This document discusses open and connected learning. It advocates using open tools and openly accessible experiences in education. Examples provided include having expert visitors, publishing course materials openly online, using public content, having educator profiles on social media, creating open online portfolios, engaging in social reading, facilitating global mentoring, providing real-time feedback, and creating course trailers. The document argues that open practices can amplify and reshape traditional academics for the better by improving dissemination of knowledge and enabling new forms of collaboration.

1. Towards Open & Connected
Learning
Dr. Alec Couros
EdMedia 2010

2. me

4. “People donʼt buy what you do,
they buy why you do it.”
(Simon Sinek)

5. journey
(short version)

6. “given enough eyeballs,
all bugs are shallow”
(Linusʼ Law, Raymond 1997)

7. “Open source software
communities are one of the most
successful -- and least
understood -- examples of high
performance collaboration and
community building on the
Internet today.”
(Kim, 2003)

8. “A key to transformation is for the
teaching profession to establish
innovation networks that capture
the spirit and culture of hackers -
the passion, the can-do,
collective sharing.”
(Hargreaves, 2003)

12. open / networked

13. • philosophical stance
• power & control
open(ness) • access
(short version)
• design attributes
- privacy/publics
- transparency
- accountability

14. open(ness)
(short version)
open education
free software
open source software
open educational resources
open content
open access publication
open access courses
open teaching
open accreditation

15. • pedagogical & pragmatic
stance
connected • knowledge exchange,
curating, wayfinding,
(ness) crowdsourcing,
(short version) collaboration, problem
solving
• personal learning
network/environment
(PLN/PLE)

16. context

17. Knowledge

18. Questions
• what is k?
• how is k acquired?
• how do we know what we
know?
• why do we know what we
know?
• what do humans know?
• who controls k?
• how is k controlled?

21. Free/Open Content
“describes any kind of creative work in a
format that explicitly allows copying and
modifying of its information by anyone, not
exclusively by a closed organization, firm, or
individual.” (Wikipedia)

22. Stats as of March 17/10 via Mashable

25. Media

27. connected reality

31. media stats (2009)
• 90 trillion emails sent annually from 1.4 billion email
users
• 234 million websites
• 1.73 billion Internet users
• 126 millions blogs
• 350 million Facebook users
• 4 billion images on Flickr
• 1 billion Youtube videos served daily.
Stats as of Jan 22/10 via Royal Pingdom

34. Networks

35. social networks
• redefine communities,
friends, citizenship,
identity, presence, privacy,
publics, geography.
• enable learning,
communication, sharing,
collaboration, community.
• networks form around
shared interests &
objects.

36. social tools

37. creativity w/ abundance

38. crowd sourcing content

39. crowd sourcing content

40. real time collaboration

43. open practice

44. “Web 2.0 tools exist that might allow academics to
reflect and reimagine what they do as scholars.
Such tools might positively affect -- even transform -
research, teaching, and service responsibilities -
only if scholars choose to build serious academic
lives online, presenting semi-public selves and
becoming invested in and connected to the work of
their peers and students.”
(Greenhow, Robella, & Hughes, 2009)

45. blogging
• Filter & develop ideas.
• Scholarly reflection.
• Dissemination of research.
• Calls for contribution &
collaboration.
• Share practice.
• Location of academic profile.
• Access to academic thought.
• Record of discourse.

46. microblogging
• Connect & collaborate with
academics from similar or
complementary fields.
• Data-mining possibilities
(reading vs. conversing)
• Serendipitous connections/
conversations.
• Share & disseminate work/
calls.

52. content sharing
• Reach of publication can
dwarf traditional venues (Q:
“why do we publish?”)
• To share what we do and
create for the benefit of
others.
• Potential to improve our
initial work through CC/NC/
ATT licenses.
• Gift economy (we also
benefit by content that is
shared.

58. open teaching

61. open courses - my view
• use of open & free tools wherever possible
• openly accessible experiences
• assessments related to participant practice
• participant-controlled/centred spaces
• range of expertise/participation
• immersive, experimental activities
• scaffolding and just-in-time support
• focus on alternative learning artefacts
• development of long-term learning community

62. non-credit students

63. Private Public
Closed Open

64. finding inspiration

65. Example #1 - Expert Visits
@kathycassidy

66. Example #2: Publishing in the Open
ps22chorus.blogspot.com

67. Example #3: Use of Public Content
@christianlong

68. Example #4: Educator as ...

69. Example #5: Portfolios

70. Example #6: Social Reading

71. Example #7: Global Mentoring

72. Example #8: Real-time Feedback

73. Example #9: Public Scholars
@zephoria

74. Example #10: Course Trailers

75. • *this* is not going
away.
• *this* can amplify
why? what we do as
(short version)
traditional academics.
• *this* can reshape/
reinvent/reinvigorate
and greatly improve
what we do.

76. Donʼt limit a child to your own
learning, for he was born in
another time. ~Tagore
web: couros.ca
twitter: courosa
google: couros
couros@gmail.com