teaching through open education

1. Rebecca Strachan
Email: Rebecca.M.Strachan@ieee.org
Northumbria University, United Kingdom
3.2 Teaching through Open
Education
EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories

2. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 2 of 16
A Brief History
Case Study One: The Flipped Classroom and
Khan Academy
Case Study Two: Open Education for International
Students in the UK
Case Study Three: Social Innovation Academy,
Scotland
Case Study Four: Open Education and MOOCs
Conclusions
Introduction and Overview

3. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 3 of 16
Timeline:
• January 1999: University of Tubingen, Germany publishes online video series
lectures. Considered by many to be first official Open Educational Resource.
• September 2002: MIT launches OpenCourseWare program with 32 initial
courses.
• November 2003: China Open Resources for Education (CORE) is founded in
partnership with MIT OpenCourseWare aimed at Chinese universities.
• September 2006: Khan Academy launched by MIT graduate Salman Khan to
make K-12 educational materials available for free world wide.
• May 2007: Apple unveils lTunes U
• August 2011: Codecademy, first free, open educational resource for learning
computer programming
• March 2012: TED Ed launches bringing top-quality educational videos from the
world’s top teachers to the masses, free of charge.
[Source: http://elearninginfographics.com/history-open-educational-resources-infographic/]
A Brief History of Teaching through
Open Education

4. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 4 of 16
• All of these have led to other initiatives, some
specific to particular sectors, some of which are
now closed education.
• These also led to Massively Open Online
Courses (MOOCs) and the different variations of
these: xMOOC, cMOOC, etc. providing either
open or closed education.
• There are many different business and
educational models in place.
A Brief History of Teaching through
Open Education

5. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 5 of 16
• On the following slides, we present a
series of case studies that teach using
open education
• Each case study outlines the main
purpose, the approach that was used and
the key benefits and drawbacks
• Additional resources are provided for you
to explore and find out more
Case Studies

6. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 6 of 16
Purpose
The flipped classroom approach
reverses the typical lecture and
homework elements. Students watch
video lectures at home before each
class, enabling class time to be used
to apply this knowledge in practice.
Approach
Khan Academy provides free online
videos to introduce students to the key
materials. Tutors can then focus on
using classroom time for tutorials,
problem solving and discussions.
Benefits
 Students can watch videos and
learn from them at their own pace
 Classroom time is interactive
 Learning material can be more
accessible to students and others.
 Encourages student centred
learning
Drawbacks
• Students and tutors need to be
taught how to adopt this approach
• Needs more preparation up front
• Can lead to a digital divide if
students do not have access to
technology
Case Study One: The Flipped
Classroom and Khan Academy

7. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 7 of 16
Additional Comments:
• There are mixed reviews for Khan Academy, some positive, some critical.
• Overall the flipped classroom approach has provided difficult to implement
in practice, with key reasons being provided access to technology and
getting buy in from the tutors to this way of working
• However the resources provided by Khan Academy are widely used.
• Work continues to evaluate the success or otherwise of this approach.
Further Resources:
1. Lets use Video to reinvent Education: A TED Talk by Salman Khan, available at
https://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education
2. The Khan Academy, available at https://www.khanacademy.org/
3. Research on the Use of Khan Academy in Schools: Implementation Report by SRI International
available at https://www.sri.com/sites/default/files/publications/khan-academy-implementation-
report-2014-04-15.pdf
Case Study One: The Flipped
Classroom and Khan Academy

8. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 8 of 16
Purpose
International students can find UK’s
approach to university learning and
teaching challenging. They use
Youtube and other online educational
resources to support their studies but
do not know if these resources are
appropriate and/or valid.
Approach
Study at Northumbria University to
understand how international students
in the STEM disciplines are using
technology to support their learning.
Provide more structured help and
guidance to using freely available
online educational resources.
Benefits
 Students have confidence that the
resources are appropriate/valid
 Students learn at their own pace
 Encourages student centred and
independent learning
Drawbacks
• Needs early preparation by tutors
• Students need encouragement and
support to access the resources
• In technical subject areas,
resources need frequent updating
Case Study Two: Open Education
for International Students in the UK

9. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 9 of 16
Additional Comments:
• There are cultural differences in the technology experience and approach of
different students that need to be taken into account
• Access via mobile devices is important, desk top computing is less popular
• Tutors need to be more aware of how to use technology and open
educational resources to support their learning and teaching
• Tutors may need to develop specialised resources if none are available
Further Resources:
1. Presentation at 2017 UK HEA Academy STEM Conference: ‘How are international STEM
undergraduate students using digital technology to support their learning?’ Available at
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/download/session-12-how-are-international-stem-undergraduate-
students-using-digital-technology
2. Example of use of Youtube to support Electrical Engineering Students at Northumbria University:
available at https://www.youtube.com/user/rickerty2
Case Study Two: Open Education
for International Students in the UK

10. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 10 of 16
Purpose
To tackle inequality and social
exclusion through social innovation by
providing a training programme for
volunteers from a diverse set of
backgrounds.
Approach
Train volunteers to carry out
community consultations, social
research, and community
development using openly licensed
materials from OpenLearn, the Open
University’s repository of free learning.
Benefits
 Volunteers learn new skills and gain
work experience in a safe
environment
 Tackles social exclusion
 Community partners have team of
volunteers to support their project
Drawbacks
• Needs funding to support the
programme
• Difficult to scale, works with small
numbers of people/partners
• Reliant on existing appropriate set
of Open Educational resources
Case Study Three: Social Innovation
Academy, Scotland

11. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 11 of 16
Additional Comments:
• People did not learn in isolation; online materials were explored in a shared
physical space and participants encouraged to learn from one another.
• Positive feedback from volunteers and partners. For example: “(…) making
connections with the other participants and learning from their experiences
has made me feel at home”.
Further Resources:
1. Social Innovation Academy available at http://peopleknowhow.org/learning-for-change/social-
innovation-academy/
2. Case Study: Using OEP / Social Innovation Academy: Promoting openness and collaborative
learning. Available at http://www.oeps.ac.uk/using-oep/social-innovation-academy-promoting-
openness-and-collaborative-learning
3. OEPS website available at http://www.oeps.ac.uk/
4. Open Learn website available at http://www.open.edu/openlearn/
Case Study Three: Social Innovation
Academy, Scotland

12. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 12 of 16
Purpose
Here we look at the use of MOOCs for
Open Education. MOOCs were set up
originally to open up education to the
masses through the use of the
Internet. There has been widespread
use of MOOCs over the past decade.
Approach
Each MOOC varies in its design and
delivery, with a move to a more active
learning approach in recent years.
There is increasing use of platforms to
host MOOCs including EdX, Coursera,
FutureLearn, Khan Academy
Benefits
 Provides open education to large
numbers of people
 Bring people together from across
the globe
 Learn at a distance, usually with
some control over your pace of
learning
Drawbacks
• Tendency to underestimate
development costs and time
• Can provide poor pedagogical
approaches
• Often low completion rates (under
10%)
Case Study Four: Open Education
MOOCs

13. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 13 of 16
Additional Comments:
• MOOCs are one approach to providing open education, but have a range of
designs and delivery modes within them. The two key elements are that
they are provided over the Internet and can be taken by many people from
across the globe.
• Some people say that the low retention rates do not matter particularly as
people have a range of motivations and reasons for studying a MOOC and
may still satisfy these without completing the full MOOC.
Further Resources:
1. Useful list of current MOOCs: https://www.mooc-list.com
2. Who’s benefitting from MOOCs and Why. Available at https://hbr.org/2015/09/whos-benefiting-
from-moocs-and-why
3. A look at MOOCs from a specific subject area: MOOC Adventures in Signal Processing.
Available at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=7503171
Case Study Four: Open Education
MOOCs

14. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 14 of 16
Overview: In this set of slides we have briefly explored the
history of the use of open education and provided case
studies of how it is being used in practice in education to
address different challenges and issues.
Task: Using any of the resources outlined here
or your own, draw up your own case study using
the following categories:
Purpose, Approach, Benefits and Drawbacks
Question: Are there any common themes
emerging from these case studies, in terms of
benefits and drawbacks?
Now its your turn …

15. EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/
Subunit – 3.2 Teaching through Open Education
Unit 3 – Applications to Academia and Industry
MOOC – Foundations to Open Education and OERs repositories
Slide 15 of 16
• Open education has been used for teaching for a number of
years
• It can take a number of different formats
• It can be used for a number of purposes including opening up
access to education and supporting classroom delivery
• There are a range of benefits including being able to study
anywhere, in your own time and at your own pace
• There can also be drawbacks, including the amount of
development time needed up front and potential exclusion of
those that do not have access or do not have the skills to use
the technology
Conclusions

16. Becky Strachan
Email: Rebecca.M.Strachan@ieee.org
Northumbria University, United Kingdom
Teaching through Open Education:
Applications to Academia and
Industry
EDUCATION SOCIETY
http://ieee-edusociety.org/