This document discusses the benefits of open education and online collaboration. It notes that open courses can create positive feedback loops for students, improve writing and reflection, and allow students to engage with course content on their own time. Open courses build content once that can be tweaked as needed. They also enable students to engage others outside the class, including professionals. The document provides examples of open courses from local universities and Harvard and lists over 700 free online courses from top universities. It discusses using tools like WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr for open courses rather than traditional learning management systems. Finally, it addresses what defines an open course and how open courses can promote collaboration through discussion.