still applies for educational development.

Image c/o Martin Hawksey (and his musings on this text as well). 

In the first collaborative project, the authors share ten principles to support the future of learning. Davidson and Goldberg (2009) presented these pillars of institutional pedagogy to help institutions rethink learning and meet the challenges that lie ahead for both K-12 and higher education:

1. Self-Learning – discovering and exploring online possibilities
2. Horizontal Structures – how learning institutions enable learning; from learning that to learning how; from content to process
3. From Presumed Authority to Collective Credibility – shifting issues of authority to issues of credibility; understand how to make wise choices
4. A De-Centered Pedagogy – adopt a more inductive, collective learning that takes advantage of our era and digital resources
5. Networked Learning – socially networked collaborative learning stressing cooperation, interactivity, mutuality and social engagement
6. Open Source Education – seeks to share openly and freely in the creation of culture and learning; provides a more collective model of interchange
7. Learning as Connectivity and Interactivity – digital connection and interaction to produce sustainable, scaffolding ensembles
8. Lifelong Learning – there is no finality to learning; learning is part of society and culture
9. Learning Institutions as Mobilizing Networks – networks enable flexibility, interactivity, and outcome; new institutional organizations reliability and innovation
10. Flexible Scalability and Simulation – new technologies allow for collaboration beyond distance or scale for productive interactions that warrant educational merit

Reference: Davidson, C.N. & Goldberg, D.T. (2009). The future of learning institutions in a digital age. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Education Bloggers Research – My Blog Survey

After reading @mweller ‘s blog survey for Alice Bell’s research on education bloggers, I thought that I might as well contribute to the study since I sometimes write about education, learning, and the likes here on TechKNOW Tools. From the post from Alice, it looks as though she will collect responses via e-mail (edubloggingstudy@gmail.com) or via your own blog (so you can share responses with your readers) – and send her the link. If you’re an education blogger, perhaps you too should contribute to the research. All responses are due by by the 15th of June. This sounds interesting and useful – I look forward to hearing about the analysis, but for now here is my blog survey…

Blog URL: techknowtools.wordpress.com 

What do you blog about? Learning networks & environments, academic advising, educational technology, higher education, doctoral stuff, research and writing, training and development, instructional pedagogy & design, social web & open access, podcasting, student affairs, and then some.

Are you paid to blog? No. Only in digital high fives and thanks.

What do you do professionally (other than blog)? Academic Counselor/Instructor & Doctoral Student

How long have you been blogging at this site? Since October 23, 2008 [say my WP Sitestats].

Do you write in other platforms? (e.g. in a print magazine?) I have published book chapters, academic papers, peer-reviewed journal publications, conference papers and proceedings, other blog contributions (like BreakDrink.com and personal blog), and online magazine contributions.

Can you remember why you started blogging? I started blogging personally in 2006 when I was working and travelling around to different countries (on another blogging website); and I started to blog here after reading a number of educational and learning blogs. This blog was created  as a space to share ideas and resources for a NACADA Technology Seminar learning community back in February 2009 – my friend Eric Stoller suggested I try out WordPress since I was using Blogger for my personal blog.  This blog soon evolved into a space where I curated content around what I was reading, writing, researching, or working on related to learning technologies and other issues related in education and training development.

What keeps you blogging? I enjoy it. My academic background in history and education might take some of the credit for blogging. I use my blog to reflect and think about things. It is also a great space to archive, document and curate what I am up to and what I am learning or reading about.  Now blogging is just part of my regular routine. I like starting the conversation here, sharing it in my networks and then learning what others think.

Do you have any idea of the size or character if your audience? How? My Google Feedburner says I have 61 subscribers & Sitestats says I have 29 follows on WP with 115,072 views from 49 countries. I might consider using Google Analytics to track this better in the future, but at the end of the day I think I blog for me than my audience. My audience is composed of higher education professionals, faculty, teachers and instructors from fields in training and development, marketing, management, technology, and education.

What’s your attitude to/ relationship with people who comment on your blog? Typically I have seen more shares of my blog posts on Twitter and Facebook. I have a great network and community that often engage on there more than here. Although the traffic and views are outside WP, I do appreciate and I am delighted to receive a blog comments on here from time to time (Thanks!). I would say that I have better relationships and interactions with those who comment “off the blog.” Some of my blogging prompts shared dialogues on other networks or with other peers who share similar interests.

Do you feel as if you fit into any particular community, network or genre of blogging? (e.g. schools, science, education, museums, technology) Sort of? I think technology and  learning – but I have been known to dive into training and development, organizational management, and higher education due to the nature of my academic program/professional interests.

If so, what does that community give you? I think this community is like the “Office Water Cooler” I have always wanted. It’s a great place to catch up, share interesting news, find out about new resources, swap great ideas, and stay in touch with my personal learning network.

What do you think are the advantages of blogging? What are its disadvantages/ limitations? I shared my thoughts in the “What Prompts You To Blog?” post last month => http://techknowtools.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/what-prompts-you-to-blog/

I think blogging has supported my digital scholarship as a transparent and open researcher and writer. There could be limitations to this, as I often share ideas and references before the referred journal article is published and there is that possibility that others could “borrow” it. The other challenge I can see is the need to publish or perish to make it through the academic ranks for jobs and tenure. Although my writing style is more informal and offers a variety of structure I do enjoy the practice of writing and processes what I am writing. Unfortunately blogging does not equate a journal article and I am aware of the need to contribute to traditional publications and peer-reviewed work to support my career path in academia.

Do you tell people you know offline that you’re a blogger? (e.g. your grandmother, your boss) I think most of my offline (i.e. not in social networks) family or friends know that I “do stuff with technology” and most have some idea of what a blog is. I share the odd blog post with a limited number folks who are not exposed to this blog regularly  (like my boss & parents) if there is a topic something that might interest them. I use another blog and a Flickr account to share more of my “life happenings” so my friends and family are not bored with any of my geek/nerd ramblings on this blog.

Is there anything else you want to tell me about I haven’t asked? I think you have covered most. Good luck with your research! I look forward to hearing how it goes.

#mtmoot Opening Keynote: Digital Pedagogy to Engage

This morning I will be joining the Mountain MoodleMoot at Carroll College in Helena, MT to share some thoughts and ideas around engaged digital pedagogy. Our learners are connected; however  I think more educators and instructional designers need to support our students in developing effective learning skills to navigate this new culture of learning. For those of you interested in following along, be sure to tweet with hashtag  #mtmoot, check out my slides (below), and feel free to scope out the digital handout http://bit.ly/mtmoot12 I compiled for this session.

 

Today’s learners operate in a world that is informal, networked, and filled with technology. Connectivity and digital access is an increasing need for our students and a vital requirement to excel beyond structured learning environments. Our learners are now able to interact with information, learning materials, and peers from around the globe. There is an increasing need to expand and enhance our learners’ involvement in learning technology to support engagement in online learning environments.

With the emergence of collaborative, online tools, educators can take advantage of multidimensional and engaged participation to reach their learning outcomes. Social media creates a space where “everybody and anybody can share anything anywhere anytime” (Joosten, 2012, p.6). Educational paradigms are shifting to include new modes of online and collaborative learning and student-centered, active learning to challenge our students to connect curriculum with real life issues (Johnson, Adams & Cummins, 2012). As a new generation of learners begin to create and share content, educators need to understand how to effectively utilize social web resources to impact in instructional practice create a culture of online participatory learning.

Emerging technology platforms and devices are beginning to disrupt education as we know it. To coevolve and positively impact learner success, it is critical that instructors and instructional designers consider how digital pedagogy can support learning outcomes. This keynote plenary will share ideas and suggested practices to develop a richer learning experience and thrive in the changing digital learning frontier.

References

Johnson, L., Adams, S. & Cummins, M. (2012). The NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition. Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium.

Joosten, T. (2012). Social Media for Educators. San Francisco, CA: Wiley/Jossey-Bass.

Open Access For All #oa12unt

Yesterday, I attended the 3rd Annual Open Access Symposium at UNT (#oa12unt). It was a full day of talking about open data, sharing research and collaborative efforts and examples in #highered. The open access process is not as simple as you think. It was interesting to hear from researchers, academics, librarians, industry partners, and data managers about what it means to be “open” and accessible for others. Here are a few open notes I took and a Storify I curated from the day.

I think the concluding remarks (and other notes) made by Brian Schottlaender (@ucsdBECS) helped to summarize the key points that were  both said and were not said during the day, including the following topics:

• Data Preservation
• Data Aggregation
• Attribution
• Citation
• Publication
• Data Ecology
• Peer Review
• Discovery & Delivery
• Data Governance
• Exhortations to Librarians

These final thoughts left me questioning about how higher education will engage in open access and consider what academic tenure/promotion will look like in the future. The open movement is present in my learning network, among the Social and Open Educators like @courosa and academic contributors who want to End Knowledge Cartels in publication such as @academicdave, There are many open and transparent academics/educators contributing to the open movement – but there needs to be more. And more importantly, academic institutions need to recognize and accept open scholarship.

I know the #oa12unt symposium lit the fire for me to finish the layout and publish the first issue of the Learning and Performance Quarterly. This student-lead, open access  journal is an open access publication that I am proud to edit and coordinate with a phenomenal group of reviewers and a great editorial team. The inaugural issue was JUST published online today, and is available for your reading and sharing pleasure HERE.

What have you done openly lately in #highered? Please share.

10 “Lessons” in Digital Scholarship from @mweller

As a scholar who is lives digitally, connected & open, I have appreciated following along with Dr. Martin Weller’s as he tweets & blogs his ideas for similar philosophies. More recently he has published an open-access, creative commons book – The Digital Scholar.

I was just watching Martin’s recent talk with the LSE on how to engage in digital scholarship, i.e. scholarship that is open, networked and digital. Thanks to the Centre for Learning Technology at LSE for presenting the NetworkEd: Technology in Education Series, you can watch these “lessons” (a.k.a. general ideas and musings about how to be a connected & engaged scholar). @mweller has posted his 10 Digital Scholarship Lessons in 10 Videos to recap the presentation, slides and scoop it page as well:

1. It’s not just for geeks
2. Researchers are caught in a dilemma
3. Interdisciplinary is the network
4. We’re all broadcasters now
5. We’re operating in an attention economy
6. We can rethink research
7. New skills will be required
8. It’ll impact even if you ignore it
9. It’s about alternatives
10. Do’t focus just on risk

I think that Martin brings up some great ideas of what a digital scholar looks like – and there are many of them already out there. I hope to not only witness, but also be part of this academic revolution. The changing landscape of technology, information and communication is challenging higher education to rethink its approach to learning. I think that online resources are very social and collaborative, and I hope to see these emerging tools push the academic realm outside of the traditional boundaries and expectations. With current developments in educational technology, learning communities have the ability to enhance peer-to-peer connections, social learning, knowledge sharing, and critical thinking for researchers. When learners/researchers become creators, narrators and digital contributors of their own academic fields, many gain further in-depth meaning and purpose in the learning process.

Introducing the NEW Learning and Performance Quarterly (LPQ) Journal

CALL FOR PAPERS: LPQ, VOL. 1, ISSUE 1

The Center for Knowledge Solutions at the Department of Learning Technologies, University of North Texas is proud to announce the first Call for Papers for the inaugural issue of the Learning and Performance Quarterly (LPQ) journal.

The Learning and Performance Quarterly (LPQ) is currently accepting submissions for the inaugural issue. We are welcoming any article submissions that detail the definition, history and evolution of learning and performance in its broadly conceived terms including instructional design, performance improvement, learning innovations, training and development and educational technology for both public and private sectors: http://bit.ly/LPQv1i1 

The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 10, 2012.

For detailed submission guidelines and instructions on how to make a submission, please visit Author Guidelines. Editors, Laura Pasquini and Dr. Jeff Allen, will gladly answer any questions or concerns regarding submissions via e-mail: LPquarterly@gmail.com. We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Please share this announcement with other colleagues and researchers who might be interested in publishing for the Learning and Performance Quarterly. Thanks!

Online Learning Today with #eduMOOC

Last week, the #eduMOOC course with over 2, 500 participants located in over 60 countries participated in the first session topic Online Learning Today for the Online Learning Today… and Tomorrow course.

I will be honest – the massive, open and online courses format will not be taking first year undergraduate courses by storm. Many of my incoming students are concerned with transition from high school to higher education, and often stay clear of online courses in their first semester. In contrast, as a graduate student and self-proclaimed life-long learner, I like the autonomy and independence a MOOC has to offer. I like to connect, share and learn informally with others, so this is probably why I signed up for the course.  The first week’s session (Thursday 1-2 pm CT) was recorded and the PDF slides were archived for those who could not attend the live session. Here are a few key questions and ideas discussed from the panel:

Who do we serve in online learning today?

Online learning has typically met the needs of our non-traditional learners; however with the impacts and growth in emerging technology for education online learning is becoming a staple at most higher education institutions. As we are encouraged to “do more with less,” online learning is now required to meet the continuum of learners and learning pedagogues are not quite developed for many campus learning environments. Although online learning is just another dimension of learning, more higher education technology leaders need to identify methods for effective design and high-quality curriculum delivery.

Is the nature of how we learn changing? How? Why?

Both the learners and learner environments have evolved over the past 30 years. The delivery, medium, and evaluation of learning has impacted today’s higher education classroom. Emerging methods of curriculum execution and faculty instruction are beginning to increase learner engagement beyond our campuses. Online learning allows for fluid participation and continuous experiences. Learning has always been social; however new mediums now increase our learning networks across the globe and enhanced how learning objectives are reached.  

In order to meet the needs of global learners in higher education, more institutions will have to move forward with technology or be left behind. Other questions that were discussed by the panel include: 

• How do for-profit vs. not for profit higher education institutions impact online learning? 
• We may have one the access war, but have we won the accessibility war with online learning?
• Are we considering universal design for learning? 
• Is there still cannibalization of online learning? Disrupting College http://t.co/Jg8egj0 via @amprog
• How are faculty, instruction & evaluations designed to review impacts for online learning?
• What are the challenges for online learning today in 2011?
  

Captain Obvious point: Online learning is growing and many institutions are behind in their development and support for this type of learning. This fact is apparent. Take a look at most higher education course offerings online and how these courses are designed. Online learning IS growing, in terms of, demand, quality, global reach, resources, and access. What I am more interested is HOW higher education institutions will meet the demand of online learning? Institutions are currently struggling with decreased budgets, low enrollment numbers and maintaining staffing needs to support our student populations – just to name a few challenges.

 

In reflecting about the session, I can not say that I came away from it learning a whole lot of new ideas – more these questions will shape what lies ahead in this course for the weeks to come. I was sort of disappointed that the panel did not represent any global educational leaders in the #edtech field as planned – but hopefully this will change in future sessions. And I did take note of the debates around the actual value of this #eduMOOC and other MOOCs for education and learning in a few blogs, Twitter and other online entities of the social web – which also has contributed to my learning. 

It’s this sort of discourse that most challenges me to think and really, a MOOC is similar to a personal learning network and what you decide to make of it. As a seasoned-learner, I find great value in on-going discourse that occurs on the #eduMOOC backchannel on Twitter, on the eduMOOC Fb group or just reading blog posts that share ideas and resources about the course topics. I encourage others to engage by following a few key hashtags [#onlinelearning #eduMOOC #elearning] and start a dialogue with your classmates. I still think the best types of learning from MOOCs comes from the community of learners and those participating in the learning network. As it was said best:

Is The Internet YOUR Playground?

This past week on @BreakDrink the Campus Tech Connection (#CTCX) podcast we discussed online filters and search, and how this impacts our knowledge, perception and view. The initial discussion was sparked by the Eli Pariser’s TED Talk about online “filter bubbles” but our conversation cycled into the retrieval and sharing of information within our personal and professional worlds. [Sorry @jefflail - I know you are not a fan of TED, but it was an "idea worth spreading" for the #CTCX show on Monday.]

On the show, we discussed if it was possible to seek unbiased information through our search results, consumption of media and varied perspectives on a topic.  As a History major, I was encouraged to review and assess my sources and citations. It was important to ensure there was an unbiased perspective and account of the information shared. Now that we have the ease of Google, Yahoo, Bing and other online search engines, few people take into account how or where this information is aggregated during search. To test the limitations to online filters, @jeffjackson, @jefflail & I spent some time Googling and contemplating if the internet was actually our playground. Ideas around search engine optimization, online experience, controlled sharing and the openness of our internet were key concepts discussed. It was a pretty good conversation about information collection and filtering – which shall continue throughout my research and professional work. 

For now, I will divert to someone who decided to take back the internet playground. David Thorne is a writer who decided to push the envelop one day through funny personal email exchanges (that not everyone might find funny, but he sure did). Thorne’s most famous exchange with a spider drawing went viral in 2008 which increased traffic to his personal website. To fund the server for this website David decided to create a book called, The Internet Is My Playground, to share more online interactions. 

Thanks to NPR All Tech Considered for the great piece on David Thorne.

This blog post is also cross-posted on BreakDrink.com => Campus Tech Connection | Live Googling & Filter Bubbles

This Research is Brought To You By The Letters K, P, H & D

Some of the basics we learned in kindergarten can also be applied to how you learn as an adult. I have been thinking a great deal about how to organize my information and research as a graduate student. I strive to be both an open learner and transparent educator, so let’s see if I can use a few principles from my kindergarten years to explain how.

Share everything

With the ease and cost of the social web it is easy to share with others. Social media applications and resources provide a great community for others to read, publish, and write content online.  In a previous post, I shared how I engage with social media both personally and professionally. The value I get from sharing is that if I pay it forward it often comes back in return. I value ideas, articles, opportunities and challenges that are posted in my PLN. Learning is a continuous cycle.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

As a researcher and writer, I am often scanning and reading for a literature review or an article. To quote a common phrase by my faculty advisor - “Publish or perish!” One lesson I learned early in my academic career came from a History faculty who told our class, “You have no original thought. Be sure to frequently cite your sources.” This statement is somewhat true. You might have a great idea; however it has most likely originated from someone or somewhere else.  Using online bibliographic resources like Zotero and Mendeley  are key for my APA-induced world. When I am blogging, creating presentations or sharing in my networks – I often refer to where I get these great resources too. It’s important to give credit, where credit is due.

Live a balanced life.

Remember to nuture yourself. Take the time to attend to your basic “F” needs: family, friends, food, fitness and fun. Although you may be consumed by your academic interests, it’s important to find harmony in your life. As my Niagara University Crew coach said, “If you want to row strong and win the race, you need to be able to balance your boat.”  Balance is critical to sustain yourself and your priorities – do not forget to find time to laugh.

Take a nap every afternoon.

Naps are great. Maybe an afternoon nap is not realistic in your office, however effective sleep-care maintenance can be. Consider taking breaks throughout your day: stand up, leave distraction, and get un-connected for a while. Find a way to hit your refresh button – take a walk, sit in the sunshine, meditate or daydream. These breaks create a space for your mental reserve.

Hold hands and stick together.

Many find the process of the PhD daunting, but just remember: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. I have found a few different groups and spaces to connect to on locally and far away.  to support my learning and research. On campus, I am part of a collaborative doctoral student research group for my program ATPI where we connect weekly IRL and on a wiki/google docs for projects, presentations and publication work. The #phdchat community has been a group I have found helpful to chat with on Twitter and ponder my own process – plus they have some great resources to share on their wiki. Beyond that, I have a connected to the PhD Journey group on Flickr, tagged my bookmarks in a Delicious way, and stay on top of my news and trending information via RSS in a Google Reader. 

Be aware of wonder.

There is always room to learn. Believe it or not, it is not possible to know everything there is to know. That’s what keeps life interesting. I try to open my learning options by staying tuned in to new literature, scanning a myriad of  blogs, listening to a variety of podcast, or connecting to a researcher in a different field then my own.  Don’t let your academic work get dusty.