Week Two Reflection

Essential question: What do you see as the promise of Open Learning as an emerging technology/pedagogy/philosophy?

Upon researching 'open learning', I found that much like 'emerging technologies' there is not a clear-cut definition.  Our text for this week states that, "Open learning is described as learning that occurs in a shared and transparent manner in which others can reuse, revise, remix, and/or redistribute the evidence of learning with others (Wiley, 2009). Open learning encourages collaboration, connections, networked learning, and interdependence between educators and learners" (Graham et al., p. 2).

Our world has shifted from a very local sense of community to a global connectedness. "What occurs in one facet of this connected world is no longer isolated to its local community; today social media amplifies and pushes communications and events to the entire world community." (Graham et al., p. 2). Open learning opportunities give students a chance to work beyond the walls of their classrooms and experience that global connectedness in regards to their education. "Open learning encourages students to use the digital tools and social networks they are already using outside the classroom. Experiencing the integration of social networks and tools into formal learning opportunities, students described deeper and more meaningful understanding because they interacted and engaged with more people and more digital content" (Roberts, 2013).

In 2015, I walked into my first science classroom and was given the task of developing curriculum for many different courses.  There were no textbooks for many of the classes and I didn't know where to start.  So like any millennial would, I went to the internet for my answers and I stumbled upon CK-12.org.  Little did I know then, but I had began building my Earth Science course with the help of Open Education Resources (OER).  OERs "are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license permitting their free use or re-purposing by others" (Graham et al., p. 6).  

The portion of open learning that I have little to no experience with is the idea that students develop goals and choose their own experiences.  They are "encouraged to create their own course content based on their own passions and become self-directed learners" (Roberts, 2013).  I have a difficult time seeing this truly occurring in public education because the management of making sure all students are learning each of the standards while they are choosing their own content seems like a nightmare. However, I love the idea of students being more invested in their learning and flipping the current system upside down. "Open learning promotes different roles for educators and students because when you learn in the open—you learn together" (Roberts, 2013).

Resources:
Graham, L., LaBonte, R., Roberts, V., O’Byrne, I., & Osterhout, C. (n.d.). Open Learning in K-12 Online and Blended Learning Environments, 1–26. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/10311797/Open_Learning_in_K-12_Online_and_Blended_Learning_Environments

Roberts, V. (2013). Open Learning and MOOCs in Canadian K-12 Online and Blended Learning Environments. Retrieved January 27, 2020, from https://k12sotn.ca/papers/open-learning-and-moocs-in-canadian-k-12-online-and-blended-learning-environments/